The King's Avatar

”It’s you?” Qiu Fei’s tone was incredulous.

All those rumors regarding Ye Qiu and Lord Grim had been flying around nonstop for the past half year or so, and it was no different in the training camp. And since they were closer to those involved, there would often be someone who would act act all mysterious, willing to divulge what truths they knew, saying that the information came directly from the team or someone who was in the know.

As more rumors came to light, all the different tales grew in detail. For their training camp, there was a saying that Ye Qiu couldn’t stand how terrible Excellent Era was becoming, but the club wouldn’t let him go, so he just decided to retire and build another team from scratch.

This version was detailed and refined. For example, problems like why Ye Qiu become so active so soon after his retirement were explained in this version. After retirement, pro-players weren’t bothered by their teams or constrained by any contracts, so they were free to do as they wished. That’s one of the reasons why the Alliance declared that a retired player could only come back a year after their retirement, so that pro players wouldn’t exploit this.

This version obviously favored the team and tarnished Ye Qiu’s image. Whether these versions that came from within Excellent Era were formed from the rumors that spread from person to person, or perfected by people who intentionally let slip scraps of information, no one would know.

This version was logically sound though. Ye Qiu’s retirement was very sudden and the club didn’t give him a goodbye party either, not even a goodbye match. Considering Ye Qiu’s position in Excellent Era, there was obviously something strange going on. And Excellent Era had long since addressed these issues. They said that after he retired, Ye Qiu immediately left the club and went out of contact.

That was the truth, and no one could find any faults in the tale.

There were many sayings and guesses as to the truth of the matter, but no one had a solid conclusion. As for Excellent Era, they never expressed contempt or anything like that towards Ye Qiu either.

About Ye Qiu’s retirement, the training camp also had a joke about how Captain Ye was playing a very difficult game of chess.

With the recent Team Happy debacle, Ye Qiu created a team to go against Excellent Era and revealed the team fully to the public. Most Excellent Era fans were thunderstruck. This was, after all, the greatest god in the history of their team, and now he was coming out to fight with them to the death in the Challenger League. This was something most fans could not accept.

Ye Qiu’s situation was a bit different from Zhang Jiale.

Zhang Jiale’s actions were, in simple terms, to switch teams for his own future. Fans might feel cold towards him, but, apart from a few sentences of mockery, they weren’t exactly seething with rage.

It was different for Ye Qiu. Creating a team to participate in the Challenger League was a case of life and death. If Ye Qiu succeeded, then he would’ve done so by stepping on Excellent Era’s corpse. The fans wouldn’t just be scornful, they would be hurt and furious. Never mind those who supported the team, it wouldn’t be surprising if even those who were fans of Ye Qiu turned against him.

With so much hatred being hurled at Ye Qiu, little attention was paid to the news of Zhang Jiale’s return, and not without reason; it wasn’t just because Ye Qiu had a larger influence than Zhang Jiale.

There were still people who still supported Ye Qiu of course, but they were few and were completely drowned out by the cries of condemnation. It wasn’t just Excellent Era fans and those who turned on Ye Qiu among these cries, but also people who didn’t like him from the start and even those who were ambivalent towards him. His own fans had turned against him, so was it surprising that those who were neutral would too?

The number of people whose faith in Ye Qiu endured decreased with each passing incident.

But Qiu Fei was one of these people. He was someone who had been taught personally by Ye Qiu, and he knew more than anyone about the loyalty Ye Qiu had for Glory, and the feelings he held for Excellent Era.

Ye Qiu would do something like this? He didn’t believe a word. He had heard all of the rumors flying about, but he didn’t go and argue against them; he just dismissed them with a smile. No matter what anyone did or didn’t say, those who were innocent were still innocent, and those who weren’t remained so or so Qiu Fei believed.

Until the club declared that Lord Grim from Team Happy was Ye Qiu.

Who would suspect the official announcements from the club? Discussions erupted in the training camp, and Qiu Fei continuously received meaningful looks from the people around him.

Though Qiu Fei had never spoken up against those rumors, his disbelief was very much apparent. Everyone knew, this guy always looked up to and had faith in Ye Qiu, but now with the official announcement from the club, do you still dare to not believe?

Qiu Fei seemed completely unaffected.

No one knew the pain and conflict that this announcement brought out in him.

The truth diverged too far from what he knew. Would the ex-captain he thought to be loyal to Glory and the team truly do something like this? Did he really retire to get rid of the team he thought was holding him back? The one who always guided him, who fought for victory, who never gave up, would he really abandon his team at a time like that? What is he trying to accomplish doing something like this to Excellent Era? First he abandons the team, then uses them as a stepping stone to success?

The faith Qiu Fei had towards Glory was crumbling. Everything he thought he knew was crafted by this person. Yet now that this person went back on his word. How could Qiu Fei continue to have faith in him? To suspect this person was to suspect the beliefs he had always held.

On that day, Qiu Fei’s practice was filled with flaws, yet no one noticed. Qiu Fei was always a responsible child, unlike those who liked to slack off or would get distracted, he didn’t need someone watching over him.

Everything he had given to Glory, what was it all for?

Qiu Fei’s ideals had begun to shift. Everything he knew was in suspect. He was lost.

And yet at this time, the media made a statement. Lord Grim wasn’t Ye Qiu.

For Excellent Era, this was humiliating news. For many fans, it was embarrassing. But for Qiu Fei it was great news. So, the club got it all wrong.

Lord Grim wasn’t Ye Qiu, everything was just a rumor.

Qiu Fei was elated because what he had believed in and supported was true once more. However, the club then made another announcement. Though Ye Qiu didn’t apply with Lord Grim, he was definitely at Happy.

But for Qiu Fei, he was like the radical fans that had been pulled around by these mixed messages. They wouldn’t listen any more.

Last time, they believed the club. The radical fans besieged Happy. Qiu Fei’s beliefs crumbled, beginning to suspect everything he had worked hard for. After the media came out with their news, the radical fans besieged Excellent Era. Qiu Fei found it in himself to continue believing. Then the club announced something different, so the fans retreated from the doors of Excellent Era, but wouldn’t go after Happy again. As for Qiu Fei, his wouldn’t crumble, but he felt gloom overcome him nonetheless.

He really hoped the truth was not as they said.

Yet, here and now, in front of him was an account from Team Happy and Ye Qiu was behind it, greeting him.

Qiu Fei didn’t dare believe it, or rather, didn’t want to believe it.

So Ye Qiu really was at Happy. He just didn’t use Lord Grim to apply. But the Challenger League wasn’t as strict with regulations as the Pro League, especially in the switching of team members. There was a lot of freedom there. Apart from not being able to change accounts freely, it was fine if someone applied to join or leave in the middle. Though there were some limitations, adding another member to the team was easy.

Having already experienced one breakdown, Qiu Fei didn’t shatter like he did before. Especially with who was in front of him, Qiu Fei seethed with anger. The feeling of being lied to burned.

The other seemed to have said something else, but Qiu Fei didn’t hear. He took the initiative, and charged.

The audience cheered.

Of course, they didn’t know that these two had a short talk and didn’t know that this match had a more depth to it. They just wanted to see Happy humiliated and cheered wildly for Demon Fighter, making Li Rui go green with envy.

”What’s the rush for?” Ye Xiu was a little taken aback by Qiu Fei’s advance. That kid didn’t even answer his question yet. He could only respond. He swiped his mouse. There was the sound of metal on metal, two spears clashing. But the battle would not pause with this impact. Demon Fight turned, taking half a step, and pressed a Falling Flower Palm at Soft Mist.

Soft Mist also immediately took a step, her spear rising upwards with a Sky Strike.

Though it seemed as if this trade of techniques would result in injuries for both sides, an expert could see that this Sky Strike was faster than the Falling Flower Palm. Falling Flower Palm didn’t give the user any Super Armor advantages, so this slight difference in speed was enough to negate the attack.

Qiu Fei didn’t recklessly press on and quickly switched skills. Falling Flower Palm was cancelled, and he attacked even as he dodged Sky Strike.