Chapter 1 An Embarrassing Reason

Because of a very embarrassing reason, Bao Zi lost the first individual match in a very undignified manner. He hadn't been able to get close to his opponent the entire time, and in the end, he was completely defeated. Such a result instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the spectators, who had waited too long for this day.

With the release of this emotion, the Wuji fans in the audience were stunned.

In the first round, their captain won beautifully! At this time, the fans were all cheering for their captain! But this large group of people's screen spamming was directed at Wuji's opponent, with various taunts, ridicules, and sarcastic remarks instantly dominating the entire chat channel. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that Wuji and Xingxin were sworn enemies! If they weren't such rivals, fans would rarely attack their opponents so unitedly when their own side had the upper hand. The vast majority of fans were very rational, had good manners, and showed good sportsmanship.

And these spectators who were targeting Xingxin were not necessarily rude or lacking manners. It was just that they had suppressed this fire against Xingxin for too long...

"Xingxin's trash, did you see that? This is what a professional team is! This is what a professional player is, hahaha!"

"Directly and completely defeated. Xingxin's level? 'High' is the only word for it!"

"The terror of professional players, do you understand now?"

Don't mention it. The reason Bao Zi lost was embarrassing to say the least, but among ordinary players, it actually had some depth. Ordinary players' level of skill meant they didn't realize Bao Zi Invasion couldn't find his way. Gunners' tactics were to suppress the opponent with firepower and prevent them from getting close. Wu Chen's basic skills were solid, and his attack routines were extremely skilled. In the eyes of ordinary people, it really seemed like Bao Zi was completely suppressed and they wouldn't have guessed that Bao Zi himself had a problem.

"Professional team... They're really amazing..." Even Bao Zi said with some annoyance as he took off his headset after losing, "They actually chose such a complex map. Really, they're too amazing."

"Yeah..." Ye Xiu didn't say much either. Linjiang Water Corridor was a rather winding map if you insisted on taking the corridors. Bao Zi didn't know the way to begin with, and with Wu Chen's skilled fire suppression, it wasn't entirely unexpected that he didn't perform well. Whether he went into the water or not wasn't the key. Bao Zi wasn't very skilled in water combat either, and it was likely that Wu Chen would have continued to suppress him in the water. This map was carefully prepared by the Wuji team.

Everyone came over to comfort Bao Zi, who was a bit dejected after losing the match. Even Mo Fan slightly parted his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

The second individual match started quickly. Xingxin's player was Qiao Yifan and his One Inch Ash, while Wuji's player was a Sharpshooter named Shooting Here.

The Sharpshooter wasn't one of the six core characters of the Wuji team. However, since healers were rarely sent out in individual matches or team arena matches, the team inevitably had one person other than the six main players to appear in individual or arena matches. That's how the so-called trump card substitute, the seventh player, was cultivated.

Shooting Here played that kind of role.

The match started, and Wuji actually chose Linjiang Water Corridor again as the map for the second individual match. He took the initiative to rush towards One Inch Ash, looking much more proactive than Wu Chen in the previous match.

The spectating players and fans didn't know about Bao Zi's condition in the previous match, but Bao Zi's opponent, Wu Chen, had seen it. When he told his teammates about it, everyone was stunned.

Although this wasn't a professional competition, if a team had the ambition to return to the professional circle, then their attitude towards the Challenger League would probably be even more cautious and serious than their attitude towards the Pro League. In the Pro League, losing one match might not affect the final result. But in the Challenger League, one loss could lead to a year of the team's wasted effort.

In this situation, they actually sent up a newbie who wasn't even familiar with the map...

Was this contempt, or was Xingxin simply out of people to send?

Speaking of which, Wuji chose this map to take advantage of their opponents not being as professional as them. But not knowing the way was just too unprofessional, and the effect of the map exceeded their expectations, to the point that they came up with these new ideas.

The second player to appear was too lazy to waste time with this inexplicable team, so he took the initiative to close in from the start. But Qiao Yifan was also decisive. One Inch Ash twisted his body, and with a *plop*, he took the initiative to plunge into the water.

The water in the Linjiang Water Corridor wasn't deep. But after the ripples caused by One Inch Ash entering the water subsided, there was no longer a trace of a ripple on the surface of the water.

This... Either One Inch Ash wasn't moving, or if he was moving, then it could only mean one thing: Professionalism!

It wasn't something professional players would do. There were very few people who would master how to move underwater in a way that wouldn't cause ripples on the surface. This underwater stealth technique was part of the training that only professional players would undergo!

One Inch Ash was Qiao Yifan.

This information was only known by Team Excellent Era because of the visit that Tao Xuan made with Xiao Shiqin and Sun Xiang, where they accidentally found out. Apart from that, even Qiao Yifan's former team, Tiny Herb, didn't know where this young man who hadn't been offered a contract extension had gone after leaving the team.

Even Tiny Herb didn't know, so how would the Wuji team know that their opponent had a young man who came from a championship team? Although he was a nobody on the championship team, Qiao Yifan had at least come all the way through the rigorous training of a championship team. His class had changed, but operations like underwater stealth weren't affected much by the change in class. With Qiao Yifan's diligence, he naturally mastered it perfectly.

At this time, One Inch Ash was slowly walking underwater, preparing to approach his target unexpectedly.

The Wuji player realized that his opponent knew the underwater stealth technique, and faintly felt that this opponent wasn't simple, so he didn't dare to be careless. He slowly stopped and carefully stared at the area of water where One Inch Ash had disappeared.

There were no ripples on the surface of the water, but the water in this area was a bit too shallow. If a character was walking underwater, the shadow of their body couldn't be hidden.

However, you couldn't see this shadow from a long distance. While watching the surface of the water, the Wuji player still had his character Shooting Here approach that area. But at this time, he had already put away the impetuous mentality he had at the beginning, and he wasn't walking fast.

While watching the surface of the water, he calculated the time in his mind. Because it wasn't possible to stay underwater indefinitely. Characters needed to come up for air. However, with this terrain, and with this player's skill, he probably wouldn't be discovered when he came up for air. Under the corridor, there were plenty of places where he could let his character stick his head out to breathe without being discovered.

Sure enough, the Wuji player estimated that the time was almost up, but he didn't see One Inch Ash surface at all.

Where is this guy hiding?

The Wuji player was getting a little anxious. This map was originally chosen to bully his opponent, but now he was being used by his opponent, putting him on the defensive. This completely reversed situation made him feel a little caught off guard.

Was he going underwater too?

This player had considered this idea, but his skill in water combat wasn't very good. He wasn't a real professional player who had played in the Pro League, but he had been brought in to fill the gap after Wuji was relegated and many people left. People like him inevitably lacked confidence, and seeing One Inch Ash expertly using the underwater stealth technique, he didn't dare to enter the water easily.

He should test it out first!

After thinking for a moment, the Wuji player decided to test it out. Shooting Here raised his dual guns and immediately fired randomly at various areas of the water.

Normal attacks didn't cost anything, so he fired them as much as he wanted. The surface of the water instantly lost its calm, and waves were stirred up everywhere, wetting many of the corridors. But this was definitely not the scenery that the Wuji player would pay attention to. His vision was always focused on where the bullets were landing. Whether the bullets hit the target, or the character dodged the bullets, large movements could occur.

Over there!

In the waves stirred up by the bullets, the Wuji player suddenly discovered an unusual surge. Without any hesitation, he used his available skills without any regard for their cost, blasting them at that area. At the same time, his character quickly approached. He needed an angle where he could see the shadow of the person underwater clearly, so he could suppress him further. Gunners also had the advantage of attacking from a distance. Suppressing a target underwater was much easier than suppressing them on land.

Shooting Here's footsteps seemed so light as he skillfully wandered around the corridor, his vision never leaving the target area that he had finally locked onto. The various attacks didn't seem to cause too much trouble for his opponent. However, this time, the lock-on allowed the Wuji player to roughly determine the opponent's location. He believed that if he got a little closer, he could easily see his opponent's shadow in the water.

*Poof!*

Suddenly, with a soft sound, Shooting Here's footsteps stopped uncontrollably. A blue and white halo seemed to flash past. The Wuji player realized something and was shocked. He glanced at his side and saw underwater, the Ice Soul Guardian, which was refracted as if it was broken into several sections, and was continuing to break with the movement of the water.

Ice Formation!

It was the Ghost Swordsman's Ice Formation. At this time, it was placed in the water, but it controlled the spatial position of the corridor. The Wuji player was only focused on the target he had discovered, but he never expected that there was such a trap hidden where he had passed.

The damage and limitation of the Ice Formation were just the beginning. The Wuji player soon saw a figure underwater, a blade of light constantly flashing in his hand.

Blade Soul Guardian, Plague Soul Guardian, Blood Soul Guardian...

One after another, the power of the ghosts and gods were summoned. In an instant, countless Ghost Formations were stacked here. Various powers of ghosts and gods were attached to Shooting Here, as if he was a collection of abnormal statuses.

The surface of the water suddenly cracked open. One Inch Ash jumped up, the Disaster Blade in his hand emitting a dark purple glow, carrying a special sword aura condensed with the power of ghosts and gods, and slashed straight at Shooting Here.

One move to decide the winner!