I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 172: An Unexpected Opponent

The Flame Inheritance Match had finally come to an end.

Though the event had always drawn attention, never before had a Flame Inheritance Match caused such an uproar. Even days after its conclusion, discussions about this year’s tournament were still dominating online forums, with debates about Xu Zijin, Yu Shao, and Su Yiming flooding the internet.

Xu Zijin, of course, needed no introduction. Her background alone made her the center of attention, and her exceptional looks and solid Go skills only fueled her popularity. Even people who knew nothing about Go became her fans—after all, even if they couldn’t understand the game, they could still admire her beauty.

Then, there was Yu Shao, who had stunned the world with his 3-3 invasion.

In that game, after Black played the 3-3 point, an entirely new variation emerged. Instead of the conventional hane and connect, Yu Shao opted for a continuous crawl, ultimately breaking into White’s formation and seizing control of the board.

With an overwhelming advantage, he and Kong Zi executed a flawless combination attack, dismantling White’s position and securing a breathtaking victory.

This unorthodox crawling strategy—defying traditional Go principles—challenged everything people thought they knew about the 3-3 invasion.

The debate over its viability was still ongoing.

The majority still believed that the 3-3 invasion was unfavorable. They argued that Black only gained the upper hand because White failed to recognize the danger in the lower-left corner. If White had been more cautious, they would have maintained their advantage.

A smaller group remained neutral, acknowledging the logic behind this new approach but unsure of its long-term potential. They believed more testing and real-game data were needed.

And then, there was a rare minority who firmly believed that this 3-3 variation was viable.

Regardless of the differing opinions, one fact was undeniable: this game had forced the Go world to reconsider the 3-3 invasion—something that would have been unthinkable before.

With this groundbreaking play, Yu Shao became the focus of immense attention.

Finally, there was Su Yiming and his audacious Tengen move.

Though he ultimately lost, the Flame Inheritance Match was merely an exhibition game. Playing Tengen was already an incredibly difficult strategy to execute, let alone in a two-player cooperative format. Losing was to be expected.

Yet, despite this, Black still managed to push White into a grueling battle, holding his own for an extended period without falling behind—a feat that left many in disbelief.

More important than the result was what everyone could see:

Yu Shao and Su Yiming, despite being only first-dan players, were boldly experimenting, exploring new frontiers in Go.

Their approach was unconventional—even rebellious. But their courage to challenge the status quo ignited something in the hearts of spectators, leaving them inspired.

For the first time, people were looking forward to the future.

Perhaps this was the true significance of the Flame Inheritance Match—passing the torch, carrying the legacy forward.

—

A week later.

The National Master Tournament preliminaries were about to begin.

Early in the morning, professional Go players who had matches scheduled today arrived at the Southern Go Association, making their way to the playing rooms one after another.

"Wu Shuheng, if you win today’s game, you’ll be promoted to 4-dan, right?"

A long-haired young man asked as he walked alongside Wu Shuheng.

"Yeah."

Wu Shuheng nodded. "If I win today, I’ll be promoted to 4-dan."

"You’ve been stuck at 3-dan for a year and a half now, haven’t you?" The long-haired player sighed. "I remember you struggled a lot after your promotion—barely won any games at first. But then you stabilized, and now you’re on a winning streak. Climbing to 4-dan is well deserved."

He shook his head in admiration. "I, on the other hand, will probably be stuck at 3-dan for a while longer. No idea when I’ll finally get my promotion."

"Oh, right!"

The long-haired player suddenly turned to Wu Shuheng. "Who’s your opponent today? Feeling confident?"

At that, Wu Shuheng fell silent.

Seeing his reaction, the long-haired player frowned. Sensing something was off, he quickly asked, "What’s wrong? Who is it? Don’t tell me you got unlucky and have to face a high-dan player in your promotion match?"

"No."

Wu Shuheng shook his head, his expression complicated. "It’s a first-dan player. Yu Shao."

"Him?!"

The long-haired player was visibly surprised. Clearly, the name Yu Shao was not unfamiliar to him.

"Aren’t you his senior?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Wu Shuheng nodded, his mind drifting back to a game they had played a year ago at Jiangling High School—a handicap match.

"A handicap match?"

The long-haired player looked at him curiously. "Who won?"

"Of course, he did. I lost—badly."

Wu Shuheng let out a bitter laugh. "Back then, I had no idea our school had a player of that caliber."

"After that game, I knew he would turn pro one day…"

He shook his head. "But now that it’s actually happening—now that I’m about to play him in an even match—it feels… complicated."

The long-haired player seemed like he wanted to say something, but seeing Wu Shuheng’s mood, he chose to stay silent.

The two soon arrived at the playing room, took their seats, and quietly waited for the match to begin.

Before long, the playing room began to fill with professional players arriving for their matches.

The moment Zheng Qin, dressed in a checkered shirt, stepped into the room, he immediately drew attention.

As soon as he entered, his gaze instinctively landed on Table 16.

Seated there was a man in his late twenties with a lean face and a sharp, serious expression. His eyes were closed, as if resting before the game.

Zheng Qin’s expression turned solemn. He took a deep breath before striding toward Table 16. He pulled out the chair and sat down across from the man.

Hearing the movement, the man across from him slowly opened his eyes, his gaze piercing as he locked onto Zheng Qin.

"Zheng Qin, 2-dan… today’s opponent is Ban Hao, 6-dan."

The watching players all tensed slightly.

This wasn’t the first round of the National Master Tournament preliminaries—several rounds had already been played.

Because registration for the tournament remained open until the last moment, new players were constantly joining, and the number of participants kept increasing. As a result, the preliminaries were structured as a long round-robin points system, with numerous matches before the main event.

For Zheng Qin to be facing Ban Hao in the preliminaries meant that both of them had been performing exceptionally well so far.

Ban Hao’s success was unsurprising—he was a 6-dan professional. But Zheng Qin? He was only a 2-dan player, and he had only turned pro last year.

Many in the room had witnessed Zheng Qin’s rapid rise firsthand. In just a year, he had honed his skills, overcome formidable opponents, and now he was facing a 6-dan professional as an equal.

Seeing a newcomer close the gap and even surpass them… it was a complicated feeling for the other players.

"How long has it been?"

Ban Hao studied Zheng Qin before suddenly speaking. "Since our last game… must be about half a year, right?"

"Yeah."

Zheng Qin nodded. "To be exact, ten months and fourteen days. It was the first round of the Tianyuan Tournament preliminaries. I faced you and lost… badly."

"In that game, the difference between us was painfully clear."

Ban Hao gazed at him steadily. "Then let’s see how much you’ve improved over the past year."

"That’s exactly what I was thinking."

A sharp glint flashed in Zheng Qin’s eyes as he met Ban Hao’s gaze head-on. "I won’t disappoint you."

Ban Hao frowned slightly.

He had intended to remind Zheng Qin of that past defeat—to shake his confidence.

But instead of being rattled, Zheng Qin was unfazed. He was here to fight.

—

Not long after, a tall, slender teenager appeared at the entrance of the playing room.

The moment he stepped in, all eyes turned toward him. Even Ban Hao and Zheng Qin instinctively looked his way.

Under the scrutiny of the room, Yu Shao walked in slowly, scanning his surroundings. Soon, his eyes landed on Zheng Qin.

Zheng Qin?

It had been a year since they last saw each other.

The last time Yu Shao had encountered him was during the City High School Go League. After that, he had only heard occasional updates about Zheng Qin from others.

Meeting Yu Shao’s gaze, Zheng Qin remained composed despite the long separation. He simply gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

Yu Shao nodded back before shifting his attention to Table 6, where his opponent was already waiting—Wu Shuheng.

Memories from a year ago, from that simultaneous match, surfaced in Yu Shao’s mind.

"Another familiar face…"

He sighed inwardly.

A few days ago, when he received the match schedule for his first National Master Tournament preliminary round, he had been surprised to see Wu Shuheng’s name. He hadn’t expected his first professional tournament opponent to be someone he already knew.

Setting his thoughts aside, Yu Shao made his way to Table 6 and sat down across from Wu Shuheng.

"It’s been a while."

Wu Shuheng lifted his head to meet Yu Shao’s gaze. His expression was complicated, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but after a moment of hesitation, he simply said, "Yu Shao, 1-dan."

"It’s been a while."

Yu Shao nodded. "Wu Shuheng, 3-dan."

They didn’t speak as old classmates or acquaintances.

They addressed each other by their professional ranks.

Because here, in this tournament—

They were opponents.

And in the game ahead, one of them would fall.