The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

The flames in the painting transformed into a feathered robe draped over his body, while the core of the sun became obscure characters etched on the back of Xia Tianran's hand.

"pat"

Xia Tianran placed a white piece, but one-tenth of the gold pattern on the back of his hand disappeared.

Clad in a golden feather robe, her pale golden eyes shone with an astonishing light.

"The sun will set, the firewood will burn out... If you can survive my ten moves, you will win."

Within these ten moves, the girl whose heart had been chilled by the cold finally no longer needed to wrap herself in a cotton-padded coat.

At least!! At this moment, Xia Tianran could concentrate fully on a real battle with Luo Dule, and the scorching heat emanating from her fingertips made Luo Dule's breath catch in his throat slightly.

She felt like she'd seen this chess position somewhere before—Ji Qiuyao from the Ji family… Wasn't the chess position called Autumn Kill? Although it was a sun-shaped position, it belonged to the changing seasons.

Ji Qiuyao can sense her opponent's moves from the falling maple leaves, while Xia Tianran feels warmth from the sun's rays. Her chess skills are much stronger than people imagine, but because of her special constitution and because she spends every moment in the cold, she cannot fully exert her chess skills?

At least within these ten moves, Luo Dule believed that her chess skills had reached a level that was difficult for him to match.

"Whoo~"

Xia Tianran gently exhaled a warm breath. The stronger the warmth in her heart, the more golden lines appeared on the back of her hand. These were all thanks to Xiao Rui...

The original chess position could only hold for one move, but unexpectedly, after several years of ups and downs, she can now play ten moves ahead...

Summer

In the viewing hall, a girl with long, black hair, holding a young girl, narrowed her eyes nervously.

She understood deeply that Xia Tianran, as a top player at the Jinghong Go Academy, was under just as much pressure as she was. Even if she managed to beat Luo Dule with all her might, what then? Could the others at the Jinghong Go Academy beat Luo Qingsheng? Could they beat the exceptional newcomer Luo Zhuyu?

Absolutely impossible...

Compared to her, what about me, who was able to advance to the top four with the help of the Ke family's powerful team...?

But Xiao Tianran wouldn't think about any of that. For a professional Go player, winning the game in front of her was the most important thing. At the very least... she had to win this game!

Ke Jiurui glanced at Ji Heiyu sitting next to her. Tianran's seventeenth birthday was approaching. If she could defeat Luo Dule... even if she lost the match, Xia Tianran could still become a professional sixth dan at the age of sixteen because of the [score].

Then she is the ultimate genius of the Shawl Princess Black Fish, and also the way Xia Tianran has wanted to prove herself for many years!! Please... prove it to me, I will work hard too.

"boom!!"

With her prayers, a golden line appeared on Xia Tianran's white chess piece, and the golden sun wheel fell onto the chessboard.

Just ten moves... had consumed all of Xia Tianran's thinking time. Regardless of Luo Dule's intentions, she had already given her all in this game—her strongest ten moves!!

Regardless of whether they advance to the semifinals...

He defeated Luo Dule and achieved professional 6-dan before his 17th birthday!

After all, Xia Tianran had only just become a professional fifth dan, and the points from the quarterfinals were not enough to advance to professional sixth dan. As for the tiebreakers… she wanted to get the tiebreakers to defeat Luo Dule!

Pat, pat, pat, pat!

Summer's golden patterns vanished completely, and the cold returned... Her small hands, holding the white chess pieces, trembled with cold, yet she was unwilling to give up even a second of thinking time, her eyes fixed on the chessboard.

Black and white stones intertwined, and the game came to an end. The timer ran out, and neither player counted the points. Instead, they ended the game quickly with endgame tactics.

.........

At the Luo family residence, Su Chan frowned and said, "It's a close game. The winner might get half a point, or even one and a half points?"

"Hmph, Ah Le probably lost. He's really useless. He's brought shame to the Luo family..." the green-haired girl said with a grim expression, her tone changing slightly.

"However, I did get to see an interesting player. Xia Tianran, although he's still quite a bit behind Ji Heiyu, isn't far off..."

While the two were talking, the results of the tally were announced.

Luo Dule, who played black, lost by one and a half points, and she stood up from her seat with a sheepish expression.

Under the intense scrutiny of the cameras, she finally felt the same embarrassment as Luo Qingsheng when he lost the game... After returning home, she inevitably faced months of reprimands from her third sister, though she was already used to it.

Xia Tianran quickly put on her clothes, shivering and curled up in her seat, unwilling to open her eyes. It seemed she could no longer continue the game, and she was soon helped to the infirmary by the staff.

The second round, the third round...

The two remaining members of the Jinghong Dojo suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of Luo Zhuyu. Even though Luo Zhuyu was only a beginner professional, he was still an opponent that the two could not possibly contend with.

Jinghong Dojo was defeated in the quarterfinals, while the Luo family advanced to the semifinals. Xia Tianran, however, managed to secure the points by defeating Luo Dule.

The Ke family, the Ji family, the Luo family... and the younger sister among younger sisters.

It was no surprise that the three worlds made it into the top four, but what surprised everyone was that their path to advancement was not as smooth as they had initially imagined. The down-on-their-luck Ke family had to rely on Ji Heiyu's coattails.

Then there's the aggressive Ji family. Ji Beiyi could have been fine losing to others, but he just happened to lose to his old rival, Lü Kuangmei, a newcomer from the Liu family's dojo. In the game between Ji Hongying and Shang Gongying, Shang Gongying even made a wrong move... and directly conceded defeat, making it seem like a farce.

The Luo family was even more outrageous. They clearly had a lineup capable of challenging for the championship, but unfortunately, apart from Luo Zhuyu who still maintained a winning streak, Luo Qingsheng and Luo Dule both lost... They are both professional 7th dan players.

The moon is on summer vacation, and the Three Lives Cup will come to an end in three days.

The younger sister faces off against the Luo family, and the Ji family faces off against the Ke family.

.....

Lying in bed, Ji Yingting closed her eyes and felt the warm sunlight streaming through the window.

Around this time last year... they lost in the semifinals of the Go league at Minghai Ji Middle School.

This year, she has regained even stronger chess skills, has stronger teammates, and a more perfect stage.

Sadly, it will never be allowed again...

Chapter 465: The Battle of Destiny

In the observation room, An Ruotong and Zhu Huangfu were studying the game record when Ji Yingting walked in with a cup of tea. "What? What are you two playing?"

"What are you playing... I'm studying the Go opening manual. I need to strengthen my opening skills before playing against Xiaoyu. My opening has always been a weakness." An Ruotong shook the white Go stone in her hand.

"What's the point of studying this now? You'd be better off studying the openings of other players."

Ji Yingting was speechless. They were clearly professional Go players, yet they were reading opening strategies that only amateur Go players would practice.

The significance of the opening is that there is no absolutely perfect situation, and every professional chess player has their own preferences... Before a professional chess player sits down at the chess table, they don't think about what kind of opening they want to play.

"Hmm, I was just browsing." An Ruotong closed the strategy manual. Reaching the semi-finals in her first Super League B competition—perhaps she was just a little nervous…

As the time for the game approached, An Ruotong adjusted the scarlet Taoist robe she was wearing.

Ji Yingting reminded him, "If you beat Luo Zhuyu, even if you only make it to the semifinals, your point differential will be enough to get you promoted to professional rank 3."

"But, Sakuraba-nee, you won't lose, will you?"

"Um……"

Ji Yingting narrowed her crescent-shaped, pale purple eyes. She really wouldn't lose, at least... she wouldn't lose to Luo Dule and Luo Qingsheng.

She would only worry about losing if Luo Jiangxing were sitting opposite her on the chessboard.

Of course……

A player who can only see black and white will never become a professional player, and a professional player who only cares about winning and losing will never reach the top of the chess world.

Full Moon Provincial Professional Chess Academy, Sansheng Cup Semifinals.

No matter what kind of league it is, only reaching the top four can attract the attention of most people.

In the first round, An Ruotong played white against Luo Zhuyu, who played black.

An Ruotong is more skilled at playing black, but no professional Go player would give up the opportunity to play white.

An Ruotong gazed at the green-haired girl in front of her at the chess table; Luo Zhuyu was a professional first-dan player.

She wore a light green Taoist robe with the Luo family name printed on it... From obscurity to fame, she was the same age and had the same petite figure.

The two, who had studied chess side by side for years, were finally going to settle their differences in a formal competition.

An Ruotong couldn't quite remember... When was the last time she played against Luo Zhuyu? And how much had her chess skills improved?

"Then, let's begin..."

Luo Zhuyu placed her black stone in the upper right corner, and An Ruotong also placed her white stone in the opposite corner.

Snap, snap, another two small eyes, hmm...? When the fourth move was made, the woman sitting in the referee's seat frowned slightly.

All four moves are to the small eye, which is an extremely rare combination of "opposing small eye" and "moving towards small eye".

"Yes, it's the layout from back then."

Luo Zhuyu chuckled softly. When she had just learned the small eye technique, she and An Ruotong had played a game like this when they were learning Go.

I can vaguely remember that the two of them were severely reprimanded by their amateur Go teacher. After all, if it's a double small eye, it's better to "mistake the small eye" (a mistake in Go).

but……

They were already professional Go players, but the amateur instructor was still only an amateur third dan.

Now I'm not afraid of being criticized for playing chess like this anymore. As a professional chess player, I should have my own understanding of every move.

An Ruotong picked up a chess piece, sparks flying in her blood-red eyes.

To abandon a pawn...?

She steadily made the tiger's mouth-shaped chess piece, *click*.

Up until now, it's still a fairly conventional opening strategy. Thinking back carefully, I remember how I felt when I played against Xiao Qiyu.

That powerful pressure, that desperate, all-out approach to making moves.

The player with white pieces needs to carefully calculate the score, but... An Ruotong doesn't want to be confined by this so-called method.

Even professional chess players occasionally crave a crazy game without any constraints, but unfortunately, finding an opponent who is so compatible with them is extremely difficult.

An Ruotong glanced at Luo Zhuyu's eyes; the emotion revealed in her light green eyes was so earnest...

She no longer wanted to wait or endure; she wanted to fight with all her might from the very beginning of the plan.

"boom!!!"

His black hair was stained with blood, and brilliant flames erupted from behind him [Chess Strategy - Crimson Lotus Hell].

A blood-red spiral heavy lance appeared in An Ruotong's hand. The collapsed sky and the shattered earth created a spectacular scene resembling the end of the world, causing Luo Zhuyu's pupils to shrink.

Whoosh! An astonishing mist of ice flowed from between his right fingers, and a long, turquoise spear gradually took shape.