Chapter 86: Old Geezer From the Stars

Two days later, Xu Nuo stepped onto the second floor of the Edo Go Institute again, which was the game room provided for amateur Go players.

Just as she was preparing to look for a suitable "sponsor" as usual, Huang Minghui, who had been waiting here for a long time, immediately stepped forward quickly and respectfully gave a standard bow:

"Xu Nuo-san! Taking the liberty to disturb you! After the game last time, I presented the game record to my teacher, O Rissei 9-dan, to review. Teacher is extremely appreciative of your Go talent, and very much hopes to communicate with you face-to-face. I wonder if you would be willing to move to the tearoom upstairs to play a game with Teacher?"

"O Rissei 9-dan?"

On Xu Nuo's perennially ice-bound, clear and beautiful face, an expression of shock appeared for the first time.

That is O Rissei!

A grandmaster figure who once stood at the peak of the Go world and had won more than one world championship!

It was a name she looked up to in Go books when she was little!

And now, this Go Saint-level figure actually specifically named her to play a game?

Almost subconsciously, she made an emergency call to her ultimate cheat in her sea of consciousness:

"Old... Teacher! It's O Rissei! That O Rissei 9-dan who won two world championships! He... he wants to play Go with me! Should we... should we go or not?"

She was truly feeling a bit lacking in confidence in her heart.

After all, she had secretly searched for famous Go masters through the ages before, and couldn't find anyone named "Xu Yunzhou." In her view, her ghost teacher at most was just a deeply hidden strong amateur, right?

One must know, between professional and amateur, there is a chasm, they are two completely different worlds!

Hearing this, Xu Yunzhou picked his ear, his tone exceptionally nonchalant:

"O Rissei? Who's that? Very strong? But no matter how strong, how strong can he be? Oh, seems to have a bit of an impression, an over-the-hill old Go player, right... Just go, if the sky falls I'll hold it up for you."

He seemed to feel this statement wasn't shocking enough, and added weightlessly:

"Not to mention O Rissei, even Ke Bao and Lee Se-yan, if placed in front of me, they'd also have to obediently take two or three handicap stones before talking."

Ke Bao and Lee Se-yan?

Stormy waves surged in Xu Nuo's heart again.

Those are the recognized strongest players in the Go arena today, existences standing at the tip of the pyramid, treated as gods by countless Go fans!

Looking at the past and present, calling them the strongest would not be an overstatement.

But listening to the tone of this old geezer... oh no, Teacher, it's simply like evaluating the kid next door who is still learning how to capture stones!

Has Teacher's level actually reached such a point of looking down on all living beings?

He's not an Earthling, right?

Is he an old geezer from the stars?

With her own old geezer's sky-blowing guarantee, Xu Nuo's heart settled greatly. That bit of panic was instantly replaced by a subtle mentality of "I'd like to see just how capable you are."

Facing Huang Minghui whose face was full of expectation, she responded cleanly and neatly:

"Okay, lead the way."

Following Huang Minghui, she walked into an elegantly styled tearoom inside the Go Institute filled with faint sandalwood incense.

Wearing a sharp suit and looking hale and hearty, O Rissei 9-dan was already sitting on one side of the Go board, his bearing tranquil as a deep pool.

What made Xu Nuo feel even more pressure was that on both sides of the Go room, several middle-aged men and women with extraordinary temperaments were also sitting properly.

They were all professional Go players of the Go Institute, and most of them were ethnic Chinese.

Xu Nuo had seen several of their faces in magazines, such as O Meien, who like O Rissei originally came from Taiwan.

Those game records brought back by the inseis earlier had already caused a massive uproar in their circle of Chinese Go players residing in Japan.

After repeated discussions, they unanimously believed that this woman's Go style was so bizarre and treacherous, her calculation so far-reaching and precise, that it completely couldn't be fathomed by common sense, simply like a Go player from another dimension.

At this moment, seeing that O Rissei 9-dan was actually going to personally take the field to test this "dark horse" that appeared out of nowhere, everyone couldn't suppress their strong curiosity and came one after another to watch the battle, wanting to see exactly what kind of magical powers this young girl stirring up the wind and clouds had.

Xu Nuo took a deep breath, suppressed distracting thoughts, sat quietly opposite O Rissei, and nodded slightly:

"Teacher O, hello."

O Rissei smiled gently:

"Xu Nuo-san, no need to be formal. Having seen your game records, it really makes my heart itch unbearably, and I particularly wanted to personally experience it. I hope you don't mind the presumptuous invitation of this old man."

"You are too polite."

Xu Nuo hesitated for a moment, but still decided to follow the principle of "survival first," and bit the bullet to speak,

"However... I am forced by life and need to rely on playing Go to earn living expenses. So, for the game... can we include a little koden (wager)?"

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the several professional Go players watching the battle beside them all showed somewhat weird and disbelieving expressions.

Playing Go with O Rissei 9-dan is something many people beg for but cannot get, and she actually thinks of money first?

Moreover, betting on a Go game with a former world champion?

Is this young girl's brain normal or not?

O Rissei first blanked, then laughed, the appreciation in his eyes instead growing a few degrees thicker.

He liked this straightforwardness and purity:

"Interesting. How about this, if you win, I will give you one million Yen. If you lose..."

He paused, looking at her with burning eyes,

"Then acknowledge me as your master, how about it? I will personally guide you and let you receive the most systematic professional training."

"Okay."

Xu Nuo nodded without even thinking.

Winning gets money, losing gets a top-tier teacher, either way it's not a loss!

O Rissei grabbed a handful of Go stones:

"Then we nigiri (guess for opening)?"

(TL: Nigiri is the traditional method to determine who plays black/first in an even game.)

The crowd watching beside them felt even more shocked in their hearts.

Even game!

O 9-dan actually agreed to play an even game with a young girl of unknown origin!

Although judging from the circulated game records, this young girl indeed had strength, seeing O 9-dan treat it so solemnly with their own eyes still made them feel a strong sense of incongruity and shock.

The result of nigiri, Xu Nuo played black and went first.

After the game started, under Xu Yunzhou's command utilizing Fine Art, Xu Nuo's black stones once again displayed era-surpassing precise striking.

O Rissei's expression gradually turned from initial calm and gentle to solemn, and then to complete concentration.

The time he spent in deep thought grew longer and longer.

He found that his familiar josekis and anticipated attacks were constrained everywhere in front of the opponent's unreasonable "efficiency Go" that only cared about winning or losing.

(TL: Joseki refers to established sequences of moves in Go corners.)

The several professional Go players watching the battle beside them were even more dazzled, occasionally exchanging discussions full of amazement and incomprehension in low voices.

This time, Xu Nuo gave this senior enough face. She didn't take out "Introduction to Algorithms," keeping her gaze focused on the Go board the whole time, her posture impeccable.

When the game reached the middle stage, O Rissei's large dragon(big group og Go stones) was slaughtered, and defeat was certain.

O Rissei gazed at the Go board for a long time. Ultimately, he slowly took out two Go stones, placed them gently on the edge of the board, and let out a long and complex sigh.

"A peerless genius."

He shook his head, yet his face carried relief and incomparably complex appreciation,

"I lost. Convinced wholeheartedly."

He raised his head, staring tightly at Xu Nuo:

"Xu Nuo-san, your Go... let me see an entirely new world. Forgive my bluntness, but your Go talent is too shocking. In your Go, I seemingly saw the shadows of explorations by many past sages, yet it is completely different, forming its own system."

"At such a young age, without undergoing systematic professional training, to be able to reach such a realm... is simply a peerless genius! Given time, your achievements might perhaps be able to parallel my teacher's!"

His teacher was exactly Master Go Seigen, who was hailed as the "Go Saint of Showa," created an era, and was treated as a god by countless Go players!

In the hearts of many people, Master Go Seigen is exactly the unquestionable candidate for the number one person in Go through the ages!