Tong Yan had not laid out some famous ancient game, nor was he looking for another match with Jing Jiu.
His skill at Go was naturally excellent. Jing Jiu was even better and could understand his meaning.
The black stones spread outward from within, showing faint signs of forming a great dragon. The white stones looked scattered, confined to one corner, seemingly unable to stop the black stones. But if the game developed further, perhaps they might devour that great dragon.
The Zhongzhou Sect was black, and the Green Mountain Sect was white.
Given the current situation, the Zhongzhou Sect would not openly fall out with the Green Mountain Sect, but would try to expand into the corners instead.
This could be called a probe against the Green Mountain Sect, or understood as nibbling away at Green Mountain's subordinate forces.
The deal between the Hanging Bell Sect's Old Madam and Yunmeng Mountain was merely a concealed move. Su Ziye's actions in Yizhou were the actual placement of a stone.
Yizhou was not far from Haizhou. Beyond West Tomb Snow Mountain lay the Western Sea.
The Western Sea had only been brought into the Green Mountain Sect's sphere of influence three years ago. Its foundations were unstable, and trouble could easily arise.
"White moves later. I'm afraid it will be run ragged responding," Jing Jiu said.
Tong Yan tapped the Go board and said, "Let your opponent build up its position for a while, then swallow it whole. That will make your forbearance worthwhile."
For Jing Jiu, playing Go meant calculation. When it came to the overall situation on the board, however, he was no match for Tong Yan.
Of course, that might also have been because he had no need to calculate such things.
"As for Su Ziye, I can