The King's Avatar

Sun Zheping!

Those who had only started playing Glory two or three years ago might not recognize the name, but it wasn’t possible for veterans with more than five years of experience in Glory to not know this name, especially for Berserkers. If they didn’t know of Sun Zheping, they were probably lone wolves like Mo Fan.

When Ye Xiu said this name, apart from Tang Rou and Steamed Bun, everyone else was stunned.

Besides those two, everyone else in the room had played Glory for a very long time. All of them recognized him.

A God like Sun Zheping had once been all over the TV, news, and Internet. However, none of them had ever met him in real life, so when Sun Zheping entered the room, no one had recognized him. When his name was revealed, everyone started to see the similarities. Sure enough, it really was Sun Zheping!

Lou Guanning obviously knew this person the best. Sun Zheping. During his career, his fame as the number one Berserker shined even brighter than Yu Feng’s current fame. Sun Zheping and Zhang Jiale had entered the Alliance before the Golden Generation and were the undisputed Best Duo. Their greatest achievement happened in the third season of the league; they had led Team Hundred Blossoms into the finals. Unfortunately, Ye Qiu and Team Excellent Era beat them, completing Team Excellent Era’s three-peat championship.

This was why Sun Zheping had gnashed his teeth when he saw Ye Qiu. He had almost become the champion, but Ye Qiu stole the title away from him. After that, when Team Hundred Blossoms returned even stronger than before, Sun Zheping injured his hand and left midway through the season. After the season ended, he retired quietly and never returned. Team Hundred Blossoms reaching the finals in season five and season seven could be attributed to Zhang Jiale alone. Sun Zheping’s only chance for the title had been that one time.

The others didn’t know that the previous confrontation had been between two top Gods. Everyone once again fell into shock. When they regained their composure, they all took the same action without any prior agreement. They all looked directly at Sun Zheping’s left hand.

As the skill level in Glory rose, the effects of an injury became even more clear. Thumbs, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. For a pro player, these needed to be kept in good condition. Perhaps some pain could be tolerated, but in a high skill level competition, any amount of pain would affect the player’s ability. The player would naturally be incapable of performing well.

There were numerous cases where complications arose for a player because of an injury. However, the most well-known and significant case so far still belonged to Sun Zheping. The injury in his left hand led to his departure from the stage midway through the season. In the end, he retired even more quietly. It had clearly been a very serious injury.

Right now, it had been four years since Sun Zheping’s injury. He had unexpectedly appeared here and fought an intense match with Ye Qiu. Had his injury been healed?

Thinking of this, everyone couldn’t help but look at Sun Zheping’s left hand. When they looked at it, they saw his left hand was covered in white bandages.

”Ah!” Everyone heard a fearful cry. The source of that cry was Steamed Bun.

”This is... Wicked King Immolation Fist’s Supreme Technique, Dragon of the Darkness Flame!” Steamed Bun cried out in awe.

”Steamed Bun, stop spouting nonsense!” Chen Guo was furious. The injury on Sun Zheping’s left hand was a huge scar in his heart. Using that to jab at him was too inhumane, even if she knew that Steamed Bun wasn’t speaking with bad intentions because Steamed Bun was staring intently and nervously at his boss, Ye Xiu. He wasn’t actually thinking that Sun Zheping would undo his bandage and actually summon flames from hell to obliterate Ye Xiu, did he?

”Ahem, you hand is healed?” Ye Xiu probably felt that Steamed Bun’s words weren’t appropriate, so he immediately changed subjects.

”Not too good.” Sun Zheping looked at his left hand, ”But it’s still enough to beat you.”

”Oh my! How arrogant!” Ye Xiu patted the table, ”How about another round? Little Tang, give me your account card.”　　

”No need.” Sun Zheping smiled slyly. If he wanted to forever brag about his win over someone, winning once and then ignoring him afterwards was obviously the safest method. Of course, Sun Zheping and Ye Xiu had definitely fought against each other more than once. They were the most famous Gods of Glory during the early stages of the Alliance. It was just that today, he didn’t want to give Ye Xiu another chance.　　

”So it’s Senior Sun Zheping. I’ve been too inconsiderate!” Lou Guanning found a chance to speak a few words and hastily said the words that a host should say. Even though he also played the Berserker class, but he didn’t do anything in particular for this God. He didn’t show any more respect to him compared to a normal senior.

And then…...

”Senior, are you planning on returning?” Lou Guanning asked.　　

He didn’t look at Sun Zheping being ancient God. He had become a pro player very young. Right now, he was still only 25 years old. Pro players nowadays underwent more scientific practicing. The length of their careers kept increasing. In the past, 25 was retirement age, but now, there were many players at this age struggling on stage. Their condition might not be as good as their prime years, but it was still early for them to retire. A 25 year old could still come back to the stage and shine. Team Tyranny’s extraordinary achievements this season made many forget the age of their three core players.

”Return…...” A bitter expression appeared on Sun Zheping’s face. He slowly lifted his bandaged left hand, ”With my hand, I’m unable to cope with the fast-paced competitive scene.”

”But what about just now…...” Chen Guo questioned. The intensity of the match between Ye Xiu and Sun Zheping didn’t lose out to any pro match. If not, the room wouldn’t have been so shocked.　　

”It’s fine if it’s only from time to time, but I can’t play for very long. If not, did you really think I would be scared to play a round against his Battle Mage?” Sun Zheping said.

The former number one Berserker had left the competitive scene for a very long time, but he was still as proud and confident as ever.

But the practice room instantly fell silent. Pain and bitterness hid underneath that pride. How could the onlookers not sense such a strong emotion?

It had already been four years since his departure from the competitive scene. Sun Zheping could still beat Ye Qiu though, which meant that he hadn’t given up on Glory yet. During these four years, in some unknown corner, how much effort had he put into Glory? But in the end, this was the only outcome. How could they not feel that same pain?

”Old Lou, think you’d cheat! That’s too despicable, no?” Under this stifling atmosphere, someone suddenly spoke out. It was Lou Guanning’s bad friend.

”Ahem...” Lou Guanning coughed. In the end, that issue hadn’t been forgotten. After seeing the confrontation between Sun Zheping and Ye Xiu, he couldn’t help but admit: ”I would not have been senior’s opponent.”

After saying these words, Lou Guanning ignored his bad friend. Then, he suddenly turned his head towards Sun Zheping as if he had made an important decision: ”Senior, are you interested in joining our Team Heavenly Swords?”

”Hm?” Sun Zheping was surprised, ”Did you not hear me? I’m unable to deal with the fast pace of the competitive scene.”

”I heard you clearly, but I also heard that an occasional match wouldn’t be a problem, no?” Lou Guanning said.

Sun Zheping continued to be surprised: ”You need that type of player?”

Any pro player would cost quite a sum of money for the team. Spending this money to raise a player, who could only play a limited number of matches and suddenly step down because of a sudden injury, was something no team would want. When he heard Lou Guanning’s invite, Sun Zheping was surprised, but he wasn’t happy because he felt that Lou Guanning’s invite was out of sympathy. That wasn’t something he was willing to accept.

”Of course it’s needed. Our team needs a high skill level senior to guide us. Even if you don’t show up on stage, we still need you very much.” Lou Guanning said.　　

Sun Zheping hesitated. That was a solid reason, but it could also be an excuse for helping him.

Then, he heard Ye Xiu speak up: ”Yeah, I told you guys before. Your team should have an old general. Even if his strength isn’t good, he’d still be of great help to your team’s growth.”

”Are you saying my strength is no good?” Sun Zheping looked gloomy.

”Don’t take it too personally.” Ye Xiu reminded him.

”Senior, consider it!” Lou Guanning urged him. He wasn’t pretending. Lou Guanning also didn’t mind helping Sun Zheping out of sympathy. He dearly loved Glory and was both a player and an owner. He wasn’t like any of the other owners who only formed the team based solely on financial interest. His urging was truly because he wanted a God like Sun Zheping to join their team. If Sun Zheping really had recovered from his injury, Lou Guanning would have been more careful with his invitation. Even if the invitation was successful, it might not be handled well.

Team Heavenly Swords didn’t have an experienced player guiding them like Ye Xiu had recommended them to have. It wasn’t that Lou Guanning couldn’t do it. With Team Heavenly Sword’s financial resources and their momentum as a new team, finding this type of player wasn’t difficult. In reality, it was because of Team Heavenly Sword’s unusualness that he didn’t do it.

This Sun Zheping had the skill, but because of his injury, he couldn’t participate in matches like a normal player. For Sun Zheping himself, it was truly a tragedy, but for Lou Guanning, someone like him was just too appropriate for their Team Heavenly Swords.

”Join us!” Lou Guanning continued to urge sincerely.

Sun Zheping was starting to feel tempted, seeing his attitude.

”I could give it a try.” Sun Zheping finally nodded his head.

”Great!” Lou Guanning was excited, ”Senior, what requirements do you have? Should we talk about the contract right now? The season’s transfer window has already closed though. Senior, you’ll have to wait until next season to come out on stage.”

”I know that.” Sun Zheping nodded his head.

”Hm? Then for the next half of the season, why not join our Team Happy?” Ye Xiu suddenly said.