The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

If you're going to obsessively study someone's game records just to beat them, you'd be better off solving more life-and-death problems...

All games are a baptism for oneself, not a wedding dress for becoming stronger to defeat a certain chess player.

So...

Ma Gongling hated boring lines like "I've been preparing for this for half a year."

It wasn't Ma Gongling who wasn't taking the game seriously, but Bai Yongye who didn't respect anyone else...

After the game ended, the white-haired girl lowered her head dejectedly.

Everyone was waiting for the player with the perfect record to lose a game, but unexpectedly, that crucial game came so quickly and ended just as fast. Bai Yongye was pulled off the stage of perfect record, with 21 wins and 1 loss... She, Lin Qianyu, and Bai Chang'an were tied.

"Xiaoye...how could you lose so quickly?"

While Lü Binghu was still playing the game, she glanced silently at Bai Yongye sitting not far away. Her first defeat was against Ma Gongling, and she knew how strong that woman was. But... how could Xiao Ye be so easily defeated in front of her? What happened?!

"Ok?"

Hearing the commotion, Xin Yufei, who was playing chess, also got a little tuft of hair standing on her head. That girl named Bai Yongye lost... Xin Yufei, whose mindset had already changed, didn't think much of it. After joining Qingcha Academy, her goal had changed from wanting to become a professional chess player to... wanting to win every exam.

Therefore, people are inherently greedy.

Having been favored by Shui Tingyue, Xin Yufei has officially joined Qingcha Academy. However, her chess skills sometimes lag behind the teacher's lessons, so she must work hard in private as well.

but……

Ma Gongling was the player who played against Ji Yingting in the same professional examination room last year, and Xin Yufei was eager to know...

Just how much of a threat could her chess skills pose to me?

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

"Did Bai Yongye still lose to Ma Gongling? But with Ma Gongling in Group A and Luo Qiu'er in Group B, the semi-professional academy now has two students who are highly likely to become professional players this year, which should meet their expectations for the year."

As Ji Yingting filled in the information on the game form, she spoke softly. As the referee... she did not watch the game between Ma Gongling and Bai Yongye.

Although Bai Yongye is one of the most talented players recruited by the semi-professional Go school in recent years, he is still far inferior to Ma Gongling, whose Go skills have already reached the professional level.

"It doesn't matter what, they can't participate in the next round of title battles anyway. As new first dans, they should just focus on being new first dans and they can't threaten us," An Ruotong replied, taking a sip of tea.

"By the way, didn't you just get promoted from the first dan? Be a little more humble, will you?"

Ji Yingting found it strange that An Ruotong had signed up for the Tianyuan Tournament, acting as if she already possessed the Tianyuan title... If she was so confident, why didn't she sign up for the Chess Saint Tournament or the Meijin Tournament?

"Uh~ I know, I know. The list of players for the first round will be released soon. I hope I don't run into anyone too strong!" An Ruotong prayed silently for a while.

Of course, she also knew that if she couldn't win in the end, or even defeat the current world champion, it wouldn't make much difference which round she reached, since there was no prize money for the title match.

Ding-dong...

Suddenly, a special notification sounded, and An Ruotong quickly opened the information software developed by the professional chess academy. Ji Yingting also wanted to take out her phone, but then she thought that she hadn't told An Ruotong that she could see it yet, and it would be troublesome to explain, so she said softly, "Check it for me too."

"Great!! My opponent in the first round is Wu Fen, a professional fourth dan, a relatively unknown player."

"Let me see your opponent, Sakuraba-nee~"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

After waiting for about ten seconds, An Ruotong suddenly fell silent. Ji Yingting asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Who's your opponent?"

"You, your opponent is the challenger champion from the previous round of the throne battle, professional 9-dan Ji Shihu!!"

"..."

Chapter 519: The End of the Professional Exam

"Ji Shihu?"

Ji Yingting's eyebrows arched slightly; at first glance, she thought An Ruotong had misread it. Nearly a hundred professional Go players participated in the Throne preliminary rounds, but in the first round… she encountered the previous champion, Ji Shihu.

The preliminary rounds used a Swiss-system elimination format.

A player is randomly matched against other opponents, and the first player to win five games advances to the main tournament.

And so on, the earlier a player gets five wins, the easier it is for them to advance. Once the quota is filled, all the remaining players are eliminated. If the last players all get five wins on the same day, the final group of players will be determined by the ratio of [tit-for-tat: opponent's total points].

The Swiss system is highly unpredictable, so a player can advance even if they lose the first two games. Or perhaps, they can't afford to lose a single game.

In the history of the Throne Tournament, there have been instances where all 16 players in the main tournament achieved a 5-win streak in the qualifying rounds.

That year, the player who ascended to the throne was named Liu Tianmen.

"My first opponent is Aunt Hu. I've really been thrust into the spotlight..." Ji Yingting muttered to herself. Ji Shihu, who narrowly lost to Liu Tianmen in the last tournament, was favored by many to win the title this year. Unfortunately... Ji Yingting didn't think she would lose to her, even though it was her first time facing a professional 9-dan.

Ji Yingting then asked, "Are there any other famous players who have registered for the Throne Tournament?"

"Well, perhaps it's because Luo Jiangxing has already become a celebrity. Apart from Luo Zhuyu, the rest of the Luo family have unusually given up on this year's celebrity audition and switched to competing for other titles..."

Besides Ji Shihu, the most popular players for the Wangzuo Tournament are Shui Tingyue and Luo Youjun... and Shi Yanyi, the head of the Shi family. This year's Wangzuo Tournament is the strongest tournament outside of the Honinbo title. The Kisei title hasn't been decided yet, most players are observing, and very few have registered for the Meijin title.

Ji Yingting nodded and said, "Of course, someone who lacks confidence wouldn't attempt to defeat a Meijin or a Go Saint."

"Then, the 10th dan and the top dan are also fiercely contested areas. Sigh~ It's really tough. Although there are no prize money for the title matches, only those who successfully obtain the title receive a huge salary. However, the rank points are quite high, even more popular than the top-tier league..."

The professional exams are coming to an end. Ma Gongling, Luo Qiu'er, and Bai Chang'an, who may become a professional Go player, have all decided to join their respective Go academies. Unfortunately, only Ji Yingting and professional 3-dan An Ruotong can participate in this round of title matches.

Ji Yingting whispered, "Xiao Tong, could you ask Quan Shihui tomorrow if he'd like to join the Go Academy?"

"Huh? ~ Go ask him yourself. How can a referee ask a player such a thing? If the Crescent Moon Chess Academy finds out, they'll be disqualified..."

"Fine, I'll go ask myself then."

Ji Yingting didn't care about such things. If she could find Luo Qiu'er, why wouldn't she dare to forcibly take away Quan Shihui? Someone as unsociable as her would never be invited by anyone.

Among the Go players that Ji Yingting was familiar with, An Ruotong and Ji Hongying signed up for the Tianyuan Tournament, Hua Shenxi and Shang Gongying signed up for the Shidan Tournament, and Luo Zhuyu signed up for the Meijin Tournament.

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

At the Liu family's training ground, a young woman with long black hair was flipping through a chess game book.

Ok?

"Ji Shihu's first opponent is Ji Yingting, that kid who just won the Sansheng Cup, right? She was even more arrogant than Ji Shihu in the interview. Perfect, let me see what makes her so qualified to challenge me..."

Liu Tianmen silently closed her eyes. At the beginning of each title match, she would look through the match schedule and pay attention to the players who posed a threat to her.

pity……

It has been almost fifteen years, and she still sits firmly on this unshakable throne. It's a pity... Liu Tianmen is not from a noble family. After her defeat, the Liu Clan's dojo will also decline, just like those chess academies in the past.

Therefore, she absolutely did not want to relinquish the throne to anyone before her true heir appeared!

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

In the 25th round of professional exams, most candidates have begun their final preparations. Some are heartbroken, some are dejected. Others are able to maintain a calm mindset and believe they performed quite well.

The professional exam has always been brutal. Those players with fewer than 10 wins can be considered to lack the talent to become professional players. Ma Gongling and Xin Yufei are still on a winning streak, and their match is in the 27th round.

After losing to Ma Gongling, Bai Yongye was defeated by Xin Yufei without any suspense. Bai Chang'an and Lü Binghu also lost to Yufei, and they couldn't even perform to their full potential. This was to be expected... Their experience was far from sufficient.

Even professional chess players would feel a headache when they first faced the Su family. Unlike the hostility between Bai Yongye and Lü Binghu, Lin Qianyu and Bai Chang'an had a good relationship because they lived in the same bedroom.

Their match will take place in the twenty-fifth round today.

Before Xiao An entered the chess hall, Ji Yingting called out to her after a long time, "Xiao An, the last one who can become a professional chess player is basically locked in between you and Yong Ye, and Lü Binghu and Lin Qianyu."

"Um"

"However, if you lose to Lin Qianyu today... your chances will be very slim, because Lin Qianyu has never lost to anyone other than Ma Gongling and Xin Yufei. Losing this game would be tantamount to guaranteeing her victory, not to mention your sister, whom she has already beaten."

"I understand..." Xiao An swallowed hard. For various reasons, the game that would determine whether she could become a professional Go player had been brought forward.

Before meeting her older sister, she must first settle her score with Lin Qianyu!

She accidentally lost to Lin Duan in the tenth round, which put her in a much more passive position compared to Lin Qianyu and Bai Chang'an.

"I must say, you were really lucky in the beginning. Zhen Linqianyu, Ma Gongling, and Bai Chang'an were all placed last. To become a professional Go player, you can only win two out of three games."

"Um……"

Watching her retreating figure, Ji Yingting took a deep breath, hoping that her efforts over the past two months had not been in vain. Xiao An had grown and become stronger, and in this professional exam, she had become much stronger than she had imagined.

The petite girl with long, blue-green hair, Lin Qianyu, was slightly older than Bai Chang'an. She had already been sitting at the chess table waiting.

I opened the chess box and quietly waited for my friend to arrive.

then……

After a year, Group B finally saw the long-awaited showdown between the two: Luo Qiu'er, who had a 24-game winning streak, and Quan Shihui, who had a 24-game winning streak.

Facing the black-haired girl once again, Luo Qiu'er unconsciously tightened her grip on Bai Qi's right hand.

Quan Shihui gently tilted his long black hair, and said softly in a broken voice, "I said... they left a long time ago, right? A year before us, they went to the professional stage. Now it's just the two of us left. There's no need to fight to the death, is there? Can't we relax a little in this match?"

Luo Qiu'er chuckled, "Alright, then you can just admit defeat."

"Chess Strategy - Narcissus Mode"

A watery radiance tinged her eyebrows and pupils, and invisible ripples slowly expanded outwards. A layer of mist enveloped Luo Qiu'er's entire body, and a tsunami surged into the sky. Two watery blue tail flames, resembling those of a tuxedo, floated at the ends of her long white hair.

Seeing Luo Qiu'er like this, Quan Shihui nodded blankly, "I understand, Mom... I understand too, I understand as well. Mom, please be patient for a little while, because... Xiao Hui also wants to win completely."

An aura of extreme fear distorted the space, humming...

The hoarse, demonic howl was extremely viscous, and a scarlet light emanated from Quan Shihui.

Click, click, click!

Countless threads fell from the sky and pierced through Quan Shihui's limbs. Her black pupils became even more lifeless, and she stood there blankly as if she had lost her soul.

"Dark Chess Strategy: Puppet"

At the same time, a twisted ghost doll appeared behind Quan Shihui, with scarlet fangs and pupils, its evil aura almost suffocating Luo Qiu'er.

He stiffly raised his arm, and with a snap, Quan Shihui's first move landed on the small eye in the upper right corner.

In Group B, besides Shi Shishi being extremely nervous, Qin Hanyue also dared not be careless anymore. She and Shi Shishi were currently tied, and if she accidentally lost just one game, she would be eliminated. Damn it… why are those two women so much stronger than me?