The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

If she really suffers three consecutive losses... then her chances of becoming a professional are still extremely slim... negligible.

"Sigh, three consecutive losses, what a pitiful child," Ji Yingting gently blew on a strand of green hair entwined around her fingertip.

"........."

Luo Qiu'er's face darkened further. Ji Yingting played with the green hair that fell across her forehead and continued, "However... you seemed a little nervous when you played chess. Were you feeling quite unsettled?"

"Of course I get nervous when playing chess... because it's a very important match, and I want to win no matter what."

Recalling the game she played against Ji Yingting the day before yesterday, Luo Qiu'er blushed slightly as she explained that she was so nervous that she didn't eat lunch that day, and by the time the game ended in the afternoon, she was almost starving.

clatter……

Huh? Luo Qiu'er suddenly widened her icy blue pupils as she saw Ji Yingting's two slender fingers gently touching her forehead side by side.

With her pale purple pupils slightly narrowed, Ji Yingting murmured softly, "It's good to have a competitive spirit, but you haven't fully enjoyed the process of playing Go. Be more attentive."

"Be more careful... even if you say that, I... don't know how to do it," Luo Qiu'er said, her head down. She had clearly tried her best to think... but her chess skills weren't good enough to win! She couldn't beat opponents stronger than her.

"Really... I can't win." Luo Qiu'er gently closed her icy blue eyes.

Luo Zhuyu's focused gaze during the game and Cui Jinlie's lightning-fast moves gradually came to mind in her memories.

"I can't imagine... how strong I would have to become to defeat these opponents," Luo Qiu'er gently shook her long, snow-white hair and shook her head. "I can't win."

She is not a chess player who lacks confidence, but she has gradually lost her self-confidence after several consecutive defeats in the past few days.

"Really... Have your opponents been very strong these past few days?" Ji Yingting gently tilted her long, light green hair and asked in confusion.

"Hmm... I feel similar to you, especially my opponent today, his name is Cui..." Luo Qiu'er shook her long, snow-white hair, she was thinking of reminding Ji Yingting to pay attention to that player.

However, she was slightly stunned the moment she raised her head, only to see Ji Yingting's pale purple pupils widen suddenly.

"You are weak because you cannot judge the difference in our chess skills, which is why you compare me to those weaker ones." A cyan ripple gradually spread from Ji Yingting's body, and her long cyan hair floated slowly behind her.

A thick, suffocating feeling made Luo Qiu'er abruptly close her mouth; she could hardly breathe.

"Are they strong? Are your opponents today and yesterday strong? Strong enough that you feel you can't defeat them?" Ji Yingting asked repeatedly. The cyan-green ripples on her body had materialized, and her pale purple star eyes gradually transformed into pale green moonlight eyes. Her emerald green eyes stared intently at Luo Qiu'er in front of her.

"How is this possible! How could she use chess moves when not playing a game?!" Luo Qiu'er shook her long, snow-white hair and stared wide-eyed. The passersby around them seemed to ignore them. This was a domain that only chess players could break.

With a whoosh, the long, bluish-green hair stopped moving, and two huge, bluish-green furry ears drooped down from either side of Ji Yingting's bluish-green hair, like two long whips reaching to the ground.

These two greenish-blue cat ears are enormous, more like the thick, heavy ears of a lop-eared rabbit than a cat's.

Chess Position, True Form...

In an instant, Luo Qiu'er's vision transformed into a chessboard resembling a starry sky, with Ji Yingting, who had grown two large, bluish-green ears, sitting opposite her with his pale green pupils narrowed.

Ji Yingting picked up a black chess piece and said softly, "Let me tell you... Anyone strong enough like me can easily defeat them, crushing their fighting spirit as effortlessly as squashing two ants."

In that instant, not only Luo Qiu'er, but all the chess players in Group A felt a chill run down their spines. Their bodies trembled slightly, as if they were being watched by the apex predator of the food chain.

"If you can't enjoy Go, then become strong enough to crush everything... and then enjoy your favorite kind of victory, if that's the result you truly want."

Her two long, bluish-green ears suddenly retracted, the bluish-green ripples on Ji Yingting's body gradually dissipated, and her tone returned to that of a gentle and cute young girl.

"Huh?" The feeling of suffocation disappeared instantly. Luo Qiu'er stared blankly at Ji Yingting, who had returned to normal, as if everything just now was just a mirage.

"Enjoy the remaining 26 games, games that could change your life... You'll eventually understand what I mean."

With a flick of her long, turquoise hair, Ji Yingting stood up from her seat, clutching her lotus-colored Taoist robe. She smiled gently at Luo Qiu'er, her pale purple eyes narrowing. "Lunch break is over... let's go back and play chess!"

Chapter 176: The Moment the Piece Was Placed

Her two long, bluish-green ears suddenly retracted, the bluish-green ripples on Ji Yingting's body gradually dissipated, and her tone returned to that of a gentle and cute young girl.

"Huh?" The feeling of suffocation disappeared instantly. Luo Qiu'er stared blankly at Ji Yingting, who had returned to normal, as if everything just now was just a mirage.

With a flick of her long, bluish-green hair, Ji Yingting stood up from her seat, clutching her lotus-colored Taoist robe. "Lunch break is over... Let's go back and play chess!"

Her strength... is it really that strong? After Ji Yingting turned and left, Luo Qiu'er stared at Ji Yingting's green-clad figure in disbelief.

With my skill level, can't I see the difference between them? Enjoy the game... How do I enjoy it?

With a "whoosh," Luo Qiu'er placed the snow-white Taoist robe on the sofa. After her lunch break, she sat down across from the chessboard once again.

The boy with light yellow spiky hair stared silently at the chessboard. Unlike his lightning-fast moves when playing chess, he always seemed to maintain a silent demeanor when not playing.

So he got back earlier than me? Or did he not even go to eat?

Raising her long, snow-white hair, Luo Qiu'er glanced at the clock on the wall; there were still about 20 minutes left in her lunch break.

"Can we continue the game now?" Cui Jinlie asked. As long as both players return, they can start the game immediately after discussion. The rules for the professional exam are much more flexible than those for the provincial competition.

"Mmm," Luo Qiu'er nodded gently and picked up the chess box on her right. She couldn't help but glance back at Ji Yingting's side, as Ji Yingting's opponent didn't seem to have returned yet.

With her slender fingers, Luo Qiu'er gently picked up a white chess piece and examined it closely.

As for enjoying the process of playing Go... I've always found Go very interesting. I'm not actually that competitive... I just wonder if I could become a professional Go player and live a life of ease?

I've studied Go for so long... I wish I could become a professional Go player, so that all the time I spent learning Go wouldn't be wasted, and I wouldn't let down my parents and teachers.

Luo Qiu'er raised her white eyebrows slightly, and she muttered to herself in disbelief, "So that's what I really thought deep down."

With her icy blue pupils fixed on the chessboard, Luo Qiu'er felt her mood suddenly calm down. Was she under too much pressure?

She had never thought about or considered why she was learning Go, or why she wanted to win so much.

Regardless of the reasons, isn't this extremely simple and straightforward reason enough?

That is... she wants to become a professional Go player.

No reason is needed to become a professional chess player; just the desire itself is enough for Luo Qiu'er to strive and fight for it.

Perhaps her teachers or parents hoped she would become a professional player... but ultimately, the person who most wanted her to become a professional Go player was herself...

With a soft breath, Luo Qiu'er's right hand steadily gripped a white chess piece.

Her slender, fair arms floated gently in the air. Luo Qiu'er's icy blue eyes widened, her gaze no longer confined to the local area where she was entangled with the black pieces.

Drip, drip, drip, drip—the dense flow of water gently tapped the hard stone like raindrops. Although it still couldn't penetrate it, it left a slight indentation due to the cumulative impact of the rain.

Deep within Luo Qiu'er's soul, this tiny indentation was completely invisible to the naked eye.

Some people may wonder what kind of process a Go player needs to go through to improve their Go skills.

Do we constantly play games, solve life-and-death problems, study game records, and review them?

What if... these are all processes for chess players to accumulate experience? What's the difference between a game character with 1 experience point at level 10 and one with 99.99 experience points at level 10?

In reality, there is no difference. The real difference lies in that final 0.01 experience... Sometimes, a chess player's improvement in skill can happen in a very short instant.

It could happen the instant the piece is placed, the moment of thought, or even while a player is sleeping and dreaming.

As for whether Luo Qiu'er improved her chess skills, no one knows, because chess skills are something that cannot be measured with instruments like combat power in anime.

However, in the instant Luo Qiu'er picked up the white Go stone, she did indeed consider many things because of Ji Yingting's words about enjoying Go.

Ok?

In an instant, Luo Qiu'er's icy blue eyes widened, and her slender right hand, holding the white chess piece, slowly moved towards the center of the chessboard.

An indescribable, wondrous feeling welled up from the depths of my soul, and even the raindrops that were striking the stones stopped falling at that moment.

In the void, a slender, fair hand gently overlapped Luo Qiu'er's right hand, and that hand, supporting Luo Qiu'er's right hand... placed the white chess piece in a position she had never considered before!

Behind that jade-like hand, the ethereal image of long, emerald-green hair slowly faded away. Was she guiding him?

pat...

A raindrop clearly pattered on the hard stone. Luo Qiu'er placed the white chess piece onto the chessboard with a soft thud, her icy blue eyes slightly stunned.

What kind of feeling is that? Did I make this move? A low-flying move on the second rank?

Just now, the instant I picked up that white piece... I hadn't even considered that move yet, so why did I make that move?

Luo Qiu'er tilted her long, snow-white hair slightly, puzzled. She had forgotten what it felt like when she made that move. It was as if, just as she was preparing to place her piece elsewhere, she suddenly felt that placing it there was the most natural thing to do.

And so... in that brief second, she changed the location of her move...

Could this move be... a brilliant one?

Luo Qiu'er stared at the chessboard in a daze for a long time before blinking her icy blue eyes to confirm that it was a good move.

Raising her snow-white hair, Luo Qiu'er glanced at the pale yellow spiky-haired boy who was deep in thought. It was only then that her icy blue eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at her opponent.

He... didn't make another move? From the opening moves until now... this is the first time he's taken such a long deliberation!

Chapter 177: The Monster Chess Player

He didn't make another move? Luo Qiu'er stared wide-eyed in confusion, her icy blue eyes wide. In that instant, she hadn't realized what changes had occurred on the chessboard.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

With her eyes slightly narrowed, a clear stream of water, like a waterfall, gradually formed deep within Luo Qiu'er's soul, flowing down with a gurgling sound, and her consciousness became increasingly ethereal.

With her mind free of distractions, she saw nothing but the chessboard at that moment.

Boom!! Another bolt of lightning streaked across the air, and Luo Qiu'er's snow-white hair fluttered gently as she turned to look at the timer.

There are only 10 minutes left! The game has only just entered the middle stage, and she has very little time left to use. Luo Qiu'er must use her opponent's time to make decisions and judgments.

"Snap..." With little time left, Luo Qiu'er didn't have time to think. Once again, she picked up her right hand, holding the white chess piece.

In that instant, her right hand seemed to transform into an arm made of flowing water, gently landing on the chessboard with a magnificent ribbon of rain.

A crisp sound of a piece being placed rang out, the move like the clear echo of a raindrop falling on a stone... both elegant and beautiful.

Although she placed the piece with very light force with her right hand, it was accompanied by a determination to break through the chessboard.

At the same time, just as Luo Qiu'er placed her piece, a light drizzle began to fall outside the professional arena window.

"So amazing..." Luo Qiu'er looked down at the move and murmured to herself. She never thought she could make such a good move.

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"Yawn," Ji Yingting squatted on the sofa, her slender legs, encased in snow-white stockings, curled up. After placing a black chess piece on the chessboard with her right hand, she gently yawned.

As she placed the chess piece with her right hand, her left hand was still holding her white-stockinged foot.