Dragon Slaying Once More

Hearing this, Yu Shao couldn't help but freeze, looking towards Xu Ziqin.

Looking at Xu Ziqin's calm eyes, Yu Shao inexplicably felt a sense of determination from them.

Yu Shao hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "Okay."

Xu Ziqin didn't speak, silently began to tidy up the stones, and soon placed the stones that were originally on the board back into their respective boxes.

Xu Ziqin looked up, and on her elegant and peerless face, there was a hint of unyielding stubbornness. She opened her mouth and said, "Let's guess who plays black."

After speaking, Xu Ziqin gently pursed her lips, reached into the stone box, and grabbed a handful of white stones.

Yu Shao also reached into the stone box, holding a black stone in his palm.

Seeing this, Xu Ziqin opened her hand, and the stones immediately bounced onto the board, making a crisp metallic sound.

Xu Ziqin extended her slender, fair fingers, separating the stones in pairs, and began counting them: "Two, four, six... seven."

"Seven, an odd number."

After counting the stones, Xu Ziqin looked at Yu Shao. Yu Shao opened his hand, revealing the single black stone in his palm, indicating that he had guessed correctly.

"You have black and play first."

Xu Ziqin nodded at Yu Shao, her voice cool and clear, "Please guide me."

Yu Shao immediately returned the courtesy, nodding, "Please guide me."

Looking at the board, Yu Shao pondered for a moment, then picked up a stone and gently placed it in the upper right corner.

The seventeenth column, fourth row, Komoku!

Xu Ziqin's beautiful eyes flickered, and she followed Yu Shao, picking up a white stone.

Then—

Her hand descended from the heavens!

Clack!

The fourth column, fourth row, Hoshi!

Seeing Xu Ziqin at this moment, Zhong Yufei, who was standing nearby, felt his heart pound with anxiety.

"Such imposing pressure..."

Even though Xu Ziqin was a year younger than him and a girl, Zhong Yufei felt a chilling pressure from her that made his skin crawl.

Even as a bystander, he couldn't help but feel inexplicably nervous.

At this moment, Xu Ziqin was beautiful, but also somewhat unapproachable, making it impossible for anyone to get close. Yet, compared to before, she seemed even more stunning.

Yu Shao reached into the stone box and picked out another black stone.

The fourth column, seventeenth row, Komoku!

Xu Ziqin immediately responded, placing a white stone.

The sixteenth column, sixteenth row, Hoshi!

"Diagonal Komoku, a diagonal Hoshi opening."

Chen Jiaming looked at the board, thinking silently, "This kind of opening is full of fighting intent..."

The two sides quickly exchanged four more moves. The black stone chose to defend the corner with a large knight's move in the lower left corner, while the white stone approached the corner with a small knight's move in the upper right corner. Then, the black stone pressed, and the white stone immediately followed with a small knight's move in the upper left corner.

At this moment, it was black's turn to play again.

"Should I go for the small knight's move approach, or..."

Yu Shao glanced at Xu Ziqin opposite him, then couldn't help but freeze slightly.

Xu Ziqin opposite him was staring intently at him, as if... waiting for something.

Although Xu Ziqin hadn't said anything, Yu Shao understood her thoughts.

"She..."

"Is she waiting for my 3-3 point?"

Yu Shao withdrew his gaze and looked back at the board, his expression unreadable.

Soon, Yu Shao reached into the stone box, and the sound of stones clattering together rang out.

Yu Shao picked up a stone and gently placed it down.

"Here it comes!"

Tap!

The seventeenth column, seventeenth row!

The 3-3 Point!

"The 3-3 Point?!"

Seeing this move, Zhong Yufei's eyes nearly popped out. His mouth opened uncontrollably, and he was completely stunned!

It wasn't just Zhong Yufei. Even Chen Jiaming, as an adult and a teacher, was dumbfounded by this move. He instinctively took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

Only Xu Ziqin saw this move, her face showing no surprise. She took a stone from the Go box and immediately placed it!

Clack!

Clack!

Clack!

For a time, both sides continuously placed stones, the sound of stones hitting the board rising and falling, never ceasing.

"The white stones are played... so sharp!"

Chen Jiaming stared at the board, dumbfounded.

"That touch move by White was a brilliant move. At first, I thought it was a slow move, but now it seems it was preparation for attacking and killing the small eye!"

"However, the black stones are even more incredible!"

"By directly using a push, combined with the previous press, White is sealed at the bottom line. If White chooses to extend, it will be self-atari, and there's even a possibility it won't live and become dead stones!"

"Black has the advantage?"

"But, why?"

"Why does Black, who played the 3-3 point, gain such a rapid advantage in the opening?!"

Chen Jiaming felt like his understanding of life was being challenged.

"The 3-3 point is an undisputed bad move. Moreover, after playing the 3-3, Black didn't even choose to extend, but instead chose to crawl!"

"Anyone who knows a little Go knows that crawling on the second line is always bad. Furthermore, it's visually obvious that extending gains more territory than crawling!"

"But why is it that as Black continues to play, and White doesn't make any obvious mistakes, Black instead gains an advantage, and this advantage is expanding at an astonishing speed?"

Chen Jiaming couldn't understand it at all.

The only explanation he could think of was that although White didn't make any obvious mistakes later, some moves were slow. Even though he couldn't see where White's moves were slow, perhaps Black did.

Regardless of who held the advantage, even as a teacher, he had to admit—

The Go skill displayed by both Black and White in this game far surpassed his own!

Xu Ziqin lowered her gaze to the board, unconsciously biting her lower lip.

She had originally thought that if Yu Shao really played the 3-3 point, her situation would be different, but...

Now, her situation seemed no better than Zheng Qin's previous situation, perhaps even a little worse.

After a long while, Xu Ziqin finally picked up another stone and placed it on the board.

Black and white stones began to alternate on the board again.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap...

Finally, after another ten minutes or so.

In the midst of complete silence.

"I lost."

Xu Ziqin looked at the board, slowly closed her eyes, then lowered her head and chose to resign.

Chen Jiaming and Zhong Yufei, standing nearby, watched this scene in silence, unable to speak.

This game...

Black had completely suppressed White from start to finish.

Black gained an advantage in the opening, then rapidly widened the gap and secured the initiative, while White could only desperately defend.

But when Black accumulated enough strength to launch an attack, the storm-like offensive instantly overwhelmed White, brutally tearing apart White's large dragon in the center of the board with overwhelming force!

They couldn't even imagine what Xu Ziqin must have been feeling, being killed like this.

They didn't even dare to put themselves in White's shoes, because... it was too desperate, too powerless.

They even felt that Xu Ziqin lost even more miserably than Wang Rui in this game.

This wasn't to say Wang Rui was stronger than Xu Ziqin; in fact, it was the opposite.

Precisely because Xu Ziqin was much stronger than Wang Rui, for Black to break into White's territory and slay the dragon, their posture had to be even more aggressive, their attacks more ruthless, and White's loss would naturally be more tragic!

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