Chapter 122 – Defeat In The First Round Of The Group Stage

After the draws were completed, the opening ceremony went off without a hitch. The group matches would start in three days, which meant the official beginning of this season’s World Championship.

The matching situation has attracted much attention domestically and immediately sparked a lot of discussion. Netizens made various speculations about the winning rates of each team in each group. For a while, there were endless topics on forums and social media. The comments were all eloquent analyses of the situation with insightful guidance. Of all the topics, the most controversial was undoubtedly whether the seed team, Black Rose, would persist.

Ever since You Jing’s hand injury was exposed to the media, the fans who had full confidence in their favorite team, inevitably hid a deeper concern in their hearts. On one hand, they hoped that Yu Jing could recover from his injury as soon as possible and participate in the competition in perfect condition; on the other hand, they worried about lacking Yu Jing as a strong support pillar and whether or not the Black Rose team could withstand the impact from the powerful opponents around the world.

Of course, most Black Rose fans were optimistic. After all, in the domestic League, Zou Qiguan, who replaced You Jing, performed average but did not become a fatal weakness for the team. This rookie player has been above expectations since his debut this season and has not received criticism. Moreover, the Black Rose team also had Lin Xiao, who had emerged in this season and was widely accepted as the “Old Ghost‘s successor”.

The same name, the same equipment style, and even the same unpredictable tactics… No matter which aspect, it was enough to make fans start looking forward to whether this new face that became a legend in just one season could truly live up to the title of the Old Ghost‘s successor and once again raise the national flag on the international stage.

Being currently abroad, Lin Xiao naturally did not know about the turbulent situation in the domestic circles at this time. Early in the morning, after waking up, he dragged Zou Qiguan to You Jing’s room and said, “There are only three days left. Hurry up.”

After the end of the domestic League, Zou Qiguan had been training with You Jing for some time. After these days, his watery eyes had already been weighed down by heavy bags, but he still looked spirited. Standing in front of him, he looked at You Jing very seriously as if he had a heroic determination to die.

“Please don’t show mercy and ravage me, Captain You!” Zou Qiguan raised his curly hair and delivered his lines with great passion.

Ravage. Ravage?! You Jing raised his eyelashes: “…Who taught you this?”

Zou Qiguan replied energetically: “Yes, Captain You! It was Brother Lin who taught me!”

“Cough, cough, let’s start, hurry up.” Lin Xiao lowered his head under You Jing’s gaze, turned around, and entered the room. “I’ll help you turn on the computer!”

Zou Qiguan’s gaze had been respectfully focused on You Jing, and he hadn’t come to his senses when Lin Xiao pulled him into the room. He staggered slightly, almost stumbling. At this moment, Lin Xiao seemed to suddenly remember something. He turned his head and asked, “Hey, Switch, have you called him Master?”

Zou Qiguan was a little confused: “What master?”

“Your Master, of course! You have to pay homage to your Master!” Lin Xiao glanced at You Jing and then turned back with a serious expression. “I see that you have a unique bone structure and extraordinary talent. You are a good material for playing e-sports. After following your Captain You for so long, of course, there should be some recognition. I’m telling you, why are you so slow? Hurry up and call him Master!”

Zou Qiguan was stunned by what he heard, but his eyes lit up when he finally reacted. He looked at You Jing with admiration and anticipation and timidly asked, “Captain You, can I…?”

“This line…” You Jing looked deeply at Lin Xiao. “You stayed up late last night reading martial arts novels?”

Lin Xiao smiled, “<The Legend of the Condor Heroes and the One Hundred and Eight Generals of Water Margin: The Legend of Xiaolin.> It’s a good read.”

You Jing: “…”

As Zou Qiguan listened to their conversation, the light in his eyes dimmed. Being accepted as a disciple by a divine-level priest like You Jing would undoubtedly mean being recognized as a successor. He knew that his talent was actually quite ordinary and didn’t take it too seriously to begin with, but after being teased by Lin Xiao like this, he couldn’t help feeling a little disillusioned.

You Jing turned around and glanced at Zou Qiguan’s disappointed expression. After a moment, he suddenly said: “Say it.”

“Ah?” Zou Qiguan suddenly looked up and met You Jing’s calm eyes. His heart skipped a beat when he realized what was happening. He grinned ecstatically, “Master!”

Lin Xiao watched this harmonious scene in a good mood, came over, and said with a smile: “You have already called him Master, it’s time to call me Grand Master.”

“Ah?” Zou Qiguan was confused again.

“It’s time to train.” You Jing suddenly intervened between the two, pulling Zou Qiguan to the table and pointing briefly at the computer screen. “Warm-up first, then reaction training for two hours.”

Zou Qiguan was full of energy: “Yes, Master!”

Oh, are you feeling shy again? Lin Xiao found it funny to see You Jing’s reaction. He lazily leaned back on the soft pillow on the bed with his hands behind his head, smiling as he watched their backs. It gave him a sense of a harmonious family of three, with the man working and the woman weaving, enjoying peaceful years.

When he came back to his senses, he sniffed lightly.

Hmm? Seems like something strange was in the air?

As the tournament was about to officially begin, every quiet moment became particularly precious. On the first day of the group stage matches, this ordinary everyday peace was suddenly disrupted.

On the first day of the group stage matches, in the first round of games, the Scattered Clouds team suffered their first defeat – losing to the UG team from South Korea, opening with a bad start.

Tasting defeat in the very first match was like a bucket of cold water poured on their heads, instantly dampening the ambitious atmosphere of the domestic e-sports circle.

Although being China‘s third-seeded international competing team, Scattered Clouds‘ strength was still widely recognized. Moreover, within Group C, the UG team from South Korea also held the third seed position.

The current heavy loss felt like a harsh slap on Chinese people’s faces and made them suddenly realize how terrifyingly strong Korean e-sports players were.

“This year, our Korean team’s goal is to secure three spots in the semi-finals,” said UG‘s captain Han Zongren with a smile in front of the media. His tone sounded calm and humble, but everyone could see a hint of arrogance in his expression.

However, at this moment, even though their hearts were filled with dissatisfaction, the domestic e-sports community had no choice but to remain silent in the face of Korea‘s proud arrogance. The recent match between the two teams clearly showed the gap between them. Even if they wanted to boast against them, they needed more capital.

North American LGG team vs. European TTT team, LGG team won;

South Korean ACE team vs. European SWW team, ACE team won;

South Korean UG team vs. Chinese SC team, UG team won;

South Korean MTG team vs. North American NTP team, MTG team won.

On the first day of the competition, apart from Group A, all three teams from South Korea achieved complete victories in the first round, dominating the leaderboard. Just like Han Zongren declared to the world through the media, they displayed enough momentum to make them seem unstoppable.

The Korean media was abuzz with articles celebrating the victory as if the title was already in the bag.

Let’s win! Win a game to show them! The fans following the international tournament back home could only hear the silent, passionate screams in their hearts.

Finally, on the third day after the first round, the second round of the group stage began. Among the domestic League teams, the Scattered Clouds team stayed off this round, and the other two teams ushered in their first games: the Apocalypse team faced the LGG team of North America, and the Black Rose team faced the MTG team of South Korea.

When the players appeared, the roof of the stadium was almost blown up by enthusiastic fans. Commentators from different countries were broadcasting live in their respective commentary booths for the fans in their own countries. Different languages intertwined, setting ablaze their hearts.

In the Korean commentary booth, commentator Sun and special guest Song Meiqi enthusiastically explained the details. As the MTG team came on the field, they introduced each member one by one. After the introduction, he said with a smile: “Today’s MTG team’s opponent is this year’s Chinese champion team, Black Rose. We can see many new faces in this year’s Black Rose team. From a team composed of semi-newcomers like this, I believe we can have enough expectations.”

His words were very formal, and his tone quite polite, but it still gave the feeling that he didn’t take it seriously at all. Whether at the scene or watching the live broadcast on computers, all Korean fans had a playful expression and were eagerly looking forward to seeing the MTG team win another round for them and continue to climb up on the leaderboard in this new round.

At this moment, the Black Rose team players began to step onto the stage one after another. On the large screen in the center of the venue, their names and IDs were displayed in both Chinese and English, neatly arranged together.

Commentator Sun took the players’ information handed to him by a staff member. As he flipped through it casually, he introduced the Black Rose team’s players without much thought. When his eyes fell on an ID in the file, his words suddenly stopped strangely, and there was an eerie silence during the live broadcast.

But at this moment, it seemed no one noticed his abnormality.

When the name “LovelyGhost” appeared on the big screen, a camera in the corner of the frame happened to focus on Lin Xiao. The projected image showed only a smiling face as he raised his hand high and waved toward everyone with great pomp and circumstance, like a leader at a parade.

Because it was the home ground, the venue was occupied almost entirely by Korean fans. With such an identity and a provocative look, the atmosphere in the arena exploded after a moment of silence.

LovelyGhost! It’s that LovelyGhost!

Although a long time had passed since the incident of the Korean ranking, and gradually, this name was no longer mentioned, once it appeared again, it was enough for everyone to remember it clearly.

This was the guy who cheated his way up to the top of the Korean Leaderboard!

No one could have imagined that after such a long time, this name would unexpectedly reappear in everyone’s sight in this form.

The entire Korean e-sports community immediately focused their attention on him. If sight could kill, Lin Xiao, who was waving on the stage right now, would have been riddled with arrows many times over.

However, at this moment, he looked indifferent, as if he were not involved at all. When passing by Jiang Minjun, he menacingly threatened him: “Wait! I will play cry. you!”

Jiang Minjun frowned and glared at him: “…?”