Upon hearing Su Yiming's words, Yu Shao gazed at the Go board in silence for a moment before finally speaking slowly, "I misjudged the situation."

"I originally thought that squeeze move was excellent, but White didn't respond as I anticipated, resulting in the complete loss of a group." Yu Shao reached toward the board, adjusting the stones to demonstrate an alternative variation. "If I had played a diagonal move instead of that squeeze, the board position would be entirely different now."

Yu Shao expected Su Yiming to analyze the potential variations with him, but instead, Su Yiming suddenly spoke with absolute certainty, "No, that's not it."

Not it?

Yu Shao froze momentarily, turning his head slightly in confusion toward Su Yiming. Throughout this game, he had been fully aware of where he went wrong. He had held the advantage initially - by playing conservatively and controlling the board, he could have maintained his lead despite a prolonged game.

But he had misjudged, believing he could crush White in one decisive strike. In that most complex board position, he chose the most aggressive variation, ultimately squandering his advantage. That was why he couldn't refute Jiang Changdong's comment about "overly aggressive play being prone to collapse."

"That squeeze move was undeniably brilliant!" Su Yiming pulled out a chair and sat across from Yu Shao, looking directly at him. "If I had been playing White against that move, I would have lost!"

Hearing this, Yu Shao was stunned.

That squeeze move was good?

Su Yiming took a deep breath, reached out, and began picking up stones one by one, restoring the board to the position just before that squeeze move. Then he started placing stones in rapid succession.

Soon, Su Yiming paused, staring intently at the board. "The problem lies in this contact play."

Contact play?

Yu Shao studied the board, frowning slightly as he calculated potential variations in his mind.

"This contact play seems inevitable at first glance - extremely solid, patching all weaknesses. But in reality, it's somewhat slow." Su Yiming didn't keep Yu Shao in suspense. He quickly picked up stones while demonstrating an alternative variation. "At this point, the board position had become so complex that any single move would affect the entire game. You needed to attack White relentlessly, regardless of the consequences!"

"Even if it left your own position full of holes, it didn't matter!"

"This was a fight to the death - you couldn't afford to leave yourself any retreat!"

"After this contact play, when White blocks here and Black makes a small knight's approach, then White connects through... although White's position still appears precarious, they've actually gained breathing room!" Su Yiming rapidly placed several more stones before saying, "So what if, instead of the contact play, you had played a cut here?"

At this question, Yu Shao froze completely. All the variations he'd been calculating in his mind came to an abrupt halt.

A cut?

Playing a cut here?

This was a path Yu Shao had never considered - a desperate attempt to survive!

"Absolutely cut! Then White can only make a tiger's mouth, reinforcing the cutting point while counterattacking. White cannot directly and weakly push into the tiger's mouth, forcing White to essentially commit suicide!" Yu Shao stared at the board, instantly seeing the entire sequence clearly, murmuring, "After sacrificing those stones, although Black would be half-crippled, they'd gain the initiative. If they utilize this sente properly, White's position would collapse!"

Hearing Yu Shao's analysis, Su Yiming, who had only placed two more stones, stopped moving. There was no point in continuing.

In other words...

The reason Yu Shao could find this path now was because someone had shown him the way...

His original path, while correct, would have taken a much longer detour. This better, shorter path was covered in thorns - to walk it required enduring what ordinary people couldn't bear.

Only by doing so could one ultimately reach the higher realms of Go.

After a moment, Su Yiming shook his head as if reorganizing his thoughts, then looked at Yu Shao. "Yu Shao, you remember what I told you after the China-Japan-Korea team tournament ended, right?"

Yu Shao paused briefly before nodding slightly. "I remember."

After that tournament, Su Yiming had said that once Yu Shao won a title, they would play another match - with the title at stake.

"Good that you remember." Su Yiming nodded without elaborating further. He stood up slowly and began walking toward the review room door.

At the doorway, Su Yiming suddenly stopped, his back to Yu Shao, and spoke without turning around: "The National Hand Championship is best of three."

"I'll be waiting for you in the next two games."

With that, Su Yiming pushed open the door and left the review room without looking back.

Yu Shao watched Su Yiming's retreating figure until it disappeared from view before finally turning his attention back to the board.

Su Yiming hadn't said "next game" but "next two games." If Yu Shao lost the next one, there wouldn't be two games to play.

Therefore, the unspoken implication was clear:

Su Yiming wanted Yu Shao to win the next game... and the one after that!

"Not seeking eternal glory, only contemporary fame..." Yu Shao took a deep breath and reached into the stone bowl again. The clinking of stones created crisp, clear sounds.

"Exactly the opposite of my previous life's philosophy. In my past life, I sought eternal glory, not contemporary fame!"

"To achieve this now, I must completely abandon my former self, bid farewell to who I was, and be reborn anew..."

"In terms of overall strategy, I have absolute confidence. In calculation, I don't believe I'm inferior to anyone. In endgame, I'm even more confident that few can match me."

"But when it comes to that desperate, all-or-nothing courage and decisiveness in complex positions... Su Yiming surpasses me!"

Before today, Su Yiming had never beaten Yu Shao in an official match. While Yu Shao considered Su Yiming a formidable opponent, he hadn't seen any area where Su Yiming truly excelled beyond him.

Now, he finally saw it.

In those most complex board positions, Su Yiming possessed astonishing fighting spirit and determination, never fearing failure, always willing to gamble everything. This allowed him to see the most terrifying moves!

That desperate courage enabled bursts of imagination and boldness that could make any Go player bow in admiration!

Yu Shao's mind flashed through every game he'd ever played against Su Yiming.

Their first game, during the high school Go league.

In that match, Su Yiming was completely outclassed. Though he struggled to the end, the gap was so wide that he never even had a chance for desperate measures.

Their second game, during the professional qualification tournament.

There, Su Yiming employed both the Demon Blade and Avalanche joseki in a single game. While Yu Shao considered these outdated, to Su Yiming and most others, they represented the most complex, high-risk strategies possible!

Even then, hints of Su Yiming's gambler's spirit had begun to show.

Their third match, during the Yingjiao Cup.

Trapped in a hopeless position, Su Yiming erupted with astonishing courage and calculation. With sky's-the-limit creativity, he dramatically sacrificed a large group to gain sente, ultimately crafting a world-shaking killing game!

Their fourth encounter, during the main team selection.

That game needed no elaboration - Su Yiming employed the most complex, highest-risk 3-3 point strategy, whose complexity surpassed even the three great unsolved joseki.

Yu Shao had never considered things from Su Yiming's perspective - what kind of courage it took to play those moves against him!

This desperate bravery was both Su Yiming's greatest strength and his greatest weakness!

This was why Yu Shao, though he'd found that squeeze move, ultimately failed to discover the correct path, while Su Yiming did!

Su Yiming was never merely a pursuer. From the beginning, he possessed qualities Yu Shao lacked - qualities Yu Shao had failed to recognize until now!

This incredible fighting spirit, never-say-die attitude, and desperate courage - Yu Shao had never seen them in any player, in either this life or his previous one!

So Su Yiming was never chasing from behind. Yu Shao had underestimated him all along. Because of his past life's AI experience, he'd unconsciously assumed Su Yiming was merely trying to catch up.

No!

Su Yiming possessed something even Yu Shao, with his AI-era experience from a past life, lacked!

He represented a completely different kind of strength from Yu Shao's past self - a true rival!

"If... I could also have these qualities!" Yu Shao slowly picked up a stone, his gaze undergoing subtle changes.

As the stone left the bowl, Yu Shao seemed to see all the games from his past life and every move he'd made in this life.

Initially, losing to Jiang Changdong hadn't bothered him much.

He knew that choosing that style was just an attempt to break through his limits, to find stronger moves. Had he played like his past self, he wouldn't have lost.

Now, Yu Shao finally understood - this was just self-deception.

He'd never truly left his comfort zone, never truly abandoned his former self.

No matter how strong his past self was, it had nothing to do with his current life. His current self was destined to walk a completely different path. So losing while changing styles wasn't an excuse.

Losing was losing.

Because he cared too much about the overall picture, he lacked the courage to gamble everything. Even when he found better moves, he still lost - no excuses!

Even if playing like his past self would have won that game, it would have been his past self winning, not his current self!

At this moment, Yu Shao's thoughts became crystal clear. Seeing where Su Yiming surpassed him ignited his competitive spirit like never before. After wandering so long, he'd finally seen the path forward!

"If I too could possess that desperate courage!"

Clack!

The stone hit the board.

"Then I could dare to face AI on equal terms!"