This World's Round and Square

"I'll save you first."

Hearing Zhou De's words, Yu Shao glanced at him and said in a low voice, "I don't know if they fell into the river, but your brain definitely has water in it."

"Damn it!"

Zhou De gave Yu Shao the middle finger.

Not long after, the group of boys finally, at the slowest pace possible, sat down in Class Seven's seats. Then, they all began to talk loudly, intentionally or unintentionally, hoping to attract the attention of Wu Zhixuan in the front row.

Spring has arrived, and it's mating season again.

But for high school boys, as long as they see beautiful girls, it's mating season all year round. They all want to spread their tails like peacocks, trying to attract the attention of the opposite sex.

"Why does her back look so good?"

Zhou De stared at Wu Zhixuan's back in the front row, letting out a perverted laugh.

Yu Shao gave Zhou De a contemptuous look and reminded him, "Wipe your drool."

"Good brother, I've decided, I'm going to become a professional Go player."

Zhou De wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and made a vow to Yu Shao, "Jiangling Shen Yi, reconnect!"

Yu Shao wanted to laugh.

He thought the only way Zhou De could become a professional Go player was by picking up a Go board and smashing his opponent to death. In that case, Zhou De would indeed be unrivaled.

After all, Zhou De, as a specially recruited sports student at Jiangling First High School, had some skill.

Soon, students from other classes also arrived at the multimedia classroom one after another.

Just like the boys in Class Seven, the male students from other classes, upon seeing Wu Zhixuan sitting in the front row, were all stunned and then collectively slowed their pace.

Just then, Xu Ziqin also walked into the multimedia classroom.

Xu Ziqin was still wearing her hair in a low ponytail today, dressed in her school uniform, looking youthful and beautiful, exquisitely dazzling.

For a moment, the male creatures in the entire multimedia classroom began to dart their eyes back and forth between Wu Zhixuan and Xu Ziqin, seemingly struggling to decide who to look at!

Ah, I can't choose, I just can't choose!

Why do I only have two eyes!

Even Yu Shao seriously evaluated the appearance of the two.

In the end, Yu Shao concluded that Xu Ziqin's features were more refined, but Wu Zhixuan's smile was simply too unfair.

Even he, an old man with a psychological age of nearly thirty, almost couldn't resist when he saw Wu Zhixuan's greeting smile just now.

Xu Ziqin was too cold, always giving off a distant, aloof feeling.

Well, and more importantly—

Xu Ziqin was a B, while Wu Zhixuan was a D.

Therefore, based on a comprehensive evaluation, the two were hard to distinguish.

Before long, the entire multimedia classroom was densely packed with people, and all students had arrived.

When the class bell rang, it was time for everyone's least favorite principal's speech.

"Inheriting Go culture and promoting the spirit of Go..."

The bald principal stood on the stage, holding his speech draft and speaking eloquently for a full ten minutes before finally getting to the main topic.

"Next, let's invite our school's outstanding alumnus, the current famous professional Go player, Wu Shuheng 3-dan!"

The entire multimedia classroom erupted in thunderous applause, though it was unclear whether it was to welcome Wu Shuheng or to express their joy that the principal had finally finished.

Immediately after, a young man around twenty years old with neat, short hair walked onto the stage, took the microphone from the principal, and gave a brief self-introduction to the teachers and students below.

"Hello everyone, I am Wu Shuheng, currently a professional Go player. I am honored to be invited to my alma mater to give this Go promotion lecture."

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

Wu Shuheng spoke eloquently on stage, starting from the origins of Go and then discussing its development today.

"Damn it, I want to sit in the front row."

Below the stage, Zhou De whispered to Yu Shao beside him, "I can't hear anything sitting here."

"Are you really here to listen to the lecture?"

Yu Shao glanced sideways at Zhou De and said, "I'm too embarrassed to expose you."

"What? I'm a sports student, and Go is also a sport. I was born to play Go!" Zhou De retorted, "Why can't I be the one listening to the lecture in the front row?"

"Go is a sport of the mind. Do you have a mind?"

Yu Shao cruelly exposed the loophole in Zhou De's words.

"You want to die!" Zhou De was enraged as usual.

Yu Shao couldn't be bothered with Zhou De anymore and listened intently as Wu Shuheng spoke about the development of Go in this world.

He indeed didn't know much about the development of Go in this world. If it weren't for Zhou De, he wouldn't have known about Shen Yi at all, nor that the komi system in this world was born because of Shen Yi.

Through Wu Shuheng's lecture, Yu Shao quickly gained a general understanding of the development of Go in this world.

This world once had the Stone Placement System.

The so-called Stone Placement System meant that before a game, both Black and White would place stones on four Star Points on the board before starting the match.

However, the Stone Placement System was abolished very early on, and for a considerable period, people played Go without the komi rule.

During this time, countless masters emerged, created numerous Go openings, and played many famous games that are still passed down today.

Then, over a hundred years ago, Shen Yi appeared, and with him came the komi system. The rule of komi at seven and a half points has been used ever since.

Although this world doesn't have the Go players that Yu Shao was familiar with from his previous life, most of the basic Go openings have still been explored by the Go players in this world.

For example, the Great Avalanche Fuseki, the Chinese Flow Fuseki...

Overall, the development of Go in this world is not too different from his previous life. The only difference is that the players Yu Shao knew have been replaced by players from this world.

However, there is one significant difference: Go in this world seems to be more international and therefore receives more attention.

How should I put it?

If, in his previous life, someone watched an English drama about the Middle Ages and saw two Westerners playing Go, everyone would probably find it out of place.

But in this world, it's a very normal occurrence. No one would find it strange; in fact, they would find it reasonable and commend the director.

This is because, in this world, Go spread to various parts of the world very early on.

While Go was popular among many in the West in his previous life, the fervor was relatively low. Most top players were concentrated in Eastern countries, and major tournaments were often internal competitions among players from Eastern nations.

But in this world, there are very famous Go players from both the East and the West. It's common to see players of all skin colors competing against each other in international Go tournaments.

This has led to one thing—

Go competitions in this world are more numerous, the prize money is more substantial, but the competition is also exceptionally fierce!

"Over a hundred years ago, during the time of the Go Saint Shen Yi, our country's Go could be considered the world's best. However, now, various countries have caught up, and many have even surpassed us."

On stage, Wu Shuheng held the microphone and said, "Although our country's overall Go level is still among the world's leading positions, we have consistently failed to reach the top again."

"However, I firmly believe that one day, a player will emerge, just like Shen Yi back then, to once again lead our country's Go to the world's summit!"

"That player might be me."

As Wu Shuheng finished speaking, the audience below couldn't help but chuckle, erupting in laughter.

"But!"

Wu Shuheng paused, looked at the teachers and students in the audience, and smiled, "It might also be one of you!"

"We do not hesitate due to the difficult road ahead, nor do we tremble before strong opponents. We press forward, we climb continuously. This is what a Go player is!"

As he finished speaking, the audience erupted in a wave of enthusiastic applause.

Please follow for more updates~