"What the heck is Li Xiaoyao?" The audience present was once again stunned.
It wasn't that they didn't recognize Li Xiaoyao; in fact, most of the audience present knew him well, as he was a figure of nostalgia from their past. The problem was, why would Li Xiaoyao appear in a Warcraft III exhibition match? It was too chaotic!
Fortunately, Li Xiaoyao himself explained, "I am Li Xiaoyao. In order to find a way to save my wife, Ling'er, I stumbled upon an ancient spatial realm left by my predecessors and accidentally arrived in this world. May I ask where this is, and if there is any method in this world to revive the dead?"
"There is indeed a method to revive the dead!" Hearing Li Xiaoyao's words, Arthas said in his hoarse voice, "You only need to offer his soul to me, and I can bring your wife back to life."
"Impossible! If a soul is offered to another, wouldn't resurrection be worse than death!" Li Xiaoyao stated firmly.
"That is not for you to decide, human. Become a servant of the Lich King!" Arthas sneered and then launched an attack on Li Xiaoyao.
From the plot perspective, Li Xiaoyao at this point was the fully realized version who had lost his wife. His strength was unfathomable. He leaped from his sword, drew a long sword from his waist, and began to fight Arthas.
"Holy crap! Li Xiaoyao's swordsmanship is so cool!" The audience quickly realized that the actor playing Li Xiaoyao possessed extraordinary swordsmanship. The long sword in his hand was like a living entity, dancing in the air, creating dazzling sword light. Simultaneously, his movements were as swift as the wind. The imposing Arthas was like a giant wooden post before Li Xiaoyao; his attacks couldn't even touch Li Xiaoyao's body. On the contrary, Li Xiaoyao's sword struck Arthas countless times, eventually shattering his armor piece by piece, revealing a well-built physique.
"Human, you are the strongest swordsman I have ever seen. Let us fight to the death!" No longer bound by his armor, Arthas became even more agile. He wielded Frostmourne and stopped allowing Li Xiaoyao to attack freely, instead engaging in a fierce exchange of blows. The blades of both fighters constantly clashed, emitting clear ringing sounds that echoed throughout the venue. All the spectators watched with bated breath, having never witnessed such a brilliant swordsmanship duel.
Although there were martial arts programs like "Wulin Feng" and martial arts performances on the Spring Festival Gala, those performances were too formulaic. Nothing compared to this live, no-holds-barred confrontation, which left the audience exhilarated.
"Human, allow me to lend you a hand!" At this moment, Sylvanas, whose heart had been pierced by Arthas, miraculously regained her ability to move. She drew her longbow again and shot a fatal arrow at Arthas.
Having lost his armor's protection, the arrow successfully broke through his defenses. Arthas let out a cry of pain, clutching his arm, where a black arrow was now embedded.
Even more astonishing was the continuous silver light emanating from the arrow, indicating it was a magical feathered arrow.
"Sylvanas, Li Xiaoyao, I will remember you. You cannot escape the fate bestowed upon you by the Lich King!" Arthas uttered these final words before making a hasty retreat.
"Are you alright?" At this point, the camera focused on Sylvanas and Li Xiaoyao, giving them a close-up shot. All the spectators in the venue could clearly see their faces on the large screen.
"I am fine. We High Elves do not die so easily!" Sylvanas clutched her chest and stood up. She then said to Li Xiaoyao, "Human, our continent of Azeroth faces great peril. Are you willing to join us High Elves in defending this world?"
"I can. I also wish to find a way to revive my wife in this world. This world is so miraculous, perhaps it holds the means to bring her back!" Li Xiaoyao replied.
"No, all resurrections and revivals are evil. Death is the best resting place for all life. You cannot reverse death!" Sylvanas stated. Li Xiaoyao seemed about to argue, but a light suddenly flashed on him. Li Xiaoyao exclaimed, "Oh no, the dimensional mirror is pulling me back to my original world. Farewell, Sylvanas!"
Then, accompanied by the light, Li Xiaoyao was pulled back into the darkness by a wire, leaving Sylvanas alone, head bowed, muttering, "Who, truly, can save this world!"
The stage play concluded.
It took a full 10 seconds before everyone snapped back to reality, realizing the performance had ended. Then, thunderous applause erupted. Although Li Xiaoyao's unexpected appearance was somewhat baffling, there was no denying that the entire performance, from lighting and special effects to the combat, was of the highest caliber, surpassing all stage performances they had ever witnessed. Moreover, this was a performance truly for the players, inspiring the audience to cheer and praise it ecstatically.
Amidst the cheers, the three actors from the previous performance returned to the stage, and the cameras once again focused on them. Leng Zhimeng gazed at Li Xiaoyao on stage with starry eyes, exclaiming, "Wow, I never knew my Xiaoyao Gege was so handsome! I love him to death! I want to marry him!"
"That's probably not going to happen!" Huang He said calmly.
"What? Brother-in-law, are you going to be like those wicked parents in TV dramas and bring up reasons of social standing, saying a young lady can't fall in love with an actor? Let me tell you, brother-in-law, I'm an adult now. You can't control who I marry!" Leng Zhimeng said loudly.
"I'm too lazy to manage you. If you truly want to marry this Li Xiaoyao, I won't object, as long as you can convince him, and then convince your mother to not break your legs."
"Hmph, my mom isn't that feudal! As long as I like him, she'll definitely support me!" Leng Zhimeng said.
"Is that so!" Huang He coughed, stifling a laugh, and said no more. Two hosts then appeared on stage to interview these actors.
It turned out the performer playing Sylvanas was a member of Shanghai's archery team, who had also previously studied gymnastics and was now a veteran gamer.
The young lady spoke eloquently, winning a wave of cheers from the audience, and many began to become fans of hers.
Next, the actor playing Arthas was a Mongolian with natural equestrian skills who had also studied martial arts at the Shaolin Temple for several years. While not exceptionally handsome, he possessed a heroic aura and well-defined muscles, clearly making him a prime candidate for an action actor.
This Arthas also attracted the attention of many fans.
In fact, both of these individuals were recently signed actors by Tangren. They possessed considerable acting foundations and specialized skills, so the performance of Arthas fighting Sylvanas was designed to complement their strengths, laying a foundation for their debut.
Indeed, with this successful exposure to millions of Warcraft III players nationwide, the popularity of these two actors soared. They subsequently appeared in numerous Tangren TV dramas and films, securing bright futures.
In reality, these were two completely unknown actors, likely ranked beyond the 18th tier. They were destined for a fate vastly different from their historical counterparts.
However, in essence, these two were somewhat of a supporting act, as the true core of this performance was our friend Li Xiaoyao.
Firstly, his contribution of flying on a sword and his swordsmanship display were undoubtedly the most dashing of the entire show.
Then there was his face, which was so handsome it was outrageously so, making the few girls present feel their hearts pounding. Just standing there, he naturally exuded an aura of romantic elegance. The "Four Great Beauties of Tianya" from that era would have felt self-conscious in his presence; he was simply unbearably handsome.
Finally, after interviewing the first two, the hosts began to interview this Li Xiaoyao.
"Hello everyone, my name is Leng Zhiwen. Today, I am playing Li Xiaoyao, and at the end of this year, in the upcoming TV drama 'Chinese Paladin,' I will also be portraying Li Xiaoyao, bringing back the nostalgia of 'Chinese Paladin.' Please support me and the TV drama 'Chinese Paladin.'"
It turned out this elaborate performance was for the promotion of "Chinese Paladin." This was Huang He's true intention, which explained the inclusion of the seemingly inexplicable Li Xiaoyao.
This national finals was a competition highly anticipated by millions of players nationwide. Promoting a TV drama during such a highly watched event would naturally yield twice the results with half the effort.
Since it was their own event and their own channel, there was no reason not to utilize it.
In 2002, players had not yet been desensitized by various marketing ploys. Furthermore, the stage play performance was truly astonishing, with spectacular stage effects. Therefore, the players not only had no complaints but instead cheered with great enthusiasm.
After all, for most players, "Chinese Paladin" was also a childhood memory. The fact that a game from their memories was being adapted into a TV drama was undoubtedly something worth supporting.
Of course, there would also be players exclaiming that this was ruining the original work. However, it didn't matter; whether the original work was ruined or not would only be revealed after the TV drama aired.
The audience below buzzed with discussion upon hearing the news of "Chinese Paladin," while Leng Zhimeng was completely shattered by the name Li Xiaoyao.
"This… is my third sister??" Originally, Leng Zhimeng had not associated Li Xiaoyao with her sister at all. But when the unique name Leng Zhiwen was spoken, and then she looked at Li Xiaoyao's face, Leng Zhimeng found him more and more alike, finally confirming that it was entirely her third sister's face.
But how had her third sister become a man? And such a realistic one, with no discernible feminine movements or aura whatsoever.
"Is this a cosplay of Xu Xian?"