Invincible Young Master in the City
Chapter 373 - 373 369 Infuriating to Death

373: Chapter 369: Infuriating to Death 373: Chapter 369: Infuriating to Death The Ren elder, upon hearing the words, showed a slight irritation, like a hunter who hunted geese all day only to have his eyes pecked by one unexpectedly.

“Hmph, young man, one must conduct oneself with dignity and honor.

Even if you gain some advantages by taking shortcuts now and then, in the end, you can’t avoid a dismal outcome,” the Ren elder said, his meaning clear.

“Do you think just because you’ve gained some advantage in the game by launching a surprise attack, you can win?

Far from it!”

Ye Fan replied with a faint smile, “War is the way of deception.

You have immersed yourself in the ways of Go for decades; I am just starting out and am surely not your equal in skill.

If I don’t take advantage of your underestimation and try to gain some benefits, and instead go head-to-head with you in every aspect, then I would truly be rigid and foolishly conservative.

When I say I’ve won this game of Go, it means I’ve won for sure.

You can’t turn it around!”

The Ren elder snorted, no longer engaging in conversation with Ye Fan, and lowered his head to concentrate and reassess the game.

The conversation between Ye Fan and the Ren elder was, of course, heard by the onlookers.

Every one of them sneered at Ye Fan’s words, mocking him coldly.

“It’s just taking advantage of a weak moment to launch a surprise attack to gain some advantage in the game, and now he’s shamelessly boasting.

The youth of today really are frivolous!”

“Who doesn’t admire Ren elder’s accomplishments in Go?

Even if he is momentarily at a disadvantage, he can easily reverse the situation with a few moves!”

“That’s right, and what’s more, there are still more than sixty moves left in the entire game!

Even I could easily turn the tables and win, not to mention the Ren elder!”

“Young man, learn a lesson, if you don’t aim for the highest, you won’t know how high the mountain is.

It’s your great fortune cultivated over three lifetimes that the Ren elder condescended to play with you.

Don’t fail to appreciate it and be arrogant and conceited, making yourself a laughingstock!”

…

…

Zhou Zhiqian’s delicate brows furrowed slightly as she stood up and said to the onlookers, “Silence is golden when watching a game of Go.

Please be quiet.”

The onlookers closed their mouths, but their glances towards Ye Fan were filled with even more scorn and contempt.

Zhou Zhiqian settled back into her seat, her gaze landing on Ye Fan’s face.

In fact, she also thought that Ye Fan’s last statement was a bit too much.

In her view, it was already an impressive feat that Ye Fan could lay this trap for the Ren elder in Go, but beating Ren elder would probably require another Ten Years of practice.

However, she was emotionally on Ye Fan’s side because she understood that Ye Fan had been involved in this unwarranted disaster entirely because of her.

Noticing Zhou Zhiqian’s gaze, Ye Fan responded with a serene smile.

The Ren elder studied the game intently for a full three minutes, before finally coming up with a counterstrategy and cautiously placing a black stone.

However, he no longer lectured Zhou Zhiqian with every move as he had before because the current state of the game, which seemed to only give Ye Fan some advantage, would actually continuously unleash waves of attacks like surging tides against his black dragon.

After the Ren elder placed a black stone, Ye Fan immediately placed a white stone without hesitation.

Using the Ren elder’s underestimation, he set up this formation of stones; once established, the next steps would only require tightening the noose, strangling the Ren elder’s black dragon.

Therefore, the rest of his game was already clear in his mind, and his moves no longer required deep contemplation.

After Ye Fan placed the white stone, the Ren elder pondered for a few seconds and then cautiously made another move.

Yet, as soon as he moved, Ye Fan quickly placed another white stone, with remarkable speed.

For successive moves, this pattern continued.

In that moment, Ye Fan revealed an incredibly sharp edge, becoming aggressive and imposing, putting pressure that even the elderly Mr.

Ren could feel.

The onlookers quietened down upon seeing this, as they realized Ye Fan’s Go skills had suddenly surged, now matching their own.

As time passed minute by minute, Mr.

Ren took longer and longer to make each move, obviously struggling, while Ye Fan maintained the same fierce momentum, playing rapidly.

On the Go board, Ye Fan’s advantage grew larger, and Mr.

Ren could only put up a desperate defense.

The spectators grew utterly silent, their eyes wide as they watched the game, desperately trying to figure out how they would break Ye Fan’s position, but to no avail.

Their gaze shifted from the board to Ye Fan, no longer looking down on him but with a serious respect.

Especially seeing Ye Fan still maintaining his calm and composed demeanor, they couldn’t help but sigh internally: This young man’s Go skill is so high, who among the national masters trained him?

As for Zhou Zhiqian, she watched the game and Ye Fan with great surprise.

She remembered that Ye Fan had only mentioned Go as one of his hobbies, never claiming it as a particular strength.

Before Mr.

Ren had set his trap, she still thought of Ye Fan as just decent at the game, not exceptional.

But now, it seemed that calling it a mere hobby was an understatement; it was easily a special talent.

At that moment, her esteem for Ye Fan greatly increased, and her curiosity about him deepened.

“Back then he said singing, dancing, Go, and calligraphy were his hobbies, judging from his level in singing and Go, his calligraphy and dancing must also be exceptional,” she thought to herself.

Half an hour later, there were still more than a dozen moves left to play, but Mr.

Ren had given up and conceded.

“I lost this game,” Mr.

Ren said, his face flushed with embarrassment.

He had wanted to give Ye Fan a casual lesson, to diminish Zhou Zhiqian’s admiration for Ye Fan’s Go skills, but had unexpectedly fallen into a pit.

The onlookers all sighed incessantly.

“Hehe, I appreciate the gesture, just got a bit lucky,” Ye Fan said with a light smile, not showing much triumph, then stood up.

“Hold on!” Mr.

Ren immediately called out, “You think you can just leave like that?”

Ye Fan’s face showed an innocent expression as he replied, “Mr.

Ren, it’s already one o’clock, I’m so hungry I could stick to myself, I need to go eat.”

“No way!

One game doesn’t determine a winner, we should play at least three games,” Mr.

Ren said clearly intent on saving his pride, “If you’re hungry, we have all sorts of exquisite snacks here, I’ll treat you to a fill!”

Ye Fan smiled and shook his head, “My Go skills are definitely not as good as yours.

So there’s no need to play further.

Besides, from the start, this game wasn’t about winning or losing, but about teaching Zhiqian how to play Go.

Now that the lesson is over, it should suffice for her to digest for a while, naturally there’s no need to continue.”

Mr.

Ren was so annoyed he almost shouted in frustration, this was rubbing salt in the wound.

Ye Fan, however, didn’t care much about Mr.

Ren.

He hadn’t provoked this old Ren from the start, but old Ren had harbored ill intentions from the beginning, seeking to foil the match.

If Ye Fan hadn’t had some skill, he might have been humiliated to the point of jumping off a building today.

Therefore, he had no intention of giving Mr.

Ren a chance to redeem himself, preferring to let old Ren stew in his frustration and choke on his own vexation.

After all, Ye Fan had no plans to pursue Zhou Zhiqian, and couldn’t care less what Mr.

Ren’s relationship with her was.