Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The attacks made from the ethereal qi from a Qi Master were actually more visible than usual on this map, where any movement disturbed the thick fog. Even though Song Xiao had launched this Sky Piercing Strike very quickly, it didnt pose any difficulty for Ye Xiu.
Charge!
Even though he clearly saw the attack coming for him, Ye Xiu chose not to hide behind a tree, but to ferociously charge forward.
Boom!
Part of the qi from the Sky Piercing Strike slammed into the tree, giving off a muffled sound, followed by the rustling of the trees leaves and branches. Ye Xiu hadnt chosen the safer method of dodging the attack he seemed almost in a rush as he chased after Song Xiao.
It looks like Ye Xiu has lost some of his cool? Pan Lin shouted, his voice full of surprise. Hed been commentating Glory matches for a number of years now, so hed commentated for the old Battle God One Autumn Leaf Ye Xiu as well as the current unspecialized Lord Grim Ye Xiu. For Pan Lin to become so distinguished in the Glory commentary circle, he was at a solid level. He had always felt that this new Ye Xiu, after returning to the professional scene this season, was somewhat different from before.
Pan Lin hadnt experienced the years when Excellent Era had swept the Alliance, but from the seasons afterward, in the matches where Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng built their reputation as Best Partners, he could imagine just how ferocious that dominating Battle God had been. Even though Excellent Eras scores had been in a steady decline in the following years, Pan Lin could still tell that all of the powerful teams in the Alliance still viewed Excellent Era as a difficult enemy. And Ye Xiu had always been the target that all of the Gods and experts had aimed to defeat.
Ye Xiu had always been this pinnacle existence.
All the way until he departed in Season 8. Just like that, a God had fallen. In the days of his absence, though, the Alliance continued to develop. The king of the new generation, Zhou Zekai, lived up to expectations as he won two championships and continued to charge toward Excellent Eras record of three consecutive championships.
The times had changed, and in the eyes of many younger viewers, Zhou Zekai was the one who was worthy of being called Glorys number one. The returned Ye Xiu was no longer the pinnacle presence of before, no longer that lofty goal that everyone wanted to challenge and defeat. This time, he had become a challenger. Those people who had once looked up to him now all had beautifully powerful teams behind them. And this Team Happy that Ye Xiu now led could only look up to them.
No longer was he the one being challenged. Now, he was the challenger!
From the beginning, Pan Lin had felt that looking at Ye Xiu and Happy from this angle would be very interesting. But... Ye Xiu hadnt cooperated at all! Right after theyd barely managed to defeat Excellent Era, they were already hollering about winning the championship. Where was the attitude of being the challenger?
But Pan Lin understood. This was probably the principle of not letting yourself be intimidated by the opponents identity, while still being cautious of the opponents abilities and tactics.
Season 10, 38 rounds. The television broadcast wouldnt choose Happys matches every week, but Pan Lin still watched every single one of Happys matches.
As a commentator, he couldnt demonstrate emotional bias. He could only praise those that performed well, or express regret for those that didnt. Even though he would also sometimes forget himself while a particularly thrilling performance onstage, on the whole, the emotions of a commentator had to be almost mechanical. Their emotional expression was trained, or in other words, it was... a performance.
In reality, Pan Lin had paid very close attention to Happy this season. Like many others, he was very curious about that weapon in Lord Grims hand, and he was very curious about how this team, a team that had come from who-knows-where but had miraculously defeated Excellent Era in the Challenger League, would ultimately perform in the professional circle.
The people who had paid this kind of attention to Happy had reaped quite some satisfaction this season.
Happy, this patchwork team, had done extremely well.
And those who had been paying attention to Happy were, of course, paying attention to Ye Xiu as well.
Thirty-seven consecutive wins! To be able to watch this record built from start to finish, this was an incredible reward for those paying attention to Ye Xiu over the course of this year.
But in the process of watching these consecutive victories, Pan Lin felt a few other things.
Thirty-seven consecutive wins. Even in Ye Xius pinnacle years, he had never had such a perfect performance before. Part of this was of course because Lord Grim was unspecialized, but separating the character from the player, Pan Lin felt that Ye Xiu was different as well.
The Ye Xiu of the past, who had led his account to earn the title of Battle God, was domineering on the battlefield, invincible.
But todays Ye Xiu? Hed won thirty-seven consecutive battles, which still seemed invincible. But Pan Lin felt that, even though his results were incredible, the returned Ye Xiu didnt seem to have that same brash, dominating air that hed had as a Battle Mage.
Was his temperament different because his class was different?
At the beginning, Pan Lin had thought this was the case. But after seeing many matches, it didnt seem quite right.
It wasnt until the end of the season, and he saw the adjustments and changes that Team Tyranny had made, that Pan Lin finally understood.
Ye Xiu, like those three old generals of Tyranny, wasnt young anymore! That brash and sharp air of the Battle God had slowly bled away with the flow of time. Before, because Ye Xiu had always been present and everyone was always watching his matches, they hadnt noticed the feeling very clearly. But after leaving and then returning after a year and a half, the scars left by the passage of time were suddenly in stark clarity.
He hadnt wantonly squandered his youth, nor had he willfully tried to compete with the years. He had simply been continuously adjusting and perfecting his own technique, using whatever style best suited him at the time to engage in battle.
Calm, elegant, and then old. From the very start, he had never planned to lament this inevitable fact of life. Just like how he faced the championship, he faced this saddening situation with vigor.
This season, quite a few people discussed the pressure that Ye Xiu faced, leading a team like this. They discussed just how exhausting it was for him, all for the sake of victory.
But Pan Lin didnt agree.
Ye Xiu had indeed been working very hard. Without him, this Team Happy definitely wouldnt be what it was today. But over Happys thirty-eight matches, whether they won or lost, Pan Lin had always seen an air of joy.
Yes, joy!
The sort of joy that came from playing from the heart.
Glory was, after all, a game. Pan Lin wondered whether many people had forgotten this point. After last round, many commentators criticized Happys brutally utilitarian style of play. After reading them, Pan Lin found them laughable.
Utilitarian?
Had they not realized that the Glory Alliance itself was the most utilitarian?
The implementation of all sorts of rules, the requirement that the battles be splendid, this and that, all of it revealed the utilitarianism.
In comparison, Pan Lin felt that Happys performance wasnt utilitarian at all. It was purely a pursuit of victory. Pan Lin had always thought that those who wanted both victory and a beautiful battle were the real utilitarians!
Victory and loss. A very straightforward thing, and yet so many details had to be bickered over. The utilitarianism revealed a sort of hypocrisy.
The battle wasnt pretty?
But the thing was, who was going to contribute a pretty battle for you? The players were on the battlefield, they cared about victory, and certainly not appearance. You thought the battle was ugly, but didnt you know just how happy the players were while playing?
In Pan Lins eyes, Ye Xiu was undoubtedly this kind of person. He never cared about the opinions of those around him. Using the best method to obtain victory, this was what he had always done. This was one thing that had never changed about him, from age 17 to age 27.
So now, Ye Xius decision had caught him somewhat off-guard. This sort of action, eager to show a certain attitude, didnt suit Ye Xius character!
He does seem a bit rushed... Li Yibo hadnt thought as much as Pan Lin. Just from technique, Ye Xius forced charge was a bit impatient. Even if he was anxious to lock onto Receding Tides position, the risk was a bit too much. Song Xiao, after all, wasnt Yu Wenzhou. Coming into close range wasnt an immediate guarantee of victory.
Right now, Lord Grim rushed into close range and the two began to fight. But could he really take him down with this?
No one thought he had a good chance. The only reason Li Yibo didnt dare say so was for fear of getting slapped in the face.
Lord Grims charge earlier had really been a bit of a struggle, but an arrow once fired couldnt be recalled. He had charged forward, so he had to see this through. But Lord Grims rhythm never managed to stabilize, and in his exchange with Song Xiaos Receding Tides, he failed to gain the upper hand. Instead, he presented an opening to Song Xiao.
But Song Xiao didnt have Receding Tides pursue this opening. He actually chose to retreat, and instantly hid himself once again within this foggy forest. It appeared that Blue Rain had made thorough preparations on this map. Song Xiaos control when controlling the path of Receding Tides was no inferior to Yu Wenzhous.
They really are planning on dragging this out! Pan Lin was stunned.
Theyre playing an endurance battle! Seeing this, Li Yibos tone became much more confident than before.
What are they wearing down? Lord Grims health? Mana? Pan Lin said.
And Ye Xius energy, said Li Yibo.
Pan Lin paused, and then looked at the time. Indeed, todays group arena had been dragging on for quite a while. Normally, by this time, the group arena would already be on the third or fourth battle. Blue Rains Yu Wenzhou had been defeated and replaced by Song Xiao, but Happys first player Ye Xiu still hadnt gone down! Blue Rain wasnt giving him the chance to end a match quickly. Even when there was a chance to counterattack, Song Xiao had chosen to back off. The intention was all too clear: they wanted to play a long endurance match.
And this Song Xiao wasnt like Yu Wenzhou, he didnt have to worry so much about the opponent closing in. Just after escaping, he was able to come back and harass him again as if it were nothing.
Once, twice, three times...
Song Xiaos steadiness and ability to perform under pressure was, in this match, used entirely on running around. Every time hed come to harass Ye Xiu for a bit, and as soon as the situation became slightly unfavorable, hed instantly run away. Again and again, he actually succeeded in getting away every time. This struggle continued on for another five minutes, and in that time, the health of both players had dropped less than ten percent. This rhythm was almost disastrously slow.
How will this match turn out? Pan Lin said weakly. The first or second time when Song Xiao had rushed back, he had gotten excited and shouted a bit, but after that he wasnt fooled again. From Song Xiaos current attitude, it seemed that the only way Song Xiao would relax would be if Lord Grim completely stripped off all of his equipment and just stood there waiting to be attacked.
Clutch player? Pan Lin didnt feel it. The feeling that Song Xiao gave him now was more like that of a frightened songbird.