"Has Cheng Wan Yun seen through my thoughts? Is she already preparing?"
At this moment, Guo Man Xue awoke and quickly observed the chessboard carefully.
"This... how is this possible? This Cheng Wan Yun actually knows how to play Go, and has set so many traps for me?"
Seeing white stones scattered everywhere on the board, although sparse, they occupied excellent positions. It was as if the opponent was standing on a mountain, while she was at the foot of the mountain. From the mountain, everything was visible, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Down below was a plain, and if attacked, it would be very easy to break through.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"How could Shen Yi Man set so many traps for me?"
"It seems all the previous illusions were put on for me. Hmph, even so, it's not easy to win against me!"
"I have already captured forty-six of your stones, and I still have a significant advantage. Now that I see your plan, I just need to break you down one by one, and you will still lose!"
As expected of a Go master with a rank of nine dan, Guo Man Xue quickly reacted and began to counter Cheng Wan Yun's moves.
"This Guo Man Xue has seen through it. It seems I need to show my true skill!"
Lu Yang saw Guo Man Xue's move, intending to capture a secret ambush hidden at the bottom of the board. He instantly understood Guo Man Xue's calculation and knew that this was the moment for their true competition.
"You have your clever plans, and I have my countermeasures. Let's go head-to-head and see who is more formidable!"
Lu Yang smiled faintly and made another move, placing a stone in the center of a surrounding black formation. Although this stone was dead, it captured all the surrounding black stones. This single move captured fifteen of the opponent's stones.
"This... how is this possible? Saintess Man Xue was captured fifteen stones in one move?"
Seeing the changes on the chessboard, the triumphant expressions on everyone's faces instantly calmed down. They carefully observed the changes on the board. After their enthusiasm subsided, they also realized that although Guo Man Xue currently held an advantage, if she continued, her advantage would only shrink, and eventually disappear. If this continued, she might truly be defeated by Cheng Wan Yun.
However, Guo Man Xue had already seen through the opponent's intentions and began to counterattack. Now was the time for a fierce confrontation between the two.
Everyone held their breath, no one dared to speak carelessly, their eyes fixed on the chessboard, watching the duel between the two.
At this moment, Guo Man Xue had unleashed her true strength. Every move was meticulously calculated and slow, completely devoid of her previous arrogance. She no longer spoke nonsense in the live broadcast because she had no energy to speak.
Lu Yang was also concentrating. All his strategies were laid out from the beginning. He had set traps for all the hidden ambushes Guo Man Xue had previously set. As long as Guo Man Xue moved these hidden stones, she would know that she was surrounded and facing imminent danger. Those hidden stones could not be moved, because as soon as they were moved, Lu Yang's army would attack directly, instantly beheading Guo Man Xue.
This was all planned by Lu Yang in the first half-hour. He had feigned weakness at the beginning to make the opponent lower her guard, then slowly set up his own tactics to paralyze her. When the opponent thought she had victory in hand, she would discover that the game had undergone a complete transformation.
Although it couldn't compare to the Zhenlong Chess Game in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," it was still breathtaking in this battle.
What Lu Yang did was a gamble. If Guo Man Xue had recognized Lu Yang's intentions early on and controlled all of Lu Yang's white stones, his plan would have been difficult to execute, resulting in at most a draw. But now, Lu Yang was fully capable of defeating Guo Man Xue; it was only a matter of time. As time passed, Lu Yang's advantage grew, because every move Guo Man Xue made was calculated by Lu Yang. Many of her moves, as soon as they were placed, would result in a large portion of her stones being captured by Lu Yang.
It was like a fierce tiger tearing flesh from a goat.
As Guo Man Xue played, cold sweat began to stream down her face.
"How is this possible? How can Cheng Wan Yun be so powerful? She must have cheated. She must have found a master to help her play. This is not Cheng Wan Yun herself playing!"
Guo Man Xue instantly collapsed. The current game was a sure defeat. She had just prepared to use her hidden stones to turn the tide, only to discover that her hidden stones had long been controlled. Now, there was only a dead end. How could Guo Man Xue accept such a thing? She instantly became furious and shouted loudly in her live broadcast.
"We agree with Saintess Man Xue's request. Immediately reveal who is playing for Cheng Wan Yun, let us see who it is!"
"To push Saintess Man Xue to this point, they must be no ordinary person. I wonder how much the Cheng family spent to hire such an expert!"
"Exactly, they are willing to lose face just to win a match. If they have no ability themselves, they find someone else to pay!"
"..."
A group of Guo Man Xue's die-hard fans immediately started clamoring.
Of course, Guo Man Xue knew that even if she found Cheng Wan Yun now, Cheng Wan Yun would not admit to hiring an expert. As long as there was no solid evidence, everything would be in vain. She could only blame herself for being too careless, leading to her downfall in such a situation.
However, this "shadow in the gutter" was indeed quite deep. Guo Man Xue could usually see through ordinary tricks. This showed that the opponent's methods were not something an average person could match. Even if they were playing against each other directly, Guo Man Xue was not confident she could win.
"Alas, there's nothing more to say. If you lose, you lose. I, Guo Man Xue, can afford to lose. Let Cheng Wan Yun be arrogant in Yan Jing for a while longer. When I find an opportunity, I will still drive Cheng Wan Yun out of Yan Jing!"
Guo Man Xue said coldly.
"Saintess Man Xue is benevolent and blessed with great fortune. Only such a person is the goddess in our hearts. As for those who hire external help and win matches with despicable means, we will never respect them!"
"Exactly. In our hearts, there is only Saintess Man Xue. There can be no one else. We will never like someone who only uses petty tricks!"
"Saintess Man Xue is mighty! We win honorably and lose willingly!"
"..."
A group of sycophants looked at Guo Man Xue with admiration again.
Of course, Lu Yang and King Ling Que were unaware of all this. They only saw that Guo Man Xue had lost on the chessboard and had conceded, because continuing the game would only be a foolish endeavor.
"We won?"
"Lu Yang, you really won! You are amazing! I never thought your Go skills were so high that you defeated Guo Man Xue, a nine-dan master. Could you be a national Go master?"
Seeing Lu Yang win the match, King Ling Que was so excited that she couldn't calm down for a long time. She had initially thought Lu Yang could at most last for half an hour. In that case, even if they lost, the Cheng family would suffer no losses. For someone who practiced martial arts to be able to contend with such a nine-dan master in Go for half an hour was enough to show how powerful King Ling Que's abilities were. But she never expected Lu Yang to not just contend for half an hour, but to directly win the match. This was an unexpected surprise for their Cheng family.