The King's Avatar

After the three All-Star players of Happy carefully reviewed their performance, they began diligently practicing for the team competition. The other teams couldn't quickly adapt to this Myriad Manifestations Umbrella-wielding unspecialized, the likes of which had never been seen before. Those other teams could only try and gain experience through the meager bits of what was available to them: real battles, recordings, and their own imaginings. But Happy could directly practice coordinating with this umbrella-wielding unspecialized. They could come to understand him, they could grow accustomed to him, they could become familiar with this entirely new and unique class.

In this aspect, Su Mucheng and Fang Rui were at a disadvantage. Tang Rou, Steamed Bun, Qiao Yifan, and even Mo Fan had all interacted with Lord Grim for a much longer period of time than them. This was especially true for Tang Rou and Steamed Bun. No one else knew this kind of unspecialized, but for these two, this was just another class, always fighting right alongside them as they learned this game. They were the fastest to integrate with this unspecialized, and for now, they were the team players that could coordinate with Ye Xiu the best.

Qiao Yifan grew up in the normal system, and by the time he arrived at Happy, he already had a very solid foundational and technical strength. Like it was for Tang Rou and Steamed Bun, the unspecialized was an entirely new thing for him to learn and adapt to, but unlike them, he first had to unlearn some of his established preconceptions about Glory. So, although he had also fought for a long time alongside Lord Grim, his understanding was a little bit weaker than that of Tang Rou or Steamed Bun.

Then there was Luo Ji and An Wenyi. Luo Ji was also a blank sheet of paper that could adapt to Lord Grim, but the problem was that his skill level lagged behind, and he had no way of truly fighting side-by-side with Lord Grim. An Wenyi joined a little later, and he suffered from the same problem as Qiao Yifan. He had to unlearn some things in order to adapt to this entirely new class. Furthermore, his technical skill was also lacking.

And then there was Mo Fan. Just getting this solitary hero to coordinate with the team was already an endeavor and a half, never mind adjustment to Lord Grim in particular. The road was slow and long.

And all of these people were still better than Su Mucheng and Fang Rui, who had only officially arrived at Happy this season.

However, the skill, experience, and awareness of these two players was clear for all to see. After they began emphasizing this aspect of their training, their grasp of the unspecialized improved in leaps and bounds.

Tang Rou was training fiercely, the three All-Stars were training fiercely. The others had no reason to relax, and the entirety of Happy immersed themselves in fierce training. But Luo Ji, who wasn't with the rest of them and who still had to worry about his studies, couldn't keep up with Happy's current pace of training. Because of this, he was filled with anxiety. In comparison, An Wenyi, the other college student here, was much more decisive. This person directly chose to take a leave of absence from school, and devoted himself to professional gaming.

"How did you convince your parents?" Chen Guo had asked him. She felt that, for a student, the greatest obstacle to this kind of decision would be the family.

"I gave them the prize money from the Challenger League," An Wenyi said.

Calm, rational, accurate!

These were the special traits of An Wenyi, the person whom Ye Xiu had found in-game despite his unexceptional skill.

The entire team was busy, and they invested more time than ever into practice. This made Guan Rongfei restless. He essentially never went outside, but now he often came to the practice room to hover behind Ye Xiu and cough meaningfully. He was anxious to finish research on the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella, and he needed Lord Grim's account card to look at the umbrella. But now that Ye Xiu increased training, the amount of time that the card was in use greatly increased, thus reducing the amount of time Guan Rongfei had to study the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella. This made him rather distressed.

This is also why powerhouse teams might make two or even three copies of Silver equipment, to facilitate study in the R&D department so there wasn't any conflict between them and the players.

But with Happy's current state and the material requirements for the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella, making an extra one was definitely unrealistic.

On days when he couldn't get the account card to study the umbrella, Guan Rongfei could only spend his time on the other classes. Equipment for the other classes was, for him, much easier than the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella. Especially Dancing Rain, whose equipment he had studied and developed for many years now. It was only last season, under the club's orders, that he had stopped working to raise the equipment to level 75. But now, he once again took up this research. He was so familiar with the equipment that he hardly even needed the account card - his mental visualization was enough.

Another week quickly passed, round 4 was just about to start. Happy was about to fight their second home game, and their challenger was the team that was currently the subject of much gossip, Team Tyranny.

One week of training wasn't enough to immediately cause drastic improvement. The results of training were silent and invisible steps upward, droplets that gradually accumulated into something significant. But after this week of intense training, at least Happy's spirits were greatly changed - every player seemed to be shining.

Extra training wasn't too much of a problem for young people, Chen Guo thought as she looked around at everyone.

But… what about you?

Chen Guo looked at Ye Xiu.

You're certainly no young person. But to let everyone come together faster, you joined in on the extra training. What kind of impact would such intense training have on a player of his age? Wei Chen, for one, hadn't kept up with this training pace. This let Chen Guo know that older players couldn't push themselves this fiercely.

Chen Guo was very afraid. She didn't even dare ask, because she knew that there was no point in asking. Even if this wasn't healthy, Ye Xiu had no choice but to do this. Only he could wield the unspecialized. This wasn't a class for which they could find a sparring partner.

Aside from well-wishes, Chen Guo could do nothing at all.

September 26th.

One day before the the fourth round of the Glory Alliance Season 10.

Happy, unlike other teams, was still intensely practicing. Other teams, on the day before competition, would generally go through lighter practice. The players still played the game, they wouldn't let their hands get cold entirely, but the lighter practice allowed them to get enough rest and keep their spirits up.

But Happy was still practicing as fiercely as ever. Relaxation time? To them, this had no meaning. Right now, what they needed was to improve as fast as they could. Another day of practice was another day of improvement. Without enough improvement, just taking a break before the match wouldn't change the match's outcome.

Chen Guo looked around at everyone in the practice room.

The weather lately had been alternating between heavy clouds and showers, and although the temperature wasn't high, the humidity made it seem hotter. The two high-power air conditioners in the training room worked incessantly to blow cold air through the room, but many players were still practice until their foreheads were slick with sweat.

They only had to move the mouse and keyboard, which meant that they were really only moving the parts of their body below the shoulder joint. They weren't running, they weren't fighting against some obstacle with their bodies. And yet they still managed to sweat from their exertion.

The tapping and clicking of the mouse and keyboard sounded like a curtain of beads falling to the floor. This tense and high-level atmosphere in the training room made Chen Guo feel like it was difficult to breathe. But she stayed and watched for a bit longer before quietly leaving the room.

When she went downstairs to the internet cafe on the first floor, she heard someone ask at the front desk, "Is Ye Xiu here?"

She went down a few more steps, and saw the panicked and terrified face of the young woman collecting money at the front desk. And then there was a shout in the Internet cafe, and then another, and another.

Chen Guo hurried down the staircase and saw the four people standing in front of the counter. And countless guests in the internet cafe had already left their computers and flocked over.

Han Wenqing, Zhang Xinjie, Zhang Jiale, Lin Jingyan… Team Tyranny, the four titans who had been named the Four Heavenly Kings, were standing right in front of the counter of Happy Internet Cafe.

The Internet cafe guests who recognized them instantly went wild.

This sort of thing absolutely never would have happened two years ago.

At that time, Chen Guo was still a diehard Excellent Era fan, and Happy Internet Cafe was still a favorite gathering place for all Excellent Era fans. If a Tyranny player appeared at the front desk then, who could predict what the impulsive fans would do?

But now, things were different. Ever since Chen Guo turned from a fan into a hater, Happy Internet Cafe was no longer filled with such passionate Excellent Era fans. Those that still came were calm and rational fans. They wouldn't necessarily do anything if they saw a Tyranny member.

And now, many of those that came to Happy Internet Cafe were fans of Happy itself. This forced Chen Guo install another door between the stairs and the second floor, and in the back of the building, there was now a direct exit from the second floor.

Fans were wonderful, but they could also be such a hassle!

After Su Mucheng officially transferred to Happy, there was even some shameless male who, carrying a large bouquet of flowers, said that he wanted to express his love to Su Mucheng. Chen Guo was so scared that she almost called the police. At these times, having the more delinquent-like Wei Chen and Steamed Bun around actually made Chen Guo feel a little safer.

In an instant, the Four Heavenly Kings of Tyranny were surrounded by energetic fans.

To openly appear in an Internet cafe, these four Gods were too careless.

Fortunately, no one did anything excessive. Most people just came to watch. Some of the braver ones went up to ask for an autograph, or even begged for a selfie, until Han Wenqing furrowed his brow and everyone scattered back to their seats.

At this moment, Chen Guo realized that there had to be a reason that these Tyranny veterans dared to show up in an Internet cafe. Han Wenqing had the Intimidate skill, with no cooldown. He could activate it whenever he wanted.

This was the first time Chen Guo had met up-close this ten-year captain of Tyranny. Two years ago, this was the painful enemy! Excellent Era's potential fourth consecutive victory was lost to this person, which had earned her hatred.

But now, Excellent Era had faded into the mists, and Chen Guo did truly respect the fighting spirit of these Tyranny veterans. When they lost to Samsara last season, she almost teared up for them.

When interacting with people in the pro scene, Chen Guo often had to remind herself to project a strong aura. She, after all, was the boss of Happy. But in front of this Han Wenqing, Chen Guo felt that she shouldn't try to act all high and mighty in front of him. This was a person who would directly kick out the boss from the training room.

"You're looking for Ye Xiu?" Chen Guo went up to greet them.

"Yes. Is he here?" Han Wenqing asked.

"Follow me!" Chen Guo led the four upstairs, and took the opportunity to study the other three Gods. Zhang Xinjie, hair and clothing immaculate, wearing his glasses. When he stared straight ahead, he would never let his gaze wander to the sides. Zhang Jiale, a spirited and energetic figure, yet revealing a hint of melancholy. Was it because of too many second-place finishes? Chen Guo couldn't help but wonder. Lin Jingyan, the former number one Brawler, didn't have that delinquent aura that Wei Chen and Steamed Bun had. He was a very refined person, and when he saw Chen Guo looking at him, he even smiled and inclined his head.