This Isn't Treasure, It's Two Monsters!

As he spoke, Wang Rui's voice grew fainter. He lowered his head, not quite daring to meet Chen Jiaming's gaze.

Chen Jiaming had placed great expectations on him. Last year, he had suffered a crushing defeat in the Go league. Now, after a year of rigorous training, he was ready to showcase his skills in this year's league, only to be told he had to step down.

Filled with resentment, he had challenged the player who was replacing him.

But this game had ended up like this, utterly routed.

Seeing Wang Rui's dejected state, Chen Jiaming fell silent.

As a teacher, he should have offered Wang Rui some words of comfort, urging him to cheer up.

However, he had watched this entire game from start to finish.

From beginning to end, the black stones had been utterly dominated by the white stones. Every offensive move was effortlessly neutralized by white, and every defense crumbled under white's relentless, surging attacks.

He couldn't fathom the impact such a complete and utter defeat, where Wang Rui had been unable to retaliate at all, would have on him.

The gap exposed in this game was almost enough to drive someone to despair.

Moreover, Chen Jiaming knew very well that Wang Rui had given his absolute all in this game.

But the most frustrating and painful part was that even after giving his all, he was so easily defeated by his opponent, revealing a gap that seemed insurmountable.

Therefore, he couldn't bring himself to say those hollow words of encouragement like "don't be discouraged."

"You played very well."

After a moment, Chen Jiaming finally spoke.

Hearing this, Wang Rui blinked in surprise and looked up. Chen Jiaming was smiling at him.

"Perhaps you didn't play your absolute best, but you played to your own level."

Chen Jiaming shifted his gaze back to the board and said, "The end of one game is the beginning of the next. This is not everything, nor is it the true end."

"In every game, you don't need to play your absolute best; you just need to play your best for yourself."

"And besides—"

Chen Jiaming smiled and turned back to Wang Rui, saying, "Although you lost this game, and lost badly, I saw it."

"I saw your effort, I saw your progress. Your Go skills have improved so much compared to a year ago. Your efforts this year were not in vain, and I am very pleased."

Hearing this, the emotions that had been pent up in Wang Rui's heart could no longer be contained. Hot tears welled up and spilled from his eyes.

"Teacher..." Wang Rui choked out.

"You're not that young anymore."

Chen Jiaming smiled somewhat helplessly and said, "Alright, wipe your eyes. The game is over, let's look at the other two games."

Upon hearing this, Wang Rui nodded vigorously, wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve, and then stood up.

Only then did Chen Jiaming finally walk over to the table where Xu Ziqin was seated and look at the Go board.

In this game, Xu Ziqin was playing black.

Chen Jiaming's heart skipped a beat with just a glance at the board.

"Black has cut white in half from the middle?!"

It was clear that black held an absolute advantage, having directly bisected the white stones, with the formation being completely constrained.

"White has been forced into such a position?"

Chen Jiaming glanced at Xu Ziqin with some surprise, then looked down at the next five or six moves.

Xu Ziqin played her stones rapidly, while the male student sitting opposite her grew increasingly grim-faced with each move.

"Although black has the advantage, they haven't attacked rashly. Even if black were to launch a fierce assault, white would likely not be able to withstand it."

"Black is using a slow knife to carve flesh, gradually strangling white through exchanges and erosion, giving white no opportunities. Even if white manages to make the large group on the left wing alive, they will likely still lose."

"So calm, and such a strong grasp of the overall situation! It's hard to believe she's a female player!"

"From the wheel battles this morning, I thought she was better at attacking and killing, but looking at this game, it's more than just that!"

"She's so strong too!"

Chen Jiaming couldn't help but look up at Xu Ziqin.

Xu Ziqin gazed down at the board, her demeanor cool and detached. She was completely focused on the game and didn't notice Chen Jiaming.

"This level of play..."

"She, and that child Yu Shao... this year's first-year students are just too incredible."

The principal had told him earlier that their Jiangling First High School had struck gold.

But now, it seemed they hadn't just struck gold; they had found two monsters!

It would have been remarkable enough to have one such talent, but this time, there were two.

With the Go skills of these two individuals, which even made him feel ashamed, Chen Jiaming didn't know how they could possibly lose the Go league this year!

As an Amateur Fifth Dan, he could still offer some guidance to Wang Rui and the others. But facing Yu Shao and Xu Ziqin, he felt like he might not even be able to win if he played himself.

Beside Chen Jiaming, Wang Rui looked at this game, also speechless for the moment.

While feeling a sense of shared misfortune, Wang Rui also quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

At least I'm not the only one who lost so badly.

However, in this game, although Wang Rui could feel the significant gap between himself and Xu Ziqin, it was a gap he could still perceive.

Unlike his match against Yu Shao, where he had only felt profound powerlessness and despair.

Thinking of this, Wang Rui couldn't help but clench his fist.

"That's too exaggerated..."

"He's not even from a Go dojo, how could he possibly have this kind of skill."

A moment later, Chen Jiaming walked towards the last table, the one where Zhong Yufei was playing.

On this table, Zhong Yufei, like Xu Ziqin, was playing black, while his opponent played white.

On the board, the black and white stones were tightly intertwined, locked in a fierce battle. The situation was deadlocked and intense, with neither side gaining an advantage. It seemed unlikely a winner would emerge quickly, and the game would likely go down to the endgame.

Upon seeing the situation on the board at this table, Chen Jiaming and Wang Rui simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

If the third game, like the first two, had shown one side with an overwhelming advantage, it would have been too terrifying.

This kind of game felt more like what an average high school Go player would produce!

At this moment, Yu Shao also finally returned to the activity room from the restroom.

Seeing that Chen Jiaming and Wang Rui were both focused on Zhong Yufei's game, Yu Shao also walked over to observe.

After patiently watching a few moves, Yu Shao couldn't help but frown.

To be honest, it was a bit hard to watch.

Both players made mistakes, but not many. Their skill level was evident, but they both frequently played moves that seemed reasonable at first glance but were actually irrelevant to the overall game.

Besides that, both black and white occasionally played overly casual moves. While not outright blunders, it was clear there were better options, and they missed opportunities to extend their advantage.

Although Wang Rui also had these issues, they were more apparent and numerous in this particular game for both players.

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