The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

One match ended quickly; Li Ze was the second amateur fourth dan player at Jingliuzhai, after the fat man.

He lost to the fourth-dan player, Ruoying, by two stones! While regretting his defeat, he also habitually turned his gaze to the fat man's chessboard.

but……

With a soft click, Li Ze's hands, which were gathering the chess pieces, trembled slightly, and a piece fell to the ground.

"How is this possible? Is this still Go?!" Completely unlike any other Go board game they were familiar with, these two players' formations showed no signs of breaking apart, with each player holding only one territory. But... what was that enormous white group that seemed to be swallowing the entire board?!

"Lost fifty points..."

The fat man's forehead was covered in cold sweat; he couldn't understand the situation at all.

Without any fighting or capturing, how could there be such an astonishing difference in points between the two sides relying solely on territorial control?

Players skilled at securing territory are also adept at counting points, but... in this game, he didn't count points even once.

"Splash, splash, splash"

But after a short while, the pink-haired girl suddenly put away the white pieces in disappointment.

"Huh?" The fat man was dumbfounded. The endgame wasn't over yet! Shouldn't he be the one to concede? Why were they already packing up the pieces?

"What a pity, because my goal was to give you seventy points, so... let's just consider it a loss~" the pink-haired girl whispered, her words causing the others from Jingliuzhai to turn their heads.

"who is she?"

Zhou Hansheng and Luo Xinglu did the same, both looking at the pink-haired girl who seemed to be provoking them with strange expressions.

"Sigh, I knew this would be the result," Guan Caiyan sighed softly, her eyes filled with pity as she looked at the fat man.

As the president of the Wakao Girls' Go Club, she has been an amateur 5-dan player for a year, and Guan Caiyan always believes in her Go skills.

Unfortunately... the chess world on the moon has given birth to many monsters who are born different from others.

In their eyes, what are powerful talents, young amateur 5-dan players, junior high school league titles, or Go club presidents? These meaningless titles are nothing more than insignificant ants on their path to power, things they would never even glance at.

Moreover, she joined the Wakao Girls' Go Club only because the school pleaded on her behalf...

Ruoying is a first-year junior high school student and a professional 2nd dan, known as the Flower Goddess.

Chapter 496: Establishing the Chess Academy

Minghai Middle School lost all of their matches in the first round, but against the weaker Bailu Middle School, they managed to achieve a record of four wins and one loss in the second round.

"What's wrong with everyone? What happened again?" Xiao Hongye was slightly taken aback and moved closer to the crowd of onlookers.

Hana Shinshi, a professional 2-dan player, also achieved a perfect record in last year's professional exam, becoming a professional Go player as the top player in Group B. Outsiders don't understand the strength of the groups, but the title of perfect record is strong enough, right?

pity……

Hua Shenxi suffered a crushing defeat to the Ke family in the first round of the Three Life Cup knockout stage. What's even more unfortunate is that she didn't even get a chance to play.

The disgruntled Flower Goddess Xi pondered for a long time after the Three Lives Cup. During the professional exam, her chess skills were clearly superior to those of her peers Luo Zhuyu and An Ruotong, yet now she had fallen to the bottom...

Kotomi, whose Go talent was the most mediocre, was dubbed the tyrant and won the championship trophy alongside Sakuraba-neechan.

Perhaps, her perfect record in the professional exams was no longer Hua Shenxi's pride, but rather a burden of complacency. Stepping down from her seat, Hua Shenxi smiled and walked around to Ji Yingting's side.

"Sakuraba-nee, shall we go get something to drink?"

......

Sitting in the coffee shop, the girl with long pink pear-shaped hair whispered.

"Sakuraba-nee, I'm going to Teitsu Province next week, to Seicha-in. I also want better guidance and a higher platform. Stepping onto the professional stage isn't the end, it's the beginning."

"Huh? You're going to Qingcha Courtyard too?" Ji Yingting was a little surprised. She had already recognized Hua Shenxi when she spoke, but... since she wanted to have fun so much, Ji Yingting didn't want to spoil her fun.

"But you understand, right? There are many professional Go players in Qingchayuan who are better than you. You might not even get a spot to play."

"It's alright, I will become stronger... at Qingcha Courtyard." Hua Shenxi had made up her mind, and Ji Yingting could not say anything more.

She swung her legs helplessly. Why were they all running towards Qingcha Courtyard? Was it really that good? Ji Yingting was actually a little disappointed.

"Sakuraba-nee, you watched that Go player named Shiro Tokiwa, right? Why are you saying such harsh things?"

"...Were you eavesdropping?"

"No... I was just using the toilet!" Noticing that Ji Yingting's expression was a bit strange, Hua Shenxi quickly shook her head.

She dared not anger Ji Yingting. That time, Ji Yingting tricked her into going out with a tail, and her mother slapped her several times. She still has psychological trauma from it.

Hanako said softly, "But you understand, right? If that kind of player were allowed into the professional exams, it would definitely cause a huge uproar. This is the first time I've ever seen a player like that. A sick player who ignores winning and losing, who is purely born to kill. Sakuraba-nee clearly understands her special qualities, so why did you say that?"

That's right... that game seemed to be orchestrated by Zhou Hansheng. In reality, it was more accurate to say that Bai Chang'an was so obsessed with capturing pieces that he ignored Zhou Hansheng and was instead enjoying the thrill of removing his opponent's pieces one by one from the board.

Ji Yingting narrowed her eyes slightly. "Hmm... I'm angry that her wild nature is being restrained by trivial matters. She admires people weaker than herself and wants to learn from them, so it's only natural that I'm angry."

After chatting for a while about recent events in the professional Go world, and watching the green-haired girl leave the coffee shop, Hanako's eyes became much more serious. "Sakuraba-nee is actually so concerned about amateur Go players, and even came all the way to participate in the training camp for junior high school Go players. Is she planning something?"

The monthly magazine "Go World" is now on sale, featuring only the now-famous Ji Yingting.

Undeniably, only the semifinals of the Kisei tournament and the final of the Meijin tournament remain from this round of the seven title matches. Once the tournaments conclude, a new round of open qualifiers will begin, marking the true reshuffling of the professional Go world.

...............

The three-day training camp ended quickly. Apart from Ruoying Girls and Jingliuzhai, Beaver Middle School also performed very well, even winning two matches against Ruoying Girls.

"Sakuraba-nee, let's say goodbye here."

After getting off the school bus, Lin Hao waved goodbye to Ji Yingting. Everyone was also a little reluctant to part with the senior they had spent several days with. Only Bai Chang'an stood alone at the back, clutching the hem of her skirt.

Ji Yingting chuckled, "Hmph, if your ranking in this junior high school league is worse than last time, you'll be embarrassing the school."

"How could that be? Our school has produced professional Go players!" Xiao Hongye said confidently. During the training camp, everyone also discovered that... they were not without the strength to fight against the schools in Bihuangyue City, it's just that the Go players in Mingyue City were ridiculously strong.

If it were the weaker Eigetsu City, they might actually have made it to the finals this time.

"Well then... goodbye." Ji Yingting waved to everyone, tossing her long, light green hair as she turned around.

"........."

In an instant, Bai Chang'an suddenly raised his head, a chilling and eerie feeling sweeping over his entire body, reaching straight to the top of his head.

Whether it was her imagination or not, the moment Ji Yingting turned around, she had a feeling that something was staring at her! Those narrowed, pale green eyes were somewhat eerie.

Is Sakuraba-senpai really blind?

As Ji Yingting's figure receded into the sunset, a few tears streamed down Bai Chang'an's face. Even though her senior had said such hurtful things, she couldn't understand it; she just couldn't comprehend it! What exactly was the difference between her and her sister?

Xiao Hongye suddenly said, "Oh, right, Xiao An... Sister Ying Ting seemed to have asked me to tell you something. She said your sister has washed off her dyed hair. She also said... she prefers girls with black hair to mixed colors."

"Hair dyeing?" Bai Changan pulled at her hair, revealing a few strands of white highlights in her long, jet-black hair.

My older sister had white hair, but she dyed it black, so she copied her and dyed her hair too. Did my sister... dye her hair back to its original color?

Bai Chang stood there stunned for a long time, until everyone was preparing to return to school, when she suddenly started running.

"Hey! Xiao An, where are you going!??"

"Hey hey hey!! You're going the wrong way!! The school isn't over there!"

No...

No, I can't just stand here and watch Sakuraba-senpai leave. Her long, white hair fluttered wildly in the air. This was the first time in her life that she had run so hard. Every drop of sweat and every tear was blown away by the gale.

Bai Chang'an had a strong premonition, and only at this moment! Since Xiao An was born, this was the first time that crazy throbbing feeling of wanting to grab a lifeline with both hands had appeared in her heart.

Five hundred meters, one thousand meters, nearing the station of Minghai Ji Middle School, Bai Chang'an, panting heavily, finally saw that familiar figure. Long, light green hair braided into twin ponytails, a snow-blue Taoist robe trailing to the upper thighs... Ji Yingting seemed to notice the person approaching, and her small feet, which were about to step onto the train, retracted.

As the school bus drove away, Bai Chang'an walked up to the green-haired beauty who was standing still, and said with snot and tears streaming down his face.

"Huff, huff, huff... Please!! Sakuraba-senpai, please tell me!! How can I become stronger? Because I want to become stronger too!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Ji Yingting covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "Hehehe~ In a way, you really are like someone, at least... you know how to desperately grab my clothes to stop me from leaving, don't you?"

"Um... I'm sorry."

Xiao An awkwardly took a few steps back, only then realizing that her sweaty hands had dirtied the hem of Sakuraba-senpai's skirt.

Ji Yingting patted the dust off the hem of her skirt, gently placed her small hand on Bai Chang'an's head, and said under Bai's blank gaze, "Don't worry, I don't dislike children who work so hard."

“Sakuraba-senpai…”

"From this day forward, don't talk about wanting to catch up with anyone anymore. With your talent, shouldn't you be crushing all the players stronger than you? Not a painful chase, but a furious revenge. Tear everything apart like a beast. Just listen to me, and you can defeat your sister in the professional exam."

Ji Yingting's words made Bai Chang'an's eyes widen. "Defeat my sister? But..."

"Don't you understand? Go is not child's play. Wanting yourselves to become professional Go players together is just a beautiful fantasy in your hearts. There aren't many spots left for you in this year's professional exam. Either give up, or defeat her, tear her apart, and trample her! Stomp her pathetic Go skills under your feet and crush them."

"Why hide your true desires? Tell me, this is what you're thinking, isn't it? Your true nature can be unleashed in front of me without any restraint, and... I even allow you to call me 'older sister'."

Ji Yingting gently stroked Bai Chang'an's tear-stained face with her fair hand, a malicious smile appearing on her lips.

Unfortunately, the startling eeriness vanished in an instant, and her face returned to its original gentleness.

"Think it over carefully. Come back to me after you reach level 5 in the provincial competition."

"Thank you…………"

Because the voice was so soft, even Bai Chang'an himself didn't hear it, but Ji Yingting smiled.

Returning home without a word, Bai Chang'an washed away the white stains from her long hair.

Looking in the mirror, her long, smooth, pure black hair cascaded down to her waist, her eyes were black, and her eyebrows were black. This was a black that was the complete opposite of her sister's white. But Xiao An had not seen her true appearance for a long time.

She knew...

There's no going back. All I can do is fight alongside my sister on the battlefield of professional exams—the most beautiful and most desperate battle.

............

"Seriously, the teacher really does leave whenever she wants."

In the center of Yongyue City, a modern building stands with the four large characters "Shidan Go Academy" written on it. Ji Yingting takes out a key from her hand.

The chess academy has been disbanded, and the senior brothers and sisters will never come back... Teacher Fei Qiluo, Lin Beng, Niu Xiaochai, and Senior Sister Xiaoyu who specializes in teaching amateur chess players.

Ten dan...

No, the current teachers can no longer be called 10-dan. After Lin Hong lost to an active 10-dan, the 10-dan Go Academy seemed to decline overnight, and the name could no longer be passed down.

As Ji Yingting walked into the chess academy, she covered her nose and spat a few times. The three months of vacancy had left the academy covered in a thick layer of dust, and the air inside was very humid.