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Chapter 598 - The Heart of a Champion

Zhang Jiale was slightly startled, but he quickly understood what had happened.

Knights were a heavy armor class, so they were affected by weight, which meant that their ability to jump couldn’t compare with leather armor classes like Spitfires. Moreover, Zhang Jiale intentionally picked equipment that would increase Dazzling Spring’s jump ability. It was easy for Dazzling Spring to jump from the water current onto the tree trunk. However, if one were a Knight, like Unrivalled Super Hottie, it would have been impossible to achieve this act with a simple jump. As a result, a Heroic Leap had to be used in order to jump out of the water and land on the tree trunk.

Even though Zhang Jiale already understood all of this, the attack had still come out. However, it was impossible for the knockback from a Spitfire’s attack to knock back a Knight, who was descending from a Heroic Leap. Unrivalled Super Hottie used his shield to defend himself when the attack hit, guaranteeing his position on the tree trunk. Zhang Jiale didn’t want Dazzling Spring to be shaken into the water, so he jumped away the moment the Heroic Leap descended. He pulled his gun out and fired another bullet, using Aerial Fire to cross the river and back onto land.

“Not bad, not bad.” Ye Xiu praised him as if he were a rookie. At the same time, Unrivalled Super Hottie walked along the tree trunk and back onto the river bank.

Zhang Jiale was still taking precautions. The muzzle of Dazzling Spring’s gun never left Unrivalled Super Hottie’s body from beginning to end.

“Enough, enough. Put the gun away. We’re done.” Ye Xiu spoke.

“What are you trying to do?!” Zhang Jiale was a little melancholy.

“Testing your skill.” Ye Xiu said.

“......”

“You would have died,” Zhang Jiale was speechless for a while before continuing. “If not for that cleric.”

“Hehe, that Holy Heal was quite brilliant, wasn’t it?” Ye Xiu spoke.

“If it was just a coincidence, then let it be; but if that was intentional, then it was indeed very brilliant. Who is that person?” Zhang Jiale asked.

“A player from Tyrannical Ambition.” Ye Xiu said.

“Player? Only a player? Just a normal player?” Zhang Jiale didn’t really believe it. To take advantage of the visual effect’s distraction to conceal his movements and to use Holy Heal at the pivotal moment, all of the observational skills and judgement required was reflected in those series of actions were practically at a pro player’s level. This person turned out to actually be a normal player.

“Exactly!” Ye Xiu said.

“What a talent!” Zhang Jiale spoke.

“Agreed.” Ye Xiu said.

“Wait......” All at once, Zhang Jiale suddenly thought of something. “You got this crappy Knight account and infiltrated Tyrannical Ambition just to find such a Cleric?”

“I don’t have any other choice left. The standards for you Gods are too high. Plus, you all lack foresight. I was left with no option but to unearth talented people from among the crowd. If I wanted to look for Clerics, wouldn’t it be best to start looking from Tyrannical Ambition?” Ye Xiu spoke.

Zhang Jiale expressed his agreement. This was like how there were more Battle Mages in Excellent Dynasty and more Spitfires in Blossom Valley. This effect was entirely because of the Gods. Fans worshipped a God because of that God’s class. Fans supported teams because they worshipped these Gods. Then in the game, they would strive to join their favorite team’s guild.

As for Tyrannical Ambition, their team Tyranny possessed two Gods, Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie, so among their guild members, the ratio for the classes of Striker and Cleric were relatively high, so their Strikers and Clerics were generally better than those of other guilds. To find a skilled Cleric, it would be quite logical to start from Tyrannical Ambition.

“So you got this Knight because the Knight is a tank class and, in a dungeon group, there’s no other class that knows a Cleric better than a tank. And you finally found a Cleric using this method?” Zhang Jiale said.

“Mhmm, that’s right.” Ye Xiu said.

“How long did you spend?” Zhang Jiale asked.

“A little over two weeks!” Ye Xiu spoke.

“Not bad. Your luck is quite good.” Zhang Jiale said.

“Hahaha, you want to talk with me about luck?” Ye Xiu spoke.

Zhang Jiale turned gloomy. With the nickname of “unluckiest God in the league”, luck was indeed his ultimate weakness.

“Where is that guy?” Zhang Jiale changed topics. He was quite curious as to the whereabouts of the expert Cleric.

Unrivalled Super Hottie’s view switched towards the rapid river. After a long while, Ye Xiu said. “He probably drowned.”

“Cough, what?” Zhang Jiale didn’t fall into the river, but he still choked. “Drowned?” He didn’t dare to believe that the Cleric, with such exceptional judgement and observation, would drown. Zhang Jiale felt that it was more likely for Ye Xiu and him to drown on this tree trunk.

“Hey, if he really was exceptional in every aspect with absolutely no weaknesses, then how would I be able to uncover him? He would have been discovered long ago and taken to who knows where by someone else much earlier on.” Ye Xiu said.

“Then what exactly is the weakness of this expert that covered up his excellent talent?” Zhang Jiale said.

“According to my initial observations, he has good judgement and a good grasp of time. However, his mechanics are fairly ordinary. He also reacts slowly in complicated situations.” Ye Xiu spoke.

Zhang Jiale thought for a while before he expressed his agreement towards the circumstances that he understood so far: “Such a weakness wouldn’t have affected his earlier play. However, if he’s in a dungeon team, it really does cover up his strengths, but are you really sure that his performance wasn’t just a coincidence?”

“I’m sure, especially after that last performance.” Ye Xiu said.

“Did you just use me as your lab rat?” Zhang Jiale said.

“Look at how you’re phrasing it.” Ye Xiu said. “I was just using you to test how qualified he was.”

“......”

“As for you, why are you helping Blossom Valley so much with these bosses? What are you doing? Are you repenting?” Ye Xiu joked.

“Yup.” Zhang Jiale unexpectedly expressed his agreement.

“You......”

“I owe them.” Zhang Jiale sounded a bit pitiful.

When Ye Xiu heard him speak in such way, he was startled: “You’re not planning on returning to Team Hundred Blossoms?”

Zhang Jiale didn’t reply, but had basically answered without replying. If he planned on returning, then there was nothing to be embarrassed about by answering. It was precisely because he wasn’t planning on returning that he couldn’t say the answer aloud.

He used to be Team Hundred Blossom’s captain and ace player. His lack of responsibility in his retirement process already drew a lot of criticism. If he returned and didn’t choose his previous team under the hopeful eyes of Team Hundred Blossom’s fans, Ye Xiu could easily imagine what sort of condemnation Zhang Jiale would have to face from the public.

But if he would rather bear such pressure, which team would he end up choosing?

Ye Xiu predicted that the answer wasn’t so simple. From the current look of Zhang Jiale’s expression of regret, he wouldn’t return to Team Hundred Blossoms, not because he was feeling embarrassed from his sudden retirement, but because after already letting down Team Hundred Blossoms once, he was going to abandon the team again.

What was it for?

Of course it was the championship victory that he had seeked but failed to get for all these years. This time, for the sake of the championship, Zhang Jiale would spare no expense and would gamble everything he had. One could imagine how much hope and expectation he was filled with this time. For that championship victory, even if he received it, it would be filled with controversy. Perhaps even the radiance of winning the championship wouldn’t cover his actions of abandoning Team Hundred Blossoms twice.

Did his recent interaction with Zhang Jiale make the decision even more painful?

Ye Xiu didn’t think so. This was because in Ye Xiu’s eyes, the emotions that he had triggered were mostly memories of the past, which would make him feel unsubmissive and unwilling to leave. As someone who needed to start over again, Ye Xiu couldn’t give Zhang Jiale much hope. He didn’t have anything that would make him gamble everything. When he asked Zhang Jiale to join him, Ye Xiu could only say it in a half-joking manner. After all, Zhang Jiale was different from Wei Chen. If he wanted to come back from retirement, even Ye Xiu felt that he wouldn’t need to explain anything if he wanted to return to Team Hundred Blossoms.

But now, Zhang Jiale was obviously making a bold decision. Ye Xiu couldn’t imagine Zhang Jiale cooperating with him. His reason was explained above. His team didn’t have the weight to give Zhang Jiale a reason to make such a sacrifice. Ye Xiu believed that there would only be one thing that could make Zhang Jiale make such a vital decision and that would be the championships.

Of course, there was no such team that would win the championships immediately after he joined, but the team would have to be one where Zhang Jiale could see boundless potential. This team would definitely not be like Ye Xiu’s where he had to run around in the guilds of the online game to choose if there were any people with talents left unnoticed. This team would definitely let a person see the cover and immediately think: the championship was theirs.

Which one would it be?

Tiny Herb? Blue Rain? Tyranny?

Or would it be Samsara? Misty Rain? Void?

Or even the current Excellent Era?

With a God like Zhang Jiale suddenly joining any of these teams would make anyone feel that the team was abnormally strong, so Ye Xiu, at this time, really couldn’t guess which team it would be. Zhang Jiale obviously wouldn’t tell him either. A figure like him joining would normally involve a team-swapping storm. To even allow Ye Xiu to know that he would come out of retirement but wouldn’t return to Hundred Blossoms was already a very hot piece of gossip for the news. Just by leaking this piece of news would be enough to have the media pursue and argue until the competition season ended.

“Good luck......” Ye Xiu wholeheartedly blessed him. For the sake of the championships, Zhang Jiale could even make such a decision. Although he was currently a little ashamed to face it, Ye Xiu believed that he would overcome this mentality. This was because the heart of a champion should never be viewed lightly. This wasn’t to show-off, but for glory. The glory that hung high in every pro gamer’s hearts and eyes. The glory that had been commented as addictive by Ye Xiu.

“I must have good luck!” Zhang Jiale didn’t return the blessing to Ye Xiu, but instead carried on Ye Xiu’s words and gave himself an additional blessing halo again.

“Okay, I will continue fighting for the boss!” Zhang Jiale’s spirit was raised.

“The people from Blossom Valley have probably been wiped out.” Ye Xiu spoke. He now understood why Zhang Jiale was currently madly helping Blossom Valley to fight. Perhaps it was to take away some of the guilt left in his heart, or maybe because it was to use whatever method he had left to do something for Hundred Blossoms. Ye Xiu didn’t need to ask which the actual reason was.

“It doesn’t matter. After a player dies, they can immediately return. This is one part of the game that I like over the competitive scene.” Zhang Jiale said.

“Then I hope you succeed!” Ye Xiu said.

“How about you? You won’t come back?”

“Me? I’ve already reached my goal. I will let the boss be for now!” Ye Xiu said.

“Oh...... then I will also need to bless for your wish to be fulfilled. I hope that fellow will completely meet your requirements and also not despise you as a God from Excellent Era, hahaha.” Zhang Jiale said such, while his Dazzling Spring had already turned around and sprinted back toward the North Bridge.

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