"Knowing my master's identity and still daring to issue a challenge so recklessly reveals two things. First, the matter of Ink Pavilion has struck his sore spot. Second, whatever he does next will be utterly unrestrained!"
Old Bai nodded with a smile. "It seems you understand him well enough already. Do you have confidence in suppressing him in the next game?"
"Master's skill in the game of Go is unfathomable. This disciple is untalented and has learned only thirty percent!" Luo Wuxin said. "The way of Go lies not in the process, but in the result. In the next game, the process may be ignored entirely. As long as the final result overwhelms him, that is the kingly way!"
"A scholar worth teaching!" Old Bai nodded in approval.
From this exchange, it was clear that Luo Wuxin's agreement with Lin Su—the agreement to challenge the sacred peaks of the Two Palaces—was itself a game of chess, and one that had received Old Bai's approval.
Luo Wuxin had long since seen through the wondrous purpose of this game.
If he and Lin Su competed on the same stage, it would be difficult for him to suppress Lin Su during the contest itself. But the true way of playing chess had never been about fighting for the lead with every single piece; it was about controlling the outcome.
Luo Wuxin might not be able to seize the lead with every piece.
But control over the outcome had already become a foregone conclusion.
On this chessboard, no matter how Lin Su struggled or how brilliantly he shone, he would ultimately step into the dead cycle others had long prepared for him. As for Luo Wuxin, no matter what he did, the final result would be exactly as he wished.
On this level, Luo