Li Yibo, having been forced into the position, had to say a few words in the end. But he absolutely dared not say which side had a greater advantage, so he introduced the characteristics of the two players. Pan Lin on the side was depressed. He, the commentator, was more than capable of doing the introductions. The role of the guest was to talk about deeper insights! However, he also understood Li Yibo's feelings at this time and did not press him too much. The two chatted and dragged it out, just enough to get through the break, and the individual competition officially began.

Happy, Fang Rui, Hail Wuliang.

Samsara, Sun Xiang, One Autumn Leaf.

As for the map, with Fang Rui wanting to play dirty, it was naturally impossible to have the kind of wide-open spaces that Ye Xiu always liked. This map selection for the individual competition had a lot of ditches and gullies. Sure enough, as soon as Hail Wuliang entered the map, he immediately dove into a pit and disappeared. This map, called Five-Sided Trench, had many crisscrossing gullies. For players who wanted to move in secret, this map was extremely convenient.

Diving into the trenches, Hail Wuliang skillfully shuttled under the surface, without needing to raise his head to see what position he was at. In no time at all, Hail Wuliang had reached the center of the map. Fang Rui then maneuvered him to turn into a narrow ditch next to him. Then, quietly raising Hail Wuliang's head, he was blocked by a stone tablet standing by the ditch. Then, cautiously, he revealed half of his view, looking outwards.

Fang Rui's familiarity with the map was unquestionable, but unfortunately, Hail Wuliang stuck out half his head but didn't see anything. One Autumn Leaf didn't appear in the center of the map.

Fang Rui was surprised and even subconsciously checked his opponent again. It was indeed One Autumn Leaf, but the one controlling him wasn't Ye Xiu, who used to be as dirty as himself, but Sun Xiang.

Sun Xiang... didn't charge to the center immediately? Sun Xiang actually used tactical positioning?

This was a bit beyond Fang Rui's expectations. In his mind, this young man wasn't one to engage in these things. Like Tang Hao, like Zhao Yuzhe, this generation of players seemed to yearn for a direct and straightforward confrontation.

Sun Xiang's performance for Samsara this season was basically still in that style, but this match was a clear change. Was it because his opponent was the dirty Fang Rui?

Changing his style because of his opponent, this was something that everyone thought wouldn't happen to Sun Xiang, but now, it really did.

Fang Rui scratched his head, suddenly realizing that he didn't know what to do next.

What would Sun Xiang be like with tactical positioning? He really didn't know, because this kid had never fought like this before!

Fang Rui didn't know whether to be happy or depressed about the special attention his opponent was giving him.

But right now, this ambush location should be pretty good. Fang Rui carefully sized up his surroundings. If it were other opponents, Fang Rui could use his understanding of the terrain to judge their actions, but Sun Xiang... this guy who, in his mind, would never go with a tactical style, Fang Rui really didn't know how to judge.

Should he wait patiently, or lure him out?

Fang Rui pondered, while starting to send trash talk.

"Hey, why can't I see you? Did you learn to be bad when you went to Samsara? You wouldn't be like this before!" Fang Rui's tone made it seem like he was very familiar with Sun Xiang, but in reality, they had never had any interaction before.

The channel was silent. Sun Xiang didn't reply.

"Actually, in a match, you should just play how you play, don't worry too much about your opponent! Maybe my dirty style put a lot of pressure on you, but adopting a playstyle you're not good at because of that might not give you satisfactory results!" Fang Rui ignored the other's reaction and continued to chatter on.

While saying this, he didn't keep Hail Wuliang still, but carefully moved in the gully, starting to scout the area.

Where was One Autumn Leaf?

The audience, of course, knew very well that Sun Xiang's actions at the start had surprised everyone. He actually, like Fang Rui, had One Autumn Leaf dive into the gully, moving in secret.

"Sun Xiang's performance today is a bit unexpected!" In the broadcast, Pan Lin had already begun to sigh in amazement.

"Yes, this isn't like his usual style," Li Yibo said.

"It seems he's still a bit wary of Fang Rui's dirty style," Pan Lin said.

"Well... Fang Rui's Qi Master, in a sense, is a bit similar to Ye Xiu's unspecialized. The innovative class positioning and playstyle will make opponents unfamiliar with them. Most of the past experience in dealing with Qi Masters is useless because Fang Rui's style is different from everyone else's," Li Yibo said.

"But is Sun Xiang overcorrecting by changing his playstyle because of this, Instructor Li?" Pan Lin said.

"Ah... this... let's see how they perform first. I believe Sun Xiang should also have come prepared. His opponent should be a bit surprised by his actions," Li Yibo didn't make any substantial comments, but made a very simple prediction.

As a result, Fang Rui was indeed a bit surprised by Sun Xiang's actions. Seeing the trash talk he kept spamming in the channel, Li Yibo was relieved, finally getting one right. Although no one would admire him for it.

"Sun Xiang is really holding back today!" Pan Lin said.

From their God's perspective, they could clearly see that Sun Xiang's One Autumn Leaf had also reached the central part of the map, but hadn't been as active as Fang Rui, finding a spot and silently squatting down.

"Sun Xiang's positioning..." Li Yibo had something to say, but stopped himself from speaking. The current him was like a constantly defeated competitor, his confidence almost gone.

"It's a short section in the center of the gully. The corners at both ends are within the Battle Mage's attack range," Pan Lin introduced the characteristics of this position.

"Yes..." Li Yibo's heart itched, wanting to say it so badly! But he had to be calm, another voice told him.

Sun Xiang was waiting, Fang Rui was constantly searching for his target. Hail Wuliang was shuttling under the gullies, occasionally sticking his head out to observe the ground. The trash talk in the channel continued to be spammed, but never received any response.

Finally, Hail Wuliang step by step, approached the short gully where One Autumn Leaf was hiding. The tiptoeing, almost crawling Hail Wuliang didn't make a sound. Everyone's hearts were in their throats. At this turn, as soon as he stuck his head out, One Autumn Leaf's Evil Annihilation could immediately stab over.

But just two steps away from sticking his head out, Hail Wuliang's movement suddenly stopped, tightly leaning against the gully wall, as if listening intently.

The two characters were separated by just a corner. If you calculated the straight-line distance, it was probably only three or four body lengths. No one moved, no one spoke. All that could be seen was Fang Rui continuing to spout nonsense in the public channel.

Fang Rui wasn't a chatterbox either. After saying a few key points at the start, he didn't have anything left to say at this point. Even copying and pasting such a low-skill thing. In a place separated by just a corner, the scene was paused.

Tense, eerie.

The audience didn't know if the two had noticed that their opponent was right next to them. This atmosphere, with the arrow on the string, made it difficult for them to breathe.

The first to move was ultimately Fang Rui. He cautiously stuck out a bit of his view. After observing the environment in this area, he finally had Hail Wuliang retreat slightly, rub his hands together, and a Qi blade drew an arc, flying around. Then, he once again made a careful listening motion.

He heard it, and at the same time... he saw it.

The instant the Qi blade flew past the corner, One Autumn Leaf had already stepped out from the corner. Sun Xiang, who had been enduring until now, didn't hesitate, didn't pretend after finally waiting for his opponent to get close. He directly had One Autumn Leaf charge out. In the end, he chose a head-on confrontation.

However, what was more important at this time was that Fang Rui could only meet this head-on confrontation. The distance between them, Sun Xiang's decisive and quick reaction, didn't allow him to make any more dirty tactical maneuvers. With gully walls on both sides, One Autumn Leaf's Evil Annihilation instantly stabbed in front of him.

Li Yibo was very regretful.

After seeing Sun Xiang's positioning, he had vaguely guessed Sun Xiang's plan. It was to keep enduring until the opponent found him here. This position was chosen very well. The external environment made people afraid to jump out easily here. Inside the gully, when he launched an attack, the distance to Hail Wuliang could be close enough, and thus launching a direct confrontation wouldn't give Fang Rui a chance to escape and play dirty.

However, lacking confidence, he hadn't dared to say this guess. But now it seemed that Sun Xiang was planning this. After noticing that Hail Wuliang was right next to him, he immediately started the offensive that he was best at.

The gullies used for hidden movement had now become Fang Rui's cage. The dirty style wasn't just a tactic, the technique could also be dirty, but in any case, it needed a certain amount of space for the character to move and change positions. But now, he was hitting walls on the left and right, with One Autumn Leaf constantly attacking in front. There was no chance to jump out of the gully, and he could only retreat step by step. Under such limited conditions, even Fang Rui, the master of the dirty style, couldn't make bricks without straw.

What Sun Xiang was waiting for, what he was thinking, seemed to be this moment.

After that, his playstyle was the aggressive style that he was good at. But the calmness beforehand had helped him win such a scene, such an environment. At this time, Sun Xiang's aggressive attacks seemed more efficient, making his opponent more helpless.

Sun Xiang's advantage wasn't just technical, but also tactical. The timing, the terrain, were all on his side at this time, and his individual performance was also very steady.

Hail Wuliang ultimately fell. No one expected that Fang Rui's dirty style, in such a suitable map for it, was barely showcased. From the moment he met his opponent, he was suppressed. His tactics couldn't be executed, his techniques couldn't be used, and he was ultimately killed in the gully.

Yes, until the end, Fang Rui couldn't make Hail Wuliang jump out of the gully he had initially hidden in.

Individual competition, Sun Xiang, with a 72% advantage, took the first victory.