I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 153: Su Yiming – Now, I Am the One Who Has Arrived

In his previous life, he had always adhered to the principle of "invincibility lies within oneself, victory lies in the opponent." In every game, if there was even a one percent chance of reversal, he would abandon that line of play, choosing instead to observe patiently and strike only when the moment was right.

This strategy—winning without fighting—made him nearly unshakable. It helped him secure countless victories, but at the same time, it caused him to miss many opportunities.

Because in some games, the only way to win was to engage in fierce combat, to use sheer strength to determine the outcome.

This was precisely why, in his previous life, after reaching his peak, he was eventually surpassed by the next generation. His strength gradually declined to the point where he could barely hold onto a spot in the top five.

Even when AI emerged later, allowing for game reviews, AI sparring, and AI-assisted training, it did nothing to change this. Because at the core, it was a matter of choice.

Even if post-game analysis revealed that AI recommended aggressive play, some variations were too complex and difficult to control. If every move wasn’t executed with absolute precision, the situation could be reversed—or even worsen.

So, even knowing the optimal move, he often chose not to take it. After all, no one believed they could replicate AI’s flawless play move for move.

Because of this, even in his previous life, when training with AI, he never deliberately honed his mid-game attacking skills. Instead, he focused on board control, late-game maneuvers, and exploiting his strengths to the fullest.

As Yu Shao was lost in thought, his phone suddenly buzzed.

Snapping back to reality, he glanced down at the screen and saw a WeChat message from Wu Zhixuan.

[Wu Zhixuan: I’m going to be a recorder for this year’s Flame Inheritance Match. Surprised? Excited?]

"Recorder?"

Seeing her message, Yu Shao was a little taken aback.

A recorder, as the name suggested, was responsible for documenting every move played by both players during a match. In professional Go tournaments, major events always had recorders specifically assigned to record the game moves.

Typically, recorders were selected from among attractive female amateur players or low-dan female professionals. So, it wasn’t surprising that Wu Zhixuan would be chosen.

What did surprise Yu Shao was that the Flame Inheritance Match, being an exhibition event, even had recorders assigned to it.

Then again, after thinking it over, he found it reasonable. After all, the Flame Inheritance Match was the first battle for every new professional Go player.

He quickly typed out a reply:

"Alright, then you’ll get to see firsthand why I qualified as a professional with a flawless record."

A few days ago, when the promotion tournament results had just been released, Wu Zhixuan had bombarded him with messages, asking how he had managed to go undefeated and showering him with admiration.

Her response came quickly:

"Ohhh, I’ll be looking forward to it! Good luck, good luck, good luck!"

Meanwhile, on the other side…

Su Yiming continued to stare at the computer screen, watching the ongoing game. His eyes reflected the intertwining black and white stones.

After a long while, he let out a slow breath.

"Lost… by six and a half points."

Though he had lost, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Still lost, huh…"

His mind drifted back over a hundred years to the countless games he had won.

Back then, technology was nowhere near as advanced as it was today—no computers, no airplanes. If someone wanted to play a game, they had to travel great distances, crossing mountains and rivers just for a single match.

But by the time he was twenty-three, his name had already shaken the world. Nearly every day, challengers traveled miles just to play him. He was never short of games.

Yet, among all those matches, he never lost a single one.

Even so, he could clearly feel that over those ten years of near-constant matches, his skills had steadily improved. By the time he was thirty-three, he was significantly stronger than he had been at twenty-three.

For ten years, he kept winning, and his Go strength kept growing. The progress was slow, but it was there.

However, at thirty-three, he was suddenly struck by the realization—his Go skills had stopped improving. He had hit a bottleneck. No matter how many more games he played, he could no longer make even the slightest progress.

And after realizing this, he fell gravely ill and remained bedridden until his eventual death.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself over a hundred and fifty years in the future, living as a teenager named Su Yiming.

He didn’t know if he had broken the cycle of reincarnation or if he was simply a lingering spirit that had attached itself to this young man.

"I’ve often wondered… why did I, someone who should have died long ago, wake up more than a hundred and fifty years later as Su Yiming?"

"What is the purpose of my arrival in this era?"

Su Yiming stared at the computer screen, his gaze filled with a complex mix of emotions—melancholy, nostalgia, and… excitement.

"Now, I finally know the answer."

"I came here to see a higher realm of Go. To understand that I can still move forward. To realize… that there is someone above me."

"Thank you for showing me these games."

"Even though I lost, I am truly grateful…"

"Because by losing, I now see the road ahead."

At that moment, Su Yiming recalled a conversation he had with Yu Shao on the last day of the promotion tournament.

Back then, he had said he had a dream—one where he kept winning game after game. And when he woke up, he found Go had become effortless.

Yu Shao's response had been that in his dream, he had kept losing. And when he woke up, he also found that Go had become easier.

Su Yiming hadn’t taken those words seriously at the time. But now, he felt that Yu Shao’s answer was unexpectedly profound.

"It’s only by losing that you can see the way forward…"

"If you always win, eventually, you will stagnate."

Taking a deep breath, Su Yiming muttered to himself:

"Now, I am the one who has arrived."

In the following days, Yu Shao rested at home for a week before finally returning to school on Monday.

"Oh, so you still remember to come back?"

Seeing Yu Shao return, Zhou De immediately started making a scene.

"The great professional Go player Yu Shao has returned to his loyal Jiangling High School!"

"Shut up."

Yu Shao shot him a glare.

"Yu Shao, there’s now a tragic and insurmountable wall between us!"

A boy in the front row turned around with a betrayed look on his face.

"Seeing you all over the internet, I feel worse than if I’d died!"

"What about our bet? A hundred yuan—don’t tell me you forgot?"

Zhou De stretched out his hand, demanding the bet from the boy in front of him. They had wagered last year on whether Yu Shao would become a professional Go player. Now that Zhou De had won, he wanted his money.

"Damn it!"

The boy cursed, then said, "Next week. I’m broke this week."

Other students also glanced at Yu Shao with mixed emotions—shock, envy, admiration…

Even Zhang Wenbo, who usually dragged Yu Shao to play video games, hesitated to speak. Looking at Yu Shao casually flipping through a textbook, he felt an unfamiliar distance between them.

Sitting in the front row, Cheng Mengjie bit her lip, keeping her head down as she furiously worked on her assignments, never once looking in Yu Shao’s direction.

Her deskmate, a slightly chubby girl, was tactful enough not to bring up Yu Shao at all.

Everything… felt different.