Time flowed mercilessly.

Everyone stared blankly at the television screen, their hearts trembling, as if they had forgotten the passage of time itself!

It was only after a long while, under the gaze of the world, that a white stone finally fell onto the board again with difficulty!

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

The stones continued to fall on the board.

Obviously, even though he had fallen behind, as a Great Go Player and one of the top players today, Fu Shunan was unwilling to simply wait for defeat. He still wanted to fight back!

The crowd silently watched this game.

Although the white side’s counterattack was also impressive, every move by black was overwhelmingly oppressive. The five-five shoulder hit was fully leveraged to the extreme!

Inside the broadcast room, Yu Shao did not continue to follow the moves on the board but instead stared intently at the television screen, watching every move of black and white!

Time kept passing, and stones kept falling!

The broadcast room grew quieter and quieter!

Finally, after an unknown length of time, with another black stone placed, the broadcast room reached absolute silence!

The game was over!

The placement of this black stone was the final blow, bringing the game to a close!

Looking at the board, although white tried to resist black through ko fights, in the end, black’s immense and unparalleled pressure left white no chance to continue the ko. The great dragon was captured by black!

At this point, white had no options left—only to resign!

Black achieved a dragon-slaying victory!

Although everyone knew the game was over, they still stared at the board in a daze, shocked by every brilliant move black played in the midgame and even fearful of the overwhelming pressure!

Among the crowd, Yu Shao had unknowingly stood up, his bright gaze fixed on the screen!

From this game, he seemed to hear what Su Yiming wanted to say.

“Almost everyone believes that the three-star formation... or rather the cosmic style, is flawed because it places stones at high points, focusing too much on influence and neglecting actual territory.”

“The cosmic style was once all the rage because people’s judgment of high points and positions was still inaccurate. Later, it faded because the world still believed low points were better, and high points were too flashy!”

“But cosmic style isn’t simply placing stones at high points. What Su Yiming wants to say is... true cosmic style is supported by powerful attack strength and a sense of balance in the game!”

Yu Shao seemed to look through the television screen and see Su Yiming sitting at the Go room on the other side!

“That’s why he played the three-star formation!”

“What I want to say is, playing towards the center of the board will always disappear. The reason why no one has reached the level of Ba Weiyan is simply that we’re not qualified!”

“But... I!”

Finally, after a moment’s pause, under the world’s watchful eyes, a hand reached to the center of the board, quickly released, and two white stones fell onto the board.

Tap, tap.

White resigned!

The first game of the Great Go Player title match was over!

“Amazing... so strong.”

Someone looked at the television screen, and after a long time, only managed to utter these two words in a daze, with no other words spoken.

“It’s over...”

Others also stared at the game in stunned silence, their hearts filled with overwhelming shock.

This game was simply the pinnacle work of the cosmic style, a magnificent ode to the three-star formation. Facing the formation that countless players had abandoned, Fu Shunan was swept away by Su Yiming’s unstoppable momentum!

Or rather, white was simply overwhelmed by black’s thunderous momentum!

Fu Shunan was already a top player, but watching this game gave the impression that these two players were not even in the same league!

The broadcast room remained deeply silent.

“Simply... unimaginable.”

Yu Shao lowered his gaze and looked at the board in front of him, his eyes resting on the five-five shoulder hit in the lower-left corner.

Even he couldn’t help but be moved by this game.

“Although he never experienced the AI era, this midgame attack power and the extraordinary imagination shown in his moves, the grandeur of his momentum and sense of balance in the game, far surpass other players!”

“This kind of transcendence is even large enough to make up for his gap in opening theory and understanding compared to AI-era players of the past, and even slightly lead!”

“With his current strength, even if placed in the AI era, he would still be among the top players!”

“Fu Shunan is no match for him. No, although I haven’t played against many other top domestic players, none of them are a match for the current Su Yiming either!”

“Maybe it sounds arrogant, but... that’s just the truth!”

Yu Shao withdrew his gaze from the board and looked back at the game on the television screen. His eyes grew somewhat cold.

“Right now, at least domestically, the only person who can compete fairly with him... might just be me!”

.......

.....

“The first game of the Great Go Player match is over, Su Yiming takes the lead!”

“Su Yiming’s masterpiece, stunning five-five shoulder hit, every midgame move infused with celestial spirit, the pinnacle of cosmic style!”

“Fu Shunan was suppressed to the point of no breathing room! This game displayed Su Yiming’s astonishing momentum, enough to win over all players in the world!”

The first game of the Great Go Player match caused a sensation far beyond everyone’s expectations.

Although online there had always been talk of Yu Su (Yu Shao and Su Yiming) being rivals, most people believed Yu Shao’s performance in the National Hand Championship was simply too shocking to surpass.

Not only Su Yiming, but it would be difficult for anyone to produce a game comparable to these three masterpieces in the title match for a long time.

Moreover, Su Yiming had never beaten Yu Shao before.

But after the first game of the Great Go Player match, these opinions vanished suddenly.

Not only domestically, major forums overseas also erupted in heated debates.

“Unbelievable, a genius like this appearing once in a millennium is rare enough, but now there are two!”

“This is insane, other countries will definitely be under huge pressure at this year’s world tournament!”

“I always thought Su Yiming was strong, but never expected him to be this strong! How could he play this game so well?!”

“Before, I thought Su Yiming was just an imitator of Shen Yi, so I wasn’t very interested. After all, no matter how much he resembled Shen Yi, he was not him. But after watching this game, my opinion changed!”

“Su Yiming is Su Yiming, Shen Yi is Shen Yi! Calling Su Yiming a copy of Shen Yi is an insult! His style resembles Shen Yi, but he is far beyond a simple description!”

No one knew anymore.

Su Yiming’s performance in this game was so absurdly impressive that everyone sincerely found it unbelievable!

Even many who had previously had confidence in Yu Shao now hesitated to say who would win if they played again.

Of course, many still believed Yu Shao was superior, as their previous head-to-head records were clear, and Yu Shao’s performance in the National Hand Championship was more than just one masterpiece game.

In any case, the entire internet’s enthusiasm for the Great Go Player match continued to rise, and Su Yiming instantly became the center of everyone’s attention!

However, none of this concerned Yu Shao.

After the Great Go Player match ended, Yu Shao, as before the match, still played Go daily with Zheng Qin at the Mountain Sea Go Club. The only difference was that after Xu Zijin learned about it, she also joined in.

The schedule of the Great Go Player match was tight, with only two days rest between games. Before long, three days passed in a flash.

Inside a private room at the Mountain Sea Go Club.

“Looks like my Meijin title match main event will be full of difficulties.”

Zheng Qin looked at the board in front of him with a bitter smile. “I used to have some illusions about the Meijin title, but now I feel that if I can hold out until the second round, that would be great.”

“Playing the hane here should be better.”

Xu Zijin pondered briefly, then reached out and demonstrated the hane move and its subsequent variations.

“Indeed.”

Zheng Qin nodded, scratched his messy hair, sighed, and said, “Actually, I saw this move before, but hesitated and chose the extend instead. Looking back, the hane is definitely better.”

“You don’t have to worry about me breaking through here. If I really get in, you can just sacrifice stones to fight, and I might not gain much advantage.”

Yu Shao also reached out to move stones, helping Zheng Qin review the game.

“Big brother, this sacrifice is terrifying. Although it seems like there are moves, it’s unclear. Who would dare to play it?”

Hearing this, Zheng Qin couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

At this moment, Xu Zijin took out her phone, glanced at the time, and said, “It’s 9:40. The second match of the Great Go Player challenge is about to start.”

“Phew...!”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qin exhaled heavily and immediately stood up. “I’ll go turn on the TV.”

He walked to the large TV in the room and pressed the power button.

Soon, the live broadcast of the second match of the Great Go Player challenge appeared on the screen.

Not long after, at exactly ten o’clock, the second game of the Great Go Player match began amid the world’s attention.

In this game, black and white switched sides, with Fu Shunan playing black and Su Yiming white.

Quickly, under the watch of the three people in the Go club room, a hand reached to the center of the board and placed the first move.

Column seventeen, row three, a three-three point!

Almost simultaneously, the opponent’s hand extended, grasping a white stone, and slowly placed it at column four, row sixteen, a star point!

...

On the television screen, the moves flew rapidly.

Yu Shao fixed his eyes on the screen, while Xu Zijin and Zheng Qin took black and white stones respectively, following the televised game and placing stones accordingly.

Their expressions unconsciously grew more serious.

Time passed steadily, and the only sounds in the Go club room were the stones hitting the board repeatedly.

After losing the last game, Fu Shunan clearly changed his strategy in this game, playing extremely solidly. Every move seemed invincible.

Obviously, Fu Shunan intended to prolong the battle and decide the outcome by subtle judgments.

“Up to this point, it’s very stable.”

Zheng Qin looked at the board thoughtfully and murmured, “What developments will come next?”

Yu Shao silently stared at the television screen. He seemed to see Su Yiming sitting in the Central Go Academy’s Go room at this moment.

Su Yiming lowered his eyes, thinking for a moment, then slowly raised his hand into the stone box and picked a stone between his fingers.

The next moment, his hand withdrew from the box with a “click” sound, then—

“Column eight, row twelve, small knight’s approach!”

Yu Shao stared intently at a position on the board, then watched as Su Yiming’s right hand grasped a stone and placed it down accordingly!

Tap!

Column eight, row twelve, small knight’s approach!

A perfect move!

“A sacrifice here?!”

Seeing this move, Zheng Qin couldn’t help but stand up completely shocked, incredulous, “This is less than fifty moves in, and he’s sacrificing stones here. This isn’t just a simple territorial sacrifice—it could affect the entire board!”

Beside him, Xu Zijin’s beautiful eyes also revealed her surprise, staring intently at the board!

None of them expected that in such a stable position, Su Yiming would be so aggressive, sacrificing a large group of stones to forcibly break this stable situation.

This would certainly threaten Fu Shunan but also put himself in grave danger!

Yu Shao remained silent, quietly watching the television screen.

After a moment, a black stone was placed again, followed closely by white stones falling on the board.

On the television screen, black and white stones alternated swiftly.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

Time ticked away, and the Go club room grew quiet again, with only the sound of stones hitting the board echoing.

At some point, Xu Zijin and Zheng Qin stopped discussing the changes in the game. They followed the moves methodically, sweat slowly forming on their foreheads, revealing that their hearts were far from calm.

Soon, after twenty moves, seeing Su Yiming’s move on the television screen, Zheng Qin licked his dry lips.

He suppressed his inner tremor, picked a white stone, and placed it down again.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

The speed of black’s moves clearly slowed. Often, black would ponder for a long time after white’s move before responding.

After more than thirty moves, it was Su Yiming’s turn again.

On the television screen, a white stone fell.

Zheng Qin silently picked up a stone and gently placed it on the board.

Opposite Zheng Qin, Xu Zijin exhaled slowly, closed the lid of the stone box, and although the match was not over, she no longer prepared to pick up any stones.

Because it was no longer necessary.

Although Fu Shunan had not resigned yet, Zheng Qin and Xu Zijin both already saw the outcome of this game.

This game was shorter than anyone could have imagined.

“The game is over.”

Zheng Qin looked at the board, paused, then slowly said, “This entire game lasted just over a hundred moves. The two sides clashed only once.”

“White sacrificed stones in the first fifty moves, and in the next fifty moves... slaughtered the dragon!”