I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 235: What You Gave Me, I Return to You!

Review Room

"He played the 3-3 point?"

Seeing the white stone land on the big screen, Zhou Wei looked stunned. Once he processed it, he immediately pulled a stone from the bowl and placed it on the review board.

"Against the Triple Star Formation, he still chooses the 3-3 invasion?"

Gu Chuan looked puzzled. "Why not the small knight’s approach? If he played small knight’s approach, Black would have a tough time responding."

The room buzzed with discussion, but Le Haoqiang remained silent, staring at the board. Unlike the others, his face showed no surprise at all when he saw the 3-3 invasion.

Someone quickly noticed his reaction. "Le Haoqiang, why aren’t you saying anything?"

After a moment of silence, Le Haoqiang finally spoke.

"Perhaps… because the 3-3 invasion is the simplest way to handle the Triple Star Formation."

Everyone in the room was momentarily stunned, their faces filled with shock.

"The simplest way?"

Zhou Wei looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Le Haoqiang didn’t explain further. Instead, he quickly grabbed several stones from the bowl and played them one after another, swiftly demonstrating the sequences that followed White’s double 3-3 invasions.

Then, he picked up another stone and gently placed it on the board.

Tap!

Column 10, Row 5—Attach!

Everyone stared at the lone white stone, which had boldly infiltrated the black formation. Their expressions were blank for a moment—

But then, shock began to spread across their faces!

"This…"

Zhou Wei was dumbfounded as he stared at the board. "At first glance, this move seems completely reckless, but… but when you really think about it, Black actually has no effective way to deal with this attach!"

The room fell into complete silence.

It wasn’t just Zhou Wei. Everyone else had also realized the sheer brilliance of this attach—its ingenuity was almost divine!

"This was the same strategy Yu Shao used against Tong Lecheng in the National Master Battle. The 3-3 response to the Triple Star Formation has already spread throughout the Southern Region."**

Le Haoqiang paused briefly before continuing in a low voice. "Yu Shao won that game in a complete landslide."

Silence filled the room.

"Then, Su Yiming probably knows about that game?"

After a long pause, Zhou Wei forcefully suppressed his emotions and asked, "The follow-up after the 3-3 invasion is almost inevitable. So if he knew this, why would he still play Triple Star?!"

"I don’t know."

Le Haoqiang shook his head, exhaled deeply, and looked at the big screen.

"I’m also waiting for his answer."

Handtalk Room

"Of course I know how dangerous it is to use the Triple Star Formation."

Seeing White invade at the top-right 3-3, Su Yiming showed no surprise. His gaze remained locked on the board in front of him.

"Triple Star places stones high, leaving the corners empty. To maximize the influence of the edge star points, I have no choice but to build a massive formation in the center—a path with no retreat."

Su Yiming’s eyes gleamed like a sword as he slowly reached into the Go bowl and pulled out a stone.

Tap!

Column 16, Row 3—Block!

Without hesitation, Yu Shao reached into his own bowl, picked up a stone, and placed it right next to Black’s star-point stone.

Tap!

Column 17, Row 4—Extend!

"I cannot afford a single mistake. Not even the slightest misstep is allowed. I must use my outward influence to enclose the board and command the ocean within a single square!"

Seeing Yu Shao’s move, Su Yiming immediately reached into the Go bowl again. The cold touch of the stone seeped into his fingertips, piercing straight to his core.

This coldness was the same a thousand years ago, the same a hundred years ago, and the same now.

"I will lure him into a deathmatch—draw him into a tangled, chaotic struggle, where I will clash with him using thickness and influence!"

Clack!

The stones in the Go bowl collided as Su Yiming lifted another piece.

"I will weave a net in the center and capture the great roc in the primordial void!"

The stone descended!

Tap!

In every past game, whenever someone faced the 3-3 invasion, the standard response was always to block and hane.

But this time—

Column 16, Row 5—Extend!

For the first time, someone had not followed the traditional joseki after blocking. Instead, after blocking—he extended!

Review Room

"Extend?!"

In the review room, the moment Zhou Wei saw Black’s move on the screen, his eyes widened in shock. His entire body tensed as if struck by lightning, and he instinctively rose to his feet!

Review Room

"He didn't hane?"

Le Haoqiang stared intently at the screen, holding his breath. His hands unconsciously tightened around the armrests of his chair, his expression one of disbelief.

Against a 3-3 invasion, the standard joseki was to hane, forcing White to extend along the second line. If White refused to connect, they would have no choice but to crawl along the edge—either way, the player with the star-point stones (Black) always came out ahead.

But now, against the 3-3 invasion, Black had abandoned the once "undoubtedly superior" hane—

And instead…

Extended?

"Extend?"

In the broadcast studio, Zeng Chenlu was dumbfounded as she stared at the big screen.

She had already set up the expected sequences, yet Black had placed the next stone in a position she never could have imagined!

No hane—just an extension?!

Zhu Huaian stood quietly beside her, watching the screen without any visible surprise. He remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

Handtalk Room

"Extend?"

Yu Shao quietly studied the board, his gaze fixed on the black stone at Column 16, Row 5.

In that moment, he felt as if he had glimpsed into the past—a game from his previous life.

Black had just played one of the fundamental responses to a 3-3 invasion!

Ever since the Flame Inheritance Match, when he had first played the 3-3 invasion, Yu Shao had known that this day would come. And now, it finally had.

Compared to other responses to a 3-3 invasion, Black’s extension was aimed at building influence—expanding the star-point stones outward, claiming the center as his domain, perfectly aligning with the Triple Star Formation he had chosen earlier!

"A small knight’s move might be the more stable choice here."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Yu Shao reached into the Go bowl and picked up a white stone.

"No, a jump would be better—to test Black’s response and draw him into a fight!"

The next second—

Before the eyes of countless spectators—

White moved!

Tap!

Column 17, Row 6—Jump!

Su Yiming lowered his gaze, silently studying the board. Without hesitation, he reached into the Go bowl again and placed his next move.

Tap!

Column 16, Row 6—Press!

"He presses immediately? He’s aggressively reinforcing his outer influence—trying to create an impenetrable wall and turn this into a fight to the death?"

Yu Shao’s eyes flickered. He quickly picked up another stone and placed it down without delay!

Tap!

Column 17, Row 7—Extend!

Su Yiming responded just as fast!

Tap!

Column 17, Row 5—Push!

The battle had begun!

The two players continued exchanging moves at lightning speed. The quiet Go room was filled only with the crisp sound of stones landing on the board.

Sitting at the recorder’s table, the female recorder was already in shock.

The moment Black chose not to hane but to extend, the established joseki had been completely thrown out the window. There were no known sequences to follow anymore.

And yet, both players—locked in this intricate corner battle—were playing with precise, calculated moves at incredible speed.

Which could only mean one thing—

Both of them had studied this variation before!

An unprecedented variation that had never appeared in any Go records—yet these two had already researched it!

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The stones landed one after another.

At this moment, they were merely testing the waters—setting up their formations. Each move was calm on the surface, yet every stone carried the weight of a silent, deadly intent!

For now, both sides remained patient. But this was only because the moment to strike had not yet come.

If one paid close attention, they would feel it—beneath this tranquil board position was the suffocating pressure of an approaching storm!

The Triple Star Formation was synonymous with fierce combat.

Such a massive central formation would inevitably invite invasions and reductions, forcing White to break through. Black and White were destined to clash in a battle of life and death in the center!

What was happening now was merely a prelude—setting the stage for the true war ahead!

Tap. Tap. Tap!

Su Yiming’s hand kept moving. Stone after stone was placed on the board without hesitation.

Listening to the crisp sound of the stones landing, feeling the silent killing intent hidden within the board—

For a brief moment, he felt as though he had returned to a hundred years ago.

Even after a century, that unmistakable sound of Go stones—

Still rang as clear as the clang of swords.

The ancient game continues, yet the clash of blades remains eternal!

Yu Shao picked up another stone and gently placed it down.

Tap!

Column 18, Row 7—Atari!

"He’s cutting off my second-line stone?"

Su Yiming’s gaze locked onto the black stone at Column 18, Row 6.

He had already expected this—it was trapped, and White was moving in for the kill.

But his expression remained ice-cold.

He had anticipated this all along.

This time, he did not immediately place a move. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and studied the board carefully.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Five minutes passed.

Finally, Su Yiming reached into the Go bowl, slowly picked up a stone, and placed it down.

Tap!

Column 16, Row 7—Press!

Yu Shao lowered his eyes, staring at the board. After a brief moment, he also picked up a stone and played his move.

Tap!

Column 18, Row 8—Crawl!

"So he crawled—sealing off any possibility of invasion from the start, leaving not a single weakness behind."

Su Yiming silently studied the board, his gaze fixed on a single point.

In his mind, he could see the countless games he had played a hundred years ago—games that still remained vivid in his memory even today.

"A hundred years ago, I constantly pursued the highest level of Go."

"Not just a hundred years ago…"

"Even now, after all this time, I have never once stopped chasing it—seeking to go beyond."

His eyes sharpened.

"And in every game I’ve played, I have learned."

He reached into the Go bowl and slowly picked up a stone.

The next moment—

Tap!

On the interwoven lines of the Go board—

A single black stone landed at Column 3, Row 17.

A move that shone like the sun itself—so brilliant that no one could look away!

Column 3, Row 17—3-3 Invasion!

Su Yiming lifted his head, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked across the board at Yu Shao.

His gaze carried an unspoken message—

"Yu Shao, this is what I learned from your games."

"I return it to you!"