On the Go board, black stones and white stones intertwined like a web, continuously spreading. Soon, more than ten moves had passed.

“No wonder Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng were no match for her.”

Yu Shao looked at the board in front of him, having already gained a rough understanding of the girl’s Go strength.

Previously, he had only watched from the sidelines. Although he knew the girl’s strength was impressive, since they had never faced each other directly, he could not accurately judge her exact level.

Even though it was the same game, the feelings of a spectator and a player were completely different.

Spectators faced far less pressure and could notice subtle details that players might overlook. That was why often, the level of understanding from watching a game was much higher than playing it oneself—a concept known as "improving three ranks by watching."

At this point in the game, Yu Shao was not playing ruthlessly to win but was instead entangled with the white stones, quietly observing the moves to judge the white player’s level.

“From what I see now, her strength should be close to Zheng Qin’s, but who is truly stronger cannot be determined just from this…”

Click!

The sound of a stone being placed interrupted Yu Shao’s thoughts instantly.

“A tiger’s mouth?”

Yu Shao looked at the girl’s tiger’s mouth move, pondered for a moment, then responded with a diagonal contact move, slowly placing his stone.

…

……

“There’s still a way.”

The girl stared intently at the board, as if trying to find a faint chance hidden among the intricate entanglement of stones. Her mind calculated countless complex variations.

The key to victory depended on whether the white stones could break the shape of the black stones. If she could, then there was still a chance to wrestle in the endgame. If not, the white side could resign midgame.

This was indeed the simplest line of thought, and there was no mistake in it. The white player only needed to use all her strength to destroy the black shape.

But this approach was far too passive. Even if the black shape was eventually destroyed, victory was not guaranteed.

No matter what, she refused to accept such a passive way of playing.

“Although the black stones’ shape in the center is astonishing, I still control some white stones there.”

‘Those white stones are indeed isolated stones, but if the corner white stones can connect with the isolated stones in the center, then the tide can be turned!’

Thinking this, the girl once again made a diagonal contact move and quickly placed her stone!

Click!

Column 13, row 12, cut!

“Cut?”

Seeing this move from the girl, everyone around was stunned, momentarily dazed.

“Are you kidding me?”

No one could help rubbing their eyes, shocked. “Cut… what does that mean? Are you really trying to break your own white shape?!”

The white stones’ center shape was like an overwhelming force pressing down the city. Even as spectators, they all felt a deep sense of oppression. Instinctively, everyone wanted to protect that white shape.

Yet at this critical moment, the white player’s cut not only ignored the black shape but forcibly divided the black stones, intending to fight fiercely with them?!

Even Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng showed deep confusion in their eyes.

“What does it mean?”

No one could comprehend the girl’s intention. To them, the black stones were like a sleeping lion about to awaken, while the white stones were a lone wolf.

At this moment, the white stones should hold their breath, avoid disturbing the lion, circumvent its territory, and then lure the wolf pack for a final life-or-death fight.

But white went against this logic and directly bit into the black stones. Although white struck first, gaining the initiative, the black stones also awakened!

And the revenge fire the black stones were about to unleash was far beyond what the white stones could bear!

“Has the cut come?”

Yu Shao lowered his gaze to the board. Upon seeing this cut move, unlike before, he did not immediately place a stone but silently observed the game, falling into deep thought for the first time.

Seeing this, the crowd around exchanged glances, increasingly confused.

“Is the cut so tricky?”

“Does this require deep thinking?”

“Could that cut move be a good move?”

They did not think that if this cut was a bad move, Yu Shao would find it tricky enough to ponder long, so they quietly calmed themselves and reconsidered the meaning of this cut.

“Unbelievable…”

After a moment, Wu Shuheng’s heart suddenly jolted. He seemed to understand something at last, shock flashing in his eyes. “So it’s like this!”

“What is it?”

Wu Zhixuan still could not figure it out. Hearing this, she immediately looked at Wu Shuheng. Those nearby also turned toward him.

Wu Shuheng looked at the girl opposite Yu Shao in disbelief, his heart stirred into a storm, completely unaware of the admiring gazes from around!

“In this position, of course, it is absolutely correct for white to invade black’s shape to break its influence, but white intends to use the isolated stones in the center!”

Hearing this, Wu Zhixuan was stunned and looked up in shock. “Use isolated… isolated stones?”

“Yes, use isolated stones.”

Wu Shuheng fell silent for a moment, staring at the board before continuing, “Isolated stones are stones without a secure base, inside the opponent’s territory, vulnerable to attack…”

“Therefore, isolated stones usually require ‘Rescuing Isolated Stones’ to make them live. This is the most complicated part of Go, and the ability to rescue isolated stones is seen as an important measure of a player’s level.”

“But…”

Wu Shuheng raised his head and looked at the girl opposite Yu Shao, speaking slowly, “Because of this, no one treats isolated stones as strong stones, let alone uses them for attack, not even thinking that way.”

“But she did.”

“If you don’t see those isolated stones as weak stones but as strong stones, then this cut move makes sense.”

Hearing Wu Shuheng, everyone was a bit dazed, turning back to the densely packed board.

Seeing those isolated stones not as weak but as strong…

“This… could be…”

Holding this thought while staring at the board, everyone suddenly felt dizzy, gripped by an unprecedented anxiety.

Though they thought the girl was strong before, they only knew she was strong;

they had no concept of the real gap between her and themselves.

Now.

After seeing this cut move, they finally saw the gap.

It was a gap that could bring despair. For most of them, no matter how much they honed their Go skills in the future or how hard they tried, they would never have a chance to win—never surpass her in a lifetime!

This cold, harsh reality was enough to instill a profound reverence!

Time passed second by second.

Finally, after a while, Yu Shao ended his deep thought. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he reached into the Go bowl, picked a stone, and gently placed it.

Click!

Column 8, row 14, extension!

“Extended.”

Seeing Yu Shao’s move, the girl showed no surprise, her eyes sharp. She quickly reached into the Go bowl as well.

“If he extends outward to escape, I will shoulder hit. If he escapes upward, I will hane;

he will surely hane too, then I will atari to counter black!”

“If he escapes downward, I will sacrifice stones, using dead stones as leverage to expand the large corner territory, then break the black shape and fight a life-or-death battle midgame!”

The next moment, the girl picked a stone and placed it quickly!

Click!

Column 8, row 13, shoulder hit!

Yu Shao quickly picked a stone again and placed it on the board.

As the girl predicted—

Column 9, row 12, extension!

The black stones escaped outward!

“Click!”

Without hesitation, the girl reached into the Go bowl, picked a stone, and quickly placed it!

Click!

Column 10, row 12, hane!

“Click!”

The moment the white stone landed, Yu Shao also reached into the Go bowl, slowly picked a stone, then gently placed it.

Click...

After a slight tremble, the black stone finally settled on the board.

Seeing Yu Shao’s move, the girl was about to reach into the Go bowl, but when she saw where Yu Shao had placed his stone, her hand froze.

She stared at the board, her beautiful eyes widening bit by bit.

On the board, the black stone was not where she expected the hane but was completely beyond her imagination—

Column 10, row 7, knight’s move!

“This…”

Cold sweat trickled down the girl’s face. She stared at the board in disbelief and swallowed hard.

“This…”

This was not a very good move. In fact, the hane she originally considered was much stronger and more severe. Under this situation, the strongest move was the hane!

But this move was not too bad either. It corresponded with the whole board, and the position was just right. If it was even slightly off, black would lose five stones.

So this move—

“If I play below, black will jump upward, invading the corner. He leaves me a way to destroy his shape but will kill my corner territory…”

“If I play above, he will large knight’s move downward, maneuvering to erase the use of dead white stones, forming a large shape.”

“He’s observing my moves, testing how I will respond. He is—”

The girl stared blankly at the board, feeling unprecedented absurdity. “Judging my Go strength…”

At this moment, recalling Yu Shao’s long thought just now seemed different.

She originally thought Yu Shao was troubled by her cut move and therefore pondered deeply, but perhaps…

Even the young man behind the girl was stunned seeing Yu Shao’s move. After a moment, his expression shifted, and he suddenly raised his head, looking sharply at Yu Shao across the board!

The others around did not understand what had happened. Seeing the girl hesitating to move, they became puzzled.

After a long while, the girl finally regained her senses, bit her lip, picked a stone, and quickly placed it!

Seeing the girl’s move, Yu Shao thought for a moment and quickly picked a stone to respond.

Click, click, click...

Watching the stones fall continuously, the expressions around slowly began to change. Unconsciously, the whole hall fell silent again, utterly quiet.

Finally, after more than forty moves,

Everyone in the Go hall stared blankly at the board, as if losing all ability to think.

“The game has ended…”

This game finally reached its conclusion.

But the ultimate winner was not the white player who made that cut move that gave them chills, but…

“I lost.”

In the silence, the girl lowered her head and resigned.

Her gaze was somewhat blank, staring at the board. In her eyes, black and white stones intertwined like a massive web.

Everyone around looked at the board with extremely complicated feelings but found themselves speechless.

Only Wu Zhixuan and Wu Shuheng, the siblings, unsurprisingly had no shock about the final result, but they still stared intently at the board, their expressions not relaxed.

Though the girl lost, the level she demonstrated during this game put deep pressure on them.

“Her strength is much weaker than Zheng Qin’s, her calculation less profound, and her play less meticulous, but her judgment of the position and understanding of the game are stronger than Zheng Qin’s.”

Meanwhile, Yu Shao looked at the board. After this game, he finally made a clear judgment about the girl’s Go strength.

“If she played against Zheng Qin, the odds would probably be about fifty-fifty.”

“Of course, since the endgame wasn’t reached, the endgame level is unknown. If she is stronger in the endgame than Zheng Qin, then her winning rate is higher;

otherwise, Zheng Qin’s winning rate is higher.”

Yu Shao was slightly surprised. Although his current opponents were mostly title holders and Zheng Qin barely reached title match level, which seemed not very impressive.

However, reaching the title match main event was equivalent to having world championship-level skill. For a professional Go player, this was extremely formidable.

And this girl, as a female player at her age, having such strength was already extremely impressive.

Behind the girl, the young man accompanying her silently watched the board.

After a moment, he composed himself, raised his head, and looked at Yu Shao, finally speaking in English for the first time since arriving at the Go hall, “I want to play a game with you, is that okay?”

At his words, everyone was stunned and shifted their gaze from the board to the young man behind the girl.

Hearing the young man’s voice, the girl finally came back to her senses. Slightly embarrassed, she quickly turned and said something to the young man, but since they spoke in Japanese, no one understood.

After they finished speaking, the girl turned back, glanced at Yu Shao, stood up, and made space for the young man.

“I’ll play a game with you.”

The young man stared intently at Yu Shao, repeating in English, “You should have time, right?”

Yu Shao thought for a moment and felt that playing another game was fine. If the opponent was too weak, he might not want to play because it would be boring.

But since the girl was so strong, this young man probably wasn’t weak and the game should be interesting.

“Alright.”

Yu Shao nodded and replied, “I have time.”