I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 124: Stepping Stones

Even Zhuang Fei, usually indifferent, grew serious when he saw Fang Haoxin walk into the playing hall.

"Fang Haoxin..."

Zhuang Fei gave Fang Haoxin a deep look.

Truthfully, he had already been confident in earning his professional rank two years ago.

But he had deliberately waited until this year—because he wanted to qualify with a flawless record.

As Zhuang Weisheng's son, he refused to lose a single game before becoming a professional player.

Originally, he thought that with his skill level, he wouldn’t face any real threats this year.

But then—out of nowhere—Fang Haoxin appeared.

An obstacle, even for him.

After his last match, he had even taken time to observe Fang Haoxin’s games.

And he had to admit—Fang Haoxin was strong.

If they faced each other, he wasn’t confident he could win.

"But this is fine."

Zhuang Fei took a deep breath, looking at Fang Haoxin with a glimmer in his eyes.

"Without a rival like him to step over—what’s the point of a flawless qualification?"

Under the watchful eyes of the entire room, Fang Haoxin glanced at the tournament bracket on the wall.

Then, he scanned the hall, found his table, and walked straight toward Table 5.

Soon, Fang Haoxin stopped in front of Su Yiming, pulled out his chair, and sat down across from him.

Fang Haoxin’s opponent for this round—was Su Yiming.

Zhuang Fei gave Su Yiming a brief glance, then looked away, feeling as if he had already seen the outcome.

"This year, the only one who can challenge Fang Haoxin—is me."

"I will defeat him and claim my flawless promotion!"

"As for the rest of them... they’re just extras in my story."

When Fang Haoxin sat down across from Su Yiming, many others in the room cast sympathetic glances toward Su Yiming.

While they pitied his bad luck, they also felt a sense of shared dread.

The names Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei hung over them like an enormous weight, pressing down on everyone’s spirits.

"Getting this far, only to run into one of them in the final round... that’s just unlucky."

A fifteen-year-old player beside Yu Shao glanced at Fang Haoxin, then at Zhuang Fei, rubbed his nose, and muttered to his opponent,

"It’s a shame Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei didn’t face each other earlier in the tournament. That would’ve been an insane match."

"Even if they had, they’d still climb out of the losers’ bracket with their skill."

His opponent snorted, clearly someone familiar with him, and retorted,

"Maybe focus on your own game first. If you drop into the losers' bracket, you might not make it back out."

"Tch, who do you think you’re looking down on? You’re the one dropping into the losers’ bracket today. I’m moving straight to the finals—you can go struggle in the losers’ round."

The boy rolled his eyes, then turned to glance at Su Yiming, lowering his voice.

"I’ve never heard of this Su Yiming guy before, but he took down Wang Dong in the second round. I was curious about him, but now… well, tough luck for him."

"Bai Jingchuan, do you seriously not see me sitting right here?"

His opponent got irritated when he noticed Bai Jingchuan paying attention to everyone except him—acting like their game didn’t even matter.

"Don’t think just because you beat me last year, you’ll win again today!"

"Well, I guess we’ll find out soon."

Bai Jingchuan shrugged nonchalantly.

"Aside from Zhuang Fei and Fang Haoxin, there are still four spots left. One of those four? It’s mine."

Not long after, the rest of the competitors arrived.

Yu Shao’s opponent for this round was Sha Xinrui, a sixteen-year-old Dojo Trainee.

Sha Xinrui took his seat across from Yu Shao, his expression heavy.

By this stage, only fifty players remained.

Most of them knew each other well.

Any unknown name naturally stood out.

And Yu Shao was one of them.

Sha Xinrui had studied Yu Shao’s results before this match.

In Round 1, Yu Shao had defeated Wan Baihan.

In Round 2, he had defeated Zhu Yi.

In Round 3, he had defeated Feng Nan.

All three of them were Dojo Trainees.

Both Wan Baihan and Feng Nan had made it to the finals last year.

So even though Sha Xinrui hadn’t heard of Yu Shao before, he didn’t dare to underestimate him now.

Once all the players were present, the hall fell silent again.

Everyone was waiting for the official start of the round.

The atmosphere was stifling.

Meanwhile, at Table 5, Su Yiming looked at Fang Haoxin, sitting across from him.

His eyes held complicated emotions.

After thinking for a moment, he asked softly,

"Fang Xin… he was your great-great-grandfather?"

Over the past three days, Su Yiming had finally learned more about Fang Haoxin’s name and background—including the fact that his great-great-grandfather was Fang Xin.

Hearing the question, Fang Haoxin was caught off guard.

Normally, before a match, if two players weren’t already acquainted, they wouldn’t talk to each other.

Most of Fang Haoxin’s opponents had treated him like a terrifying monster, sitting across from him in absolute silence, waiting for the game to begin.

But Su Yiming was the first in this entire tournament to start a conversation with him.

"Yeah."

Fang Haoxin didn’t mind chatting.

In fact, he disliked the constant tense atmosphere in every game, so he nodded and replied,

"My great-great-grandfather was Fang Xin."

"Fang Xin’s descendant, huh..."

Su Yiming stared at Fang Haoxin, his expression turning nostalgic.

He thought of the countless games he had played with Fang Xin.

Now, his great-great-grandson was already this grown up.

"It’s already been… over 150 years."

The memories still felt so vivid, yet in an instant, they faded away—like sand slipping through his fingers.

Then, Su Yiming suddenly smiled.

He felt an unmatched anticipation for this match.

"Let’s have a good game."

"Huh?"

Fang Haoxin was momentarily stunned, giving Su Yiming a confused look.

After a slight hesitation, he nodded.

With five minutes left before the round started, two referees entered the hall.

One of them was the head referee, Ma Zhengyu.

Five minutes later, Ma Zhengyu glanced at his watch and announced,

"Time’s up!"

"Each player gets three hours, with a one-minute byoyomi (overtime countdown). Black gives a 7.5-point komi. You may now determine turn order."

At his words, the room grew tense.

All the players reached into their Go bowls to start the turn-order guessing process.

The sound of stones clinking together filled the air.

"I’m Black."

At Table 12, Yu Shao won the turn order against Sha Xinrui and took Black.

Sha Xinrui nodded, exchanged Go bowls with Yu Shao, and they both bowed to each other.

Yu Shao gazed at the board, reached into his Go bowl, and placed the first move.

Tak.

Row 16, Column 4—Star Point.

Sha Xinrui studied the board, thought for a moment, then reached into his Go bowl and placed his stone.

At Table 5, Su Yiming won the turn-order guessing as well.

He took Black.

Fang Haoxin took White.

Su Yiming studied the board for a moment before finally picking up a stone and placing it down slowly.

Tak.

Row 17, Column 4—Small Point.

"A Small Point opening?"

Seeing White’s first move, Fang Haoxin barely hesitated.

Without pause, he reached into his Go bowl and placed his move immediately.

Tak.

Row 4, Column 4—Star Point!

At this moment, the head referee, Ma Zhengyu, arrived at their table to spectate the game.

Compared to Zhuang Fei, Ma Zhengyu was actually more interested in Fang Haoxin.

After all, Fang Haoxin had only recently returned to China.

His games over the past three days had proven that he had a deep foundation in Go, but exactly how strong he was remained unclear.

Su Yiming remained calm, carefully placing his next move.

Tak.

Row 16, Column 17—Small Point.

"He’s going for the Diagonal Small Point opening?"

Ma Zhengyu frowned slightly.

He couldn’t quite understand Su Yiming’s strategy.

Against a powerful opponent like Fang Haoxin, using the Diagonal Small Point was a risky choice.

This formation often scattered the board position, leading to complicated fights.

For a weaker player, this wasn’t ideal—it was too chaotic.

It wouldn’t be effective for overcoming a stronger opponent.

But there was another possibility.

Maybe Su Yiming wanted to disrupt the game deliberately—stirring up chaos and looking for opportunities in an unpredictable battle.

Fang Haoxin, however, didn’t overthink it.

As soon as Black played his move, he immediately responded.

Tak.

Row 4, Column 16—Star Point.

"Double Star Point..."

Su Yiming wasn’t surprised by White’s move.

But deep inside, a faint sense of disappointment surfaced.

"He’s not Fang Xin, after all."

"If it were Fang Xin, he definitely wouldn’t play like this. This is the modern style..."

"It’s a different era now."

Su Yiming had long accepted this reality.

But still—seeing Fang Xin’s descendant playing with modern Go strategies left him feeling strangely melancholic.

Even though he knew this wasn’t a bad thing—that Go was constantly evolving, constantly improving.

Still, Su Yiming quickly gathered himself and placed his next move.

Tak.

Row 15, Column 3—Small Knight’s Extension!

Fang Haoxin took a moment to consider before swiftly placing his next move.

Tak!

Row 17, Column 15—Small Knight’s Approach!

"Against this move, the modern response is a pincer."

"That would lead to a sharper, more aggressive fight."

"The peep response, though solid, has already been abandoned."

The moment White’s move landed, Su Yiming instantly recognized the standard modern response for Black.

Over the past year, he had been studying modern Go theories, constantly adapting to the current style of play.

As for the strategies from over a century ago—he hadn’t used them in a very, very long time.

After all, those older strategies weren’t always strong enough to hold up against modern 7.5-point komi rules.

But now—

Facing Fang Xin’s descendant—

Su Yiming lowered his gaze, staring at the board.

After a brief pause, he reached into his Go bowl and slowly placed his move.

Tak.

Row 15, Column 16—Peep!

"Peep?!"

At that moment, both Fang Haoxin and Ma Zhengyu, who had been watching from the side, were stunned.

Their eyes widened in disbelief.

This move...

"Peep at Row 15, Column 16?!"

"This response hasn’t been used in ages... It’s practically obsolete!"