Not long after, a commotion broke out on the Guangzhou Affiliated High’s side.
A boy sitting in the vice player’s seat stood up, his face brimming with excitement, while his opponent sat across from him, looking dejected.
“The winner... is from Guangzhou Affiliated High?”
Someone recognized the boy and exclaimed in surprise.
“Guangzhou Affiliated High has made it to the finals too!”
“My god, I really didn’t see this coming. This tournament... it’s just unbelievable.”
“Yeah... South China Third High stumbled in the semifinals, while Jiangling High and Guangzhou Affiliated High—two schools with poor records in past tournaments—have fought their way to the finals!”
“Who’s going to be this year’s champion?”
“Do you even have to ask? Jiangling High, of course. Didn’t you see Yu Shao’s strength?”
“But Jiangling High’s victory wasn’t about luck!”
“Exactly. Where did Jiangling High even find these two monsters?”
The crowd buzzed with hushed discussions, every face reflecting the shock of this year’s unexpected results.
Although the round’s outcome was already decided, two games were still ongoing. While these matches wouldn’t change the final result, they still mattered deeply to the players battling on those boards.
“I can win this game!”
Zhong Yufei stared at the board with excitement as he placed his stone.
Earlier, he had gained an advantage in the upper-right corner and now held the upper hand.
However, his female opponent across the board didn’t look as optimistic. She stared intently at the board, biting her lower lip. After a moment’s thought, she finally placed her next stone.
The two exchanged five or six moves in quick succession before it was White’s turn again.
At that moment, the girl across from him froze, as if she had noticed something. Quickly, she reached into her Go bowl and placed a stone.
Row 10, Column 17—Clamp!
Zhong Yufei was stunned, his expression changing instantly. “Is there a risk my formation might crack? Impossible! That area should have been unplayable!”
After pondering for a long time, Zhong Yufei’s face darkened. He reluctantly picked up a stone and placed it on the board.
Row 9, Column 16—Peep!
The girl across from him, her expression resolute, immediately followed up with another move.
The two continued their battle, black and white stones spreading across the board like a spider’s web.
Finally, after a long and grueling fight, Zhong Yufei lowered his head, visibly dispirited.
“Thank you for the game,” his opponent said, her face damp with sweat. Although she had won, it was clearly a hard-fought victory.
Now, only one game remained.
Both players had run out of their main time and entered the byoyomi overtime phase, with only ten seconds allowed per move.
Under such intense time pressure, mistakes were common. However, even when one player erred, the other often made a compensating mistake.
After another five or six minutes, the final game concluded.
The competitor from Jiangling Foreign Language School won that match, avoiding a three-game shutout and salvaging some pride for their school.
“And so, the teams advancing to the finals are...”
At the judges’ table, the referee paused for a moment, his expression slightly odd, but then he continued:
“Jiangling High and Guangzhou Affiliated High!”
“For the finals, the time limit for each player will be extended from 30 minutes to 1 hour, with the byoyomi period still set at ten seconds per move. The order of play will again be determined by the main players guessing turns.”
“Both teams will have a 15-minute break before the final match begins to determine the champion of this year’s High School Go League!”
With that, the referee sat back down.
“Old Zhong, didn’t you say this round was a guaranteed win? How did you manage to lose again? And you didn’t even face one of their dojo trainees!”
At Jiangling High’s side, Zhou De continued to jab at Zhong Yufei. “If we’re winning anyway, why not let me play next time?”
“Zhou De, can you shut up?” Zhong Yufei snapped, visibly frustrated. “I let my guard down! How was I supposed to know she had such a good clamp?”
Yu Shao couldn’t help but glance at Zhou De. Earlier, Zhou De had been anxiously watching Zhong Yufei’s game, clearly worried he might lose.
Zhou De wasn’t a bad person, but he had a sharp tongue. He probably intended to comfort Zhong Yufei but ended up sounding like he was mocking him.
“Alright, alright, I’m just kidding.”
Zhou De patted Zhong Yufei on the shoulder with a grin. “Let’s go outside and get some air. Clear your head before it gets muddled.”
Zhong Yufei sighed. He was feeling frustrated after squandering a winning position due to carelessness. Out of three matches, he had only narrowly won the first, while losing the other two. He needed to calm down.
Nodding, he joined Yu Shao and the others as they stepped out into the hallway.
“We faced South China Third High in the semifinals. I thought we’d meet them in the finals,” Chen Jiaming said with a faint smile. “Still, it’s fortunate that we won in the end.”
After a pause, he added, “Our final opponent is Guangzhou Affiliated High. Although they haven’t done well in previous tournaments, making it to the finals this year means we shouldn’t underestimate them.”
“Coach Chen, we crushed South China Third High. Are we really afraid of Guangzhou Affiliated High? It’s going to be a slaughter!”
Zhou De grinned as he patted Yu Shao on the shoulder. From his expression, one might think he was the one responsible for their domination.
“Guangzhou Affiliated High’s main player is very strong,” Xu Zijin suddenly interjected in her cool voice.
Her words caught the group off guard. They turned to her in surprise.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Zijin said, “I’ve seen one of his game records before. It was a teaching game he played against his teacher.”
Chen Jiaming looked shocked. “He played a teaching game against his teacher?”
“What’s his teacher’s level?” Zhong Yufei couldn’t help but ask.
“Amateur 5-dan,” Xu Zijin replied softly.
The group’s expressions turned serious.
If he could play a teaching game with an Amateur 5-dan, his skill level was at least professional-grade!
“So, between him and Yu Shao, who’s stronger?”
Chen Jiaming adjusted his glasses and asked the question on everyone’s mind.
Xu Zijin froze for a moment, glancing at Yu Shao. After a brief hesitation, she shook her head.