The King's Avatar

Little Ming couldn’t figure out who Qiao Yifan was, but no matter how great of a background he came from, how could he compare to Su Mucheng? Little Ming could recite the names of every All Star, but there was no Qiao Yifan.

Little Ming didn’t dare to go say hi! He cautiously shifted his gaze away to see if he had missed any other big figures. When he turned around, he saw a pretty girl. He was a bit startled. The two of them were fairly close!

Isn’t that Sis Tang? The two were familiar with each other!

Seeing a friend excited Little Ming. He immediately spoke up and asked Chen Guo: ”Hey! Little Tang is starting to play too?”

”Yeah! She was always talented!” Chen Guo said.

”But I thought she wasn’t interested in Glory?” Little Ming said.

”She isn’t interested if the opponent’s too weak.” Chen Guo said.

”Which one was she among those characters?” Little Ming asked.

”Battle Mage, Soft Mist.” Chen Guo answered.

”F*ck me...” Little Ming started to sweat. Their friendly match followed the official competitive format. In the individual competition, their side lost all three rounds. In the group arena, they were 1v3d. In the team competition, they couldn’t even get the other side’s sixth player to come out before their team was annihilated. And the one to 1v3 them in the group arena was the Battle Mage Soft Mist. Moreover, from what it looked like, the 1v3 wasn’t a struggle for her. If another two went up, those two would probably be crushed too.

”What do you think? My team’s pretty good, right?” Chen Guo said.

”Good, too good! They’re not any worse than the pros!” Little Ming exclaimed with admiration. He was being sincere, but unfortunately, his skill level might not be good enough to make such a claim. He felt like if they could beat his team so easily, they were probably at a pro level. His point of reference wasn’t right though. An elementary student and a university student were just as good at figuring out 1+1=2.

”Do you still think my words before are a joke?” Chen Guo said.

”Of course not. Sis Chen, once you enter the pro scene, I’ll be your number one fan.” Little Ming said.

”You’re not going to support Excellent Era?” Chen Guo smiled. She obviously knew that Little Ming was an Excellent Era fan. If not, why would he be so excited, when he saw Lord Grim, or be so stunned, after meeting Ye Xiu.

”I support everyone.” Little Ming said.

”But in the Challenger League, there’s only one winner.” Chen Guo said.

”Ah, that…..” Little Ming stared foolishly. He had remembered this fact, when he treated Chen Guo’s words as a joke, but he had completely forgotten about it. For a moment, his expression turned awkward. Even though he was more familiar with Chen Guo, he sincerely supported and loved Team Excellent Era. In comparison, his feelings towards Team Excellent Era might be deeper. But in that case, he couldn’t give his support to Chen Guo. It really made him feel uneasy!

”Now you’re thinking we’re troublesome and no longer want to pay your respects, right?” Chen Guo was still smiling. She had once been a loyal fan, so she could imagine Little Ming’s feelings.

”No way!” Little Ming blurted out. In his mind, God Ye Qiu and Excellent Era were one. Supporting God Ye Qiu meant supporting Excellent Era. At the same time, supporting Excellent Era meant supporting God Ye Qiu. He didn’t think that a day would arrive, where he would need to make a choice between the two. At this moment, Little Ming felt uncomfortable on the inside. He even felt a bit regretful. Why did he ask for a match today? Why did he have to know that Ye Qiu was creating his own team and trying to return through the Challenger League? He had heard rumors of it before, but now he knew the truth. This sort of feeling didn’t feel good at all.

After seeing God Ye Qiu, Little Ming had originally been nervous. But at this moment, he suddenly mustered up his courage and stood up: ”God Ye Qiu, why do you need to create another team! If you want to return, why not go back to Excellent Era?”

Little Ming looked uneasy at first, but intense emotions took over, giving everyone a fright. The practice room instantly fell silent. Ye Xiu was as calm as ever. He slowly shook his head: ”I want to go back too, but not to the current Excellent Era. Their way of thinking differs too much from mine.”

”Any conflicting views can be talked out!”

”Some conflicts can’t be resolved through talking. One side must make a change. It’s too bad that we’re all persistent people.” Ye Xiu said.

”But does it need to be like this? Both of you need to fight against each other for a single placing?” Little Ming was depressed.

”Those are the rules. We just happened to bump into each other.” Ye Xiu said.

”...” Little Ming was unable to respond. He stood there dumbly, unsure what to say. He had to make a choice, but he didn’t want to. Little Ming believed that a lot of other fans would be heartbroken like him. Ye Qiu and Excellent Era would be enemies. It would be a life and death battlefield like the Challenger League too.

Before coming up, Little Ming just wanted to pay his respects to God Ye Qiu, but he hadn’t thought of this point. After realizing it, he found it difficult to face.

Chen Guo’s expression changed too. From the bantering to the digesting of information to now, she could completely understand Little Ming’s emotions.

”Are you okay?” Chen Guo asked. Little Ming standing there frozen frightened her a bit.

”I’m….. fine... sigh…..” Little Ming sighed. His initial excitement at seeing God Ye Qiu was completely gone now.

”Think broader.. It’s the same in the Alliance.” Chen Guo consoled.

”I know. I just didn’t think it’d happen to me. Everyone was waiting to watch the Hundred Blossoms show, but who would have thought…..” Little Ming sighed. Team Hundred Blossom’s Zhang Jiale returned to join Team Tyranny. Some fans were angry. Some fans wished him well. At the same time, some were conflicted between the two sides.

However, the conflict between Zhang Jiale and Hundred Blossoms couldn’t compare to the intensity of the conflict between Ye Xiu and Excellent Era.

The Challenger League was a life or death battlefield! If you win, you return to the pro scene. If you lose, you would need to stay in the Challenger League for another year. There had never been a team, which stood back up after failing to make it back in the first time.

Excellent Era was rich and powerful, but the more rich and powerful they were, the less they could take such a downfall. A team that could once contend for the championship title was now participating in the Challenger League year after year. How could the fans bear that? The team’s pro players wouldn’t be able to either! It was already praiseworthy for the two Gods, Sun Xiang and Xiao Shiqin, to sacrifice a year. Another year wasn’t something the fans could keep watching. A pro player’s career only lasted a few years.

”Is there no other way?” Little Ming was unwilling to give up.

”If there were, we wouldn’t want to either. From a real combat perspective, who would want to fight against a strong opponent like Excellent Era?” Chen Guo said.

”I know. I obviously know. But can anyone understand our feelings?” Little Ming suddenly lost control and shouted.

”No one can understand.”

Ye Xiu suddenly replied. Everyone looked at him in astonishment.

”To be honest, our reason for struggling is for our own personal dream. No one is doing it for anyone else. Only the Alliance is trying to please you guys. Don’t get the wrong idea. We are very grateful for your support and encouragement, but to be blunt: saying that I’m competing for you guys is fake. At least that’s the case for me.” Ye Xiu said.

”That’s not right! If it’s not for our support, how could their be a pro scene or pro players!” Little Ming said.

”You’re correct. That’s why I said that I’m very grateful for your support. I sincerely think that. But I am not competing for the sake of my fans. Those are two different matters.” Ye Xiu said.

Little Ming was stupefied.

Ye Xiu was a God who never showed himself, so no one had any direct interview material on him. Since the beginning of history, no pro player had ever said these kinds of words before. But after hearing them, Little Ming felt like they were reasonable.

Many teams claimed that their reason for winning was for the fans. Many players also showed their gratitude towards their fans, and just as Ye Xiu said, their gratitude was sincere. Pro players worked hard for victory in return for their fans’ support. However, that wasn’t their reason for becoming pro players.

Because no matter what fans did, there would always be a tomorrow. When a completely unknown player competed, why did he compete? For the fans? He didn’t have any fans, so wasn’t competing for the fans a joke?

Perhaps it was to win more fans and then play for the fans, but if others heard of that reason, they wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Little Ming suddenly realized that he previously said that pro players didn’t think of their fans, but in reality, the fans didn’t think of their pro players.

Zhang Jiale’s decision to join Team Tyranny was welcomed with backlash. Very few fans supported his decision.　

Did the pro players not care for their feelings or did the fans not value their pro players’ thoughts?

Little Ming couldn’t say anything more because had a premonition: if he continued to argue, he would be the one to be persuaded. He just didn’t want to see Ye Qiu and Excellent Era, who were originally one, fight against each other to the death, requiring him to make a choice. He could already see that his thinking was selfish. It didn’t seem like he ever thought about what the other side wanted.

After a long moment of silence, Little Ming calmed down and said slowly: ”No matter the case, I still wish you guys the best of luck.”

”Thanks.” Chen Guo said. The mood in the room had turned serious.

”However, that’s just until you meet Excellent Era.” Little Ming said.