The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

Even for a junior high school student, an amateur second dan, this is the best they can do. These were some truly unbearable matches.

Lifting her sleeve, Ji Yingting took a small sip of tea. Fortunately, the members of the Minghai Ji Go Club didn't pay any attention to professional matches, otherwise, if everyone had seen her interview, Ji Yingting would have been incredibly embarrassed.

After the game ended, Huang Xiya, a second-year junior high school student with an amateur second-dan skill level, became the last regular player selected by Minghaiji Middle School.

The junior high school league adopts a best-of-five format, with three players achieving the third dan rank and one achieving the fourth dan rank. Minghai Ji's foundation has also greatly improved compared to last year.

"In this training camp, including our Minghai Ji, our old rivals are still Beaver Middle School, Ziyuan Middle School, and Bailu Middle School. In addition, there's Ruoying Middle School from Mingyue City and... Jingliuzhai."

"Jingliuzhai Middle School, is that Luo Zhuyu's school?" Ji Yingting murmured to herself. When she disguised herself as Luo Zhuyu's mother to attend Luo Zhuyu's parent-teacher conference, she had also glanced at Luo Zhuyu's application form a few times. However... that child is a professional Go player, she won't be going to school properly.

"What? Is there a problem?"

Ji Yingting asked softly, "No, Mingyue City is so far from Huangyue City, is it really necessary for them to make a special trip there?"

Lin Hao nodded and said, "It's probably a chain reaction effect. Recently, schools have been paying unusual attention to Go competitions. Just like in some martial arts competitions, the middleweight matches are more interesting than the heavyweight matches. Unlike the high school league, which is ignored, the players participating in the junior high school league are all young but extremely talented amateur players."

Last year, Mingyue City produced many student professional chess players, which has attracted considerable attention from many chess academies.

The same is true in Yongyue City. Ever since you, Sakuraba-senpai, became a professional Go player, more and more children have applied to Minghai Princess because of their love for Go. Perhaps... this is what it feels like to reach the pinnacle in a certain field?

Lin Hao's words were filled with envy; his chess skills had long surpassed those of the former club president, Wang Xi. He had also tried to pursue higher levels and participated in the city tournament twice.

But he eventually understood that with his skills, he could only be the head of a small Go club. To advance to the fourth dan, he would have to pass the provincial tournament after the junior high school league, by which time he would have graduated.

"When we arrive, Sakuraba-nee, please wait for me outside."

Lin Hao walked into the office carrying a file bag, filled out the forms for members and consultants, and said that Ji Yingting would lead the team to tomorrow's training camp.

Watching Lin Hao's departing figure, Ji Yingting suddenly tilted her head. "Really?...Being a club president isn't so bad, is it? At least you'll understand your limits early on. Many aspiring professional test-takers have fought for ten years to open that door!"

After school, Ji Yingting was invited out for a coconut beef dinner by some familiar junior girls from the Go club. It had been a long time since she'd eaten at this Western restaurant near the school… a touch of nostalgia for ordinary life.

But starting tomorrow, she will be training those chess players as their mentor. Her pale green eyes narrowed, and Ji Yingting smashed a piece of coconut milk in half.

...........

The following night, with the other members of the Go club seeing them off, Ji Yingting and the others boarded the bullet train to Huangyue City.

Lin Hao and Lin Zhen were checking the information of members from other schools, while Xiao Hongye sat in her seat flipping through borrowed Go magazines. She was more interested in the skilled professional Go players than the game records.

However... Xiao An was a little sad that her newspaper had been borrowed. She had originally wanted to look at the chess scores for a while, but now she could only go to sleep.

Huang Xiya, a 2-dan player, and three other substitute players were even more excited about the trip. "Sakuraba-senpai, why don't you tell us about the professional Go world?"

"Hmm? The professional Go world..." Ji Yingting pondered for a moment, then smiled and held up one finger. "Let's not talk about modern times. Has everyone heard of the famous game where someone vomited blood?"

"Spitting blood? A famous game..." Huang Xiya tilted her head in confusion, while the conversation between the two made the others prick up their ears with curiosity.

"In ancient Japan, Go proficiency symbolized the highest status."

Many, many years ago, a Go player named Honinbo Jowa ascended to the throne of Meijin through cunning and without bloodshed.

"The head of a certain family, Huan'an, felt that he had been fooled by Zhang He and was unwilling to accept it, so he decided to defeat Zhang He on the chessboard."

Little did anyone know that the moment Huan'an conceived this idea, he would create an unparalleled masterpiece in the history of Go!

He painstakingly planned for four years, finally managing to persuade the most powerful courtier among the shogunate elders to agree to hold a "master tournament" at his official residence.

Gen'an's most prized disciple was Akahoshi Intetsu [7th Dan], who would face Honinbo Jowa [Meijin].

If Zhang He loses this match, then his celebrity status will be questionable, and he will naturally lose his position as a celebrity.

But if we lose completely...

Since famous figures rarely engage in battle, such an opportunity will be rare in the future. Huan'an will have to serve under Zhang He for the rest of his life, and the impact of this is self-evident.

Chapter 492: The Astounding Chess Skills of Mingyue City

That match lasted for three whole days. For the first two days, the young player Akahoshi Intetsu had a slight advantage, until the third day!! Honinbo Jowa made three excellent moves in a short period of time!

Akahoshi Inche was torn between capturing the white stones in the upper left and protecting the black stones in the upper right; he wanted to rescue the isolated stone on the right and break through the white territory on the top. He was truly exhausted and mentally and physically.

This earth-shattering chess match has come to an end. This game is historically known as the "Inche's Blood-Spitting Game".

"Died vomiting blood..."

Ji Yingting's words were hard for the players to understand. The Meijin made three brilliant moves in a row, which made Akahoshi Intetsu unable to cope. He vomited blood and fell into a coma on the spot, and died at home not long after.

"Dead? He died after playing a game of chess?"

As a famous game that has been passed down for hundreds of years, it is even recorded in detail in the game manual.

Ji Yingting's voice trailed off. "Later generations have called the Meijin's three moves unparalleled masterpieces throughout history. People are very curious: since Honinbo Jowa was so strong, why did he choose to avoid disappointing his opponent to ascend to the Meijin throne? But... I believe that was actually the earliest manifestation of the game's dynamics."

The situation of the game...

Words faintly etched deep in her memory. The girl with long white hair widened her eyes slightly. It was a chess game again. She seemed to have heard it from someone before.

Deep within Xiao An's awakened memories lies a world she cannot comprehend at all.

"You're too weak... you'd better not play Go anymore."

The black chess piece falls between fingers, for whom does the twisted death knell toll? A tragic world where flowers, grass, and trees wither, even the sky seems to be decaying. What exactly happened a year ago...?

"Xiao An, what's wrong?"

"No..." Bai Changan shook his head.

The sun set behind the mountains without anyone noticing, and the special train from Minghaiji Middle School arrived in Huangyue City and went to a hotel in the city center.

Lin Hao and Lin Zhen had also come to this hotel last year with the Minghai Ji Club, supposedly for training... but actually they just realized how strong the other players were, thankfully they weren't from the same region.

However, Minghaiji Go Club has grown so much this year, and winning the city-wide championship is their only goal.

Beaver Middle School, Aster Middle School, Egret Middle School, Myokai-hime Middle School, Wakaki Middle School, Keiryuuzhai Middle School...

As Ji Yingting put the documents into her backpack, she secretly opened her eyes and glanced at them again. Although she had long since become a professional Go player and was no longer interested in the junior high school league a year ago, she still remembered those interesting Go players.

Qi Yue, a student at Ziyuan Middle School, seems to have given up on becoming a professional Go player and is now studying hard in high school.

The renowned Beaver Middle School in Aragetsu City still managed to win the regional championship last year after Lianhezhou withdrew from the race, which demonstrates the advantage of having a high average skill level.

Wang Jun, a graduate of Bailu Middle School, has been out of the public eye for a long time. Even his status as a professional Go player has almost been forgotten. It is said that he went back to his ancestral home on Jupiter with his sister, Wang Murou, for a vacation.

Thinking of Wang Murou, Ji Yingting felt helpless that her former best friend had suffered such a thing, and the atmosphere would be very awkward even if they met again.

In addition, there are Yingxian Girls' Middle School in Mingyue City and Jingliuzhai where Luo Zhuyu is located. Judging from the rankings of the participating members announced by other schools, Minghai Ji is also quite weak this year. Ji Yingting shook her head silently.

As soon as Ji Yingting followed her classmates into the hotel lobby, she heard a strange gasp.

As the organizers of this intensive training camp, the members of Beaver Middle School were standing in the lobby waiting for the guests. A handsome boy with sky-blue curly hair paused for a moment, his eyes twitching wildly. "Ah~ Miss Sakuraba, it's been a long time. What brings you to our Aratsuki City today?"

"Hmm...?" The bluish-green head tilted at an odd angle. Ji Yingting was puzzled for a moment, then seemed to remember something and said softly, "You used to be the club president. What, are you now an amateur fifth dan? How is Xiao Xi?"

Jiang Gu, the amateur 5-dan Go club president of Beaver Middle School, a boy with blue curly hair, said with a forced smile, "Um... although she's a professional Go player, of course she's not as good as Sakuraba-nee."

"..."

Is this person even more disgusting than before? Ji Yingting thought to herself.

The members of Minghaiji left quickly because they needed to go back to their rooms to put away their luggage.

Watching Ji Yingting's departing figure, the students from Beaver Middle School were utterly bewildered. "Club president, who is that girl?"

With her long, light green twin ponytails cascading down to her waist, and dressed in a snow-blue Taoist robe, Ji Yingting attracted the attention of everyone at Beaver Middle School. Could such a beautiful woman really be a contestant from Minghai Ji Middle School?

"Don't let her cute appearance fool you, she's a real monster. As a... professional Go player, she's already graduated. Is she here in Huangyue City as an advisor?"

A professional Go player...?

The members of Beaver Middle School remained silent for a long time. After a while, Jiang Gu continued to ask, "Xiao Qin, if it were you, you should be able to understand me, right?"

"Yes, that's right. My heart... is pounding uncontrollably," the girl with long, light yellow curly hair said sadly, sitting on the last sofa. She pressed her small hand tightly to her chest, unable to forget the fear she felt in that moment.

"So powerful, really... too powerful, they're on a completely different level from all of us."

"So what if they're professional Go players? Isn't President Jiang Gu an amateur 5-dan? He'll be a professional Go player soon. Judging a Go player's strength by fear? Xiao Qin, you're getting more and more interesting," a red-haired girl with a single ponytail sneered.

At 9 p.m., Ruoying Middle School and Jingliuzhai from Mingyue City also arrived in Huangyue City, and everyone sat down at the hotel table.

The students, who had been traveling for half a day, were hungry. Just as the food was about to be served, Lin Hao suddenly frowned and asked, "Where is Xiao Hongye?"

“She said she would come down right after taking a shower, could she be lost? I’ll send her another text message,” Huang Xiya replied.

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"........."

"........."

"........."

"You...? Are you really lost?" A girl with long, crimson hair asked curiously at the entrance of the women's restroom.

The girl following behind her was wearing a pink school uniform with a white skirt, and had long pink pear-shaped curly hair. Her petite figure was extremely cute.

This school uniform...

That must be the uniform of Ruoying Girls' Middle School. Is she a contestant? So cute! Xiao Hongye guessed.

Ruoying Girls' Middle School is a true aristocratic school, with a status in Mingyue City comparable to that of Minghai Ji in Yongyue City.

"Mmm, thank you, big sister~" The girl's voice was soft, but her nasal tone was slightly high-pitched.

The two parted ways at the entrance of the hall, and Xiao Hongye breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the pink-haired girl run all the way to Ruoying Middle School.

"But she looks so petite, she doesn't look like a middle school student at all... she looks like an elementary school student, so cute."

"The person representing Beaver Middle School in the draw was Jiang Gu, an amateur 5-dan player."

"Representing Ziyuan Middle School, the draw will select Lin Zixin, an amateur fourth-dan player."

"Representing Bailu Middle School, the draw will select Wang Qixuan, an amateur 3-dan player."

"Representative Minghai Ji's draw: Amateur 4th Dan Bai Chang'an"

"Representative of Wakasakura Women's Lottery: Amateur 5th Dan Seiyako"

"The person representing Jingliuzhai Middle School in the draw is: Zhou Hansheng, amateur 5th dan."

"Wow, so many amateur 5-dan players... The level of Mingyue City is really different from ours, President. These people would be more than capable of participating in the provincial competition, right?" Xiao Hongye's cherry-like mouth was filled with surprise. Before she had experienced the level of Go in Mingyue City, Huangyue City and Yongyue City could only be described as playing house and being novices fighting each other.

After all... the most terrifying behemoth in the professional Go world, the Luo family, stands right here in Mingyue City!