The King's Avatar

Despite being pushed beyond his ability, Li Yibo still had to say a few words. He didn’t dare ascertain which side had the advantage though, so he just introduced the traits of each player. Meanwhile, Pan Lin was feeling down. He could do an introduction. The purpose of the guest commentator was to provide a deeper level of analysis! He could understand where Li Yibo was coming from though, so he didn’t pursue it. The two chatted for the break period, and then the group arena officially began.

Happy - Fang Rui, Boundless Sea.

Samsara - Sun Xiang, One Autumn Leaf.

As for the map, since Fang Rui played dirty, he naturally wouldn’t be like Ye Xiu and pick a wide open field. This particular group arena map had numerous holes and ditches. As soon as Boundless Sea loaded into the map, he immediately hid in one of the holes and vanished. This trench-filled map had many intersecting ditches. Players who wanted to move stealthily would have an easier time.

Boundless Sea leaped down into a trench and skillfully maneuvered around without needing to look up to figure out his position. Shortly afterwards, Boundless Sea made it to the center of the map and then headed towards a narrow ditch on the side. He quietly peeked his head above the ground but was blocked by a stone tablet. He carefully exposed half of his head and then looked outwards.

Fang Rui’s familiarity with this map didn’t need to be said, but unfortunately, Boundless Sea couldn’t find anything in his field of view. To his surprise, One Autumn Leaf was not at the center of the map.

Fang Rui was astonished and checked who his opponent was again subconsciously. Correct, it was One Autumn Leaf, and the player was Sun Xiang, not Ye Xiu who had been as dirty as him in the past.

Sun Xiang… he didn’t charge to the center of the stage? Sun Xiang also moved strategically?

This was truly outside of Fang Rui’s expectations. From his understanding, like Tang Hao and Zhao Yuzhe, Sun Xiang looked down on this sort of playing. These new generation players preferred to happily battle it out at the center.

Sun Xiang maintained this same style this season with Samsara, but he suddenly switched it up this match. Was this because his opponent was the dirty Fang Rui?

Making changes because of the opponent. No one had thought Sun Xiang had it in him, but it was happening right in front of their eyes.

Fang Rui scratched his head. He suddenly realized that he had no idea what to do next.

What would a strategically moving Sun Xiang do? He couldn’t understand at all because that punk had never played that way before!

Fang Rui didn’t whether to be happy or sad that his opponent was giving him special treatment.

His current ambush position should still be good. Fang Rui carefully sized up his surroundings. If he were facing a different opponent, he could try to predict what his opponent would do next through the terrain, but against Sun Xiang… how could he make a prediction for someone who he had originally thought didn’t know a thing about moving strategically? 　

Was he patiently waiting, or was he putting himself forward as bait?

Fang Rui pondered. In the meantime, he started trash talking Sun Xiang.

”Hey, where are you? You’ve been ruined by Samsara. You were never like this before!” Fang Rui acted like he was friends with Sun Xiang. In reality, the two had never interacted with each other before.

The chat was silent. Sun Xiang didn’t respond.

”It’s a match after all. Play how you like to play. Don’t concern yourself over who your opponent is! Maybe my dirtiness is giving you a lot of pressure, but using a style you’re not familiar with might not get the results you’re expecting!” Fang Rui didn’t mind the opponent not replying back as he continued to chatter.

As he talked, his Boundless Sea wasn’t just standing there quietly. He was moving cautiously through the trenches, investigating the area around him.

Where was One Autumn Leaf?

The viewers obviously knew the answer. Sun Xiang’s opening move had caught everyone off guard. He had done the same as Fang Rui. One Autumn Leaf had also moved stealthily through the trenches.

”Sun Xiang’s choices today are quite surprising!” Pan Lin had been talking about it earlier.

”Yes, this isn’t his usual style,” said Li Yibo.　　

”It looks like he has some misgivings over Fang Rui’s dirtiness,” Pan Lin said.

”Yes… Fang Rui’s Qi Master is similar to Ye Xiu’s unspecialized in some sense. The opponent isn’t familiar with this new playstyle or class. Most of his experience with Qi Masters isn’t useful because Fang Rui’s playstyle is entirely different from other people’s,” Li Yibo said.

”But do you think Sun Xiang might be overcompensating by changing his own playstyle?” Pan Lin said.

”Ah… this… let’s take a look at their performances first. I believe Sun Xiang should have come prepared. Fang Rui is most likely surprised by Sun Xiang’s actions.” Li Yibo didn’t provide a detailed analysis, instead giving a simple prediction.

Sure enough, Fang Rui was surprised by Sun Xiang’s actions. Seeing the constant stream of trash talk, Li Yibo felt incredibly happy. He had made a correct prediction, even if it wasn’t anything admirable.

”Sun Xiang is really keeping his composure today!” Pan Lin said.

From their omniscient view, they could clearly see that Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf had reached the center of the map too. However, he wasn’t as active as Fang Rui. He picked a spot and then quietly stood there.

”Sun Xiang, this player…” Li Yibo wanted to say something, but he stopped himself. He was like a player who had been beaten again and again. His confidence had been slapped into nothingness.

”It’s a very short section of the trench. The turns on both ends are within reach of a Battle Mage.” Pan Lin introduced the features of this position.

”Yes…” Li Yibo was itching to say something! But the other voice in him was telling him to calm down.

Sun Xiang was waiting patiently, while Fang Rui searched for his opponent. Boundless Sea maneuvered through the trenches, while occasionally peeking his head up to check his surroundings above the ground. The trash talk in the public chat hadn’t stopped yet, but none of his messages received a response.

Finally, Boundless Sea approached One Autumn Leaf’s hiding spot. Boundless Sea was practically crawling as he moved silently. Not a single sound could be heard. Everyone’s heart leapt to their throats. As soon as he turned and showed his head, One Autumn Leaf’s Evil Annihilation would immediately pierce him.

But when he was two steps away, Boundless Sea’s movements suddenly stopped. He leaned close to the side of the ditch as if trying to hear something.

The only thing separating the two characters was a corner. If you drew a straight line between them, it would only measure ¾ of a unit. Neither side moved. Neither side uttered a peep. Only Fang Rui’s chattering could be seen in the public chat.

Fang Rui wasn’t really talking anymore. After saying a few key points at the start, he didn’t have anything else to say. He had even started resorting to something as unrefined as copying and pasting his own words. The two stopped at this bend.

Nervous and anxious.

The crowd didn’t know whether the two players had noticed each other. The tension made it hard for them to breathe.

The first to move was Fang Rui. He carefully peeked his head up just the tiniest bit. After looking around above the ground, Boundless Sea retreated a bit. His two hands swiped against each other and a Qi Blade formed an arc, flying around the corner. He listened carefully to any noise.

He heard it… and saw it.

The instant the Qi Blade turned the corner, One Autumn Leaf stepped into view. Sun Xiang had been waiting patiently until now. His opponent was finally this close to him. He didn’t hesitate or make any feints. His One Autumn Leaf rushed out. In the end, he chose a direct confrontation.

More importantly, because of the terrain, Fang Rui’s only choice was a direct confrontation as well. With the distance between them and Sun Xiang’s swift and decisive response, Fang Rui didn’t have any time to make any dirty escapes. To his left and right were walls, while One Autumn Leaf’s spear was in front.

Li Yibo felt very regretful.

Seeing Sun Xiang’s position, he had guessed Sun Xiang’s plan: wait until the opponent found him. This position was extremely good. Because of the outside surroundings, Fang Rui wouldn’t dare easily leap out. Inside the trench, if Fang Rui was close enough, he could force a direct fight and not give Fang Rui any chance to escape.

However, with his dimming confidence, he was too afraid to say his guess. And now, it looked like Sun Xiang was doing exactly what he had thought. After determining that Boundless Sea was right next to him, he immediately began doing what he had always been good at.

The trenches used for stealth had become Fang Rui’s cage. The dirty style wasn’t just in tactics but in techniques too. But no matter what, all of them required a certain amount of space to maneuver around. However, with the left and right blocked by walls and a One Autumn Leaf attacking fiercely from the front, he wasn’t given any chance to jump out. His only choice was to retreat backwards. Right now, the master of playing dirty was helpless. Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.

Sun Xiang had been waiting for this very moment.

Afterwards was his usual strong offense. However, his prior patience had helped him win this situation. Sun Xiang’s offense seemed even more effective and made the opponent look even more helpless.

Sun Xiang’s advantage wasn’t just in technique, it was more tactical. The timing and terrain all stood on his side. His performance only looked more steady.

Boundless Sea eventually fell. No one had expected that Fang Rui’s dirty style wouldn’t be able to be displayed in a map suited for it. Fang Rui had been suppressed as soon as he ran into his opponent. Unable to display his dirty tactics or his techniques, he was killed in the trenches.

Yes, up until death, Fang Rui hadn’t been able to get Boundless Sea out of the trenches. 　

In the group arena, Sun Xiang won the first round with a 72% health lead.