Asura Realm?

The match officially began. Although Liu Hao chose the map, Huang Shaotian was not unfamiliar with it. From the start, he quickly and skillfully manoeuvred through the side path and then cut in from the edge.

Huang Shaotian's movements revealed his ambition. He played so cautiously, clearly aiming to conserve his health and complete a 1v3.

However, to everyone's surprise, Liu Hao didn't charge straight ahead or use tactical positioning. Instead, he wandered around the spawn point and then started chopping down a tree with a short sword.

Are you chopping down a tree? What on earth? This isn't *Minecraft*. Is there some kind of saying in *Glory* about getting rich by chopping down trees?

*Crack, crack, crack…*

Liu Hao chopped at the tree, one slash after another, leaving the audience and commentators dumbfounded. It wasn't until he had chopped 22 times that he finally stopped.

Little did anyone know that during Liu Hao's chopping of the tree, Huang Shaotian's "Troubling Rain" had already stealthily made its way to the centre of the map. He even circled twice, looking for "Total Darkness," but as expected, he couldn't even find a footprint.

Huang Shaotian began to get anxious, firing off a barrage of complaints, mostly asking about Liu Hao's location.

But Liu Hao remained silent. After finishing with the tree, he slowly made his way to the centre of the map.

"Hey, Liu Hao, why aren't you saying anything? Are you scared of me? It's okay, just come out and die—my sword is quick…"

"Hey, hey, hey, why haven't you come out yet? Where did you go? Did you get lost…"

"Say something! Even a punctuation mark would be fine; don't ignore me…"

"If you don't show up soon, the referee's going to give you a yellow card…"

Huang Shaotian's hands moved quickly, sending one message after another, like a lovesick puppy desperate for a response from his crush. But Liu Hao completely ignored him.

Since Huang Shaotian didn't have a god's-eye view, he had no idea what Liu Hao was doing. However, the Blue Rain team watching from below could see Liu Hao's actions, leaving them completely baffled.

"Captain Yu, what's the point of Liu Hao chopping the tree at the start? Is he sharpening his blade?" Yu Feng scratched his head, puzzled. "Besides, I'm pretty sure sharpening a blade in *Glory* doesn't actually make it sharper; it just reduces durability."

Yu Wenzhou frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then explained, "The environmental objects in *Glory* can be destroyed. In the online game, a wall can be blown apart if a projectile deals enough damage. Similarly, if you deal enough damage, you can chop down a large tree."

"But Liu Hao didn't chop it down," Yu Feng noted, still confused.

Yu Wenzhou patiently explained, "Liu Hao didn't want to chop it down completely. He dealt just enough damage beforehand, so when Shaotian comes near, he can use the falling tree to inflict massive damage!"

Yu Feng finally understood, "Chopping down the tree to deal damage not only reduces the health gap, but it also saves mana."

Yu Feng started to feel a bit fearful. Was Liu Hao really that terrifying? Coming up with such a brilliant tactic in such a dire situation? No, this tactic must have been premeditated by Liu Hao!

"Shaotian, you better be careful," even the usually calm Yu Wenzhou started to feel nervous for Huang Shaotian.

But on the battlefield, Huang Shaotian was still cheerfully typing trash talk!

"They're getting closer!" Pan Lin announced. The director immediately switched to an overhead view, showing the rapidly closing distance between the two characters from a god's-eye perspective. "How will *Troubling Rain* ambush him? But I think, given Liu Hao's cautious nature, it'll be hard for *Troubling Rain* to find an opportunity."

"No! Player Huang Shaotian is a famous opportunist. Even a momentary lapse in perspective can be a deadly opportunity for him!" Li Yibo countered.

"Indeed!" Pan Lin agreed. "Right now, *Total Darkness* is running along the main road. Judging by his speed, Liu Hao is convinced that *Troubling Rain* won't suddenly appear from the sides to ambush him!"

"Making such a judgment is actually quite simple," Li Yibo began to show off his game knowledge. "Attacking from the sides may be unexpected, but this terrain is difficult to defend. It's easy to attack but hard to defend, so if Huang Shaotian chooses to ambush from here and fails, he might end up like a double-edged sword."

Pan Lin focused on studying the terrain, and it really was, as Li Yibo said—this map was definitely a home turf for magic swordsmen!

Li Yibo proudly raised his head, not realising that this game knowledge was something Zhang Xinjie had told him when he first joined Ba Tu.

Liu Hao knew that Huang Shaotian was highly skilled, with top-notch awareness and tactical understanding, so he would never choose to strike in this area. Eliminating those poor ambush spots, Liu Hao quickly deduced where *Troubling Rain* was.

In Huang Shaotian's view, he saw *Total Darkness* approaching and couldn't help but click his tongue. "This guy is really sharp."

Huang Shaotian realised that Liu Hao had figured out his hiding spot, so ambushing was no longer an option. He simply jumped out.

*Troubling Rain* swung his lightsaber, pointing it directly at *Total Darkness*.

*Troubling Rain's* attack speed was breakneck, and the lightsaber's slashes left after images. Huang Shaotian immediately ramped up to a hand speed of over 500 actions per minute (APM) right from the start, intending to take down *Total Darkness* in one go!

Watching the APM numbers flash on the big screen, everyone was astonished. For ordinary online game players, reaching 200 APM was already a monumental task. But reaching 500 APM made it an even more daunting feat.

"As expected of Huang Shaotian! Truly the epitome of talent!" The audience gave him a thumbs-up. Although many professional players could reach 500 APM, it was rare to see someone like Huang Shaotian who could start at 500 and maintain such a stable performance.

"In the face of such dazzling slashes, can *Total Darkness* hold on?" Pan Lin voiced his concerns, but then he witnessed something miraculous. "He's not swinging his sword—he's dodging! Wait, what's that? A Z-shaped dodge, or is it an inverted Z-shaped dodge?"

The audience kept their eyes glued to the big screen. On either side of the screen, the AI displayed the fluctuating APM of both players. Everyone saw that *Total Darkness,* who had been initially at 0 APM, suddenly surged to over 500!

Both Huang Shaotian and Liu Hao had reached over 500 APM, but the difference was that one was attacking while the other was defending. Neither could overcome the other.

Huang Shaotian was stunned. Could an average person really dodge his blindingly fast slashes? He was called the Sword Saint not just because of his account's god-level equipment but because he wielded the quickest sword in all of *Glory*. But now, every slash of his fastest sword was being dodged? Not even *One Autumn Leaf* had managed to do that!

"Could it be that Liu Hao predicted all my attacks?" Huang Shaotian wondered but quickly dismissed the idea. His sword was so fast that it couldn't even be seen clearly. He could swing six or seven times in a second, and with skill weaving, he could even deliver ten strikes in a second. Ordinary people couldn't even see the attacks, let alone dodge them.

Yet, *Total Darkness* dodged all the slashes and even managed to land a stab on *Troubling Rain's* throat amidst the chaotic swords.

Blood splattered, with a few drops staining *Total Darkness's* face.

Huang Shaotian was stunned, and his attacks even paused. In a contest of swordsmanship, he had lost.

Although the stab from *Total Darkness* dealt less than 1% damage, just from the visual perspective alone, the Sword Saint had been defeated by Liu Hao!

"How is that possible?" Yu Feng's eyes widened. He had soloed countless times with Huang Shaotian and knew just how fast his sword was. But Liu Hao's character was just a magic swordsman, yet he managed to precisely find Huang Shaotian's opening and stab faster than him.

Yu Wenzhou also furrowed his brows but quickly figured it out. Although Yu Wenzhou's hand speed was slow, his reaction time was not. In fact, Yu Wenzhou's reaction time was among the best in the league!

Even Ye Qiu had once said that if Yu Wenzhou didn't have slow hands, no other player in the league would stand a chance.

"I understand!" Yu Wenzhou said.

"Understand what? Surely you're not saying Liu Hao could predict all of Shaotian's slashes...right?" Yu Feng asked.

Yu Wenzhou shook his head, "No, Liu Hao's predictions are at most three levels, four at best. Shaotian, on the other hand, can execute up to six slashes in an instant. Liu Hao might dodge four or five, but he could never dodge the sixth!"

"Wait, what do you mean by 'three levels of prediction'?" Yu Feng asked, confused.

"Oh, it's how we categorise different levels of prediction for players who excel at it," Yu Wenzhou explained. "A regular player can predict an opponent's next move; that's first-level prediction. However, an expert at prediction can foresee the next two moves, which is second-level prediction. From Liu Hao's past match data, he can predict up to three moves, but to be safe, I considered him at four levels!"

Yu Feng nodded, half-understanding, and asked, "But Captain, aren't you also very good at predicting? What level are you?"

Yu Wenzhou showed a hint of embarrassment. "I don't mean to brag, but I've reached the fifth level in prediction. However, due to my limited hand speed, I can only barely perform at the third level."

Yu Feng nodded again. "That's still impressive, Captain. That guy Liu Hao is so good at prediction, but he's only at the third level, maybe fourth at most. If your hand speed were faster, you'd definitely crush him."

Yu Wenzhou modestly waved his hand. "I wouldn't say crush, but I could hold my own... Anyway, back to the point, I know how Liu Hao managed to dodge Huang Shaotian's slashes."

"What? How?" Yu Feng pressed.

"It was movement guidance!" Yu Wenzhou explained. "If you watch closely, the Z-shaped twitching of Total Darkness's backward movement is guiding the direction of Shaotian's slashes. This way, dodging Shaotian's attacks doesn't require sixth-level prediction."

"So that's how it is!" Yu Feng exclaimed. In reality, he didn't quite understand, but if he didn't say something, he'd appear very foolish.

The other members of Team Blue Rain nearby also didn't really understand, but seeing the brute Yu Feng nodding, they didn't want to admit their confusion either.

Yu Wenzhou, observing their expressions, could guess that they didn't really get it, but he still smiled as if he hadn't noticed and continued watching the match.

On stage, Liu Hao had no idea that Yu Wenzhou had analysed his strategy, but Yu Wenzhou was spot-on. Liu Hao was indeed using movement to guide Huang Shaotian's slashes, which significantly reduced his mental strain.

However, Yu Wenzhou got one thing wrong. Was Liu Hao's prediction level only up to four? Was his prediction ability weaker than Yu Wenzhou's?

Nonsense!

Liu Hao had honed his prediction skills through two lifetimes. When he first arrived in the "Full-time Master" world, his prediction was already at the fourth level. With recent practice and system attribute bonuses, Liu Hao had long since trained his prediction to the seventh level!

At the seventh level, prediction almost allows you to block out your sight and rely solely on intuition to predict your opponent's attacks. Liu Hao had even given seventh-level prediction a flashy nickname—"Asura Realm."

Indeed, even though Liu Hao was using movement to guide Huang Shaotian's slashes, if he relied on prediction alone, he could still dodge all of Shaotian's attacks. However, it would cost him more mental energy.

In this battle between the Sword Saint and the Asura, the Asura ultimately had the upper hand!

However, due to class restraint and the scarcity of mana, Total Darkness couldn't gain much advantage. Liu Hao only outperformed Huang Shaotian in swordsmanship but couldn't close the gap in health.

The two clashed for a full four minutes, neither reducing their hand speed, even pushing it beyond 600.

"Are you trying to drag this out? I'm telling you, you're bound to lose because you're almost out of mana!" Huang Shaotian typed while still managing to find time to taunt.

Liu Hao glanced at his nearly depleted mana bar and knew the time had come!

Total Darkness suddenly turned and ran away from Troubling Rain, spreading his light sword wide. Huang Shaotian was stunned. "Isn't it a bit late to think about running now?"

Troubling Rain charged after him with full force. After nearly four minutes of fighting Liu Hao, Huang Shaotian's patience had worn thin. Now, seeing Total Darkness's mana almost drained, his guard dropped, and victory seemed within reach!

"Total Darkness is pulling away with a triple slash? He's running back?" Pan Lin commented, somewhat puzzled. The intense four-minute battle had made them forget what Liu Hao had set up at the beginning.

"Now, Total Darkness is down to 10% health with no mana left, while Troubling Rain still has 50% health and plenty of mana!" Li Yibo added.

Huang Shaotian laughed wildly, controlling Troubling Rain to chase at full speed while continuing to taunt. "Liu Hao, weren't you pretty fierce just now? Why are you running away now? If you've got the guts, stand and fight!"

Seeing Huang Shaotian's mocking trash talk, Liu Hao happily replied, "Then why don't you catch me first?" followed by a string of smiley faces.

Taunting! He's actually taunting me? Huang Shaotian couldn't help but laugh in anger.

Gradually, both players found themselves near Total Darkness's respawn point, that tree that had taken 22 slashes.

Seizing the moment, Huang Shaotian unleashed a series of thrusts. Troubling Rain quickly advanced, and the light sword was about to pierce through Total Darkness...

"Die!" Huang Shaotian grinned wickedly.

But...

Ding!

Total Darkness quickly turned his back to block! Liu Hao used the last of his mana, causing Troubling Rain to stagger from the recoil.

"The show is about to begin!" Liu Hao smiled faintly.

(End of chapter)