The Way of the Blind Girl Chess Saint

"We'll be gathering soon..."

In the lounge, Bai Yongye was still reviewing the game he had lost when Luo Qiu'er dragged him out of the room and headed towards the New Moon Chess Academy's main hall.

"It feels like this scene is a return to when we became professional Go players last year."

"Don't joke around, it's only been a year," Ji Yingting said softly, lifting a strand of her light green hair. She and An Ruotong stood beside Chu Kuangxi, the dean of the New Moon Chess Academy, waiting for the new first-dan players to arrive.

Entering the professional arena also means that they will begin a life that is completely different from their past.

No need to go to school anymore, you can just study Go as a profession.

For them, all they had to do was decide which Go academy to join. When Ji Yingting first became a professional Go player, there was the 10-dan Go Academy, but now that it has disbanded, she created the Moon Demon Palace herself. The Celebrity Go Academy has also disbanded due to An Chen's death. Luo Zhuyu has returned to the Luo family, and Hua Shenxi has gone to the Qingcha Academy.

Dean Chu is still studying the routine matters of professional chess players.

A moment later, Ji Yingting spotted Shang Gongying peeking from the side and immediately pulled her over. "What are you doing, sneaking around like that?"

Shang Gongying stole a glance at Chu Kuangxi, who hadn't noticed her, and said awkwardly, "Isn't it all because of you... Dean Chu told me to rest and recuperate at the chess academy for a month, and when he saw me running around, he wanted to scold me!"

"Huh? She's that mean? Then come to my place."

"No, no, I've already signed the contract, besides..."

Shang Gongying lowered her head and muttered something under her breath.

Ji Yingting was speechless and ignored her. Actually, Shang Gongying meant that she didn't want to be a kept man.

"I'm treating everyone from the chess academy to dinner tonight. Do you want to come along?"

"Well, that's no problem, but... I don't want to see Ma Gongling, and I don't know any of your little sisters at all. Won't that be awkward?"

Shang Gongying and Ji Yingting were whispering to each other in public when Chu Kuangxi, who was reading a document, frowned and said angrily.

"What are you two whispering about? Go stand in the corner as punishment!"

"..."

Ji Yingting sighed helplessly. She was clearly implicated by Shang Gongying, and besides, she had been standing the whole time. Why use the term "punishment for standing"?

A year later, Ji Yingting and Shang Gongying recalled the fear they felt last year when Chu Kuangxi ordered them to stand as punishment at the entrance of the chess academy for leaving without permission. Hua Shenxi and Luo Qiu'er were also punished that day.

Luo Qiu'er couldn't help but chuckle a few times. After Chu Kuangxi finished his nonsense, she went on stage to receive her certificate. During the award ceremony, the students of the semi-professional dojo applauded. They were very sad that so many senior sisters were graduating from the dojo, but of course... they were also envious.

Standing side by side, Bai Chang'an asked softly, "Sister, is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

"Full Moon Province, Liu Family Dojo," Bai Yongye answered without hesitation. Judging from her tone, it seemed that she had already made contact with the chess academy.

Not only her, but also Lü Binghu and Lin Qianyu, who failed the exam, decided to leave the semi-professional dojo and go to the Liu family dojo for further study.

They need a bigger stage... They'll come back and fight again next year.

Shi Shishi is finally able to join the family business, Nightmare Chess Academy.

Xin Yufei wants to return to Qingcha Courtyard, while Qin Hanyue wants to go to Jinghong Dojo.

Then, led by Ma Gongling, Luo Qiu'er, Quan Shihui, Bai Chang'an and others joined the New Chess Academy·Moon Demon Palace.

With the addition of An Ruotong, Ji Yingting's [Moon Demon Palace] has already taken shape.

After the awards ceremony, the chess players immediately showed expressions of relief. No matter how hard they had worked before, they felt it was all worth it to have waited until this moment.

Aside from established families, the destination of new first-dan players is a matter of great concern to everyone, and no Go academy would refuse the addition of a new first-dan player.

"Excuse me, which chess player is Bai Yongye?" Suddenly, a soft voice rang out. A cute girl with white hair and eyebrows sat in the back row and asked, holding up a sign that read "Liu Family Dojo".

It's Lü Kuangmei...

Bai Yongye waved his hand and stood up under Bai Chang'an's gaze. "Next time, it'll be a professional match, right?"

"Um……"

Lu Kuangmei added, "Anyone who achieves 23 or more wins in this professional exam can unconditionally join our Liu Family Go Academy, even if they don't become a professional player. Those who are interested are welcome to come."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Qianyu and Lü Binghu walked towards Lü Kuangmei.

Qingcha Academy also came to recruit, but unfortunately, apart from Xin Yufei, not many chess players were willing to join them.

The beautiful girl with long blue hair, Shui Qinghou, stared at Ma Gongling and the others for a while, wondering what was going on. Weren't there still many new first-dan students who hadn't been chosen yet? Their Qingcha Academy was at its peak this year, so they really weren't coming?

After seeing Xin Yufei gently shake her head, Shui Qinghou could only leave with Xin Yufei alone.

"Shi Shishi, come here, come here."

The black-haired beauty with a beauty mark at the corner of her eye wandered through the crowd for a while, then called Shi Shishi over. When she saw Shang Gongying, she snorted coldly.

"Hmm? This is Shi Loulou, right? Don't you think she's even prettier than when she participated in the Three Lives Cup?" An Ruotong asked softly.

"Yeah, I heard she's constantly dieting and gaining weight every month, so it's no wonder her skin is more elastic. It's a really strange way of exercising."

The person in charge of Jinghong Dojo came specifically to find Qin Hanyue. Ji Yingting and the others didn't know that professional Go player. After all, a Go player of Xia Tianran's level wouldn't go to great lengths to recruit people in Xinyue Province...

"Where are you all going?" Shi Shi asked curiously before leaving, and the others pointed at Ji Yingting.

"A 10-dan Go academy? Wasn't it gone? Oh, what!... Ji Yingting opened a Go academy!? Then I can go there to have tea and play some Go from time to time!"

"You're not allowed to go. You'll stay in the family. It's shameful that you took so many years to become a professional Go player." Shi Loulou forcibly took Shi Shishi away.

"Then let's go..."

The Crescent Moon Chess Academy and the Moon Demon Palace are not far apart. In the past month, the facilities of the chess academy have been further improved, and the formaldehyde smell has almost disappeared.

Apart from Shiro and An, everyone was visiting Sakuraba's new Go Institute for the first time and was very curious.

The chess academy's lavish decorations are comparable to those of the larger chess academy, after all, it was made up of the entire prize money from the Three Life Cup and all of Shang Gongying's salary earned over the past year.

It had been snowing heavily since morning, and by evening it had almost covered the entire Yongyue City in a white blanket. Ji Yingting and the others put on their padded jackets and returned to the chess academy. They couldn't officially move in yet; they would have to go home in a few days to pack their luggage.

Under Ji Yingting's insistence, Shang Gongying also came along. She kept her small hands tucked into her furry sleeves and remained silent. She wasn't familiar with anyone... It was just a meal together, nothing serious.

The school administration of Minghaiji Middle School had already received news that Xin Yufei had become a professional Go player, and they probably already had plans to turn the school into a Go academy.

There were joys and disappointments, but also regrets. This snowy night was a sleepless one for many chess players who had failed their professional exams.

The final battle of the Chess Saint Tournament has begun again, and the third round of the match between Chess Saint Ji Xuehuang and 9-dan Feng Kuangyu is about to come to an end.

Many players missed this Chess Saint Tournament because they had to attend the awards ceremony.

This was a classic game of chess, a battle where the two players fought tooth and nail to the very end, and it was the first time anyone had ever seen a chess player who could push Ji Xuehuang to such a level.

After three rounds of intense fighting, the raging flames finally died down.

The director of the Full Moon Go Academy, professional 9-dan player Feng Kuangyu, playing black, lost by half a point, a score of 184.

In a sense, she didn't actually lose.

She lost... by playing only one black piece. If she had played white, the game might have ended very differently.

Ji Xuehuang successfully defended her title as the Chess Saint.

At the Chess Saint Tournament venue, Feng Kuangyu's long golden hair was already soaked with sweat. He lowered his head in disbelief, wanting to sigh heavily... but he couldn't even muster the strength to do so.

The live stream camera was off. Ji Xuehuang gently bent down and hugged Feng Kuangyu, as if trying to soothe her wounds with her warmth.

Today, the old round of title battles has come to an end, and a new round... open selection is about to begin.

Honinbo·Ke Jiuge【New Appointment】

Chess Saint Ji Xuehuang [Retained Title]

Celebrity Luo Jiangxing [New Appointment]

Throne - Willow Heaven Gate [Certificate Defending]

Tenth Dan - Su Chan [New Appointment]

Tianyuan · Xiao Xiaoxiao [Reigning Champion]

Qisheng wishes you a September title defense!

In the past two years, apart from this round of the Chess Saint Tournament, the professional Go world has not actually seen much of a stir.

Honinbo title is undeserved, Kisei title is defended, Meijin title changes hands, and the old 10-dan player retires.

There were no changes in other positions, so overall it was a relatively uneventful title battle.

But... no one could have predicted it.

From that moment on, as if a delicate butterfly had flapped its wings, the original trajectory of the professional Go world changed.

What about the next two years, and the two years after that?

Of the players who will remain in this position, perhaps only one in seven will survive...

At night, Ji Yingting and the others sat in the main hall of the Moon Demon Palace. She had just finished taking a bath, and her long, wet, soft, bluish-green hair hung down behind her chair. She said softly, "Congratulations on becoming professional Go players. However, you cannot participate in this round of the title match yet, so... the Xianghua Cup at the beginning of the year will be the best testing ground for you."

This is a large team competition with five players, using a best-of-five format. Of course, this is also my first time participating in the top-tier league. I'm not aiming for the championship, but at least I want to achieve a respectable ranking.

"I'll be the captain, and An Ruotong will be the vice-captain. There's also Ma Gongling, Luo Qiu'er, Quan Shihui, and Bai Chang'an. One person will be a substitute. The Xianghua Cup starts in two months; we'll decide who will be the substitute based on their form then."

"Hmm," Ma Gongling nodded gently, she was very confident in her abilities.

Bai Chang'an was a little nervous. Her chess skills were the worst, so it didn't matter if she was a substitute; she could just take it as an opportunity to gain experience.

The Moon Demon Palace must make a stunning debut in the Fragrant Flower Cup.

Otherwise, there won't be any funding!

The next day, almost everyone left the Moon Demon Palace, returned to their homes in the city to say goodbye to their families, and also went to the school.

Becoming a professional Go player usually means taking a break from school, so it's necessary to inform the school beforehand.

Then, what Ji Yingting was particularly concerned about was the first match of the title battle, against professional 9-dan player Ji Shihu.

Call ~

A wisp of mist escaped from her cherry-like lips, and Ji Yingting's pale green eyes slowly opened.

It's been a while since the Three Lives Cup ended, and her eyes are becoming more and more beautiful.

"Finally, I can witness just how much it has grown. I hope... Aunt Ji Shihu won't be too easily defeated, otherwise it won't be fun~"

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P.S.: The Moon Demon Palace volume is a transitional volume. Although it seems short at 30 chapters, each chapter is actually almost 4000 words, making the volume equivalent to 60 chapters and 12 words. It's even longer than the poorly written Scorpio Cup.