Chapter 1 "Is That You?"

"Is that you?" Qiu Fei's tone sounded incredibly disbelieving.

The rumors about Ye Qiu and Jun Mo Xiao had been spreading like wildfire for the better part of the year, and their training camp was no exception. Because of their proximity, there was always someone who would mysteriously share the "truth" they had supposedly gleaned from the team or the club.

As more and more gossip surfaced, the stories became increasingly detailed. In their training camp, one version claimed that Ye Qiu couldn't stand the increasingly poor performance of the Jia Shi team and wanted to leave, but the club wouldn't let him. So, he simply retired and went into hiding to form his own team.

This version was quite elaborate. Problems, such as Ye Qiu becoming active again so soon after his retirement, which seemed too quick to be a genuine change of heart, were explained logically in their version.

A player retiring was something that couldn't be controlled by the team or restricted by a contract. This escape was considered invincible. It was because of this that the Alliance had a rule requiring retired players to wait at least a year before returning, to prevent anyone from exploiting this loophole.

This version clearly favored the team and smeared Ye Qiu's name. Whether this version, originating from within the Jia Shi club, was simply the result of everyone's speculation and gossip, or whether someone intentionally guided, embellished, and perfected it, was unknown.

However, this version had no logical flaws. Ye Qiu's retirement was quite sudden, and the club didn't arrange any farewell ceremonies or even a retirement match. Given Ye Qiu's status in Jia Shi, this seemed unreasonable. Jia Shi had responded to these questions, saying that Ye Qiu had left the club after deciding to retire and that they couldn't contact him now.

This was indeed the truth, and no one could find any loopholes.

Various speculations remained unresolved, and Jia Shi never publicly expressed any disapproval of Ye Qiu.

Regarding Ye Qiu's retirement, there was even a joke in the training camp that "Team Ye is playing a very big game of chess."

It wasn't until the recent Xin Xing incident, where Ye Qiu formed a team to fight against Jia Shi, that he was truly exposed. This was a bombshell for many Jia Shi fans. This was their team's greatest god in history, and now he was jumping out to fight them to the death in the Challenger League, which fans couldn't accept under any circumstances.

Ye Qiu's situation was very different from Zhang Jia Le's.

Zhang Jia Le's case was, in essence, for his own future, switching to another team. Fans might feel disheartened, but other than a few jeers, there wasn't much anger.

Ye Qiu was different. Competing in the Challenger League meant a fight to the death. If Ye Qiu succeeded, it would be by stepping over Jia Shi's corpse. Fans wouldn't just feel disheartened, but also pained and angry. Not to mention the fans who cared about the team, even many of Ye Qiu's fans would turn against him in an instant, which wouldn't be surprising.

The overwhelming criticism of Ye Qiu completely overshadowed the attention Zhang Jia Le received for his comeback, and not just because Ye Qiu's name was bigger than Zhang Jia Le's.

There were still those who stubbornly defended Ye Qiu, of course, but they were few in number. Compared to the chorus of condemnation, they were almost invisible. It should be known that among those condemning him, besides the angry Jia Shi fans who had turned against him, there were many Glory players who had always disliked Ye Qiu, and even many who had no feelings for him. If fans turned against him, what was so strange about those in the middle being swayed?

The number of people who still believed in Ye Qiu dwindled with each escalation of the situation.

But Qiu Fei was one of them.

He was someone who had received personal instruction from Ye Qiu, and he knew better than anyone Ye Qiu's loyalty to Glory and his affection for Jia Shi.

Ye Qiu would do such a thing? He didn't believe it at all. He had heard those widespread rumors and gossip, but he wouldn't argue, just dismissing them with a smile. The innocent are innocent, and the guilty are guilty, Qiu Fei believed in that.

Until the club issued a statement confirming that the Jun Mo Xiao in the Xin Xing team fighting against Jia Shi was indeed Ye Qiu.

Who would doubt the club's public statement? The training camp was naturally abuzz with discussion again, and the gazes directed at Qiu Fei were particularly meaningful.

Although Qiu Fei had never defended against the various rumors he didn't believe, his dismissive attitude was still obvious. Everyone knew that this guy had always believed in Ye Qiu. And now, with the club confirming the news, did this guy still dare not believe it?

Qiu Fei remained expressionless.

No one knew the pain and conflict he felt after learning the news.

The difference between the truth and his understanding was too great. The former captain he thought was loyal to Glory and loved the team had actually done such a thing? He had actually used retirement to abandon the team when it was in a difficult situation? The person who always taught him to focus on victory and never give up had abandoned the entire team at this time? And now, he wanted to repay Jia Shi in this way? Was he abandoning the team and now wanting to use the team as his stepping stone?

Qiu Fei's faith in Glory was collapsing because of this. Everything he believed in had been built with the help of this person. And now, this person was doing things that contradicted his words, how could Qiu Fei continue to believe? To doubt this person was to doubt his own beliefs.

Qiu Fei made many mistakes in training that day, but no one noticed. Because Qiu Fei had never needed anyone to worry about him. He wasn't like the many lazy, playful, and unfocused children who always needed their supervisor to watch them.

What exactly was he sacrificing everything for Glory for?

Qiu Fei's mind was wavering, and everything in the past was being denied. He was lost.

Then, the media reported that Jun Mo Xiao was not Ye Qiu.

This news, which slapped Jia Shi in the face and embarrassed countless Glory fans, was great news for Qiu Fei.

So the club was wrong.

Jun Mo Xiao was not Ye Qiu, it was all just rumors.

Qiu Fei was very happy because what he had always believed in and insisted on had been restored. But at this time, the club issued another statement, saying that even if Jun Mo Xiao was not Ye Qiu, Ye Qiu was indeed on the Xin Xing team.

However, Qiu Fei at this time, like those radical fans who had been persuaded to disperse, could no longer be led by the nose by various channels of statements.

The last time he believed the club's statement, radical fans besieged Xin Xing, Qiu Fei's faith collapsed, and he began to doubt and deny everything he had worked hard for. Then, the media reported that radical fans besieged Jia Shi, Qiu Fei regained his faith. Then the club had another statement, so the radical fans just retreated from the gate of Jia Shi and would not block Xin Xing anymore. And Qiu Fei would not collapse again because of this, but in the end, a layer of haze was buried in his heart.

He really didn't want the truth to be like this.

But at this moment, the character of the Xin Xing team, Ye Qiu, was standing in front of him, greeting him.

Qiu Fei couldn't believe it was true, or rather, didn't want to believe it.

Ye Qiu was indeed still on the Xin Xing team. He just didn't register with the name Jun Mo Xiao. But the Challenger League system was not as strict as the professional league, especially in the replacement of members, which was quite free. In addition to not being able to replace characters at will, if someone quit or joined halfway, they could apply. Although there were certain restrictions, it was extremely easy to add someone.

However, having experienced a collapse once, Qiu Fei didn't become as unbearable as before this time. Especially when the person involved was right in front of him, Qiu Fei's heart was full of anger, and the feeling of being deceived was particularly strong.

He didn't hear what the other person said. He took the lead and rushed up.

The onlookers cheered.

Of course, they didn't know that there had been a brief exchange between the two, and that the meaning of this match was very different. What they wanted to see was a slap in the face, a hard slap in the face. At this time, they cheered for the Dou Mo Shi (Battle Mage), which made Li Rui feel depressed and jealous.

"So anxious?" Ye Xiu was stunned. This kid hadn't answered his question just now and had already rushed up. He had no choice but to parry. With a flick of the mouse, two battle spears clashed forcefully. The battle didn't stop because of this collision. Dou Mo Shi turned his body, took a half step, and pushed a Falling Flower Palm towards Han Rou.

Han Rou immediately dodged, and her spear slashed upwards, returning a Sky Strike.

Seemingly a skill exchange that would result in mutual damage, only experts could tell that this Sky Strike could hit the opponent before the Falling Flower Palm. The Falling Flower Palm had no super armor, and this slight difference in timing was enough to completely defuse the palm.

Qiu Fei didn't try to collide head-on. His skill changed again, the Falling Flower Palm was canceled, and he dodged the Sky Strike while returning a strike.

"Oh, you've improved a lot during this time!" Ye Xiu was quite pleased. Deliberately making the time difference between skills minimal was a common trick used by professional players. Just half a year ago, Qiu Fei might not have been able to clearly distinguish it, but now, the seamless change of moves showed that he had completely and clearly perceived the priority of the two skills.

"Not bad." The subsequent response won Ye Xiu's praise. Has this child finally grown up?

"Thank you for your guidance. I am very grateful." Qiu Fei replied at this time, his tone so cold that Ye Xiu was a little surprised. Qiu Fei didn't talk much, but he wasn't as unsociable as Mo Fan. This kid seems to have a lot of resentment towards me! Ye Xiu noticed.