The King's Return Chapter 112

translator: Oyen  editor: Ciel

Mojue did not have any players in the morning group matches, which featured the guqin, long whip, and bone fan flows. Everyone could only watch the three live broadcasts to learn more, and were unable to find out anything about the other groups.

In group B of the dagger flow, Xiao Han killed Flowing Stream in his first match, then proceeded to win both his second and third matches, advancing to the next round as first in the group.

For the double ring flow, Liu Hong was assigned to group D. Like Xiao Han, she won three games in a row and entered the next round without a single loss on her record.

For the jade flute flow, Pei Yu was placed in group C. Unfortunately, he lost the final game after defeating two players in a row, and entered the next round as second in the group. Compared with the victory of the two great gods, Pei Yu was ashamed to have lost a match. However, it had to be remembered that he was still a newbie, while both sister Hong and god Han were great gods, which gave him some relief.

By 11:30am, all the group stages held in the morning had ended, and the officials announced the names of the contestants who entered the next round.

Qin Mo asked everyone to take a two-hour lunch break, before returning to the training room to watch the afternoon matches.

At 2:00pm in the afternoon, the match service was opened again. The first match to be broadcasted was group A of Tingyu Tower's black umbrella flow. Both players were not weak, though Qin Mo was more impressed by the player with the ID "Rain Without Umbrella". This player also managed to win the match, and entered the semi-finals.

At 2:00pm in the afternoon, the match service was opened again. The first match to be broadcasted was group A of Tingyu Tower's black umbrella flow. Both players were not weak, though Qin Mo was more impressed by the player with the ID "Rain Without Umbrella", his partner is called “Rain with Umbrella”. These players also managed to win the match, and entered the semi-finals.

Mojue had played a qualifying match against this player before. Back then, Shen He did not stop complaining about the opponents IDs. "One is Rain Without Umbrella, one is Rain With Umbrella, do they actually want an umbrella or not? Are they here to be funny?"

Facts had proved that the strength of the players behind these two strange IDs were extremely strong, and Mojue was almost defeated by their linking black umbrella arrays. Fortunately, Qin Mo managed to break into the opponent's back row at a critical moment, and seckilled a black umbrella flow player to break their array. However, the fear and panic from that particular qualifying match still lingered in their memories.

Seeing the familiar ID, Shen He could not help but to exclaim, "This person really did enter the semifinals! After our qualifying match, I went to check out their Whisper guild, which is the biggest guild in Telecom district 2. Strangely, they're both a PVP and PVE guild, and there are a lot of girls who just like to look at the scenery. Their guild master plays the white umbrella flow, and often sends screenshots to the forum for everyone to choose which place has the best scenery, as if he is just here to sightsee." Puzzled, Shen He glanced at Qin Mo. "Master, these people don't seem like they want to join the league?"

Qin Mo shook his head. "Your thinking is wrong; the one who posts screenshots to the forum every day is the the strongest expert of their guild."

At that time, Zhu Qingyue had not yet joined their team, but Qin Mo had a strange feeling that the strength of the auxiliary on that team was not inferior to Qingyue. Although the black umbrella formation looked terrible, it could not have been completed without the help of the white umbrella behind them——that is to say, the key focus of the team was the auxiliary.

Aside from Zhu Qingyue, the person who posted screenshots on the forum every day was the most powerful assistant that Qin Mo had met in the qualifying matches so far.

Hearing this, Xiao Han added, "I have an impression of that person. He reacts quickly, and has a strong overall understanding. Furthermore, every array was properly arranged. Whisper guild is certainly not as simple as what Xiao He found out. Although there are many causal players in the guild, the management team is full of experts, which shows that they are not aiming to build a leisure guild, but may in fact participate in next year's professional league."

"It's not going to be a team backed by a club, is it?" Liu Hong asked.

"No," Qin Mo denied, before explaining. "Most of the teams under club management mainly play in the arena, and only recruit competitive experts. However, this Whisper guild has many casual players who do not understand the arena at all. Judging from the development mode of their guild, they should be organised by folk experts."

Suddenly, Xiao Han thought of something. "Xiao Mo, don't you think that the umbrella formation of that team in the last qualifying match is a little similar to the Pure Cleansing team led by Qingyue before? Moreover, it is impossible for a simple folk expert to learn auxiliary core formation tactics; I don't quite believe that they have no guidance behind their team."

"That is indeed so." Thinking about it for a few moments, Qin Mo turned to look at Zhu Qingyue. "I remember the name of that white umbrella flow auxiliary, his ID was 'The Mountain Is No Longer Tall'. Qingyue, do you know him?"

"…" Hearing this, Zhu Qingyue seemed to fall into a daze. His face paling, the auxiliary player clenched his hands tightly in a bid to calm down, before whispering. "Players of the white umbrella flow did not participate in the all sects challenge arena; I cannot be sure about his identity. However… this ID of 'The Mountain Is No Longer Tall' is the same as my senior brother's."

"You have a senior brother?" Everyone looked at him in surprise. Zhu Qingyue made his debut earlier than Xiao Han and Qin Mo; both were aware that he was Chu Yan's apprentice, but neither knew that he was not Chu Yan's only apprentice.

"Has your senior brother never played in a competition before?" Qin Mo wondered. "How are there no records of him in the league?"

"Indeed. Before master accepted me, he had another apprentice named Luo Yuan, who played with the ID 'The Mountain Is No Longer Tall'. He was one year older than me. Back then, he was going to debut with master, but his mother fell seriously ill, so he left the team and returned home to take care of her. At that time, Pure Cleansing played with the auxiliary transmission arrays as the core, so master had no choice but to let me play when he left. Thus, I debuted when I was very young. My senior brother only stayed in the training camp for a little over a year, and never played officially, which is why you didn't know of him."

So this was why Zhu Qingyue followed his master to compete when he was only 16 years of age.

If Luo Yuan had not left that year, the person following Chu Yan to debut would have been him, and little Zhu Qingyue would have trained for another year in the training camp. Unexpectedly, the senior apprentice left the team, and as a result, junior apprentice Qingyue was chased onto the perch by his master. No wonder Zhu Qingyue cried so much when he first debuted– he was simply too young, too immature, and had not yet learned even half of his master's skills. When playing on the field, he was badly abused by the various great gods, and could only cry in frustration and stress.

"The same ID?" Qin Mo debated for a moment, before asking. "Could the founder of the Whisper guild be your senior brother?"

Zhu Qingyue could only smile wryly. "The array tactics using the auxiliary as a core are indeed created by my master. My senior brother is actually more talented than I am, but he had to leave the team and could not participate in the league. According to what you have said, if 'The Mountain Is No Longer Tall' is a very strong player, based on the similar names, the possibility that he is my senior brother is extremely high."

Xiao Han could not help but to exclaim, "There are already so many experts in Peerless Jianghu, how can your senior brother suddenly join in?!"

Liu Xiang had been listening from the side, suddenly chimed in with a smile. "This public test has five open districts. Mojue's base is set up in Telecom district 1, while your couples small accounts have only joined Netcom district 1 as undercovers. We don't know anything about the situation in Telecom district 2, Telecom district 3, and Netcom district 2, and it is normal for these three districts to also have experts. The presence of Frost Moon guild from Telecom district 3, and Whisper guild from Telecom district 2 is just the beginning; I have a hunch that there will be other strong teams from these three districts."

"Sister Xiang, don't have a crow's mouth!" Shen He cried out. "This many teams are already a big headache for us, how can we survive if there are more teams?!"

"Don't worry," Liu Xiang comforted him. "The competition will be more interesting if our opponents are stronger."

He Beiguang nodded violently. "Sister Xiang is right; there's no fun if it's going to be like the auditions, every match would just be chopping up rookies like vegetables. It's a lot more meaningful to fight with experts!"

Xiao Han hadn't expected the emergence of the Whisper guild from Telecom district 2 and the Frost Moon guild from Telecom district 3, but their appearance was in fact reasonable.

When Xiao Han first led the team to Peerless Jianghu, Liu Chuan had mentioned that many clubs in China had sent teams. They had only encountered three clubs– namely, Wind Colour, Huaxia, and National Grace– in Telecom district 1, indicating that the teams of the other clubs had been sent to other districts. Therefore, Liu Xiang's argument was very reasonable. As the competition gradually progressed to its later stages, where experts fought each other, the number of teams exposed might also increase.

Turning around, Xiao Han met Qin Mo's gaze. The two people exchanged a smile, recognising the confidence in each other's eyes.

——regardless of the number of opponents, there was no need to be afraid, because these powerful opponents could only make their Mojue team stronger.

Naturally, the match was won by Whisper guild's player, 'Rain Without Umbrella'.

Following that was a match between the poison masters of Fangcao Hall. The randomly selected live broadcast showed the second match in group C. One of the players had the ID of 'Old Dreams Of Jinling', revealing herself as An Ling of the National Grace club. As Qin Mo expected, the fierce An Ling won the competition, and entered the second stage smoothly.

After the poison masters came the sects of the iron claw and dual sword flow. There were many experts in these two sects, all from the other districts, making it difficult to guess their identities.

It wasn't until 3.30pm in the afternoon that the broadsword flow group matches started.

He Beiguang received the notice to wait in the competition room, and was assigned to group D. The other three members of this group were from the Huaxia Dynasty, Frost Moon, and Interlude guilds respectively. He Beiguang lost his first match to the Dynasty expert. Although he fought hard in the next two matches, he still fell short, and lost both games with regret. Qin Mo watched all three matches from behind him, and could not help but to feel some pity. Xiao He really was too unlucky, being matched up in a group with several strong players. The expert from Huaxia should be a great god at the captain or vice-captain level, while the one from Frost Moon was also a veteran player. In the end, the players from Interlude and Mojue were directly eliminated due to having insufficient competition experience.

Seeing He Beiguang's sullen look, Qin Mo patted him on the shoulder. "It doesn't matter, your participation is more important."

Pei Yu also tried to comfort He Beiguang. "Captain is right; we are all newcomers, and there are a lot of great gods in the semi-finals."

Feeling a little better, He Beiguang scratched the back of his head. "It seems as though I'm still not very good at one-on-one fighting…"

"Your strengths don't lie in a one-on-one fight," Liu Xiang reminded gently. "Don't lose heart, just do a good job in the front row when playing in a team battle. You are a defensive player, so you don't have to worry too much about it."

Sister Xiang was truly very kind. Not only was she a former team leader, she was also a caring sister figure, and was able to guide the team's members…

Seeing that He Beiguang had recovered his good spirits, Qin Mo was very relieved. He had indeed made a wise decision when inviting Liu Xiang to the team back then.

The last match for the afternoon was the mechanism flow of the Zhuge family.

Earlier, He Beiguang had been unlucky enough to be assigned to group D, which was full of great gods. Shen He was obviously much luckier, being assigned to group B. Qiu Zongping and Yuan Xi, the two great gods from Wind Colour, were not in this group. Furthermore, there were no experts in this group from Huaxia, Frost Moon, Interlude, Sword Song, or even Whisper—— in other words, Shen He had perfectly avoided the experts of the known professional teams.

Could the other three players in the semi-finals perhaps be members of other unknown teams? Uncertain, Qin Mo checked their winning rate during the audition stage. All three players had a winning rate of around 80%, which indicated that they lost an average of two in ten games. On the other hand, the winning rates of the great gods on the professional teams were over 95%. Clearly, these three people were not professionals, but were instead folk experts who relied on their own strength to reach the semifinals.

Relieved, Qin Mo reminded, "Xiao He, fight well. Don't be careless."

Shen He rubbed his hands together in excitement. "I understand, master!"

As a result, the serious Shen He let loose his pets on the field, dazzling his opponents and winning three consecutive games in 15 minutes, qualifying him for the next round as first in his group.

The afternoon matches ended by 4:30pm in the afternoon. Hanhua Sword sect's longsword and shortsword flow were arranged for the evening.

Qin Mo gave everyone some time off, letting them rest and get some dinner, before reconvening at 7:30pm for the evening matches.

Returning to the dormitory alone, Zhu Qingyue sat on his bed. He hesitated for a long moment, but in the end, retrieved his mobile phone, and sent out a message on WeChat: "Senior brother, are you there?"

Moments later, a reply popped up on the screen: "Qingyue? I haven't heard from you for a long time. I heard that Pure Cleansing team has been disbanded. Are you alright?"

"I'm okay." Clutching his phone with trembling fingers, Zhu Qingyue typed out: "Did you set up the Whisper guild in Telecom district 2?"

"How did you find out?"

"I saw that the guild leader's ID was 'The Mountain Is No Longer Tall'. This is the ID you used back in the training camp."

Since he was recognised by his junior brother, Luo Yuan did not bother to hide any longer. He sent a smiley emoji, along with the message: "That's right. I set up this team on master's suggestion."

Zhu Qingyue had no idea that the Whisper guild was actually related to their master, Chu Yan. Stunned, he could only ask stiffly: "Master suggested it? What do you mean?"

Luo Yuan replied: "After the public test in Peerless Jianghu was opened, our master used a small account to experience the game. He found that the game was very very done, and was likely to usher in a new competitive era. I just happened to go to Changsha to meet him during that time, which is why he mentioned this matter to me. I've always regretted not being able to become an esports player, and Peerless Jianghu does not require a high hand speed, so I took the opportunity to try and form a team. Master discovered a pair of twins in the game, and gave them some pointers on how to play the umbrellas; I also accepted them into the guild."

Looking at this long message made Zhu Qingyue a little uncomfortable—— not only had Chu Yan not actively contacted him since he retired, but he had kept in touch with Luo Yuan and even met him frequently.

Sure enough, Luo Yuan was the disciple who made their master feel proudest, and simultaneously, the most regretful.

If Luo Yuan had not left the Pure Cleansing team because of an accident at home, perhaps Pure Cleansing wouldn't have been disbanded in the end?

Did his master blame his incompetence, and so did not want to see him?

Thinking of this made Zhu Qingyue's eyes water. He had failed to achieve good results in the auxiliary play handed down by his master for several years. Little did he expect that this style of play would once again appear in Peerless Jianghu, in a team led by Chu Yan's most admired apprentice himself.

Zhu Qingyue sat on his bed in a daze until another message popped up. "Qingyue, are you also paying attention to Peerless Jianghu?"

Zhu Qingyue could only reply with a: "I played with a small account for a few days."

Luo Yuan's next message contained a query. "Do you want to come to my team? If the two of us join hands, master will definitely be very happy."

"I'm sorry, but I will decline." Taking a deep breath, Zhu Qingyue asked: "Where is master?"

"He's in Beijing at the moment, working with the Peerless Jianghu project team to develop game-related equipment, and should return to Changsha sometime near the Spring Festival. Did you know that the headquarters of their company is in Changsha?"

"I didn't know, he hasn't contacted me in a long while." Zhu Qingyue smiled helplessly. "He's probably angry at me for disbanding Pure Cleansing."

"How could he be angry with you? He clearly loves you the most."

"I'm going to have dinner first; I'll chat with senior brother again later." Hurriedly ending the conversation, Zhu Qingyue put away his mobile phone and adjusted his expression, before heading for the canteen.

It seemed as though facing the Whisper team on the field was inevitable. Whisper used Chu Yan's tactics centered around the auxiliary array, and was led by Luo Yuan. On the other hand, he came to Mojue, and now stood opposite his senior brother. Thinking of this made Zhu Qingyue a little sad, but he was clear about his duties as a professional player. Now that he had decided to sign a contract with Mojue, he had to do his best. Regardless of whether his opponent was his senior brother or his master, he could not mess up—— Xiao Mo and Xiao Han had been nothing but kind to him, how could he ever betray their trust?

Zhu Qingyue left the dormitory, only to meet Qin Mo and Xiao Han on the way. "Are you going to eat?" he asked, trying to be casual.

Realising that the auxiliary player looked pale, Qin Mo walked over. "Qingyue, are you alright?"

"Everything's fine." Zhu Qingyue forced himself to smile, so as to not cause them worry. "Just now, I messaged my senior brother and confirmed that he did in fact set up the Whisper team, and that the person guiding them from behind the scenes… was my master."

Chu Yan had retired a long time ago, yet still personally guided the senior apprentice to create a new team, causing Han and Mo to feel some surprise. It seemed as though the first generation captain of Pure Cleansing was still unable to give up on having an auxiliary formation and tactics as the core of a team.

Glancing at each other, Qin Mo and Xiao Han looked back at Zhu Qingyue. "Do you feel uncomfortable?"

The person who had disbanded his team, and now stood in opposition to his master and senior brother… his heart would definitely feel tortured.

Zhu Qingyue pretended to be calm. "I'm fine…"

Smiling, Xiao Han walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't think too much. After your master retired, you supported the Pure Cleansing team for so many years; you have not let him down."

"Yes," Qin Mo chimed in. "If it were me, I might not have been able to carry on. If you think of it in this manner, Xiao Han and I have also disappointed our masters. I left the Wind Colour club for three years, only to come back and set up our Mojue team. Xiao Han has also left the team created by his master to become the vice captain of Mojue."

Xiao Han nodded. "What Xiao Mo said isn't wrong. If our masters were the type to square the accounts, they would have long since driven us rebellious apprentices out of the door."

Zhu Qingyue: "……"

It did seem to make sense. There were already three rebellious apprentices gathered here; perhaps Mojue was collecting them?

"Don't worry," Xiao Han reassured him. "Your master won't blame you. He is also a great god, and certainly wouldn't be so petty."

Zhu Qingyue felt much better after being comforted by the Twin Stars, and smiled. "I hope you both are correct. Come on, let's go have dinner."

Chapter end