Chapter 139: The Kisei Changes Hands

That night, Xu Nuo finally completely opened her heart. Like a young beast that finally found a safe nest, she snuggled beside Xu Yunzhou's light and shadow.

Intermittently, she softly recounted fragments of her childhood memories, like the sound of the piano in her home in Bazhou, the taste of the red oil chaoshou her mother made, and even the tears she secretly shed after losing a game during the early stages of learning Go.

Those were no longer backgrounds carrying blood feuds, but ordinary and precious times that the person "Xu Nuo" once possessed.

Finally, her voice gradually lowered. Leaning against the virtual chest, her breathing became long and steady, actually falling into a deep sleep just like that.

Between her brows was a complete relaxation that hadn't been seen for a long time.

After staying at the hot spring villa for another day and completely soothing her tense nerves, Xu Nuo set off for Obihiro City, Hokkaido.

The fourth game of the Kisei tournament, which was also the final battle deciding the ownership of the title, was about to begin here.

Match day.

The Yugen no Ma game room.

Kirigaya Nuo sat properly on one side of the Go board. Opposite her was the defending Kisei, Iyama Shota 9-dan.

"Please instruct me."

Kirigaya Nuo bowed slightly, her voice cold without ripples.

Iyama Shota took a deep breath and returned the bow solemnly:

"Please instruct me."

The game began.

However, what no one knew was that behind Kirigaya Nuo, an illusory figure that only she could see was leisurely "floating."

Xu Yunzhou's fingertips virtually pointed at a star point on the Go board, his voice carrying a smile, yet also having a trace of undetectable meaning of farewell:

"Nuo, place your final stone... in the professional Go arena."

"Play this game beautifully. Coupled with your upcoming sudden retirement, this game... is destined to be regarded as a masterpiece through the ages and passed down in Go history."

Kirigaya Nuo nodded gently, imperceptibly.

Her eyes instantly became incomparably focused, yet seemed to flash with a trace of complex emotion.

Over these two days, they weren't purely resting.

A plan to slip out of the shell like a cicada had quietly been formulated and completed under the combination of Xu Yunzhou's "future vision" and top-tier hacker technology.

Through untraceable dark web channels and a torrent of forged data, Xu Yunzhou created a brand-new identity for Xu Nuo:

Jin Xian, Singapore nationality, heir to an estate whose parents died early, clean background, freedom of movement.

At the same time, using his era-surpassing "intelligence capabilities," he filtered and contacted an internationally renowned neutral gray organization, "Shadow."

This organization was famous in specific circles for providing high-confidentiality identity transitions, asylum, and resource channels. It had an outstanding reputation and no obvious political inclination.

The reason Xu Yunzhou chose to trust it was simple, because he saw the Xu Nuo ten years later in the photos on the future cloud drive.

That woman with bright eyes and calm temperament clearly obtained good settlement and development.

"Shadow" might exactly be that hidden bridge leading to the light.

"Shadow" gave a clear promise. At midnight after the Kisei tournament ended tomorrow, at a designated coordinate in the suburbs of Obihiro City, a civilian helicopter without any markings would land punctually, pick up "Jin Xian," fly straight to international waters, and subsequently head to a new starting point.

No one would expect that the newly crowned Kisei, who was exactly at the peak of glory, would choose to quietly exit and evaporate from the world in such a decisive manner under the watchful eyes of the masses.

Even the Crescent Group, whose surveillance network was pervasive, would need time to react.

By the time they realized in shock that "Kirigaya Nuo" didn't return to Edo as usual, I'm afraid that silent helicopter would have long crossed the border and merged into the vast night sky.

And in the world, there would be no more Kirigaya Nuo.

...

The game had no suspense.

Even though Iyama Shota 9-dan exerted all his strength and brought out everything he had learned in his life, even displaying astonishing resilience several times during the game in an attempt to mess up the situation.

But under Xu Yunzhou's dimensional-strike guidance, every move of Xu Nuo's stepped on the optimal solution, stifling all possibilities of the opponent's counterattack in advance, steadily expanding the advantage.

The next morning, in the game room.

Iyama Shota gazed at the Go board where there was already no power to turn back the heavens. He placed two Go stones in the lower right corner of the board, his voice dry yet clear:

(TL: Placing two stones on the board is the traditional way to resign in Go.)

"I lost."

"Thank you for letting me win."

Kirigaya Nuo bowed slightly.

The Kisei title changed hands just like this!

Kirigaya Nuo, at the age of eighteen, swept four straight games, ending Iyama Shota's great achievement of four consecutive championships, becoming the twelfth "Kisei" in the history of Nihon Go, and also the youngest Kisei to date!

Even more so, the first in Go history to reach the summit of this supreme title with indisputable strength!

From now on, her name will stand side by side in the Go hall of fame with legends of the Go arena like Fujisawa Shuko, Cho Chikun, and Kobayashi Koichi!

(TL: Famous historical Go players in Japan.)

The Go arena veterans, sponsor representatives, and media reporters watching the battle at the scene instantly boiled over!

The sound of shutters exploded crazily like a violent storm, and continuous glaring flashbulbs illuminated the cold, young, yet majestic face of the new young girl Kisei into a patch of snow-white, like an Ice and Snow Goddess descending to the human world.

At the post-match press conference, the atmosphere was pushed to a fiery peak.

"Kisei Kirigaya! Congratulations! May I ask if you have plans to participate in world tournaments next year to vindicate Nihon Go players?"

"Kisei Kirigaya! It is said that Google's AlphaGo team has extended an invitation to you. How do you view the impact of artificial intelligence on Go? Will you accept the challenge?"

Questions were thrown like a string of cannonballs, overflowing with excitement and infinite longing for the future.

However, Kirigaya Nuo didn't respond to any questions immediately.

She fell silent for a moment. That silence made the clamorous venue unconsciously quiet down a few degrees.

Then, she raised her eyes. Her gaze seemed to pass over the dense crowd and equipment before her eyes, casting toward a certain focal point only she could see.

She didn't answer a single question, instead speaking an opening remark that stunned everyone:

"Today, at a time like this,"

Her voice spread clearly to every corner of the venue,

"I want to announce a... secret about myself."

The reporters collectively blanked first, and immediately after, almost everyone showed an interested smile on their faces.

A victor's speech often has some personalized sharing, which is very common and can also increase topic discussion.

The corners of Kirigaya Nuo's lips seemed to curve upward extremely subtly. That smile was very faint, yet instantly softened her overly cold face significantly.

She still gazed at that void, her eyes unprecedentedly gentle and certain, as if pouring out her heart to a truly existing and incomparably important person:

"Actually, I am like Shindo Hikaru in 'Hikaru no Go'."

She paused, and under the slightly surprised yet amused gazes of the reporters, said clearly and seriously:

"Behind me, has also always stood a... God of Go."

"Whoa!"

The scene first fell into a brief moment of quiet, and immediately after erupted into louder, good-natured and understanding roars of laughter and discussion.

Shocked? A little bit.

But more than that was a kind of "as expected" intimacy.

This genius young girl Kisei, who had always been known for her calmness beyond her age and precociousness, actually hid such a "chunibyo," romantic-fantasy-filled corner deep in her heart?

(TL: "Chunibyo" refers to "eighth-grader syndrome," teenagers having grandiose delusions.)

Being too happy after winning, emotionally agitated, and making an anime-colored joke is completely understandable!

It even makes her seem cuter and more human!

A quick-reacting entertainment reporter immediately joined the fun, asking loudly with a smile:

"Then, respected Kisei Kirigaya, may I ask which historically famous Go arena sage this God of Go who has always accompanied and guided you is? Is it Dosaku, the Former Saint who pioneered modern Go theory? Or the Invincible Shusaku? It couldn't be the Latter Saint Jowa, known for being unparalleled in fierceness, right?"

This questioning drew another burst of even more joyful laughter and applause.

However, Kirigaya Nuo shook her head.

The faint smile on her face didn't diminish, but her eyes abruptly became incomparably clear and serious. Her gaze slowly swept over every smiling face in the venue.

Then, she said word by word:

"Not a Nihon Go player."

"He, comes from Great Xia."

Beside her consciousness, Xu Yunzhou couldn't help but support his forehead, complaining crazily internally:

"I really don't dare to claim credit for this, Nuo Nuo! We turned on a top-tier cheat! If this were put a few years later in the era when AI Go is popularized and everyone walks the dog, I guarantee I'd be scolded as the most arrogant cheating dog in history..."

(TL: "Walking the dog" is Go slang for using AI to analyze moves.)