Chapter 152 All-Stars (Part 2)

"A beautiful, life-risking strike, a wonderful one-hit kill! Even more commendable is that it came from Yang Cong. This is truly remarkable. Thank you, Yang Cong, for the wonderful performance!" The on-site host was shouting, while on the television broadcast, Pan Lin and Li Yibo were discussing this topic.

Yang Cong, being an All-Star player, was certainly no ordinary player. However, on this stage filled with stars, he was more like a passerby. He hadn't left too many marks in the league, and now there wasn't much time left for him. This life-risking strike at the All-Star event might be a memorable highlight in his career.

"Alright, Team B is now temporarily leading with a score of one to zero!" the host announced, and the electronic scoreboard on-site displayed the score.

"Next, let's invite the second players from both teams." The on-site host announced, and the audience's eyes shifted from side to side, watching to see which players would stand up.

"First up is Team A. This is, oh, another player from Samsara, their vice-captain, Jiang Botao!"

Jiang Botao walked onto the stage, and the player from Team B had also taken the field: Zou Yuan from Hundred Blossoms.

"This is a duel between vice-captains!" The on-site host tried to add some talking points to these duels. Unfortunately, these two vice-captains didn't interact much after coming on stage. They exchanged blows directly. Jiang Botao, who had participated in the previous Bloodbath Dodgeball game, had already shown his attitude of not being particularly concerned about the All-Star arena, and played relatively relaxed. Zou Yuan was different. Although this was his third time being selected for the All-Stars, it was the first time he had earned the recognition through his own performance, rather than for some other reason. He didn't want to disappoint those who voted for him, so even if it was just a show match, he didn't want to lose!

Unfortunately, things are so unpredictable. Zou Yuan, who didn't want to lose, ended up losing; Jiang Botao, who didn't care much about winning or losing and was very relaxed, won instead.

"Team A scores one point!" the host announced loudly, and Team A's scoreboard also recorded a point. Zou Yuan returned to the field a bit disappointed, and his expression startled everyone on Team B.

"What's wrong? Do you have a grudge against Jiang Botao?" Ye Xiu asked.

"No, I don't!" Zou Yuan said blankly.

"Then why are you so gloomy?" Ye Xiu asked, puzzled.

"I... lost!" Zou Yuan said.

"It's not the first time," Ye Xiu said.

Everyone was going crazy. Was this consolation? This wasn't consolation, was it?

Yu Feng, as Zou Yuan's teammate, understood his mentality relatively well, and quickly pulled Zou Yuan aside to comfort him. Everyone glared at Ye Xiu in disdain.

"Whose turn is it to go on stage?" Ye Xiu ignored them and called for a player to step up.

"It's my turn." From Team B, Li Hua, a player from Misty Rain, stepped up.

On Team A's side, Liu Hao, the current vice-captain of Wind Howl, rose to his feet.

"Haha, another duel between vice-captains." The host said, and the arena was filled with boos, booing the host's boredom. This was the All-Stars, after all. Almost everyone in the team was either the captain or vice-captain, so duels between vice-captains, or between captains, or between captains and vice-captains were not uncommon here. The host really had nothing to say, taking this as a topic again and again.

This idea was indeed correct; the host really had nothing to say.

Liu Hao, Li Hua? This... was another pair of collisions where no common ground could be found, not even a trace. Whether from the players' pasts, the teams they had been on, or their encounters in the teams. Even in team competitions, these two had never met due to rotations or other reasons. It was as if they were two parallel lines that would never intersect...

At this point, it had to be said that Pan Lin and Li Yibo, who were doing live commentary on television, were worthy of being leaders in this industry. When the on-site host couldn't find a topic and was sitting awkwardly, being booed by the entire audience, these two exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, these two players are meeting for the first time on the official stage!"

From this, it could be seen that looking at things from a different perspective could immediately reveal different highlights.

Liu Hao and Li Hua, who were facing each other for the first time, both felt a bit unfamiliar with each other. Liu Hao was not only unfamiliar with Li Hua, but also with the All-Star stage. This was his first time on this stage, something he had been looking forward to for a long time. But after arriving, he realized that he could only show his face a little in the individual competition of the对抗赛 (kàngsài, exhibition match).

Liu Hao really wanted to show off, but... on this stage full of stars, he couldn't steal a more significant role. The team competition was undoubtedly the biggest attraction. Compared to the B team, where Ye Xiu, Wang Jiexi, and Chu Yunxiu were all trying to be lazy and sneak into the individual competitions, Liu Hao was eager to be a member of the team competition! Because he knew that the final gathering for the team competition represented the strongest combat power, possibly the most star-studded players among the All-Stars, and he wanted such an identity so much!

Unfortunately, he didn't have it...

Even if they were to count the top six players based on the All-Star votes, he wouldn't be among them, whether he was thrown into Team A or Team B.

On Team A's side, the six players who were ultimately decided to participate in the team competition were Zhou Zekai, Sun Xiang, Yu Wenzhou, Huang Shaotian, Tang Hao, and Xiao Shiqin...

Except for Yu Wenzhou, who ranked 11th in the votes, the other six were all in the top ten. Liu Hao couldn't find any excuse to compete with them for the qualifications to participate in the team competition.

Helpless, he could only accept the arrangement to participate in the individual competition in the end. And now, facing Li Hua, Liu Hao's mind was blank. What kind of coincidence was this? Two teams, with at least two encounters in a league season, and Li Hua had entered the alliance in the seventh season, and had been around for several years now. He hadn't even met him?

Liu Hao felt that this was a bit unbelievable. If he wasn't standing on the stage at this moment, he wouldn't have realized that such a bizarre thing had happened to him.

He felt strange, and Li Hua felt the same way. So, both of them seemed very cautious. After meeting, they probed and explored, recalling the research materials their respective teams had on their opponent. Then, Li Hua's ninja, Lin Ancao Jing, disappeared.

The ninja's stealthy actions began, and Li Hua seemed to have found the rhythm of the battle. Soon, when Lin Ancao Jing reappeared, the offensive was launched, and the pace was extremely fast. What about Liu Hao? In recent years, he had been scheming and wandering. His mind had been occupied by too many other things. He was also trying to think hard, but couldn't come up with any useful information. To sum it up in one sentence: You realize how little you know when you need it.

Liu Hao hated it!

As someone who was on the All-Star stage for the first time, he was not as relaxed as the others, just like Zou Yuan. He not only wanted to win, but also wanted to win beautifully and wonderfully, like Yang Cong in the first round, when that life-risking strike was unleashed, how brilliant it was.

But... why did he encounter this Li Hua?

This ninja player who was good at stealth was also in a state of stealth in his own professional life. At this moment, he suddenly revealed himself, just at the moment of his first appearance on the All-Star stage. Would his debut be marked with failure?

No... it wasn't just failure, it was simply a shame! His magic swordsman was forced into all sorts of embarrassing situations by Li Hua's ninja, as if this wasn't a heavyweight contest. At this moment, Liu Hao seemed to see countless people in the audience whispering, countless people staring in stunned silence, everyone thinking: Liu Hao is so bad, is that all he's got?

This... was simply too painful! What was Li Hua doing? It was just an All-Star arena, why was he playing so seriously? Liu Hao immediately disregarded that he was also very concerned about winning this match, and began to dislike Li Hua's focus on the match.

It couldn't be like this!

Liu Hao shouted in his heart, and his magic swordsman swung his sword, the killing intent vibrated, and the wave rolled out, but there was nothing there. Lin Ancao Jing's ghostly figure had already flashed to the side of his character.

Luan Shen Chong (Chaotic Shadow Assault)!

Lin Ancao Jing's afterimages attacked Liu Hao's magic swordsman in succession, and Liu Hao continued to be in a state of confusion. The two swords he barely swung only tore apart the phantoms that Lin Ancao Jing left in the air as he passed.

"Old Brother Li Hua, why are you playing so seriously..." Liu Hao said with a very forced smile, trying to keep his tone very relaxed.

"Ah?" Li Hua was stunned. "I... I'm not too serious, am I?"

Liu Hao was furious!

Not playing seriously, how could you even say those words? More importantly, you weren't playing seriously, and you still beat me like this, you're stabbing me in the heart!

Liu Hao's small universe had long been burning to who knows which sense, but the problem was that he had accumulated energy, but found that he had no ultimate move. Random attacks would only make him feel more powerless and embarrassed, and he couldn't calm down to carefully observe and think. This was an opportunity he had waited many years for, and as a result, it was ruined by a guy who had always been transparent in his professional career. Calm down? He couldn't!

He lost!

Liu Hao finally lost. The more someone wants to win, the less likely they are to win. It was Team B in the previous round, but this time it was Team A's turn. Liu Hao retreated from the stage in a mess. He felt that the entire arena must be full of contemptuous eyes aimed at him. Returning to Team A's formation, he didn't even dare to lift his head. He wanted to explain something, but he knew that the people around him were all top Glory experts. He should save the technical excuses in front of these people!

The individual competition ended like this, with Team B taking a decisive lead of 2 to 1. However, from the moment the first two matches were tied at 1 to 1, everyone already knew that the victory or defeat could only be decided in the team competition. The擂台赛 (lèitáisài, arena challenge) was unnecessary. This wasn't a league, and scores didn't need to be calculated.

The擂台赛 (lèitáisài, arena challenge) was also a mode where players took turns to fight. Team A's first player was Lu Hanwen, a young general from Blue Rain, while Team B's player was Xu Bin from Tiny Herb. Lu Hanwen was young and energetic, and fearless. Xu Bin had the nickname of "Grind King", and his rhythm was always slow, as if he was an old man. In this interesting duel, Xu Bin was ultimately more skilled and defeated Lu Hanwen. Team A's next player was the first ghost swordsman, Li Xuan, who defeated Xu Bin. Then Team B sent their young junior, Gao Yingjie, and sent away Li Xuan. Team A's last player to defend was Wu Yuce, another member of Void's Twin Ghosts, who didn't give Gao Yingjie a chance to continue performing and killed him.

At this point, everyone could completely figure out Team A's team competition lineup using the process of elimination. What about Team B? Which expert was responsible for defending the arena? The host looked in the direction of Team B, and the entire audience looked in the direction of Team B, and then everyone rubbed their eyes.

Who was that person standing up?

Was that... Zhang Xinjie?

Was he going to the bathroom? Was he preparing for the team competition? Wait, what was going on, he was walking towards the stage? What was the situation? Team B's defending general was a priest?????