Ao Ying looked up at Shindo Hikaru, feeling that he was different from before, as if a puppet had developed self-awareness, with a tiny hint of green emerging, brimming with vitality.

Standing on the first line?

Interesting.

black stone immediately responded, closing off the outside territory, going for a head-on collision.

Thud!

Without following instructions, Shindo Hikaru placed another stone.

The sound of the stone landing was like a bell striking the heart, a wave of sound spreading in all directions.

"Hikaru..."

Tightening the breath?

Sai’s pupils contracted, and he smiled faintly. Can he already understand some of the killing techniques?

When black stone and white are engaged in close combat, tightening the breath is a common tactic, like constricting the opponent's breathing to kill them.

The more times the breath is tightened, the tighter the constriction.

On the board, stones without breath will be captured.

As the tightening of the breath unfolded, the onlookers gasped repeatedly.

"Tightening the breath? Is that yellow-haired kid preparing to slay a dragon?"

"He should, it seems, possibly be able to kill?"

"No, locally it's a co-existence."

"Co-existence? Are you saying that black stone and white are mutually surrounded with no escape, and neither side can form two true eyes, so they can only share two breathing points?"

"Exactly, it's the co-existence you understand. Shindo Hikaru and Ao Ying Sensei drew in the Right Lower Corner."

"What a pity, to play the brilliant move of standing on the first line to gain a breath, only to result in co-existence..."

"As for the result, it's stronger than the Wrapped-Head Man's choice. If there hadn't been co-existence, then white's entire sequence would have died."

"Ao Ying Sensei has a huge advantage after sacrificing stones. For white to be able to draw in black stone's sphere of influence is remarkable. The Wrapped-Head Man couldn't even do that."

"But... white intended to kill the Right Lower Corner from the counter-attack, just one breath short, sigh..."

Just as the people around were praising Shindo Hikaru.

Ao Ying gently placed a stone, a two-line diagonal move.

"Look! Ao Ying Sensei has conceded the co-existence. black stone is entering the endgame phase."

"Large endgame, small endgame, calculations are simpler than the midgame, theoretically there's no possibility of error."

"Has the winner been decided? Huh, it's very close, who won!"

Who won?

Toya Akira’s emotions were stirred, and he stared intently at the board, rapidly calculating the final shape.

Ao Ying glanced a few times, no longer placing stones, and sat quietly in front of the board.

"Sai’s eyesight is indeed sharp, not even letting go of small details like half a point."

On the other side of the board, Shindo Hikaru was focused, holding a white stone, eager to play.

He waited a long time for a hint.

"Sai?"

Shindo Hikaru came to his senses and looked back.

He saw Sai’s eyes tightly closed, his face fluctuating between clear and overcast.

A moment later.

"Phew—Hikaru, we lost."

"By the end of the game, black stone will win by two and a half points."

"Ah—" Shindo Hikaru scratched his head, bowed to Ao Ying, "I resign, I lost by two and a half points."

He specifically emphasized the exact point difference, then slapped his head.

"Wow! It's already seven o'clock, homework, homework!"

"Sorry, I have to go first."

With that, Shindo Hikaru ran off in a flash, even forgetting to put away the stones.

"Shindo!"

Toya Akira remembered something and called out to stop him.

"Toya, we'll talk next time."

His voice quickly faded into the distance.

The onlookers smiled knowingly, understanding his meaning from the word 'homework'; everyone has been young.

"Speaking of which, why did white resign?"

"Yes, I didn't understand either. The Right Lower Corner is co-existence, the outcome is unknown."

"Isn't Ao Ying Sensei still here? Let's ask him!"

The Middle-aged Man’s suggestion was well-received, and pairs of eyes watched Ao Ying, filled with intense curiosity.

Ao Ying smiled, looking at Toya Akira, "Toya, you should have calculated it. Tell everyone."

"Uh... okay."

Toya Akira was startled, sat beside the board, and quickly laid out several subsequent variations.

Clap!

"That's it. white lost by two and a half points."

"No matter how much you struggle, losing by two and a half points is the best possible outcome."

The crowd of onlookers exhaled.

"So that's it. I didn't expect that with nearly a third of the board still empty, a professional level player could already calculate to the end."

"Haha, we can't compare. We can't compare to Xiao Liang, we can't compare to that yellow-haired kid, and we certainly can't compare to Ao Ying Sensei."

At this moment, Ao Ying took a few stones from the board, "Excuse me for a moment, but changing the order here would be better."

"The black stone stones in the corner are alive, but what if white first plays a point on the first line to sacrifice a stone?"

As he spoke, he placed a few stones.

"To keep the stones alive, won't black stone have to block?"

"After this exchange, black stone will have to spend two moves to capture the stones, one of which offsets white's sacrifice, and the other move results in a net loss for black stone."

"This way, white can regain a point, and losing by one and a half points would be the best outcome."

With just a few simple moves, the Go fans erupted.

Toya Akira was stunned, "Playing here... why didn't I think of that?"

Praise, gasps, and discussions rose and fell.

Surrounded by the huge wave of sound, Ao Ying was lost in thought.

"Shindo Hikaru, a genius is a genius. Even at the end of the anime, he is still far from Sai’s realm."

"Fujiwara no Sai and Toya Koyo’s decisive battle, your keen observation of the oversight from the sidelines was very sharp."

"Unfortunately, that wasn't God's Hand; at most, it was comparable to the white stone sacrifice I just calculated."

"I wonder what level Sai could reach if he didn't disappear?"

"The realm of God?"

"Truly exciting."

Thinking of this, Ao Ying stroked his chin.

"I need to find a way to prevent Sai from disappearing."

"Also, in terms of strength, the older generation would crush the two protagonists."

"Instead of waiting for the protagonists to grow, why not try to evolve a few of the older masters as well?"

"Morishita, Seated Between Throne, Holy One Yi Liu, Sangyuan Honinbo..."

"And Toya Meijin, this group of people won't have bad talent."

"Even Ogata 9-dan and Kurata Atsushi might not be weak."

"You will all be nourishment on my path to godhood."

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a clear sound interrupted his musings.

Toya Akira packed up the board, placing stones one by one into the Go bowls.

The onlookers gradually dispersed, leaving the space for the two young men.

"Ao Ying, I have something to tell you."

Looking at the serious-faced guy, Ao Ying said in a daze, "I welcome your challenge anytime."

Throughout the entire story, Toya Akira fell down several times, but stubbornly got back up and struggled forward, truly a model of inspiration.

"Next, I will hone my Go skills, and when I'm ready, I'll challenge you again, but that's not what I want to talk about."

???

Ao Ying asked in confusion, "How can I help you? If it's about borrowing money... you're richer than me. I still rely on teaching Go to earn snack money."

"I'm not borrowing money."

Toya Akira looked around, walked up to Ao Ying, and leaned his head close to his ear, "I've discovered... Shindo might have schizophrenia."

"What?"

Ao Ying coughed a few times. Good heavens, it's the fault of the Go Ghost.

Seeing Ao Ying's intense reaction, Toya Akira thought he didn't believe him and began to give examples one by one.

"Both you and Shindo Hikaru are like a wall, firmly blocking my path forward."

"So I made you my goals and paid a bit more attention."

"As a result... Shindo always talks to himself, like he's talking to thin air."

"I've read in books that this is a sign of a split personality."