Chapter 1 The First Match

Ye Xiu was the first to walk onto the Happy's competition seat. It wasn't just Pan Lin who was surprised, but the audience and even the players of Team Hundred Blossoms were also taken aback by this.

Under normal circumstances, the core general would appear in the team competition to strive for those two points, rarely appearing in the individual competition. Was Happy's arrangement a direct abandonment of the team competition, preparing to focus on the three points of the individual competition?

There was no need to think about these things now, as the list of players was set before the match. From Team Hundred Blossoms, Zeng Xinxin appeared in the visiting team's competition seat.

Who was Zeng Xinxin?

Before this match, no one knew.

This was a newcomer whom Team Hundred Blossoms had just promoted from their training camp this season. When the list of registered players for the new season was submitted to the Alliance, it could barely be considered the first time his name had appeared in the professional circle. Then, Electronic Sports Weekly published the 10th season's lineup review of the 20 teams on September 1st. Of course, all officially registered players would appear on the list. Some more important transfers would have a brief introduction, but Zeng Xinxin was merely listed by name. He appeared silently in the Hundred Blossoms lineup. There was no press conference held specifically for him, and no reporter thought of conducting an exclusive interview with him.

This was not a newcomer showered with love, but his talent still allowed the team to give him a chance. He became an official player, and then waited for the opportunity to play. Then, he would earn his space to survive in this circle through his performance.

In the opening match, Hundred Blossoms did not send him to play. Zeng Xinxin sat on the bench for an entire match, but he was not annoyed. Except for a very few so-called geniuses, this was the inevitable experience for every newcomer. The people of Team Hundred Blossoms felt this even more. Because they watched a player walk out of the training camp, officially sign a contract, then start from the bench, to get some sporadic opportunities, and then gradually become a main player, a core player, and then, become the top大神 (dàshén, literally "great god") of the Alliance.

Tang Hao!

For newcomers starting from the bench, there was no more inspiring story than Tang Hao's.

And Zeng Xinxin, he inherited the delinquent role, Deli Luo, left vacant after Tang Hao left Hundred Blossoms. He was secretly determined to be like Tang Hao, carving out his own place from the bench. And now, in the second round of the league, he had already gotten his chance. He knew that he had gotten his chance earlier than Tang Hao did, which excited him greatly.

He was excited, he was thrilled, he didn't sleep well all night. Now he was finally on the field, and the player he was facing was Ye Xiu.

No one was unaware of Ye Xiu's past achievements, but for newcomers, this did not feel too oppressive. Because that glorious period was too long ago, only players who had been in contact with Glory for more than ten years had the chance to witness it firsthand. Zeng Xinxin didn't have such a long history. When he came into contact with Glory and entered the Hundred Blossoms training camp, Ye Xiu had already been labeled as outdated. Then, Ye Xiu retired, and then came back, Excellent Era disbanded, a complete mess. Zeng Xinxin envied the excitement that this top-tier大神 (dàshén) could create, but his understanding of Ye Xiu's strength only began when the whole team prepared for Happy this time. Like others, their understanding of the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella's散人 (sǎnrén, unspecialized) could only remain in theory, unable to gain inspiration from practice.

Team Hundred Blossoms was troubled by this, but Zeng Xinxin was quite relieved, because he didn't think he would have the opportunity to meet Ye Xiu. He was only playing in one individual match, and the team competition had nothing to do with him. He didn't think he would encounter Happy's core大神 (dàshén) in the individual competition.

As a result, what he didn't think would happen did happen. This rookie who had just emerged into the world encountered the most experienced大神 (dàshén) in Glory in his first professional match.

The tsunami-like applause from the audience for Ye Xiu made half of Zeng Xinxin's body go numb. He realized that professional matches were not as simple as he had imagined. Why was there such a suffocating feeling in such a large venue? Happy was a new team that had just entered the Alliance, but it had so many supporters? It was so noisy…

Zeng Xinxin entered the competition seat. This was a space completely isolated from the outside world, but his mind was still in chaos. That noisy, suffocating feeling remained in his mind, unable to be dispelled.

A minute passed, and Ye Xiu's Lord Grim had already logged in and was ready in the battle room, but Zeng Xinxin had no movement.

What was going on? There was a commotion in the audience, and the referee immediately took action to confirm the situation with Zeng Xinxin. Then he saw a player with a stiff body and a very tight expression.

It was pressure.

The referee was also experienced. He had seen this kind of situation more than once or twice. He knew at a glance that this player was too nervous.

"Are you ready?" The referee sighed. He knew that this player was definitely not ready, but the competition system would not allow him to prepare indefinitely. He could only confirm this. If he was ready, the match would start immediately. If he wasn't ready, then it would be considered a forfeit.

Zeng Xinxin certainly knew the rules, and quickly nodded. Then, at the referee's signal, he swiped his card to log in to his character, entered the room, and prepared for the match…

The countdown ended quickly. Lord Grim, Deli Luo, both characters entered the competition map.

Deli Luo, the character Tang Hao used to use, had also been carefully polished by Hundred Blossoms when Tang Hao was there. However, after Tang Hao left, Hundred Blossoms revived their former combination of Berserker and Grenadier, and Deli Luo was no longer the account being given special attention. Then, the level 75 update came, and of course, Deli Luo would not be the character to receive resources first. Now it was handed over to a newcomer, and most of the character's equipment was still the same as when Tang Hao used it. Any improvements were achieved through level 75 orange equipment rather than silver equipment.

In comparison, Happy's weakness in characters was not so obvious in front of this Deli Luo. Lord Grim's Myriad Manifestations Umbrella was level 70, and although he didn't have any silver equipment, his level 75 orange equipment was comparable to level 70 silver equipment. As for the suitability of details, to be honest, only wealthy teams were qualified to be particular about that.

As soon as the match started, Ye Xiu controlled Lord Grim to rush forward decisively. What about Zeng Xinxin? At this time, he was still in a semi-stiff state. He was still organizing his emotions, and hadn't moved for a long time.

The audience didn't know Zeng Xinxin's situation. At first glance at the performance on the field, the veteran rushed up anxiously, while the newcomer stayed calmly in place. Were these two playing in reverse?

The audience didn't know Zeng Xinxin's situation, and Ye Xiu didn't know either. Ye Xiu couldn't understand this kind of newcomer who was making his debut, so he could only gradually observe through the match.

As a result, Lord Grim rushed to the middle, but there was no opponent.

Tactical positioning?

This was a subconscious judgment by a professional player. Ye Xiu immediately paid attention to the terrain near the center circle. This was Happy's home field, and the map was chosen by Happy. Ye Xiu wouldn't go wrong on this map even with his eyes closed. He instantly noticed several possible ambush entry points, but didn't find any movement from the opponent.

Playing dirty?

The judgments derived from experience were endless. The rogue class was fully capable of playing dirty. So Ye Xiu was vigilant, watching in all directions, commanding Lord Grim to move forward, deliberately selling flaws several times, but no one paid attention.

At this time, Zeng Xinxin of Hundred Blossoms was still adjusting his state at the spawn point, and hadn't moved. The audience, from God's perspective, was completely confused. Those who had watched Happy's Challenger League matches looked for Wei Chen on Happy's player seat. This stationary猥琐 (wěisuǒ, wretched) was very similar to this old player! Happy had used this kind of method to attack others before. Today, was retribution coming?

If this was the Challenger League, the audience would inevitably have some small expectations and excitement, but this was different! Now it was a formal league, and this was Happy's home field. Although the popularity couldn't compare to the old Excellent Era, it was definitely enough to make small and medium teams envious! A large audience meant more ticket revenue, which could be considered the team's main source of daily income.

So the Happy supporters at the scene were a little worried at this time, afraid that this unknown newcomer from Hundred Blossoms had some strange tricks.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became heavy. Everyone watched as Lord Grim gradually approached Deli Luo, while Deli Luo remained calm.

Finally, the two characters appeared in each other's vision! Ye Xiu saw Deli Luo, and Zeng Xinxin also saw Lord Grim.

And then, Deli Luo charged up!

Straight, without taking any detours, completely without any tactical awareness, he rushed up so bluntly, looking like he was going to fight to the end.

There must be a conspiracy!

The audience was thinking. If it was really going to be a fight to the end like this, what had he been doing before? Was he standing still to conserve his energy? Honestly, Glory didn't have this concept of conserving energy. Many players would perform some pointless, ineffective operations when they didn't encounter their opponents at the start of the match, often to warm up and focus their attention. Waiting motionlessly like Zeng Xinxin must be a conspiracy, like Wei Chen of Happy back then…

The audience didn't have time to think about it, because the collision had already occurred on the field. Zeng Xinxin of Hundred Blossoms, the schemer in everyone's mind, was sent flying in the first exchange.

The audience was stunned. Ye Xiu was also a little surprised. He had been careful, with several changes and follow-up moves hidden behind a Falling Flower Palm, but he was directly sent flying with one palm?

Follow-up moves…

Lord Grim waved his spear, but missed. This was a rare mistake for a veteran like Ye Xiu. It was really too unexpected to hit with this palm.

Then Deli Luo, who was blown away, seemed to twitch as he landed, and then, he fell to the ground.

What the heck?

Ye Xiu was dumbfounded. He even failed the 受身 (shòushēn, graceful landing) operation. Was this… a professional player?

Ye Xiu was even a little dazed. Was this a professional arena? Wasn't he just虐菜 (nüè cài, bullying noobs) in the online game arena or the Challenger League?

Conspiracy? Ye Xiu didn't go forward. Lord Grim used ranged attacks, bombarded the opponent, and then, he felt relieved.

A conspiracy was impossible. If it was a conspiracy, this act was too much. The person in front of him was just in terrible condition for some reason. Lord Grim rushed forward, without any hesitation, and quickly solved his opponent, achieving victory.

The audience at the scene had forgotten to applaud and cheer for the home team in a daze. What was going on? Was this victory too easy? Was Hundred Blossoms throwing the match?