Chess Deep as an Abyss, Heart Vast as the Horizon

Social Practice Club

A girl with long, straight black hair sat quietly in the club seat, her delicate and beautiful face seemingly embodying all the elegance in the world. Yet, at this moment, a trace of worry lingered between her brows.

This was Li Guanqi.

Her bright, piercing eyes were fixed intently on her phone screen.

Displayed on the screen was Su Cheng’s live stream.

When the words "Su Cheng, please wait a moment" echoed from the phone, an unprecedented sense of urgency surged within her.

The moment the vice president of the Go Club appeared on the screen, she could no longer stay seated. She abruptly stood up from her chair, grabbed her bag, and made to rush to the Go Club.

Another figure in the Social Practice Club office, Gu Ruoxue, immediately stood up as well, matching her speed. Just as Li Guanqi was about to step out of the office, Gu Ruoxue caught her arm.

"Junior, calm down."

Gu Ruoxue’s voice carried a soothing authority. "First, tell me your plan. Let me analyze it for you, and then we can make the necessary arrangements."

Hearing this, Li Guanqi stopped. She turned around, her dark eyes locking onto Gu Ruoxue with seriousness. "We just need Su Cheng to stop the match. Then, if he gives me the invisibility tool, I can stand behind him and play the game for him."

…………………………

Meanwhile

Archery Club

Ji Qingyi sat lazily before a Go board, her fair and slender fingers holding a piece, which she casually placed on the board with a crisp click.

Her opponent was a girl with disheveled hair, resembling the ghostly figure from horror tales, her entire being exuding a chilling aura.

Even with her face obscured by her hair, the way her head hung low made it clear she was deeply absorbed in the game, her focus unwavering as she studied the board.

The icy demeanor of the two girls made the atmosphere in the club eerily tense, as if the temperature around them had dropped significantly.

But just then, the club door swung open.

A middle-aged woman dressed in a butler’s uniform strode in, her expression grave and serious. She quickly approached Ji Qingyi, leaned in, and whispered a few words into her ear.

Ji Qingyi’s languid demeanor instantly sharpened. The hand holding the Go piece trembled slightly before her fingers unconsciously tightened, crushing the piece to dust.

"I understand."

The butler, recognizing her mistress’s intent, immediately retreated from the room and closed the door behind her.

Though Ji Qingyi said nothing more, the message was clear—stop it at all costs.

………………………

"Eh? Why did the power go out?"

The members of the E-sports Club had just settled in to watch Su Cheng’s match against the Go Club’s vice president when the sudden blackout drew exclamations of surprise.

………

However, though the live stream was cut off, the Go Club only experienced a brief moment of chaos before quieting down again.

After all, the power outage didn’t affect the game itself.

On the Go board, Su Cheng and the vice president stood facing each other.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, casting long shadows behind them. A peculiar serenity gradually enveloped the two.

Su Cheng maintained his usual composure, appearing as calm and unshaken as a towering mountain.

But only he knew the truth—his heart was pounding wildly, his palms slick with sweat.

Yet he masked it perfectly, betraying no hint of nervousness as he waited for the vice president’s next move.

Once seated, the vice president took a deep breath and spoke in a gentle tone, "Su Cheng, what’s your rank?"

"Rank?"

Su Cheng blinked in confusion before shaking his head. "I don’t have one."

"I see."

The vice president nodded in understanding. Given that Su Cheng would have to leave the Go world if he lost, his lack of rank made sense. She then took a handful of white stones and placed them in the center of the board.

She asked Su Cheng to guess odd or even.

This was the "nigiri" method—Su Cheng would pick up one or two black stones to indicate whether he believed the white stones were odd or even in number.

If he guessed correctly, he would play black (first move); otherwise, he would play white.

However, Su Cheng misinterpreted the gesture, thinking she was offering him the white stones to play first. So, he picked up a single black stone from the side.

After all, black moves first.

The vice president smiled, seeing Su Cheng’s single black stone, and opened her palm to reveal three white stones—an odd number.

Su Cheng would take the first move.

She placed the stones back and gestured for him to begin.

Ah, so she’s letting me go first.

Su Cheng inwardly sighed in relief, grateful for her generosity.

He quickly adjusted his state of mind, slipping into the same focused trance he experienced during archery practice.

In an instant, an indescribable aura filled the room.

He stood straight and tall, as if transformed into an arrow, his sharp aura making it impossible for anyone to approach.

This presence began to spread, affecting the entire Go club.

In an instant, every member present felt a shiver run down their spines. Looking at Su Cheng, it was as if they were witnessing a meticulously drawn, world-class arrow on the verge of release.

But at the same time—

There was an inexplicable sense of dissonance.

Because this was a game of Go, damn it!

Not archery!

The vice president sitting across from him could sense Su Cheng's terrifying level of concentration—so intense that even she paled in comparison.

It was a strange, almost trance-like state.

This made her silently admire him. No wonder even Si Jing, the young mistress, had repeatedly sought matches against him.

She closed her eyes briefly, trying to suppress her pounding heart and steady her nerves, refusing to let Su Cheng's overwhelming presence affect her.

Click.

Su Cheng calmly and steadily placed a black stone in the upper-right corner at the "3-3" point. Her eyes snapped open, pupils constricting as she stared at Su Cheng in shock.

Not just her—even the observing Go club members and the student council vice president were wide-eyed, fixated on the position of Su Cheng's move.

This opening move…

Was absolutely outrageous!

It left everyone utterly baffled. This was a forbidden move, known as the "Gate of Demons"—a path to certain defeat.

If an amateur made such an opening move, their opponent would likely walk away immediately, assuming they didn’t know the first thing about Go.

But everyone here knew Su Cheng had staked everything on this match. Losing meant leaving the Go world forever.

How could he not know how to play?

So—

There was only one explanation: Su Cheng had created a new strategy, breaking conventional wisdom to leave his opponent guessing his next move.

The realization made everyone suck in a sharp breath.

The vice president’s gaze at the black stone on the "3-3" point was filled with complexity. She couldn’t make sense of it and began frantically analyzing the meaning behind Su Cheng’s move.

But as a professional player, despite her confusion, she quickly formulated a response.

Even so, she remained cautious, clearly unsettled by Su Cheng’s unconventional approach. Her moves were slow, fingers damp with sweat as she deliberated carefully before placing each stone.

She couldn’t help it. This match carried weight—if she made even a single misstep, not only would she lose face, but the entire Go club would be thrust into controversy. She couldn’t afford carelessness.

The club president wasn’t here. Si Jing wasn’t here.

She was the only one with the standing to challenge Su Cheng.

Yet, the moment her stone touched the board—less than a hundredth of a second later—another click echoed through the room.

Su Cheng didn’t hesitate. His second stone landed in the lower-left corner’s star point.

The sheer lack of deliberation stunned the vice president. Her expression shifted, and the stone she had just picked up hovered midair, frozen.

She had no idea what Su Cheng’s strategy was. The Go club members were equally lost, unable to decipher his intentions.

Truthfully, even Su Cheng himself didn’t know what he was doing. He only knew he had to act fast, maintain his composure, and look cool doing it.

These were his three commandments.

Motionless, he sat quietly, waiting for his opponent’s next move.

The air grew heavy. The vice president bit her lip, closed her eyes, and a fine layer of sweat formed on her forehead.

Her fingers trembled around the stone, unable to commit.

Su Cheng’s pressure was overwhelming—especially the suffocating sense that one wrong move would spell doom. It left her unsettled.

Time seemed to freeze.

Everyone held their breath.

Finally, she gritted her teeth and placed her white stone according to her usual strategy.

The moment it touched the board, Su Cheng eagerly picked up another black stone. But this time, the vice president didn’t look at the board—instead, she raised her head and met Su Cheng’s gaze.

That single glance became an indelible scar on her soul.

Su Cheng’s eyes suddenly gleamed with an otherworldly light, as if brimming with boundless wisdom and power. They were deep and silent, like black holes in the universe—suffocating, inescapable, threatening to swallow her whole.

Then, an overwhelming force surged through her heart, flipping her entire world upside down.

That brief eye contact felt like a cosmic convergence, linking infinite possibilities and meanings. Her mind shattered instantly.

Her cheeks flushed crimson, her gaze grew hazy, and she teetered on the edge of losing herself in an endless illusion—unaware that certain parts of her had already succumbed, leaving behind a few stray "tears."

In that moment of eye contact, time seemed to freeze. The air around them grew heavy, as if gravity had doubled, leaving her mind in utter chaos—unable to think, unable to resist, as though she were trapped in an endless black hole where her senses gradually blurred and faded away.

But just as despair was about to consume her, her body suddenly trembled. Her muddled thoughts cleared in an instant, and she hurriedly looked at Su Cheng, only for something bizarre to happen again—

The first piece Su Cheng had placed, along with the one she had just set down, suddenly levitated and flew behind him. Then, at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, the two pieces began spinning rapidly, forming a Tai Chi symbol in midair.

To the other members of the Go Club and the Student Council, however, it simply looked like the vice president was staring at Su Cheng in a daze, as if lovestruck.

And then… nothing else happened.

But for the vice president, the scene was entirely different. In her eyes, Su Cheng sat perfectly upright, one slender hand extended, fingers delicately pinching a black Go piece. Behind him, a spiritual domain had materialized into the physical world, manifesting as a rapidly rotating Tai Chi diagram.

Tap.

Su Cheng suddenly placed his piece—right in the center of the board, the Tengen position.

The moment he did, the room erupted in murmurs. This opening move defied all conventional understanding of Go strategy; it was practically suicidal, a guaranteed path to defeat!

Yet what happened next stunned everyone—including Su Cheng himself.

The vice president flinched so violently at his move that she nearly toppled off her chair.

The sight left everyone dumbfounded, Su Cheng included.

What… just happened?!

But then came an even more shocking development. The seated vice president suddenly flushed crimson, her breath ragged as if she’d just run a marathon. Her cheeks burned scarlet, and she desperately clutched at her skirt’s hem, her expression one of mortified shame.

"You win. I concede," she declared, standing abruptly before hurrying toward the restroom.

The moment Su Cheng had placed his piece, the Tai Chi diagram behind him had transformed into black and white dragons that lunged at her. The sheer oppressive force of it had nearly made her pass out.

Fortunately, as soon as Su Cheng’s piece landed, the abyssal darkness in his eyes began to recede, replaced by a warm, ordinary light.

But by then, she’d already become acutely aware of her own physical state. Humiliation burned through her—losing control like this over a game of Go?! If she stayed any longer, something might leak. So she fled to the restroom without another word.

The Go Club fell into dead silence. Everyone gaped at the restroom door, unable to process what had just happened. Their goddess, the vice president… had lost?

After only three moves?

She’d surrendered?!

Meanwhile, at the entrance, Li Guanqi and Gu Ruoxue exchanged incredulous glances. That match… had ended in a win?

She’d actually conceded?

Su Cheng had won?

Gu Ruoxue frowned, studying Su Cheng’s eyes as if realizing something—but she also let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Though equally baffled, Su Cheng maintained an air of calm. He even consoled the others, "Perhaps she suddenly felt unwell. Let’s consider this game suspended for now."

The crowd quickly snapped out of their stupor, murmuring in agreement.

"Then I’ll take my leave."

Su Cheng bowed politely, his demeanor humble and composed, before leisurely walking away—his achievements hidden, his name untarnished.

The Go Club, the Student Council, and even the spectators outside couldn’t help but marvel at his poise. Such composure, such grace—it was truly admirable.