By the time Yu Shao returned to the hotel, it was already afternoon.

The winners’ bracket of the National Title Tournament had concluded, but the losers’ bracket was still ongoing. Only one player would be able to claw their way out from the heap of defeats and continue pursuing the title.

In the end, the champion of the winners’ bracket would face off against the champion of the losers’ bracket to compete for the right to challenge the current titleholder in a final multi-game match.

"The day after tomorrow, in the main event of the Grandmaster Title Tournament, Su Yiming will face Zhang Dongchen, the current Ki Sage."

While reviewing today’s game, Yu Shao suddenly thought of the Grandmaster Tournament.

The Grandmaster and National Title matches were happening almost concurrently. Now that the main event was nearing its end, the upcoming game would be Su Yiming’s first-ever match against a reigning titleholder.

“Zhang Dongchen versus Su Yiming…”

Yu Shao gazed at the board, deep in thought.

Though Su Yiming had lost every match he played against Yu Shao so far, in Yu Shao’s view, Su Yiming was by no means weak—on the contrary, he was shockingly strong. He was the first opponent in this world who had ever made Yu Shao feel the need to be on full alert.

After playing so much Go in this lifetime, there had only been three games so far where Yu Shao truly felt uncertain.

One was during the British Glory Cup, in his match against Su Yiming.

Another was his game against Li You.

The last was a match played online against an unknown opponent.

Especially that online game—Yu Shao had clearly been pushed into a disadvantage. It was the first time in this life that he had felt the taste of desperation.

Unfortunately, that game had never finished. For some reason, his opponent had timed out and never logged back in.

Remembering this, Yu Shao paused in thought, then suddenly stood and walked to the desk, opening his laptop.

Soon, he logged back into the “19” International Go Platform and searched for the ID of that mysterious opponent:

shiau.

There didn’t seem to be any special meaning to this ID—just a random string from the keyboard.

“Online?”

Yu Shao looked at the glowing username. The account was online. His eyes lit up immediately, and he moved the mouse to the ID, ready to right-click and send a challenge.

But just then, he noticed the status next to the name: “In a game.”

“Already playing?”

Yu Shao was slightly disappointed, but quickly moved the mouse again and entered spectator mode.

“Just started?”

He glanced at the board. There weren’t many stones—only around twenty moves in. The game was still in the opening phase.

After a quick scan of the board, Yu Shao looked at shiau’s opponent’s ID—and was taken aback.

gangxuebuhuixia.

(JustStartedCantPlay)

“Pinyin?”

Yu Shao frowned slightly and instinctively read the name out loud: “Gang xue… bu hui xia?”

(Just started... can’t play?)

The name made him chuckle. Out of curiosity, he opened the user’s profile. His smile quickly faded, replaced by surprise.

“Only 41 games played… but a 100% win rate?”

Yu Shao wasn’t too shocked.

After all, Go was the most popular board game in the world. The player base was huge, and the platform’s traffic enormous. Online Go games were often 60-second blitz games. Forty-one games wasn’t a lot.

Even amateur players could string together thirty or forty straight wins with a perfect record. It wasn’t that unusual.

But this username, “JustStartedCantPlay,” paired with a 100% win rate… that was quite the contradiction.

He figured this was probably some domestic amateur player smurfing on the 19 platform to beat up beginners.

“Still, going up against shiau… that’s just bad luck.”

Yu Shao found it amusing. He shifted his focus back to the match and began watching seriously.

So far, the opening had been steady and balanced. Both sides were positioning without showing aggression—an even game.

Because it was a 60-second-per-move blitz game, both players were moving fast. As Yu Shao watched, his initial indifference turned to intrigue.

“shiau is playing white—as expected, every move is sharp.”

“But this ‘JustStartedCantPlay’ fellow, playing black… surprisingly good. Not only is his opening well-structured, his calculations are thorough. I can’t find any real flaws so far.”

Just then, shiau played another white stone on the board.

Column 14, Row 8—Hane!

“Strong move!”

Yu Shao’s expression grew serious.

“shiau doesn’t want to wait any longer!”

“He’s initiating the attack!”

He instinctively began viewing the board from black’s perspective, calculating the situation and possible responses.

Not long after, “JustStartedCantPlay” responded with a move.

Column 12, Row 9—Large Knight’s Move!

“He’s using this to dodge?”

Yu Shao raised an eyebrow, then frowned.

“It’s not bad.”

A moment later, he looked slightly surprised.

“That large knight’s move—it looks weird at first, but the more you think about it, the more intriguing it becomes. The follow-ups are rich—very clever.”

“But the question is, was this move based on instinct, or deep calculation? Can he fully capitalize on it?”

Meanwhile, in Seoul—

“Large knight’s move?”

An Hongshi stared at the screen. He was first surprised, but as he thought more about it, his face turned serious.

“What a brilliant move.”

He looked away from the board and toward the user ID, as if trying to see the player behind the screen.

He had logged into the 19 platform after watching the match between Zhuang Weisheng and Yu Shao. His hands itched, so he queued a game—only to unexpectedly meet an opponent like this.

“He’s not just some amateur.”

“Definitely not.”

An Hongshi stared at the screen, then slowly moved his mouse and dropped a stone.

“A player like this... deserves a real match.”

...

On the board, black and white stones fell in quick succession, the sounds echoing through the room.

“shiau is no ordinary master.”

Yu Shao watched the game more intently.

“But this ‘JustStartedCantPlay’ is also no ordinary amateur—absolutely not someone to take lightly!”

At first, Yu Shao thought the game’s outcome would be a no-brainer. But now, staring at the alternating stones on the screen, he had become completely absorbed.

“shiau is playing ruthlessly, aiming to devour the entire right side.”

“But black isn’t playing conventionally.”

“Despite white’s aggressive attacks, black hasn’t made a single mistake—every threat has been neutralized.”

“Now that white’s attack is weakening, black is counterattacking—threatening white’s entire lower-side dragon.”

Yu Shao stayed laser-focused on the board. This intense black-versus-white battle—he seemed to be the only one watching.

And now, the tides had turned. Black’s counterattack was downright terrifying.

“Maybe…”

Yu Shao pondered the direction of the game.

“If you don’t cut, you’ll be cut. White’s best option might be to give up and aim for bigger gains elsewhere.”

At that moment, white moved again.

Click!

Column 8, Row 5—Turn!

“Not sacrificing—trying to rescue the group?”

Yu Shao frowned tightly.

From a local perspective, sacrificing that group was like slicing off a chunk of flesh—unthinkable.

But from a global perspective, refusing to let go might only burden white more.

From his perspective, after having reviewed countless AI games in his past life, the best move here was to sacrifice. If it were an AI, it would absolutely choose to let go.

Soon, black played again.

Then the black and white stones began flying across the board.

As the fight escalated, Yu Shao’s expression changed.

“White should have given up here—but shiau forced a rescue anyway.”

His expression turned increasingly grim.

“Those two stones were as good as dead, but white used countless forcing moves and miraculously saved them!”

“White may have made a poor strategic decision, but the tactical execution was beyond flawless—absolutely dazzling!”

“In fact, white’s tactics reversed the entire strategic evaluation!”

At that moment, white made another move.

Click!

Column 7, Row 6—Placement!

With that move, the whole picture became clear!

“That placement invalidates black’s attempts to seal off white’s group. White can now cut or break through—black’s big dragon could even be in danger!”

Yu Shao saw it clearly now—white’s sharp edge had fully emerged.

“Black… might be in trouble.”

Now, facing this deadly placement, black fell into deep thought.

Seconds ticked by.

Even in a blitz game, there were only sixty seconds per move. After thinking for over fifty seconds, black finally moved—just one second from timeout.

Click!

Column 6, Row 7—Connect!

Click. Click. Click...

The sound of rapid moves echoed in the room.

Yu Shao stared at the board, his expression now fully solemn.

The shape of the game had taken yet another unexpected turn.

Despite white’s venomous attacks, black used the latent aji of two stones to launch a stunning counteroffensive from the waist—an exquisite isolation strategy.

Elsewhere, An Hongshi’s face was expressionless. He stared at the screen as if he could see the opponent on the other side swinging a long blade at him.

“Who is this guy?”

He stared at the latest black move. “Stronger... than I expected.”

“Not only can he assess the situation instantly—even in the most chaotic board positions, he finds the most brilliant move.”

“Someone like this... can’t possibly be unknown.”

At first, he thought his opponent was just a regular amateur. But as the game progressed, it was clear—that was far from the truth.

“I might not be able to win.”

Every black move carried such force, An Hongshi could feel the pressure even through the screen.

“So many strong players online... this is the second time now…”

“White looks loose, like one wrong move and it all collapses—but it’s heavy. If I’m not careful, I might get countered.”

“Without sacrifice, there is no gain. I have to dive in and face black head-on in the final battle!”

White’s move timer entered the final countdown.

Five.

Four.

Three...

Finally, with two seconds left, An Hongshi dropped a move:

Click.

Column 2, Row 11—Tesuji!

“I don’t care who you are—bring it on!”

...

“Tesuji...”

shiau’s response surprised Yu Shao again.

Just moments ago, shiau seemed to lack global awareness. But now he abandoned stones without hesitation—sacrificing here, aiming to kill there, giving up in the middle to swallow the left!

“Brilliant.”

Yu Shao stared at the board, feeling the sharpness of every exchange. Even through a screen, the pressure was overwhelming.

This game—just a blitz match—was already heart-pounding to him. Neither player was ordinary.

“Who is shiau?”

“And who is this ‘JustStartedCantPlay’?”

“Was this match planned in advance? Or just a random pairing?”

The two players engaged in a bloodbath over more than two hundred moves. In the end, white sacrificed an enormous group in a dazzling display—visually stunning.

But in exchange, white tore through black’s upper group, leaving it in shambles. The game resulted in a massive trade. Both sides were bloodied, and the match remained neck-and-neck.

“White has a slight edge... but it’ll come down to the endgame.”

Yu Shao watched in silence as both sides continued playing.

Massive two-hundred-move clashes were rare—and they usually ended in midgame. Very few continued into the endgame.

Especially not in a sixty-second blitz match.

“JustStartedCantPlay seems stronger in the endgame. Each move hides lethal intent. It’s not over yet.”

In this online battle—

Who would win?