I Really Didn’t Mean to Play Go!
Chapter 27: The Scope of This World

"I'll save you first."

Hearing Zhou De’s words, Yu Shao glanced at him and muttered softly, "I don’t know if they fell into the river, but your brain is definitely waterlogged."

"S**t!"

Zhou De flipped Yu Shao the middle finger.

Not long after, the group of boys finally settled into Class 7's seats at the slowest possible pace. They began speaking loudly, intentionally or otherwise, hoping to catch the attention of Wu Zhixuan in the front row.

Spring had arrived, the season of courtship once again.

However, for high school boys, every season is the season of courtship if a pretty girl is present. Each of them puffed up like peacocks, desperately trying to attract the opposite sex's attention.

"Why even her back looks so good?"

Zhou De stared at Wu Zhixuan's back with a goofy grin.

Yu Shao cast a disdainful glance at Zhou De and reminded him, "Wipe your drool."

"Brother, I've decided—I want to become a professional Go player!"

Zhou De wiped the corner of his mouth and made a solemn vow to Yu Shao, "Reconnecting with Shen Yi of Jiangling!"

Yu Shao almost burst into laughter.

He thought that Zhou De’s only chance of becoming a professional Go player would be to swing the Go board and knock his opponent unconscious. In that case, Zhou De would indeed be unmatched.

After all, Zhou De, as a sports student specially recruited into Jiangling High School, was undeniably strong.

Soon, students from other classes also began filing into the multimedia classroom. Like the boys from Class 7, when the male students from other classes caught sight of Wu Zhixuan sitting in the front row, they all slowed their steps in unison.

At that moment, Xu Zijin entered the multimedia classroom as well.

Xu Zijin had her hair in a low ponytail today and was dressed in her school uniform. She looked youthful and radiant, almost blindingly exquisite.

For a moment, all the male students in the classroom couldn’t help but let their eyes shuttle back and forth between Wu Zhixuan and Xu Zijin, seemingly torn on who to look at.

Ah, I can’t decide, I just can’t decide!

Why do I only have two eyes?!

Even Yu Shao seriously evaluated their looks.

In the end, he concluded that Xu Zijin's features were slightly more delicate, but Wu Zhixuan's smile was simply too disarming.

Even someone like him, with a mental age nearing thirty, almost couldn’t handle it when he saw Wu Zhixuan's smile earlier.

Xu Zijin, on the other hand, was far colder, always giving off a vibe that kept people at arm's length.

Hmm, but more importantly—

Xu Zijin is a B, and Wu Zhixuan is a D.

Therefore, after weighing all the factors, it was too close to call.

Not long after, the entire multimedia classroom was packed to the brim. All the students had arrived.

As the class bell rang, it was time for everyone's least favorite part—the principal’s speech.

"Passing on the culture of Go, promoting the spirit of Go..."

The balding principal stood on stage, eloquently reading his script for a full ten minutes before finally getting to the point.

"Now, let us welcome our outstanding alumnus, the renowned professional Go player, Wu Shuheng, 3-dan!"

The room immediately erupted into applause. It was hard to tell whether the enthusiasm was for Wu Shuheng’s arrival or for the principal finally finishing his speech.

Following that, a young man in his early twenties with neat, short hair walked onto the stage. Taking the microphone from the principal, he introduced himself to the teachers and students.

"Hello, everyone. I’m Wu Shuheng, currently a professional Go player. It’s an honor to be invited back to my alma mater to give this Go promotional lecture."

"Go is a sport with an incredibly long history, spanning thousands of years..."

Standing on the stage, Wu Shuheng spoke eloquently, beginning with the origins of Go and progressing to its development in the modern era.

"D*mn it, I want to sit in the front row," Zhou De whispered to Yu Shao. "I can’t hear a thing from here."

"Are you really here to listen to the lecture?" Yu Shao shot back.

Yu Shao gave Zhou De a sidelong glance and said, "I don’t even have the heart to call you out."

"What do you mean? I’m a sports student, and Go is a sport! I was born to play Go!" Zhou De retorted. "Why shouldn’t I sit in the front row to listen to the lecture?"

"Go is a sport for the brain. Do you even have one?"

Yu Shao ruthlessly exposed the flaw in Zhou De’s argument.

"You’re asking for it!" Zhou De erupted in his usual fury.

Ignoring Zhou De, Yu Shao focused seriously on listening to Wu Shuheng’s talk about the development of Go in this world.

To be honest, Yu Shao wasn’t very familiar with this world’s Go history. If it weren’t for Zhou De, he wouldn’t even know about Shen Yi, let alone that the komi system in this world had originated because of Shen Yi.

Thanks to Wu Shuheng's speech, Yu Shao quickly gained a general understanding of how Go had developed in this parallel world.

In this world, there used to be a rule called the "Pre-Set Stones System." The system required both black and white players to place stones on four star points before the game officially began. However, this system was abolished quite early. For a long period afterward, people played Go without the komi rule.

During that time, countless masters emerged, creating countless Go opening structures and producing many famous matches that are still celebrated today.

It wasn’t until over a hundred years ago, when Shen Yi appeared, that the komi system was introduced. The "7.5-point komi" rule has been in use ever since.

Although this world lacked the Go players Yu Shao had been familiar with in his previous life, the majority of Go strategies and opening patterns he knew were still discovered by players in this world.

For instance, patterns like the "Great Avalanche" and the "Chinese Opening."

Overall, the development of Go in this world was not very different from his previous life. The only change was that the players he knew had been replaced by this world’s counterparts.

However, there was one significant difference: Go in this world seemed to be far more internationalized, and consequently, much more valued.

How should one put it?

In Yu Shao's previous world, if a medieval-themed British TV show featured two Westerners playing Go, it would strike everyone as ridiculous and out of place. But in this world, such a scene would seem entirely normal. In fact, it would be so reasonable that people might praise the director for his creativity.

This was because Go had spread globally in this world at a much earlier time.

In his previous life, while Go had a small but dedicated following in the West, it remained a niche interest. The primary players were concentrated in Eastern countries, and most major tournaments were essentially intra-regional showdowns among Eastern nations.

But in this world, both Eastern and Western countries boasted renowned Go players. It wasn’t uncommon to see players of all races competing against one another in international tournaments.

This led to one inevitable outcome—

Go tournaments in this world were more frequent, the prize money was more lucrative, but the competition was also far fiercer!

"Over a hundred years ago, when Go Sage Shen Yi was alive, our country’s Go skills were undoubtedly the best in the world. However, in the years since, other countries have caught up, and many have even surpassed us."

On stage, Wu Shuheng held the microphone and said, "Although our country’s Go is still among the world’s leaders overall, we’ve never been able to reclaim the top position."

"But I firmly believe that one day, a player like Shen Yi will emerge again, leading our country’s Go back to the pinnacle of the world!"

"That player might be me," Wu Shuheng added with a playful grin.

The audience erupted into laughter at his bold proclamation.

"But!" Wu Shuheng paused, gazing at the students and teachers below the stage, then smiled and said, "It might also be one of you!"

"Don’t hesitate because the road ahead is bumpy, and don’t cower because your opponent is strong. We keep moving forward, keep climbing higher. That is what it means to be a Go player!"

As his words fell, the audience burst into thunderous applause, as waves of enthusiasm swept through the room.