Chapter 1 The Roars of the Audience

The cheers of the audience made it clear just how sensational this appearance was.

It was already rare to see a God-level account at the Rookie Challenge, but now there were two God-level accounts appearing at the same time, and as opponents, making this the first time in the history of the Rookie Challenge that such a thing had happened. The media reporters were destined to go crazy tonight. They hadn’t even finished the “underdog defeating the giant” headline when this even more explosive update came out.

Of course, the more explosive the topic, the more fired up the dedicated reporters became. The previous articles didn’t need to be scrapped, just moved to a less prominent page. Right now, they were hoping that Sun Xiang could say something as catchy as Tang Hao’s “underdog defeating the giant.” The reporters definitely wanted to stir up trouble.

On the stage, Sun Xiang strode confidently forward.

Without a doubt, no rookie had a bigger reputation than him. Like Tang Hao, he was a second-year player, but he was far more eye-catching. In his first season, he won the title of Best Rookie with God-level performance. This season, he continued to perform well. Halfway through the season, he transferred to Excellent Era and took over the God-level account One Autumn Leaf. Sun Xiang could be said to have completely joined the ranks of the top Gods. Most people had probably forgotten that he was only a second-year player.

If Sun Xiang were to say something like paying respects to his seniors, it probably wouldn’t win him much approval. After all, his position was different now. It would be excessive to treat himself like an ordinary rookie. Excessive humility was just arrogance.

Moreover, Sun Xiang had never been a humble person. The perceptive reporters had already sensed that Sun Xiang wouldn’t let this match be boring.

Sun Xiang was quite handsome. After walking to the center of the stage, he started waving to the audience, as if he were already a victor.

The host stepped forward and, like with every challenger, asked Sun Xiang for his reason for challenging Han Wenqing.

“The reason is simple.” Sun Xiang smiled with the air of a pro. “To settle the long-standing feud between Excellent Era and Tyranny, One Autumn Leaf and Desert Dust.”

The audience was first stunned, then erupted in loud shouts and cheers. Sun Xiang’s words didn’t seem as cool as Tang Hao’s “underdog defeating the giant,” but the meaning they conveyed was extremely rich. Tang Hao’s “underdog defeating the giant” was limited to a competition for the title of number one rogue, while Sun Xiang was talking about a true battle between Gods in Glory. In addition, it also represented the old rivalry between the two long-established clubs.

Sun Xiang was now the captain of Excellent Era and used One Autumn Leaf, so he was indeed qualified to bear this responsibility. Although most of the fans in the audience were from Samsara, they didn’t mind a good show. If these two were going to fight to the death, then any Glory fan wouldn’t want to miss this spectacle.

Amidst the cheers and jeers, there were also small pockets of curses and rebukes, naturally from the small number of Tyranny fans. How could they tolerate Sun Xiang’s challenge? They cursed him without hesitation.

Tyranny had fans here, and naturally Excellent Era did too, but Excellent Era’s cheers seemed to blend in with the majority of the audience and weren’t as obvious.

However, the Excellent Era fan next to Ye Xiu was noticeably excited, jumping up and waving his arms while shouting, “Beat Han Wenqing!!!”

“Slow down…” Ye Xiu hurriedly said, afraid that Chen Guo would get too excited and fall headfirst into the front row.

Tyranny’s captain, Han Wenqing, finally walked onto the stage as the host announced his name.

Although Sun Xiang wasn’t very humble, he didn’t want to be impolite in front of everyone. He took the initiative to shake Han Wenqing’s hand. “Please give me your guidance, senior.” He would say the polite things he needed to say.

“Sure.” Han Wenqing took Sun Xiang’s outstretched hand and shook it, replying expressionlessly.

Sun Xiang chuckled and turned to walk towards his stage. The host originally wanted to interview Han Wenqing as well, but when he went around to the front and saw Han Wenqing’s cold gaze, he felt a chill and couldn’t say a word. Han Wenqing also waved to the cheering audience before heading to his battle station.

Both used their own account cards, so they skipped the steps of adding points and selecting equipment. Soon, the lights dimmed, and a holographic projection displayed the map on the stage. One Autumn Leaf and Desert Dust, two God-level characters, appeared in opposite corners of the map.

Even the commentator was more enthusiastic in this match. Knowing that the two would start fighting soon, he didn’t dare to stop for a moment, quickly introducing the players and their characters.

“Battle Mages and Grapplers are both very direct combat-type classes. From Sun Xiang’s choice of this street map, there doesn’t seem to be any advantage or disadvantage for either class, so it doesn’t seem to be a tactical choice.” After introducing the players and characters, the commentator began to talk about the map. This standard commentary format was quite rare in the Rookie Challenge, but the commentator could already tell that this match would be a real fight, so he began to analyze it from the beginning as if he were commentating on the league.

“Alright, neither side is doing anything unnecessary. They’re meeting head-on in the middle of the map,” the commentator said loudly.

At a street corner in the center of the map, the two characters met face to face.

One Autumn Leaf’s silver weapon, Evil Annihilation, shone with a dark, cold light. Desert Dust’s silver weapon, Fiery Red Fist, looked like two enchanting flames, enveloping his fists.

Both paused briefly, about ten character-lengths apart, like a greeting before the fight. Then, the two characters charged forward almost simultaneously.

In terms of attack range, the Battle Mage’s long weapon was undoubtedly much longer than the Grappler’s shortest-range weapon, gauntlets. Of course, Sun Xiang was the first to attack. A dark light flashed out, and One Autumn Leaf’s Evil Annihilation thrust out with a Dragon Tooth.

Han Wenqing didn’t dodge at all. Desert Dust continued to step forward, his arms twisting directly towards Evil Annihilation, directly using an Empty-Handed Blade Block to try to seize the initiative.

Of course, Sun Xiang wouldn’t give him the chance, and he quickly changed the thrust into a sweep, the Dragon Tooth becoming a Sky Strike.

The Empty-Handed Blade Block failed, and he obviously couldn’t immediately cast another one since the skill was on cooldown. Facing the sweeping Evil Annihilation, Desert Dust leaned to the side, as if reluctant to move any further. He barely dodged the attack before eagerly rushing forward with a punch.

The fiery red fist shot out rapidly, like a tiger descending from the mountain. Sun Xiang quickly jumped back to dodge. Han Wenqing, who never knew what retreat meant, immediately rushed forward to attack again. Sun Xiang hadn’t even had time to use the Battle Mage’s attack range advantage. In just a few simple exchanges, Han Wenqing had overcome the distance disadvantage and brought Desert Dust to One Autumn Leaf’s side.

A flurry of fists and kicks flew, and Sun Xiang parried somewhat awkwardly. However, not just anyone could display this awkwardness. If a player of lower skill came, Han Wenqing’s flurry of punches and kicks would have cost them a lot of health.

Sun Xiang endured the storm of attacks and breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to launch a counterattack, he saw Desert Dust squat into a horse stance, his left hand feinting forward, his right hand pressed against his waist.

“Not good!” Sun Xiang was startled. This was the starting stance of the Grappler’s ultimate skill, Overlord Body Fist. Such a major skill had a long cooldown, and players usually interspersed it in combos, choosing a time when the opponent had no chance to dodge to deal heavy damage. But now, Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf was not in such a situation at all. For a pro player, it would be too easy to dodge an ultimate skill at this time, making it a huge waste.

Sun Xiang didn’t expect Han Wenqing to use a major skill at this time, but Han Wenqing did just that. Sun Xiang didn’t dare to think about launching an attack now. The judgment of the Overlord Body Fist wasn’t ordinary.

The fist came out!

It seemed to tear through the air, creating a sharp whistle. Overlord Body Fist was just one punch, but it brought power and speed to the extreme.

Sun Xiang dodged frantically, finally managing to evade it. But even the force of the wind made One Autumn Leaf stagger. Sun Xiang’s control was indeed extraordinary. Even with his character staggering and his vision unsteady, One Autumn Leaf’s Evil Annihilation didn’t stop. It rapidly danced in front of him, and the raised blue ripples showed no sign of chaos, showing that the skill was being controlled extremely well.

Then, Evil Annihilation shook, piercing through the layer of blue ripples. The ripples also attached themselves to the tip of the spear.

Although he wasn’t hit by the Overlord Body Fist, the effects of the wind alone put Sun Xiang at a disadvantage. In this disadvantageous situation, most people would probably just wait for the opponent’s next wave of attacks. But Sun Xiang, in this disadvantage, relied on his control to complete the cast of a major skill.

Soaring Dragon Pierces the Sea!

The Evil Annihilation that flew out seemed to pierce through a wave, the attached blue ripples churning, sounding like roaring water.

Desert Dust was still in the recovery state of his skill. This attack came so quickly that no one could possibly dodge it. Evil Annihilation stabbed into Desert Dust’s body, and the blue ripples slid up like splashed water.

This attack hit solidly, and Sun Xiang naturally seized the opportunity. Evil Annihilation danced, followed by a series of attacks, giving Han Wenqing a powerful counterattack.

The two traded blows, major and minor skills flashing. In the flood of skill light effects, it was almost impossible to distinguish the characters. The two fought evenly matched. After the first exchange, neither could launch more than three consecutive attacks.

Spear in, fist out.

The surrounding scenery had been destroyed a lot, and the battle was obviously extremely fierce. But both characters' health decreased very little. In such a fierce battle, most of their attacks were dodged or resolved by the other. The scene was deadlocked, and ten minutes had passed.