Chapter 1225: Darkness and Light
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
What were Fang Rui's qualities?
If this question were posed to one hundred Glory players, approximately one hundred answers would be "dirty," without any hesitation.
This of course wasn't wrong, but the analysis by the so-called experts wouldn't be so unspecific. They used many technical details to pick out what qualities Fang Rui had, and the conclusion they reached was: this playstyle fits Fang Rui exactly, but possibly would not fit anyone else.
Those that supported this view included the previous Qi Master All-Star, Zhao Yang. Although he had already retired, he hadn't stopped paying attention to Glory, and the reporters that were close with him easily obtained his views on Fang Rui's Qi Master. Zhao Yang believed that even he himself had no way of playing Fang Rui's style of Qi Master, and that it truly was a unique style that arose from the player.
What would be the fruits of this playstyle?
As of now, Fang Rui growing accustomed to his new playstyle was an indispensable contribution to Happy's recent strong performance. After being thrown off by Ye Xiu's unspecialized Lord Grim, the various members of the Alliance now faced another playstyle that they couldn't immediately understand, that caused them just as much difficulty as Lord Grim.
Losing wasn't scary. But losing without knowing why you lost, that was scary. This meant that you had no way of obtaining experience and improving.
And because of Happy, the Alliance players felt this strongly. The unknown unspecialized, the chaotic Steamed Bun, and now this new playstyle from Fang Rui.
This new team was really very new. New people, new characters, even new playstyles.
How to counter this entirely new element? The teams all spent time to study and try and figure out. But each team had 19 opponents in the Alliance, not just Happy. In the end, no team would do too much study or have too much focus on just one team. They had to follow the rhythm of the match schedule. Whatever team they were about to face, they would focus on defeating that team. And so Happy took advantage of this; after stabilizing their style they accumulated points like crazy. Now at Round 14, their footsteps hadn't slowed at all. Void's first player in the group arena, Ge Zhaolan, went down rapidly, having only knocked away 37% of Fang Rui's Boundless Sea.
A beautiful opening. The cheers from the crowd sent the dejected Ge Zhaolan offstage.
Li Xuan sighed and shook his head, his gaze falling upon the one at his side. His closest friend, his best partner, but at the same time the one who was in conflict with him for the title of number one Ghostblade. Wu Yuce.
"It's up to you," Li Xuan said.
Void's next players were Wu Yuce and himself. Right now, Happy had a significant lead, with 2.63 people remaining.
Wu Yuce nodded. Without saying anything else, he stood up and resolutely headed toward the stage.
The Happy supporters in the crowd gave vocal support to their home team, and of course they would also boo the Void players to disrupt them. But Wu Yuce seemed as though he already had a natural defense against booing. His steps were very steady, and when he crossed paths with Ge Zhaolan, he even paused to say some words to him. He wasn't affected by the atmosphere of the stadium at all.
Wu Yuce quickly arrived onstage, entered the competitor booth, and logged on to his character.
Ghostblade, Carved Ghost. Among the recent All-Star characters, one of the only two female ones.
"Bring it, Miss Wu!" So when the battle began, Fang Rui immediately used this to trash talk.
Wu Yuce didn't reply, and Carved Ghost moved along the map. And Fang Rui? He didn't seem to hope for any response from Wu Yuce. As he tossed this bit of trash talk, he controlled Boundless Sea to rush forward.
In reality, Fang Rui wasn't too unfamiliar with Wu Yuce, as they had debuted the same year. But although both of them had proven themselves from the beginning within their respective teams, neither of them could compete with that other rookie from their year.
That year, Zhou Zekai made his dazzling debut on the professional stage. In his first season, he had carried the mediocre team Samsara into the playoffs.
What were Fang Rui and Wu Yuce up to during that time?
Fang Rui arrived at Wind Howl, initially as the successor to Lin Jingyan's Demon Subduer, but in that first season, Fang Rui revealed his talent for the Thief class. And so, he settled on becoming a Thief player, stepping on the road to becoming an All-Star player.
And Wu Yuce? When he first arrived at Void, the team had also wanted him to play a different class, but Wu Yuce refused to cooperate, insisting that he wanted to play Ghostblade. But Void at that time already had Li Xuan, a Ghostblade player from the Golden Generation. Wu Yuce's behavior was viewed as extremely unwise and provocative. He had been treated coldly at the beginning, until, by chance, he obtained an opportunity to go onstage. With that battle, the team finally began to reevaluate its position toward him, and they decided… having two Ghostblades wasn't impossible. From there, the double Ghostblade partnership was slowly established.
Neither of these two players' beginnings were as shining as Zhou Zekai's; they each had their own twists and turns, but they reflected the different attitudes of the two players.
Fang Rui was very casual. He played a Qi Master at Blue Rain, then was raised by Wind Howl to play a Brawler, and then when he finally became a full pro player, he found that Thief suited him, so he became a Thief… It could be said that Fang Rui was constantly compromising, but in the current pro player environment, if a player who hadn't yet made a name for himself wanted to be valued by the team, most anyone would choose this kind of compromise and obedience. And Fang Rui, his compromise and obedience was a bit more than normal, as evident by how many twists and turns there had been from his training camp days to becoming a full pro player. In the end, he succeeded. But this guy, after succeeding, changed classes again. With his current status and position, his class change generally wasn't viewed as compromise and obedience. Yet Fang Rui felt that this wasn't much different from what he had done in the past.
Wu Yuce didn't have much in common with Fang Rui. He hadn't gone along with the team's needs, instead stubbornly sticking to his choice. Most teams would perhaps directly give up on a player like this, but Wu Yuce's luck wasn't bad. He entered the team like this, maintained his decision, and then afterwards, he waited for an opportunity and seized the opportunity. His persistence paid off, and he too walked upon the road to becoming an All-Star.
Two entirely different paths, but they had both resulted in equally excellent All-Star players. And now, the two met. Fang Rui's playstyle was like his own character, casual, and so he became the master of playing dirty. Wu Yuce, on the other hand, was tough and unyielding, thus his Ghostblade also exuded a toughness from the bones.
Fang Rui only tossed that one word of trash talk when Wu Yuce first entered because Fang Rui was clear that this was someone who wouldn't be disrupted by trash talk at all. His personality was just that tough. As a rookie, he had dared to stubbornly refuse the plans of his team - this wasn't something that any player would be brave enough to do.
The two sides quickly met at the center of the map. Without any further interaction, they began fighting. Boundless Sea began Fang Rui's trademark Thief-style posture and movement, and before the opponent used a skill, a Qi Bullet was sent flying toward him.
Ghost Slash!
It was met by a Ghostblade's Ghost Slash. A magic aura rippled from the blade, directly travelling through the Qi Bullet.
The Qi Bullet wouldn't be complete dissipated by the priority of that attack, and it continued to fly toward Carved Ghost, but Carved Ghost's slash also continued toward Boundless Sea.
With a bang, the Qi Bullet landed upon Carved Ghost. He hadn't tried to dodge at all, doing everything he could to send this Ghost Slash onto Boundless Sea.
This guy!
Fang Rui grit his teeth. The Ghostblade wasn't very suited to hard and direct fighting, since it wasn't a class with high defense or health, but Wu Yuce still preferred this method, as it suited is personality.
But Fang Rui hadn't expected this kid would be so fierce right from the start.
He wanted to dodge this attack, but if he did, Carved Ghost's second attack would arrive instantly, and Wu Yuce would have the initiative. He refused to let that happen!
Fang Rui inputted controls and activated Reinforced Iron Bones on Boundless Sea, taking the brunt of Carved Ghost's Ghost Slash.
Qi Blade!
Boundless Sea sent this attack just when he was hit by the Ghost Blade. But at this point, Carved Ghost was still surrounded by the ghostly aura from using the Ghost Blade. Through the mist of purple, this Qi Blade carved a clearly visible path.
Carved Ghost leaned to the left.
Heh, it won't be so easy. Fang Rui smiled coldly. The Qi Blade suddenly twisted toward the right, instantly cutting Carved Ghost.
But even after taking this attack, Wu Yuce didn't stop attacking. Even as Carved Ghost was hit by the Qi Blade, the blade in her hand was still sent out.
Ice Seal Ghost Slash!
The difference between Sword Demon and Phantom Demon was that Phantom Demons summoned the Ghost God's power to create effects, controlling or damaging the opponent. Sword Demons, on the other hand, directly applied the Ghost God's power to their blades, increasing the damaging power of their slashes.
Ghost Slash, Moonlight Slash, Full Moonlight Slash, these were the three slashing attacks that Ghostblades could learn under level 20. And Sword Demons could apply any type of Ghost God power to these three slashing skills.
Carved Ghost's attack just now applied ice spirit power to the blade, thus creating an Ice Seal Ghost Slash. The blade emitted faint blue icy mist, which was sent several body units outward with the slash. Although Boundless Sea was already rolling, he was still hit by the icy mist, and his movement speed decreased significantly.
Flame-Bitten Full Moon!
Carved Ghost slid forward and made another slash, this time invoking the spirit of fire along the blade and using a Full Moonlight Slash. The enchanting fire spirit power swept in the shape of a full moon, but it wasn't very eye-burning. These flames conjured from magic weren't a pure scarlet, but carried some dark purple within. But their power would be even stronger, because it wouldn't just deal fire damage, it would also carry the dark damage inherent to a Ghostblade.
Flame-Bitten Full Moon, slash down!
Qi Guard!
A tangible protective shield suddenly expanded around Boundless Sea, blocking the Flame-Bitten Full Moon.
If Ghostblades were said to be naturally dark-aligned, then Qi Masters were naturally light-aligned. But the players playing these two classes right now…
The dark-aligned Ghostblade walked the direct and fierce path, while the light-aligned Qi Master was the representative of dirty playing.
Chapter 1226: A Loss, But A Spectacular One
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
he power of the Ghost God brought by the Flame-Bitten Full Moon battered against Boundless Sea's Qi Guard, but it could not suppress the radiance of the shield. The Qi Guard's defensive capabilities could hold against this attack.
Who would have thought that at this moment, a circle would appear below Carved Ghost? A wave of Ghost God energy suddenly rose and condensed onto the tip of his blade, supplementing the power of Flame-Bitten Full Moon.
Sword Boundary?
Everyone was stunned. No one had noticed Wu Yuce summoning this Sword Boundary.
Sword Boundary might be a low-leveled skill, but its supportive effects were top tier. Let alone a Phantom Sword Demon hybrid like Carved Ghost, even a pure Sword Demon would max this skill. This low-level skill had a very fast cast time. It could be used in between two attacks for a sudden damage buff.
Wu Yuce used it in this way. No one knew when he had cast the Ghost Boundary, but it had been set down after Flame-Bitten Full Moon. The buffs from Ghost Boundaries were immediate, and Flame-Bitten Full Moon dealt both physical and magic damage. Under the Strength and Intelligence buffs from the Sword Boundary, the power of the attack instantly shot up.
The radiance shining from Qi Guard dimmed.
Break!
The qi from the Qi Guard was consumed, and the remaining energy of Flame-Bitten Full Moon slashed towards Boundless Sea. Fang Rui immediately had Boundless Sea dodge, but Wu Yuce's follow up attack came soon afterwards.
Full Moonlight Slash!
This slash had finally come out. What Ghost God would be attached to it this time?
No ice. No fire. This Full Moonlight Slash was pitch black.
Dark Moonlight Slash. This time, Wu Yuce summoned the dark ghost. It stripped the light from the world, temporarily filling the area with darkness.
I can't dodge it!
Fang Rui instantly made this judgment. Wu Yuce's Carved Ghost had attacked one slash after the other. With even his Qi Guard forcefully broken, he had no way of dodging this attack.
If I can't avoid it, then we'll trade!
Just when the Dark Moonlight Slash was about to strike Boundless Sea, Boundless Sea raised his hands and used Sand Toss.
The damage from Sand Toss was insignificant compared to the damage from a Sword Boundary buffed Dark Moonlight Slash, but it would at least induce a blind effect similar to the Dark Ghost.
Pu!
Boundless Sea was the first to be hit. Darkness surrounded him, and Fang Rui's screen turned black as if his monitor was dead. However, the sound in his ears was still as clear as ever, so he knew that the fight had yet to stop. Soon after Boundless Sea threw sand at Carved Ghost, he could hear the tiny pattering of the sand colliding.
Did it hit? Did it blind him?
Fang Rui didn't know. He could no longer see anything, so he had Boundless Sea run for his life, while also shooting a Qi Bullet at a target he couldn't see. He just instinctively did something.
But soon, Fang Rui realized that his Boundless Sea was in the air.
He wasn't Blinded? Boundless Sea was hit by another attack. Such a tightly linked combo clearly could not be done by someone who was blind. From this, Fang Rui inferred that Carved Ghost had not been blinded by the Sand Toss.
The viewers could see everything clearly. Not only did the Blind fail, Carved Ghost didn't even eat the miniscule amount of damage from the Sand Toss. After Dark Moonlight Slash, a shadow circled around Carved Ghost, blocking the tiny particles of sand.
Ghostblade skill: Shadow Image.
The unaffected Carved Ghost continued his assault. Shadow Claw threw Boundless Sea into the air, and starting from the ghost slash up until the Blind effect wore off, Boundless Sea never fell from the air.
"I say, don't be too savage!" As soon as the darkness disappeared, Fang Rui's spirits rose. Even though he had taken quite a bit of damage from the combo, it was far from enough to extinguish his morale.
Boundless Sea's back faced the ground, welcoming Carved Ghost's sword. His two hands formed a ball of qi in front of his chest.
He's sneakily charging his attack again!
Quite a few people had gotten a grasp of Fang Rui's battle style now, and they were starting to discuss it.
Wu Yuce wasn't careless either. He knew exactly how long the Blind from Dark Moonlight Slash lasted, and once the effects wore off, if Boundless Sea's arms were suddenly raised to his chest, then...
Carved Ghost immediately slid to the side, adjusting his position first. He swung his sword, blocking off the angle at which Boundless Sea could attack with by twisting his body.
Who would have thought that Boundless Sea wouldn't twist his body. The ball of qi contained in his hands was let out just like that.
Sky Piercing Strike!
It really was Sky Piercing Strike. An intense wave of energy flew out towards the sky, leaving traces of spinning qi.
There was nothing in the air, so this Sky Piercing Strike obviously didn't hit anything. However, through its momentum, Boundless Sea suddenly accelerated towards the ground. The sealing attack from Carved Ghost missed.
Landmine Quake!
Right before Boundless Sea landed on the ground, his two palms once again charged up qi. He didn't even turn his view, and his two hands hit the ground before his body did.
The skill was released, and qi spread along the ground, striking everything within its range. Carved Ghost was no exception. The force coming from the earth shot up, flinging him to the side.
Quick Recover!
Wu Yuce had Carved Ghost roll on the ground, but Boundless Sea, whose hands hit the ground, rolled faster! For this sort of rolling and crawling on the ground movement, who could be more skilled at it then this master of playing dirty?
Carved Ghost was still flying in the air, when Boundless Sea reached his side.
Pulse Break: Break Intelligence!
One finger stabbed into Carved Ghost, lowering his Intelligence significantly.
Then, Flash Burst and Qigong Blast!
Two high-level skills landed on Carved Ghost one after the other. Qi whirled crazily around Carved Ghost, creating a cyclone of qi lifting the earth along with it. Carved Ghost didn't look like he had just been hit by an attack. It was like he was exploding forth with some sort of small Cosmo (Saint Seiya).
Fang Rui wanted to continue following up, but Wu Yuce quickly recovered. Being hit all of a sudden by such heavy attacks didn't seem to shake his willpower.
What a spectacular and evenly-matched fight!
Quite a few members of the crowd stood up, clapping for this fight. The fans wanted their own team to win, but that didn't mean they wouldn't show respect. High-level matches were a joy to watch. For this type of fight, even if their own side lost, they would leave the field with the least amount of regret.
In the end, Fang Rui walked down from the stage with this attitude from the crowd. He had lost, but the applause he won was as if he had been the winner. Even though he didn't win, facing a strong opponent like Wu Yuce brought Fang Rui's brilliant performance to new heights.
When people discussed Fang Rui's Qi Master playstyle, people wondered whether this new playstyle would be able to stand the test of time.
New playstyles would always have surprising results when they first appeared because everyone was still new to them. The best way to test whether or not a playstyle could become mainstream was through time. In the ten years of Glory, countless playstyles had come and gone. In the current state of Glory, the meta had matured and steadied. New playstyles were usually short-lived. The number of new playstyles that could last was becoming less and less.
Fang Rui's Qi Master playtsyle had only been around for ten rounds. Could it truly become mainstream? The more conservative people weren't too optimistic about it. But in the fight that just ended, in the 1v1 against a skilled opponent like Wu Yuce, Fang Rui's playstyle shone as brilliant as ever. It could be considered to have passed a difficult test.
"Yay, I'm so happy!" Fang Rui clearly knew about the value of this fight. He had lost, but the implications for the future were huge. What's more, it couldn't really be said that he lost! He had taken out half the health of Wu Yuce's Carved Ghost. Fang Rui had achieved a 1v1.5, quite a good result. This was the group arena, which couldn't be judged from the outcome of a single battle.
"Mmhm, nice job," Ye Xiu said.
"I really want to go up and play another round!" Fang Rui gripped his account card, with his desire to continue written all over his face.
"You can go ask him if he wants to play all night with you after the match," Ye Xiu said.
"Okay okay, that's a good suggestion. I'll text him." Fang Rui took out his cellphone in a hurry. As for Happy, their second player was Su Mucheng, who walked onto the stage with a smile.
Dancing Rain started at full health, while Carved Ghost started at half health. Launchers, with their extremely long-ranged attacks, could be considered as Ghostblade counters to an extent, as Ghostblades had very few movement skills. In the end, in another spectacular fight, Dancing Rain won with 67% of her health left.
Team Void's anchor for the group arena was unfortunately another Ghostblade. The Launcher's suppression over Ghostblades was still there. Su Mucheng usually played in the individual competition. Being moved to the group arena specifically for this match clearly showed Happy's intentions of countering Team Void's two Ghostblades.
A third of her health to take away Wu Yuce. Two thirds of her health to welcome Li Xuan.
Li Xuan was a Phantom Demon. He didn't have long-ranged attacks, and his opponent wasn't going to fight him at melee range. The boundaries that Phantom Demons could set down weren't really useful. He needed to take the initiative and find a way to close the distance between his opponent, but how could it be that easy...
The Ghostblade duo had been crushed in all sorts of ways by the Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng duo in the competition for Best Partners over many seasons. Ye Xiu? Even if he wasn't there, just Su Mucheng alone left them in pitiful states again and again. Su Mucheng was even nicknamed the Nemesis of the Ghost Duo.
This Ghost Duo wasn't in a general sense; it was specifically pointing towards these two from Team Void. Su Mucheng had much experience in dealing with Ghostblades, and was the source of much misery for these two.
From the looks of it, even after a season of absence, their nemesis was still a nemesis. She took out Carved Ghost's half health with a third of her health, and Li Xuan wasn't able to finish her off. Team Happy won the group arena with just two players.
"Ah…" Fang Rui would glance at his cellphone from time to time. Happy had won the group arena, but he looked depressed. "He hasn't replied back yet. It seems like he's not in a very good mood!"
With a lagging score of 0 to 5, who would be in a good mood?
Chapter end
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