I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 240: I’ll Be Waiting for Our Next Game

The game was over.

Yet, inside the Handtalk Room, an eerie silence lingered, heavy with a stifling and somewhat sorrowful atmosphere.

Typically, once a match concluded, both players would bow to each other, put away the stones, and leave. But this time, Yu Shao and Su Yiming remained seated across from each other, eyes cast downward, staring at the intricate and tangled board in front of them. The room was dead silent.

The female game recorder and the two referees should have already left by now. But like the players, they remained in their seats, gazing at the board, unable to calm their emotions.

This game—everywhere you looked, brilliance burst forth from genius.

This game—it carried the sheer sharpness of heaven and earth, yet also the mysterious, elusive glow of the stars.

On this 19x19 battlefield, the two players had together presented a masterpiece to the world.

The female recorder glanced at Yu Shao, yet she saw no trace of joy on his face despite his victory. In fact… there was even a faint sorrow.

For a brief moment, she seemed to understand the complexity of his emotions.

"Watching Black’s every move, so divine, so flawless… yet knowing that he had to ruthlessly cut off all of his opponent’s escape routes, extinguish his opponent’s last shred of hope, and slay his opponent’s dragon…"

"This entire game, they both sought to kill each other without mercy."

"But still, they were not enemies."

"They… were just opponents."

Out of the corner of her eye, the female recorder caught sight of the calligraphy hanging high on the wall—"Discussing the Way While Seated." In that moment, her heart felt strangely calm, her thoughts stripped down to their simplest form.

Time ticked away, second by second.

Zhou De stared at the board, almost as if he could still see the way the white and black stones had been picked up between fingers, taken from the Go bowl, and placed onto the board one by one with force.

The Eight-Star Formation, the 8-8 Point, Abandoning the Dragon for Initiative, the Dragon-Slaying Technique…

"Zhu Huai’an."

At last, Zhou De tore his gaze away from the board, raised his head sharply, and broke the silence.

Hearing Zhou De’s voice, Zhu Huai’an finally snapped out of his daze. He, too, lifted his head, looking straight at Zhou De.

Seven pairs of eyes met in midair.

"Wait for it," Zhou De said intensely, looking at Tong Xinfeng. "Wait for your next game."

Tong Xinfeng held Zhou De’s gaze for a long moment before finally speaking, his voice firm and resolute.

"You wait too."

At those words, Zhou De finally looked away. Only after taking one last deep look at the board did he reach out, beginning to pack up the stones from the board—just as Yu Shao did.

On the other side, Zhu Huai’an also started gathering the pieces.

Before long, the seven of them had finished putting the stones back into their respective Go bowls. The board was once again empty, as if the breathtaking battle that had just taken place had never happened.

Zhu Huai’an was the first to stand up. Looking at Tong Xinfeng, he asked, "Want to find a review room and go over the game?"

"Let’s go."

Yu Shao nodded, stood up, and left the Handtalk Room together with Su Yiming.

As they exited, the female game recorder and the two referees remained seated. Only after a long pause did they finally rise in silence, ready to leave as well.

With that, the Hero’s Pride Cup had officially come to an end.

---

After leaving the Handtalk Room, Yu Shao quickly found an empty review room and stepped inside with Su Yiming.

The two sat down across from each other, continuously pulling stones from the Go bowls, the sound of placements resuming in a steady rhythm.

Before long, Su Yiming adjusted the stones on the board and spoke.

"I didn’t expect you to let me execute the Peony Capture in the center. That was completely outside my predictions. But your hane move here, while strong, gave me the chance to abandon the dragon and fight for initiative."

Yu Shao studied the board thoughtfully. "So, you chose to jump?"

"Mhm. If I jumped out, I would’ve had no choice but to engage you in a direct fight here."

Su Yiming nodded. "The capturing race would have been incredibly intense—both black and white would have been in great danger. But White would’ve still had the advantage."

"I didn’t expect you to abandon the dragon. If you hadn’t, White would’ve been in a much stronger position in this battle."

Yu Shao shifted the stones slightly, smiling. "If I had known you would abandon the dragon, I wouldn’t have played the hane—I would’ve jumped instead. Your move really caught me off guard."

At that, Su Yiming suddenly fell silent.

After a moment, he stared at the board and finally spoke slowly.

"Even though you didn’t predict my dragon sacrifice, you never truly valued your own dragon too highly. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have tried to live on the second line."

Yu Shao was momentarily stunned.

It was true—he hadn’t anticipated Su Yiming’s bold abandonment of the dragon. But looking at the bigger picture, he had never placed too much importance on his own large dragon. Even if it were killed, he could accept that outcome.

Of course, if he could save it, he would fight tooth and nail to do so. But once Su Yiming sacrificed his dragon for initiative, the momentum of the dragon-slaying attack was overwhelming, swallowing everything in its path. Su Yiming had already calculated every variation.

Faced with that, Yu Shao had no choice but to let his dragon die.

"Your sense of overall position is so…"

Su Yiming paused before continuing, "almost incomprehensibly strong."

Yu Shao was taken aback.

Su Yiming lifted his gaze, looking directly at him. "Maybe… if you avoided overly complex and chaotic fights, and instead used your sense of the whole board to suppress your opponents, you’d be even stronger than you are now."

Yu Shao suddenly fell into silence.

As he stared at the board, a distant memory from his past life resurfaced.

"Board vision, huh…"

In his past life, countless people had made similar comments about him.

He never fixated on short-term gains and losses—his mind was always on the bigger picture. Not just in the opening, but throughout the entire midgame as well.

That was how, in an era before AI had fully emerged, he had been able to play the revolutionary Shoulder Hit on the seventh line—a move that planned for the entire board.

Even after AI had reshaped the game, lifting the board vision of every player, no one had ever been able to match him in overall strategy.

Not a single one.

His past self had dominated his era through unparalleled board vision—winning by sheer positional strength, overwhelming opponents with influence, surrounding without needing to kill, and calmly securing victory in the endgame. He rarely won by much, often just by half a point.

"My board vision is an unshakable advantage. Not just in my past life, but in this life as well."

"But my sense for direct fighting… it’s not sharp enough. When the board gets too chaotic, I sometimes fail to grasp the hidden subtleties. Su Yiming has already noticed this flaw."

Yu Shao looked at the board, a swirl of emotions in his heart.

"If I hadn’t already taken this path to its absolute peak, I would consider playing that way."

"But… he doesn’t know that in my previous life, I already took this approach to its limit…"

After a moment, Yu Shao composed himself, shook his head, and smiled.

"Maybe. But I still prefer to fight to the end."

Su Yiming blinked in slight surprise but said nothing. Instead, he simply nodded, pulling another stone from the Go bowl and placing it onto the board.

They resumed reviewing the game, replaying several more moves.

Yu Shao then remarked, "Actually, you didn’t need to rush to kill the dragon. If you had played a Tiger’s Mouth on the second line first, securing the eye shape, I wouldn’t have had any move to invade."

Su Yiming frowned and said, "But if I do that, your dragon might live."

"Since the situation has already turned into a balanced exchange, it all depends on how much territory the dragon can secure. Otherwise, if both dragons die and I settle life on the second line before heading into the endgame, it would be too unfavorable for Black," Yu Shao pondered.

The two of them continued analyzing local variations for a while before resuming their game review.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The sound of stones landing on the board echoed continuously.

"If in this life, I can refine my attacking skills through countless midgame battles, I will undergo a complete transformation!"

Yu Shao stared at the board, picked up another stone from the Go bowl, and placed it down gently—

"I will overturn this world's Go theories, give all the players of this era time to catch up, use them as my whetstone, and in the end, shatter the old and forge the new—until I stand beyond reach!"

Seeing Yu Shao place a stone, Su Yiming also reached into the Go bowl and picked one out.

"Before I turned 23, I lost quite a few games as well."

"But without exception, every player who ever defeated me—eventually fell before me in the end!"

A stone was placed.

Tap!

Column 12, Row 10—Clamp!

The Impact of the Hero’s Pride Cup Finals

The impact of this game far exceeded Yu Shao’s expectations.

Just one hour after the match concluded, Yu Shao’s name had already climbed to the top of trending searches, accompanied by the word "explosive."

Two hours later, before Ding Huan’s article titled "The Final Masterpiece of the Eight-Star Formation" was even published, the game’s popularity had already reached its peak.

Keywords like "Zhu Huai’an,""8-8 Point,""Legendary Match," and "Tong Xin" had all squeezed into the top ranks of trending searches across various platforms, igniting heated discussions across the internet.

While general discussions online revolved around Yu Shao and Su Yiming, Go forums had a different focus—the 3-3 invasion.

What Zhu Huai’an had said in the broadcast studio was simply too groundbreaking. His words had sent shockwaves through the global Go community.

If his claims were ultimately proven correct, then without a doubt, thousands of years of conventional understanding about thickness and thinness in Go shapes would be completely overturned!

All players could already sense it—the gears of a new era had quietly begun to turn.

From this moment on, the 3-3 invasion wouldn’t just be a common sight in online Go matches—it would start appearing in professional tournaments worldwide, sprouting up like bamboo shoots after rain!

The idea that past judgments about Go formations had been completely mistaken, that the value of thickness must be verified through actual combat and whole-board coordination—

Such a claim was utterly shocking, almost absurd.

Yet, disturbingly, it seemed plausible.

And that left everyone both bewildered and shaken.

If it was true, then saying that today’s Hero’s Pride Cup Finals wasn’t just a legendary match but a game that would alter the course of Go history—wouldn’t be an exaggeration in the slightest.

This wasn’t just about the 3-3 invasion.

This was about the entire concept of thick vs. thin positions.

This was about the very foundation of Go itself!

Of course...

All of this still had to stand the test of time.

The Flood of Calls

That night, Yu Shao’s phone rang incessantly, almost never stopping. Even relatives he barely kept in touch with were calling him now.

"Yeah, got it, Seventh Aunt. I’ll do my best in the next stage of the competition."

Yu Shao answered the call and casually responded, "I’m heading back to Jiangling tomorrow. Mhm, okay. I’ll visit your place when I have time."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, his Seventh Aunt finally hung up.

The Hero’s Pride Cup had ended.

However, aside from Yu Shao, Su Yiming, Qin Lang, and Che Wenyu, the other eleven players still had to compete in a blitz points tournament over the next few days—fighting for the remaining six qualification spots for the next stage of the competition.

Heading Back to Jiangling

However, Yu Shao had no intention of staying at the Central Go Academy any longer. He planned to fly back to Jiangling the next day.

The moment his Seventh Aunt hung up, his phone rang again.

Yu Shao glanced at the caller ID, sighed helplessly, and picked up.

The second the call connected, Zhou De’s eardrum-piercing roar blasted through—

“Holy sh*t, bro! F**king insane!”

Yu Shao had to pull the phone away from his ear before replying, “It’s late at night, you’re yelling like that—aren’t you afraid your neighbors will come knocking?”

“I’m an athlete, what do I have to be afraid of? If they dare knock, I’ll smash a Go board over their head!”

Zhou De was beyond excited, practically screeching through the phone. “Bro, you’re too insane! I’m losing my mind over here—3-3 actually works?! You’re a god! You are my god!”

“You’re the god, now can you lower your damn voice?”

Yu Shao pulled the phone even further from his ear. “I’ve told you so many times that 3-3 is playable, but you never believed me.”

“I believe you now, bro, I swear! Even Go Sage Zhu Huai’an believes it, who am I to doubt it?!”

On the other end, there was a loud thud, followed by Zhou De’s voice again—

“Bro, I get it now. I’m kneeling! I swear, I’m kneeling right now! Teach me Go, please!”

“…Wait, seriously?”

Yu Shao was stunned. “You actually got down on your knees?”

“For real, bro! I want to play Go!”

Zhou De practically shouted, “I want to play games as legendary as yours! Bro, this was an iconic match! Even if you die, hundreds of years from now, when people talk about Go, they’ll still remember this game!”

“…Can you say something that doesn’t sound like a death omen?”

Yu Shao rolled his eyes. “What do you mean even if I die? Are you cursing me?”

“My bad, my bad! Long life to you, bro!”

Hearing that, Zhou De immediately backtracked, his tone full of sincerity—and even a hint of admiration.

“You really suck at giving blessings,” Yu Shao commented.

“Huh?”

Zhou De was confused. “How am I bad at blessing people?”

“If you’re gonna bless someone, just go all the way—why stop at long life? Just wish me immortality while you’re at it.”

“Hiss—”

Zhou De sucked in a breath and instantly said, “F**king genius! I wish you eternal life! Bro, no more nonsense—just teach me Go! When are you coming back to Jiangling? Seriously, play a couple of teaching games with me, please!”

“I’m flying back tomorrow.”

Seeing Zhou De’s sincerity—he was even calling him bro now—Yu Shao thought for a moment and then said, “I’ll rest for a few days, then we can play a couple of games online.”

“Deal! It’s a promise!”

Zhou De sounded genuinely excited. Then, as if remembering something, he asked, “You’re definitely joining the 争棋 (Fight for Pro Slots), right?”

“Yeah.”

Yu Shao nodded. “All four semifinalists have to participate.”

“Damn! Bro, I’m a simple guy, not much for words, so all I can say is—you’re insane!”

Zhou De took a deep breath and bellowed, “Make sure you play like you did today! We’re all counting on you to win the Fight for Pro Slots!”

After chatting a bit longer, Zhou De finally hung up.

But just a second later—

Riiing!

Yu Shao’s phone rang again.

He was starting to feel a headache coming on. He had already answered over a dozen calls today, all congratulating him on winning the Hero’s Pride Cup, and frankly, he was getting a little tired of it.

Even when people were calling to celebrate, too many congratulatory calls could still be annoying.

Still, he glanced at the caller ID.

Seeing the name Xu Zi, he was momentarily stunned.

His expression flickered with a hint of surprise before he finally picked up the call.

“Hello?”

A cool, composed voice came through the receiver.

“Congratulations on winning the Hero’s Pride Cup.”

Yu Shao immediately responded, “Thanks.”

“When are you heading back to Jiangling?” Xu Zijin asked.

He had already answered this question so many times tonight, but still, he patiently replied, “Tomorrow.”

“…Tomorrow, huh.”

Xu Zijin seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking, “Then, are you free the day after tomorrow? I’d like you to go over your final match with me.”

She paused, then added, “I’ll pay you.”

Hearing that, Yu Shao couldn’t help but laugh.

“No need for that. I’m free the day after tomorrow. Where do you want to do the review?”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then, Xu Zijin’s voice came through.

“Mountain-Sea Chess Hall. Is that okay?”

Yu Shao was slightly taken aback at the mention of Mountain-Sea Chess Hall, but he quickly agreed.

“Sure, let’s do it there.”

After hanging up, Yu Shao had barely lowered his phone when it vibrated again—this time, a WeChat message.

[Wu Zhixuan: Congratulations on winning the championship! This game was absolutely, absolutely, absolutely amazing! I rewrote this message seven or eight times—I don’t even know how to put it into words. My emotions are all over the place, I’m beyond excited. But anyway—CONGRATS!! I owe you a meal when you’re back!]

Yu Shao quickly typed a response:

[Yu Shao: Thanks.]

Wu Zhixuan replied almost instantly—

[Wu Zhixuan: No need to thank me! You must be exhausted today—get some rest! No need to reply!]

Seeing that message, Yu Shao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Without responding further, he put down his phone and headed for the shower room.

Playing Go was incredibly physically demanding.

Today’s match had lasted for hours, then he had to review the game, return to the hotel, and endure a relentless barrage of phone calls.

Now, it was already late at night—

And he was utterly exhausted.