I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 137: Like a Temple of Silence

—

Before long, amidst a silence so deep it was suffocating, the boy sitting across from Su Yiming lowered his head.

Through clenched teeth, he forced out a few words.

"I… lost."

—

Su Yiming nodded slightly and said in a calm voice,

"Thank you for the game."

—

A long moment passed before his opponent finally mustered the strength to respond.

—

The room remained deathly quiet.

Every single person continued staring at the board, dazed.

—

"White was completely… overwhelmed by Black."

—

They could tell—

Zhang Yuqing had played at his absolute best.

Yet, he had still lost.

And the reason for his defeat was painfully clear—

It wasn’t a mistake.

It wasn’t bad luck.

It was simply because Su Yiming was too strong.

—

This match felt eerily similar to Yu Shao’s game against Liu Yuanjia yesterday.

Both Zhang Yuqing and Liu Yuanjia had almost made it into the professional ranks last year but had been eliminated in the final round.

They had spent an entire year training, determined to return stronger.

And if they had faced someone like Zhuang Fei or Fang Haoxin, their skills were good enough to at least put up a serious fight.

—

But against Yu Shao and Su Yiming—

They had no chance at all.

—

A heavy silence filled the air.

—

Su Yiming stood up and walked straight toward the judges' table.

After reporting his victory, he immediately turned and left the match room.

—

"Wait… he’s not going to watch Yu Shao’s game?"

—

Seeing Su Yiming leave so directly, the other players snapped out of their daze.

Instinctively, they turned their gazes toward Table 3, where Yu Shao’s game was still in progress.

For a moment, they all exchanged uncertain glances.

—

Both Yu Shao and Su Yiming were dark horses—players who had come out of nowhere.

Even now, it was hard to believe that Zhuang Fei and Fang Haoxin had both been knocked into the losers' bracket.

—

And what was even more ridiculous was that—

They hadn’t even lost to the same person.

—

By all logic, Su Yiming should be paying close attention to Yu Shao.

But from start to finish, he had shown zero interest in his matches.

—

Just as they were about to walk over to watch Yu Shao’s game—

He suddenly stood up from his chair and headed toward the judges' table.

—

His game had also ended.

—

The spectators hesitated for a moment before splitting up to watch the remaining matches.

But even as they stood by other tables, their thoughts kept drifting back to what they had just witnessed.

The tension in the match room was suffocating.

The sound of stones hitting the board echoed sharply in the air.

—

Click. Click. Click…

—

Time ticked by.

—

Before long, another player won their match.

But instead of looking happy, they wore a heavy expression as they reported their result to the judges.

One by one—

More and more players finished their matches.

The ones who lost walked away dejected.

But even the winners felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.

—

By 5 PM, as the final match ended, the fourth round of the promotion tournament finals officially came to a close.

—

Three players had fallen into the losers' bracket.

Nine players had been eliminated.

The winners' bracket was now down to just four players.

The losers' bracket had thirteen survivors remaining.

—

The Next Day – Fifth Round

The tournament had finally entered its final stage.

—

Just like before, the nine eliminated players didn’t leave the venue.

Like the others before them, they chose to stay.

They wanted to see how this tournament would end.

Because everything about this tournament had been too unpredictable.

—

That morning, Yu Shao arrived at the match room early and took a seat.

Soon after, Su Yiming walked in as well.

Instantly—

All eyes turned toward the two of them.

—

One by one, more players entered the match room.

But no one spoke a word.

They simply found their seats and sat down silently.

—

At the start, everyone had been shocked when Yu Shao and Su Yiming had defeated Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei.

But after seeing their actual matches, their reaction had changed.

Now, they no longer felt disbelief.

Only weight.

—

Even when Zhuang Fei and Fang Haoxin entered the room—

No one paid them any attention.

—

Finally—

As the match time approached, Ma Zhengyu and another referee entered.

Sweeping his gaze across the match room, Ma Zhengyu’s eyes paused for two seconds—

One second on Yu Shao.

One second on Su Yiming.

—

Then, after a moment of silence, he shifted his gaze away and spoke.

"Time for the draw."

—

Yu Shao was already seated at Table 1.

Hearing Ma Zhengyu’s announcement, he stood up and walked to the judges' table, reaching into the drawing box for his match slip.

After returning to Table 1, he unfolded his slip and glanced at it.

Number 1.

—

Perfect.

He was already at Table 1, so there was no need to move.

—

Since there were only a handful of players left, the draw went by extremely quickly.

Within a single minute, everyone had their match assignments.

—

After checking for bye rounds, Ma Zhengyu cleared his throat.

"Players, please proceed to your assigned tables."

—

Without a word, the players stood up and walked toward their designated seats.

—

Yu Shao sat at Table 1, quietly waiting for his opponent.

—

Moments later—

His opponent arrived.

But instead of sitting down immediately—

He stood there, unmoving.

—

"Hmm?"

Yu Shao blinked in slight confusion and looked up.

And then—

He saw who it was.

Su Yiming.

—

For a long moment—

Their gazes locked in midair.

—

Finally, Su Yiming was the first to look away.

He gave Yu Shao a slight nod, then pulled out a chair and sat across from him.

—

Instantly—

The entire match room froze.

Every single player stopped moving and stared at Table 1.

Even Ma Zhengyu and the other referee couldn’t help but glance over.

—

Fifth Round—

Yu Shao vs. Su Yiming.

—

"Yu Shao’s opponent this round… is Su Yiming!"

—

The eliminated players gasped, their expressions frozen in shock.

Then—

A second later—

Every single one of them rushed toward Table 1.

—

Within moments—

The area around Table 1 was completely surrounded.

—

Ma Zhengyu, seeing how no one else had gone to their own seats, sighed and reminded them:

"You all still have your own matches to play, you know."

Hearing Ma Zhengyu’s words, the players snapped back to reality and quickly walked to their assigned tables, taking their seats.

—

As everyone settled in, Pu Weize suddenly noticed something.

His gaze landed on Table 10, and his expression froze in shock.

"Wait… Table 10 is… Fang Haoxin vs. Zhuang Fei?"

—

Hearing this, the surrounding players paused, then immediately turned toward Table 10.

Sure enough—

Sitting across from each other at Table 10 were Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei.

—

Both of them wore grim expressions.

—

"This…"

For a moment, no one knew what to say.

The whole situation felt absurdly ironic.

—

Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei were finally facing each other.

But—

It was in the losers' bracket.

—

This also meant one of them was guaranteed to be eliminated.

—

Everyone had assumed that Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei were already locked in as two of the six players who would qualify for professional status.

They had expected the remaining players to fight over the last four spots.

—

But now—

It looked like at least one of them wouldn’t make it at all.

—

Yet, the strangest part—

Despite this being a match between two top players, no one was watching them.

Because—

Everyone’s attention was already locked onto another board.

—

This board—

Was Table 1.

The match between Yu Shao and Su Yiming.

—

The two players who had defeated Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei.

—

At this moment, Su Yiming suddenly spoke up, his gaze fixed on Yu Shao.

"It’s been a year, hasn’t it?"

—

Hearing this, the surrounding players froze in confusion.

—

Their eyes quickly darted away from Fang Haoxin and Zhuang Fei, shifting back toward Yu Shao and Su Yiming.

—

"A year?"

"What do they mean, a year?"

"They know each other?"

—

Yu Shao paused for a moment.

Then, as if his memory had been pulled back to a rainy night a year ago, he smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah… almost exactly a year."

—

Before anyone could react further, Ma Zhengyu’s voice rang out.

"Match time has started. Each player will have three hours, with a one-minute countdown per move in overtime. Black gives a 7.5-point komi. Let’s begin the turn-order draw!"

—

The spectators quickly pushed aside their questions, their focus now fully locked on the match.

—

Su Yiming stared at Yu Shao and repeated the match rules aloud.

"Each player will have three hours, with a one-minute countdown per move in overtime. Black gives a 7.5-point komi."

—

The surrounding players blinked, confused.

"Why is he repeating the rules?"

—

Then, across from him, Yu Shao nodded and repeated the rules as well.

"Each player will have three hours, with a one-minute countdown per move in overtime. Black gives a 7.5-point komi."

—

Now, everyone understood.

—

"He’s making a statement."

"This isn’t just any match—he’s treating this with the highest level of respect."

—

Only after Yu Shao responded did Su Yiming finally reach into his Go bowl, picking up a handful of white stones.

Seeing this, Yu Shao also reached into his Go bowl, taking out two black stones and placing them on the board.

—

A moment later, Su Yiming released his grip, letting the white stones scatter onto the board with a crisp clattering sound.

Click. Click. Click.

—

"Two, four, six, eight… nine."

Su Yiming extended his fingers, counting the stones two at a time.

After finishing, he spoke calmly.

"Nine stones. Odd number. I play Black."

—

"I play White."

Yu Shao nodded, collecting the black stones from the board and returning them to the bowl.

Then, they exchanged their Go bowls.

—

Taking a deep breath, Su Yiming lowered his head slightly and spoke.

"Please teach me."

—

Yu Shao immediately returned the gesture.

"Please teach me."

—

At that moment—

The room was silent.

Someone gulped.

—

A dry swallowing sound echoed in the air.

But—

No one found it strange.

—

They didn’t know why—

But even though this was just a normal turn-order draw and greeting, they could feel something immensely solemn in the air.

—

Something ceremonial.

Something sacred.

—

It made them hold their breath.

—

The usual tension and pressure of the promotion tournament were something they were used to.

But this—

This was different.

It wasn’t just tense.

It wasn’t just competitive.

—

It was reverent.

—

At this moment—

It felt as if they were inside a temple.

—

The match… had begun.