"It began truly learning Go all over again, little by little, just like a human, and defeated humans once more on the new board. So humans changed the board again." Anyone unfamiliar with Go would probably have thought humans were being unreasonable after hearing Alphamon's account. But everyone there had grown up in a nation of Go players, and even Marcus Damon, who was known as a brute, could only sigh.
"My entanglement with humans only ended when we reached Thirty-Line Go. The human player facing me coughed up blood and died. But he was happy. From that day onward, I stopped playing Go with humans." Alphamon's voice trembled slightly.
"Can't World Tree play against you either?" Zheng Fan asked as he carved the stones.
"World Tree has lofty vision, but only mediocre ability." Disdain crossed Alphamon's face.
"Looks like you're going to lose this game to me." Zheng Fan waved his hand, and five thousand black stones made from frozen earth flew toward Alphamon.
"You seem very confident. But I issued this challenge, so please take black." Alphamon did not move, yet their stones switched places. In terms of graciousness alone, Alphamon far outclassed Zheng Fan.
Zheng Fan accepted the stones without hesitation. The time for showing confidence had passed; there was no need to stake the whole world on his pride. Besides, on a ninety-nine-line board, going first or second made little difference.
Zheng Fan placed his first stone at the center point. Cries of surprise rose from the crowd, and even Alphamon paused. Yet this seemed only natural. Without hesitation, Alphamon began building a position near the center as well. They traded moves, placing hundreds of stones in the blink of an eye, neither intending to slow down.
With only two hours left for the two worlds,