007

Zhou Zekai's one-on-one skills were unquestionable, but Chu Yunxiu clearly had some tricks up her sleeve in order to secure points in the Arena battle.

The mirrored ice lines and the actual ice lines on the map, which shimmered with a cold, frosty glow, made it nearly impossible to distinguish which one was real and which one was fake. The intersection of the real and the mirrored lines created a dizzying glare. Unfortunately, it wasn't a beautiful sight for those caught in it.

As expected, the points for the Arena battle went to Team Misty Rain, but in the team competition, their formation was torn apart by One Autumn Leaf, resulting in their defeat.

The intense battle rhythm made for a great background noise to get pumped up to.

Outside of the game, Zhong Qing, watching the league broadcast, felt an itch to play. In-game, her character, Shexin Lingpo, used a magic bind to interrupt the dungeon boss Toia's casting. This boss, with its multi-class design, switched to a Sharpshooter and launched a Gun Kata skill, only to run straight into Thunderbolt Penetration, as if the movement skill was custom-made to rush into it.

When the electric ring scorched the stunned boss, she retreated two spaces and began casting Blizzard. The boss, having just escaped the lightning's damage, found its speed drastically reduced in the storm, unable to dodge the Elemental Power mixed within.

Aerial strike!

[Hengdao]: Liar!!!!

[Hengdao]: Didn't you say you weren't good at PvP???

Sun Xiang hadn't turned on his mic, afraid of distracting her from watching the team competition, but the number of question marks he typed seemed to fill the screen.

He hadn't played as an Elementalist before, but the multi-class boss Toia could basically be treated as a human-shaped PvP opponent. With the random nature of the skill transitions, without some level of prediction, it would be hard to handle the boss as smoothly as Zhong Qing had. Even if she claimed she wasn't good at PvP, her level surely wasn't bad.

[Shexin Lingpo]: I'm just doing a dungeon.

[Hengdao]: ...

Sun Xiang didn't want to respond. From Zhong Qing's side came the sound of the team competition ending and the announcer transitioning into the post-game handshakes. Somehow, he felt like Zhong Qing had even more tricks up her sleeve than the reporters waiting to interview the players.

Though Sun Xiang liked challenging people to PvP, he was still a reasonable guy. He wouldn't force someone to duel if they weren't interested. It was obvious by now that Zhong Qing only wanted to level up—her character's Arena record was still a glaring 0. Anyone could tell she wasn't looking to PvP right now.

"Want to run two more dungeons?" Zhong Qing turned off her tablet, choosing to skip the post-game interviews.

"Sure." Sun Xiang, now back on the mic, seemed eager to blow off steam from once again falling for her tricks. He charged headlong into the monsters with his spear.

Zhong Qing felt no emotion and even thought their dungeon efficiency was quite good.

[Liu Chao]: This makes no sense. Why did my level drop so much after just two days of watching matches?

[Xiao Bei is Ready to Fight You]: What "miss," you mean big sis?

[Shaoguang Liu Jing]: You're in the wrong channel, Chao.

[Liu Chao]: You have to understand, I'm a die-hard fan who saw my team win live. My brain is not functioning properly from the excitement.

[Yanhua Yisha]: Liu Chao, could you stop slacking?

[Xiao Bei is Ready to Fight You]: So no one's going to answer my question?

[Pipi Jiang]: Tsk, Xiao Bei's getting cocky after switching to the Flowing Land emblem.

[Gu Yin Doesn't Want to Take New Players]: Xiao Bei, join the party to farm the map.

[Xiao Bei is Ready to Fight You]: My ID really fits my current mood.

Zhong Qing glanced at the guild chat and once again felt how peculiar the atmosphere in the Samsara guild was.

As for the leveling situation, well, that was thanks to Sun Xiang, who, being young and full of energy, farmed dungeons and wild monsters without getting tired. Yesterday, he even suggested she leave her character online in the party to gain experience while she wasn't playing.

There wasn't much gossip here—just Sun Xiang heading off to watch the first round of the playoffs between Jia Shi and Wei Cao. As a result, he couldn't sleep.

He couldn't sleep...

"Don't tell me you're actually a Ye Qiu fan," Zhong Qing quipped, thinking she understood Sun Xiang pretty well.

"What nonsense are you talking about… I just wanted to get a feel for the playoff atmosphere in advance. Next year, it'll be my…"

Even though his words trailed off, Zhong Qing could guess what he was thinking. He was probably fantasizing about leading his team to the playoffs next year and taking the stage himself.

Got it. This was classic late-stage chuunibyou, with his hot-blooded energy fueled by dreams of the next season.

But how Sun Xiang hadn't realized his cover was blown remained a mystery. His alt's name had the same format as his main account's, he played with all the habits of a Berserker, his skill level was pro-tier, and his QQ name was Hengdao. Anyone with a decent understanding of the pro scene and the game could easily guess it was him.

Zhong Qing didn't bother exposing him, though. Having a mindless monster-slaying machine on her team was great. By the time Liu Chao returned from watching the live match, he was five levels below her.

And that was after he'd hired someone to grind for him for two days.

"Weren't you guys saying there's a really strong Battle Mage? Where is he?"

"Just like you—he went to watch the match."

Having watched his team win a match, Liu Chao was practically bouncing off the walls with energy in today's dungeon run. It was a good thing Sun Xiang wasn't here, or the two hyperactive melee fighters together would probably reach half of Huang Shaotian's level of chaos.

It was also fortunate that Sun Xiang wasn't around to hear Liu Chao mutter, "Oh, so he's a Ye Qiu fan."

That remark was dripping with ironic humor. Zhong Qing, too lazy to explain, simply accepted it as fact.

Liu Chao, assuming Zhong Qing's silence was agreement, continued rambling about his thoughts on the match. He wrapped up with, "I'm definitely going to see next week's game live."

"The problem is, playoff tickets aren't like regular season ones, and it's in S City. They've probably sold out by now," Shaoguang coolly pointed out, delivering a fatal blow.

"..." Liu Chao deflated but, unable to use his disappointment as an excuse to slack off, continued fighting monsters with his HP fluctuating wildly. Fortunately, the now over-level-30 Elementalist had several new skills. The newly acquired Ice Wall and Thunderstorm, combined with her earlier control skills, were perfectly timed to drop just as Liu Chao was about to hit critical health.

After the last dungeon was cleared, Shexin Lingpo hit level 40.

Zhong Qing logged off and casually opened her Weibo.

The original owner hadn't abandoned her Weibo account, so naturally, Zhong Qing had taken it over. However, the account didn't feel like it belonged to a 19-year-old girl. The username, "Did A-Qing Study Vocabulary Today?" suggested a studious personality, and the posts were mostly about daily check-ins. Earlier posts were filled with gardening and handicraft shares, giving no clear indication of what kind of life the person behind it led.

She had already followed several Glory pro players on Weibo, and upon refreshing her feed, she immediately saw...