chapter 24: persevere

Lu Xiang: “......”

Lu Xiang was surprised when he saw his Master appear in a way that made everyone amazed.

As soon as Liu Chuan sent those words, not only did he shock Lu Xiang, but also the captains of the major teams.

Liu Chuan continued to greet the captains: “Yo, there are indeed a lot of familiar faces today.”

“......”

“......”

“......”

A large row of ellipses appeared in the arena channel.

Acquaintance your sister! We aren’t familiar with you!

A group of people wanted to scold Lu Xiang from the bottom of their hearts: Foolish! Isn’t it good not to call on people? You kept summoning the Puppet School here and now you’ve summoned the big bastard Liu Chuan back!

Despite scolding him from the bottom of their hearts, the captains of each team lectured their team members—--

“If Chuan Shen wants to fight, polish your eyes and observe carefully!”

“Hurry up and turn on the recording function! Study it when we return!”

In the game, a newcomer boldly asked: “Chuan Shen, haven’t you retired?”

Liu Chuan smiled and said, “This is the online game.”

The person who asked the question reddened. He was so surprised by Liu Chuan’s appearance that his mind became a mess and forgot this was the online game and not the professional leagues!

Players who retire from the professional leagues must cancel their information and account. However, the online game service doesn’t care about the status of a player because they play the game individually.

Some newcomers secretly wanted to add Chuan Shen as a friend but found out that this person turned off the function for adding friends… Yes, this Haina Baichuan is Liu Chuan’s main account, the former captain of the Huaxia Team who once led Huaxia to win the annual Grand Slam and created a legend in a glorious era.

A group of people didn’t know how to feel when they looked at this ID that was once extremely familiar but now extremely unfamiliar…

Liu Chuan continued to smile and said: “Xiao Lu, get ready, aren’t you begging for abuse? Master is here to abuse you.”

Little Lu Xiang was extremely stimulated by the excitement and immediately jumped into the ring arena: “Come come! I’m afraid you won’t succeed!”

Liu Chuan also went down to the ring arena and started a battle with Lu Xiang.

A group of people hurriedly clicked to view his equipment but found out that he has not changed into an orange weapon at all.

Lu Xiang also found out: “Where is your orange weapon?!”

Liu Chuang said: “...I also want to change but unfortunately there aren’t enough points.”

God, your reason is really realistic!

Everyone was a little speechless.

But this is understandable. He hasn’t logged in to the arena since he retired and hasn’t played any matches for a whole year. The points are definitely not enough.

Liu Chuan smiled and said, “What’s the hurry? I can still abuse you without an orange weapon.”

As soon as Lu Xiang heard this, he waved his club and rushed over: “Look at this trick!”

Lu Xiang's style of play is very aggressive, giving full attention to the characteristics of the club-based Beggars as the field-controlling melee profession. His style of play may seem chaotic but it is in fact, extremely calm and accurate. The fighting club stick in his hand is simply dazzling when he attacks.

Therefore, Lu Xiang is a very interesting character. He is obviously a person with no sense of direction and bumps into people like a headless fly all day long. He is simple and usually muddle-headed.

But when fighting, he is fast, ruthless, and accurate, which makes people be convinced by his status.

Liu Chuan’s understanding of Lu Xiang is very profound. At the beginning of the game, he used light steps to distance himself and put down seven puppets around Lu Xiang at an extremely fast speed—--

Puppet Siege!

A middle-level Puppet Tangmen skill: all puppets quickly rush around the target and explode near the target causing a lot of physical damage!

This is the fiercest encirclement formation of the Puppet School. The more puppets released, the higher the damage caused!

When it comes to online game players, it’s already beyond their limit to put two or three puppets in a short time but Liu Chuan directly released seven puppets at the same time!

You know, he’s not facing a stationary wood nor an ordinary rookie but the number one Beggar in the league known as the Beggar God!

Lu Xiang’s dodging and positioning skills are already at the top level of the league, plus his hand speed is extremely fast but he got surrounded by Liu Chuan’s puppets which exploded as soon as they encircled him. The damage was consumed and his blood volume quickly dropped by one-third!

Lu Xiang was still very calm. He knew Liu Chuan would definitely fall within his attack range after releasing the Puppet Siege Formation. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a figure on his front left and he immediately rushed over with light steps—--

Dragon Breaks the Surface! Vicious Dog Block!

Using the light steps of the Beggars Sect, the dragon quickly rushed out of the water and immediately connected to the forced blocking skill. The vicious dog blocked Liu Chuan’s path to retreat followed by a club hitting his head—one of the most important attacking skills of the Beggar Club: hitting the opponent on the head with a club causes a lot of physical damage and accompanying dizzying effect!

Three consecutive moves were released almost instantly within 1 second. The onlookers only saw Lu Xiang’s Beggars after he jumped in front of the Tangmen like a shadow!

Seeing that the club was about to be smashed down, Liu Chuan seemed to have guessed Lu Xiang’s move a long time ago and suddenly jumped at the moment when the stick was about to hit him head-on—--

Soaring Crane!

One of the light step skills of the Jianghu, jumping from the flat ground to a certain height.

Tangmen, wearing dark blue clothes, jumped up, flying like a fearless and confident Dapeng* spreading his wings!

* Legendary bird in Chinese mythology from the Legend of Peng and Kun, the Daoist classic Zhuangzi. It’s a large bird that can transform into a giant fish known as Kun. It is said to come from the north and is so huge its wings cover the sky and it roils the ocean.

Because of his timely jump, the trick didn’t hit his head. Although the damage was eaten, the accompanying dizziness didn’t take effect! The consequences of being dizzy in front of a Beggar is very deadly. The damage of the Beggars set of consecutive moves is too dangerous so Liu Chuan’s avoidance can be said to be extremely clever!

The bystanders were amazed! If it weren’t for the serious faces of their own captains, many newcomers would want to applaud!

Many people thought silently in their hearts. If I was playing against Lu Xiang and he used that trick just now, would I be able to escape?

The answer is mostly no.

Lu Xiang’s attack moves were very fierce and ruthless. The vicious dog blocked the way to retreat and he immediately hit the opponent with a club. The connection time between the two moves was less than 0.5 seconds. Within such a time limit, a lot of people wouldn’t be able to react but Liu Chuan did!

Chuan Shen’s reaction time is really admirable!

Everyone was still amazed at the ingenuity of the light step skills to avoid the move just now and saw that Lu Xiang immediately followed up with a light step without showing any weakness and then swept his club across, using Total Annihilation to sweep directly towards Liu Chuan’s legs!

Total Annihilation, Beggars range attack skills: sweeping directly towards the enemy’s legs, knocking down all the targets in his attack range!

It was difficult for Liu Chuan to turn in the air during the ascension of the light step skill. Lu Xiang used the range attack skill again and the damage was firmly consumed. At the same time, Liu Chuan was directly shot down to the ground because of the Knock Down effect.

Seeing that he could knock him down with his club, Lu Xiang immediately followed but suddenly saw a flower in front of him—--

Shape and Shadow Shift!

Tangmen Puppet middle-level skills, the master and the puppet exchange positions!

A small puppet appeared in Liu Chuan’s position while he had already moved to another corner of the ring!

A lot of newcomers were stunned…

When was the small puppet released? When he was flying with light steps? Or was it when he was in the air? Such a fierce battle but he still had the mind to secretly put a puppet in the corner…

Everyone couldn’t help but tremble at the bottom of their hearts.

Many people didn’t notice Liu Chuan putting a small puppet there. With a single Shape and Shadow Shift, he forcibly changed positions and Lu Xiang’s field control skills can be said to be in vain!

Lu Xiang continued to catch up and fight but Liu Chuan still followed the routine he did in the beginning. Puppet Siege–surrounding the target and exploding, Shape and Shadow Shift, and performed light step skills…

The two of them fought hard but everyone could see that Lu Xiang was gradually falling behind.

Not to mention Liu Chuan’s repeated light step skills, he also used Shape and Shadow Shift to force Lu Xiang to chase him. Moreover, Liu Chuan’s kite-flying style of play would make the melee profession irritated. Always chasing but couldn’t hit after chasing… It was annoying!

Five minutes later, Lu Xiang’s last drop of blood was exhausted, and finally lay flat on the ground.

Liu Chuan walked over and stood next to Lu Xiang’s body, sending a row of smiling expressions: “Not bad, you’ve made progress. Before it only took 3 minutes to defeat you but today it actually took 5 minutes.”

Lu Xiang was depressed: “When did you ever defeat me in 3 minutes?! And didn’t you retire? Why did you suddenly come back!”

Liu Chuan continued to laugh: “Didn’t you call me? I heard your call so I came to have a look…”

Lu Xiang: “.........”

Everyone couldn’t help laughing.

Xiao Lu Xiang brought this to himself when he called the big devil so everyone didn’t sympathize with him at all.

Lu Xiang got up from the ground. “Come again, come again!”

Liu Chuan said, “No. It’s really boring to abuse apprentices…”

All of a sudden, Xiao Sijing said, “Then, is Chuan Shen interested in fighting with me?”

All professional players boiled with excitement!

Lao Xiao is finally going out!

These two have been rivals for many years. The Huaxia Team and the Seven Star Grass Team are both veteran teams established in the first season and they have met in the finals many times. They have both killed each other in order to win the championship. Before Liu Chuan retired, at every popularity poll, these two teams have always been at a stalemate. As long as these two teams are present, there will always be competition.

According to the statistics of the league, the Huaxia Team and the Seven Star Grass Team have met the most in the finals and are known as the strongest rivals in the league. Naturally, the fans of the two sides are incompatible and a fight would break out every time they meet!

Xiao Sijing asked Liu Chuan to come down and fight, will Chuan Shen fight?

The atmosphere of the ring was a little tense for a while.

Liu Chuan smiled and said: “Fight with you? This isn't very good. After all, there are a lot of people here and it will be embarrassing when you lose.”

Xiao Sijing returned the smile and said, “Hmm? You haven’t played for a long time and your hands have gone rigid. I’m afraid it will be embarrassing to lose against my hands, right?”

Liu Chuan said: “No, no, you are actually too handicapped and I don’t want to bully you.”

Xiao Sijing: “It’s not certain who would bully whom.”

Liu Chuan said, “I won’t fight anymore. My wife is calling me, bye bye.”

——Your friend [Haina Baichuan] is offline.

Everyone: “......”

Your sister! Didn’t you just want to escape?

Bathroom break, power failure, mother shouting to eat, sick grandma, people have heard a lot of excuses said by players to escape…

Calling wife?! This is the first time in the professional circle!

Where did you get your wife?

Everyone in the arena almost laughed out because of the cheekiness of Chuan Shen.

***

Seven Star Grass Club.

Xiao Sijing asked the players to go back to their rooms and rest after the ring arena match. As the captain, he continued to stay in the training room and opened the official website to check the information about the new weapons. He held the mouse in his right hand and a cigarette between the fingers of his left hand, occasionally taking a drag to refresh himself.

At this moment, the sound of footsteps echoed behind him and without hesitation, Xiao Sijing asked: “Shilun, aren’t you going to rest yet?”

Su Shilun wondered. “How do you know it’s me?”

Xiao Sijing turned his head. “Who else besides you would care so much about his appearance?”

Su Shilun couldn’t help but smile. “Isn’t it better to be clean? Do you want me to be sloppy and sweaty all day long?”

Xiao Sijing didn’t refute. It was unwise to quarrel with a man who had a poisonous tongue. Besides, Su Shilun is very serious about cleanliness and appearance. This is something the entire professional league knows.

The faint fragrance on his body smells good and as his captain, Xiao Sijing is naturally familiar with his scent. As soon as Su Shilun appeared, he didn’t even need to look at him. He could recognize him by smell alone.

Knowing that he hated the smell of smoke, Su Shilun put out the cigarette in the ashtray and asked in a low voice, “What is it? Do you have something on your mind?”

Su Shilun said, “Yeah, Liu Chuan has retired. He suddenly appeared at this time. Care to explain?”

Xiao Sijing replied, “Although he has retired, he will not leave the league. After all, he has put too much effort, how can he give up so easily.”

Su Shilun sat down next to him and listened attentively.

Xiao Sijing continued. “When Liu Chuan came today, he obviously saw the news from the group chat and probably stopped by to see the weapons. Obviously, he’s very interested in the 24 weapons update this time.”

The interest of the top experts in top-level weapons is just like that of professional drivers in top-level racing. Even if Liu Chuan retires, it’s impossible to be indifferent to this large-scale weapon update.

Su Shilun nodded. “Looking at his PK with Lu Xiang today, he’s obviously in a good condition and his hand speed is similar to before. When he retired, didn’t he say his state was declining and there was no way to continue? I always found that statement strange.”

Xiao Sijing smiled and said, “His state is declining? It’s just an excuse. He will come back when it’s time to come back.”

In a surprise, Su Shilun said, “You mean… he will make a comeback? Will he go back to Huaxia?”

“No,” Xiao Sijing said decisively, “Even if Liu Chuan returns, he will have to wait for the next year. Huaxia’s current tactical core completely changed when Liang Haibin took over as captain. With Liu Chuan’s temper, it’s impossible to turn round to graze on an old pasture*. You know Liu Chuan’s style. The current strong teams in the league don't have a suitable position for him. If he really chooses to return, he will definitely bring a brand new team to the league.”

* Will not repeat the life that’s been lived before

Su Shilun smiled and said, “You really know him.”

Xiao Sijing also smiled. “The person who knows you best isn’t necessarily a teammate but your strongest rival.”

Xiao Sijing turned his head and glanced at the new effects of the weapon of the Tangmen Puppet School on his computer screen—--

God Weapon: Dead Mirage

Quality: Seven-star Orange Weapon

School: Tangmen Puppet School

Additional skills (Puppet Dance): Once the player releases seven puppets in any direction at the same time, each puppet inherits 70% of the owner’s attributes and bears all the damage for the owner. Each puppet can cause a knockdown effect on enemies within 3 meters in front of it for 5 seconds. The enemy cannot move during the knockdown period and unless the puppet dies, the knockdown effect cannot be lifted.

Seven puppets are placed in any seven positions at the same time. If the operation is done right, seven puppets can knock down 7 people at the same time.

This weapon… is like it was tailored for Liu Chuan.

Xiao Sijing believes that one day, this weapon will meet its best owner and unlock its greatest potential!

Su Shilun glanced at the weapon’s date and said, “If this weapon is obtained by Liu Chuan, it will definitely become a god-like weapon. If, as you said, Liu Chuan brings a new team back, Seven Star Grass will have another strong enemy in the future.”

Xiao Sijing said, “What are you afraid of? Seven Star Grass still has us.”

Su Shilun raised his head and smiled at the man’s confident and firm gaze.

——Yes, what are you afraid of! Seven Star Grass has them and they’ve never been afraid of anyone!

Xiao Sijing, Master Sansi, is the first Shaolin Fist in the league and the captain of the Seven Star Grass Team. Regardless of his personality or style of play, he has always been so steady, experienced, decisive, and straightforward. For those powerful opponents, he will give respect but he will never be afraid,

Su Shilun, Wheel of Reincarnation, vice-captain of the Seven Star Grass Team, with extremely fast hand speed, a serious case of cleanliness and appearance control would be everyone’s first impression of him. However, those who have fought with him know how terrifying this man who loves to always smile is.

Xiao Sijing, Su Shilun, the two aces of the Seven Star Grass Team, the top gods of the professional league!

From the beginning of the league, they fought side by side and never gave up. They have accompanied the Seven Star Grass Team for nine full seasons and have been named as the best partners a lot of times consecutively. Liu Chuan brought Huaxia and Xiao Sijing and Su Shilun brought the Seven Star Grass Team. Although they don’t have the brilliant record of a Grand Slam, they’re still a strong team that no one in the league would dare to underestimate.

After so many years of walking side by side, the Seven Star Grass Team has had the glory of winning the championship and there have been troughs where they didn’t reach the playoffs. No matter when, there is always this person by their side, who has never given up on their team nor given up the dreams they had when they were young.

Fight for Seven Star Grass, fight for the championship!

This is why they persevere.

Xiao Sijing quickly sorted out all the weapon data, turned off the computer, and stood up.

The man’s always sharp gaze couldn’t help but soften when he met the smiling face of his comrade-in-arms who had been with him for so many years.

Xiao Sijing stretched out his hand, gently put his arms around Su Shilun’s shoulders, and whispered, “Don’t think about it too much. Let Liu Chuan go with his life as he wants. Just train here as usual in Seven Star Grass. Since I have to go to the airport tomorrow morning, let’s go sleep early tonight.”

Su Shilun smiled and nodded. “Okay, you too. Go back and rest early. Don’t stay up late anymore.”

The two returned to the dormitory together and their conversation gradually faded away.

The dim lights of the club lengthened their shadows and the backs walking side by side looked indescribably warm.