《The King's Avatar – For The Glory》
Chapter 1 - The Summer We Were Fifteen
Chapter 1: The Summer We Were Fifteen
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
It was a sweltering summer afternoon, the sun scorching, the air thick with heat. Su Mucheng walked to the small cold drinks stall at the side of the road, wanting to buy a popsicle to ward off the summer heat, but even the popsicle vendor apparently didn¡¯t care that this summer day was the perfect time for selling cold drinks, and had hidden somewhere to avoid the heat.
After waiting for a while, there was still no one around, so Su Mucheng could only helplessly depart. She walked along the empty streets for a while before arriving at an Inte caf¨¦. Pushing open the door, the st of cool air caused her to let out a sigh of relief. Then, she heard a noisy racketing from within.
What was going on?
The curious Su Mucheng looked toward the source of the noise. The manager of the Inte caf¨¦ saw this young girl walk in, but instead of treating her like just another customer, he waved to her cheerfully. ¡°Little Mucheng is here?¡±
¡°Hi, Brother Cui,¡± she replied, greeting him.
¡°You¡¯re bringing food for your brother again!¡± Brother Cui saw the insted lunch box in her hand; he was quite familiar with this sight.
¡°Yup, where is he?¡± Su Mucheng asked.
¡°Over there.¡± Brother Cui pointed toward the area where the noise wasing from. ¡°However, he might not have much of an appetite today.¡±
¡°How?¡±
¡°He¡¯s met an opponent,¡± Brother Cuiughed.
An opponent?
Su Mucheng was startled. Even though she didn¡¯t entirely understand the video games that her older brother yed every day, she understood one thing clearly: her brother was very good. When he yed these sort ofpetitive games with other people, he rarely lost.
An opponent? That was to say, someone who was just as good as her brother?
Su Mucheng headed over toward the source of the noise. Two back-to-backputers had been surrounded by a crowd threeyers thick, and with Su Mucheng¡¯s short stature, even on her tiptoes she couldn¡¯t see a thing of what was going on. She could only hear the crowd¡¯s reactions ¨C a gasp here, a shout there.
¡°Su Muqiu, you¡¯re not doing too well today!¡± someone suddenly yelled.
Not doing well?
Su Mucheng was stunned. Not just someone who was as good as her brother, but someone whom her brother couldn¡¯t defeat?
She desperately wanted to watch, and so she plunged into the crowd of people. Su Muqiu was a regr at this Inte caf¨¦, thus Su Mucheng appeared often as well, and was quite familiar with the manager. A few people, after recognizing her, shifted aside to let her pass ¨C everyone quite liked this pretty young girl.
Finally made it through!
Su Mucheng let out a breath. Lifting her eyes, she could see her brother on the farputer, face wearing an umonly intense expression.
And his opponent?
His opponent was on theputer closer to her. She could only see his back, but he seemed to be a teenager around the same age as her brother. Her eyes fell upon his hands ¨C they were quite pretty, dancing expertly upon the keyboard and mouse. The crisp percussion of his movements was apanied by the gasps of the surrounding people.
This person really was quite good!
Even though Su Mucheng didn¡¯t entirely understand these video games, she still couldn¡¯t help but arrive at this conclusion as she watched the other boy y. Just then, the spectators once again erupted with shouts, a mixture of shock and sympathy. Like that, the match was decided.
Who won?
Su Mucheng didn¡¯t need to look at theputer screens. Just by looking at her brother¡¯s face, she could figure out who had won.
Sounds of mockery began to fill the air. In this crowd of spectators, quite a few had lost to Su Muqiu in the past. Now, upon seeing his defeat, they were quite gleeful.
Su Muqiu rolled his eyes, and though he felt a little awkward, he wasn¡¯t angry. A lot of these people were his friends, after all, and the teasing was all in good fun. Normally, everyone here would win some and lose some, but Su Muqiu, with his high win streak, always had the upper hand. With his defeat today, could they let this rare opportunity to mock him go to waste?
¡°Su Muqiu, your little sister brought you food, better eat your fill and get your energy back before trying again!¡± someone yelled, causing the spectators tough. Su Muqiu looked around, finally seeing Su Mucheng standing just across from him.
¡°Alright, I¡¯m stopping,¡± he said, pushing back the keyboard and standing up.
¡°Eating your fill before trying again?¡± His opponent said with augh.
The spectators were delighted. This kid knew what was up, even ying along with everyone¡¯s mockery!
Su Muqiu red at the other boy. ¡°Come,e, have some food too, so that when you lose next time you don¡¯t have an excuse.
¡°I don¡¯t think I need to worry about that,¡± the opponent said, although he stood up as well.
The crowdughed uproariously. Not only was this kid skilled, he had quite the sharp tongue!
¡°Come on, eat with us!¡± Su Mucheng said at this moment. She¡¯d been standing behind him this whole time, so now she scurried forward to where the opponent could see her.
¡°You¡¯re his little sister?¡± the boy asked, looking over at Su Mucheng.
¡°Yup!¡±
¡°Do you y these games too?¡±
¡°Not really.¡±
¡°You should learn, it¡¯s fun,¡± he said.
¡°Mucheng,e over here, don¡¯t talk so much with strangers,¡± Su Muqiu said, interrupting them.
Su Mucheng smiled and skipped over to her brother¡¯s side. The Inte caf¨¦ had a lounge where customers could wait for an openputer, and Su Muqiu would often eat lunch here. The other boy wasn¡¯t shy and followed the two siblings over here.
Su Muqiu took the lunch box from his sister and deftly split the food into three equal portions. After looking at it for a bit, he scraped some more food from one portion to another. He gave therger portion to Su Mucheng, took the smaller one for himself, and gestured for the other boy to take the remainder.
¡°Brother, you should eat this bigger portion!¡± Su Mucheng said immediately. The meal was meant for two people. Splitting it three ways was already stretching it, and now that her brother had given even more to her, he probably wouldn¡¯t even be half full with his portion.
¡°I can¡¯t finish that!¡± Su Muqiu insisted, lifting up the lunch box.
¡°Hahaha, because you¡¯re mad? You shouldn¡¯t be, losing and winning is very normal. Composure,posure.¡± The other boy took the portion he was given, but his hands were fast ¨C in the blink of an eye, he had dumped some of his food to Su Muqiu¡¯s portion.
¡°I¡¯m in a good mood, I don¡¯t need to eat this much,¡± he exined.
¡°You...¡± Su Muqiu grumbled, but he didn¡¯t want to bother with this any further.
¡°I¡¯ve never seen you around before,¡± Su Mucheng took this opportunity to say. This time, her brother didn¡¯t stop her with any warning of ¡°don¡¯t talk to strangers.¡±
¡°Oh, I was just passing by, just wanted to casually y a bit. Then I heard there was a skilled yer here, and then...¡±
¡°And then?¡± Su Mucheng prompted.
¡°And then I went to see if I could learn anything from him. He really is a skilled yer. Only a little worse than me,¡± he said.
¡°Hey, don¡¯t speak too soon!¡± Su Muqiu shouted. ¡°We¡¯re going again after eating!¡±
¡°Haha, I can¡¯t,¡± the other boy said.
¡°What, running away?¡± Su Muqiu said angrily.
¡°I don¡¯t have any money left,¡± the boy said, patting his pockets.
This reason was too strong. Of course, without money, there was no way to use theputers in the Inte caf¨¦.
¡°It¡¯s on me!¡± Su Muqiu refused to let this go so easily.
¡°I eat your food, I use your money for the Inte caf¨¦, and I beat you too? That¡¯s not too good, is it?¡±
¡°Who said you were going to win for sure?¡±
¡°Well, of course I¡¯ll lose once in a while, too,¡± the boy said, very naturally.
¡°...I¡¯m done eating.¡± Now Su Muqiu really was too annoyed to eat.
¡°Why don¡¯t you guys go home and y?¡± Su Mucheng suggested.
¡°Oh?¡±
¡°At home... at home theputers aren¡¯t the same, so you can¡¯t really y games like this on them,¡± Su Muqiu said to his sister.
Computer configurations would affect the battle, and one of theirputers was much worse than the other, making some PvP games unfair. Su Mucheng didn¡¯t understand all this, and thought that as long as you had twoputers then you could battle on them.
¡°But there should be other games where that doesn¡¯t matter too much, right?¡± the other boy asked.
¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re confident you could beat me in any game?¡± Su Muqiu said.
¡°Of course not, there are too many games out there! Only in the games I know how to y.¡±
Su Muqiu wanted to flip the table. ¡°Stop eating! Stand up, we¡¯re battling this out!¡±
¡°I¡¯m already done eating,¡± the other boy answered, putting down his bowl and chopsticks.
¡°Let¡¯s go! Mucheng,e join us once you¡¯re done.¡± Without wasting a moment, Su Muqiu dragged the other boy away.
¡°See you in a bit!¡± The other boy managed to turn back and give her a wave as the two of them left.
¡°See you,¡± Su Mucheng answered with a smile.
She never would have imagined that this random stranger, crashing into her and her brother¡¯s life, would end up walking alongside her for ten years and beyond.
Chapter 2 - Friends from the Start, Opponents for Life (1)
Chapter 2: Friends from the Start, Opponents for Life (1)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
December 3rd, Glory!
For a full month now, this logo, with its bold letters, crossed swords, and wings spread as though they would fly out of the paper, was grandly disyed almost everywhere you looked ¨C TV screens,puter screens, physical posters and flyers in every corner of the city.
¡°One month? December 3rd, that¡¯s exactly six weeks away, 42 days!¡± Su Muqiu spoke while scrolling through yet another Glory ad that had popped up on the screen. This uing game was invading everyone¡¯s line of sight at any given moment.
Ka ka ka...
But the only answer he got was the sound of a keyboard and mouse, light but rhythmic.
Su Muqiu nced at the one sitting beside him. The screen was currently disying shes from attacks and a river of blood, but the yer himself wore a bored expression. Clearly, doing something like this didn¡¯t require his full attention.
¡°Did you hear what I just said?¡± Su Muqiuined. The fight clearly didn¡¯t require his friend¡¯s full attention, so there was no reason for him to be oblivious to the outside world.
¡°I heard, Glory, my ears are bleeding from hearing that word from your mouth so often, can¡¯t you see?¡± said Ye Xiu. Ever since Glory had begun its advertising campaign, Su Muqiu had talked about this game almost incessantly. Heaven knew how much he was looking forward to it.
¡°It hasn¡¯t been announced for too long, but with this kind of explosive momentum, this is enough. This is definitely going to be a sessful game,¡± said Su Muqiu, ignoring Ye Xiu¡¯s apparent disinterest.
¡°Mm,¡± Ye Xiu said nomittally. He really had heard this too many times.
¡°I heard this game doesn¡¯t use a username and password to log on, you need an ount card to swipe.¡±
¡°Mm.¡±
¡°You need a specific card reader too, for it to work.¡±
¡°Mm.¡±
¡°But this card reader is still rtively cheap.¡±
¡°Mm.¡±
¡°But the system requirements for theputer seem to be pretty high!¡±
¡°Oh?¡± This finally got Ye Xiu¡¯s attention ¨C the rhythm of the keyboard got louder for a second, before stabilizing again. He turned to look with a serious expression. ¡°What kind of requirements?¡±
Su Muqiu didn¡¯t answer. He had two very oldputers here; one was in slightly better condition, but even that one barely met the minimum requirements for running Glory. The otherputer was so bad that it didn¡¯t wasn¡¯t even worth talking about. Ye Xiu was noputer expert, but he¡¯d yed on theseputers for several months now, and Su Muqiu trusted that he didn¡¯t need to exin.
¡°It¡¯s time to exchange these,¡± said Ye Xiu, still with that serious expression. Although he wasn¡¯t as excited for Glory as Su Muqiu was, he clearly didn¡¯t want to lose the power of choice. To decide whether a game was good or bad, you had to y it yourself.
¡°Yeah, it¡¯s time to get new ones, but money¡¯s been a bit tighttely...¡±
Having lived here for several months, Ye Xiu was of course clear on the living conditions of these two siblings. They were orphans with no rtives, and their entire livelihoods depended on the ie Su Muqiu earned from ying games. After Ye Xiu arrived, they now had a second person earning money, so their situation was a little better off. Still, although they didn¡¯t struggle to get basic necessities, it would be a stretch to just pull out the cash for two newputers. Su Muqiu wouldn¡¯t have put up with these two terribleputers if he had had that luxury.
¡°Looks like we¡¯ll just have to go to Inte caf¨¦s for now,¡± said Ye Xiu.
¡°Yeah,¡± Su Muqiu nodded.
¡°You¡¯ve already looked around for a good one?¡±
¡°Of course, I¡¯ve been investigating for over a week now,¡± Su Mucheng said calmly.
December 3rd, midnight.
Thisunch time wasn¡¯t very kind to the gamers. For most people, this was the time to log off and shut down theputer. But for an event like this, plenty of gamers were eager to sacrifice their normal schedules.
Six weeks, 42 days. Glory¡¯srge-scale advertising campaign, as well as the well-timed release of the game¡¯s details, had really seeded in building up hype for this game, such that no one cared whether it was releasing at noon or midnight.
This night, countless people were gearing up for theunch.
This night, Inte caf¨¦s in all the major cities turned into lively ¡°nightclubs.¡±
City H, Excellent Era Inte Caf¨¦.
Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu had secured twoputers in the caf¨¦ early on, and as theunch time approached, they became more focused and alert. Many people gathered in the caf¨¦, but, seeing that there were no emptyputers, became depressed and irritable. Unlike Su Muqiu and Ye Xiu, who went to an Inte caf¨¦ because they didn¡¯t have advancedputers at home, most people went to Inte caf¨¦s just to hang out with other people. ying games together in one location was often more enjoyable than ying online separately.
As midnight approached, the caf¨¦ was jam-packed, and those that had failed to get aputer could only leave in disappointment. The owner of the caf¨¦, Tao Xuan, was very satisfied with this turnout. He¡¯d invested a lot into this game, upgrading all theputers as necessary. None of the nearby Inte cafes had done the same; they were simply waiting and watching to see how sessful the game would be. Although there was a lot of hype surrounding the game, who knew if it would end up a failure? After so many years, hadn¡¯t there been many games that failed to live up to expectations?
Of course, Tao Xuan was quite anxious himself. He stared at the clock on the wall, watching the hands tick closer toward midnight. At 11:59, he extinguished the cigarette in his hand and sat down at theputer that he had prepared for himself earlier.
As a gamer himself, he wanted to try out Glory as well.
Midnight!
The lively Inte caf¨¦ suddenly quieted down.
Swipe a card to log on? This was a new mechanism, and people clumsily tried to figure it out.
Then, everyone sank into thought at the next screen. ount name...
¡°Let me, let me!¡± Su Mucheng had carried over a stool to sit between Su Muqiu and Ye Xiu. Seeing them reach this screen, she jumped up in excitement.
¡°And then go straight to bed, got it?¡± Su Muqiu said sternly.
¡°I know!¡± Su Mucheng took Ye Xiu¡¯s keyboard and began typing in a name. She didn¡¯t really yputer games herself, so this was the only way she would participate with Su Muqiu ¨C and now, Ye Xiu as well ¨C in these games.
Quickly, the name appeared on the screen. It seemed that she had prepared beforehand.
¡°One Autumn Leaf,¡± Ye Xiu read aloud. ¡°One leaf heralds theing of autumn¡± was a well-known Chinese phrase*, but, ¡°Isn¡¯t there a typo there?¡±
But Su Mucheng had already pressed the enter key.
¡°Alright!¡± Su Mucheng returned the keyboard to Ye Xiu, before taking over Su Muqiu¡¯s.
¡°Hurry up,¡± said Su Muqiu, impatient to get started.
Su Mucheng typed quickly, and the name jumped onto the screen
¡°Qiu Mu Su?¡± Su Muqiu read aloud. ¡°Hey hey, can¡¯t you put a little more effort into this? I¡¯m your blood brother!¡±
This username was simply the characters of his real name in reverse order.
However, when Su Mucheng pressed confirm, the system reported back: This name is already in use.
¡°Damn!¡± Su Muqiu nced at the time on theputer. It hadn¡¯t even reached 12:01 yet, and this name was already taken? How many people were ying this game at this moment?
Su Mucheng¡¯s hands were fast. One name was taken, so her fingers danced to type another.
¡°Autumn Tree?¡± Now, Su Muqiu was speechless for good. The only thing different about this username was the second character, but it was still pronounced ¡°Qiu Mu Su.¡± Once again, Su Mucheng hit confirm, and with that, his name was now Autumn Tree.
The young girl nodded, revealing a satisfied expression.
¡°Alright, it¡¯s bedtime for you!¡± Su Muqiu reminded her. It was gettingte, but their home was close by and the siblings were very familiar with the surrounding area. Su Muqiu wasn¡¯t worried about sending his sister home by herself.
¡°In a minute,¡± the girl replied shamelessly, correctly guessing that her brother wouldn¡¯t want to leave theputer to force her to go home.
¡°Just a minute!¡± Indeed, Su Muqiu relented immediately, and turned back to the screen.
¡°Hey, Ye Xiu, what ss are you going to y? I thought about it a lot and decided on Sharpshooter. Why don¡¯t you y Sharpshooter as well? I think two Sharpshooters could work together really well.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll try things out first and see how it goes,¡± Ye Xiu replied.
Chapter 3 - Friends from the Start, Opponents for Life (2)
Chapter 3: Friends from the Start, Opponents for Life (2)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
In Glory, the yer didn¡¯t choose a ss immediately. At the beginning of the game, characters could learn skills from any of the different sses to give yers a taste of what they were like. Only at level 20 would the character settle on one ss to specialize in.
Su Muqiu had already decided on ying Sharpshooter based on the data released by the Glory developers. Ye Xiu, on the other hand, nned to experiment in-game before deciding. Right now, however, whether going straight for Sharpshooter or getting an all-around experience first, they faced the same problem.
Too many people!
There were so many people online right now that even just taking a few steps was difficult. Su Mucheng found herself beginning to doze off.
¡°I¡¯m going home,¡± she soon announced. She wanted to watch the excitement, but this was a bit too much. It was so lively that there was no excitement that could be watched.
¡°Okay, be safe,¡± said Su Muqiu, without even a nce back. Although it was currently impossible to progress in the main game due to the number of people, he could still investigate the design of many other features, and Su Muqiu had delved into the equipment editor. Apparently it allowed yers to createpletely customized weapons, and Su Muqiu had looked forward to testing it out since the day it was announced. It was shrouded in mystery, since no other game had a simr feature. Right now, he was already using the editor to take apart and experiment on the equipment that he had automatically received as a new yer.
¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Ye Xiu said, logging off and standing up. Starting the game a littlete wasn¡¯t a big deal.
The first day that Glory was open, more people received frustration than excitement. But the frustration was only because there were so many people. In Glory, a game where you couldn¡¯t pass through other people, it was impossible to y the game normally when characters were squeezing against you.
As the yers leveled up wave by wave and began to split up toward all of the different areas in the world, the game finally began to proceed on the right course. Finally, the yers could truly experience the game for what it was.
Difficult!
This was everyone¡¯s first impression.
Glory was absolutely a game focused on technique. There was a lot of freedom in controls, and whether your technique was good or bad had a big impact on your battle ability. Too many things relied on skill, rather than powerful equipment or other thing.
Of course, equipment was still very important in glory. In-game, there were always two things that could get yers excited: equipment and victory.
Glory Arena.
For a game like this, PvP was of course one of the most important aspects. Aside from the wild PK systems that most games had, Glory also had a built-in arena specifically so that yers could y PvP.
GLORY!
The game¡¯s logo appeared onscreen along with thatrge word ¨C this was the victory screen, disyed after winning a match in the arena. The chat channel on the side was lively with shock and spection.
One month. It had been one month since Glory opened.
And in that time, Ye Xiu¡¯s One Autumn Leaf had be quite renowned in-game. Why? He had a perfect record for individual battles in the arena.
3685 matches. 3685 wins.
Just the number of battles alone was staggering. 3685 matches, that meant that on average, every day he¡¯d have to y over 100 matches. Assuming each battle took around three to five minutes, that meant that he was spending around six to ten hours every day just in the arena.
There were a few quests or rewards for ying in the Arena, but it didn¡¯t grant too much experience. Overall, using the Arena to level up would be very slow. Despite this, One Autumn Leaf was still fairly high leveledpared to the yerbase as a whole ¨C level 32.
¡°How much time is he spending on Glory every day?¡± People in the world channel were discussing this constantly.
In reality, the other yers were still underestimating Ye Xiu somewhat. He did spend a lot of time on the game every day, but not as much time in the Arena as they thought.
Someone who could y 3685 matches without losing a single one had to have overwhelming skill. For him, matches rarelysted three minutes, let alone five. He would usuallypletely dominate a match and earn victory in under two minutes.
Yes, Ye Xiu was very good. But, he wasn¡¯t the best.
On the current leaderboards for the arena, aside from those that only yed one or two matches, there was one other person who also had a perfect win record with over 100 matches. There was one other. And in fact, this person¡¯s match count was even higher than One Autumn Leaf¡¯s.
Desert Dust.
The sole name above One Autumn Leaf.
Desert Dust was also at level 32, but in the arena, he had yed 4012 matches. All victorious.
Of course, there were plenty of other extremely skilled yers below them with high win rates, but these were the only two with perfect records.
Countless yers spected over which of them would lose their record first, and even more people anticipated when these two would finally face off. For the two of them to both have perfect records, that meant that these two people still hadn¡¯t met in the Arena. As of now, you couldn¡¯t send a battle request to someone in the Arena; it was the system that matched yers to opponents based on level, Arena win record, and other such factors. Everyone guessed that these people would be matched up very soon.
¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it too!¡± Ye Xiu whispered as he skimmed this discussion. He clicked the confirm button to begin the next match, hoping that this time, he would finally meet this powerful yer Desert Dust.
¡°Hey hey hey, help me clear a dungeon,¡± said the boy ying on theputer next to him. Ye Xiu sighed in disappointment ¨C once again, the random opponent was not Desert Dust.
¡°What dungeon?¡± Ye Xiu asked as he began the battle with this new opponent.
¡°Line Canyon, I need the clear record. Well, more urately, I need the prize thates with that clear record,¡± said Su Muqiu.
¡°One second,¡± replied Ye Xiu.
¡°Hurry,¡± urged Su Muqiu, but he saw how disinterested Ye Xiu looked while ying, and could tell that this match would end quickly.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± 40 secondster, One Autumn Leaf left the arena, leaving behind a channel of shocked emojis. The yer who had just lost was alsopletely stunned.
This opponent¡¯s win record was 96.1%, quite formidable in his own right. The arena system wouldn¡¯t match anyone to Ye Xiu unless they had a win record of at least 95%.
This person, seeing that he was up against the perfect record One Autumn Leaf, knew to be on guard.
But he was beaten up in forty seconds.
One Autumn Leaf had lost some health, true, but the opponent felt that that was only because One Autumn Leaf wanted to sacrifice some health in order for a faster victory. One Autumn Leaf absolutely had the skill to win this battle at full health.
¡°Was he in a hurry or something?¡± This yer had no tears left to weep. With his 96.1% record, he could be considered quite good, but what was he to One Autumn Leaf?
Chapter 4 - Friends from the Start, Opponents for Life (3)
Chapter 4: Friends from the Start, Opponents for Life (3)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Line Canyon.
It was a level 31-33 area, currently filled with the higher-level yers, fighting monsters and entering the dungeon.
With Ye Xiu¡¯s skill, if he wanted to fight wild monsters, he would go to higher level areas like Fire Forest or even Sin City. Aside from doing the daily three runs of the Line Canyon dungeon, he rarely came here anymore.
By the time Ye Xiu arrived, he saw that Su Muqiu had already managed to gather a whole team of people at the entrance of the dungeon, with one space left for him.
¡°You¡¯re pretty fast!¡± Ye Xiu said to him.
¡°Of course, who doesn¡¯t want to break a record?¡± For Glory¡¯s dungeons, there were leaderboards ranking teams ording to their clear time. Getting on the leaderboard for a dungeon was one of the most prestigious aplishments in the PvE scene. Even without the awards that came with it, getting a record was solid proof of one¡¯s skill.
¡°Even though it was just you here? People believed you?¡± Ye Xiu said, curious.
One Autumn Leaf¡¯s equipment was considered quite extraordinary. Getting good equipment from dungeons relied on luck, but with all the points he had from his Arena victories, he¡¯d been able to get two incredibly good Orange equipment pieces that anyone would be jealous of.
But Su Muqiu¡¯s Autumn Tree was much worse off. Never mind Orange equipment, he didn¡¯t even have any Purple equipment, and only half Blue equipment, the rest Green to fill up the slots. In front of the dungeon entrance, he looked like some newbie waiting for an expert to carry him.
Of course, Su Muqiu was no newbie, and his skill was absolutely top tier. He yed the game for about the same amount of time as Ye Xiu. But he was only level 31, he had bad equipment, and his win record in the arena was 67.8% ¨C not a bad score rtive to the yer base as a whole, but definitely a bad record in his eyes. The reason for this apparent paradox was simply that he focused on different aspects of this game when ying.
Unlike most other gamers that simply yed games for enjoyment, Su Muqiu relied on ying games to earn enough money for himself and his sister to survive. So, the moment he entered a game, the first thing he looked for was some area in which there was money to be made.
Selling ounts, selling equipment and materials, powerleveling, even writing external scripts for exploits... In any game, if there had been a market for it, Su Muqiu had done it.
And in Glory, which had obtained an unprecedented level of poprity, Su Muqiu had found a new profitable area: the equipment editor.
As announced by the creators, this feature allowed yers to create their own custom equipment for use in game. They summed up the value of self-made equipment in a phrase: self-made equipment isn¡¯t always the best, but the best equipment is always self-made. And the Silver equipment that came out of the equipment editor did indeed seem to be a level above the Orange equipment, which themselves were already fairly rare.
Thus, from day one, Su Muqiu investigated the equipment editor.
It was quite aplex feature, and Su Muqiu had already filled two notebooks with handwritten notes, in addition to 477 documents on a hard disk. Even so, he had only barely scratched the surface.
The difficulty was high. But the greater the difficulty, the more excited Su Muqiu got. Difficult meant rare, which meant valuable.
¡°Small investment, huge profit!¡± he¡¯d say.
And so, all the materials and equipment he earned in game became fodder for experimentation in the editor. Sometimes Ye Xiu would log on and find One Autumn Leaf missing a piece of equipment or two ¨C without asking, he¡¯d know that Su Muqiu had borrowed them for research.
However, investing everything into the equipment editor put a strain on his resources. He quickly realized that he needed arge supply of materials for his research to seed.
¡°I can¡¯t go on like this...¡± Over time, his tone changed from the ¡°small investment, huge profit¡± attitude earlier. He had to find outside ways to fund his research, such as setting dungeon records.
¡°Join team.¡± Ye Xiu¡¯s One Autumn Leaf was pulled into the dungeon team, and then he heard Su Muqiu talking to the other three yers. ¡°How about it? I wasn¡¯t lying to you! This is One Autumn Leaf, right?¡±
So that¡¯s how he gathered this team. Ye Xiu was speechless.
The other three yers were also shocked. They all knew One Autumn Leaf was one of the highest-level yers in the game, as evidenced by his 3685 ¨C no, 3686, now ¨C battles and victories in the arena.
The three yers crowded around to pay their respects to the expert, but Su Muqiu announced, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start.¡±
¡°What?¡± This statement surprised the three yers out of their hero-worship.
¡°You¡¯reing too?¡± one yer eximed.
¡°What about healer? MT?¡± said another.
¡°What¡¯s the strategy?¡±
Su Muqiu responded with three words. ¡°Overwhelm with skill.¡±
¡°...Even with an expert...¡± The three yers nced toward One Autumn Leaf. Was this one expert enough ¡°skill¡± to get them a dungeon record?¡±
¡°Not just one expert,¡± Su Muqiu said,pletely unashamed.
¡°Who else?¡±
¡°Desert Dust?!¡± one of the yers shouted, excited. A yer that matched One Autumn Leaf in skill, who else but the other yer with a perfect win record in the arena?
¡°When is heing?¡± The third yer reached the same conclusion.
¡°The other expert is right in front of you!¡± said Su Muqiu over the exmations of the other yers.
¡°Where? Where?¡± The three yers looked around frantically, but didn¡¯t see Desert Dust¡¯s name anywhere.
¡°It¡¯s me!¡± said Su Muqiu.
¡°Who said that?¡± The three yers were acting as though Autumn Tree weren¡¯t even there, andpletely missed the fact that Su Muqiu was the one who had spoken. They were still looking around for an expert.
¡°Me!¡± Su Muqiu directed his character to jump in front of the yers¡¯ fields of vision.
¡°You?¡± The Glory game allowed yers to directly talk to each other with voice chat, but in this moment, the three yers needed to use emojis to show their expressions of shock. This Sharpshooter in front of them looked nothing like an expert at all.
¡°Don¡¯t waste our dungeon run!¡± One of the yers couldn¡¯t help but speak up.
At this, Ye Xiuughed. ¡°His equipment isn¡¯t great, but he¡¯s extremely skilled.¡±
¡°What¡¯s his win record in the arena?¡± This was the most direct method of measuring someone¡¯s skill.
¡°97.8%.¡± Ye Xiu answered promptly, without even blinking. Su Muqiu¡¯s win record was only in the 60s, but Ye Xiu just turned the 6 upside down into a 9. Arena records and statistics could only be essed from within the arena, so here, out in the field, Ye Xiu felt safe in lying about this win record.
In any case, this wasn¡¯t entirely a lie. Su Muqiu was always ying with the equipment editor and testing out crazybinations of equipment that he cooked up. Often times, he¡¯d stop in the middle of a battle to frantically write something down in his notebook ¨C ying like that, it¡¯d be a surprise if he didn¡¯t lose. If Su Muqiu really cared about victory, Ye Xiu was certain that he¡¯d easily maintain a win record above 97.8%.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s not waste time, start now, hopefully it¡¯ll only take one try,¡± said Su Muqiu.
¡°So what¡¯s our strategy? How are we supposed to y!¡± One yer was still freaking out. Everyone trusted One Autumn Leaf¡¯s assurances that this Autumn Tree yer was skilled. But getting a dungeon record required teamwork, right? If they just charged in without discussing ns beforehand, how would they get the record?¡±
¡°If you see a monster, kill it. Let¡¯s go.¡± Su Muqiu¡¯s reply was straightforward, and he entered the dungeon immediately after. Ye Xiu¡¯s One Autumn Leaf followed suit, and the other three, after hesitating for a moment, entered as well.
As soon as they stepped foot in the dungeon, they found that the two yers had already charged forward toward the monsters.
¡°Fuck, didn¡¯t even say anything! This really is ¡®if you see a monster kill it¡¯!¡± someone shouted.
Line Canyon was a level 31-33 dungeon, and yers at this level always did their daily three runs of this dungeon. These three yers were level 32, and like Ye Xiu, were currently some of the highest-leveled yers of the yerbase. They weren¡¯t strangers to this dungeon. But they had never experienced a direct, explosive strategy like the one currently unfolding before them.
¡°Faster faster faster!¡± Su Muqiu urged. His Autumn Tree wielded two revolvers, firing bang bang bang without pause. In the blink of an eye, six small monsters were drawn toward the dungeon entrance.
¡°Damn...¡± The three yers felt weak in their legs. Their arena win records were above 70%, which was fairly good. But pulling six monsters immediately? Normally, even with MT and healer, only two monsters would be pulled at a time, maybe three if the party had particrly good equipment. But now, this guy, dressed as ridiculously as a flower, was pulling six monsters from the start! They¡¯d thought he was a beggar, but he was a legend. You really can¡¯t judge power from appearance.
But how were they supposed to kill these six monsters?
The three yers didn¡¯t know where to start, and they weren¡¯t given any directions. In the end, One Autumn Leaf charged over, the spear in his hand shed, and the six monsters were gathered together. And then his sleeve swept out, Shadow Cloak ¨C a low-level Witch skill ¨C with this skill, the six little monsters were instantly bunched together.
¡°What are you all doing? Attack!¡± Su Muqiu yelled, and finally the three yers woke from their daze. This is what ¡°overwhelm with skill¡± meant. Before this, they just couldn¡¯t even imagine what the summit of skill looked like.
¡°These experts with above 90% win record are terrifying,¡± one of them said.
¡°Not just above 90%, it¡¯s 100%!¡± another reminded him.
¡°I wonder who¡¯s stronger, him or Desert Dust?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve seen Desert Dust¡¯s arena battles before, he¡¯s really fierce.¡±
The three yers had been nervous at the beginning, but they gradually discovered that there was absolutely no pressure on them at all. Finding and pulling the monsters, the difficult part of this, One Autumn Leaf and Autumn Tree had that covered. The three of them only needed to output as much damage as they could. They still had to pay attention to some basic things, but the three of them weren¡¯t newbies, so it was a straightforward matter for them.
So as they mindlessly outputted damage, the three of them started chatting. They now thoroughly understood Su Muqiu¡¯s skill as well. His damage wasn¡¯t amazing, but that was only because of his subpar equipment. But his skill was incredible. Of the interruptable skills that the monsters could use, had a single one appeared? No. This guy had managed to interrupt all of them.
Upon reaching the BOSS, Su Muqiu¡¯s performance reached a new height. This BOSS was surrounded by twelve monsters, smaller than the BOSS but considered ¡°elite¡± monsters. Normal yers would cautiously approach, pulling one or two small monsters at a time to kill ¨C this strategy had developed after countless yer deaths. Even now, many teams would be wiped out here if they carelessly pulled too many at once.
But Su Muqiu.
Bang bang bang bang bang, rapid fire.
Twelve bullets delivered like candy to the twelve elite monsters.
¡°Are we killing these all at once too?¡± The three yers had thought that nothing could shock them anymore, but they were wrong.
¡°Leaving it to you guys,¡± said Su Muqiu.
The three yers felt their hands begin sweating. They expected One Autumn Leaf to gather the monsters, but instead saw him charging straight toward the BOSS.
¡°You¡¯re trying to kill the BOSS together too?!¡± the yers yelled.
¡°Are you guys cheating?¡± someone hollered.
They watched Autumn Tree fly past them like a train and continue to fire rapidly at the smaller monsters.
¡°Do we fight...?¡± one of the yers said with a tremble in his voice.
¡°Come fight the BOSS!¡± Ye Xiu¡¯s voice came from the side.
The three yers paused, looked again, and realized that Autumn Tree had drawn the twelve small monsters away from the BOSS and was luring them in circles.
With that, they understood. They weren¡¯t going to kill the smaller monsters at all. Autumn Tree would keep them distracted, and the four of them would kill the BOSS?
This was true skill! What use was good equipment? Would having good equipment allow you to pull this off? Keeping control of twelve elite monsters at once without losing any or getting killed?
¡°Incredible! Too incredible!¡± They marveled as they charged forward to meet the BOSS.
A short while after, an announcement in the Glory world channel: a new record set for the Line Canyon dungeon.
¡°One try, not bad!¡± praised Su Muqiu.
¡°Are we going again?¡± These three yers were now thoroughly convinced of his prowess.
¡°Not now, I have something to do.¡± Su Muqiu dispersed the team. Before Ye Xiu had arrived, he had already discussed with the three yers how to split the reward.
Thus, the three yers bid a heartfelt farewell to these two experts. Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu began heading back to the city near Line Canyon, and Su Muqiu once again started talking earnestly about his ns for equipment-making.
All the way up until the two of them found their way blocked by another yer.
¡°One Autumn Leaf, y a match?¡±
Standing in the middle of the road was the Striker, Desert Dust.
Chapter 5 - Friends from the Start, Opponents for Life (4)
Chapter 5: Friends from the Start, Opponents for Life (4)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The path between the Line Canyon city and the leveling areas and dungeons was frequented by many yers. So, even though not many heard the words that Desert Dust spoke, just the sight of the names ¡°Desert Dust¡± and ¡°One Autumn Leaf¡± together was enough to make passersby stop in their tracks. Thanks to their perfect win records, these names were famous, and no one would object to calling them the top experts. But everyone was even more curious as to which of them was stronger.
And so, on the road outside of the city, when these two characters met, all of the yers who recognized those names stopped in their tracks.
Ye Xiu didn¡¯t refuse Desert Dust¡¯s invitation. Even Su Muqiu, who typically only cared about the equipment editor and not victory, began to disy a deep excitement.
One Autumn Leaf, Desert Dust.
No one knew then that this meeting would mark the start of over a decade ofpetition and rivalry between these two characters, these two yers.
In this moment, everyone was only curious as to which of the two was about to lose his perfect record.
The battle would take ce on the side of the path. As more and more yers passed by, those at the back found their view blocked by the crowd, and so they scrambled for higher ground by climbing atop nearby rocks and trees.
The two experts hadn¡¯t wanted to cause a traffic jam, but now, even though they had relocated to the side of the road, congestion was unavoidable.
¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± Desert Dust didn¡¯t say anything more, and rushed forward with a shout.
Ye Xiu answered with his actions. Desert Dust was fast with the attack, but his One Autumn Leaf was faster to meet it.
Step forward.
Dashing Jab!
Dragon Tooth!
Two straight-line attacks, urately crashing into each other.
Who was stronger? Who was weaker?
The spectators couldn¡¯t even see the results of this sh before the two characters turned and began moving in parallel.
Sky Strike!
One Autumn Leaf¡¯s spear swung upward, a level 30 Orange weapon, ded at both ends, shing like a de Master¡¯s lightsaber. This weapon was a prize for earning a certain number of points in the Arena, and every day countless Battle Mages salivated over this glorious prize ¨C very few were able to reach the requirements necessary for unlocking it.
Desert Dust¡¯s weapon wasn¡¯t any less prestigious. Having won more battles, he had even more Arena points than One Autumn Leaf. Thus, while One Autumn Leaf only had two pieces of Orange equipment, Desert Dust actually had three, including an Orange weapon ¨C Raging Lava!
Desert Dust¡¯s gauntlets were wreathed in mes.
Copsing Fist!
With this attack, the mes seemed to ze even brighter.
sh, another sh.
These two yers were the highest of experts, and yet at this moment seemed not to understand technique and adaptation. They were like two newbies, simply throwing attacks at each other¡¯s bodies.
But this time, Sky Strike had a clear priority disadvantage to Copsing Fist. When Desert Dust¡¯s fist hit One Autumn Leaf¡¯s spear, One Autumn Leaf¡¯s body began to shake ¨C Copsing Fist had clear priority over Sky Strike.
Chance!
All the spectators thought this was the case. Desert Dust didn¡¯t disappoint, quickly following up with his attacks.
Is it, though? The spectating Su Muqiu chuckled to himself. Sky Strike and Copsing Fist, there was a clear difference in power. How could Ye Xiu ignore that fact? Would he miss something as important as that? Everyone who thinks that this is a chance for Desert Dust, aren¡¯t they looking down on the abilities of an expert?
This wasn¡¯t a chance. Or rather, this was a chance, but it was Ye Xiu¡¯s chance, because he purposely exposed this w to the opponent.
A shaking body seemed to be the result of the inability to properly counter the Copsing Fist. But this apparent helplessness and loss of control allowed One Autumn Leaf to cleanly dodge Desert Dust¡¯s follow-up Whirlwind Kick. Immediately after, a gleam of light flew out from behind One Autumn Leaf.
Neutral Chaser!
A Chaser resulting from the sh between Dragon Tooth and Dashing Jab. Unlike most other Battle Mages, he didn¡¯t fire this Chaser immediately, but instead waited until this critical moment, when everyone thought that Desert Dust had the upper hand, to suddenly counterattack.
Light blocked Desert Dust¡¯s field of vision. It wasn¡¯t just an attack on the character, it was more of a disruption to the human controller. The spectators couldn¡¯t grasp this point; only Su Muqiu, who often sparred with Ye Xiu, understood.
And Desert Dust was currently experiencing this himself. But even so, he didn¡¯t retreat, or even falter.
The Whirlwind Kick attack was dodged.
His vision was blocked by the light of the Chaser.
One Autumn Leaf was alreadyunching another attack.
But none of this affected Desert Dust¡¯s actions. He wasn¡¯t panicked or hesitant in the slightest. He simply swung his fists as always. As a level 32 character, he only had ess to a limited number of skills, so this swinging of his fist was just a simple, direct punch.
But this punch was faster than a special skill, and was as urate as ever even with blocked vision.
The punch passed the Neutral Chaser ¨C the light damaged Desert Dust, but his movement was unaffected. This ordinary punch connected with One Autumn Leaf¡¯s head.
Bang! A dull sound.
A normal attack couldn¡¯t deal much damage, but this punch sessfully disrupted One Autumn Leaf¡¯s rhythm. The spectators were shocked ¨C they weren¡¯t able to follow the intricacies of the situation, so all they saw was that Desert Dust seized the opportunity and gained the upper hand. It made sense that the 4012-win Desert Dust would be slightly stronger than the 3686-win One Autumn Leaf.
Su Muqiu was shocked as well, but for a slightly different reason. He knew that Ye Xiu was luring Desert Dust into attacking, but he hadn¡¯t thought that this opponent would use such a brute-force method to directly destroy Ye Xiu¡¯s n.
Desert Dust, like Su Muqiu, had clearly also seen through One Autumn Leaf¡¯s ¡°chance.¡± But he didn¡¯t retreat because of it, didn¡¯t even disy a half-second of wavering ¨C he simply resolutely charged forward.
He knew it was a trap, but jumped in anyway. It seemed to be a dumb move. But this Striker, with his courage and determination alone, used this dumb method to ughter open a path.
Now, Ye Xiu was no longer purposefully retreating or leaving openings. Desert Dust was truly gaining the upper hand, with a relentless stream of attacks. Unlike most others who faced off against an expert like Ye Xiu, Desert Dust didn¡¯t y conservatively. He continued to unleash a barrage of attacks, each more ferocious than thest.
As expected of the perfect-record expert! He truly is powerful!
Seeing the attitudes of these experts, Su Muqiu felt himself getting fired up as well. Up until now, he had been focused on getting revenue from games; if there was no money to be earned from the oue of a PK, he wasn¡¯t really interested. But in this moment, he suddenly felt the impulse to put aside all else in the pursuit of victory.
Don¡¯t lose!
Initially, he didn¡¯t really care about the oue of this match, and even somewhat wanted to see what Ye Xiu was like after a loss. But now, he fiercely hoped for Ye Xiu¡¯s victory. The feeling of having a mutual enemy was exceptionally clear.
He turned his head to look at Ye Xiu sitting beside him. He had never seen Ye Xiu this focused before, and yet he was clearly excited as well.
Perfect rivals!
These were truly two perfectly-matched rivals.
One match wouldn¡¯t say much. Su Muqiu suddenly had this premonition, that these two would meet in many more battles toe, each experiencing their share of victories and defeats, fighting until the end.
But who would win the first match? Who would take the lead?
Chance!
Su Muqiu¡¯s eyes lit up.
As someone who relied on games for ie, he was excellent at discovering bugs and loopholes, which often led to considerable revenue breakthrough. Having developed this habit, even his fighting style became very cost-efficient.
Use the smallest cost to get the biggest reward, this was the principle he lived by.
He liked bugs, he was good at finding bugs, he was good at using bugs.
And in that moment, he discovered a bug, and instinctively controlled his Autumn Tree to raise his guns.
But although this conditioned reflex was there, he ultimately did not fire the shot.
Because Ye Xiu¡¯s reaction was faster, and had a more urate grasp of the timing.
Falling Flower Palm!
The palm shed forward, toward a tiny gap in Desert Dust¡¯s stream of attacks, a w that simply didn¡¯t exist in the eyes of everyone around them.
Su Muqiu saw it.
And when he saw it, Ye Xiu had already started moving, One Autumn Leaf had already interrupted Desert Dust¡¯s attack.
Shadow Cloak!
Before Desert Dust was sent flying by this Falling Flower Palm, One Autumn Leaf had already waved this Shadow Cloak to trap him in the air, and then immediately followed up with sprinkling a Disperse Powder.
One Autumn Leaf began to counterattack.
Like Desert Dust, Ye Xiu didn¡¯t restrict himself to Battle Mage skills. At level 32, this would limit a yer severely, so everyone would learn a few skills of other sses to bolster their movepool.
Battle Mages were a Mage subss, and the difference between the various Mage subsses was quiterge. Because of this, Ye Xiu had a wider selection of skills he could learnpared to most yers. Even skills that seemedpletely unrted to the fighting style of a Battle Mage could still be used and chained to great effect.
A Summoner¡¯s monster appeared on the battlefield.
An Elementalist¡¯s mes burned on Desert Dust¡¯s body.
The spectators almost forgot what ss One Autumn Leaf was in. Only when Chasers were fired did they remember ¨C right, this was a Battle Mage.
¡°Incredible!¡±
¡°Exciting!¡±
The spectators discussed eagerly amongst themselves. Earlier they had thought Desert Dust was quite fierce, and 4012 wins was better than 3686. But now, they were beginning to favor One Autumn Leaf.
One Autumn Leaf¡¯s attacks continued uninterrupted. But gradually, the situation began to change yet again. Initially, Desert Dust had been suppressed, but he was now slowly evening the ying field.
One Autumn Leaf was attacking, but so was Desert Dust.
No longer was one party attacking while the other defended. Now, they were both using everything they had to attack.
¡°What a tough guy!¡± eximed Su Muqiu. Desert Dust¡¯s stubborn ystyle was much different from his own, and normally Su Muqiu would have disdained the inelegance of it. But in a way, this strength and stubbornness was inspiring, such that even though Su Muqiu didn¡¯t agree with this way of fighting, it earned his respect and belief.
The health of both parties was falling in tandem. Neither demonstrated a clear advantage; it seemed that victory would be decided in the falling moments.
Copsing Fist!
Even after a lengthy period of fighting, Desert Dust¡¯s momentum hadn¡¯t wavered one bit. Copsing Fist, the strongest skill of a Striker at this level, tore towards One Autumn Leaf.
The match would be decided with this attack!
Everyone could see, One Autumn Leaf didn¡¯t have enough health left to live through this Copsing Fist. Desert Dust ignored all else, didn¡¯t dodge, didn¡¯t pause, just kept moving forward. And One Autumn Leaf¡¯s spear was still extended from a previous attack and couldn¡¯t be brought up to block in time; Falling Flower Palm was in cooldown; his Chasers had all been used up.
No path of retreat, no way to dodge, One Autumn Leaf seemed to be in dire straits. But just at that moment, Desert Dust suddenly jumped.
A jump that seemed to be for no reason at all, but soon enough everyone saw, it wasn¡¯t that Desert Dust wanted to jump, but that he had suffered an attack.
Thorn!
A Summoner¡¯s knock-up skill abruptly came from the ground. Desert Dust couldn¡¯t defend against this, and was lifted into the air.
But he only needed one punch!
Thorn changed Desert Dust¡¯s body position but didn¡¯t interrupt his attack, so the punch continued toward One Autumn Leaf.
But One Autumn Leaf had already knelt down and performed a marvelous coordination of the knock-up effect of that Thorn skill, quickly increasing the distance between the two characters. His spear was pulled back before shooting out once again like a stinger.
A spear is long, an arm is short.
Even though Desert Dust began his attack earlier, One Autumn Leaf¡¯s attacknded first. Suspended in the air like that, after eating several attacks from the spear, Desert Dust clearly had no more hope for victory. His fists lowered helplessly.
Victory and defeat were decided!
But One Autumn Leaf didn¡¯t stop. An Ice Chaser shot out and struck Desert Dust.
Kill!
With this hit, Desert Dust¡¯s health dropped to zero, and his body and some of his equipment fell to the ground.
The spectators paused in confusion before remembering ¨C this duel wasn¡¯t in the Arena, this was a PK in the wild. If you died in the wild, you¡¯d lose some experience, and some of your equipment would drop as well.
The chance of dropping equipment wasn¡¯t too high, but Desert Dust¡¯s was unlucky ¨C not only did he drop equipment, everyone saw clearly that what had dropped was his weapon ¨C the Orange-level gauntlets, Raging Lava.
Wealth moved people, and in this game, what moved people the most was equipment.
In a sh, everyone forgot about that intense battle and their feelings of admiration at these two experts.
Equipment!
Orange equipment!
Orange equipment that could only be obtained with points in the Arena!
Immediately, some yers charged forward to grab that equipment, even ignoring One Autumn Leaf. Obviously, One Autumn Leaf was closest to the fallen Desert Dust and the dropped gauntlets, but he barely had any health left. Thus, despite One Autumn Leaf¡¯s demonstrated skill, no one viewed him as a threat in this state.
Long-ranged attacks flew toward One Autumn Leaf; the attackers seemed to reach a tacit understanding to take him out first before squabbling for the equipment. But as they soon discovered, One Autumn Leaf wasn¡¯t the only opponent they had to deal with.
¡°Despicable! Absolutely despicable!!¡± An indignant shout burst forth from the crowd. A Qi Master charged forth, running toward One Autumn Leaf¡¯s side while manipting qi energy.
Qi Guard!
The Qi Master stopped and activated the defensive skill to cover One Autumn Leaf. This skill created a bubble that could block all iing attacks.
¡°Ah!¡± But the Qi Master hardly had time to rx, for One Autumn Leaf had already charged out of the protection and through the space where attacks were flying everywhere.
¡°Hey you...¡± the Qi Master shouted. After Qi Guard was cast, it couldn¡¯t be moved. One Autumn Leaf ran outside the shield ¨C did he not see this skill had been cast? But the Qi Master¡¯s shout died in his throat. One Autumn Leaf sprinted toward the fallen Desert Dust, snatched the fallen gauntlets, spun around, and a few stepster was back in the safety of the Qi Guard.
¡°Thanks,¡± the Qi Master heard One Autumn Leaf say to him. But the Qi Master¡¯s attention was grabbed by a Sharpshooter standing a distance away, wielding dual pistols. Even though his equipment was terrible, the Qi Master had clearly seen, just now, that this Sharpshooter had used his attacks to deflect and interrupt the various iing attacks from the other yers, allowing One Autumn Leaf to avoid taking damage and grab the gauntlets.
¡°Another expert...¡± The Qi Master stared at Autumn Tree for a while longer. Meanwhile, the spectators, seeing that the orange equipment had already been imed, could only disperse in disappointment.
By this time, Ye Xiu had already directed One Autumn Leaf to drink a potion to restore his health, so he no longer feared any further attacks. He walked toward the Qi Master.
¡°Thanks for just now.¡± Ye Xiu expressed his gratitude again.
The Qi Masterughed. ¡°Haha, it was nothing,¡± he said, ncing at Autumn Tree. In his heart, he knew that his Qi Guard hadn¡¯t really helped much. One Autumn Leaf returning here after grabbing the equipment was simply allowing the Qi Master to save face; he would have been fine without it.
¡°Do you want these gauntlets?¡± Ye Xiu asked him.
¡°Huh? Me? I don¡¯t want them, aren¡¯t you going to return them to that guy?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll ask,¡± Ye Xiu said.
Two secondster, the Qi Master saw in the world chat:
¡°Desert Dust do you still want those gauntlets you dropped or not?¡± ¨C One Autumn Leaf.
The world chat exploded.
One Autumn Leaf, Desert Dust, two perfect-record experts! And now One Autumn Leaf was calling out Desert Dust, what was going on? Dropped gauntlets, what was that about?
¡°No.¡± In the midst of spection, Desert Dust¡¯s message was short, but it was seen by many, including Ye Xiu.
¡°He doesn¡¯t want it, you should just take it!¡± Ye Xiu offered to the Qi Master once again.
¡°I¡¯ll stick to my gloves,¡± the Qi Master still refused.
¡°Then give it to me!¡± By this time, Su Muqiu¡¯s Autumn Tree had made his way over. His voice carried not only through the game but also in real life, as he twisted his head to say these words at his friend ying next to him.
This was Orange equipment!
As research material, Orange equipment was too difficult to get. Even though Su Muqiu had borrowed some of Ye Xiu¡¯s Orange equipment to investigate, he could never do any real testing on them ¨C after all, they weren¡¯t his, and he didn¡¯t want to mess them up by ident. That was a line he wouldn¡¯t cross. If he was going to test on those, it would have to wait until Ye Xiu discarded them for better equipment.
¡°Take it!¡± Just like that, the orange equipment that so many yers dreamed of was just casually tossed to Su Muqiu to be experiment material.
The Qi Master spoke up suddenly. ¡°By the way, just now, you didn¡¯t have to fire thatst Ice Chaser at him to kill him, did you?¡±
¡°No, it was necessary,¡± Ye Xiu said. ¡°Otherwise I would¡¯ve been the one killed.¡±
¡°Oh?¡±
¡°That guy hadn¡¯t given up. He was about to unleash an Eagle Stamp. If I hadn¡¯tunched that Chaser, or even if I¡¯dunched it too slow, then I would¡¯ve died.¡±
¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± The Qi Master nodded. ¡°Thank you for the lesson.¡±
Ye Xiuughed. ¡°Add me as a friend, then we can y togetherter.¡±
¡°Alright, in the future, let¡¯s meet up.¡±
And so, on this day, at the same time, Ye Xiu met two people who would y significant roles in his life as a Glory yer. The one who would be his strongest rival for countless years, and the one who would be his strongest helper, supporting him to the summit of Glory in the first three years of his professional career.
Desert Dust.
Qi Breaker.
Chapter 6 - Please, Sir, Enter the Urn
Chapter 6: Please, Sir, Enter the Urn
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
¡°Team 2 stay close, continue damage output!!¡±
¡°Team 1 close-range, make space! Long-range has no angle!¡±
¡°Healers keep up, don¡¯t just wait for people to move aside!¡±
Wei Chen¡¯s voice echoed through the surroundings, and the team chat shed with his additional instructions. This boss fight was reaching its climax, so it was natural that the guild leader of Blue Brook Guild was directing with both his hands and his mouth.
Windguard City.
Lonely Mayor Shanbei.
Wild Bosses each only spawned once a week. The location wasn¡¯t fixed and the time was variable, so even just finding one was already a valuable event, let alone being able to kill it uncontested. Wild Bosses were the source of much of the conflict between the variousrge guilds and powerhouses ¨C after all, everyone knew that the strongest equipment and the rarest materials could only be obtained from a Wild Boss.
Killing a Wild Boss was very difficult, even more so when there were manypetitors. To have one quietly and peacefully fall into their hands like this was truly a golden opportunity.
But the easier it seemed to be, the more careful Wei Chen became.
¡°Watch it watch it, about to reach Red Blood!¡± Wei Chen reminded the team. After the Boss reached Red Blood status, its battle power would increase explosively, as programmed by the Glory creators. Many Boss hunting teams had gotten the Boss down to ten percent, only to fall under this final burst of power.
But Blue Brook Guild¡¯s elite team was famous in the Glory world. They had battled Lonely Mayor Shanbei countless times, and with a wealth of experience under their belts, they had made preparations early on.
Seeing everyone listening to his reminder and preparing themselves to defend against the Boss¡¯s attack, Wei Chen finally allowed himself to rx just the slightest. But soon after, he sent another message to a smaller team: ¡°How is it, what¡¯s the status?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, both of them are still here, haven¡¯t left,¡± a team member replied quickly.
¡°Good, keep a close eye on them. Don¡¯t let your guard down until we finish this,¡± said Wei Chen.
¡°Understood!¡± That squad member wouldn¡¯t even think to mock Wei Chen for being overly cautious. After all, the two yers whom he was currently watching had interfered with Blue Brook Guild¡¯s progress countless times in the past.
One Autumn Leaf, Autumn Tree!
If a Glory yer didn¡¯t know these two names, it was a sure sign that they were a newbie. When discussing who the current best yer of Glory was, these two names appeared the most often. Others like Blue Brook¡¯s boss Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock Swoksaar, the famous Striker Desert Dust, or the Exorcist called the ¡°Master,¡± Peaceful Hermit, were all famous experts, butpared to these two, they still seemed just slightlycking.
As Wei Chen directed the Boss battle here, he had also sent out a special squad just to keep an eye on One Autumn Leaf¡¯s and Autumn Tree¡¯s movements. Without a doubt, it was because he felt that they posed the greatest threat to their Boss kill.
After hearing that the two of them still hadn¡¯t moved, Wei Chen allowed himself to rx slightly further. To him, the threat of these two yers was even greater than the threat posed by the Boss going into Red Blood.
¡°Team 1, ready.¡±
¡°Team 2, ready.¡±
¡°Team 3, ready.¡±
...
All of the team leaders were keeping a careful eye on the Boss¡¯s health bar. In the instant the Boss reached 10% health and released its explosive power, they would all have different responsibilities, and they all began to remind their respective teams to ensure they were one hundred percent ready.
10.23%.
10.21%.
10.2%.
10.18%.
...
...
...10%!
¡°Block!¡± the leader of Team 1 roared, and the Knights lifted their shields to meet the iing death.
Boom!!
The quartz-paved ground shattered and flew outward in a wave. By the time the fragments fell back to the ground, the Boss had seemingly disappeared.
No one was surprised; this wasn¡¯t the first time they had witnessed this scene. The splintered ground, with the Boss at the epicenter, was just to show the strength of Mayor Shanbei¡¯s leap into the air.
Lonely Mayor Shanbei was preparing his powerful move ¨C Rock-Breaking Earth-Shattering sh!
But because of the Knights¡¯ protection, the first part of this brutal attack was sessfully endured.
¡°Fire!¡± ordered the leader of Team 2. The long-ranged attackers of that team, whether Gunner or Mage, all sent their attacks flying at the Boss. At the same time, Team 4, which was tasked with healing, was already furiously restoring the health of the Knights of Team 1. These next few moments would be crucial.
¡°Forward!¡± Team 1¡¯s leader ordered, and the group of Knights advanced forward in an impressive disy, gathering beneath Lonely Mayor Shanbei, who had leapt high into the air. The Knights lifted the shields they held to form one giant shield, then quickly began performing all of the defense-boosting, damage-absorbing skills they knew.
Blue Brook¡¯s Knights were preparing to meet Mayor Shanbei¡¯s attack head-on, using their vast defensive power to directly stop this Rock-Breaking Earth-Shattering sh.
Rock-Breaking Earth-Shattering sh dealtrge-scale damage, but it relied on contact with the ground to propagate; if held up by the Knights¡¯ shields like so such that it couldn¡¯t spread through the ground, then the damage dealt by the shockwave would decrease by 70%.
So as long as this one attack was blocked, the team¡¯s rhythm wouldn¡¯t be disrupted, and they would be able to kill Mayor Shanbei before heunched his next big attack.
Falling!
Mayor Shanbei held a heavy hammer in his hand. This wasn¡¯t a weapon avable to any of the sses, but it followed the moves of a sword-type weapon, and this Rock-Breaking Earth-Shattering sh was just a massively powered-up version of the Berserker¡¯s Earth-Shattering sh. When the Boss fell, it directly connected with therge shieldposed of eight Knights linked together.
Bang!
The noise was so loud that the yers felt like their eardrums might burst, and a striking light burst forth.
Wei Chen¡¯s Swoksaar was walking around in a circle, making sure that there were no ws in the positioning of the eight Knights as they held up their shields against the Boss¡¯s attack ¨C the attack wasn¡¯t just a brief moment of contact, it was a continuous outpouring of damage that had to be endured. But as Wei Chen watched, he suddenly saw a silhouette darting toward the site of the collision.
¡°Who the hell is that!!¡± Wei Chen scolded immediately. It still wasn¡¯t the time to attack, so which team did this impatient guy belong to? The light was too bright, so Wei Chen was unable to clearly see the ID on the yer¡¯s head.
What happened next only made Wei Chen even angrier. That guy who had charged forward suddenly lifted up a cold light that struck one of the eight Knights right on the body.
That Knight was instantly sent flying into the air and was battered by several more waves of shing attacks.
¡°Fuck, we have an infiltrator!¡± Wei Chen shouted. But right now, the infiltrator wasn¡¯t the biggest issue.
Mayor Shanbei¡¯s attack was still pushing against the eight Knights. And now, one piece of the defense had chipped away.
The eight Knight formation had been researched and developed ¨C one more, and they couldn¡¯t squeeze into this circle; one less, and they couldn¡¯t endure the damage from the attack!
Although the Knights had already absorbed some of the damage from the attack, the attack had yet to finish ¨C losing a piece of the defense at this moment, the power from the Rock-Breaking Earth-Shattering sh instantly swept toward this opening!
¡°Block!¡± Wei Chen realized that the infiltrator should not have been the first thing to which he directed everyone¡¯s attention.
The remaining seven Knights quickly tried to close this gap, but it was already toote. It was true that only the direction of the attack had changed ¨C it hadn¡¯t gotten stronger or anything ¨C and the Knights had already absorbed a sizable chunk of damage from the attack. But still, this situation was outside of Blue Brook¡¯s n.
The seven Knights were each taking greater damage because of the opening, and they couldn¡¯t withstand it ¨C like flower petals, they were scattered to the sides. And the power leaking through the gap in the defense demonstrated the specialty of this Earth-Shattering sh, mercilessly spreading through the ground toward the yers.
But at this point, there was already no path of retreat.
¡°Block, attack!¡± Wei Chen ordered.
The healers quickly became the busiest yers on the field. Because the power was residual, it didn¡¯t deal one-hit-kill damage; because the power was splintered, the damage it caused as it spread through the ground was significant in some areas and nonexistent in others...
The attackers of the various teams dodged as best as they could as they beganunching their attacks, and the healers frantically tried to keep up.
Wei Chen yelled and typed and felt that his hands and mouth weren¡¯t enough ¨C if only he had another way of issuing orders! And then, in the midst of this chaos, he once again caught sight of that earlier yer.
This guy, after causing such a big mess, still hadn¡¯t left? He was still mixed in with the crowd?
Troubling Rain!
Wei Chen quickly memorized this character¡¯s name, and then checked the ss ¨C it was a de Master.
When had he appeared?
Wei Chen realized that he truly had no recollection; this wasn¡¯t someone he recognized. This sort of unknown name ¨C when had he mingled amongst them, without a single person noticing?
And what about now?
Wei Chen discovered that aside from himself, not a single person had noticed the presence of this de Master. In this chaos, everyone was worried about keeping themselves alive ¨C they had no time to care about him.
No... It wasn¡¯t that simple!
Wei Chen saw that this de Master was still moving, still changing position. This guy... he even went up and attacked Mayor Shanbei, but none of the Blue Brook yers noticed him doing so, as though he were an invisible man.
Of course, he wasn¡¯t really invisible. He was just constantly jumping between gaps in the formation ¨C despite the chaos of this scene, he was able to swiftly detect which positions would allow him to go unnoticed.
He has some skill?!
Wei Chen found that this opponent¡¯s skill surpassed what he had imagined. But he didn¡¯t move his character, nor did he immediately alert the team. Wei Chen, who wasn¡¯t in the thick of battle at the moment, simply gained another target of observation.
That de Master named Troubling Rain was still darting through the crowd, still using that gap-jumping method, and Wei Chen found himself more and more impressed. He always believed himself an expert, with skill surpassing the average yer, but it was quite possible that even he didn¡¯t match up to this guy¡¯s acute judgment and ability to capture empty space.
¡°Who in the world is this person?¡± Wei Chen was growing curious, and so finally sent a message to the team: ¡°Pay attention to my orders, don¡¯t hesitate.¡±
Blue Brook was used to their boss suddenly pulling off some crazy strategy, and so despite this kind of seemingly arbitrary direction, they did as he said and listened closely.
¡°Team 1 retreat. Team 2 at 4 o¡¯clock. Team 3 opposite. Teams 5, 6, on top. Team 4, stay close to 1!¡± Wei Chen issued directions uninterrupted as heid out the formation. At this moment, in his eyes, Mayor Shanbei wasn¡¯t their only opponent ¨C that de Master had to be dealt with as well. This guy¡¯s gap-jumping attack method gave Wei Chen chills the more he watched, because he already figured out this guy¡¯s intent ¨C this guy was nning on getting thest hit on the Boss! And with his skill, if Wei Chen hadn¡¯t noticed his presence earlier, he likely would have seeded with ease! Glory¡¯s rewards for killing a Boss involvedplex calctions, but there was a set reward for dealing the killing strike, and it absolutely could not be taken away by an outsider like this.
The team moved ording to his directions, and the attacks directed at Mayor Shanbei naturally lessened. Wei Chen was carefully guiding that de Master into the trap he had established, when suddenly, he heard an angry and exasperated voice. ¡°Fucking hell do you guys know how to y this game or not?¡±
¡°You¡¯re just about to take down the Boss what are you doing now?¡±
¡°I thought Blue Brook Guild was an elite group? Don¡¯t you guys know how to work as a team?¡±
¡°Who¡¯s leading you, could he be any more of a dumbass?¡±
The word speed was even faster than Wei Chen¡¯s, and more importantly, there were no repeats. In fact, there was even coordination ¨C as the voice spoke, speech bubbles popped out, and although the contents of the voice and the speech bubbles were entirely different, they connected to each other.
At this point, there was no way that the surrounding yers couldn¡¯t notice. Once the crowd noticed this Troubling Rain, there was suddenly chaos again: ¡°Fuck who¡¯s this!¡±
¡°Damn this is that infiltrator from earlier right?¡±
¡°Kill him!¡±
Quite a few attacks had already beenunched, but at this moment Wei Chen was stunned. What was this! Was this really the time to bber andin like that? Would it kill you to hold it in for just a while longer! And if you really need to say something, fine, but you talk so much! Dumbass, I¡¯m killing you today no matter what!
The formation Wei Chen had ordered was specifically made to target this de Master, and so when everyone started attacking, they felt that it was especially convenient, and that coordination was especially easy.
Troubling Rain also suddenly realized the reason for Blue Brook¡¯s adjustment in formation, and since he was already exposed anyway, he didn¡¯t hold back in his chatter. ¡°Fuck, so you guys stopped attacking the Boss in order to attack me! That¡¯s such a cheap move!¡±
¡°Over here, over here! Haha, you guys didn¡¯t seed, there are still gaps!¡±
As he hollered, this guy continued to maneuver around by darting between gaps in the formation.
¡°Let me teach you a lesson, brat, this one isn¡¯t called a gap, this is called, ¡®please, sir, enter the ern¡¯!¡± Wei Chen¡¯s Swoksaar shed with light, and a Hexagram Prison urately formed over the gap that the de Master had leapt to, sessfully trapping him inside.
¡°The fuck is an ¡®ern¡¯, isn¡¯t it ¡®urn¡¯??¡± Although Troubling Rain had no chance of escape, his mouth still didn¡¯t shut as attacks from other yers rained down upon him.
¡°Who cares what it is!¡± Wei Chen channeled his embarrassment at his mistake into anger. ¡°Just go die!!¡±
¡°Just you wait, Blue Brook, this isn¡¯t thest you¡¯ll see of me!¡± Troubling Rain was still yelling when his health finally dropped to zero.
¡°Next time,¡± said Wei Chen, ¡°remember to lie low.¡±
Chapter 7 - The Year the Flowers Blossomed
Chapter 7: The Year the Flowers Blossomed
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Glory!
The word shed across the screen, a sight deeply familiar to every Glory yer. But in this situation, that word signified far more than a mere PK victory in the Arena.
This was an ultimate victory, the birth of a championship.
Glory Professional Alliance Season 1, champions: Team Excellent Era!
Amidst the cheers and apuse, Team Excellent Era gathered together onstage to ept their award. But they were missing one person, the one yer who was most important to their victory.
Ye Qiu, One Autumn Leaf...
Even for this most important victory, he still behaved like he did for every match during the season ¨C a quiet appearance, a quiet departure.
Who was Ye Qiu?
This was the hot topic throughout the entire season, but in the end, there was still no answer. Even during the post-match press conference, when asked this question, the Excellent Era members were as tight-lipped as ever.
¡°He¡¯s purposely acting mysterious to build hype,¡± someone said, watching the televised press conference. This sort of sentiment wasn¡¯t umon.
¡°Whether or not he¡¯s purposely building hype, he¡¯s still strong, very strong,¡± another person replied.
¡°But Big Sun, you refuse to participate. Otherwise, would he still be so popr?¡± the first speaker continued. ¡°Say, why did you refuse the invitation to join a professional Glory team? If you did, the one standing on that stage would definitely be you.¡±
¡°Idiot, it¡¯s not that simple,¡± replied the one called Big Sun.
¡°Big Sun, I just think you¡¯re stronger than that guy!¡± But after that person finished speaking, he suddenly felt that that statement was too bold, and hastened to add, ¡°At least, you¡¯re definitely not any worse than him. Why couldn¡¯t you be the one winning that championship?¡±
¡°Because this isn¡¯t just about one person!¡± said Big Sun.
¡°Then what else is there?¡± asked the first person.
¡°There need to be helpers! You guys, you can¡¯t even see the importance of that Qi Master in their team!¡± said Big Sun.
¡°The Qi Master? You mean Qi Breaker? Wu Xuefeng? You¡¯ve gotta be kidding, you think he¡¯s an expert?¡± that person said disdainfully.
¡°What the hell do you know?¡± Big Sun scolded.
¡°Okay, okay, the finals are over, prepare to log on!¡± From the side, another voice came.
This was an ordinary Inte caf¨¦ in City K, a frequent hangout for this group of Glory-loving youths. They often came and yed until the deep hours of the night.
A frivolous hobby? Perhaps...
But looking at the youthful faces reflected in the shing screens, who could be sure that there wasn¡¯t a dream hidden within?
Team Excellent Era, One Autumn Leaf. In this one night, they gained countless fans.
But ¨C championship.
Tonight, this word entered many people¡¯s hearts, a word even more attractive than ¡°glory,¡± for it was formed by the umtion of uncountable ¡°glory.¡±
This time, championship belonged to Excellent Era, belonged to One Autumn Leaf.
Then, what about next time?
Dreams were just this kind of careless imagination, buds anticipating germination.
July.
One month had passed since the end of Season 1 and Excellent Era¡¯s final victory, but the overwhelming publicity still hadn¡¯t ended. Especially in city Inte cafes, which attractedrge numbers of gamers, flyers advertising Glory and the Professional Alliance covered every corner. The esports television channel had reyed that final, ultimate face-off between Excellent Era and Royal Style many times by this point.
Nine times!
Big Sun knew this number very clearly. Whenever he saw a rey broadcast, he mentallyined ¡°again?¡± But every time, he stopped whatever he was doing and watched the match, eyes never leaving the screen.
The channel had reyed the full match nine times, so he watched nine times. Including the initial live broadcast, that made ten times he had watched this match.
Everyone was praising One Autumn Leaf¡¯s power, and Big Sun didn¡¯t disagree. One Autumn Leaf was absolutely very strong. Even though Big Sun was fairly self-confident, when he thought of One Autumn Leaf, his heart trembled a little.
But it was just a little. In a 1v1 match, although he wouldn¡¯t im a guaranteed win, he wasn¡¯t the slightest bit afraid to dere One Autumn Leaf his opponent.
What really made him feel uncertain was the Excellent Era team as a whole, and in particr, a different yer on this powerhouse team.
The Qi Master named Qi Breaker, Wu Xuefeng.
Why didn¡¯t anyone notice his existence? Why didn¡¯t anyone pay attention to his contributions?
Big Sun really didn¡¯t understand. Whether it was the media reports or the yer discussion boards, Wu Xuefeng was a name that was constantly left out.
But that shouldn¡¯t be the case!
He was clearly the number two of Excellent Era, and for Excellent Era and One Autumn Leaf, his existence was crucial.
Big Sun had watched thest match of the finals a total of ten times, and after each time, he understood this point more deeply. But too few people noticed this. Everyone seemed to think that as long as there was one strong expert on the team, that team could easily take every victory.
¡°How could it be that simple...¡± Big Sun sighed as he arrived at the Inte caf¨¦. When he walked in, he quickly realized that today¡¯s atmosphere was different. Everyone turned to look at him, as though they had been waiting for this moment.
Big Sun was confused, but he still walked to the counter. He wasn¡¯t the type to be intimidated easily.
When he took theputer card from the caf¨¦ counter, someone had alreadye to his side.
¡°Berserker? Blossoming Chaos?¡± that person asked.
Berserker, was the ss that Big Sun yed in Glory.
Blossoming Chaos, was the name of his Berserker.
¡°That¡¯s me,¡± replied Big Sun.
¡°I hear your skill¡¯s not bad?¡± the other person asked.
¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± said Big Sun. ¡°What do you want?¡±
¡°We want to make a team. If your skill really isn¡¯t that bad, then we invite you to join us. Together we¡¯ll take part in next season¡¯s Glory Professional League, and win the championship!¡± said the other person.
¡°You and...?¡± There was only one person standing in front of Big Sun right now.
But immediately, five other people stood up from a row ofputers, all young, all filled with anticipation. They had been waiting here for Big Sun for a while now.
¡°I¡¯ll give it a try,¡± said Big Sun, starting to be interested as he walked toward hisputer. The others quickly created the room in the Arena, and arge number of spectators entered. There were many in this inte caf¨¦ waiting to watch this excitement.
Log on, Berserker, Blossoming Chaos.
Big Sun entered the Arena, found the room named ¡°Sword Points To Championship,¡± and he couldn¡¯t help but feel his heart rate surge.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± he invited loudly. ¡°All at once, or?¡±
All at once?
There was a pause as the caf¨¦ spectators digested this, then there was the sound ofughter.
¡°Big Sun, you really are berserk!¡± someone yelled. Regr customers of this inte caf¨¦ all knew each other, especially fellow Glory yers.
Was this berserk?
Big Sun was confused. If they were just testing his skill, then all at once or not, wasn¡¯t it the same?
The opposing six yers also seemed as though they had been greatly insulted, and their stares were rather hostile.
¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± But one of them seemed rather calm. If there was anything useful to be said, it had to be said in the Arena.
His character entered the stage, 1v1.
Berserker, Blossoming Chaos.
Battle Mage, Dominating Grudge.
The countdown timer reached zero and the battle began, the characters ced in their respective starting positions. The map chosen was the one yers in the Arena used the most often.
Big Sun was a little disappointed.
On such a simple map, you couldn¡¯t demonstrate anything aside from mechanics. What about judgment, prediction, experience... If this was supposed to be a true measurement of skill, then this simple and direct map was definitely a poor choice.
But the opponent was already approaching, waving his spear as he charged in front of Blossoming Chaos.
Blossoming Chaos shifted to the side and lifted his greatsword.
Backwards sh!
The Battle Mage flew into the air.
Big Sun was further disappointed. It was just a simple dodge and counterattack, yet the opponent had been entirely unable to react in time. If it had been One Autumn Leaf...
He didn¡¯t finish that train of thought. Even he could admit that that anticipation was a little too high.
He controlled Blossoming Chaos to attack. It wasn¡¯t even that ferocious, but the opponent was helpless, and the battle ended forty secondster.
¡°So strong!¡± The spectators wowed in astonishment.
Strong?
Big Sun smiled bitterly. He hadn¡¯t even been ying seriously!
¡°You¡¯re just too weak,¡± he said.
His opponent fumed.
¡°All at once!¡± Big Sun didn¡¯t want to waste any more time. Joining a group like this, the thought of ¡°sword pointing to championship¡± was frankly ridiculous. Still, he wanted to know what kind of skill level the others had.
But the group still didn¡¯t see what they were up against.
¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± another one said, stilling onstage by himself for a 1v1. Forty secondster, he lost.
Another one. Thirty-seven seconds, lost.
Finally, the remaining three set away their reservations and decided to attack together.
Two minutes fifty-four seconds, the three of them lost.
The Inte caf¨¦ was dead silent. All of the patrons knew that Big Sun was very strong. But even one on three, he was still able to win that easily and thatpletely? The three yers attacking together had hardly inconvenienced Big Sun ¨C they were ruthlessly beaten without half a chance to counter.
¡°Amazing!¡± But after suffering such a brutal defeat, the six yers were even more excited.
¡°You¡¯re the expert we¡¯ve been looking for!¡± one of them eximed to Big Sun.
Big Sun scoffed. ¡°But you¡¯re not the team I¡¯m looking for.¡±
The spectators allughed and started throwing taunts.
¡°Get lost, noobs.¡±
¡°Had us all excited for nothing.¡±
¡°Turns out you¡¯re so weak!¡±
In the midst of these mocking shouts, the six yers could only sadly leave. Even afterwards, the crowd continued to buzz with discussion about how bad those yers were, how absurd it was for them to im they were making a championship team.
Even so, thought Big Sun, they couldn¡¯t be considered that weak... The six yers all had very high win rates in the Arena; their confidence wasn¡¯t without basis.
But they were still far from good enough! That stage is much more difficult than you imagine... Once again, in Big Sun¡¯s mind shed that battle he had watched over and over, ten times. And he had often imagined, if he had been in that situation, what would he do? What could he do?
But what he could aplish just by himself... it was severely limited. The scene, as he imagined it, was iplete.
Big Sun shook his head. Things weren¡¯t that simple!
¡°Big Sun, Western Desert, hurry!¡± There was a sudden shout, jolting him from his thoughts.
¡°What?¡± Big Sun quickly directed his Blossoming Chaos to exit the Arena.
¡°There¡¯s a battle, hurry and help!¡±
¡°Right away!¡± Big Sun wasn¡¯t the only one to reply. All of the inte caf¨¦ patrons who had been spectating in the Arena also quickly exited and headed toward the Western Desert area.
As frequent customers of the same inte caf¨¦, they often yed together in-game. If one person in trouble, everyone else would rush to help, together fighting and killing, attacking and retreating.
¡°Hurry, there¡¯s an expert!¡± urged the person who had called for help.
An expert?
Everyoneughed. Right now, especially after what had just happened, calling someone an ¡°expert¡± sounded like a joke. Too many people these days carelessly imed themselves to be experts, including those six yers who had just left. They had been aiming for the championship, and yet couldn¡¯t even defeat someone in a three on one match.
¡°An expert? Those are the best!¡± the caf¨¦ yers jeered. From cities all across the Glory world, they began converging on Western Desert.
Western Desert, a level 50 leveling area.
The sun was already low in the west, sprinkling twilight upon this expanse of wilderness, adding a touch of magnificence. But at this moment, few people had the time to admire the beautiful scenery, for arge-scale PK was currently ongoing in this wilderness.
What caused this PK to start?
By the time Big Sun and the others made it to the scene, it was toote to figure out the cause. All they knew was that the ongoing battle was fierce, and once they identified theirrades in the fray, they quickly joined their team.
¡°Where¡¯s the expert?¡± Everyoneughed, still remembering that joke.
¡°It¡¯s that Spitfire, called something Blossoms!¡± someone replied.
¡°Something Blossoms?¡± A derisive voice came from right beside Big Sun, and he identified the speaker as a Knight standing by his character in game.
But Big Sun noticed that in the fading light of the sun, there were long shadows floating in the sky. He lifted his field of vision to look at the setting sun. The light wasn¡¯t especially blinding, and he realized ¨C these shadows were flying toward them at an rming speed.
¡°Watch out!¡± Big Sun yelled, quickly controlling Blossoming Chaos to perform a Colliding Stab to the side.
¡°Watch out for what?¡± That Knight was stillughing.
The shadows descended, the blossoms arrived.
In an instant, an explosion of fireworks swallowed the Knight. And it didn¡¯t stop there ¨C deafening gunshots rang out in session, and the flurry of light and shadow only continued to grow. Big Sun frantically maneuvered Blossoming Chaos to dodge the sts. Quickly scanning the area, he suddenly spotted a quickly moving shadow.
¡°Over there!¡± Big Sun shouted.
¡°What? There?¡± No one understood what he was referring to.
¡°Fuck!¡± But within the Inte caf¨¦, two people mmed their keyboards in anger and frustration. It was that Knight, and someone who had been standing very near him. Together, under that gorgeous disy of light and shadow, their health had fallen to zero.
¡°At 1 o¡¯clock direction! No, 11 o¡¯clock! 9 o¡¯clock!¡± Big Sun fixed his eyes on that character and yelled directions to his partners. That yer was moving too quickly, constantly changing his position.
¡°Big Sun, what are you talking about!¡± No one could keep up with his tempo.
¡°That yer ¨C something Blossoms!¡± Big Sun yelled, frustrated. He also couldn¡¯t see clearly the ount name of that character, who was really quite sneaky, weaving around the battlefield, using other yers as cover, constantly hiding. In such a chaotic battle, it truly could be quite difficult to identify one ID in particr.
If no one else could see it, then he could only depend on himself to take care of this!
Charge!
Big Sun¡¯s Blossoming Chaos readied his greatsword and charged, meeting head-on a de Master who had jumped forward to block him.
Backwards sh!
Blossoming Chaos had prepared the stance for this attack early on. The sh was sudden, and by the time the opponent realized what was happening, it was toote for him to dodge or counter.
The de Master was sent flying. The yer¡¯s technique wasn¡¯t bad ¨C he adjusted his motion in the air, using a Falling Light de to try and counterattack ¨C but a crimson sh was alreadying toward him.
Wild Blood Strike!
A skill that used a sword, but was called a strike.
Most of the skills of the Berserker ss were strikes and shes, less like a swordsman and more like a knife user. But knife or sword, this enemy de Masternded and the crimson Wild Blood Strike travelled right through him, mming into the ground behind.
Boom!
It seemed as though the earth shook to its core. One de sliced a road of blood, and Blossoming Chaos rushed forward to sh again. The greatsword danced chaotically, and in the blink of an eye, sent countless more enemies flying.
¡°Watch out, watch out for that Berserker!¡± On the battlefield, the opposing yers were beginning to shout.
¡°Which, which?¡± someone asked.
¡°That one, that Blossom something!¡± someone hollered.
Another blossom.
This side had a blossom, the other side had a blossom. And right now, this blossom was charging toward that blossom.
But it wasn¡¯t that simple.
At the beginning, his opponent only used other yers for cover, but suddenly, another impressive disy of light and shadow began, and his opponent used the explosions to sh in and out of visibility.
Let¡¯s see how long you can maintain that!
Big Sun refused to give up. This sort of Spitfire ystyle required lots of skills to be used in rapid session, and the mana consumption would be very high.
But a secondter, Big Sun realized, even though the Spitfire¡¯s mana consumption was high, he was dealing a significant amount of damage with this onught of explosive attacks. Practically no one could dodge his attacks, which had a wide range of effect. Not only did the disy of light and shadow seal the movements of this Spitfire¡¯s opponents, it also served to augment the Spitfire¡¯s own attacks and those of his allies. Originally, this had just been a chaotic free-for-all, but because of his intervention, his side was suddenly beginning to gain an attack rhythm.
But if a rhythm can be established, it can also be broken!
Charge! Continue to charge!
Big Sun continued to fixate on his target, and purposely tried to disrupt his opponent¡¯s attack intentions. His constant shing had long since dyed his de red, his greatsword sending blood droplets scattering. It wasn¡¯t any less impressive a disy than that dazzling show of explosions.
¡°Stop him, stop him!¡± the shouts continued, but fewer and fewer in number ¨C not because they were ignoring him, but because they had already fallen.
Falling under the light and shadow, falling under the spray of blood.
Throughout the battlefield were the prone bodies of the defeated yers, throughout the battlefield were dropped equipment. But there was no pause in battle ¨C at this point, whoever stopped to take a breath would be the next to fall.
It was a battle; therefore, there would be a victor and a loser in the end!
¡°Where are you running!¡± yelled Big Sun. Blossoming Chaos, who was currently under the Berserk status, swung his sword as he rushed forward.
Copsing Mountain!
The greatsword shed down. The battlefield was strewn with bodies ¨C after such an intense and chaotic battle, all except for two yers had fallen. The Spitfire, no longer able to use other yers as cover, was finally vulnerable to Big Sun¡¯s direct attack.
Something Blossoms?
Indeed, it was something Blossoms.
Finally, Big Sun could see the name clearly. Hundred Blossoms ¨C Dazzling Hundred Blossoms.
Dazzling Hundred Blossoms couldn¡¯t dodge the greatsword in time. But he still managed to lift the automatic pistol in his hand, and a spurt of bullet fire sted out.
Pu!
Blood sshed from Blossoming Chaos¡¯ body, but although the attacknded, the damage wasn¡¯t high; it was just an ordinary attack that had no chance of stopping the Copsing Mountain. When the greatsword connected, the flying blood droplets became more vivid. Dazzling Hundred Blossoms crumpled to the ground ¨C he had a sliver of health remaining, but for all purposes, victory had been determined.
But Big Sun didn¡¯t let Blossoming Chaos finish the job.
Was victory determined?
It was, but the reason Big Sun had won was because he happened to arrive at the scene a littleter; his condition was a little better, a little fresher, while the opponent had already been in battle for a period of time, draining his mana and energy.
If thatst shot had been a true Spitfire skill, this battle would still be ongoing.
Big Sun pulled back his greatsword and braced it against his shoulder.
¡°Heh...¡± heughed. Looking at the fallen yer before him, Big Sun suddenly felt that the scene that he had long imagined was suddenly bingplete, moving from a mere possibility into a reality. This scene here, the two of them, shing explosions and scattered blood... It should be worthy of that grand stage, no? Worthy of that battle he had watched ten times over?
¡°Your skill is pretty good,¡± he said. ¡°Want to partner up?¡±
¡°Huh?¡± The fallen yer was clearly caught off-guard. ¡°Who are you?¡±
¡°Sun Zheping, Berserker, Blossoming Chaos. You?¡±
¡°Zhang Jiale, Spitfire, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms.¡±
¡°Then what about our team?¡±
¡°Team?¡± Zhang Jiale looked at the names of their two characters and thought. ¡°Double Blossoms?¡±
¡°How is two blossoms enough? Better Hundred Blossoms,¡± said Sun Zheping.
And so that year, in Western Desert, springtime came for Hundred Blossoms.
Chapter 8 - The Dual-Core Era (1)
Chapter 8: The Dual-Core Era (1)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
¡°Blossoming Chaos rushes forward! Dazzling Hundred Blossoms right behind! Two against one! Team Blue Rain is in a bad situation, what will their captain do?!¡±
The television screen shed with colors as thementator excitedly narrated the events of the battle. This face-off between the two professional teams had already reached the climax, the moment that would determine victory and defeat. In front of the television sat a crowd of youths, wiping the sweat from their foreheads and feeling like they couldn¡¯t breathe.
But at this moment, one of them jumped up, shaking his fists and yelling at the television. ¡°Go, old man! Don¡¯t lose to them! You can¡¯t be this useless!! These are just some newbies! Isn¡¯t that what you were saying yesterday? Were you just bragging then? Huh?!¡±
His tirade continued, but it of course had no impact on the events broadcasted on the television.
¡°Blood and Blossoms, Blood and Blossoms!¡± thementator eximed. A confusing array of light and shadow filled the screen. When the viewpoint zoomed in, all that could be seen was a sharp de, splitting through.
Red droplets and flower petals scattered, but soon the dazzling disy evaporated. A sliver of health finally was extinguished, and a figure copsed to the ground.
¡°Victory! Blood and Blossoms! This is yet another win for Team Hundred Blossoms. This team is the biggest ck horse of the season ¨C who can stop their victory streak? Peaceful Hermit couldn¡¯t, Swoksaar couldn¡¯t either! Will it be Desert Dust? Or One Autumn Leaf? Alright, today¡¯s broadcast ends here. Glory Pro League, we¡¯ll see you next week!!¡±
Thementators dered the victory as the match wrapped up. Onscreen were reys of the Hundred Blossom duo finally defeating Swoksaar at the very end. The youths in front of the television sat and watched dejectedly. It seemed that none of them had the strength to move or speak after witnessing that ending, until one of them, the same one as before, angrily shut off the television.
¡°Useless old bastard!¡± the youth was still muttering. But the others watched on silently. After all, Huang Shaotian was the only one in the club that dared to criticize and insult Captain Wei Chen like this; the other youths had no way of going along with his words.
¡°This was never something that someone could pull off by themselves.¡± But before he could vent his emotions further, someone else finally stood up and spoke.
Huang Shaotian looked at this person, and sneered. ¡°Oh? What insight does our deast have for us today?¡±
Deast... It was a very rude thing to say. But ever since the day that Yu Wenzhou entered the Blue Rain training camp, his performance had always been subpar. Because of his pitifully slow handspeed, no one thought he had the potential to be a pro yer.
But he stayed. Even though everyone thought he¡¯d be kicked out in the early rounds of selection, Yu Wenzhou actually ended upsting until the very end. Ultimately, he became an official member of Blue Rain¡¯s reserve team, someone who would be raised into a full pro yer.
Even so, his handspeed hadn¡¯t improved at all, so among the group that had survived the eliminations, he was indeed the deast. The fact that the star prodigy Huang Shaotian called him this only gave thebel more weight.
But Yu Wenzhou showed neither anger nor irritation in response to the insult ¨C he merely stated his view calmly.
¡°Glory isn¡¯t meant to be yed alone,¡± he said.
¡°Oh? Ye Qiu¡¯s catchphrase?¡± Huang Shaotian said disdainfully. Ye Qiu wasst season¡¯s MVP, and this quote of his was highly regarded by the Glorymunity. But Huang Shaotian didn¡¯t see what the big deal was.
¡°It¡¯s not just a catchphrase,¡± Yu Wenzhou replied, still calm, ¡°it¡¯s the truth.¡±
Huang Shaotian snickered. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that if you were also on the field, the situation would¡¯ve been different?¡±
¡°No. The one on the field should be you.¡±
At that, Huang Shaotian froze. When anyone said one sentence to him, he was the kind of person to automatically say three sentences back. But with that simple statement from the other boy, Huang Shaotian fell silent. He couldn¡¯t help but think ¨C if he had been on the field, if his Troubling Rain had been beside Swoksaar, what could he have done?
¡°Uh... About that-¡± Finally, he started to reply. But when he opened his mouth, he found that there was no one in front of him. That guy had left, just like that, not even waiting for an answer.
He, Huang Shaotian, had been lectured by the deast? Once again, Huang Shaotian was left stunned.
Season 2 was approaching the halfway point, and the newly-joined Team Hundred Blossoms was undoubtedly the center of attention. They had racked up a high number of points and were leading the current League rankings. Most notable was their distinctive dual-core ystyle, featuring a Berserker, Blossoming Chaos, and a Spitfire, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. Many thought that this marked the beginning of a dual-core era in the Glory Professional League.
¡°A dual-core era, is it...¡± As he read the headline of thetest Esports Weekly editionid on the desk before him, Wei Chen lit a cigarette.
A dual-core wasn¡¯t a bad idea at all. Wei Chen himself had long wanted to establish a team like that. But it was still too early for Blue Rain!
Through the window, Wei Chen could see the training rooms of Team Blue Rain across the corridor, where a crowd of energetic youths were training hard at Glory. And his eyesnded on one of them in particr, whose hands expertly flew across the keyboard and mouse, and whose mouth was moving just as quickly, words and soundsing out in an unfaltering stream.
Huang Shaotian.
After discovering this youth kill-stealing Bosses in-game, Wei Chen immediately saw that he had a bright future and personally invited him to Team Blue Rain.
This yer, as he had confidently told many others, would undoubtedly be Blue Rain¡¯s core.
de Master Troubling Rain, Warlock Swoksaar.
This was the dual-core he imagined, and more than once had he pictured the strategies that could unfold with these two characters fighting side by side. But could he himselfst until that day?
Whenever this issue crossed his mind, Wei Chen felt himself grow agitated. Huang Shaotian was still far too immature; it was too early for him to stand on the professional stage. And himself? After ying through the inaugural season of the Glory Professional League, he could feel his condition slipping rapidly, his control and reaction times slowing. In order to maintain his skill level, he had tried fixing his bad habits ¨C he¡¯d started sleeping earlier, smoking less ¨C but it hadn¡¯t helped enough.
One year? Two years?
He didn¡¯t even dare to think about how long he had left. In fact, he feared that he wouldn¡¯t even be able to maintain his performance for that mere one or two more years.
But he... he was still young! Wasn¡¯t he?
Wei Chen stared at his reflection in the mirror. Even though he wasn¡¯t particrly well-groomed, at 23 years old, he still had an undeniable air of youthfulness. But he had insisted oning here of all ces, the Glorypetitive scene, where being 23 meant that you were at the twilight of your career. That talkative little brat, wasn¡¯t he always calling Wei Chen ¡°old man, old man¡±?
What kind of 23-year-old was considered an ¡°old man¡±?
Wei Chen thought resentfully, but this was the cruel reality. At age 23, he found that his daily thoughts were bing reminiscent of someone approaching his funeral. He wasn¡¯t sure whether to find this kind of life tragic or terribly funny.
The era of Glory had only just begun, yet Wei Chen already had to drop out.
But then, if not himself, where would the other half of Blue Rain¡¯s future dual-core be found? Would he show up here, in the training camp? Wei Chen studied the other trainees gathered in the training room, his eyes jumping from face to face before eventually falling upon the yer at the rightmost corner of the room. Yu Wenzhou was standing by himself, quietly studying the League match reports after thetest round ofpetition.
Wei Chen had never had any hopes for this youth. From the very beginning, he had wanted to dismiss this yer from the training camp altogether, but Yu Wenzhou was so persistent in what he did that Wei Chen couldn¡¯t bring himself to force this yer home.
So Yu Wenzhou stayed at the training camp, surviving round after round of elimination. But so what? Even after so long, his handspeed hadn¡¯t improved at all. There was no future for him in a world that revolved around APM. All that was left was to wait for him to give up.
In the end, what Wei Chen still anticipated most of all was that Huang Shaotian would grow up quickly. In that case, perhaps Wei Chen would be able to fight side-by-side onstage with this noisy but talented youth. Perhaps he would still be able to experience for himself the dual-core Blue Rain of which he dreamed.
The excitement caused by Hundred Blossoms didn¡¯t just affect Team Blue Rain; the other powerhouse teams, like Tyranny and Royal Style, they too were all considering the challenge presented by this new team. Of course, when speaking of powerhouse teams, this naturally included the champions of Season 1: Team Excellent Era.
¡°Blood and Blossoms, that¡¯s the name the media gave them. What do you think?¡±
Team Excellent Era, this was Qi Master Wu Xuefeng, who had won the championshipst season alongside Ye Qiu. The two of them had been friends for many years now, after having met in-game. As Wu Xuefeng was watching Hundred Blossoms¡¯ match on theputer, he suddenly felt a presence behind him, and asked this question without even turning his head.
¡°They¡¯re strong. Incredibly good neers,¡± said Ye Qiu.
¡°We¡¯ll meet them...¡± Wu Xuefeng trailed off, flipping through the calendar on his desk with thepetition dates. ¡°It¡¯ll be after the new year ¨C it¡¯s early this year.¡± He found the date of their match against that team, and noticed the date of the Lunar New Year.
¡°New Year¡¯sing up soon?¡± Ye Qiu asked, also looking at the calendar.
¡°It is, the break has already been set. Do you have anything nned?¡± Wu Xuefeng asked.
¡°Nothing in particr,¡± replied Ye Qiu.
¡°Just staying here again?¡±
¡°Probably!¡±
¡°Mm...¡± Wu Xuefeng made a nomittal noise. If the subject pained the other party, then no matter how curious he was, he wouldn¡¯t continue to ask.
¡°Then, I¡¯ll see you in the new year,¡± he said instead.
Ye Qiu nodded. ¡°See you next year.¡±
¡°Happy New Year.¡±
¡°Happy New Year.¡±
Chapter 9 - The Dual-Core Era (2)
Chapter 9: The Dual-Core Era (2)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
New Year¡¯s Eve. A day for bidding farewell to the old, and weing the new.
The doors to Excellent Era Inte Caf¨¦ were propped open, and the owner Tao Xuan was busying himself running in and out. Every year, on thest day of the year, Tao Xuan had the workers take off, and then personally cleaned out the Inte caf¨¦, ruthlessly throwing out all the trash and other now-useless items that had umted over the course of the year. It was, after all, a day for getting rid of the old.
But everyone knew that Tao Xuan was no longer just the small owner of an Inte caf¨¦. The Season 1 champions, Team Excellent Era, were formed thanks to his initial investment, and now he was the boss of a sessful team ¨C quite an important man indeed.
However, this new identity hadn¡¯t erased his old habits. On New Year¡¯s Eve, he still came to personally organize his Inte caf¨¦.
¡°Brother Tao.¡± As Tao Xuan was hurrying in and out, he suddenly heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng standing outside the caf¨¦ doors.
¡°It¡¯s you guys!¡± Tao Xuan weed them in with a wide smile. These two were once frequent customers of his Inte caf¨¦, and in a sense were part of his economic pir. And now Ye Qiu was the core of Tao Xuan¡¯s team, a crucial yer in winning the championship for Excellent Era.
¡°You¡¯re busy? Do you need help with anything?¡± asked Ye Qiu, rolling up his sleeves.
¡°No no, please don¡¯t!¡± Tao Xuan quickly reached forward to stop him. ¡°These two hands of yours are too precious, you can¡¯t work on tasks like this. Even a small cut or a splinter would be a big problem.¡±
Ye Qiu was somewhat speechless. ¡°That¡¯s a bit much, don¡¯t you think...¡±
¡°Better safe than sorry.¡± Tao Xuan was adamant that Ye Qiu stay to the side.
¡°Then I¡¯ll help!¡± Su Mucheng, watching this stalemate, took the initiative to volunteer.
¡°Oh no, that¡¯s even worse, how could I let Little Mucheng do work like this?¡± Tao Xuan said, quickly blocking this party as well. He was very clear on this girl¡¯s difficult life experiences, having watched her grow up over all these years. But still, he couldn¡¯t bear to let such a pretty girl do this hard and dirty work.
¡°And anyway, your hands have precious blood running through them, you need to take care of them as well!¡± Tao Xuan added emphatically. But the second the words left his mouth, he wished he could snatch them back ¨C he shouldn¡¯t have brought up this subject, it wasn¡¯t appropriate.
¡°Um... I¡¯m going to work, you guys go have fun, remember toe by for dinner!¡± Tao Xuan fled into the Inte Caf¨¦.
***
Su Muqiu.
Tao Xuan would never forget that name, that boy who spent his days and nights alongside Ye Qiu ying Glory in his Inte caf¨¦.
The superb skills of these two boys had caught Tao Xuan¡¯s attention. At that time, he¡¯d still been ying Glory himself, and after joining these two experts, his gaming experience had been incredible. He¡¯d built the Excellent Dynasty guild, which had really be something like a powerful dynasty thanks to the presence of these two experts.
As the Glory scene became morepetitive, more and more matches were organized among a circle of people. But as long as Ye Qiu and Su Muqiu participated, they would always sweep the field.
In the end, when Glory finally established the ¡°Glory Professional League,¡± amercial tournament, Tao Xuan knew that true opportunity was at hand. He quickly created Team Excellent Era and applied, the most important part of which was pulling Ye Qiu and Su Muqiu into joining.
These two lovers of gaming and Glory were easily convinced, and they signed their professional contracts. But not long after that day, Su Muqiu was struck by a car, and this young life reached an end just like that.
Time continued on, as it always does. The League was established, Excellent Era became an official member, and everyone saw a happy and beautiful future.
Since that fateful day, Ye Qiu no longer had his best and strongest partner at his side.
Even so, he still swept the League.
Glory Professional League Season 1 belonged to Ye Qiu, belonged to the Battle God One Autumn Leaf.
But now, entering Season 2, the new Team Hundred Blossoms was the most eye-catching, the concept of a dual-core style drawing people¡¯s support.
Dual-core?
Any time this was brought up, Tao Xuan thought of Su Muqiu. If only that ident hadn¡¯t happened, everyone would¡¯ve known early on just what ¡°dual-core¡± really meant.
Truly a shame...
As Tao Xuan reflected on these thoughts, he saw through the window Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng walking away, side by side. He was always very careful not to mention Su Muqiu in front of them, not wanting to cause them additional sorrow. After all, they were still only teenagers ¨C children, really. And yet just now, he had been careless and let slip his regrets about Su Muqiu.
Perhaps it was all the news about this new dual-core of Hundred Blossoms that was reigniting the regret of Su Muqiu¡¯s loss? Tao Xuan sighed, and thought.
***
Outside.
¡°Where are we going?¡± asked Su Mucheng.
¡°Mm, it¡¯s the New Year, how about we go buy some fireworks?¡± Ye Xiu suggested.
¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Su Mucheng said, smirking. ¡°What if you injured your precious hands?¡±
Ye Xiu rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not that big a deal...¡±
Puffing herself up, Su Mucheng did a gruff imitation of Tao Xuan¡¯s voice. ¡°Better safe than sorry!¡± This earned augh from Ye Xiu.
At the side of the road, a child had tossed a string of fireworks onto the ground, but the clumsily-lit fuse had been extinguished by the wind, and he stood there helplessly, not knowing what to do.
Ye Xiu smiled. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, deftly lit one, then gestured toward the child.
The child shrank back, frightened. ¡°Little kids shouldn¡¯t smoke,¡± he said, eyes wide, as though Ye Xiu were some shady criminal.
At that, Su Mucheng started cracking up,ughing so hard that she couldn¡¯t even stand up straight. Ye Xiu huffed. ¡°It¡¯s to light your fireworks,¡± he said.
¡°Oh...¡± Finally realizing what Ye Xiu meant, the boy scurried forward to take it with a word of thanks.
Quickly, the fireworks were lit. It was still daytime, so the light and smoke weren¡¯t particrly spectacr ¨C they felt a little pale. Even so, the child cheered and pped, clearly delighted by the oue.
Su Mucheng stared at the fireworks thoughtfully. ¡°Before, me and my brother couldn¡¯t afford to buy fireworks, but we still wanted to y. So, he got all sorts of random materials from who knows where, saying that he was going to make some himself.¡±
¡°He was always that kind of person...¡± said Ye Xiu, reminiscing.
These two weren¡¯t as fragile as Tao Xuan believed. In their daily lives, they often voluntarily brought up Su Muqiu. This was because they missed him dearly ¨C despite any lingering grief, they wouldn¡¯t allow themselves to forget him. Su Muqiu lived, once, and they were determined to preserve his memory.
¡°In the end, he actually seeded in making some. But the fireworks kind of looked like this,¡± Su Mucheng gestured toward the measly, pale smoke before them. ¡°At night.¡±
¡°His skill hadn¡¯t reached its peak yet. Like how in Glory, he was still worse than me!¡± said Ye Xiu.
¡°Hey, how about we make our own?¡± Su Mucheng suggested suddenly, eyes alight with excitement.
Ye Xiu was startled. ¡°That... seems a lot more dangerous than just buying them.¡±
¡°Not fireworks, I¡¯m talking about paper flowers,¡± she said.
¡°Paper flowers?¡±
¡°You know,¡± Su Mucheng raised her hand, made a finger gun, and aimed at Ye Xiu¡¯s head. ¡°Bang!¡± she mimed firing, ¡°and then it spits out paper flowers.¡±
¡°I see. Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± And so the two of them walked off, side by side.
Chapter 10 - The Dual-Core Era (3)
Chapter 10: 0: The Dual-Core Era (3)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: NomyummiChapter 10: The Dual-Core Era (3)
Trantor: Nomyummi | Editor: Nomyummi
Night fell,nterns lit. asional sounds of fireworks andughter echoed in the darkness.
Tao Xuan hadn¡¯t gone home for the new year, instead simply organizing a dinner get-together in his Inte caf¨¦. He thought that this was quite suitable ¨C they could eat and drink their fill, and he could even y a few rounds of Glory with Ye Qiu.
¡°Let me use One Autumn Leaf, he can use...¡± Tao Xuan was trying to pick an ount card for Ye Qiu to use. But the more he deliberated, the more discouraged he felt. Ye Qiu could use anything and he¡¯d still win. Tao Xuan¡¯s skill wasn¡¯t even expert-level in-game;pared to a professional like Ye Qiu, he didn¡¯t have a chance. A brutally honest way of putting it: against Tao Xuan, Ye Qiu could use only one hand and it¡¯d still be like cheating.
¡°Howe they¡¯re still not back?¡± Tao Xuan wondered, ncing at the clock. It was almost seven. Anxious, he peered out the window. Neither Ye Qiu nor Su Mucheng had cell phones, so he had no way of getting in contact with them.
They didn¡¯t run into trouble, did they?
As he wrung his hands in worry, there finally came a knock on the door. Tao Xuan dropped everything and hurried to open it.
Bang!
A loud sound, like a gunshot, followed by Su Mucheng¡¯s bright voice: ¡°Happy New Year!¡±
¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± yelped Tao Xuan, staring at the opening of the paper tube pointed at him.
¡°The sound was a sess, but the flowers...¡± Ye Qiu shook his head in disappointment, taking a drag of a cigarette as he walked in.
¡°What was that all about?¡± Tao Xuan was confused, and even after the two of them exined, he still didn¡¯t really see how this was exciting.
They really were still just kids! An adult like him couldn¡¯t find arts and crafts interesting.
¡°Come, let¡¯s eat!¡± he said. Last year, he had spent New Year with the two of them; this year was the same.
While they ate and chatted, the subject of discussion inevitably turned toward Glory.
¡°The Pro League has a bright future ahead,¡± said Tao Xuan confidently.
¡°Let¡¯s hope so!¡± responded Ye Qiu.
¡°We need to keep up with the development of the League, so I¡¯ve thought of our ns going forward,¡± Tao Xuan continued, standing up and returning with a stack of papers and packets. He pulled out a few and tossed them in front of Ye Qiu. ¡°These are specially for you.¡±
Ye Qiu picked one up at random and began perusing it.
¡°Last year, in terms ofpetition, we undoubtedly seeded ¨C the championship is the best proof of that,¡± said Tao Xuan. ¡°But in other areas, our development is unimpressive. Tyranny is already making arrangements with sponsors and investment corporations, as is Blue Rain, and that Team Tiny Herb is arranging partnership deals. I¡¯ve heard that even that new Team Hundred Blossoms is in talks for endorsement deals.
¡°We are the championship team! You are the strongest yer in Glory. There are many who want to partner with us. So I was thinking, we have to seize these opportunities. You take a look at just those packets rted to you, there¡¯s- ¡±
¡°Brother Tao.¡± Ye Qiu cut him off abruptly, pushing the stack of papers back in front of Tao Xuan.
¡°I have no interest in any of this. I only want to y Glory.¡±
Tao Xuan opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out. Finally, he spluttered, ¡°But this... These will all help you greatly!¡± He hadn¡¯t thought that Ye Qiu wouldpletely refuse like this, not even considering a single one.
¡°No need. Fromst season up to now, I never had any public appearances, and I don¡¯t want to participate in these sort of offstage activities. Sitting in front of aputer and ying Glory, that¡¯s enough for me.¡±
¡°You... Why is this?¡± Tao Xuan didn¡¯t know what to do. Without Ye Qiu¡¯s support, many of his ns would be impossible. After all, Ye Qiu was the pir of Team Excellent Era!
¡°There are someplications...¡± said Ye Qiu. He looked almost as though he was about to say more, then stopped.
¡°No way to take care of them? What kind ofplications? Say it, and we can figure something out!¡± Tao Xuan refused to give up.
¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Even without thoseplications, I really would not want to participate.¡±
¡°...Alright,¡± Tao Xuan finally said. ¡°I respect your wishes, I¡¯ll think of other ways.¡± His earlier enthusiastic ambition had turned to dejection quickly.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Brother Tao,¡± said Ye Qiu.
¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± said Tao Xuan, though his smile was somewhat forced. ¡°If you ever need help with anything, let me know.¡±
¡°We will.¡± But Ye Qiu¡¯s resolution didn¡¯t waver one bit.
The earlier festive atmosphere never found its way back. Tao Xuan made some efforts to be cheerful, but they could all tell that they were half-hearted. The minutes dragged by agonizingly slowly as they waited, until finally, they heard the clock strike midnight.
¡°Happy New Year!¡±
¡°Happy New Year!¡±
With that, this New Year¡¯s Eve dinner dispersed.
Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng walked along the streets. The sky was filled with bursts of light and color, while the roars of firecrackers filled the air.
¡°You don¡¯t want exposure, is it because you¡¯re scared your family will catch you and take you back home?¡± Su Mucheng almost had to shout to be heard over the noise.
¡°It¡¯s a possibility!¡± replied Ye Xiu, simrly loudly.
¡°Then this situation right now is pretty good,¡± said Su Mucheng. Since she was little, she¡¯d depended on her brother for everything, and she¡¯d never wished for a ¡°true¡± family before. She felt that as long there was one person by your side and neither of you bothered the other, then that was best.
¡°Yeah! It¡¯s pretty good.¡± Ye Xiu reached over and rubbed the top of Su Mucheng¡¯s head.
¡°When I grow up, can I y Glory too?¡± she asked, suddenly.
¡°Sure! Come join Team Excellent Era,¡± replied Ye Xiu.
¡°Mm,¡± Su Mucheng nodded. That way, she thought, they could stay together.
Chapter 11 - The Dual-Core Era (4)
Chapter 11: The Dual-Core Era (4)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The New Year passed. The various pro yers finished their breaks and returned to their teams, and the Season 2 matches resumed in full swing. The attention-grabbing Team Hundred Blossoms finally faced what would be their greatest challenge.
Excellent Era! Last season¡¯s champions, the current strongest of the Alliance. Although they were currently lower than Hundred Blossoms in this season¡¯s rankings, there was only a 2-point difference between them, and this head-to-head match-up could easily change their rankings. Finally, this day had arrived.
Ye Qiu!
In Hundred Blossoms¡¯ preparation room, Sun Zheping released a deep breath. Just that past summer, he had been sitting in an Inte caf¨¦, admiring Ye Qiu¡¯s victory again and again. Who¡¯d have thought that after a mere half year, he¡¯d have the opportunity to directly battle him?
This half year had been like a dream! He¡¯d met such a strong partner, and the two of them had coordinated perfectly. And now, their invinciblebination was finally up against Ye Qiu.
The outside world all seemed to favor their Hundred Blossoms, saying things about how one plus one was definitely greater than one, but Sun Zheping was quite disdainful toward this talk. Those guys were just like the people he had once yed with in that Inte caf¨¦; they understood nothing. They clearly didn¡¯t understand how terrifying Ye Qiu was, nor did they understand how Ye Qiu was never by himself.
Wu Xuefeng! Qi Breaker!
In the dazzling light of the Battle God, many people overlooked this yer and character. Those guys would never know how important a role he yed at Ye Qiu¡¯s side.
¡°Wu Xuefeng. Pay attention to his Qi Breaker!¡± Sun Zheping said to Zhang Jiale. Having finally reached this day, he definitely would not make the same mistake that many others had made before him ¨C ignoring Wu Xuefeng.
¡°Understood.¡± Zhang Jiale nodded. Excellent Era, Ye Qiu, they had always been powerful opponents in their eyes, and thus they had studied them closely. Zhang Jialepletely agreed with Sun Zheping¡¯s judgment; Wu Xuefeng was absolutely someone they needed to pay close attention to. But aside from that, he also had his own questions he cared about.
¡°Say, what do you think this Ye Qiu is like?¡± Zhang Jiale asked.
¡°After today, you finally won¡¯t have to ask all of our opponents.¡± Sun Zheping had mixed feelings. Because they still hadn¡¯t met Excellent Era in a direct match, they still didn¡¯t know what this mysterious, never-appearing Ye Qiu was like. But in the League, many yers had participated in the first season, and they had all met Ye Qiu before. Through Hundred Blossoms¡¯ matches this season, Zhang Jiale had been constantly asking their opponents what they knew, and to be honest, Sun Zheping felt that it was a little embarrassing.
¡°Prepare to go onstage!¡± At this moment, someone pushed open the door and yelled.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Sun Zheping stood up. The time he had been waiting for had finally arrived.
Zhang Jiale charged out of the room first, and saw that the other preparation room ¨C the room designated for the home team ¨C had already been opened, the Excellent Era members walking in an orderly line toward the stage.
¡°Ye Qiu!¡± Zhang Jiale shouted, hurrying over to the front of their line.
¡°Our captain usually goes onstage early,¡± one of the Excellent Era members exined.
Zhang Jiale turned around, and saw Wu Xuefeng.
This person, whom Sun Zheping dered as the crucial number 2 of Excellent Era, was casually walking in the middle of the team, not too close to the front, not too close to the back. The order in which the yers went onstage usually indicated their rank in the team, but Wu Xuefeng didn¡¯t seem to care about this.
¡°See you in the match.¡± His steps didn¡¯t pause as he smiled at Zhang Jiale and spoke. Just like that, he casually passed by, and walked with his teammates toward the stage.
¡°Did you see Ye Qiu?¡± Sun Zheping had finally exited their preparation room with the rest of Hundred Blossoms.
¡°No, he went onstage early,¡± said Zhang Jiale.
¡°Just because he doesn¡¯t want to be noticed!¡± Sun Zhepingmented.
¡°But I did see Wu Xuefeng, and he spoke to me,¡± said Zhang Jiale.
¡°Oh? What kind of person was he?¡± Sun Zheping immediately asked. He had seen Wu Xuefeng on television, but this was the first time they would have to opportunity to meet in real life.
¡°Uh...¡± Zhang Jiale iled for words. ¡°He¡¯s... a person?¡± It was a poor response, but he truly didn¡¯t know how to describe Wu Xuefeng.
Wu Xuefeng hadn¡¯t given him a strong impression; after all, he had only said two sentences to him as he walked by. Everything had happened so smoothly and so casually, he couldn¡¯t determine what his character was like at all.
¡°Then we¡¯ll use the battle to understand!¡± said Sun Zheping.
Hundred Blossoms went onstage, but they and Excellent Era weren¡¯t the only teams to do so.
Blue Rain, Tiny Herb, Wind Howl, etc... A total of eight teams were currently walking onstage through four different yer passageways. The four matches of this round of the League would all take ce here, at the same ce and time.
But of the four matches, the one garnering the most attention was still this match between Excellent Era and Hundred Blossoms. Even the members of other teams were all staring at therge screen broadcasting this match; everyone wanted to know if Ye Qiu was able to stop this rookiebination in their tracks.
But to everyone¡¯s surprise, this long-awaited face-off didn¡¯t ur until the teampetition.
Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale had both gone to y in the group arena, while Ye Qiu and Wu Xuefeng had both yed in the individualpetition, and thus they missed each other for the 1v1 battles. In the end, Excellent Era won all three individualpetition matches, earning 3 points; Hundred Blossoms Won the Group Round, winning 2 points.
The core yer face-off everyone had been waiting for was only now beginning. In the Team Round, Ye Qiu, Sun Zheping, and Zhang Jiale finally gathered together. As for Wu Xuefeng, he wasn¡¯t a core yer in many people¡¯s eyes, but Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale paid close attention to him.
The long-anticipated showdown! Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale had privately discussed their ns for this battle who knows how many times already.
They were currently invincible in the League, but they had yet to defeat Ye Qiu, and they didn¡¯t dare rx or be overconfident in the slightest. This day had finally arrived.
¡°Go!¡±¡±Go!¡±
The two sent the message in the channel, and Blossoming Chaos and Dazzling Hundred Blossoms rushed forward, followed closely by the rest of Hundred Blossoms.
Excellent Era didn¡¯t stick together as tightly ¨C from the very start, the five characters dispersed. One Autumn Leaf didn¡¯t charge forward to meet them head-on, instead choosing to detour around the nk.
¡°What the hell!¡± Huang Shaotian was very dissatisfied with this scene before him. He had arrived here with the rest of Team Blue Rain, but since he wasn¡¯t a full pro yer, he could only watch from the audience. He, like most others, was paying the most attention to the Excellent Era vs Hundred Blossoms match.
¡°This is tactics.¡± Next to Huang Shaotian, Yu Wenzhou held a notebook, and was currently writing in it, with neat penmanship.
¡°Don¡¯t talk like you understand all of this,¡± Huang Shaotian scoffed.
Yu Wenzhou didn¡¯t argue, and merely continued to study the battle. The two sides hadn¡¯t even shed yet, but he was still paying very close attention.
¡°What¡¯s One Autumn Leaf hiding for? And they call him the Battle God?¡± Huang Shaotian¡¯sining shouts continued.
Finally, there was an encounter between characters of the two opposing teams.
Where was One Autumn Leaf? Qi Breaker?
It wasn¡¯t just Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale, the entirety of Hundred Blossoms was frantically looking around for these two characters. Naturally, Sun Zheping had impressed upon the whole team, not just Zhang Jiale, his high regard of their opponents and the importance of dealing with Wu Xuefeng and his Qi Breaker.
Qi Breaker was directly ahead, with Excellent Era¡¯s Elementalist and Spellde; behind him was the Cleric. The only one missing was One Autumn Leaf.
¡°Go go go!!¡± Huang Shaotian hollered from the audience. One Autumn Leaf wasn¡¯t here? Then Excellent Era deserves to be crushed by Hundred Blossoms!
¡°Go!¡± As expected, Hundred Blossoms didn¡¯t hesitate, and immediatelyunched their attacks. Sun Zheping¡¯s Blossoming Chaos led the charge.
Gunfire, explosions, the sounds of battle. Light and shadow provided cover for Blossoming Chaos. The other members of Hundred Blossoms, the Witch and the Brawler, followed closely, and their Cleric maintained his distance from behind.
Excellent Era quickly rushed to block Hundred Blossoms¡¯ attack. The Spellde¡¯s Wave Sword swept out first, and Qi Breaker and the Elementalist were behind him, casting spells and attacking, but their rhythm was off...
Excellent Era couldn¡¯t block, and the characters retreated backward.
¡°Go!!¡± Huang Shaotian yelled ¨C he loved watching this kind of unstoppable momentum.
But Yu Wenzhou, by his side, was watching with narrowed eyes, looking almost worried. He was constantly flipping back in his notebook to read his previous notes, thinking and calcting. He wanted to know One Autumn Leaf¡¯s current coordinates, but the screen wasn¡¯t showing him.
¡°Defeat them!!¡± Huang Shaotian¡¯s voice was nonstop. And as Excellent Era was forced back under the onught, the disy screens finally revealed just what One Autumn Leaf was up to.
One Autumn Leaf... wasn¡¯t doing anything. He was just standing in ce.
¡°What the hell is that dumbass doing?¡± blurted out Huang Shaotian. But Yu Wenzhou paid more attention to One Autumn Leaf¡¯s current coordinates.
(56, 73). He quickly noted that down, as though he had obtained thest equation necessary to solve a difficult puzzle, and everything made itself clear.
Yu Wenzhou tapped his notebook a few times, then shut it.
Now, it was time to see if the battle unfolded ording to his hypothesis.
Even as Huang Shaotian continued to shout excitedly, he was still paying attention to Yu Wenzhou¡¯s actions out of the corner of his eye.
What had this guy discovered? Seeing how definitively he had closed his notebook and how he was now focusing intently on the match, Huang Shaotian wondered.
At the same time, Hundred Blossoms finally broke through Excellent Era¡¯s defense; Blossoming Chaos charged forward, de shing.
¡°Ye Qiu,e out!¡± Dazzling Hundred Blossoms sent in the chat, impatient.
To everyone¡¯s surprise, there was actually a response, a simple, ¡°Coming.¡± One Autumn Leaf finally moved ¨C seeming not to fear the Berserker¡¯s de, he appeared behind him in the blink of an eye.
Sun Zheping had never imagined that he and Ye Qiu, Blossoming Chaos and One Autumn Leaf, would have their first encounter like this, the two characters back to back, facing opposite directions, instead of a direct head-on sh.
He wanted to turn around, but he couldn¡¯t stop attacking the yers before him. Blossoming Chaos suddenly realized he was trapped ¨C enemies in front, an enemy behind.
Before he could decide how to address this dilemma, One Autumn Leaf had alreadyunched a powerful level 50 attack ¨C Illusion Dragon Tooth! Amidst the shes from the firing guns, lines of ck snaked outward toward the rest of the Hundred Blossom yers, one after another.
Evil Annihtion!
In the entire Glory sphere, there were only a handful of self-made Silver weapons that surpassed the attributes of Orange weapons. And here, Ye Qiu and his One Autumn Leaf began dancing with one of these extraordinary weapons.
Hundred Blossoms¡¯ attack formation was torn apart. The Brawler behind Blossoming Chaos, who had apanied him in the forward charge, was forced to retreat several steps to dodge the attacks, and the Witch that had tried to circle around in midair was stabbed down by One Autumn Leaf.
With these two yers blocked, Blossoming Chaos¡¯ Earth-Shattering sh suddenly seemed quite isted. Three Excellent Era yers, led by Qi Breaker, immediately began to counterattack. Dodging the shaking earth and the shing de, they knocked down Blossoming Chaos, and, without giving him the chance to recover, Qi Breaker hit him with an Earthquake and a Thunderbolt right to the chest.
One Autumn Leaf quickly twisted around to face the Berserker as well, and began a series ofbos to his back. Evil Annihtion¡¯s damage was high, and attacks from behind dealt more damage. Added to the attacks from the other three Excellent Era yers, and a sh from a Cleric casting Holy Commandment Light...
Sun Zheping had imagined facing Ye Qiu countless times, but he had never imagined a scene like this. He hadn¡¯t even had the chance to properly face One Autumn Leaf before falling. Thest thing he saw was a mess of bright shes and colors as chasers of various types exploded against his body, releasing their magic energy.
He died? Sun Zheping couldn¡¯t believe it. This was his first encounter with Ye Qiu, and he had beenpletely ughtered just like that.
The audience was as stunned as the fallen yer. Many had favored Hundred Blossoms to win this match, and not one of them had predicted that Blossoming Chaos would die that easily. Just a few seconds earlier, it had seemed that Hundred Blossoms was on their way to winning by arge margin, and yet, as soon as One Autumn Leaf entered battle, the situation underwent a drastic reversal.
¡°The hell was that?¡± Huang Shaotian shouted, shock and disappointment written all over his face.
¡°That was tactics.¡± Yu Wenzhou¡¯s answer was the same as before. But even he was surprised at this scene ¨C he predicted that Excellent Era would pull off some kind of game-changing reversal like this, but he hadn¡¯t imagined that Excellent Era could justpletely kill Blossoming Chaos while doing so...
This was tactics, but executing this strategy to this extentpletely surpassed all of his calctions.
Yu Wenzhou opened his notebook once again, and Huang Shaotian peered over, prepared to read what this guy was writing. But Yu Wenzhou hesitated with his pen over the paper for quite a while, before finally writing only two names.
Ye Qiu, One Autumn Leaf.
The hell was with that? Huang Shaotian was prepared to ask, but was interrupted by a voice from behind them.
¡°You think that only he could pull that off?¡±
The two of them turned around. The voice hade from a youth, possibly slightly older than them. Because his seat was higher up, he was easily able to see what Yu Wenzhou had written in his notebook. He was currently staring at Yu Wenzhou, but there was something strange with his eyes. They weren¡¯t symmetrical; his left eye seemed to be somewhatrger than his right.
¡°Who are you?¡± Huang Shaotian immediately asked.
¡°Tiny Herb, Wang Jiexi,¡± the other person responded.
Chapter 12 - The Dual-Core Era (5)
Chapter 12: The Dual-Core Era (5)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Huang Shaotian smirked. He knew Tiny Herb¡¯s roster, and this name wasn¡¯t familiar. This kid imed to be from Tiny Herb, but he was probably just from the training camp like the two of them. Speaking with that kind of confident tone was really ovepensating.
¡°You-¡±
¡°Hello, Blue Rain, Yu Wenzhou.¡±
Huang Shaotian was prepared to unleash some verbal ridicule, but Yu Wenzhou had already extended his right hand to the other person. The yers in two different rows shook hands.
¡°Do you not think that this sort of immediate,plete reversal was possible only because of Ye Qiu¡¯s skill and One Autumn Leaf¡¯s strength?¡± Yu Wenzhou followed up immediately.
¡°Of course it was for those reasons,¡± said Wang Jiexi.
¡°Fuck, then what¡¯re you so cocky for?¡± said Huang Shaotian. Wang Jiexi¡¯s initial tone made it sound like he himself could pull off what Ye Qiu had done.
¡°I merely asked because I am not very familiar with the capabilities of a Battle Mage,¡± answered Wang Jiexi.
¡°Oh? Then your ss is?¡± Yu Wenzhou asked.
¡°Witch,¡± Wang Jiexi answered.
Witch... At that, Yu Wenzhou and Huang Shaotian unconsciously met each other¡¯s eyes. They¡¯d never heard of this yer¡¯s name before, but Tiny Herb¡¯s core was the famed and powerful Witch Varia. To y the ss of the team¡¯s core ¨C there was significance there!
¡°A Witch? In that case...¡± Yu Wenzhou turned back to look at the stage. Didn¡¯t Hundred Blossoms have a Witch of their own? But One Autumn Leaf hadnded right in the middle of them from above, and then Excellent Era¡¯s counterattack had smothered them ruthlessly.
¡°If I were him... May I?¡± Wang Jiexi made a gesture, and Yu Wenzhou handed over his notebook and pen.
¡°I¡¯d get to here, (58, 70), and then from there, cut through!¡± With deft strokes, Wang Jiexi quickly sketched a diagram on a nk page of the notebook.
¡°Huh?¡± Huang Shaotian couldn¡¯t quite follow Yu Wenzhou¡¯s notes, nor Wang Jiexi¡¯s n.
But Yu Wenzhou was paying close attention. ¡°Attack from this position? Here?¡± He pointed to a spot to verify.
¡°Yes,¡± Wang Jiexi nodded.
¡°This... how is that possible?¡± Yu Wenzhou wasn¡¯t one to openly challenge others; for him to say this, Wang Jiexi¡¯s proposed n must have really been quite ambitious.
¡°And then what would you do?¡± But despite any doubts, Yu Wenzhou still wanted to listen to Wang Jiexi¡¯s train of thought.
¡°Disperse Powder, Frost Powder, Broom Tornado.¡± Wang Jiexi simply named these three skills.
Disperse Powder to lower the opponents¡¯ speed.
Frost Powder to give his weapon ice elemental damage and the chance to freeze.
Broom Tornado to break apart the enemies.
Yu Wenzhou grasped the reasoning behind these three skills. But to cast all of them in those conditions? Wang Jiexi¡¯s n of seizing that position and cutting through would put him right between the back-to-back Blossoming Chaos and One Autumn Leaf. How would he be able to quickly pull off those three skills from that position?
¡°You¡¯re bragging,¡± was Huang Shaotian¡¯s blunt im, now that he finally understood Wang Jiexi¡¯s n.
¡°Next season, you¡¯ll see.¡± Wang Jiexi didn¡¯t try to exin more; there was a limit to what could be shown with pen and paper.
¡°Hmph.¡± Huang Shaotian, still feeling somewhat disdainful toward this yer, refused to let him have thest word. ¡°It¡¯s not like Blossoming Chaos couldn¡¯t have stopped One Autumn Leaf¡¯s attack on his own. He could have forcibly cancelled his Earth-Shattering sh and turned in midair with a Falling Light de.¡±
Wang Jiexi nced at him and smiled. ¡°Oh? Was there such an opportunity?¡± There was often a gap between theory and reality.
¡°Of course!¡± said Huang Shaotian, without a trace of uncertainty.
The screens were currently reying the scenes showing One Autumn Leaf¡¯s pivotal kill. Huang Shaotian turned to watch, and the other two did likewise.
Coming up...¡±Right now!¡± dered Huang Shaotian. Yu Wenzhou and Wang Jiexi nced at each other, then back to the screens. The moment shed by quickly, but it was reyed several times, and when the screens slowed down the rey, both Yu Wenzhou and Wang Jiexi could see the moment he was referring to.
Wang Jiexi looked at Huang Shaotian in a new light. It looked like this chatterbox wasn¡¯t just some talkative guy ¨C he knew his stuff, even discovering something that Wang Jiexi himself hadn¡¯t noticed.
Was that an opportunity?
In theory, yes. In that instant, if the actions Huang Shaotian had named were executed, then there was indeed a chance to break One Autumn Leaf¡¯s attack.
¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Wang Jiexi asked him.
¡°Huang Shaotian.¡± He inclined his head.
¡°You¡¯re correct, there was such an opportunity,¡± Wang Jiexi acknowledged. ¡°But would you be able to seize it?¡±
Seeing an opportunity was one matter. Being able to take advantage of it was the real test.
But Huang Shaotian simply threw Wang Jiexi¡¯s own words back at him. ¡°Next season, you¡¯ll see.¡±
Wang Jiexi nodded. ¡°Then, next season, we¡¯ll meet onstage?¡±
¡°We¡¯ll meet onstage!¡±
¡°What about you?¡± asked Wang Jiexi, turning toward Yu Wenzhou.
Huang Shaotian suddenly winced. This outsider had no clue about Yu Wenzhou¡¯s crippled hands and low status in the team. If he knew the truth, would he still anticipate Yu Wenzhou¡¯s onstage appearance?
Yu Wenzhou, however, remained as calm as ever. ¡°You two, aren¡¯t you forgetting something?¡±
¡°What?¡± This time, it was Huang Shaotian and Wang Jiexi¡¯s turn to exchange a nce.
¡°Ye Qiu is a living person, with the ability to adjust his actions as the situation demands. Not to mention that Excellent Era isposed of more members than just him. You make ns to counter him, but are you really sure they would be enough to change the overall result?¡±
That silenced both of them.
Huang Shaotian had assumed that his response could break the deadlock. But would his actions have been enough to render Ye Qiu helpless? With that simple question, he deted, and, judging from Wang Jiexi¡¯s silence, the other yer felt simrly.
¡°Thus,¡± concluded Yu Wenzhou, shutting his notebook, ¡°I believe that I am not yet ready.¡±
Part 7
Onstage, Excellent Era pulled off the reversal and crushed Hundred Blossoms. At the front was the king of the Alliance of Season 1 ¨C Battle God One Autumn Leaf.
Hundred Blossoms suffered a brutal defeat.
The attention-grabbing Blood and Blossoms ystyle, after going undefeated for half a season, finally met their Waterloo. And the one to defeat them was Ye Qiu, was Excellent Era.
The Hundred Blossoms yers had been filled with hope and anticipation as they walked onstage, but as they now made the return trip through the yer passageway, they did so in dejected spirits.
No one had anything to say. Sun Zheping didn¡¯t, Zhang Jiale didn¡¯t either.
They returned to their preparation room in silence, but when they arrived at the door, the door to the opposing preparation room opened, and someone walked out. Someone who had been with Excellent Era earlier, but whom they hadn¡¯t met.
¡°Ye Qiu!¡± Sun Zheping immediately shouted.
¡°Ah?¡± That person looked at Team Hundred Blossoms gathered before him.
This was Ye Qiu, the person whom they had been looking forward to meet for a long time. But now, they were the losers; the battle had drained their earlier anticipation and fighting spirit. And Ye Qiu, the person who had vanquished them, chose this moment to appear, making them feel somewhat awkward.
But even so, Sun Zheping didn¡¯t lower his head ¨C he would never lower his head. Ye Qiu was indeed very strong, stronger than he had seen while watching from the sidelines. This would only spur his improvement.
¡°Next time we¡¯ll win for sure!¡± said Sun Zheping.
Ye Qiu smiled. ¡°It won¡¯t be that easy.¡±
¡°For sure!¡± Zhang Jiale stepped forward, supporting his partner.
¡°Don¡¯t be so worked up.¡± Ye Qiu was still smiling. His hand had been rummaging through his pocket his whole time, and he finally withdrew it, holding half a pack of cigarettes.
¡°Do you smoke?¡± he offered to the two of them, seemingly ignoring theirbative attitude toward him.
¡°Huh? Don¡¯t know how...¡± The two of them had been strengthening their resolve to defeat him ¨C faced with this unexpected question, they didn¡¯t really know how to respond.
¡°No smoking in the passageways!!¡± The voice came from some unknown ce ¨C loud and clear, it seemed as though it were prepared for this moment.
¡°I¡¯m going to smoke.¡± Ye Qiu waved at the Hundred Blossoms crowd, then headed toward the passageway exit.
Hundred Blossoms stared after him, stunned. This was the strongest in the Alliance, the person who had just defeated him. They found no trace of a victor¡¯s arrogance on him, but at the same time, in the face of their challenge, their provocative promise to win next time, he wasn¡¯t particrly humble or polite.
It won¡¯t be that easy.
That¡¯s how he responded.
This sentence was straightforward, was honest.
Indeed, it wasn¡¯t that easy! They knew this from the beginning, and now, they knew it even more.
Chapter 13 - The Dual-Core Era (6)
Chapter 13: The Dual-Core Era (6)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The dual-core era.
After this battle, there suddenly wasn¡¯t as much excited discussion surrounding this topic. It wasn¡¯t like Hundred Blossoms had beenpletely brought to its knees, but in the end, the king of this era was still Ye Qiu, and Team Excellent Era.
Who can stop the victory streak of Blood and Blossoms? One Autumn Leaf?
Now, everyone realized that they had gotten the subject of this fateful question mixed up. They should have been asking, who can stop One Autumn Leaf? In the end, this was still the Battle God¡¯s era. If Blood and Blossoms wanted to be the protagonists, then they would first have to defeat the Battle God.
The world could only have one king.
Likewise, there was only one championship.
Only the one holding the championship could be the protagonist.
Every yer, from Excellent Era to Hundred Blossoms to all of the other teams ¨C they were all scrambling to im this singr title.
Team Blue Rain.
Recently, everyone suddenly realized something: Huang Shaotian had changed.
Sure, he was still talking as much as ever. But when he was ying Glory, there was a new seriousness about him; the sort of carefree, casual air that he¡¯d used to exhibit had suddenly faded away. It was as though he had discovered a concrete goal to work toward, and his training had be correspondingly more purposeful, clear, and definite.
Huang Shaotian¡¯s ystyle reflected these changes. And Wei Chen had noticed it all.
¡°What do you think?¡± After observing for several days, Wei Chen confirmed that this change in attitude was more than just a passing phase. Finally, he decided to discuss with someone else.
Wei Chen hadn¡¯t been the only one observing these changes.
Fang Shijing, Blue Rain¡¯s free yer. A so-called ¡°free yer¡± was someone who could y any ss. They could switch ounts and ystyles with every match, and so it was impossible for an opponent to prepare counters for them.
Over half of the teams in the Alliance had a ¡°free yer¡±; it was seen as a creative and interesting strategy for a team to have. But after two seasons, it had gradually be clear that although this strategy was appealing to watch, it wasn¡¯t actually all that effective inpetition. In this season so far, already four free yers had decided to settle on one ss, and most of the others had narrowed down the sses they switched between.
Blue Rain¡¯s Fang Shijing now yed a slightly different role for the team ¨C he was Blue Rain¡¯s golden substitute. Because he could y any ss proficiently, if any one of the main roster felt in poor condition on a given day, or if they needed a few changes, Fang Shijing would immediately be put in to rece them.
At first, Wei Chen had felt that such an arrangement was somewhat unfair to Fang Shijing. The two of them were old friends from the game; they had yed many matches together, had formed Team Blue Rain together, had fought side-by-side through Season 1. Wei Chen felt that he had wronged his friend by failing to find him a position better than a mere substitute.
But Fang Shijing thought differently.
True, he knew better than anyone that ¡°free yers¡± were a failed concept. However, ying as a substitute would correct this mistake while still taking advantage of his unique versatility. Increasing Blue Rain¡¯s strength and flexibility while still using a minimal number of yers; this was the best choice for the team as a whole.
Unfortunately, the presence of this free yer did not enable Blue Rain¡¯s performance to improve. In fact,pared tost season, they had actually worsened.
Ultimately, Fang Shijing was not the protagonist of this team, and could only influence so much about this team.
And what about the person who was Blue Rain¡¯s current protagonist, the single person who had the greatest impact on this team? Fang Shijing understood Wei Chen¡¯s current condition very well.
He understood, and yet was helpless.
No one could escape the progression of time; in the end, the passing years swallowed all. One could only hope that the next generation would continue their unfinished work.
Fang Shijing knew how much Wei Chen anticipated the debut of young Huang Shaotian, and he himself felt the same way. Both of them had noticed the young yer¡¯s recent change in attitude. And Fang Shijing, as an all-ss free yer, was more familiar with the de Master ss, and so Wei Chen sought him out for his insight.
¡°Only now is he truly applying all his talent and ability toward entering the pro scene,¡± Fang Shijing said.
¡°Remember the first time we met him in-game?¡±
Fang Shijing nodded. ¡°So many of us, yet he was still able to avoid detection and survive for so long.¡±
¡°He just naturally has that incredible observational ability. He can spot these sort of game-changing opportunities, exploit the smallest weaknesses for the greatest advantages.¡±
¡°But the environment of the training camp, with all its 1v1 exercises, doesn¡¯t push him out of hisfort zone enough.¡±
¡°Then he must have seen some high-level match recently, to inspire this new intensity we¡¯re seeing,¡± said Wei Chen. ¡°His eyes were opened, and he redoubled his efforts to improve.¡±
¡°What he needs is that kind of environment and atmosphere. We need to be the ones to create that for him.¡±
Wei Chen sighed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t we realize this sooner?¡±
¡°Well, it¡¯s better that he discover his deficiencies on his own, and find his own path of improvement. If we¡¯d forced him a certain way, it could have turned out worse,¡± Fang Shijing pointed out.
¡°Then we¡¯ll start now!¡± Wei Chen said.
¡°Alright. I will build a specialized training regimen for him,¡± said Fang Shijing.
¡°Hopefully it¡¯ll be soon enough,¡± Wei Chen said under his breath.
¡°What did you say?¡± Fang Shijing hadn¡¯t heard.
¡°Nothing,¡± Wei Chen said. ¡°Then, before you make that training n for him, let me practice with him for a while! Let him feel that some of that pressure, hahahaha.¡±
¡°Watch my sword! Fuck!!¡± Huang Shaotian yelled as he tried to pull off a powerful attack, but he was under the secure control of his opponent. Troubling Rain failed to seize the opening before him, and fell in defeat.
¡°Hahahaha, kid, you¡¯re still too green!¡± Wei Chen let out a heartyugh as he lit a cigarette. But in his heart, he was nowhere near as confident as hisugh suggested.
Just now, at the very end, Troubling Rain¡¯s light saber had pointed at his Warlock¡¯s chest, and light had shed across his screen as the death strike approached.
At that moment, Wei Chen had seen the approaching threat, and he had wanted to counter it. But although his brain recognized the danger, he wasn¡¯t fast enough to do anything. Whether his reaction or his control, he was too slow. In that instant, the despair and helplessness that Wei Chen felt was so great that it swallowed him whole.
But in the end, Wei Chen had still won, because Huang Shaotian had made an error. He had seen the opportunity, but his grasp of the timing and his uracy had been slightly off. The light from his sword had shed by that opening, giving Wei Chen a fright.
¡°Hahahaha!¡± Wei Chen continued tough loudly, and hoped it masked the sound of his pounding heart.
A hand fell upon his shoulder, and he looked up to see Fang Shijing¡¯s face, full of barely concealed excitement. Wei Chen understood the look in his friend¡¯s eyes; he was saying, ¡°Did you see it? That strike!¡±
Not only had Wei Chen seen it, he had felt it. That one de strike had perfectly demonstrated Huang Shaotian¡¯s talent and specialty. One day, it would dazzle on the Glory pro stage.
But aside from that, Wei Chen had seen some other things, things that Fang Shijing had overlooked in his excitement over Huang Shaotian¡¯s performance.
Wei Chen had seen himself. He truly had no more hope ofpeting with those currently at the summit of Glory...
¡°Don¡¯t be too happy, I should¡¯ve won that match! Again!¡± Huang Shaotian yelled. This was his third loss in a row, but this time, he hade closest to victory. He too had realized ¨C if his de had been just a little faster, if he had been just a little more urate, than the one who had fallen would have been the old man sitting across from him.
Wei Chen brushed him off. ¡°Again? Heh, I don¡¯t have all day to waste on you. I still need to evaluate all the others.¡±
Everyone immediately started chattering. The captain was so patient today, to y a match against all of them? The reserve yers were all very excited for this opportunity. Unlike Huang Shaotian, they all treated Captain Wei very respectfully. To them, he and his ount Swoksaar were gods, and it wasn¡¯t every day that these yers got to challenge a god.
¡°Me, me!¡± The youths bickered with each other to be next in line, and Huang Shaotian fell to the side, unable to demand another match. He knew that this was a very rare opportunity for everyone else.
And so, with a cigarette at his lips,ughing all the while, Wei Chen yed his way through the reserve yers. Some got one round, others two. But he won every single match with ease, leaving awestruck youths in his wake. Wei Chen wasn¡¯t doing this to build his self-esteem, nor was he purposely trying to impress the youths. He only wanted to cleanly, clearly experience the raw passion of his dear team, for he already sensed that the time of his departure was fast approaching.
Wei Chen lifted his head to see thest youth sit before him.
Thisst youth was alsost in the rankings of the training camp, the one deemed to have no future. But no matter how lowly, he was still a member of Team Blue Rain, and Wei Chen had no reason to refuse him a match.
With these thoughts in mind, Wei Chen clicked for the battle to begin.
¡°Warlock?¡±
Looking at the ss of the other yer, Wei Chen was surprised. He hadn¡¯t paid too much attention to Yu Wenzhou in the past, but this yer hadn¡¯t used Warlock before, had he? But there was no time for such musings; Wei Chen controlled his Warlock to advance. Because he was just ying with these youths, he wasn¡¯t using his main ount Swoksaar ¨C that would be too much like bullying.
The two characters met at the center of the map, and Wei Chen didn¡¯t hesitate. Attack!
But his opponent had already ducked behind a nearby giant boulder. Wei Chen directed his Warlock to quickly advance. In the instant that he was about to round the boulder, in the instant his opponent would havee into view, there was suddenly a sh of light rising up around him, locking his Warlock inside.
Hexagram Prison?
A predictive attack?
No, more urately, it was a trap. If the other yer hadn¡¯t ducked behind the boulder to hide his movements from Wei Chen, a predictive attack wouldn¡¯t have been enough topletely trap Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock while he was moving.
But at the same time, when he was hiding behind the boulder, Yu Wenzhou also couldn¡¯t see Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock. He needed to correctly guess Wei Chen¡¯s movements and urately calcte the amount of time he needed to move to that position in order to pull off such a precise attack.
Wei Chen yed Warlock. He knew better than anyone the power of a Warlock who was good at calctions.
For that kind of Warlock, once they gained control of a target, that target was doomed.
But could this kid pull it off?
He did it!
In the instant that Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock fell, everyone stared in utter shock. After trapping Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock, Yu Wenzhou¡¯s control and attack had been excellent. Using a precise rhythm of attack and control topensate for his slow handspeed, he maintained his advantage until the end.
He won?
Not even Huang Shaotian had managed it, yet this kid had done it?
The captain must have been too tired, right?
Everyone was thinking this. Even though Wei Chen hadn¡¯t needed much effort to fight them, the fatigue of ying so many matches would umte no matter how easy they were.
Fang Shijing¡¯s hand pressed on Wei Chen¡¯s shoulder again. His eyes were shing once more, but unlike the earlier excitement of seeing Huang Shaotian¡¯s performance, he was now showing a different kind of excitement, one that came from an unexpected but delightful surprise.
Wei Chen didn¡¯t turn to look at him this time. He extinguished the cigarette he had been holding.
¡°Not bad. Let¡¯s y another round and see,¡± he said.
Another round began. Same characters, same map, same starting positions. Old Wei fired an attack, and Yu Wenzhou again dodged behind that same boulder.
It waspletely the same asst round?
Everyone was puzzled. And this time, Fang Shijing walked over to stand behind Yu Wenzhou, spectating from his point of view.
It... was really the same?
Fang Shijing watched Yu Wenzhou¡¯s position, saw that Yu Wenzhou¡¯s left hand was positioned over the keyboard in the same way as before. He was indeed waiting for Wei Chen¡¯s appearance, just likest time.
Wei Chen would appear in the same way as before. Fang Shijing, who understood his longtime friend, could make this prediction. Because what happenedst time was simply too unexpected, this time he would approach in the same way to figure out what had happened ¨C of course, his dissatisfaction at the previous oue also yed a small role.
However, even if Wei Chen approached in the same way as he did before, this time he knew what Yu Wenzhou was nning ¨C he must be prepared to counter, right? This Yu Wenzhou, if he believed that the same tactics could defeat him twice, would be vastly underestimating the capabilities of a pro yer.
He¡¯s here!
On screen, in Yu Wenzhou¡¯s view, Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock charged forward, and this time he anticipated Yu Wenzhou¡¯s Warlock, anticipated Yu Wenzhou¡¯s n, so this time, the angle and timing were just barely changed from before. Wei Chen understood the Warlock ss too well, and knew that this change was just enough to allow him to dodge the Hexagram Prison.
But the Hexagram Prison never came. From the sky fell Chaotic Rain.
The movements of Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock became jumpy, irregr. No experience or talent could control a character under the confusion effect of Chaotic Rain. Yu Wenzhou¡¯s Warlock, neither too quickly nor too slowly, began casting spells. Attack and control alternated in perfect rhythm, and in the end, Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock fell to the ground.
The room was silent.
Two rounds. Wei Chen had lost two rounds to Yu Wenzhou.
The first loss, that could be called a fluke. But to lose a second time? To confidently re-enact the events of before, this time with preparation, and still lose?
The majority of the spectators now drifted to watch from Yu Wenzhou¡¯sputer. They didn¡¯t know if there would be a third round, but they all wanted to know how Yu Wenzhou did it.
The others were all sneaking nces at Wei Chen¡¯s expression, but the only one tantly staring was Fang Shijing, with something like ridicule in his gaze.
Yu Wenzhou hadn¡¯t underestimated them, hadn¡¯t thought that the same tactic could work twice. No, it was Wei Chen who had underestimated Yu Wenzhou. He had thought that simply countering Yu Wenzhou¡¯s n from the previous match was enough. He hadn¡¯t expected Yu Wenzhou to make additional adjustments.
Under the mocking gaze of his friend, Wei Chen felt helpless. He was forced to admit, because of the earlier loss, this time he had been clumsy, and underestimated Yu Wenzhou.
This kid had a huge limitation, but all this time, he had dedicated himself to training and improvement. Wei Chen knew he should give this show of diligence the respect it deserved.
¡°You yed very well. Let¡¯s try one more round, I won¡¯t hold back this time!¡± said Wei Chen.
¡°Okay.¡± Yu Wenzhou¡¯s answer was simple.
Round 3 began. This time, Wei Chen no longer had that flippant attitude of before. He treated Yu Wenzhou as a true opponent, and yed with focus.
Encounter, sh, dodge, retreat...
The two Warlocks began an intricate dance, and Wei Chen took the initiative, maintaining a clear advantage in suppressing Yu Wenzhou. Even so, Yu Wenzhou endured, striving to conserve his health and survive after Wei Chen¡¯s every attack.
As expected, the captain was stronger, the spectators were thinking. But... Yu Wenzhou wasn¡¯t weak either! Even though he was being suppressed, he was still fighting beautifully.
Of all the people watching, it was Fang Shijing¡¯s opinion of him that was changing the most. This face-to-face confrontation truly allowed Yu Wenzhou¡¯s ability to shine through, and Fang Shijing saw this clearly.
His handspeed was still terrible. That had never changed, and so he had never tried to improve that. But his ystyle didn¡¯t rely on his handspeed; instead, he relied upon his grasp of the map¡¯s characteristics, his predictions of the capabilities of Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock, and his own understanding of the Warlock ss as a whole.
Yu Wenzhou was the veryst reserve yer to challenge Wei Chen. In order to try and be fair to everyone, Wei Chen hadn¡¯t changed map or ount between evaluations. And so Yu Wenzhou could analyze them beforehand, and use this knowledge to his advantage.
He didn¡¯t have the handspeed, but he used well the strengths he did have. He had stood by the wayside and waited for his opportunity. Because of all this, he was able tost much longer than Fang Shijing anticipated.
If this hadn¡¯t been the third round between these two, Fang Shijing might have, at this point, quietly encouraged Wei Chen to throw the match, to let this youth feel that his efforts weren¡¯t in vain, to give him some hope and confidence.
But Wei Chen had already lost twice in a row, and he had said, ¡°I won¡¯t hold back this time.¡± If he lost again, would he have any pride left?
Fang Shijing sighed to himself. He couldn¡¯t bear to see his friend lose face to that extent. Still, he hoped that this youth wouldn¡¯t be too frustrated by a defeat, and that he would keep working hard and improving.
Hua!
Onscreen, purple light shed. Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock once again seized a chance to attack ferociously, and this time, his opponent was well and thoroughly cornered. Nowhere to retreat, nowhere to hide.
It¡¯s over, Fang Shijing thought, with another quiet sigh. Yet Yu Wenzhou hadn¡¯t given up. Though trapped and under attack, his Warlock continued to struggle, and he even managed to cast a skill.
What an admirable spirit, keep fighting! Fang Shijing internally cheered for Yu Wenzhou, and then, he checked the skill that his Warlock had cast.
Decaying Curse, which decreased the target¡¯s attack power. Was he trying to buy time?
Seeing Yu Wenzhou¡¯s unyielding hard work, Fang Shijing was tempted to just pull the power on theputer cables, forcibly end the match in a draw. But then, at this moment, Wei Chen¡¯s warlock suddenly stopped. Around him rose the light of a Hexagram Prison.
Trapped!
Locked in ce by the skill, Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock was rendered helpless as Yu Wenzhou began casting. Because his health was dangerously low, he cast several protection spells upon himself as precaution. But his perfect rhythm was the same as before, and his low health didn¡¯t affect his control of the situation.
And under everyone¡¯s shocked eyes, Wei Chen¡¯s Warlock fell for the third time.
What... had happened? Fang Shijing, shocked, mentally reyed those final pivotal moments of battle. He thought of Wei Chen, firmly on the offensive, and then...
Decaying Curse!
It was all because of that Decaying Curse!
That skill had lengthened the battle, but more importantly, had disrupted Wei Chen¡¯s attack rhythm. Wei Chen had maintained this rhythm for almost the entirety of the battle; he had gotten used to it, fallen into a regr pattern. So when his attack power had lowered, he had forgotten topensate. He had reached for a skill, only to find that it was unexpectedly still in cooldown!
That¡¯s right, that¡¯s what happened. Fang Shijing, reviewing the battle, was sure of it. So that was to say, all this time, Yu Wenzhou¡¯s actions in the battle had been intentional. It hadn¡¯t been helpless struggle or baseless hope. He had guided the battle¡¯s progression, had lulled Wei Chen into a stable rhythm and a false sense of security. And then, right when the opponent had been on the verge of winning, he had used a single skill topletely reverse the situation and seize victory for himself.
Diligence, persistence? Those weren¡¯t Yu Wenzhou¡¯s most fearsome qualities. It was his brain, his nning, his calctions. Who would have thought that this youth, who had beenpletely overlooked, was in fact this incredible?
Wei Chen, did you see it?
Fang Shijing looked at his friend, but couldn¡¯t tell if he was pleased or angry. After appearing to space out for a moment, Wei Chen eventually let out a long sigh and stood up, studying Yu Wenzhou intently.
¡°Thank you, Senior, for your guidance,¡± said Yu Wenzhou respectfully as he also rose to his feet.
To defeat Wei Chen three times in a row... Even in the entire Glory professional sphere, the number of yers who could pull that off was very small. Wei Chen¡¯s condition might have been declining, but he was still a god-level yer.
And Yu Wenzhou, a mere reserve yer with a pathetic handspeed, had done it. But he wasn¡¯t excited, let alone arrogant; he was just as calm as he was when facing the mocking shouts of others taunting his slow hands.
Wei Chen nodded. He fished around in his pocket, but in the end only withdrew an empty box of cigarettes. With a face of regret, he tossed it aside.
¡°Continue working hard!¡± he said, not just to Yu Wenzhou, but to everyone gathered.
¡°Yes!¡± the reserve yers answered.
¡°I¡¯m going to buy some cigarettes.¡± With that, Wei Chen turned and left the room, and Fang Shijing hurried into the hallway after him.
Wei Chen heard the rushed footsteps behind him, and without turning his head, he knew that it was Fang Shijing.
¡°It¡¯s time,¡± he said, just as the figure reached his side.
¡°What?¡± said Fang Shijing, startled.
¡°I never imagined that this Yu Wenzhou was also so powerful,¡± said Wei Chen.
¡°No one imagined,¡± Fang Shijing said.
¡°We realized it toote. We didn¡¯t help them the best we could.¡± Them, not him. He was no longer speaking of just Yu Wenzhou.
¡°They have a bright future ahead of them.¡±
¡°For sure. But they still need time, and you¡¯ll have to help them.¡±
¡°Well, of course,¡± Fang Shijing replied automatically. But after those words left his mouth, he seemed to suddenly realize the second meaning behind Wei Chen¡¯s statement.
¡°Wait, what do you mean by that!¡± he immediately demanded.
¡°This dual-core era never belonged to me...¡± Wei Chen sighed and turned his head. In the training room at the end of the long hallway, he could see that Yu Wenzhou had been surrounded by the other trainees, including that talkative Huang Shaotian. They were all jostling for a chance to fight him in a match, to see his unexpected prowess in action once more. To varying extents, all of these trainees had looked down upon Yu Wenzhou during their time at Blue Rain, but he seemed not to resent them for this abrupt change in attitude.
¡°He is the best choice for captain,¡± said Wei Chen. ¡°Swoksaar should go to him as well!¡± He had only just begun to understand Yu Wenzhou through the three matches they had fought, yet those three matches had shown him enough.
¡°But, in the meantime, I¡¯ll still have to count on you,¡± he added.
¡°What do you mean? In the meantime of what? Where are you going?¡± Fang Shijing was rmed.
¡°Me? I¡¯m going to buy some cigarettes! What, do you want toe with? It¡¯s not like you smoke.¡± With a casual wave and hardly a nce back, he headed down the stairwell.
Fang Shijing didn¡¯t follow Wei Chen, just watched his retreating back. He knew that Wei Chen was making a difficult decision, and didn¡¯t want to be bothered during this time. He, Fang Shijing thought sadly, was always the type of person to bear his struggles alone, rather than share them with others.
Fang Shijing looked back at the end of the hallway, at the training room, at the two youths in the midst of a crowd.
This was what Wei Chen had entrusted to him. Blue Rain¡¯s future, Blue Rain¡¯s dual-core.
The Sword, and the Curse.
Chapter 14 - Showdown (1)
Chapter 14: Showdown (1)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
¡°yoffs, here wee!¡±
With the match that had just ended, the stadium was alive with cheers.
After this round of matches finished, the regr matches of Glory Professional Alliance Season 2 were officially at an end, and the team rankings for this year were set. Six teams had already secured their spots before this round, while numbers 7 and 8 had only just ughtered their way into thesest two yoff spots, earning the right topete for the ultimate championship. The cheers now came from the fans of these two teams, while the members of these two teams each gathered into a group hug onstage.
At this time, Team Tyranny¡¯s Captain Han Wenqing also stood, and let out a long breath.
We won.
He turned to look at his gleefully celebrating teammates. But when these grinning teammates saw their captain looking toward them, they all suddenly froze, as though in a snapshot. And then they all became more subdued, their cheering no longer as raucous as before.
Han Wenqing, whether in the eyes of his opponents or his teammates, was an intimidating person in both appearance and spirit. With his one nce, the members of Tyranny stopped baring their teeth and brandishing their ws like they were earlier. They high-fived and shook hands, politely congratting each other, and then they clustered around Han Wenqing.
¡°Captain, we won,¡± someone said.
¡°Yes, we won,¡± Han Wenqing nodded. ¡°However, this is only the start.¡± As he spoke, he turned to look somewhere onstage.
¡°Yes yes yes.¡± The members all nodded their heads. Without looking, they knew at whom their captain was staring.
Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu of Team Excellent Era.
Duringst season¡¯s yoffs, Tyranny was eliminated after losing to Excellent Era. But the story of their captain Han Wenqing and Ye Qiu began even before then, stretching all the way back to not long after Glory hadunched and everyone was still at level 30, or so it was told. In the Glory Arena, there were two characters with a perfect win rate. And now, anyone who knew even just a little about Glory would know these two characters.
The Battle Mage with the title of Battle God, ¡°One Autumn Leaf¡±¨C Excellent Era¡¯s Captain Ye Qiu.
The Striker with the title of King of Fighting, ¡°Desert Dust¡±¨C their own Captain Han Wenqing.
But the Battle God had thoroughly sealed his title as a god in Season 1, knocking over powerful opponents in the yoffs and ultimately achieving the championship. Meanwhile, Desert Dust fell on the Battle God¡¯s path to godhood, seemingly unworthy of the title King of Fighting. Some fans would joke that he was the king of fighting, of hand-to-handbat, so when he met someone who didn¡¯t use fists, he was not their king. In the end, the title of Battle God was more sweeping, with no rivals beneath the sun.
Han Wenqing didn¡¯t care about jokes like that. But this opponent, Ye Qiu ¨C everyone in Tyranny knew that their captain cared very much about him.
Their yoff journeyst season had been terminated by Ye Qiu and the Excellent Era he led. Desert Dust¡¯s old perfect-win record in the early days of the Glory game had also been broken by One Autumn Leaf.
After that, in-game or in offline Glory matches, the two of them had faced off against each other in countless battles.
All the way until the Glory Alliance was formed. In thispletely professionalpetitive Glory setting, this pair of old foes met once again. But onstage, everyone could only see Han Wenqing. Ye Qiu, strangely, never revealed his face, and refused all photos. These yers generally could only see him in abrupt and coincidental meetings in some random ces before or after matches. No one knew why Ye Qiu insisted on doing this. In the eyes of Tyranny, who held a very hostile attitude toward him, his purposefully mysterious position was particrly disgusting.
At this moment, for example, as Han Wenqing stared toward Excellent Era, everyone knew that Ye Qiu wouldn¡¯t appear over there. Everyone could only imagine his presence.
But Han Wenqing still stubbornly stared for a long while before finally turning his head.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said.
Tyranny¡¯s yers followed behind him, waving their hands to acknowledge the crowd as they exited the stadium floor. But as soon as they entered the yer passageway, they caught the scent of cigarette smoke drifting toward them.
¡°Ye Qiu!¡± Han Wenqing, without even seeing the person, was already shouting. At this time, most yers were still onstage! No one aside from Ye Qiu would run down here and smoke in the passageway like this.
¡°Hm?¡± Up ahead, someone answered, and everyone walked closer to look. Wasn¡¯t this Ye Qiu?
¡°Congrattions on entering the yoffs,¡± Ye Qiu said. But this wasing from someone who had secured a yoff spot a full three rounds earlier, and was first ce on the points leaderboard at the end of the regr season. No matter how you listened, this sentence seemed to contain a trace of mockery.
But no one said anything. Everyone on Team Tyranny looked toward their captain. Sometimes they thought, if they didn¡¯t y Glory and instead went to a real-life PK, their captain could probably kill Ye Qiu in three blows.
¡°See you in the finals,¡± Han Wenqing said calmly.
Tyrannical!
Tyranny¡¯s members were excited. They were in seventh ce at the end of the season, so they were in a separate half of the yoff bracket from first ce Excellent Era. If they met, it would be in the finals. And before then, both teams would have to defeat two opponents. Han Wenqing nowpletely disregarded those two teams, directly arranging a meeting with Ye Qiu at the finals. For a team that had only just secured seventh ce after this round, this kind of tone was a bit arrogant. But Tyranny¡¯s members didn¡¯t feel this way, because this was their captain. After he said this sentence, everyone felt that they were already standing on the finals stage, prepared to smash this despicable guy in front of them.
¡°So brash! That¡¯s not too good, is it?¡± the despicable guy said,ughing.
¡°See you then,¡± Han Wenqing answered with certainty, and then he walked right past Ye Qiu, the rest of the team following closely.
¡°Your first opponent is quite strong,¡± Ye Qiu said behind him.
Han Wenqing paused in his footsteps. Tyranny was seventh, so their first opponent was the second ce team.
Hundred Blossoms, the highlight of this season, the ck horse that had drawn the most attention. Even though they had ultimately been surpassed by Excellent Era, there were still many people who held high hopes for that beautiful rookie duo to earn the championship. As for Tyranny, who had only just secured a spot at seventh, far fewer people held high hopes for them. If news got out that Han Wenqing had directly disregarded two rounds of opponents to challenge Ye Qiu at the finals, there would certainly be many people using him of not knowing his own strength.
But that didn¡¯t change Han Wenqing¡¯s attitude.
¡°Just another team that lost to you,¡± Han Wenqing said, already beginning to walk away again.
¡°Hey hey, but they beat you!¡± Ye Qiu called. The regr season was a rotation, so every team fought every other team. Naturally, Tyranny had fought against Hundred Blossoms in the regr season early on, but they had fallen behind in points.
¡°I¡¯ve beaten you before, too,¡± Han Wenqing said, without turning his head. The implication was, naturally, that one or two victories didn¡¯t say much.
¡°In-game counts too?¡± said Ye Qiu.
¡°Of course,¡± said Han Wenqing. Whether in-game or on the professional stage, his determination to win never changed. As long as it was a battle, he would fight with everything he had. After saying this, Han Wenqing and the rest of Tyranny had already walked far away, and their silhouettes quickly vanished in the long yer passageway.
Ye Qiu stood there alone, as though in deep thought. He even forgot about the cigarette dangling between his fingertips.
If in-game counts too, then Excellent Era would be far stronger than it is now! Because we would have that guy... he thought silently.
yoffs.
After a few days of rest, the Glory Season 2 yoffs officially began. The four matches of the first round of yoffs would ur simultaneously. Because the yoffs were elimination-style, the matches were more exciting and intense, and they received more attention than the regr season matches. For the first round of the yoff matches, the doors opened two hours beforehand, and the seats were rapidly filled.
No one felt the long wait was tedious. Fans of the various teams along with fans of the various yers were already having contests with each other outside the stadium. The scene as a whole was lively to the breaking point.
¡°Ye Qiu is nothing! Kill him!¡± From Blue Rain¡¯s fan section, a youth started yelling with no regard for anything else. But even his fellow fans were embarrassed to agree with this bold shout. They could only express their admiration for this youth¡¯s bravery and his love of Blue Rain. As for the Excellent Era fans, never mind whether or not they could hear this youth¡¯s lonely yell, but even if they could, it would only provoke mockingughter.
Blue Rain had made a strong showingst season, and had been a powerful opponent in everyone¡¯s eyes. But this season, Blue Rain¡¯s performance had decreased drastically. They¡¯d only made it into eighth ce with thest round of the regr season, just barely jumping onto thete bus for the yoffs. Over the course of the entire regr season, anyone could tell that Blue Rain¡¯s strength was slipping. Their core yer, team captain Wei Chen, could not replicate the strength he¡¯d shown in Season 1. His condition had been plummeting, bringing Blue Rain¡¯s scores along with it, and they¡¯d almost failed to make it into the yoffs entirely.
Everyone knew the reason. This was a type of inevitable decline. Everyone felt pity for Blue Rain, and naturally they didn¡¯t have much faith in their strength.
And now, in the first round of the yoffs, they met Excellent Era. Even though Hundred Blossoms had been more eye-catching this season, the number one of the regr season was still Excellent Era. For everyone that had made it into the yoffs, the team to defeat was Excellent Era. When Blue Rain became Excellent Era¡¯s first-round opponent, in that moment, no one had any expectations for Blue Rain. Even Blue Rain¡¯s own fans treated the hope they held in their hearts as a miracle.
Excellent Era was truly too strong...
To no one¡¯s surprise, Blue Rain lost.
¡°This is only the first game! There are still two more!¡± The youth shouted in the stands, but not too many people could hear. The yoffs were best two of three games, so Blue Rain still had a chance of making aeback. But after seeing their performance in the first game, people truly had no more hope toward Blue Rain. The aged Swoksaar had no way of stopping the Battle God at his peak.
As for the other first games of the first round, one result that surprised the viewers was that Hundred Blossoms lost their first game to Tyranny.
As this was the first game, somementators said things like:
The rhythm of the yoffs is different from the regr season, they still need to grow ustomed to it.
This loss can let them realize early on the difference of the yoffs and figure out the adjustments they need to make. Better to lose now than lose in the finals.
They¡¯re smart yers, they¡¯ll figure it out for sure.
From all of thesements, it could be seen that Hundred Blossoms fans were still rxed even after this loss. As they analyzed the reasons why Hundred Blossoms might have lost, their belief in the team¡¯s subsequent victories were certain.
No one paid too much attention to this setback, and no one pointed out Tyranny¡¯s strength.
Becausest season Tyranny had been eliminated in the first round of yoffs. Because this season Tyranny was only at seventh ce.
They seemed to be a cannon fodder team that always vacationed in the yoffs for one round. But no one seemed to notice that even if Tyranny had been cannon fodder inst season¡¯s yoffs, they had been cannon fodder to the championship team Excellent Era. If not for Excellent Era, what position would Tyranny have obtained? No one had thought about this possibility.
Three dayster, the second game of the first round of yoffs began. Which teams would advance to the next round of yoffs after today? Everyone eagerly awaited the results. This game would determine the fates of several teams. In the prep rooms of each team, the atmosphere was much more serious and tense than it had been the previous game.
¡°Everyone rx. As long as we perform at our skill level, we can defeat our opponents for sure.¡± In Hundred Blossoms¡¯ prep room, Captain Sun Zheping said this to his teammates.
Last game, Hundred Blossoms had indeed experienced some problems. Because of the elimination nature of yoffs, they had been too worried about the oue during the match. They couldn¡¯t rx properly, and ultimately fell to Tyranny. And now, facing the pressure of the knowledge that if they lost this game they would be directly eliminated, the situation that Hundred Blossoms faced was much more dire. But after these three days of adjustment, the team members¡¯ mental conditions had stabilized.
¡°Just treat this like a normal match.¡± These were the mostmon words said amongst the team members these past three days, and finally, the nervous attitude gradually dissipated. And now, as they were about to go onstage, Sun Zheping reminded everyone onest time.
¡°Understood!¡± Everyone nodded.
¡°Treat this like normal.¡± Another person repeated this phrase that had been emphasized these three days.
And then, head out!
When they walked out of the prep room, their opponent happened to be heading out at the same time. From the prep room across the hall, Tyranny¡¯s Captain Han Wenqing led his team walking out.
¡°Hello, Captain Han,¡± Sun Zheping greeted him. Everyone had met each other during the regr season. Some people said that his battle style was somewhat simr to that of Han Wenqing, and Sun Zheping himself couldn¡¯t deny thispletely. Indeed, Sun Zheping had known for a while now that his preferred style had some points of simrity with the courageous and ferocious strength demonstrated by Han Wenqing. Han Wenqing was also a senior to which Sun Zheping had paid attention from the very start.
¡°Hello.¡± Han Wenqing nodded toward him and epted the right hand that Sun Zheping extended. They shook.
¡°Today, we¡¯ll be the ones to win,¡± Sun Zheping said as he shook his hand.
Han Wenqing smiled.
¡°It¡¯s still too early for you,¡± he said, releasing Sun Zheping. He turned to lead his teammates onstage.
¡°See you onstage.¡± Without turning around, he waved toward Sun Zheping and the rest of Hundred Blossoms.
¡°Let¡¯s go, don¡¯t lose to them!¡± Sun Zheping said to the teammates behind him.
¡°Yes!¡± everyone answered.
Zhang Jiale went further, raising his right hand and pointing a finger gun toward Tyranny.
¡°Bang!¡± He mimed firing a shot, earningughter from his teammates.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He blew imaginary smoke from the gun and pretended to holster it.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The team immediately gave an answering shout, and they headed out to the stage.
Chapter 15 - Showdown (2)
Chapter 15: Showdown (2)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Hundred Blossoms versus Tyranny, this was the match that received the most attention this round. Everyone who looked favorably upon Hundred Blossoms wondered how they would make theireback.
But the fans of the various teams would of course pay attention to their own team¡¯s match, first and foremost.
Compared to the first game, Blue Rain¡¯s audience section was much less crowded today.
¡°Beat Ye Qiu!¡± But in the audience area, there was still a youth hollering with all his might.
The audienceughed, giving sympathetic nces toward this youth.
Most of those who had watched the first game live recognized this youth. Apparently he was called Huang Shaotian, a member of Blue Rain¡¯s training camp, the self-proimed future core of Blue Rain.
They were just the words of a child, so everyone simplyughed. Huang Shaotian¡¯s passionate and unwavering support toward Team Blue Rain meant that they had no way of hating this youth. The other youth with him seemed much quieter; he wasn¡¯t jumping around or shouting. He carried a leather notebook with him, and would frequently write in it over the course of a match.
Apparently he was also from Blue Rain¡¯s training camp, called Yu Wenzhou or something. And he paid closer attention to the match than anyone. asionally, a fellow audience member wanted to say something to him, but it was as though his ears were deaf. He was entirely immersed in the match, and so, no one else bothered him.
Today, Huang Shaotian still cheered on Blue Rain with boundless energy. And Yu Wenzhou¡¯s mood seemed to be much more serious than it had beenst game. He was probably thinking about the possibility that Blue Rain would be eliminated, thought the fans, and they couldn¡¯t help but feel pity for this Yu Wenzhou with his grave expression.
¡°They¡¯ll win.¡± One young woman sitting next to Yu Wenzhou said this to him, hoping to lift the upset expression from this child¡¯s face.
Yu Wenzhou nced at her, and didn¡¯t say anything.
¡°Although it¡¯ll be very difficult...¡± the woman added. He was only a child, but that didn¡¯t mean that his Glory skill was low, especially since someone had already said he was from Blue Rain¡¯s training camp. The child was certainly aware of the difficulty, so the woman voluntarily pointed it out.
¡°Yes... It¡¯ll be very difficult,¡± said Yu Wenzhou. Of course, the woman didn¡¯t know, Yu Wenzhou¡¯s judgment was far clearer than she imagined.
If they wanted to win this match, it would be very difficult, extremely difficult.
There was only one possibility.
The opponent had to make a mistake, a grave mistake, a fatal mistake.
Aside from that, Yu Wenzhou truly could not think of any other way they could win. There was already such a disparity between Ye Qiu¡¯s strength and Blue Rain. Unless he himself made a mistake, there was no way for Blue Rain to create any sort of opportunity.
Would Ye Qiu mess up?
Yu Wenzhou studied all of the match data he could find on Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu was human, and no human was infallible. But Ye Qiu could discover his own mistakes a step ahead of his opponent. Before his opponent could take advantage of an opening caused by a blunder, he would have already rushed to cover it. Many times, the opponent didn¡¯t even have the chance to see Ye Qiu¡¯s opening in the first ce.
To do this to this extent, he could be called invulnerable. Yu Wenzhou tried to imagine how to lead Ye Qiu to make a mistake, but he quickly discarded that train of thought.
All-around technique. Superb awareness. Thorough experience. Nimble reactions. Shocking hand speed.
The more Yu Wenzhou studied Ye Qiu, the more frightening this yer seemed. Yu Wenzhou never could have imagined that a yer like Ye Qiu could exist, a being so perfect, who would never expose any holes.
To hope for such a person to make a mistake...
Yu Wenzhou figured that only poison or such outside techniques would work. Of course, he couldn¡¯t do that.
And so, Ye Qiu was unstoppable.
And so, Blue Rain would lose.
Yu Wenzhou had already predicted the oue of this match in advance. Carrying this mood, he watched from the audience. And ultimately, the end result was as expected.
Blue Rain lost, miserably. Like sweeping away dead branches, Ye Qiu and Excellent Era defeated them. Of the four concurrent yoffs matches, this one had ended the fastest.
Excellent Era was the first team to enter the semifinals, but their celebrations and those of their fans were rather calm. A victory that was within their expectations wouldn¡¯t make them particrly excited.
Blue Rain¡¯s fans, although saddened, didn¡¯t find this difficult to digest. This, too, was an oue they had long anticipated.
But that lively youth still refused to give it a rest. ¡°Useless old bastard!¡± he was yelling. ¡°Couldn¡¯t even beat Ye Qiu, what the hell are you doing?¡±
What an obnoxious brat.
The fans within earshot suddenly found him less cute than before. True, Blue Rain had lost miserably, but the team members had fought to their fullest. Especially Captain Wei Chen, who, despite his worsening condition, had brought out his full strength in this battle. His performance this match demonstrated a brilliance that was rare to see from him these days.
Blue Rain had put in the effort, the opponent was simply too strong!
At a time like this, ming the hardworking yers like this, it was frankly disrespectful.
¡°Kid, don¡¯t go talking nonsense,¡± someone pointed out, none too politely.
¡°Captain Wei Chen¡¯s performance was already very good.¡±
¡°It¡¯s thanks to his leadership that no one underestimates Blue Rain. Excellent Era had to struggle to defeat him today.¡±
¡°There¡¯s always next season!¡±
Everyone spoke up.
Huang Shaotian didn¡¯t say any more. At his silence, everyone felt the urge tofort him. But no one had truly grasped the essence of why this youth was so upset.
Like everyone, he knew that Ye Qiu and Excellent Era were strong, he knew that the task that Wei Chen and the others had before them was an impossible one. Still, he couldn¡¯t control his desire to see them seed.
Because he knew, this, might be Wei Chen¡¯s final time onstage.
Blue Rain would have a next season, but Wei Chen would not. Even though it had never been explicitly said, many people in the team had already guessed, and Senior Fang Shijing had identally revealed news of Wei Chen¡¯s preparations for retirement.
Wei Chen would have no more shot at victory, and so this time, Huang Shaotian had hoped beyond hope that Blue Rain would win. But in the end, they had been met with this crushing defeat in the first round.
Blue Rain¡¯s yers walked out of thepetitor booths and acknowledged the crowd. Their Season 2 ended here.
Captain Wei Chen was among them, but he had inadvertently widened the gap between himself and the rest of the team.
He stood there alone, looking around, as though searching for something lost.
And then, as he stood onstage, he lit a cigarette, taking a drag. Immediately, he was surrounded by security guards, and upon refusing to extinguish the cigarette, he was respectfully but firmly escorted off the stage. Surrounded by the guards, he raised a hand and waved at Blue Rain¡¯s audience section
The audience burst intoughter, but the tears were already spilling down Huang Shaotian¡¯s cheeks.
Yu Wenzhou watched as Wei Chen¡¯s silhouette disappeared into the yer passageway. He was lost in thought for a moment, before he refocused on the ongoing matches below.
There were still three more matches that hadn¡¯t yet finished. The match that had attracted the most attention was currently at its fiercest.
Hundred Blossoms versus Tyranny. If they won, they still had one more game, one more chance at life; if they lost, their season ended here.
Starting from the first game, everyone had favored Hundred Blossoms. Even though they had lost the first game, people ced even higher hopes on them for the second game.
But in the end, Hundred Blossoms once again entered a bitter battle.
The match had already reached the teampetition. In the individual round and group arena earlier, both sides had won some points. The teampetition would determine the final victory. And after an unusually long stalemate in this tug-of-war, Hundred Blossoms¡¯ supporters finally let out a sigh of relief.
Just about to win, right?
This is what they were all thinking.
Who knew that Tyranny would be so difficult?
There were also people beginning to think highly of Tyranny.
What¡¯ll next round be like? It¡¯s really hard to say!
Some people were also beginning to think that Hundred Blossoms wasn¡¯t guaranteed to win against Tyranny.
But the battle had not yet truly ended.
Too many people chose to forget this point, simply because the situation on the battlefield seemed to be very clear.
Therge majority of characters had already fallen. From Tyranny, the only one let was their captain Han Wenqing¡¯s Desert Dust. And Hundred Blossoms, both halves of the dual-core Blood and Blossoms were still there. This was a partnership that embodied the idea of one plus one greater than two. And Han Wenqing was by himself. Was there any question of Hundred Blossoms¡¯ victory?
No one thought it was still in question, including the onstage Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale. Having yed to here, the two of them let out a breath.
¡°Senior, you have let us win,¡± Sun Zheping said in the match channel, very seriously. These were the polite words that were customarily said by the winners of a match. All this time, the person he had paid attention to most was Ye Qiu. Although Sun Zheping recognized the strength of Han Wenqing, whose style was very simr to his own, he had still overlooked him just a bit. At least, he had never put him at the same level as Ye Qiu.
But with this match, after the victory was decided, he ced Han Wenqing at the same height as Ye Qiu.
¡°Defeating you is just as difficult as defeating Ye Qiu,¡± Sun Zheping continued in the chat. This was truly very high praise. The audience, seeing Sun Zheping acknowledge Han Wenqing to this extent, went into an uproar. No one thought that Han Wenqing was as strong as Ye Qiu ¨C everyone felt that Sun Zheping¡¯s words here were the polite words of a victor.
But Han Wenqing¡¯s reply quickly popped up.
¡°Have I lost?¡± he asked.
Everyone was surprised for a moment, and then they couldn¡¯t help butugh.
Technically, Han Wenqing of course hadn¡¯t lost yet, but the battle was already to this point, what chance did he have at victory? Squatting here and nitpicking the opponent¡¯s words like this, this stubbornness was really ungraceful! At this time, was it that difficult to type a ¡°GG¡± and quit?
Just from demeanor, he wasn¡¯t first-ss enough! This was what many people thought. But Han Wenqing¡¯s Desert Dust suddenly charged from a corner, flying forward, throwing a punch toward Sun Zheping¡¯s Blossoming Chaos.
Sun Zheping was currently reviewing his own actions! He felt that his words just now had indeed been a bit disrespectful toward his opponent. Even if the situation was as clear as it was now, the battle hadn¡¯t ended yet! And then, in the blink of an eye, Desert Dust had already rushed toward him. His body flying through the air cast a shadow in his view, and Desert Dust sent a Copsing Fist roaring toward Blossoming Chaos¡¯ head.
Retreat!
Han Wenqing¡¯s sudden, powerful attack had caught Sun Zheping off-guard, but he was still able to respond. Blossoming Chaos took a small jump backward, lifting his greatsword in his two hands.
Wave Wheel sher!
A low-level Spellde skill, very useful in surpassing the grab priority of Super Armor. Because of this, no Swordsman yer would give up this skill, even if they only learned it to Level 1.
The midair Desert Dust had nowhere to run, and could only watch the magic enchantment that sparked around the sword thrusting toward him. At the same time, there was the sound of gunshots and hand grenades flew out. Zhang Jiale¡¯s reaction was no slower than Sun Zheping¡¯s; Dazzling Hundred Blossoms¡¯ attack had already begun.
Desert Dust, unwilling to yield, was exposed to the sword edge and gun muzzle of Hundred Blossoms¡¯ dual-stars. Those in the audience who had felt that Han Wenqing had lost the proper demeanor now felt a bit lost, as Desert Dust¡¯s posture was still as unyielding as ever. Refusing to give in until the final moment ¨C this was Han Wenqing¡¯s style.
The sword shed.
Shockwaves spun and expanded in the air. The grenades that Dazzling Hundred Blossoms threw had already connecting, causing explosions everywhere.
But at this moment, Desert Dust¡¯s body suddenly plummeted.
How?
Sun Zheping was shocked. He had clearly already been hit by Blossoming Chaos¡¯ Wave Wheel sher, but the grab hadn¡¯t beenpleted?
There was only one possibility.
Boom!
Desert Dust hit the ground, and the entire earth seemed to shake. Sun Zheping could feel that his Blossoming Chaos had bounced up slightly, a movement out of his control.
Thousand Ton Drop!
Thousand Ton Drop, a skill that could defeat the grab priority of any other skill, a skill with a powerful Super Armor effect. As the attack hade toward him without any dy, Desert Dust had changed his punch into this skill.
Sun Zheping had been able to react to Desert Dust¡¯s sudden powerful attack earlier, but this abrupt change now left him helpless.
The opponent had nned for this early on. Attacking through the sky wasn¡¯t just to seem more solemn and tragic, but was to lure Sun Zheping into using Wave Wheel sher.
Blossoming Chaos¡¯ weapon was the greatsword, with the slowest attack speed. The recovery animation for Wave Wheel sher would also be rtively long.
Just because of that one bit of slowness, Sun Zheping had no way of keeping up with Han Wenqing¡¯s attack rhythm.
The Thousand Ton Drop sent Blossoming Chaos just barely off the ground, but Desert Dust¡¯s fists were already swinging.
Straight Punch.
Desert Dust¡¯s fists charged toward Blossoming Chaos, bringing himself rushing forward as well, still maintaining a close range with Blossoming Chaos. After instantly sliding through three body-lengths, a Front Kick was used.
On the other side, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms wasn¡¯t just standing around doing nothing, but Desert Dust was moving so fast that the string of grenades thrown out allnded behind him. And because he was now in such close range with Blossoming Chaos right now, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms couldn¡¯t find the target with his muzzle. Zhang Jiale was currently controlling Dazzling Hundred Blossoms to find an angle, but Blossoming Chaos, kicked back by the Front Kick, now came crashing into Dazzling Hundred Blossoms.
Zhang Jiale immediately controlled Dazzling Hundred Blossoms to dodge, but a silhouette shed in his view as Han Wenqing¡¯s Desert Dust had already activated Cloud Body. Like a shadow, he continued to stay close to Blossoming Chaos. But this time, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms, who had only just dodged his teammate, had now entered Desert Dust¡¯s close range.
Double Tiger Fist!
Desert Dust¡¯s two fists flipped upward, one left one right, hitting both Blossoming Chaos and Dazzling Hundred Blossoms at once.
The entire stadium was stunned, watching as Desert Dust¡¯s hurricane-like flurry of punches and kicksnded upon the bodies of this Blossom Duo.
How to y one against two?
Han Wenqing gave a simple answer: string the two opponents together, and attack them both.
The health of the two characters plummeted.
Relying on the kicks and punches of a Striker to stick to two opponents at once couldn¡¯tst long. Soon enough, because of a cooldown that hadn¡¯t ended, the attacker would be stuck in a position where he couldn¡¯t continue.
But this was the endgame. No one had much health remaining. This couldn¡¯tst for long, but it was enough, especially since Han Wenqing was very deliberately aiming his attacks for maximum damage.
After thebo finished, Blossoming Chaos stood in ce unmoving. Under everyone¡¯s incredulous gazes, his health reached zero, and he slowly toppled over onto the ground. Desert Dust¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t stop, immediately heading toward Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. Attacking one person, he used a different pattern.
A Gunner stuck close-range to a Striker, what would the result be?
This conclusion seemed as foregone as the earlier tragic situation, but right now, no one had the time to digest this result ¨C everyone still hadn¡¯t woken up from the earlier ¡°foregone¡± conclusion beingpletely shattered.
Hundred Blossoms¡¯ dual core against Han Wenqing alone. They were going to lose?
By the time everyone began to realize this point, the result was already disyed before them, undeniably clear.
Dazzling Hundred Blossoms fell. Desert Dust became thest man standing.
The victor was Han Wenqing.
The team entering the next round was Team Tyranny.
Chapter 16 - Showdown (3)
Chapter 16: Showdown (3)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
This was thest match to end in this stadium. This result was so shocking that for several long moments, there was no sound from a single person. There was only the announcement echoing around the stadium, dering the winner of this round, congratting the team that was advancing to the next round.
At this time, the yers from the two teams walked out of thepetitor booths. Tyranny¡¯s yers were beyond excited, charging like crazy toward their captain. But at thest moment, upon meeting Han Wenqing¡¯s gaze, everyone suddenly stopped in their tracks and calmly high-fived, shook hands, and congratted each other on their victory. Han Wenqing smiled but didn¡¯t say anything, and then he looked toward the other side, toward the two opponents he had just defeated.
We lost?
When Sun Zheping walked out of thepetitor booth, he was still in disbelief. He twisted around and saw that Zhang Jiale was still sitting in hispetitor booth in a daze, and the others of Hundred Blossoms were all dejected and crestfallen.
Above them, the massive disy screen was reying the thrilling moments in which Han Wenqing instantly killed the two of them. Sun Zheping lifted his head to look, absently watching it over and over again, just like how before he¡¯d entered the professional circle, he¡¯d watched over and over the thrilling moments in which Ye Qiu obtained victory. He didn¡¯t even notice when Zhang Jiale came to stand beside him.
¡°Fuck.¡± After watching a full four times, Sun Zheping suddenly let out an angry swear.
The disy didn¡¯t just rey the battle. The earlier chat logs were also shing on the screen.
¡°Senior, you have let us win.¡±
¡°Defeating you is just as difficult as defeating Ye Qiu.¡±
He thought they¡¯d won, he thought that his praise of Han Wenqing was very sincere, but now, these messages seemed like ps to his face, one on the left, one on the right.
Compared to the dejection he felt from losing, Sun Zheping felt more ashamed.
¡°This was my fault,¡± he said to the teammates standing beside him. ¡°I owe everyone a victory.¡± He lowered his head; he couldn¡¯t bear to look any of them in the eye.
¡°Uh...¡± The teammates exchanged nces, hesitant.
¡°What¡¯s with this...¡± Someone finally opened his mouth. ¡°Captain, don¡¯t be like this, we¡¯re all new here. If you¡¯re like this, we don¡¯t know what we should do.¡±
¡°Right right right right,¡± everyone else chimed in.
Sun Zheping raised his head, looking at everyone.
¡°It¡¯s just a lesson learned!¡± Zhang Jiale said.
¡°Don¡¯t act like this has nothing to do with you,¡± Sun Zheping narrowed his eyes at him. ¡°You had a part in that just now too.¡±
Zhang Jiale started coughing.
¡°Then, next year we¡¯lle again,¡± Sun Zheping said, looking at everyone.
¡°Next year again,¡± everyone nodded emphatically. Sun Zheping looked toward the other end of the stage, where Tyranny¡¯s Captain Han Wenqing was also looking back at them. When he met Sun Zheping¡¯s gaze, he nodded slightly, and then led Tyranny offstage amidst the cheers of the crowd. For the Tyranny supporters, the final moments of this match were simply too enjoyable, too worth the return fare.
With that, the first round of the yoffs ended. All of the teams that were advancing to the second round had used just two matches to cleanly defeat their respective opponents.
Next round¡¯s opponent...
Han Wenqing stood in front of the electronic disy in the lobby, studying the updated bracket schedule.
¡°Wind Howl?¡± A voice sounded from behind him. Han Wenqing turned his head to see Ye Qiu smoking a cigarette as he stood behind him, also looking at the electronic disy.
The Wind Howl that Ye Qiu mentioned was Tyranny¡¯s opponent in the next round. Excellent Era¡¯s next opponent... Han Wenqing¡¯s gaze swept to the other half of the screen. The team that would bepeting with Excellent Era for a spot in the finals was...
¡°Tiny Herb,¡± Han Wenqing said.
¡°Mm,¡± Ye Qiu nodded. ¡°They have a pretty good healer rookie. Speaking of which, I feel like you¡¯recking exactly that kind of high-level healer by your side, someone who can controlrge situations. Want to recruit him to your Tyranny?¡±
¡°Still too green,¡± Han Wenqing said. He of course knew to whom Ye Qiu was referring, Tiny Herb¡¯s rookie Fang Shiqian, an extremelypetent healer. This season, a lot of teams had already made offers for him, and even Tyranny¡¯s boss hade to ask Han Wenqing¡¯s opinion, but he was undecided. He recognized Fang Shiqian¡¯s talent, but for now, he felt that Fang Shiqian still wasn¡¯t mature enough. Especially since he liked to switch between Cleric and Pdin, the two healer sses, as part of his strategy. Han Wenqing felt that these changes were a bit excessive. This wasn¡¯t the healer style that he felt best fit Tyranny.
¡°Hey, don¡¯t look down on the rookie! Being able to switch between two healer sses, what suspense!¡± Ye Qiu said.
¡°Then don¡¯t lose to him,¡± Han Wenqing said, turning and preparing to leave.
¡°I¡¯m scared you¡¯ll lose to that Brawler,¡± Ye Qiu said. Tyranny¡¯s uing opponent Wind Howl also had a skilled rookie, Lin Jingyan, a Brawler yer.
¡°See you in the finals.¡± Han Wenqing waved his hand and left.
Three dayster, the first matches of the semifinals began. This time, four teams were catching and killing each other, chasing victory. Before the match, people were already making one-sided predictions. This time, finally, there were no surprises. Although Tiny Herb and Wind Howl had skilled rookies, they still couldn¡¯t defeat the shrewd sturdiness of Excellent Era¡¯s Ye Qiu and Tyranny¡¯s Han Wenqing. After two matches, the two teams were cleanly eliminated. To everyone, this result seemed like a matter of course, as though these two teams were destined to lose.
Hu...
When Fang Shiqian walked out of thepetitor booth, he let out a long breath, revealing a very clear fatigue.
Excellent Era... was really too strong.
Fang Shiqian massaged his somewhat numb hands and sighed, helpless. He had already fought to his fullest, but still couldn¡¯t block Excellent Era¡¯s victory. He didn¡¯t me anyone in particr, he simply felt very deeply the significant difference that remained between their Tiny Herb and Excellent Era.
¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Shiqian.¡± Tiny Herb¡¯s Captain Lin Jie came in front of him now. Even though he was speaking to a rookie, his words were actually quite polite.
¡°Captain and everyone all worked hard,¡± Fang Shiqian immediately responded.
¡°But even if we worked hard, so what?¡± Lin Jie smiled sadly. There was a reason, of course, why he was so polite to a rookie, and it was that Fang Shiqian, even as a rookie, had already surpassed them in skill.
Their battle hadsted this long thanks to Fang Shiqian¡¯s furious support from behind. But in the end, they still hadn¡¯t managed to aplish much. The seniors felt that they had been the burden on the juniors, which made them feel ashamed to face this rookie.
¡°Don¡¯t say that...¡± Fang Shiqian said a bit nervously, using the respectful form of address. He couldn¡¯t ignore the implication that the seniors¡¯ strength wasn¡¯t enough. Their self-me made Fang Shiqian extremely ufortable and upset, and he didn¡¯t know what he should to let them stop undervaluing themselves.
¡°Don¡¯t worry! Next season will definitely be different,¡± Lin Jie said, looking back toward the stands. Over there were Tiny Herb¡¯s supporters, and Tiny Herb¡¯s future ¨C about this, he was confident.
¡°You¡¯re talking about...?¡±
¡°You know,¡± Lin Jie smiled. ¡°He already has this strength.¡±
¡°But right now, we don¡¯t have a position on the team, do we?¡± Fang Shiqian said tentatively. There were only so many yers who could go onstage. If a new yer joined, then an old yer had to be let go. The seniors were all such good people, Fang Shiqian couldn¡¯t bear to see any of them reced.
¡°Position should go to those who are capable,¡± Lin Jie said. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t have the strength to hold that position!¡± As he spoke, his gaze again moved,nding upon the Excellent Era and Tyranny yers celebrating their victories. And the strongest among them had already left the stage by this time. Thinking about that person¡¯s strength, Lin Jie could only smile wryly. He could never be that strong himself, not even in his dreams.
¡°Captain, you!¡± Fang Shiqian stared at their captain in shock. The captain was going to give up his position himself? Give his own position and character to that guy? He admitted that that guy was very strong, and he didn¡¯t have much of an opinion toward him personally, but...
¡°Captain, we can¡¯t be without you!¡± Fang Shiqian shouted.
¡°What,¡± Lin Jieughed, ¡°the weakest person in the team is me, isn¡¯t it? Such a good character in my hands is only gathering dust! I, more than anyone else, hope to see it shine.¡±
¡°You could do it too!¡± Fang Shiqian said in a rush.
¡°Silly.¡± Lin Jie shook his head, and his eyes again returned to the stands of the stadium.
¡°The future is up to you all now,¡± he said.
¡°Captain...¡± Fang Shiqian looked at him, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say any more.
Chapter 17 - Showdown (4)
Chapter 17: Showdown (4)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Another three days passed. Atst, this season¡¯s finals had arrived.
The battle that everyone had anticipated, the ck horse Hundred Blossoms challenging the kings, hadn¡¯te to pass. But Tyranny, these opponents, weren¡¯t at all disappointing. In the second match of the first round, Han Wenqing ultimately wiping out the dual-core of Hundred Blossoms in a breathtaking 1v2 left a strong impression in everyone¡¯s minds. At that moment, everyone realized that Team Tyranny, who had only reached seventh ce in the regr season, had gone on a rampage as soon as they entered the yoffs. The dangerous and thrilling elimination matches didn¡¯t scare them; they only became bolder and fiercer.
Everyone looked back onst season¡¯s match, noting that Tyranny had been eliminated in the first round by none other than Excellent Era. This year could be called a revenge match. And after that, people dug up and wrote about Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing¡¯s confrontations in-game back in the day. The conflict between the Battle God and the King of Fighting was finally on full disy.
Some continued to believe in the strength of the Battle God, while others anticipated that the King of Fighting could topple the current ruler. And now, the championship battle was upon them.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Han Wenqing stood up, leading Tyranny¡¯s members out of the prep room. Across the hallway, Excellent Era¡¯s yers had also juste out to go onstage. Han Wenqing knew that he wouldn¡¯t meet Ye Qiu here. That guy liked to be mysterious, always slipping in when no one was paying attention. The responsibility of leading the team was left to Wu Xuefeng.
He nodded his head in greeting to Wu Xuefeng at the front of Excellent Era. He and Wu Xuefeng were old acquaintances from the early days of the Glory game. ording to Wu Xuefeng, when Han Wenqing and Ye Qiu had fought their first wild PK, Wu Xuefeng was one of the witnesses. At the time, Han Wenqing hadn¡¯t noticed Wu Xuefeng. He only knew that afterward, he¡¯d often seen this Qi Master called Qi Breaker at One Autumn Leaf¡¯s side. By that point, the two had already reached a point where they could understand each other without words.
There¡¯d also been another guy, who didn¡¯t seem like a serious yer, but his skill was also strong enough to be feared. Han Wenqing remembered that he was a Sharpshooter, always hanging out in the game, but after the Glory Alliance was established, he hadn¡¯t been like Ye Qiu, Wu Xuefeng, and the other famous in-game experts who were recruited into professional teams.
That guy wasn¡¯t as famous as them, but he was right next to Ye Qiu, and Han Wenqing felt that Ye Qiu surely would have rmended his strength to his team. Later, he found the opportunity to ask Ye Qiu, and ¨C
¡°He died.¡±
Ye Qiu¡¯s answer prevented Han Wenqing from ever mentioning this question again.
Walking through the yer passageway to the stage, Han Wenqing thought of quite a few memories from the past. Through the years, he¡¯d fought against Ye Qiu who knew how many times, from the game, all the way to the professional battles.
He¡¯d won before, but he¡¯d lost more often.
He¡¯d admitted to himself long before thatpared to Ye Qiu, he was still on a slightly lower level. Within this group of well-known experts, Ye Qiu was the only one about whom he would admit this. Aside from him, neither Wu Xuefeng, who was currently leading Excellent Era onstage, nor Wei Chen, who had already announced his retirement and left Blue Rain, nor Lu Liang, the expert from Royal Style who hadpeted with Ye Qiu for the championshipst season, nor that extremely talented god-gunner who had already passed ¨C Han Wenqing didn¡¯t feel that any of these surpassed him by a level. Only Ye Qiu.
So this was truly a good opponent, difficult toe by.
Indeed. He only treated Ye Qiu as an opponent. He didn¡¯t lower himself or put himself in the position of a challenger.
Because in Han Wenqing¡¯s mind, strength didn¡¯t equal victory. Every battle was an entirely new start, a pursuit of victory, over and over, now and forever, as always, starting over from the beginning.
And this time, he stood at what many people viewed as the finish line. But he himself didn¡¯t have such strong feelings. Like he did before any match, he thirsted for victory. And after this victory was obtained, he would begin to thirst for the next victory. Even if this was the championship, it was the same. The pursuit of victory was something that would never end, and Han Wenqing hoped that he could, without ever stopping, continue to pursue this.
The two sides walked onstage. Because Ye Qiu never revealed himself at this sort of time, there weren¡¯t any aggressive interactions between the teams. Wu Xuefeng was simply a good, nice guy, someone with whom you couldn¡¯t really have any conflict.
After greeting and shaking hands, the yers entered theirpetitor booths.
The finals were a bit different from the previous two rounds of the yoffs. There wouldn¡¯t be multiple matches ¨C instead, one match determined victory, in order to maintain the consistent excitement of the match. Three points in the individualpetition, two points in the group arena, five points in the teampetition. If both sides earned five points, they would y overtime. But because the points in the individual battles were scattered, it was rare that one team could earn all five points. And if a team couldn¡¯t get all five points in the group arena, then even if they earned four points, they could still lose the whole match if they lost out on the five consolidated points of the teampetition. So, in this sort ofpetition format, the individual battles were really a bit useless. There had always been all sorts of debate about reforming thepetition format, but as of now the Alliance still hadn¡¯t thought of a satisfactory solution, and could only leave things like this for now.
Because of this, the individual and group arena became the ce where the teams engaged in skirmishes to gather information about the opponents. The six yers sent out by each team didn¡¯t sit around, going back and forth with attacks like a ping-pong ball, ultimately resulting in an almost-tie, 3-2. Wins and losses here weren¡¯t worth too much attention. What was more important was whether or not anyone revealed any weaknesses during this process.
But to be honest, this was already thest match of the season, the finals. The two teams had already thoroughly studied each other before the match; they wouldn¡¯t suddenly discover something new in thisst match. Mostly, it was to evaluate yer condition. If someone didn¡¯t perform too well in the individual battles, then they might be the breakthrough point that the opponent attacked during the teampetition. But perhaps a yer would purposely pretend that their condition wasn¡¯t too good during the individual battles, and then use this to set a trap during the teampetition?
That was to say, these individual battles were no longerpetitions of technique and skill, but ratherpetitions of wit and plotting. But in Excellent Era and Tyranny¡¯s 3-2, they both seemed to be ying fairly honestly, without any sort of intrigue. When the group arena ended, the entire stadium seemed to jolt with excitement. They knew that uing was the true highlight, the true battle that would determine victory.
The stands weren¡¯t just filled with ordinary Glory fans, the various pro teams had organized fan groupsing to watch the matches live. But watching this championship match that had nothing to do with them, the prevalent mood was still disappointment.
¡°Next year, we have to stand there!¡± Sun Zheping said in Hundred Blossoms¡¯ area, pointing toward the stage. After a few days, the depressed haze of being eliminated in the first round had mostly dissipated. The team that they had been aiming to topple against the team that had eliminated them ¨C of course they had toe watch this finals match.
¡°Next year, no matter who it is, we have to go all out in attacking,¡± Sun Zheping said. His earlier attitude of only setting his sights on Ye Qiu and Excellent Era had now been corrected for good. There were no weaklings on this professional stage. Everyone was a powerful opponent that needed to be dealt with seriously.
¡°Well said.¡± Someone spoke up with a word of praise. Sun Zheping looked over and saw a collection of Tiny Herb yers. The one who had spoken was Tiny Herb¡¯s Captain Lin Jie. To be honest, Sun Zheping felt that the strength of this team¡¯s captain was rather average, but the him of today would never underestimate anyone.
¡°Thank you,¡± he said, nodding toward Lin Jie.
¡°You two need to work hard too!¡± Lin Jie said to the two youths by his side.
¡°Yes,¡± Wang Jiexi nodded. Beside him, Fang Shiqian also nodded, but an expression of unhappiness shed across his face.
¡°Next season you¡¯ll see the strength of our Tiny Herb,¡± Lin Jie said to Sun Zheping with a smile. During the regr season they¡¯d faced Hundred Blossoms twice, both ending rather tragically for them.
¡°Really? I look forward to it!¡± Sun Zheping also smiled. He looked at the two youths standing beside Lin Jie, who also seemed quite excited. He knew Fang Shiqian, a fellow rookie debut in Season 2, someone with exceptional skill and who had gotten a lot of attention. But the other... Sun Zheping had never seen him. Was this a Tiny Herb rookie debuting next season?
To the side, Zhang Jiale also heard their conversation. He looked toward Tiny Herb as well, spotting that unfamiliar youth. Zhang Jiale smiled at him politely, and didn¡¯t think too much about it. At the time, of course, he never could have known that this unfamiliar youth would be the biggest nightmare of his professional career.
T/N: The main novel names Guo Mingyu as Peaceful Hermit¡¯s original user. However, Butterfly Blue forgot about this while writing the prequel, and instead created a new character called Lu (Lv) Liang as captain of Royal Style and Peaceful Hermit¡¯s user. This was retconned in the For the Glory prequel movie, where Guo Mingyu was the original owner of Peaceful Hermit, but passed the ount to Lu Liang before the start of Season 1.
Chapter 18 - Showdown (5)
Chapter 18: Showdown (5)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
¡°The match is starting.¡±
It wasn¡¯t clear who had spoken, but everyone stopped in their chatting, and turned to pay attention to the stage. And in the stands, Blue Rain¡¯s area had been quiet the whole time. Even the ever-talkative Huang Shaotian spoke extraordinarily little today, wearing an expression of unhappiness.
Fang Shijing sat next to him. Seeing Huang Shaotian, he felt another wave of dissatisfaction at Wei Chen. This guy, after Blue Rain¡¯s season ended in the first round, had brought the whole team out for a meal. And then, with a ¡°I¡¯m leaving,¡± he actually left just like that, once and for all,pletely vanishing. By the time Blue Rain officially announced the news of Wei Chen¡¯s retirement, the man himself was long gone from Blue Rain.
Phone shut down. QQ messages ignored. Swoksaar¡¯s ount card was securely left with the team, and then he disappeared from the human world.
It¡¯s just retirement! Do you really need to be like this?
When he thought about this, Fang Shijing really did feel a stab of anger. They¡¯d been friends for so many years, and then he¡¯d just vanished without even saying goodbye?
But in his heart, he did understand Wei Chen¡¯s feelings. He knew that Wei Chen had done this because he loved Blue Rain too much. He had to heartlessly cut off all contact. Or else, he probably feared that his resolution would waver, and he would go back on the decision that he had hardened his heart to make.
But so what if you change your mind?
So what if you go back on your decision?
With your moral integrity, would doing something like that really be hard for you?
Upon thinking of the pain Wei Chen must have felt in making this decision, his resolution in severing all contact with his departure, Fang Shijing felt his heart hurt as well. As for the rest of the team, most of them were alright. Only Huang Shaotian had spent several days raging, and afterward, he sunk into this rare, depressive silence.
Fang Shijing worried about him. This kid, he wouldn¡¯t have any psychological problems, would he? He felt helpless, and he once again cursed Wei Chen for passing the entirety of Blue Rain to him without any word of warning. He¡¯d actually left a letter with the club, and the club was respecting his final suggestions. Fang Shijing was now Blue Rain¡¯s new captain. As for Blue Rain¡¯s roster next season, Wei Chen wrote to allow Fang Shijing to ¡°decide, as appropriate.¡±
Decide what?
Decide whether to allow these two kids to register for professional matches next season?
Damnit Wei Chen, did you know that after leaving like that, this talkative kid now treats silence as golden? What should I do?
Fang Shijing looked at Huang Shaotian. He was worried, but he couldn¡¯t just let things continue like this.
¡°Shaotian!¡± Finally, he opened his mouth and called his name.
But at that moment, Huang Shaotian suddenly jumped up. As the teampetition began, he stood upright on his seat and hollered, ¡°Old man, you can go die in peace! I¡¯ll take revenge for you!¡±
Everyone nearby turned to stare at him, but Huang Shaotian had already hopped back into his seat.
¡°Study closely,¡± hemanded Yu Wenzhou, who was sitting on his other side. ¡°Figure out how to kill them.¡±
But Yu Wenzhou only shook his head. ¡°Not enough strength. Without solving that basic problem, no amount of study will do anything.¡±
¡°Who are you saying doesn¡¯t have enough strength?¡± Huang Shaotian red at him.
¡°You. Me.¡± As he spoke, Yu Wenzhou nced at Fang Shijing.
¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me!¡± said Fang Shijing. ¡°The future is up to you.¡±
¡°Exactly! It has to be in the future,¡± said Yu Wenzhou.
¡°The future...¡± Huang Shaotian murmured. He really wasn¡¯t as arrogant as his trash talk made him seem. After all, he had lost to Wei Chen in practice matches countless times, and, in turn, seen Wei Chen harshly defeated in these professional battles.
Not strong enough.
This was the unforgiving reality, dangling bloody in front of him for a long time now. Huang Shaotian stood out in a crowd of rookies, but that didn¡¯t mean that he was ready to stand on that stage and fight on equal footing with the Battle God, with the King of Fighting.
¡°One year,¡± Huang Shaotian, suddenly.
¡°What?¡± Beside him, Fang Shijing hadn¡¯t heard clearly. The teampetition had already begun, and the supporters of both sides were alreadypeting in their cheering.
¡°Give me one more year.¡± The youth looked at the stage below, at the two teams of strong yers already in the thick of battle. ¡°After a year, we¡¯ll fight. Then we¡¯ll see whoes out the victor.¡±
Fang Shijing nodded emphatically. ¡°Alright, one year.¡± He looked at Huang Shaotian, then looked at Yu Wenzhou. After one year, where would these two youths lead Blue Rain? No matter where Wei Chen was now, he hoped he could see this.
This, is the future that you hoped for Blue Rain, isn¡¯t it?
Fang Shijing¡¯s thoughts had already drifted toward the next year. Meanwhile, the battle onstage was turning white-hot.
Surprisingly, in this ultimate match of the season, Excellent Era and Tyranny didn¡¯t use any strategy based on the map. They simply used brute force to directly meet at the center of the map, and then fought a short-term 5v5, changing and ying on the spot as necessary. This truly didn¡¯t feel like a professional level battle. It was like a 5v5 in the in-game Glory Arena. Two teams of Glory yers pulled together at thest minute wouldn¡¯t make any preparations beforehand or discuss any strategic cooperation, of course. They would just directly meet in the center of the map, and then use skill to decide all.
No one would have thought that this finals match would also be determined by this kind of method!
Everyone was stunned, wondering whether the teams had someter move, but the yers on the field knew very clearly, there was noter move, there were no ns. This battle¡¯s victory would be determined through the most primitive and barbaric methods.
Because these methods were the ones with which they were most familiar. Because these methods were the least strange to them. Even the opponents that stood before them now made them feel that they had returned to those old days of brawling in the game.
Team Excellent Era, represented by the Excellent Dynasty Guild in-game. Ye Qiu led them, and with the various well-known experts, created this professional team.
Team Tyranny, represented by the Tyrannical Ambition Guild in-game. Han Wenqing led them, all experts from the guild as well.
Starting from the game, they came to know each other.
Starting from the game, they were always opponents.
Running dungeons, stealing bosses, wild PK, Arena matches.
Just like this, they walked along this road. They were opponents, and at the same time they were friends.
And now, the finals, the highest-level stage of Glory, these two teams met. Their fights against each other one on one in the individual battles reminded them of the eventful years spent in-game, back in the day. And they quickly realized: they wouldn¡¯t have too many more chances to meet like this anymore.
Two years. In only two years, they watched the rapid progression of the Glory Professional Alliance. Raising rookies, signing contracts and transfers, these systems were quickly being perfected, and the various teams were using more and more professional ways to expand themselves. It would be very difficult to do the same thing that was done in the beginning, relying on close friends to create a roster.
And so, this might be thest time they¡¯d have this kind of collision.
No one could predict which among them wouldst in this survival-of-the-fittest environment of this developing professionalpetition, and no one could be sure that in the future, they would stand across from or alongside the same people.
So, let us use this highest stage to remember andmemorate the past!
They didn¡¯t need tomunicate or greet each other. With a tacit understanding, these two teams used their fastest speed to meet, and fight.
This is what they did in-game. Time was valuable, and so they were as swift as the wind, as fierce as the fire. As gentle as the forest, as unshakable as the mountain? Of course that wouldn¡¯t work, the time card was burning through!
Chaotic fighting.
For the professional circle, it was a chaotic fight that deviated from all routine.
But it was joyful, sincere.
However, even though this were the case, some conventions still needed to be followed. For example, even though they adhered to the rapid style of in-game battles, no one talked about leaving behind a healer. That would simply be too crude, toocking in technical content. Putting aside the question of professionalism for now, the important thing was that that would feel like a very noobish way of fighting.
So, both sides brought a healer, and yed this chaotic battle.
Even as they fought, the match chat channel wasn¡¯t empty. When they¡¯d yed in-game before, they¡¯d happily yell and curse at each other through voice chat even as they fought. The professional matches didn¡¯t open voice chat, requiring yers to type, apparently so that all of the details could be disyed to the audience. Even though this would waste a lot of time, it seemed that some words had to be said no matter what.
¡°Mercy you **, didn¡¯t you learn that move from me?¡± Scolding words were tossed about, using the nicknames they¡¯d called each other starting from their days in-game. ¡°Mercy¡± was an abbreviation for Excellent Era¡¯s Elementalist Merciless Magic. In game, of course they all called each other by their online names; they hadn¡¯t known each other¡¯s real names.
¡°****, this ** was a prototype invented by our boss.¡±
¡°Prototype your **, can¡¯t you just admit that you stole it?¡±
¡°Admit your head, you **.¡±
¡°***.¡±
¡°******.¡±
In an instant, countless ¡°***¡± flew through the chat. On this professional stage, the censoring of dirty words was naturally much stronger than it was in game. The yers on both teams were too excited, forgetting the rules and restrictions in the middle of cursing, and all sorts of ¡°***¡± were freely tossed out. The audience had to y fill in the nk, which was all kinds of painful.
Just like that, thepetition continued in this crazy state.
Falling, characters were falling nonstop.
Cursing, as long as there was still a sliver of health of left, the curses were nonstop.
Finally, in a sea of dumbfounded stares, thepetition became a little calmer, because atst only a few were left onstage.
Tyranny, Han Wenqing¡¯s Desert Dust.
Excellent Era, Ye Qiu¡¯s One Autumn Leaf; Wu Xuefeng¡¯s Qi Breaker.
And at this time, only five minutes had passed since the start of the teampetition. The most important battle of the entire year would end in just over five minutes.
Two against one.
From the situation, the oue seemed clear. But after Desert Dust had solo swept the dual-core of Hundred Blossoms, the audience no longer dared to make conclusions so easily.
But the yers on field didn¡¯t feel this way.
¡°Look, this here is the difference between us.¡± One Autumn Leaf said in the chat.
A message with no ***, a rare sight indeed.
¡°Youck a strong helper by your side,¡± One Autumn Leaf continued to talk.
The crowd was in an uproar. After that chaotic battle ended, you only have one extra person remaining, and you¡¯re already iming that the opponent doesn¡¯t have a good helper? None of the Tyranny yers with Han Wenqing were weak, they were all good yers that had already earned fame in game.
¡°How about transferring to our Excellent Era, I¡¯ll help you out!¡± One Autumn Leaf said.
Another uproar. This is the finals, and you¡¯re actually publicly trying to kick down the wall? Is there anyone overseeing this?
But then again, this invitation was really quite moving! This was an olive branch extended from the champion team! If this happened, One Autumn Leaf and Desert Dust would team up? Fuck, this image is too powerful, I can¡¯t even think about it!
Seeing the message, the audience was already letting their imaginations run wild, but Desert Dust had already replied, extremely concise.
¡°Go away!¡±
An extremely simple and straightforward rejection. This allowed all of the Tyranny supporters to let out a sigh of relief.
¡°Then die!¡± One Autumn Leaf shouted as he charged forward, Qi Breaker close behind.
Desert Dust didn¡¯t retreat, and went right up to them.
Would they witness another miracle of a 1v2?
Some people anticipated this, but... no.
Ye Xiu wasn¡¯t Sun Zheping, nor was Wu Xuefeng Zhang Jiale.
The coordination between the two of them wasn¡¯t as beautiful as Blood and Blossoms, but it was more straightforward, natural, and practical. Sometimes people couldn¡¯t even recognize that it was a coordination.
How fast had Desert Dust taken care of the Hundred Blossoms¡¯ dual-core? One Autumn Leaf and Qi Breaker took care of Desert Dust in even less time. In the blink of an eye, Desert Dust had already fallen.
¡°If I couldn¡¯t even deal with you like this, wouldn¡¯t you look down on me?¡± One Autumn Leaf said, as the system dered their victory. The word ¡°GLORY¡± flew out as though breaking through the screen. This was the most brilliant ¡°GLORY¡± of this year, but it took a while for people to recover from the daze of this method of deciding victory. This finals match, people didn¡¯t know what angle they should evaluate it from. It was coarse and simple, but it revealed true, sincere feelings.
This seemed like a farewell to the past. From here on out, everyone here would officially walk on the true, professional path.
Theypeted for the championship,peted for victory,peted again and again for the showdown that belonged to them.
T/N: The shortening nickname ¡°Mercy¡± (·¢Çé, f¨¡ q¨ªng) used for Merciless Magic (·¨²»ÈÝÇé, f¨£ b¨´ r¨®ng q¨ªng) actually means ¡°in heat,¡± as in, animals going in heat. ssic gamer trash talk.
Chapter 19 - The Time for Witnessing Miracles (1)
Chapter 19: The Time for Witnessing Miracles (1)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Glory Professional Alliance Season 2 Champions: Team Excellent Era!
After the yoffs ended, an overwhelming number of reports came out. Excellent Era, continuing fromst year, once again won the championship.
This was the highest achievement. But in the eyes of the pro yers, there was something else remarkable about this result.
Because that finals match.
That finals match with a team round that ended in five minutes.
How willful! This was the most honest opinion of this match from a professional perspective. Because of the willfulness of those two teams, the finals stage, the highest stage in all of Glory, lost some of its grand light. What was disyed was a grassroots, dirt-level fight that could be found anywhere in the in-game Arena.
Because both teams were grassroots teams, they used this method to bid aplete and perfect farewell to their past. They finally stepped fully onto this professional stage, using a professional attitude, maintaining a professional spirit.
And all of this, some people could sense, some people couldn¡¯t, and some were somewhere in between. This was a change of generation in Glory, and everyone,ing from different stages, all carried different feelings about this. But in the years toe, everyone who stepped onto this stage would have only one goal, the same goal: victory, championship! And every summer was the starting line for the sprint to this goal.
Team Tiny Herb.
In one hour, they would be holding a press conference for the uing season, describing the adjustments made during the summer as well as their ns and goals for the new season. But all of the members of Tiny Herb knew that the most important aspect of today¡¯s press conference was the announcement of a new member, someone who would soon don Tiny Herb¡¯s battle attire, someone who was highly anticipated within the team.
Wang Jiexi sat in the lounge, waiting for the press conference to begin.
Although he was the star of today¡¯s ¡°show,¡± he was neither nervous nor particrly excited.
When the captain praised him as a natural talent for ¡°the big stage,¡± he only smiled politely. He didn¡¯t know how he would perform once he was actually on the big stage of apetition, but he didn¡¯t feel that this press conference was any big stage, even though he was to be the star.
¡°Little Wang, how are things going?¡± Tiny Herb¡¯s news spokesman arrived in the lounge, and, seeing Wang Jiexi already waiting there, asked him this question.
¡°No problems here,¡± Wang Jiexi replied. Of course, as the star of today¡¯s conference, he would have to give some sort of speech. Worried that a new yer like him wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it, the team had already arranged what he was to say, and he just needed to follow the script. Wang Jiexi wasn¡¯t particrly interested in events like these, but the team required it of him, and so heplied.
¡°Good, there¡¯s no need to be nervous. I have some things to get to, so I¡¯ll see you in a bit,¡± the spokesman said with a smile.
¡°Alright,¡± Wang Jiexi said as he stood up, prepared to see the spokesman to the door.
The spokesman paused at the door, ncing at the cup of water Wang Jiexi held in his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t drink too much water,¡± he advised.
Wang Jiexi nodded with a smile. The team really tended to fuss over him...
Once again, he was alone in the lounge. Wang Jiexi sat there quietly for some amount of time, doing nothing in particr, until the door was pushed open again.
Fang Shiqian.
A member of Team Tiny Herb that debuted just this past season, he had immediately be the main healer of the team. If it hadn¡¯t been for the dazzling performance of the dual-core of Team Hundred Blossoms, Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale, there was no doubt that Fang Shiqian would¡¯ve been the most distinctive yer of this season.
Now that Season 3 had arrived, Fang Shiqian was no longer a new yer. To someone like Wang Jiexi who had just entered the pro scene, he was considered a senior. When he saw Fang Shiqian enter, Wang Jiexi quickly rose to his feet and greeted him politely. Fang Shiqian only nodded in reply and sat to the side without saying anything to him.
Wang Jiexi didn¡¯t break the silence either, and instead just studied the other yer.
He wasn¡¯t sure when it had started exactly, but recently, Fang Shiqian always seemed to be in a bad mood. Perhaps it started... sometime around when Excellent Era had knocked Tiny Herb out of the yoffs? If Wang Jiexi remembered correctly, that seemed to be about right.
Naturally, no one in the team had been happy about being eliminated. But it was now almost two months since the yoffs ended! Everyone was preparing for the start of the new season. Fang Shiqian, however, continued to be in a depressed state, and Wang Jiexi felt that this was strange. He didn¡¯t know the other yer well, so it¡¯d be awkward to ask. He could only passively observe Fang Shiqian¡¯s unhappiness ¨C and what seemed to be faint needles of hostility directed at Wang Jiexi himself?
What was the reason?
Wang Jiexi didn¡¯t know.
The mostmon reason for conflict in a team waspetition, but that didn¡¯t apply here. Fang Shiqian yed Cleric, and so wouldn¡¯t have topete with most other yers in that sense.
But Wang Jiexi, as he sat there waiting, suddenly thought of another possibility. Fang Shiqian would also be attending the imminent press conference, because of his ster performance the previous season ¨C he was now one of Team Tiny Herb¡¯s main yers. And Wang Jiexi was supposed to be the new driving force of Tiny Herb. Fang Shiqian wouldn¡¯t be holding a grudge against him because of this, would he? With the press conference looming, Wang Jiexi suddenly thought of this possibility, and he couldn¡¯t help but scratch his head. But in the end, he still couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything.
The two of them continued to sit in the lounge in silence, until the door was pushed open yet again.
¡°Captain.¡± Upon seeing the new arrival, Fang Shiqian was on his feet in an instant. Wang Jiexi stood up as well, marveling at the other¡¯s immediate reaction.
¡°You two are both here already!¡± Tiny Herb¡¯s team captain Lin Jie smiled warmly at the two of them. This press conference would showcase three yers: Captain Lin Jie, star rookie Fang Shiqian, as well as the new talent Wang Jiexi.
¡°We are,¡± affirmed Fang Shiqian, after a brief nce at Wang Jiexi. Wang Jiexi suddenly realized ¨C in front of Lin Jie, Fang Shiqian¡¯s depression waspletely hidden.
Was this guy really targeting Wang Jiexi specifically?
When this thought crossed Wang Jiexi¡¯s mind, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little unhappy himself.
¡°Here, you two sit down for now,¡± Lin Jie said.
¡°Captain, you sit,¡± said Fang Shiqian, standing aside to allow Lin Jie to take the spot he had just been sitting in.
Was he trying to tter the captain?
Wang Jiexi watched coldly as he sat back down in his own seat, finding himself disliking Fang Shiqian¡¯s actions more and more.
¡°Sit sit sit!¡± Lin Jie insisted that Fang Shiqian keep his seat, and dragged over a chair to sit before the two of them.
Wang Jiexi held Tiny Herb¡¯s captain in extremely high regard. He wasn¡¯t the best at ying Glory ¨C his skill could hardlypare to gods like Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing ¨C but this didn¡¯t affect the respect that Tiny Herb had for him. He drew people together not by his skill but by his kindness and charisma.
As for the person sitting next to Wang Jiexi right now? Fang Shiqian was a very skilled yer, but Wang Jiexi could already feel a headache from having this person as a future teammate.
¡°Next season we¡¯re counting on you guys!¡± Lin Jie told them with a small smile.
¡°Yes,¡± Fang Shiqian replied instantly, while Wang Jiexi simply nodded. If Fang Shiqian was so eager to perform in front of the captain, let him perform!
¡°Wang Jiexi.¡± But as it turned out, after briefly acknowledging Fang Shiqian, Lin Jie turned to the younger yer.
¡°Captain.¡± Wang Jiexi looked at Lin Jie.
¡°I¡¯ve already spoken with the club, and we all think that you are ready for greater responsibility,¡± said Lin Jie.
¡°Huh?¡± Wang Jiexi was at a loss. What was the captain trying to say?
Meanwhile on the side, Fang Shiqian¡¯s sour expression resurfaced. He knew what wasing. He truly did not want to see this, and fantasized that the captain would change his mind about this decision ¨C he¡¯d even directly gone up to the captain to ask him to reconsider. But in the end, nothing changed; Lin Jie maintained his decision.
Fang Shiqian, at this moment, had an impulse to just physically charge forward! Stop Lin Jie from continuing what he was about to say! But he wasn¡¯t so na?ve to think that that would do anything, and so he only sat to the side and felt dejected. And Wang Jiexi, too confused about Lin Jie¡¯s meaning, didn¡¯t notice what the other yer was thinking.
¡°What do you think?¡± Lin Jie continued. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re ready for greater responsibility?¡±
¡°I still don¡¯t understand,¡± Wang Jiexi said slowly. ¡°Greater responsibility... what do you mean by that?¡±
¡°Varia,¡± said Lin Jie.
Wang Jiexi froze. With that one name, his heart began to race.
Varia, the character currently wielded by Lin Jie, ss Witch, the core of Team Tiny Herb. Glory had a feature called the equipment editor, which allowed yers to build equipment that was stronger than the highest-level Orange equipment designed in game. Because the names of such equipment were written in silver, they were usually called Silver equipment.
Up until now, in all of Glory, there weren¡¯t many worthwhile pieces of Silver equipment that surpassed the stats of Orange equipment. So-called Silver weapons were especially rare.
The spear in the hands of Battle God One Autumn Leaf, Evil Annihtion, was the most famous. From in-game to the professional stage, he had ughtered his way in with this spear, a step above too many characters. Including One Autumn Leaf, the number of characters with a Silver weapon in the pro scene could be counted on one hand.
Blue Rain¡¯s Swoksaar had a Silver scepter ¨C Curse of Destruction.
Tyranny¡¯s Desert Dust had Silver gauntlets ¨C me Fists.
Royal Style¡¯s Peaceful Hermit, Silver scythe ¨C Death Savvy.
And finally, Tiny Herb¡¯s Varia, with a Silver broom ¨C Stardust Extermination.
That was it.
The various teams were all focusing more on research into powerful Silver weapons, so in the uing seasons, there would likely be more Silver weapons and Silver equipment made. But for the past two seasons, these were the only five true Silver weapons.
Varia and Stardust Extermination were the most overlooked of these five, because Team Tiny Herb, and the character Varia, hadn¡¯t been performing particrly well.
This wasn¡¯t because Varia was weak, nor was it because Stardust Extermination was poor quality. It was because Varia¡¯s user, Tiny Herb¡¯s captain Lin Jie, wasn¡¯t skilled enough. Compared to the users of the other four god-level ounts, he could onlypare to Blue Rain¡¯s Wei Chen, whose conditionst season had been in decline.
And Wei Chen, after his poor performancest season, had already abandoned his team in embarrassment ¨C or at least that¡¯s what the outside world had heard.
Lin Jie¡¯s skill level... wasn¡¯t exceptional, and this was no secret. Lin Jie himself didn¡¯t bother hiding it, and would often mock himself and apologize for dragging the team down.
And now, he brought up the topic of Varia.
Time stood still. The room was dead silent, and Wang Jiexi felt like he could hear his own heartbeat, because he already sensed the possibility of what was toe. The moment seemed to drag on, until Lin Jie continued, ¡°The club and I both believe that giving Varia to you is the best choice. But what do you think?¡±
¡°I...¡± Wang Jiexi was excited, how else could he feel? Every professional yer dreamed of someday controlling a god-level ount, and he was no exception.
This time, it was Fang Shiqian¡¯s turn to notice Wang Jiexi¡¯s expression. Fang Shiqian didn¡¯t say anything, but he was somewhat disgusted at the excitement and passion that Wang Jiexi revealed.
But Wang Jiexi calmed down very quickly. He didn¡¯t go on to imagine himself controlling Varia. Instead, his mind immediately jumped to a conflict that this arrangement would bring.
¡°Then what about you, Captain?¡± he asked.
With this question, Fang Shiqian¡¯s expression softened. Of course, Wang Jiexi couldn¡¯t pay attention to Fang Shiqian¡¯s expressions right now.
¡°Me?¡± Lin Jie let out a smallugh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me for now, we¡¯re talking about you, and if you believe that you can control Varia.¡±
Wang Jiexi fell silent.
The earlier excitement hadsted only for those brief initial moments. This was the professional scene, after all. In-game, getting a good drop was as simple as getting candy. But here, in Tiny Herb, Varia held special meaning.
This was Tiny Herb¡¯s star character, and so the one to control Varia would be Tiny Herb¡¯s core yer.
What Tiny Herb wanted to give him wasn¡¯t just an interesting toy. Like Lin Jie had said from the beginning, he was being offered a greater responsibility. The responsibility of being Tiny Herb¡¯s core.
Right now, this position was held by Lin Jie.
He couldn¡¯t be considered a strong yer, but everyone was still happy with him. From this, it could be seen that to be the core yer of a team, Glory skill wasn¡¯t enough. One had to be able to earn everyone¡¯s trust and respect.
Could Wang Jiexi do this?
Chapter 20 - The Time for Witnessing Miracles (2)
Chapter 20: The Time for Witnessing Miracles (2)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Wang Jiexi didn¡¯t respond immediately, thinking this over for several minutes in silence as the other two waited. In the end, he lifted his head and looked Lin Jie in the eyes. ¡°I believe I can do this.¡±
¡°Great!¡± said Lin Jie with a broad smile. While the young yer had been mulling things over, Lin Jie had started to feel nervous that Wang Jiexi would refuse, that he didn¡¯t have enough confidence in himself. Confidence could be built, of course, but it was better that he had it from the start. Lin Jie had high expectations for this yer.
It was clear now that Wang Jiexi¡¯s silence had been consideration, not hesitation. He was not only confident but thoughtful ¨C even better than Lin Jie had anticipated.
¡°Excellent,¡± he couldn¡¯t help but praise again. With that, he felt much more secure about his next decision.
¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll offer you some more responsibility.¡±
¡°Huh?¡± Wang Jiexi stared at him uprehendingly.
¡°My position as captain, take it as well!¡± Lin Jie said slowly.
¡°Captain?!¡± Wang Jiexi yelled. To his side, Fang Shiqian had leapt to his feet.
Lin Jie had indeed changed his decision, but not in the direction that Fang Shiqian had hoped ¨C instead, he¡¯d gone the more drastic direction. He was giving up his captaincy to Wang Jiexi. Then what was he himself nning to do? Leave the team like Blue Rain¡¯s Wei Chen? Absolutely no one in Tiny Herb wished to see that happen.
¡°I don¡¯t agree!¡± Fang Shiqian said, disregarding everything.
Wang Jiexi nced at him, and saw the shock in his eyes, the refusal, the dismay, the... fear. He was ignoring Wang Jiexi ¨C none of these emotions were from dissatisfaction with Wang Jiexi¡¯s earlier answer. Now, he was focusedpletely on Captain Lin Jie, and nothing else.
In a sh, Wang Jiexi understood.
Fang Shiqian had been depressed recently because he had known that Lin Jie would make such a decision. It wasn¡¯t that he was jealous of Wang Jiexi, he was just sad that Lin Jie was giving up Varia and his position as core. It was a kind of childish, ¡°if you weren¡¯t here, this wouldn¡¯t be happening¡± attitude.
But now, Lin Jie wanted to give up his captaincy to Wang Jiexi? Fang Shiqian had no idea of this beforehand. He was shocked, he was worried, he lost hisposure, because this decision pointed to an end result that Fang Shiqian was even more unwilling to ept. Lin Jie was giving up his ount, his status as the team¡¯s core, his captaincy... was there any reason for him to remain in Team Tiny Herb?
There wasn¡¯t.
Then, this decision was hiding Lin Jie¡¯s intention of retiring. He was nning to entrust the entirety of Tiny Herb to Wang Jiexi.
¡°I don¡¯t agree...¡± Fang Shiqian repeated. He knew, of course, that he had no authority in this matter, no status to say words like that. But that was just his attitude, and these were just his thoughts. If Lin Jie wanted to give up Varia and being the core, then fine. But now, he was nning to leave? Their beloved captain, the one who had taken care of all of them over these years, leading them to work hard toward the future, was nning to leave just like that?
He didn¡¯t agree!
He didn¡¯t ept this!
Fang Shiqian shook his head, hoping that Lin Jie would retract his decision. But Lin Jie only smiled at him, a gentle and warm smile. Whenever Fang Shiqian performed excellently on the field, and even when he messed up, Lin Jie was always giving him that kind smile, praising him,forting him, encouraging him. This smile reassured him, this smile helped him quickly adjust to his pro yer life, this smile, stopped him from losing his temper any further...
¡°I have already spoken about this with the club,¡± Lin Jie said, looking back toward Wang Jiexi. ¡°Of course, we will respect your wishes on this matter as well.
¡°Even so... I do hope you will ept, because I think this is the best decision for Tiny Herb,¡± Lin Jie continued. ¡°My apologies for being somewhat selfish here, pushing all these responsibilities onto your shoulders.¡±
¡°I...¡± This time, Wang Jiexi was truly hesitating. He had prepared for bing a pro yer, he weed a powerful ount, and he was willing to be a core yer. But to lead a team as its captain? And what¡¯s more, he was still a rookie ¨C all of his teammates would be his seniors...
To be a core yer, having good technical skill was enough. But to be the captain, you needed more than that. Could Wang Jiexi really handle it?
Wishing he could stall for time, Wang Jiexi nced to the side, and saw that Fang Shiqian was nervously watching him.
Fang Shiqian knew that Lin Jie wasn¡¯t going to change his mind. Now, there was only one chance to prevent this from happening: Wang Jiexi himself had to refuse. Lin Jie would never force him to do anything he didn¡¯t want to do. That was just the kind of person he was.
Wang Jiexi noticed Fang Shiqian¡¯s anticipation.
To be honest, refusing all this was a very attractive option. Wang Jiexi didn¡¯t want to see Lin Jie leave like this, either. As long as Lin Jie was still the captain of the team, then even if he was no longer the core yer, he would still be that reliablepass needle guiding them in the right direction, aforting presence to the team.
Wasn¡¯t that the best option?
Wang Jiexi was about to open his mouth to give his refusal, but when he looked into Lin Jie¡¯s eyes...
In Fang Shiqian¡¯s eyes, there had been anticipation. But Lin Jie¡¯s eyes revealed his own anticipation as well.
He wasn¡¯t losing his temper, he wasn¡¯t acting childish. Without any selfishness, he anticipated Wang Jiexi¡¯s decision. But it was clear what he was anticipating. Wang Jiexi wanted to refuse, following both Fang Shiqian¡¯s and his own desires. But could he really just dash Lin Jie¡¯s hopes like that?
Lin Jie continued to smile gently and patiently, without giving any pressure. Wang Jiexi knew that if he declined, Lin Jie would swallow his disappointment and cheerfully ept Wang Jiexi¡¯s decision, acting as though Wang Jiexi made a happy decision for everyone involved.
But that wouldn¡¯t be the reality.
Perhaps everyone would be happy, but what about Lin Jie himself?
¡°I...¡± Wang Jiexi opened his mouth.
¡°I ept,¡± he said.
¡°Are you insane?!¡± Fang Shiqian lost hisposure once more, spinning to face Wang Jiexi fully. Just then, he had been so sure that the younger yer was about to refuse, but when he finally opened his mouth, he chose to ept?
This guy! Fang Shiqian was filled with rage, but this time, Lin Jie didn¡¯t try to restrain him. When Wang Jiexi said that he epted, Lin Jie let out a long and quiet sigh of relief, and it was as though a great weight was lifted from his shoulders. He would miss Tiny Herb dearly, of course, but that alone wasn¡¯t a good enough reason to stay. He was a captain that could unify a team, but he wasn¡¯t a captain that could lead a team to victory. This was the pro scene, after all, not a game of house, and what they needed was victory. More importantly, they needed a leader that could help Tiny Herb achieve this.
Wang Jiexi was that kind of person!
Lin Jie believed this wholeheartedly. He was far more confident of this than of his own ability to win on the battlefield.
¡°Then, in a bit, we¡¯ll announce this decision in the press conference,¡± Lin Jie said cheerfully.
¡°Alright,¡± replied Wang Jiexi with a nod.
To the side, Fang Shiqian was stonefaced. His hands and feet felt like ice, and he was ring at Wang Jiexi, purposely avoiding looking at the captain.
Lin Jie saw this, but could only smile helplessly.
¡°There¡¯ll be someoneing to get you in a bit,¡± he said. He stood up and headed toward the exit, but paused after pulling open the door.
¡°I was Tiny Herb¡¯s captain for two years.¡± He didn¡¯t turn back around when he spoke, only stood there facing the open doorway. Wang Jiexi and Fang Shiqian stared at his back.
¡°I believe that, in all that time, this is my wisest and most correct decision. You all will be the pride of my lifetime.¡± With that, he departed without looking back, closing the door quietly behind him.
After a long moment of staring at the door in silence, Fang Shiqian turned to see Wang Jiexi standing directly behind him.
¡°He never was the type of person to force others into doing something,¡± Wang Jiexi suddenly said.
¡°What do you mean by that? Was he forcing you into this?¡± Fang Shiqian snapped. epting Varia, bing the core yer, taking on the captaincy ¨C was Wang Jiexi now saying that he hadn¡¯t wanted any of this, that Lin Jie had shoved this onto him? Disgusting! Shameless!
But Wang Jiexi shook his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant. He doesn¡¯t burden other people, but he burdens himself.¡±
This caused Fang Shiqian to pause. Burdening himself?
The more he thought, the more he realized Wang Jiexi had a point. Lin Jie wasn¡¯t skilled at Glory, but he was Tiny Herb¡¯s captain and core yer. Other people only saw the prestige of this position, but had no idea of the pressure he suffered as a result. To survive in the pro scene, you needed skill. And Lin Jie endured this pressure even though hecked skill ¨C wasn¡¯t this burdening himself?
But what was Wang Jiexi trying to say by bringing this up? Was he saying that Lin Jie wasn¡¯t good enough to bear this burden, so giving it up was the obvious option?
Before Fang Shiqian could try to decipher the other¡¯s meaning further, Wang Jiexi was already speaking again.
¡°So this time, let¡¯s take some of the burden ourselves, and follow his wishes for once?¡±
Follow... his wishes?
Right! This was the captain¡¯s wish! Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have brought it up in the first ce.
And Fang Shiqian himself? Had he been spoiled by the captain? His hope that the captain would stay was entirely selfish; he hadn¡¯t even considered what Lin Jie himself wanted.
But Wang Jiexi had.
Fang Shiqian remembered Wang Jiexi¡¯s expression ¨C he had wanted to refuse the offer. But in the very end, he had epted. Because he saw the captain¡¯s anticipation, he changed his mind; in bing captain, he shouldered some of the burden himself, just like Lin Jie always did for them.
Fang Shiqian looked at Wang Jiexi, and although he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything, he felt that Lin Jie¡¯s figure was ovepping with Wang Jiexi¡¯s.
The door was pushed open.
¡°You two, get ready, we¡¯re starting soon.¡± Tiny Herb¡¯s spokesman hade to call them.
¡°Okay, we¡¯reing,¡± Wang Jiexi replied, then, to Fang Shiqian, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He started toward the door.
¡°Hey,¡± Fang Shiqian called out suddenly. The other yer halted, turning to face him.
¡°You¡¯d better seed. Otherwise I¡¯ll never forgive you,¡± Fang Shiqian said.
¡°Then you have to continue to put in the effort as well,¡± Wang Jiexi replied calmly.
¡°Acting all captain-like already?¡±
¡°The sooner the better.¡±
¡°Then you¡¯d better not forget, I¡¯m still your senior,¡± said Fang Shiqian.
¡°Of course. I¡¯ll still rely on your guidance.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
The two of them walked out of the lounge together. They were both very clear on what was about to happen in this press conference, and Fang Shiqian still felt some sorrow. But he had made a decision of his own. He would no longer let the captain take all the burden, he would do as the captain quietly hoped.
Farewell, Captain.
Hello, Captain.
During the press conference, as he watched the two sitting next to him, Fang Shiqian maintained a genuine smile.
Chapter 21 - The Time for Witnessing Miracles (3)
Chapter 21: The Time for Witnessing Miracles (3)
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
Tiny Herb¡¯s Rookie Wang Jiexi Directly Bes Team Captain, Controls Tiny Herb¡¯s Core ount Varia!
With the start of the new season, this was the hottest topic in the Glory sphere. An unknown rookie obtaining such status, what kind of mythic origin did he have? Everyone was looking forward to seeing his performance onstage.
¡°Eh, isn¡¯t this that guy?!¡±
As it turns out, there was indeed someone who directly recognized Wang Jiexi in the televised press conference.
When he saw the news, Huang Shaotian¡¯s jaw dropped. He had already forgotten about this guy who had imed to be from Tiny Herb, but with the press conference he immediately remembered meeting him duringst season¡¯s finals, Excellent Era versus Hundred Blossoms. After all, Wang Jiexi¡¯s mismatched eyes were quite memorable.
¡°Captain? Controlling the core character? This guy is that impressive?¡± Huang Shaotian¡¯s outburst continued. After spending so much time in Blue Rain, he knew what these two positions truly meant. The fact that this guy managed to rise to the top just like that...
¡°If I recall correctly, when we met him, you told him that you¡¯d meet him on the stage this season.¡± Yu Wenzhou had walked up behind Huang Shaotian at some point.
¡°Uh, it sucks, but I guess I have to break that promise.¡± After seeing Blue Rain¡¯s terrible defeat in the yoffs, Huang Shaotian had realized that he still wasn¡¯t good enough, and decided to devote himself to intense training for another year before making his debut. Season 3 would see neither Huang Shaotian nor Yu Wenzhou onstage, though thetter had recognized early on that he wasn¡¯t yet ready.
¡°In that case, he¡¯ll already have a year¡¯s head start on you. Shouldn¡¯t you be training now?¡± Yu Wenzhou said.
¡°I¡¯ming. Captain¡¯s training regimen this time is soplicated,¡± heined as he walked to Yu Wenzhou¡¯s side. The captain in question was no longer Wei Chen, but Fang Shijing, who had taken control of Swoksaar and would be leading Blue Rain this season. But everyone knew that Fang Shijing was only a ceholder for these two youths. This summer, hardly a day had gone by without the club asking how they were doing.
At the door, Huang Shaotian paused and looked back at the television, which was still reying scenes from Tiny Herb¡¯s press conference. He raised a finger and pointed at the face of Tiny Herb¡¯s new captain.
¡°Season 4. We¡¯ll meet on the stage.¡±
A few dayster, Glory¡¯s third season officially began.
This summer, the various major teams were adjusting and strengthening themselves as they became more and more professional. But from the outside, the overall situation of the Alliance didn¡¯t see any major changes. Even though there were more transfers and more new yers than there werest season, the famous top-tier yers still remained where they were. These were the gods who truly influenced the strength of a team.
Two-time champion Team Excellent Era was still led by Ye Qiu and his One Autumn Leaf.
Team Tyranny was still headed by Han Wenqing and his Desert Dust.
Hundred Blossoms would continue their dual-core style.
Royal Style, Wind Howl, these teams who had made it to yoffsst season didn¡¯t change their core rosters either.
The yoffs teams that had seen the most change were Blue Rain and Tiny Herb.
After Blue Rain¡¯s Wei Chen retired, his spot was reced by a mere free yer in the team, Fang Shijing. In people¡¯s eyes, this was a decline in strength. Not many people had high hopes for Blue Rain this season.
As for Tiny Herb, they¡¯d announced a rookie with much fanfare, someone who would be both the core and the captain. The whole team felt like it had been refreshed. Everyone now had rather high hopes for Tiny Herb, and they were especially curious to see what kind of performance that rookie would give them. These days, this was the hottest topic of Glory.
Amidst all this noise, the first round of Season 3 finally arrived. Tiny Herb would be facing the famed Team Royal Style. As the runner-ups of Season 1, even though they lost in the first round of Season 2, in everyone¡¯s eyes, Royal Style was still very much a strong team.
Because their captain and core yer Lu Liang was still here. Because they had the Exorcist Peaceful Hermit, a top-tier character with a rare Silver weapon.
How good was Tiny Herb¡¯s Wang Jiexi? Let Royal Style and Lu Liang put him to the test! This was what everyone was thinking. Because of this, Royal Style had also earned a lot of attention, but Royal Style was a bit irritated at this.
¡°Rookie, Captain, core yer? Is he really all that amazing, or is Tiny Herb just doing this as a gimmick?¡± In the prep room for the match, Royal Style¡¯s captain Lu Liang was holding a newspaper report that analyzed this match-up.
Someone in the team chuckled. ¡°With their old captain Lin Jie¡¯s skill level, it¡¯s about time they switched things up for a gimmick!¡±
Everyoneughed. The joke was mean, but the truth was that Lin Jie was one of the rare captains with mediocre skill.
¡°Lin Jie is truly a good person, but his skill...¡± Lu Liang didn¡¯t need to continue. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ll see what this match holds in store for us!¡±
¡°It¡¯s just a rookie, aren¡¯t you being a little dramatic?¡± someone asked,ughing.
¡°Don¡¯t make the opponent cry!¡±
¡°Hahahaha.¡±
Another round ofughter, and Lu Liang didn¡¯t stop them. After all, no matter how skilled this person was, he was still a rookie! It wasn¡¯t cool to take this too seriously.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the Tiny Herb waiting room was much colder.
This was their first match of the season, one that was attracting much attention. The team members all knew that Lin Jie held Wang Jiexi in high regard, and they did want to trust in the decision Lin Jie made. But now, about to take on this high-profile match, even the veterans of the team who had already yed for two seasons couldn¡¯t rx. The amount of pressure on Wang Jiexi was unfathomable. And since he was a captain, he had the responsibility to stay strong under pressure and direct the team members. In a situation like this, were the team members supposed tofort or encourage the captain? Everyone felt that this wasn¡¯t proper, but they didn¡¯t know what they could do in this situation.
¡°Hey, this is our first match, are you ready?¡± In the end, it was Fang Shiqian spoke up, with nofort, with no encouragement, in fact with something like belligerence in his tone.
¡°Is everyone ready?¡± Wang Jiexi looked at everyone.
¡°Huh?¡± This threw some people off. We¡¯re worried about you, new captain!
¡°Let¡¯s work hard together,¡± said Wang Jiexi.
¡°Yes!¡± Everyone nodded.
¡°You better work even harder,¡¯¡± Fang Shiqian added. ¡°You have to prove that Captain¡¯s decision was correct!¡± The ¡°Captain¡± in question referred, of course, to Lin Jie. As of now, Fang Shiqian had yet to address Wang Jiexi as ¡°Captain.¡±
Lin Jie had left Tiny Herb shortly after the press conference. When people had asked him about his ns, he¡¯d replied with a carefree, ¡°What do you care?¡± It was the first time Lin Jie had so impolitely ignored everyone¡¯s worry and curiosity. Just like that, he¡¯d said farewell to everyone.
And now, hearing Fang Shiqian act like this, the other Tiny Herb yers felt like they wanted to cry. Refusing to offerfort or encouragement is one thing, but you¡¯re actually adding to the pressure on Wang Jiexi? Are you even his teammate?
¡°Okay.¡± Wang Jiexi only nodded and made a noise of acknowledgement. There was no point in saying more. Everything had to be said through their performance onstage.
¡°It¡¯s about time, let¡¯s go!¡±
The teams in the prep rooms received this heads-up at around the same time, and they filed into the passageway leading to the stage. It was here that the two teams met.
¡°You¡¯re Wang Jiexi?¡± Lu Liang spoke to the yer next to him, the new yer who was leading Team Tiny Herb.
¡°I am,¡± Wang Jiexi confirmed. He was keenly aware of the curiosity everyone held regarding him, and noticed how the members of Royal Style were craning their necks to get a look at him, some even on their tiptoes.
¡°Are you nervous?¡± Lu Liang asked. This was a question that a senior would ask a rookie, and definitely wasn¡¯t somethingmonly said between team captains. With this question, there was faint snickering from the Royal Style crowd.
¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± Wang Jiexi replied neutrally.
¡°Looking forward to seeing your performance onstage,¡± Lu Liang said, in a simrly detached tone.
¡°Likewise.¡±
¡°We won¡¯t disappoint,¡± said Lu Liang, smiling. He didn¡¯t really like this new yer.
Soon, the two teams appeared onstage. Starting from this season, the Glory Pro League matches were broadcast live on television, but this didn¡¯t decrease the number of people who came to watch live. The atmosphere of the stadium simply couldn¡¯t be reced by online or televised broadcasts.
But whether from the live stadium or thementators in the broadcast, the excitement toward this match was clear to see. It was just a shame that the outside world still knew little about Wang Jiexi, so there wasn¡¯t much to analyze about him. Because of this, the major opponent he would have to face, the god-level yer Lu Liang, ended up bing the bulk of what was discussed.
¡°Wang Jiexi is facing a big challenge in his very first match, just like all of the responsibilities he¡¯s currently bearing!¡± thementator concluded.
And then, everyone began to pay attention to the line-ups for this match, wondering when Wang Jiexi would go onstage. Normally, the core yers would be ced third in the group arena, anchoring the two points of that round, but they could also go to the individual round to guarantee one point there.
Royal Style¡¯s Lu Liang was a god-level yer, and so of course he would be anchoring for his team to try and win those two group arena points. He hoped that he could face Wang Jiexi in a 1v1 match, but first, Wang Jiexi would have to be in the grouppetition, and second, Tiny Herb would have to defeat Royal Style¡¯s first two members.
The individual round began, and everyone stared at Tiny Herb¡¯s roster disy.
The first... not Wang Jiexi.
The second... not Wang Jiexi.
The third... still not Wang Jiexi.
Everyone was simply waiting for Wang Jiexi to appear onstage. The individual round ended 2-1, but as for who was 2 and who was 1, arge portion of the audience hadpletely missed.
Group arena, then?
When Lu Liang saw that none of the three individual round Tiny Herb yers were Wang Jiexi, he guessed this was the case. If so, then he would have a chance to meet him. But...
Soon enough, the grouppetition began. First up ¨C not Wang Jiexi. A few minutester, that yer fell in defeat. Number two entered, but it still wasn¡¯t Wang Jiexi.
It looked like Wang Jiexi would indeed be anchoring, as befit a core yer. But if things continued the way they were, it would be an almost-dead Varia that would appear in front of Lu Liang. What was the meaning in that! Lu Liang had been concerned about this oue earlier when he realized that Wang Jiexi was ying in the group arena, and after Royal Style won the first match-up, such a possibility became much more likely. But Lu Liang couldn¡¯t go about hoping that his own yer would lose, right?
However, Royal Style¡¯s first yer lost this next match-up, and up came their second yer, Zhang Lin, controlling a Spitfire, sh Save. After dropping to half health, he was able to defeat Tiny Herb¡¯s second yer. It was finally time to see Tiny Herb¡¯s anchoring general.
Who would it be?
Everyone waited with bated breath. If this wasn¡¯t Wang Jiexi, not only would everyone would be very disappointed, they would also begin to doubt his supposed position as the core yer.
Atst, they saw the name sh on the screen.
Wang Jiexi.
The third yer in the group arena, the mostmon position for the core yer of a team. As the captain, Wang Jiexi arranged this himself.
The task facing him now was quite difficult.
Royal Style¡¯s Zhang Lin still had half his health left, and after him, there was the god-level yer Lu Liang and his Peaceful Hermit at full health.
¡°This...¡± Even those who had high hopes for Wang Jiexi doubted that he could pull off this victory. If it were Ye Qiu, then maybe there¡¯d be a chance. But for a rookie yer?
¡°Hey...¡± As Cleric, Fang Shiqian didn¡¯t participate in the individual or grouppetitions, but he opened his mouth now. Everyone on Tiny Herb gave him a look. This guy wasn¡¯t seriously thinking of adding to the pressure on Wang Jiexi right now, was he? No one would me Wang Jiexi if he failed to win these two points.
In the end, Fang Shiqian simply said this: ¡°Don¡¯t embarrass yourself.¡± He didn¡¯t force any irrational expectations upon him, but he was still going to add a bit of pressure.
Wang Jiexi only smiled and entered the stage.
This would be his very first battle as a pro yer.
He could hear the audience in the stadium getting louder now that he entered the stage. Before, he had only been able to feel and participate in the audience¡¯s excitement. Now, he was its director.
So be it!
The surroundings were noisy, but his heart was calm. Right now, what Wang Jiexi cared more about was whether or not Lin Jie was watching this match from somewhere.
He hoped that Lin Jie was watching. He hoped that Lin Jie would see, with his own two eyes, that he had made a correct decision.
Fourth battle of the group arena, begin!
¡°Rookie captain, I¡¯ming! To serve as your first opponent, I¡¯m truly honored.¡± Royal Style¡¯s Zhang Lin began trashtalking in the match channel as soon as the battle began.
¡°Coming.¡± Wang Jiexi didn¡¯t ignore himpletely, instead replying calmly as Varia rushed outward.
Zhang Lin didn¡¯t control his sh Save to meet him directly, instead choosing to circle around.
A face-to-face battle wouldn¡¯t allow the rookie to truly taste the cruelty of the Pro League. Of course, he had to let him experience pro-level trickery and strategy!
After calcting Varia¡¯s approximate movement speed, he selected a good position and began to lie hidden in wait. Through a narrow gap, he could see Varia already rushing straight along the center road.
In the end, he¡¯s still just a rookie, isn¡¯t he?
Zhang Lin couldn¡¯t help but think this after seeing Varia sweep past sh Save¡¯s hiding ce just like that. sh Save was already prepared to jump out and ambush Varia from behind.
But in the stadium, in front of televisions andputers, everywhere where there were people watching the match, there were already sounds of exmation.
Because just as Varia had passed the point where sh Savey hidden, he had changed direction, riding his broom up into the air. Zhang Lin controlled sh Save to jump out and ambush, gun at the ready, only to find in shock that there was no one in front of him.
Crack!
The next thing he heard was the sound of a breaking ss bottle, and flickering tongues of me danced before his eyes. Varia had broken a Lava sk right over sh Save¡¯s head.
Zhang Lin already knew where his opponent had vanished, and as he jumped to the side he was already lifting his camera view and pointing his gun at the sky. But ¨C nothing!
He wasn¡¯t in the air?
Had he seen a ghost? Had the Lava sk not been dropped from this direction?
Zhang Lin was once again dumbstruck. But the audience members had seen clearly that long before he¡¯d raised his view, Varia had already flown over sh Save¡¯s head. Now, he was behind him.
Pa!
Stardust Extermination was a cool and shy name, but it was still a broom in the end. This back attack swept sh Save from head to toe, very thoroughly, and then back up in the other direction ¨C Sweep!
A Witch¡¯s knockup skill.
Not only had sh Save been attacked from behind, he was now sent flying up into the air.
And then there was Disperse Powder, Frost Powder... all sorts of magic powder swirled through the air, and Stardust Extermination continually danced around as though trying to sweep them up. With an endless stream of thwacking sounds, the broomnded again and again upon sh Save¡¯s body, hit after hit until all his health was gone.
¡°Fuck!¡± Zhang Lin, still shocked, couldn¡¯t help but swear aloud.
He lost?
He lost just like that?
He was also a pro yer who had yed two years in the Pro League. But now, without even seeing the shadow of his opponent, he was killed just like that?
Zhang Lin was so shocked that he was no longer thinking clearly. He had seen Varia, after all, when he had been gleefully lying in wait as Varia rushed passed him.
¡°What happened?¡± Zhang Lin asked his teammates as he returned to the yer area. He almost suspected Wang Jiexi of cheating somehow.
His teammates didn¡¯t exin much, merely pointing to therge disy screen in the stadium so that Zhang Lin could watch for himself. The disy was currently reying how sh Save had been thrashed to death by Varia in one go. The Spitfire had been at half health and had been at a disadvantage at close range, but to be directlybo-hit to death was still somewhat embarrassing and pitiful.
¡°That guy, how did he know where I was?¡± After watching the rey, Zhang Lin still didn¡¯t understand how Wang Jiexi had detected his ambush.
¡°He didn¡¯t know your exact position, but after he charged forward directly and didn¡¯t see you, he guessed that you were waiting to ambush him. So he immediately took to the air, and then you yourself jumped out, and then, it was what you saw...¡± a teammate answered. This was the conclusion they had drawn after watching the match.
¡°This... a coincidence?¡± Zhang Lin didn¡¯t know what to say. It just happened that he jumped out at the same time that his opponent jumped up, and then the opponent was faster in discovering and attacking him?
¡°Not really,¡± said his teammate. ¡°Even if you hadn¡¯t jumped out, he had flown up high enough to spot you...¡±
¡°The opponent was a Witch, and the position you chose...¡± Everyone shook their heads. But in reality, back when Zhang Lin had initially chosen his position, no one had thought that it was a poor choice.
¡°He¡¯s just a rookie... How could I have known...¡± Zhang Lin tried to justify himself. He had underestimated the opponent somewhat. Maybe that was why he had chosen a position without 100% care? That was what he thought.
The discussion ended there, as the next battle of the group arena was about to begin. Royal Style¡¯s main general Lu Liang wasing forward, to face Wang Jiexi¡¯s full health Varia. In his victory just now, he hadn¡¯t lost a single bit of health.
Normally Lu Liang would have been d to face this situation, but seeing Wang Jiexi so easily kill off Royal Style¡¯s half-health character, he was a bit irritated.
¡°Little brat, looks like you have some skill!¡± As soon as he entered the match, Lu Liang sent a message in the chat. He was prepared to use his status as senior to give Wang Jiexi a good lesson, and so he didn¡¯t do what Zhang Lin had done with setting up an ambush. Lu Liang controlled Peaceful Hermit to head straight forward on the center road, and he saw Varia riding his broom and flying forward in the same manner.
¡°Come on, show me what you got.¡± Lu Liang¡¯s Peaceful Hermit stood still without attacking, waiting for Varia to advance so that he could react and take control.
¡°Coming.¡± Wang Jiexi didn¡¯t turn down the invitation. When Varia was within five units of Peaceful Hermit, he suddenly let loose a Magic Missile.
¡°That¡¯s it?¡± As Lu Liang typed the message, he easily dodged to the side, already ready to counterattack. But just as his camera view wavered as he dodged, Wang Jiexi suddenly pulled into the air, out of Lu Liang¡¯s field of view.
¡°This again?¡± Lu Liang tapped on the keyboard, along with a smirking emoji. There was still no effect on his control of his character.
Rising Emblem!
Peaceful Hermit drew an arc with his scythe Death Savvy, and a ring of blue light instantly rose upward. He didn¡¯t even raise his view to look, simply relying on this Rising Emblem to snatch Varia down.
But in this moment.
Again, in the stadium, in front of televisions andputers, everywhere where there were people watching the match, there was a collective gasp.
Varia, Varia riding on his broom in the air. Just as the blue light of the Rising Emblem rose upward, he suddenly swung his broom and swerved his body to the side. Another sweep of the broom, and Varia dropped rapidly through the air.
With that, the light of Rising Emblem brushed right past Varia. It looked as though he had glided down upon that light.
It was at this time that Lu Liang¡¯s Peaceful Hermit finally looked up. He was already prepared for the next step of the attack, and Varia of course should currently be lifted into the air by the Rising Emblem.
Crack!
Pa!
Two consecutive sounds.
The ¡®crack¡¯ was a Lava sk, mming right into Peaceful Hermit¡¯s upturned face.
The ¡®pa¡¯ was Stardust Extermination, sweeping onto his face right after the Lava sk
Lu Liang¡¯s vision instantly went dark ¨C how could it not, with a broom in his face? He immediately tried to control his character to back away, but then his body was swept once again.
Sweep!
It was this knockup skill again. And so, Peaceful Hermit was also lifted into the air.
The entire process had been different ¨C changing direction midair, sliding down the light of Rising Emblem, it had been much more exciting than the back attack against Zhang Lin¡¯s sh Save, but the end result was the same. Lava sk to the head, sweep from head to toe, and then a Sweep into the air.
And after that?
And after that, magic powder swirled in the air, and the broom¡¯s endless thwacking rang out once again.
No way?
The audience was stunned. Was Lu Liang also about to be beaten to death like this?
No, of course not.
Lu Liang wasn¡¯t Zhang Lin.
And an Exorcist wasn¡¯t a Spitfire.
He was currently suffering a midairbo, but Lu Liang still found an opportunity very quickly.
Star Fall!
Since Peaceful Hermit was already in the air, he was saved the time of having to throw up his weapon. As soon as the skill activated, Death Savvy shot down like a falling star straight toward Varia.
But Varia swung his broom once again, and the falling star went just past his body. He swung twice more, changing his direction and movement path twice, and Lu Liang¡¯s mouse almost flew out of his hand as he twisted his view to follow.
Couldn¡¯t keep up, his view couldn¡¯t keep up with Varia¡¯s movements. Because Peaceful Hermit as still in the air, his body didn¡¯t have full freedom of movement. He could only twist his neck a bit to look around, and so of course he couldn¡¯t find the desired angle. Glory was just that realistic.
And Wang Jiexi was someone who had urate judgment of this realism. After dodging the Star Fall, Varia changed directions twice and in the blink of an eye had shed to Lu Liang¡¯s blind spot.
¡°This guy... is he doing magic?¡± In the live audience, someone couldn¡¯t help but exim.
¡°Magic?¡± Former Tiny Herb Captain Lin Jie, sitting not too far away, heard this sentiment and agreed. ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s a very goodparison. Howe I never thought of it?¡±
On the battlefield, the pping sound of the broom resumed. The Witch¡¯s specialty was the ability to use all sorts of magic tools. But in this current confrontation, what everyone saw more of was Varia¡¯s unbelievable yet incredibly urate positioning. At first, everyone simply thought that the varied moves were enjoyable to watch, but after the broadcast showed some shots from Lu Liang¡¯s point of view, everyone finally realized how miserable this sort of positioning was for Wang Jiexi¡¯s opponent. Lu Liang, this fairly experienced god-level yer, was being driven crazy by Wang Jiexi. Eighty percent of the time, his view didn¡¯t contain a shadow of Varia¡¯s presence. His counter moves were steadily bing more and more chaotic, but they still didn¡¯t create any noticeable threat.
No. To be urate, it wasn¡¯t that they werepletely ineffective.
The Rising Emblem at the start of the match, and the Star Fall he¡¯d used right after the first time he¡¯d been knocked up...
These sorts of responses, for most people, were effective counters. When hit with a Rising Emblem, they would likely be sent right into the air; when hit with a Star Fall, they would likely be struck to the ground.
But Wang Jiexi wasn¡¯t.
Relying on his pinpoint uracy in positioning, no matter if it was Rising Emblem or Star Fall, he¡¯d evaded them all. In fact, it seemed like these attacks only served to further disy his weapons, weapons that allowed his magic-like movement to be even more dazzlingly beautiful.
Just like that, Lu Liang lost. His only aplishment was that Wang Jiexi hadn¡¯t killed him with full health remaining. In the end, Varia had still lost some health as a result of his counters.
Deafening silence.
Lu Liang, the god-level yer, had lost so pathetically?
Wang Jiexi, what was up with his Witch ystyle?
For a long time, there was silence in the stadium, with only thementator shouting with passion.
¡°Magic!¡± Theparison hade to his mind out of nowhere, but he thought it quite fitting, and he immediatelytched onto it. ¡°This was truly a show of magic!¡±
¡°Right, that really was like magic...¡± The crowd began to murmur, agreeing with this description. When Wang Jiexi walked out and faced the crowd, the apuse finally began, as well as cheering, and chanting ¨C¡±Magic! Magic!¡±
In that moment, Wang Jiexi¡¯s ystyle became known as magic.
On that day, Wang Jiexi earned his nickname, ¡°the Magician.¡±
¡°This is nothing.¡± Hidden in the cheering audience, Lin Jie sat grinning from ear to ear. ¡°This uing season ¨C now that¡¯ll be the real time for witnessing miracles!¡±
T/N: Hello! This is the final prequel chapter that has been released on Qidian thus far, and so this is the final tranted chapter that we are releasing here for now. There are three more ¡°parts¡± to the prequel ¨C ¡°Inheritance,¡±¡±The Beginning of Legend,¡± and ¡°Dynasty and Youth,¡± and we will update here if the corresponding raw chapters are officially posted on Qidian. Until then, thank you so much for reading! ¨C Syncogon
Chapter 22 - The Summer of Blue Rain
Chapter 22: The Summer of Blue Rain
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
¡°They won, they won again!¡±
¡°Who won?¡±
¡°Tiny Herb, of course it¡¯s Tiny Herb!¡±
On the television, on theputer, in the Glory game, game forums, Weibo, QQ groups...
Anywhere where people gathered, anywhere where there were Glory yers, the news of Tiny Herb¡¯s victory spread like an explosion.
Glory Professional Alliance Season 3. In the final round of the regr season, the highly eye-catching Tiny Herb didn¡¯t disappoint. Even when they had already secured their spot in the yoffs, they still yed seriously to earn thest victory in the regr season, entering the yoffs at third ce.
Tiny Herb wasn¡¯t new to the yoffs, but this Tiny Herb, in their eyes, was an entirely new Tiny Herb.
And in reality, they had only switched one person.
Tiny Herb¡¯s captain, the controller of core character Varia, was now changed to a new person. And this new yer¡¯s name, along with his title, had been echoing through the entirety of Glory.
The Magician, Wang Jiexi.
This was a title that belonged to him, entirely unrted to the character he controlled. His brilliant, incredible y was like magic. Let alone the ordinary gamers who wished to imitate it, even among the pros there was no one who could fathom the mystery. The experience of the seniors unraveled in front of this never-before-seen ystyle, and one expert after another fell to Wang Jiexi¡¯s Varia.
He was a rookie. In the beginning, they called him a challenger.
But now, at the end of the season, the challenger had quietly be the conqueror.
True, Wang Jiexi didn¡¯t win every single battle. But such a thing was impossible on thepetitive battlefield ¨C even someone as strong as Ye Qiu hadn¡¯t managed that.
In the Glory professional circle, people witnessed too many pro yers rendered helpless in front of Wang Jiexi.
In the Glory in-game circle, the Witch ounts that sprung up trying to emte his style were abandoned soon enough. They had no way of replicating Wang Jiexi¡¯s Magician ystyle, and this kind of Witch naturally had no way of disying the radiance they had hoped to see.
And now, the unique Magician was about to begin a new journey.
¡°Season 3 yoffs, the Magician Arrives!¡± Huang Shaotian read aloud the headline of Esports Weekly. They were the greatest authority of esports media in the country; putting Wang Jiexi as the star of the final report of the regr season was proof of the anticipation toward this yer. But after Huang Shaotian saw this title, he only spared a casual nce at the contents of the article before studying the yer¡¯s photograph in the article, and he revealed an unusual expression of mncholy.
¡°That guy, he¡¯s already gotten to that level.¡± Huang Shaotian tossed the newspaper back onto the table. He tucked his arms behind his head, and grumbled at the ceiling.
To the side, Yu Wenzhou was carefully studying a Glory battle and asionally making notes in his notebook on the table. After hearing Huang Shaotian¡¯s mutter, he paused the match and turned his head, his eyes sweeping across therge headline on the front page of the newspaper.
¡°The Magician. An urate name.¡± This was his reaction after looking at the article.
¡°You...¡± Huang Shaotian was somewhat disappointed by Yu Wenzhou¡¯sckluster response, and he straightened up in his chair. ¡°Got any good analysis on him?¡±
¡°He-¡±
¡°Shaotian!¡±
Just when Yu Wenzhou opened his mouth, another young new Blue Rain trainee crashed into the training room, loudly hollering Huang Shaotian¡¯s name.
¡°R&D justpleted a silver weapon for Troubling Rain! Captain wants you to go look!¡± As soon as the youth caught his breath, he was already yelling these next words.
¡°What?¡± Haung Shaotian¡¯s eyes instantly widened, and he leapt from his chair.
¡°Let¡¯s go let¡¯s go!¡± he yelled, already forgetting about the question he¡¯d asked Yu Wenzhou as he flew out of the room.
Yu Wenzhou, who had just gotten out a ¡°he,¡± could only smile and shake his head. He turned back to theputer, and was just about to unpause his video when the trainee that had called Huang Shaotian spoke again.
¡°Wenzhou, aren¡¯t you going too? They¡¯re saying that they only managed toplete this Silver weapon because a mysterious yer sent a whole lot of rare materials to Blue Brook Guild!¡± the youth said.
Hearing that, Yu Wenzhou froze. ¡°A mysterious yer?¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± the trainee confirmed.
Yu Wenzhou¡¯s gaze drifted across the training room,nding upon that oneputer that hadn¡¯t been touched in almost a year.
After their former captain had made that simple announcement of ¡°I¡¯m leaving,¡± the seat he had used was left empty, hisputer left idle. The Blue Rain members reached a tacit agreement that no one would touch his spot, as though hoping that one day, as suddenly as he had left, that man would return and take his ce once more.
¡°But... you haven¡¯t really left, have you,¡± Yu Wenzhou mused to himself. His mood was like Huang Shaotian¡¯s earlier, somewhat mncholy.
¡°Wenzhou, are youing or not?¡± The other boy¡¯s impatient voice cut into his thoughts.
¡°I¡¯ming,¡± Yu Wenzhou answered, gathering his notebook and pen and quickly walking toward the door. The trainee was holding the door open as he waited, and Yu Wenzhou noticed that the fingers of his right hand were moving restlessly on the doorknob, as though controlling a mouse or tapping a keyboard.
¡°Your hand speed¡¯s pretty high,¡± Yu Wenzhou smiled, seeing that restless hand.
¡°I¡¯d rather discuss that topic with Shaotian...¡± the boy said.
Yu Wenzhouughed a little; he was well known within Blue Rain for his inescapably slow hand speed, no matter how hard he trained. Of course, by now, no one would think to mock him for it. Despite this handicap, he still won many matches in their circle with this kind of APM. He demonstrated remarkable talent that was more than enough to make up for his weakness.
As for this trainee, he wasn¡¯t really insulting Yu Wenzhou with thatment; he was simply the mischievous type. Captain Fang Shijing had mentioned that, in this regard, this trainee¡¯s style was quite simr to that of their former captain. Yu Wenzhou suspected that this was a major reason for his recruiting this youth from the Challenger League into the Blue Rain training camp.
However, even just considering raw skill and potential, there was nothing to criticize about Captain Fang Shijing¡¯s choice.
¡°If we only consider right hand APM, his hand speed is even higher than Shaotian¡¯s.¡± This was one of Fang Shijing¡¯s important evaluations of him, and indeed it was the case.
¡°Let¡¯s go, Fang Rui.¡± Yu Wenzhou didn¡¯t otherwise respond to the trainee¡¯s teasing, and only called to him after walking out the door.
Blue Rain, R&D department.
For any professional team, the technical department was the most heavily guarded secret area. Information on how the team¡¯s Silver equipment was developed, or the specifics of their stats, could not under any circumstances be allowed to leak to the public.
After Wei Chen pulled the prodigy Huang Shaotian into Blue Rain¡¯s training camp, Blue Rain¡¯s technical team gained a new top priority ¨C developing the Silver equipment for Huang Shaotian¡¯s de Master, Troubling Rain.
And today, theypleted the most important piece of this most important work.
The weapon!
A self-made weapon belonging to Troubling Rain alone, a Silver weapon, was finally created.
This wasn¡¯t something that an ordinary Glory yer could have made by just throwing together rare materials in the editor. Most Silver weapons made by ordinary yers weren¡¯t any different from normal weapons, aside from the silver-colored name. But this was a true Silver weapon, one that elevated its user¡¯s stats far beyond what any normal weapon could hope to aplish.
When Yu Wenzhou and Fang Rui entered, they found the roompletely silent. Everyone was crowded around oneputer, and most didn¡¯t even bother to look up at the sound of their entrance. Those that did only nced over before quickly turning back.
With effort, the two of them maneuvered through the crowd to a vantage point from which they could see the screen.
Huang Shaotian sat in front of theputer, disying a rare quiet.
The screen disyed this precious weapon ¨C a light saber, slowly rotating. The de looked like a crystal raindrop, elongated and sharpened; it glowed with threads of pale blue light and wisps of icy mist.
The silence in the roomsted for an indeterminable amount of time before it was finally broken by Huang Shaotian, who, despite his talkative mouth, had only one word to say.
¡°Amazing.¡±
Standing right beside him, Captain Fang Shijing said to him, ¡°Try it out.¡±
Huang Shaotian nodded sharply. In a flurry of movement, he equipped the weapon on his character and entered a match in the Arena.
When the battle began, no one paid attention to his poor opponent or his ss; they only saw the shes of blue light from the sword in Troubling Rain¡¯s hand. They watched it dance, jump, kill. Blood droplets scattered across the ground as his opponent fell.
¡°This is fantastic!¡± This time, Huang Shaotian said three words, and he jumped up onto his chair. ¡°With him, next season I¡¯ll give them a show! What Battle God, King of Fighting, Blood and Blossoms, Magician... Just you all wait!¡±
¡°Alright!¡± No one moved to stop Huang Shaotian¡¯s excitement. All of the Blue Rain members, staff and yers alike, had been awaiting this day for a long time.
This season, Wei Chen had retired, Fang Shijing had stepped up, Blue Rain hadn¡¯t even made it to the yoffs. To outsiders, it seemed as though this team¡¯s days of being a powerhouse were over, that they were now fading from the spotlight.
But no one at Blue Rain believed this.
Even if their record this season was poor, even if they were forgotten this summer. No matter what, they had faith that Blue Rain would have an era that belonged to them. And this era, with the birth of this Silver weapon, was about to begin.
¡°It¡¯s up to you, Shaotian!¡± one of the technical workers said, and others immediately voiced their agreement.
¡°Do you even need to say that? Of course!¡± said Huang Shaotian. But just that one battle wasn¡¯t enough for him to fully try out this new weapon. He quickly sat back in his chair and entered a new battle, this time chattering away at the tech workers sitting near him as he experimented with his new capabilities.
By this time, Captain Fang Shijing had quietly made his way through the crowd to stand by Yu Wenzhou.
¡°Are you ready?¡± he asked, abruptly.
Yu Wenzhou turned to look at him. But Fang Shijing was staring out the window, gazing at that brilliant blue sky beyond.
¡°Yes,¡± answered Yu Wenzhou.
¡°Then it¡¯s time to entrust this to you.¡± As he spoke, Fang Shijing¡¯s gaze shifted down to his hand, and the ount card it held. Without fanfare, this card was passed to its new owner.
¡°From today on, you are the captain of Team Blue Rain, user of the Warlock Swoksaar.¡±
Chapter 23 - The Future of Excellent Era
Chapter 23: The Future of Excellent Era
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
¡°Last year it was Blood and Blossoms, this year we have the Magician. The pro scene¡¯s poption is really flourishing!¡± Ye Qiu couldn¡¯t help but exim as he looked at the list of the eight teams who would bepeting in the Season 3 yoffs.
¡°But first ce will still be Excellent Era,¡± he added. As the captain of Excellent Era, there wasn¡¯t really any boasting in his voice ¨C he stated this like a simple truth.
¡°Tyranny¡¯s fourth.¡± Next to Ye Qiu stood another yer studying the final rankings, Han Wenqing, who said these words coldly.
¡°That¡¯s nothing to be proud of,¡± Ye Qiu said casually, earning quite an aggressive re.
He looked at the rankings again. ¡°Oh, I see. We¡¯re first, you¡¯re fourth...¡± This meant that they were on the same side of the yoff bracket; only one of them would be able to advance to the finals.
Ye Qiu nodded and looked at Han Wenqing. ¡°This time, you won¡¯t even make it to the finals.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± replied the other yer.
¡°You suffer defeat in every battle and yet you still keep fighting. Such spirit,¡± Ye Qiuughed.
¡°As long as you¡¯re not scared.¡±
¡°You¡¯re making meugh, sir.¡± He added the respectful form of address mockingly, stillughing.
¡°See you onstage.¡±
¡°See you onstage.¡±
The two of them shook hands and parted. Ye Qiu walked out of the main entrance of the Glory Professional Alliance, made a turn, and strolled along the sidewalk by himself.
Since he never did any interviews or made any public appearances, he maintained his hidden identity to this day. Even if he walked right out of the Alliance headquarters, no one knew that this random youth was in fact the user of the Battle God One Autumn Leaf, who had already won two consecutive championships.
After walking along the sidewalk a bit farther and turning onto a small side road, he slowed his steps and lit a cigarette.
Suddenly, before he even finished one cigarette, he heard a cough from behind him, and then, as though the first one weren¡¯t loud enough, two more coughs in quick session.
Ye Qiu turned around, cigarette still in hand, and saw Wu Xuefeng walk out of an inconspicuous side door toward him.
¡°Is this really necessary? It¡¯s not like there¡¯s anyone here,¡± said Ye Qiu, amused.
¡°Well, if you don¡¯t mind, of course I wouldn¡¯t care either,¡± replied Wu Xuefeng with an easy smile.
Although this was only Season 3, the growth and development of the Glory Professional Alliance had surpassed all expectations. In Esports Home, the most authoritative esports media outlet in the country, probably around eighty percent of the articles every week were reports on the Glory Alliance.
This year, following the match schedule of the Alliance, even the release day of the weekly paper had been adjusted. From this, it was clear how high of a position the Glory Alliance had in thepetitive gaming circle.
As Glory became more and more popr, the professional yers became stars that people would chase after. A championship team yer like Wu Xuefeng could be recognized even walking down the street. Hence, he didn¡¯t exit through the main door, and instead took this secluded side one.
¡°If I¡¯d known it¡¯d be like this, I would¡¯ve done the same as you.¡± Wu Xuefeng sighed as he walked over, annoyed at how he had to sneak out of the building like a thief.
¡°Well, you¡¯ll be leaving all this behind soon enough,¡± said Ye Qiu.
Wu Xuefeng fell silent, knowing what Ye Qiu was referring to. The entire street was quiet, and they continued to walk along.
¡°The world has no never-ending feast.¡± After a while, Wu Xuefeng suddenly opened his mouth.
¡°When Heaven went AFK, she said the same thing,¡± said Ye Qiu.
¡°Bro, this is called retirement, okay? Could you be a bit more professional,¡± Wu Xuefeng said, exasperated.
¡°It¡¯s all the same,¡± Ye Qiu said lightly, taking a drag on his cigarette.
Three years in the Glory game, three years in the Professional Alliance ¨C through it all, Wu Xuefeng had been Ye Qiu¡¯s most reliable friend. The Battle Mage One Autumn Leaf stood shining in the spotlight, while the name of the Qi Master, Qi Breaker, didn¡¯t resound through the Glory circle in the same way. But Ye Qiu himself was very clear on just how important this friend, this teammate, was to him and Excellent Era.
But now, it was just as Wu Xuefeng said ¨C the world had no never-ending feast. Wu Xuefeng had chosen to end his Glory career here. At the end of the season, he would announce his retirement and say farewell to the world in which he¡¯d spent six years of his life.
¡°Do you have any ns?¡± asked Ye Qiu.
¡°I¡¯ll probably go abroad,¡± Wu Xuefeng said.
¡°Oh.¡± Ye Qiu nodded. He could only ask; with no experience about future choices, he had no advice to offer.
¡°This is thest time. Send me off with a third straight championship,¡± Wu Xuefeng said.
¡°As we should,¡± Ye Qiuughed.
¡°I saw the final rankings ¨C Hundred Blossoms second, Tiny Herb third, Tyranny fourth.¡±
¡°Yeah, I saw. And I just met Han Wenqing in the building, too.¡±
¡°Really? What did he say?¡± asked Wu Xuefeng.
¡°What else could he say? ¡®See you onstage.¡¯¡± Ye Qiu attempted to imitate Han Wenqing¡¯s gruff way of speaking, without much sess.
The imitation earned augh from Wu Xuefeng regardless. ¡°Figures, he hasn¡¯t figured out a new catchphrase.¡±
¡°Yeah, every year it¡¯s the yoffs, every year he¡¯s the opponent, every year he says ¡®see you onstage,¡¯¡± Ye Qiu sighed.
¡°But still, if we¡¯re really able to continue like this for ten more years, that wouldn¡¯t be bad at all,¡± he added.
Wu Xuefeng smiled ruefully, and didn¡¯t say anything else. Ten years? To do this for ten years, it would be pretty good. But unfortunately, a decade like that couldn¡¯t belong to him.
For him, all that remained were the three uing rounds of the yoffs.
¡°Before Tyranny, we first have to defeat the eighth-ce team.¡± Wu Xuefeng began talking about the yoffs.
¡°301 Degrees,¡± said Ye Qiu. He didn¡¯t only pay attention to the few experts and strong teams. Every team that he faced, he always respected them, valued them.
¡°Yes, that rookie of theirs is quite good,¡± Wu Xuefeng said.
¡°Yang Cong, Assassin Scene Killer.¡±
¡°The new yers that have popped up these two years, they¡¯re really so much more skilled than the yers of our early era,¡± Wu Xuefeng said. ¡°Last year we had the duo from Hundred Blossoms, this year we have Tiny Herb¡¯s Wang Jiexi. Who knows how many talents will appear next year?¡±
¡°Want to stay and find out?¡± Ye Qiu said.
¡°Forget it,¡± Wu Xuefengughed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to let those kids get experience points from defeating me. Let me have that graceful exit.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll have it.¡± Ye Qiu spoke with certainty. The two fell into silence again, and continued to walk forward side-by-side.
They returned to the hotel that the Alliance had arranged for the yoffs this season. As soon as they entered the lobby, they saw Excellent Era¡¯s boss Tao Xuan amidst the scattered tables, chatting andughing as he spoke with someone. As soon as he saw Ye Qiu and Wu Xuefeng enter, he immediately stood up. But Ye Qiu instantly spun and walked toward the other side of the hall, leaving Wu Xuefeng alone to head toward Tao Xuan with a helpless, wry smile.
Tao Xuan also let out a helpless and bitter smile, and he could only wave Wu Xuefeng over. The person sitting across from Tao Xuan stood to look behind him, and after seeing Wu Xuefeng he smiled warmly.
Wu Xuefeng knew this person, one of the most important sponsors of Team Excellent Era. As the winner of two consecutive championships, Excellent Era nevercked sponsors chasing them. But they should have been the most valuable team in the Alliance, or even the wholepetitive esports scene. Instead, the contracts they ultimately managed to sign were never very high.
The reason was that Excellent Era¡¯s captain and core yer Ye Qiu never showed his face and never participated in business activities. Lacking this important character, Excellent Era seemed to lose much of its return value in the eyes of countless investors. Especially since this fact wasn¡¯t a secret anymore, sponsors were much less enthusiastic about chasing Excellent Era. Last year¡¯s Hundred Blossoms and this year¡¯s Tiny Herb became their new favorite targets. As for Excellent Era, even after three seasons as the master of kings, they were apparently nothing to write home about.
¡°Mr. Liao, you came?¡± Wu Xuefeng quickly walked forward to greet this boss sponsor of Excellent Era. Because Ye Qiu was unwilling to show his face, when it came to matters like this, Wu Xuefeng as the vice-captain had to do his part and be willing to show up in the spotlight.
¡°First ce in the regr season, third time in the yoffs, how could I note?¡± Mr. Liaoughed, walking forward and shaking Wu Xuefeng¡¯s hand.
¡°It couldn¡¯t be done without your support.¡± Wu Xuefeng was very familiar at speaking these courteous words.
¡°Hardly. You were the ones who yed well, especially Ye Qiu,¡± said Mr. Liao.
¡°Haha...¡± As soon as Ye Qiu was mentioned, Wu Xuefeng couldn¡¯t help but feel more awkward. To be one of the most important sponsors of Excellent Era, and yet still never have seen the face of this Excellent Era captain... Wu Xuefeng guessed that these people weren¡¯t as happy as their outward smiles might suggest.
¡°I have things to get to, so I¡¯ll take my leave now. Wishing you the best results ¨C you have to get another championship,¡± said Mr. Liao.
¡°For sure,¡± Wu Xuefeng smiled, bidding Mr. Liao farewell. When he turned back around, though, he saw that Boss Tao Xuan¡¯s smile had already disappeared. He leaned heavily against the sofa, looking at the contractid out on the coffee table, deep in thought.
¡°Mr. Liao came to discuss the contract?¡± Wu Xuefeng asked, sitting down opposite Tao Xuan.
¡°Yes,¡± Tao Xuan nodded.
After Excellent Era earned the first championship, Mr. Liao signed a two-year contract. After the yoffs of this season ended, the contract would expire. Both sides had entered discussions early on as to whether or not to continue the partnership, but to this day an agreement still hadn¡¯t been reached. Seeing Tao Xuan¡¯s expression, Wu Xuefeng guessed that the negotiations weren¡¯t going very smoothly.
¡°What did Mr. Liao say?¡± Wu Xuefeng asked. Even though he was leaving after this season, he still cared about Excellent Era¡¯s future, because all of his dear friends and partners were here. Ye Qiu, Tao Xuan, everyone had known each other since their in-game days, and had swung into this professional circle together.
¡°He gave two requirements,¡± Tao Xuan said.
¡°What are they?¡±
¡°First, if we want to continue the contract, then Excellent Era must win the championship this yoffs,¡± said Tao Xuan.
¡°This...¡± Wu Xuefeng was shocked. ¡°How could there be a requirement like that? Who could guarantee something like a championship with a hundred percent certainty?¡±
¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± Tao Xuan continued, a bit powerlessly. ¡°Even if we smoothly win the championship this time, that will only get us a one-year contract. And whether or not we win the championship next year will be an important factor in determining how much money we ultimately get. No, the only factor.¡±
¡°How much?¡±
¡°Take a look for yourself.¡± Tao Xuan nced at the contract on the table.
Wu Xuefeng picked it up and quickly flipped to the section discussing the contract amount. After looking at it, his eyes instantly widened.
¡°This...¡± He didn¡¯t even know what to say. In the contract, there was a tenfold difference in the money they¡¯d get between winning and failing to win the championship. Even if they did win, the amount was only slightly higher from this year¡¯s. As for the one-tenth they¡¯d get if they failed, that seemed more like a constion than anything else.
¡°If we don¡¯t get the championship, we¡¯re just worthless, right?¡± Tao Xuan said dryly.
Wu Xuefeng grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s just terrible of them.¡±
¡°You¡¯re right, it really is terrible,¡± Tao Xuan sighed. ¡°If we win the championship this time, we¡¯ll have three consecutive championships! In thepetitive scene, winning three consecutive championships means an absolute dominance. It means the establishment of a dynasty. But in people¡¯s eyes, if this kind of three-championship dynasty team then loses the championship, then it instantly bes worthless. Aside from the championships, do we just not have any value?¡±
Wu Xuefeng was silent. He knew what Tao Xuan was referring to.
If Ye Qiu were able to participate in these business activities, then Excellent Era wouldn¡¯t be facing these dire circumstances when it came to sponsorships. Tao Xuan had tried to convince Ye Qiu of this problem many times, but every time, Ye Qiu had refused him. In private, Tao Xuan criticized this greatly. Sometimes, after he¡¯d had a bit much to drink, he¡¯d even revealed his belief that with Ye Qiu¡¯s refusal to cooperate, then no number of championships would be able to reflect Excellent Era¡¯s true value.
Even winning championships doesn¡¯t reflect our true value? Then, what is the value that you want?
Wu Xuefeng very much wanted to ask Tao Xuan this question, but he didn¡¯t say it, because in reality, he already knew the answer. In game, they were ordinary gamers ying side by side. But now, he and Ye Qiu were pro yers, while Tao Xuan became a businessman. Even in the early days, he¡¯d been the one running Guild Excellent Dynasty, and he¡¯d demonstrated exceptional ability on this front. After they¡¯d formed a team, Tao Xuan was prepared to continue to flex his muscles, but because of Ye Qiu¡¯s refusal to cooperate with business matters, his hands and feet were tied. It was true that Ye Qiu had helped build much of Excellent Era¡¯s current value, but Tao Xuan wasn¡¯t satisfied with what they were limited to.
The failure in negotiations this time was a huge blow to his morale ¨C his expression right now was one of utter dejection. He looked at Wu Xuefeng and said, frustrated, ¡°And the news of your retirement after this season hasn¡¯t even been announced yet. If announced, I doubt that we could even sign this sort of beggar¡¯s contract.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t joke around, I¡¯m not nearly that important,¡± Wu Xuefeng said, trying to reassure him.
¡°This isn¡¯t a joke,¡± Tao Xuan shook his head, still wearing a heavy expression.
¡°When the timees, new people will emerge. There are more and more talented people in Glory now. Last season¡¯s Blood and Blossoms, this season¡¯s Magician, next season there¡¯ll definitely be even more exceptional talent, hm?¡± As Wu Xuefeng spoke, Tao Xuan didn¡¯t seem to be paying attention at all. Wu Xuefeng had no choice but to continue anyway, but soon, he noticed a shift in Tao Xuan¡¯s expression, as though he had discovered something. His gazended behind Wu Xuefeng, and his eyes suddenly gleamed with the light of anticipation.
¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wu Xuefeng turned around. Had something happened behind him?
Nothing had happened behind him, but at the other end of the hall, a beautiful girl filled with youthful energy wasughing brightly as she stood in front of Ye Qiu.
¡°Little Mucheng?¡± Wu Xuefeng recognized this girl. He called her by this name because when he¡¯d first met this girl, she really had been very little, only twelve years old. After he¡¯d joined Excellent Era, this girl had always been beside Ye Qiu. No one questioned the rtionship between these two. As old friends from the game who¡¯de to the professional circle together, the Excellent Era yers all understood the rtionship between Ye Qiu and this girl.
Looking at her, Wu Xuefeng couldn¡¯t help but think of another person.
If he were still here, wouldn¡¯t all these problems be solved? Whether fighting for victory in battles, or dealing with this issue that was currently giving Tao Xuan headaches, they would probably all have more elegant solutions.
But, unfortunately...
Thinking about all this, Wu Xuefeng felt saddened. That person had been his good friend as well, a friend he¡¯d made in-game. But sadly, they hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to spend much time together in real life.
Wu Xuefeng turned back to see that Tao Xuan had already stood up. The boss¡¯s eyes were upon Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng, and he immediately began walking toward them, even forgetting the contract that was still lying on the table.
Wu Xuefeng retrieved the contract, and as he followed Tao Xuan, he thought of that passionate anticipation in Tao Xuan¡¯s eyes just now.
It wasn¡¯t like Tao Xuan was unfamiliar with Su Mucheng; in fact, he¡¯d met her in real life even earlier than Wu Xuefeng had. In recent years, now that he¡¯d be the boss of a team, he was more distanced from the daily lives of the yers, but they still worked together, and he would have met Su Mucheng rtively often. Why was he so excited now?
Wu Xuefeng thought and thought. He came back to the problem that had made Tao Xuan so dispirited earlier, and suddenly, he sensed a possibility. His gaze went around Tao Xuan¡¯s silhouette to alsond upon Su Mucheng. Ye Qiu had originally meant to head toward the elevators, but Su Mucheng had seen Tao Xuan and Wu Xuefeng approaching them, and she tugged at Ye Qiu and pointed toward them.
Ye Qiu didn¡¯t turn around, but said something to Su Mucheng, and the two walked together toward the elevator. Tao Xuan hastened his steps, and in the end, he and Wu Xuefeng made it to the same elevator as Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng.
¡°Brother Tao, Brother Feng.¡± Su Mucheng still greeted them with the familiar names she¡¯d been using for a long time.
¡°Little Mucheng is here too? I didn¡¯t even know,¡± Tao Xuanughed.
¡°It¡¯s the yoffs! Of course I came along to watch them live,¡± said Su Mucheng.
¡°That¡¯s to say, you understand Glory now?¡± The light in Tao Xuan¡¯s eyes intensified.
Su Mucheng looked at Ye Qiu, seemingly unsure of her own level.
Ye Qiu smiled. ¡°Not only does she understand, her skill right now is quite high.¡±
Hearing this answer, especially from Ye Qiu¡¯s mouth, appeared to make Tao Xuan genuinely happy.
¡°What ss do you y?¡± he asked Su Mucheng.
¡°Launcher,¡± said Su Mucheng.
Launcher?
That gave Tao Xuan and Wu Xuefeng pause.
Because, to this girl, this ss had special meaning.
That person, about whom Wu Xuefeng had just been thinking with mncholy, Su Mucheng¡¯s older brother Su Muqiu ¨C before he¡¯d passed away, he¡¯d been training with a new character with which to enter the Glory Professional Alliance alongside Ye Qiu, Wu Xuefeng, and the others. Hadn¡¯t that character been a Launcher? And if Wu Xuefeng remembered correctly, that ount had been female, and the character name had contained the name of his younger sister Su Mucheng.
¡°It¡¯s Dancing Rain,¡± said Ye Qiu, as though he¡¯d guessed what the two of them were thinking.
The two remained silent.
This was a tragic inheritance, and they didn¡¯t know what they should say at this time. Even if Tao Xuan already had ns in mind, he felt that this wasn¡¯t an appropriate time to bring it up.
He let out a faint sigh. Just as he was about to say something, though, Ye Qiu had already turned to Wu Xuefeng.
¡°So, in fact, you can run along with peace of mind,¡± said Ye Qiu.
Wu Xuefeng paused, but quickly understood the meaning of this statement. But still...
¡°Why does it feel so ufortable when you put it like that?¡± he said, putting on an unhappy face.
¡°If it¡¯s ufortable, then you should just stay.¡± Tao Xuan also understood the meaning of Ye Qiu¡¯s words, and he was delighted. Since they already had this intention, that saved him from bringing it up, and so he also made a joke at Wu Xuefeng.
¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll leave the future to you youngsters,¡± Wu Xuefeng said, putting on the airs of an old man, which made everyoneugh.
The elevator arrived at its destination, and the four of them walked out, each heading to their own rooms.
As Su Mucheng walked with Ye Qiu toward his room, Wu Xuefeng suddenly called out, ¡°Little Mucheng.¡±
¡°What is it, Brother Feng?¡± Su Mucheng turned toward him.
¡°Work hard,¡± said Wu Xuefeng.
¡°I will,¡± Su Mucheng nodded.
Tao Xuan had entered his room a second earlier, but hearing these words behind him, his hand curled into a fist of triumph.
It was here!
What he had always hoped for was finally here.
Right now, his mind was filled with the sight of Su Mucheng¡¯s youth and beauty. What kind of attention would this type of beautiful female yer earn in the Alliance? How many gazes would she attract in the Glory circle?
Especially since her skill level was quite high. If even Ye Qiu confirmed this, then it was certainly true.
Originally, Tao Xuan had been thinking that even if Su Mucheng didn¡¯t know how to y, he would try and see if she could be trained. But this answer that Ye Qiu had given erased all his worries on that front.
Maybe her talent was just like that of her deceased brother. After all, they were of the same blood.
When he thought of this, Tao Xuan couldn¡¯t help but feel even more excited. He retrieved a random bottle of wine from the cab in the room, opened it, poured himself a full ss, and downed it.
The wine wasn¡¯t particrly good, but Tao Xuan felt very happy as he drank.
On the table, he spotted the contract that Wu Xuefeng had picked up for him and handed to him before returning to his room. His face split into a scornful smile.
He walked forward, set down his wine ss, picked up the contract. Without even looking at it, he tore it to shreds.
He picked up his phone and dialed Mr. Liao¡¯s number.
The other person was in the middle of a call, but Tao Xuan didn¡¯t feel like waiting or calling backter. He directly switched to voicemail.
¡°Mr. Liao, regarding that contract, I¡¯ve given it consideration,¡± he said. ¡°My answer is no.¡±
His tone was firm and confident. Without giving any additional exnation, he hung up. After he thought about it, he turned off his phone altogether, his heart filled with a strange kind of joy.
After pouring himself another ss of wine, he walked to the window and gazed upon the brilliantly shining world just outside.
¡°Gentlemen, just you wait. Excellent Era¡¯s legend is only just begun!¡±
And he raised his ss in a toast to the sky.
Chapter 24 (END) - The Golden Generation
Chapter 24: The Golden Generation
Trantor: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
We won!
We¡¯re going to the finals!
Amidst the deafening cheers from the crowd, the Hundred Blossoms yers at the side rushed onto the stage, surrounding the two core yers of their team.
They were the victors of the battle that had just ended.
They were the ones who had earned victory in the second round of the yoffs.
Team Hundred Blossoms, the ck horse ofst season, now with a more mature and reliable attitude, had charged through two rounds of this year¡¯s yoffs and ughtered their way into the finals. Their hands had already lightly brushed against that proof of highest glory, the championship trophy.
Excitement, tion.
But this wasn¡¯t the end yet; things weren¡¯t finished yet.
With the lesson they¡¯d learned fromst season¡¯s failure, Hundred Blossoms¡¯ excitement and celebration was fairly short-lived. It wasn¡¯t long before the cluster of people onstage had already calmed down.
On the other side of the stage, the Tiny Herb yers who had just lost this round were also walking out of theirpetitor booths.
Wang Jiexi, Fang Shiqian. Tiny Herb was another team that had relied on its young yers to take on responsibility. They had given everyone the biggest surprise this season, with the name ¡°Magician¡± dominating headlines.
But ultimately, they hadn¡¯t managed to walk to the end.
Shake hands, exchange respects.
The young captain on the losing side was merely silent; he didn¡¯t disy much outward dejection. Their vice-captain Fang Shiqian, however, was utterly gloomy ¨C he didn¡¯t evene over to greet the opposing team, as was the custom after a match.
¡°Keep working hard next season,¡± said Hundred Blossoms Captain Sun Zheping, in a genuine tone, to Wang Jiexi. He didn¡¯t pay Fang Shiqian¡¯s disrespect too much mind. As someone who had tasted before the bitter sting of this kind of defeat, he very much understood the mood of the side that had lost.
¡°Thank you,¡± said Wang Jiexi, nodding.
The two teams went their separate ways. Hundred Blossoms lingered in the stadium, waiting for the conclusion of the other yoffs match of this round to see who would be their opponent in the finals. And Tiny Herb, as the eliminated losers, could only pack up their things and leave in low spirits.
The Tiny Herb yers walked silently through the long yer passageway. For a long time, no one spoke. It wasn¡¯t until they arrived back at their prep room that someone finally broke the silence.
¡°Hey!¡± Fang Shiqian opened his mouth, his gaze falling squarely upon Wang Jiexi, who had just sat down to rest.
The yers all felt their hearts jump, and they turned to look at them.
¡°As the captain, shouldn¡¯t you say something right now?¡± Fang Shiqian said.
Everyone couldn¡¯t help but tense. From the very beginning, they could tell Fang Shiqian had certain emotions toward Wang Jiexi inheriting Varia and the captaincy. Wang Jiexi had performed so exceptionally this season that there really wasn¡¯t much to criticize. Yet even so, Fang Shiqian had still found areas to nitpick. And now, their most important match of the season had just ended in defeat. Was Fang Shiqian about topletely blow up?
Their defeat this round could be analyzed from various angles. It wasn¡¯t the fault of any one person¡¯s mistake or anything like that. Wasn¡¯t it too irrational to use this as a reason to blow up?
Everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel that that this was unfair. Wang Jiexi¡¯s performance this season had won over everyone. Never mind the fact that he hadn¡¯t messed up this match, even if he had, they would all forgive him ¨C who didn¡¯t make mistakes? If Fang Shiqian wanted to nitpick this loss as well, the rest of them wouldn¡¯t stand for it.
Looking at the two of them, Tiny Herb¡¯s members had already decided their position. If there was going to be a conflict between these two core yers, they were going to support Wang Jiexi.
But to their surprise, Fang Shiqian, without waiting for Wang Jiexi to say anything, was already continuing to speak.
¡°Forget it.¡± He waved his hand. ¡°I forgive you this time.¡±
Forgive?
What¡¯s with that condescending tone? Fang Shiqian, you¡¯re really going too far!
A few of them refused to ept that and had already opened their mouths, but once again, the quick-speaking Fang Shiqian beat them to it.
¡°But next season, or next next season, next next next season ¨C no matter what, you have to lead Tiny Herb to win a championship!¡± Fang Shiqian said fiercely.
Everyone was stunned. And then, they began tough.
Next season? Next next season? Next next next season? He had this kind of patience and belief in Wang Jiexi. Clearly, this Fang Shiqian already very much acknowledged him.
¡°I¡¯ll do it as quickly as possible,¡± Wang Jiexiughed.
¡°Not ¡®as quickly as possible,¡¯ it¡¯s ¡®for sure,¡¯¡± Fang Shiqian said, very seriously.
¡°For sure,¡± Wang Jiexi replied, also adopting a serious expression.
¡°Alright. Next season, we¡¯ll be back!¡± Fang Shiqian raised his arm and shouted.
¡°We¡¯ll be back!¡± Everyone waved their arms, and the originally heavy atmosphere was instantly broken by this uplifting energy. But soon, they heard shouts and cheers echoing down through the long passageway, drowning out their excited voices.
¡°Have the results of the other matche out?¡± someone asked.
¡°This stupid TV! Howe it doesn¡¯t have signal again!¡± Someone pped the television that was in the prep room, but the screen was filled with static, and not even half an image could be shown.
¡°Want to go out and take a look?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±
Tiny Herb¡¯s yers left their prep room. As they had guessed, the curtain had fallen on the match between Excellent Era and Tyranny, and the results were out.
The victor was?
Excellent Era!
The name that the crowd was hollering announced the other team that was entering the finals. This really wasn¡¯t an unexpected answer. Three seasons of the Pro League, three times entering the finals. Excellent Era had already be a looming mountain that the other teams needed to climb and conquer.
The audience¡¯s cheering was thunderous. Excellent Era¡¯s yers were high-fiving each other, but they seemed more subdued. It wasn¡¯t because they were already used to victory, but because their celebration was always missing the backbone of their team, their core.
Ye Qiu, Excellent Era¡¯s captain. No matter what match, what victory, he would always quietlye and quietly go.
This made Sun Zheping, who was bursting with energy to exchange a few words with his opponent in the finals, feel like his energy had nowhere to go. That opponent he aspired to defeat wasn¡¯t even here!
Tyranny had lost, but they departed with their heads held high.
After three seasons, no one would look down on them any longer. This team¡¯s perseverance and tenacity was simply unparalleled.
¡°It¡¯s a shame.¡± Watching Tyranny¡¯s yers leave, someone in the audience quietly sighed and shook his head.
¡°Who are you talking about?¡± To the side, Huang Shaotian asked.
¡°Tyranny,¡± said Yu Wenzhou.
¡°What do you mean?¡± At this point, Huang Shaotian very much trusted this partner of his, and he believed that making Yu Wenzhou Blue Rain¡¯s captain next season was an extremely wise decision.
¡°Over the course of the battle, there were at least four critical points that determined victory ¨C here, here, here, and here,¡± said Yu Wenzhou, pointing at ces in his notebook.
¡°What here here here here¡ Who could understand all this stuff you drew?¡± After tilting his neck to look at the so-called ¡°here¡¯s,¡± Huang Shaotian still didn¡¯t follow.
¡°We¡¯ll talk more when we go back and watch the recordings. In any case, of these four points, in at least two of them, Tyranny¡¯s healer had the chance to control the battle situation. Then, they would have had a fighting chance,¡± said Yu Wenzhou.
¡°Tyranny¡¯s healer¡¡± Huang Shaotian thought back to the match, ¡°¡isn¡¯t bad, though?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not saying he¡¯s bad. But Tyranny as a team has a lot of passion, and their healer has been carried along by that sort of style, too. It might be a bit¡ top-heavy.¡± After thinking, Yu Wenzhounded upon this descriptor.
¡°You¡¯re right.¡± A new voice responded to Yu Wenzhou¡¯s words.
¡°Who are you?¡± Huang Shaotian jumped up and spun around. Behind them stood an intellectual-looking youth, who, after ncing at Huang Shaotian, pushed up his sses and returned his gaze to Yu Wenzhou¡¯s notebook.
¡°But about those four critical points, I have a few different views,¡± said the sses boy.
¡°Oh?¡± Yu Wenzhou was immediately interested. He twisted his body around, lifted his notebook, and began earnest discussion with the sses youth, who hade forward.
In this position, the two of them continued talking for a full half-hour. The match had ended long ago and the audience was beginning to depart, but at some point, another youth who had been leaving paused in his tracks, stood to the side, and began to listen to the discussion between Yu Wenzhou and the sses youth. He didn¡¯t make any sound, but he couldn¡¯t help but nod along.
¡°And who are you?¡± Huang Shaotian, dumbfounded, stared at this neer.
¡°Yeah,¡± the neer said absently. He wasn¡¯t answering Huang Shaotian ¨C he had simply heard the two¡¯s analysis, felt that it made a lot of sense, and couldn¡¯t help but make a sound of agreement.
Yu Wenzhou and that sses youth finally noticed the neer, and together looked at him.
¡°I¡¯m sorry¡¡± This person scratched his head, a bit awkward, and introduced himself: ¡°I¡¯m Xiao Shiqin.¡±
¡°Yu Wenzhou.¡±
¡°Zhang Xinjie.¡±
Only now did the youths all introduce themselves to each other.
¡°Me me me me! Huang Shaotian.¡± Huang Shaotian inserted himself with a shout.
¡°Hello,¡± said Xiao Shiqin and Zhang Xinjie, practically in unison, and then they once again turned back to look at Yu Wenzhou.
¡°What do you think about that match between Hundred Blossoms and Tiny Herb?¡± Zhang Xinjie asked. They¡¯d pretty much finished talking about Excellent Era versus Tyranny at this point, but they still felt like they hadn¡¯t gotten enough, and so they began to look for a new topic.
¡°Let¡¯s talk somewhere else,¡± Xiao Shiqin suggested.
¡°Alright,¡± Yu Wenzhou and Zhang Xinjie readily agreed.
With that, the three of them left. Huang Shaotian, still stunned, remained there for a bit before he ran to catch up with them, feeling flustered and exasperated. ¡°Hey hey, there¡¯s still me! Wait, where¡¯d you two evene from?¡±
Three dayster.
In the sold-out stadium, the finals of Season 3 of the Glory Pro League had entered the climax.
¡°Watch Qi Breaker, watch Qi Breaker, watch Qi Breaker! Important things must be said three times!¡± In Hundred Blossoms¡¯ team chat, Sun Zheping, whose words were usually simple and concise, didn¡¯t hesitate to repeat himself three times to emphasize the Excellent Era yer who was very often overlooked, Wu Xuefeng.
¡°Hundred Blossoms has already found the key point of victory.¡± In the audience section, the youths who had analyzed and spected about the semifinals agreed to meet up and watch the finals together, through eyes that were different than those of ordinary audience members.
Huang Shaotian proimed himself to be a very talkative person, but in this match of discussion, he lost. The opinions he gave probably contributed to less than ten percent of the overall conversation. But every time he made a remark, it was sharp enough to draw blood, and sometimes he would have insight on something that none of the other three had even detected. Last time, Huang Shaotian had been treated somewhat coldly during the conversation, but this time he won the respect of his new friends.
The youths very much agreed with Hundred Blossoms¡¯ decision to pay close attention to Qi Breaker on the battlefield.
¡°Qi Breaker¡¯s aid ys a significant role in increasing One Autumn Leaf¡¯s battle strength. No one has ever effectively cut this connection before,¡± said Yu Wenzhou.
¡°More urately, no one has ever paid enough attention to this arrangement,¡± said Zhang Xinjie.
¡°Compared to One Autumn Leaf, Qi Breaker is an easier target in this system,¡± said Xiao Shiqin.
¡°Hundred Blossoms is nning to do exactly that.¡± As Yu Wenzhou spoke, he looked at therge screen disying the match.
Gunshots, swordlight. The battle hadn¡¯t paused for a second. Themunications within each team¡¯s chat channel were also a part of the battle, and while Hundred Blossoms locked onto Qi Breaker as their breakthrough point, Excellent Era¡¯s chat was also constantly refreshing with their judgments of their opponents.
¡°More mature thanst year,¡± Wu Xuefeng was saying.
¡°Careful, they might use you as their breakthrough point,¡± Ye Qiu answered.
The stadium was in an uproar.
Hundred Blossoms¡¯ chat had only just announced their focus for the next part of the battle, and on Excellent Era¡¯s side Ye Qiu somehow immediately knew. Could he somehow see the opposing side¡¯s private chat?
That was impossible, of course. It could only be said that Ye Qiu¡¯s guess was very urate.
Was it a guess?
After seeing Ye Qiu¡¯s correct judgment, the youths in the audience exchanged nces.
They didn¡¯t think that this was a random guess from Ye Qiu. This was judgment, one made from experience and awareness. Using avable evidence, he hit the nail on the head. But what was the evidence? How had Ye Qiu deduced Hundred Blossoms¡¯ strategic n? They couldn¡¯t tell.
¡°Is that so.¡± On the battlefield, Wu Xuefeng was replying. ¡°Then for this final battle, let me also experience the feeling of being everyone¡¯s target.¡±
¡°Go on, don¡¯t worry, leave the rest to me,¡± Ye Qiu answered.
Once again, an uproar.
Final battle? What did that mean? The finals match was thest match of a season. But the meaning revealed by Wu Xuefeng¡¯s words¡ it didn¡¯t sound like he was talking about the end of a season.
Wu Xuefeng¡ was preparing to retire?
Many people immediately thought of this possibility. Judging from Wu Xuefeng¡¯s age, this wasn¡¯t impossible.
So, was this his final performance on the professional stage?
Qi Breaker, this character hidden by the radiance of Battle God One Autumn Leaf ¨C for the first time, he took on a fearless attitude and charged straight toward the opponents.
¡°Qi Breaker¡¯sing! Qi Breaker¡¯sing!¡± Hundred Blossoms yers shouted in the chat. The character they had wanted to target now all of a sudden voluntarily jumped forward.
This wasn¡¯t Excellent Era¡¯s normal strategy.
¡°Beware a trap!¡± Sun Zheping warned his teammates.
¡°Just cut his connection to One Autumn Leaf,¡± said Zhang Jiale. Dazzling Hundred Blossoms rushed forward, and an array of shing gunfire and explosions flew toward Qi Breaker.
¡°Focus fire and attack!¡± Sun Zheping ordered, and the rest of the Hundred Blossoms characters swiftly turned their attacks to focus on Qi Breaker.
Copsing Mountain!
Sun Zheping¡¯s Blossoming Chaos charged at the very front, mming toward the iing Qi Breaker with all the force of Mount Tai.
Countercurrent!
As Qi Breaker dodged to the side, he used the Qi Master¡¯s subtle knockup skill. A cloud of qi was hidden in his original position, waiting for Blossoming Chaos tond and be hit.
But Sun Zheping discovered this hidden trick early on. He canceled the Copsing Mountain in midair and switched to a Falling Light de. A Falling Light de used with a greatsword didn¡¯t lose to a Copsing Mountain in terms of the shockwave it created, which was sent rushing toward Qi Breaker. At the same time, the rest of Hundred Blossoms were all in ce, aiming their attacks at Qi Breaker.
Was this the kind of situation that Ye Qiu always faced?
Facing all of these different attacks, Wu Xuefeng couldn¡¯t help but wonder.
To deal with an offensive like this by himself, it really was a bit of a struggle for him. But over the course of these three years, Ye Qiu had broken through such tyrannical barriers again and again, winning victory after victory for Excellent Era.
Wu Xuefeng couldn¡¯t aplish this himself.
In the end, it¡¯s still up to you!
Dodge, move, find an opening, use a skill.
Wu Xuefeng controlled Qi Breaker to move around within the encirclement. He was always very clear with himself on his own abilities. To be like Ye Qiu and forcefully break through, it was cool, it was eye-catching, but it wasn¡¯t something that he could do.
¡°You know, I should really win an award for Best Supporting Character,¡± he said in the chat. This sentence didn¡¯t carry any bitterness ¨C if anything, there was pride and satisfaction. Wu Xuefeng believed that he had done what he could to the best of his ability. There was nothing to regret.
¡°The main character¡¯s here,¡± Ye Qiu replied, very naturally taking up the role of protagonist.
¡°One Autumn Leaf¡¯s here!¡± Zhang Jiale shouted.
¡°Good timing!¡± Sun Zheping¡¯s fighting spirit was high. All was going ording to n. Two years ago, before he¡¯d even entered the professional circle, he¡¯d been watching Excellent Era¡¯s first championship victory. And ever since then, he¡¯d been dreaming, if he stood in that ce, what he would do.
Now, two yearster, he obtained this chance. The ns he¡¯d thought up were being beautifully executed by the talented teammates beside him.
One Autumn Leaf had arrived, breaking into their encirclement.
Focusing fire onto Qi Breaker, that had only been a premise. To topple Excellent Era, the one that had to be defeated was ultimately One Autumn Leaf.
¡°The kill begins!¡± Sun Zheping shouted.
Smoke Bullet!
Dazzling Hundred Blossoms¡¯ Smoke Bullet was released at the perfect time. A cloud of smoke swiftly expanded on the battlefield, impeding One Autumn Leaf¡¯s view and covering the movements of Hundred Blossoms.
Colliding Stab!
The strategy they¡¯d practice was now going incredibly smoothly. Sun Zheping¡¯s Blossoming Chaos abruptly but precisely switched his attack target to One Autumn Leaf. The light and explosions from Dazzling Hundred Blossoms swirled tightly around him. The performance of Blood and Blossoms had only just begun!
But then ¨C he missed!
One Autumn Leaf wasn¡¯t in the position Sun Zheping thought he¡¯d be. He rapidly turned his camera view, and a silhouette shed before him.
Whirlwind Strike!
He hadn¡¯t even seen his target clearly, but Sun Zheping was already controlling Blossoming Chaos to sh forward. His body was spinning, his de was spinning, his view was spinning, but he only managed to brush the silhouette who had already swung past him.
¡°Missed!¡± Zhang Jiale shouted.
In his view, One Autumn Leaf had practically touched shoulders with Blossoming Chaos, but Sun Zheping still hadn¡¯t managed to catch him.
Zhang Jiale hurriedly controlled Dazzling Hundred Blossoms to move, chaotically firing off explosions to restrict One Autumn Leaf¡¯s advance.
But One Autumn Leaf¡¯s steps didn¡¯t stop, and he quickly approached Dazzling Hundred Blossoms. The attacks from the bullets and grenades didn¡¯t seem to have any effect on him at all.
No¡
It wasn¡¯t that they had no effect at all. Zhang Jiale confirmed that as One Autumn Leaf rushed forward, he was dodging some of the attacks that came his way. He would avoid those attacks that would impede his movement, but for the attacks that only dealt damage, he would simply take them.
He was losing a bit of health, but he was approaching Dazzling Hundred Blossoms very quickly, faster than Dazzling Hundred Blossoms could retreat.
Had he seen through his Hundred Blossoms style?
Zhang Jiale was stunned. Even just looking at his shy Hundred Blossoms style was difficult, never mind actually seeing through it. For Ye Qiu to be able to grasp this offensive well enough that he could move forward against every attack, that at least proved one thing: that Ye Qiu was extremely familiar with the Spitfire ss. No, familiarity wasn¡¯t enough ¨C he must have had profound understanding.
Can¡¯t stop him!
His own Dazzling Hundred Blossoms wasn¡¯t enough to stop him.
¡°Big Sun!¡± Zhang Jiale called for his partner.
But Ye Qiu¡¯s partner had already quietly made his move.
A Cloud Pushing Palmnded upon Dazzling Hundred Blossoms¡¯ back. Wu Xuefeng, who had gotten a slight opening after Hundred Blossoms turned their fire on One Autumn Leaf, immediately seized the opportunity and assisted Ye Qiu with his offensive.
Hit by the attack, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms was sent flying toward One Autumn Leaf.
¡°Thanks.¡± Ye Qiu didn¡¯t forget to acknowledge him in the chat. One Autumn Leaf¡¯s Evil Annihtion jumped forward, and Dazzling Hundred Blossoms was sent high into the air.
¡°It¡¯s what I should do,¡± Wu Xuefeng answered. Qi Breaker rolled on the ground, dodging the attacks that came from Hundred Blossoms. A Qi Bullet was sent out, toward Blossoming Chaos, who was currently rushing toward One Autumn Leaf.
But Blossoming Chaos wasn¡¯t stopped by it. With a powerful stance, he charged through to arrive in front of One Autumn Leaf.
sh sh sh!
Blossoming Chaos shed at him with several skills in quick session.
One Autumn Leaf dodged, managing to keep Dazzling Hundred Blossoms airborne all the while. It seemed that Blossoming Chaos¡¯ attack was entirely within his calctions.
Not only was he unusually familiar with the Spitfire ss, his Berserker knowledge was also at the professional level.
Sun Zheping¡¯s flurry of attacks missed. Dazzling Hundred Blossoms was still flipping in the air, and yet his Blossoming Chaos was, because of skill cooldowns, stuck awkwardly and silently waiting.
Ye Qiu hadpletely broken their hunt to kill him.
Dazzling Hundred Blossoms was at One Autumn Leaf¡¯s mercy.
Blossoming Chaos lost control of the situation, his rhythm nowpletely off.
Hundred Blossoms¡¯ core Blood and Blossoms was crushed. And the Hundred Blossoms system that relied on them as their core naturally began to fall apart.
¡°It¡¯s over¡¡± Watching from the audience, Yu Wenzhou let out a long sigh as he reached this conclusion.
¡°So¡ so strong¡¡± Xiao Shiqin was almost stammering.
¡°It really is incredible. One Autumn Leaf has already reached this level, and yet he is still underestimated by his opponents,¡± said Yu Wenzhou.
¡°It¡¯s because they don¡¯t understand him well enough. Only an opponent that truly understood him would have the chance to defeat him,¡± Zhang Xinjie said thoughtfully, watching One Autumn Leaf charge toward victory on the battlefield.
¡°Then who will be the one to defeat him?¡± Yu Wenzhou chuckled.
¡°Me, of course,¡± Huang Shaotian said, boldly pping his chest.
¡°Next season, we will see,¡± said Zhang Xinjie.
Glory Professional Alliance Season 3 ended with Excellent Era defeating Hundred Blossoms to win the third championship of the Glory Pro League. With their three consecutive championships, Excellent Era truly established their dynasty.
And outside the battlefield, the new generation of youth who had borne witness to the entire season now weed a season that belonged to them.
This was the most brilliant season of rookies in Glory¡¯s history, the group who wouldtere to be known as: the Golden Generation.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and
continue reading tomorrow, everyone!