I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 196: Yu Shao, 1-Dan vs. Zheng Qin, 3-Dan

Three days later, the National Master Cup preliminaries resumed.

As Yu Shao stepped into the playing room, he immediately heard groups of players excitedly discussing the recently concluded Go Sage Title Match.

But the moment they noticed his arrival, their voices abruptly stopped.

All eyes turned toward him, their gazes complicated.

Originally, everyone had assumed that Yu Shao would finally meet his first true defeat against Tong Lecheng.

And yet—

Tong Lecheng lost.

Yu Shao had crushed his challenge and continued his relentless streak!

No one could deny it anymore—they had underestimated him.

He might be only a 1-dan, but he had proven himself to be a player that demanded respect.

Yu Shao's gaze shifted toward Table 5.

There, a young man around 18 or 19 years old was already seated.

His expression was serious, his eyes locked onto Yu Shao without a hint of arrogance.

Yu Shao, 1-dan vs. Yu Xiuwen, 4-dan.

Under the watchful eyes of the gathered players, Yu Shao walked toward his seat at Table 5 and sat down across from Yu Xiuwen.

Just then—

A group of players in the back rows exchanged glances.

Then, one by one, they stood up and walked toward Table 5.

Very quickly, the entire table was surrounded, with players crowding in from all sides.

None of them spoke.

They simply stood there in silence, waiting for the game to begin.

None of these players had matches today.

They had come specifically to watch Yu Shao's game.

Before, they hadn’t cared too much about him.

But after he defeated Tong Lecheng, they had no choice but to start paying attention.

The crowd watching today’s match was even larger than the one that had gathered for Yu Shao vs. Tong Lecheng!

"Liu Qirui, 5-dan. Shi Yu, 5-dan. Shao Hu, 4-dan..."

A nearby player, a teenage boy with acne, scanned the crowd and inhaled sharply.

"These guys didn't even enter the National Master Cup, did they?"

Some of these players hadn’t signed up for this tournament.

For example, Liu Qirui, 6-dan, was only competing in the Grandmaster Cup—which meant he had no chance of facing Yu Shao anytime soon.

And yet—he still showed up to watch?

"The last person to get this kind of attention... was Zheng Qin."

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he saw a familiar figure entering the playing room.

Zheng Qin, 3-dan.

Zheng Qin’s eyes briefly swept over the crowd gathered around Table 5.

Then, without any reaction, he simply turned away and walked toward his own match at Table 15.

There, his opponent was already waiting—

A man in his thirties, wearing square-framed glasses, with sharp, chiseled features.

The man’s face wasn’t relaxed at all.

In fact, his expression was tense.

Even though he was a 5-dan player, with over a decade of professional experience, he couldn’t hide his nerves.

Because Zheng Qin was only 20 years old.

And despite being only 3-dan, he had already defeated Qin Haisheng, 7-dan, and qualified for the Regional Battle Main Tournament!

—

Shortly after, the referees arrived.

One of them glanced toward Table 5, noting how completely surrounded it was, and sighed helplessly.

But they didn’t say anything.

After all, the spectators were all professional players.

They knew the rules—they wouldn’t disturb the match.

After waiting a little longer, once the scheduled time had arrived, a referee stepped forward and announced the start of the matches.

A moment later, the sound of stones being drawn from the bowls filled the room.

Players exchanged bows and began placing their first moves.

And just like that—

The previously lively room fell completely silent.

Only the sound of stones clicking onto the board remained.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

As the game progressed, time ticked away second by second.

—

Meanwhile, at Table 15—

Zheng Qin calmly placed his last move, then stood up and walked toward the referees’ table.

At Table 19, the acne-faced teenager had been deep in thought, analyzing his own game.

But when he caught a glimpse of Zheng Qin standing up, he froze mid-thought and quickly turned to look at Table 15.

There, his opponent, Yu Li, 5-dan, sat with his eyes closed.

His face showed no emotion.

But the back of his shirt was completely drenched in sweat.

"Zheng Qin won again..."

The acne-faced player sighed in awe.

He hadn’t expected any other result.

After all, Zheng Qin was already a monster.

But then—

Zheng Qin walked up to the referees’ table, reported his score—

And walked straight out of the room.

No hesitation.

No pause.

The acne-faced player stared blankly at his departing figure.

"He’s... not going to watch Yu Shao’s match?"

Yu Shao had defeated Tong Lecheng.

Today, he was facing Yu Xiuwen, 4-dan.

Their match was still ongoing—yet Zheng Qin had left without even glancing at it?

Why?

Did he think Yu Shao wasn’t worth watching?

Not just the acne-faced player, but many others were caught off guard by Zheng Qin’s departure.

After all, other players who finished their games had all gone straight to watch Yu Shao’s match.

Even if Zheng Qin was strong, was he really not curious at all about Yu Shao’s performance?

A few minutes later.

"I lost..."

At Table 5, Yu Xiuwen lowered his head, his expression gloomy.

The entire room fell silent.

This game had been a brutal fight.

Yu Xiuwen had played exceptionally well, and Yu Shao hadn’t done anything too flashy—he had simply used a basic “Grab First, Settle Later” strategy to decide the game in a mid-game life-and-death battle.

Under Yu Shao’s relentless attacks, Yu Xiuwen had barely managed to keep one group alive—but it was a hollow survival.

In the end, he lost.

"Yu Xiuwen isn’t at his level."

Several spectators felt a heavy weight pressing down on them.

Many of them had similar scores to Yu Shao.

That meant one of them might be his next opponent.

But after watching this match, if they had to face him, they weren’t sure if they could win.

The pressure was overwhelming.

And it was coming from a 1-dan rookie.

After exchanging bows, both players packed up the board.

Under countless stares, Yu Shao stood up, walked to the referee’s table, reported his victory, and then left the playing room.

Several players who were still deep in their own matches saw Yu Shao leaving and quickly turned to look at Table 5.

There, the expressions of the surrounding spectators were grim and serious.

They didn’t even need to ask.

The result was obvious.

Yu Shao won again.

Yu Xiuwen might not have been as strong as Tong Lecheng, but he had defeated Tong Lecheng before.

Even so, he still lost to Yu Shao.

Counting his Yingjiao Cup matches, Yu Shao had now won nine games in a row.

To advance from 1-dan to 2-dan, a player had to complete at least 20 matches and earn 1,500 rating points.

If Yu Shao could win just four or five more games in his next eleven matches, he would qualify for promotion.

"Tong Lecheng dropping rating points was an exception. But since Yu Shao beat him, it’s possible he could keep winning a few more rounds."

"But if he keeps winning..."

Several players gulped.

"Soon, he’ll start facing 5-dan players—or even stronger opponents."

Five Days Later—Another Yingjiao Cup Prelim Match

"I lost."

At Table 22, a short-haired female player let out a defeated sigh.

"Thank you for the match."

Yu Shao bowed.

"Thank you for the match."

She bowed in return.

The spectators frowned.

This time, Yu Shao’s opponent was Lu Wenwen, 3-dan—one of the strongest female players in the field.

The game had been a test of resilience.

After Yu Shao opened with a 3-3 invasion, White had responded perfectly, securing a thick position in the upper left.

At first, it seemed Black’s attack had failed.

But because White had over-invested in defending the corner, Black had gained a massive framework in the center.

When White attempted to invade and live, Black mercilessly hunted her down.

In the end, she failed to escape.

Another flawless kill.

Yu Shao packed up the board, walked to the referee’s table, reported his victory, and left.

"Lu Wenwen is a strong 3-dan, but she had no way out once the fight began."

"Even Su Yiming defeated Dou Yiming, 6-dan, but he lost to Yu Shao in the Promotion Tournament..."

"That’s ten straight wins now... Why does it feel like playing against 3-3 invasions isn’t as easy as people thought?"

As they watched Yu Shao leave, everyone’s thoughts were in turmoil.

The Next Day—Another Yingjiao Cup Prelim

Sitting across from Su Yiming, his opponent bit his lip before placing two stones on the board in resignation.

He had lost.

After bowing and packing up the board, Su Yiming stood up, reported his victory, and left the room.

No one was surprised that Su Yiming had won—after all, his opponent today was only 3-dan.

And Su Yiming had already beaten Dou Yiming, 6-dan.

But even so, watching him walk away, the other players felt a strange weight on their chests.

"At the start of this tournament, no one cared about two 1-dan rookies."

"But now, Yu Shao and Su Yiming have forced everyone to pay attention."

"Su Yiming is now on an 11-game winning streak."

"Yu Shao has a 10-game winning streak."

"Since turning professional, neither of them has lost a single match."

"How far can they go?"

"Who will hand them their first loss?"

"Or will they just end up playing each other in the Yingjiao Cup?"

Some players still mid-match looked up uneasily as Su Yiming left.

His victory over Dou Yiming had been a major shock.

And now, he was clearly a major threat.

But more importantly, there was still Yu Shao.

Two Weeks Later

Half a month passed in a blur.

For once, Yu Shao had a relatively relaxed schedule.

In these two weeks, he had played only two matches—one in the National Master Cup, one in the Yingjiao Cup.

Since rating-based matchmaking was used, as his score rose, he had fewer available opponents.

The tournaments were deliberately slowing down, waiting for new players to catch up.

But in a week’s time, once the Yingjiao Cup registration deadline passed, the matches would accelerate dramatically.

By then, the competition would intensify, and the finalists would emerge.

His two opponents in this period were Yin Wanman, 4-dan, and Feng Shengquan, 5-dan.

And Yu Shao had won both matches.

Now, his winning streak stood at 12 games.

He was on the verge of ranking up to 2-dan.

Feng Shengquan, despite being 5-dan, had felt easier to deal with than Tong Lecheng.

That night, Yu Shao received a new match notification.

His next opponent in the National Master Cup was finally revealed.

He looked at his screen.

"Three days from now. Table 10.

Yu Shao, 1-dan vs. Zheng Qin, 3-dan."

He paused.

Then, a slight smile formed on his lips.

"Zheng Qin, huh..."

He thought back to their first two games at Mountain-Sea Chess Hall.

Now, their third match was coming.