I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 111: The Bones of Geniuses

May arrived, marking the beginning of early summer. As the sound of cicadas filled the air, the highly anticipated annual Go Promotion Tournament finally commenced.

The upcoming event was the preliminary round.

There were ten groups in total, each consisting of nearly a thousand participants. However, only the top ten players from each group would qualify for the main tournament, continuing their pursuit of becoming professional Go players.

To become a professional, there was only one path.

A path filled with hardships.

A path destined to be soaked in blood.

A path that would be paved with the fallen remains of countless geniuses.

Only the victors, stepping over the bones of the defeated, would cautiously advance—until, at last, they pushed open the gates to the professional Go world!

As for the tears of the defeated?

That morning, Yu Shao took a cab to Jinxia Grand Hotel.

He had been placed in Group E, and Jinxia Grand Hotel was the designated venue for their preliminary matches.

"The preliminaries are finally here."

After paying the fare and stepping out of the taxi, Yu Shao took a deep breath as he looked at the grand, opulently decorated entrance of the hotel.

One year.

From taking the rank exams to rising through the amateur ranks, and now—finally reaching the Promotion Tournament.

One last hurdle stood between him and professional status.

"Once I enter the professional scene and experience the intense battles of pro tournaments, I’ll finally be able to address my weaknesses and further refine my skills. Playing online… will never be enough."

During the first six months of the year, Yu Shao had spent a lot of time playing online, averaging one or two games a day. Once his win rate increased, he frequently got matched with stronger opponents.

However, while they were decent, none of them even came close to Zheng Qin’s level. He had yet to encounter a single opponent who truly forced him to go all out.

So, as he gradually adapted to an attack-oriented style, he started playing online less and less.

Outside Jinxia Grand Hotel, the area was packed with people. Participants kept filing in, some as old as thirty, while others were not even ten years old, accompanied by their parents.

A massive banner hung at the hotel entrance, with bold calligraphy that read:

“Lanke Cup Go Promotion Tournament – Preliminary Round”

Yu Shao refocused his mind and walked toward the hotel lobby.

Inside the hotel lobby—

A group of reporters and cameraman were chatting among themselves.

A tall, lean journalist in his forties watched as wave after wave of participants entered the venue, sighing with emotion.

“The number of participants in this year’s Promotion Tournament has broken another record.”

A short, stocky cameraman chuckled. “Yeah, the numbers keep increasing. This year’s competition is going to be fierce.”

"Even after covering so many high-dan pro matches, I still find myself excited about the Promotion Tournament."

"That’s normal," another journalist said. "These young players may still be raw, but they represent the future of Go. And who doesn’t look forward to the future?"

"Exactly! Watching established pros fight it out on the grand stage is thrilling, but seeing rising talents emerge? That’s just as exhilarating!"

Several reporters and cameramen nodded in agreement.

But then, the tall journalist sighed again.

"What's wrong, Old Zhang?"

The short cameraman looked puzzled. "Why the sigh? You’re not excited?"

"Of course I’m excited. Who wouldn’t be?"

The tall journalist nodded but then shook his head again.

"It’s just that… seeing so many passionate young players—all chasing their dreams, throwing themselves into this path without hesitation—it’s always moving. It’s always exciting… but at the same time, it’s also heartbreaking."

"Heartbreaking? Why?"

The others were momentarily confused.

A reporter asked, "Isn’t it a good thing that more people are competing in the Promotion Tournament? It proves that Go is still thriving and that the future is brighter than ever!"

"That’s true," the tall journalist said.

"But the number of professional slots is fixed. Every year, only a handful of players make it through."

"The more people who choose this path, the more will fall along the way. Their dreams will shatter. Their efforts will go to waste."

"These kids devote their entire youth to Go, sacrificing everything because they love the game. And yet, in the end, many of them are forced to give up and find another path in life."

"How many times have we seen stories like that?"

At those words, the group of journalists and cameraman fell silent.

They had witnessed far too many cases like this.

Years of grueling training, relentless hardship, and endless sacrifices—only to fail at the final step.

They weren’t players themselves, but even they could feel the pain of those who fell short.

"I heard Zhuang Weisheng’s son is competing this year."

The tall journalist suddenly spoke up.

"And you all know Fang Haoxin, right? He’s back from South Korea and also joining the Promotion Tournament."

"Of course we know!" Another reporter nodded.

"This is the biggest storyline of the tournament! I thought Fang Haoxin would stay in Seoul, but he came back just in time to compete against Zhuang Weisheng’s son. This is going to be incredible!"

"But think about it from another perspective," the tall journalist said.

"There are only a limited number of pro slots available. With those two competing, won’t the other players get completely overshadowed?"

"Fewer chances. More will be eliminated. And even more will end up as stepping stones for them."

The group fell silent once more.

Every professional player rose from the ashes of countless fallen talents.

This year’s Promotion Tournament promised to be intense, but it also meant that more players than ever would be left behind.

"In the women’s division, I heard there’s another genius."

The short cameraman suddenly remembered something.

"Her name is Xu Zijin. Chang Yan, the 9-dan professional, said she’s going to shock all of us."

"Xu Zijin? Chang Yan’s new disciple?"

Another reporter raised an eyebrow.

"I thought Chang Yan never took students? I remember hearing about her taking in a disciple last year, and I was surprised."

"She’s Xu Duanhua’s daughter."

The short cameraman grinned.

"If it were you, would you turn her down? That’s free money!"

"Wait—Xu Duanhua’s daughter?!"

The group was stunned.

"The daughter of CEO Xu is competing in the Promotion Tournament? That’s breaking news!"

While the reporters and cameraman excitedly discussed the tournament, Yu Shao had finally entered the hotel lobby.

After passing through security, he quickly found the check-in counter and approached the staff.

"Yu Shao, right?"

After entering Yu Shao’s player number into the system, the staff member informed him,

“Your first match will be held in Ya Xuan Pavilion, Table Five. Your opponent is Qiao Anli, and the match starts at 10:00 AM sharp. Please be mindful of the time.”

“10:00 AM?”

Yu Shao nodded.

Because of the large number of participants, the preliminary round of the Promotion Tournament followed a Swiss-system tournament format, meaning there were no draws or random pairings.

Instead, players were automatically matched by the system based on performance:

• If a player lost in the first round, their next opponent would also be someone who lost in the first round.
• If a player won, they would face another winner in the next round.
• The tournament aimed to match players with similar win-loss records to maintain fair competition.
• At the end of the preliminaries, the top ten players from each group, based on total points, would advance to the main tournament.

Upon arriving at Ya Xuan Pavilion, Yu Shao noticed that even though there were still over twenty minutes before the match started, many participants had already arrived and were waiting in silence.

Despite the large number of people in the room, the atmosphere was eerily quiet.

Everyone sat still, as if deep in thought, lost in their own minds.

A heavy sense of tension filled the air—so thick that it was almost suffocating.

This familiar tournament atmosphere made Yu Shao feel a moment of déjà vu.

Shaking off his thoughts, he turned his gaze to Table Five.

The seat opposite him was still empty—his opponent, Qiao Anli, had yet to arrive.

Yu Shao pulled out a chair, sat down, and quietly waited for the match to begin.

At that moment, two other young players entered the main hall.

After checking in at the front desk, they each received their match assignments.

“Old Qiao, at least we didn’t get matched against each other.”

One of them, a sixteen-year-old boy with acne, let out a relieved sigh.

“Having to play against a fellow dojo mate in the first round would be the absolute worst.”

“As long as we both keep winning, we’ll definitely have to face each other eventually.”

Qiao Anli smirked, “If you want to avoid getting crushed by me, you should lose a match or two to keep your points lower.”

“Bullsh*t! We’re evenly matched at the dojo!”

The acne-faced boy widened his eyes. “In our last twenty games, you won eleven—just two more than me. How dare you act all high and mighty?!”

“Haha, but I still won more than you.”

Qiao Anli chuckled, “So where’s this ‘evenly matched’ nonsense coming from?”

The two walked forward, casually chatting. Since their matches were held in separate rooms, they soon reached a point where they had to split up.

“Even though we should be able to cruise through the preliminaries, I can’t help but feel a little nervous.”

The acne-faced boy took a deep breath and smiled bitterly.

“It’s just the preliminaries, after all.”

“Even if it’s just the preliminaries, this is still the Promotion Tournament. Feeling pressured is normal.”

Qiao Anli shook his head and said,

“But remember—our goal is to go pro. Keep that in mind. Stress and pressure? Save that for when we make it to the finals.”

“Man, your mental game is solid.”

The acne-faced boy looked at him enviously.

“I’m already thinking about how to beat you when we eventually face off.”

Qiao Anli grinned and said,

“Just don’t mess up and lose before we get the chance. If we don’t keep our win records aligned, I might never get to crush you.”