Dark Physical Martial Arts Flow

The fourth round of the regular season began with Excellent Era facing off against Misty Rain at Misty Rain's home stadium.

The venue was packed, buzzing with excitement. The cheers, applause, and shouts of the audience created an atmosphere unlike any other match. The reason was that the two most beautiful female players in all of Glory were standing in the centre of the stage.

"Liu Hao, your strategy worked quite well," said Chu Yunxiu, lightly poking Liu Hao with her finger. They stood so close they were nearly shoulder to shoulder. "By using your plan, our manager and coach are now willing to give up their interference in the matches and grant me full command and autonomy of my team. You're in trouble in the upcoming matches."

"The outcome of the match is hard to predict, but I know you're in trouble now," Liu Hao chuckled.

"Huh?" Chu Yunxiu needed help understanding what Liu Hao meant.

Liu Hao slightly raised his chin, pointing at the camera lens. "Those are high-definition cameras, clear enough to capture the pores on players' faces. Your little move just now was all caught on tape."

At the same time, Chu Yunxiu's small action was indeed captured by the camera and projected onto the big screen, prompting the audience to let out disdainful sounds.

"Did I just see what I thought I saw? Chu Yunxiu seemed to poke Liu Hao with her finger?"

"Bro, you didn't see wrong. Chu Yunxiu did poke Liu Hao! Damn Liu Hao, how dare he mess around with my goddess?"

"Every day, I envy Liu Hao more. Not only does he stand next to Su Mucheng, but now he's also next to Chu Yunxiu. The most infuriating part is Liu Hao is sandwiched between two beauties!"

...

The audience's complaints grew louder. The host, seeing the situation getting out of control, hastily wrapped up the opening remarks and sent the players to their respective seats.

Before leaving, Chu Yunxiu gave Liu Hao a resentful glare, wondering why he hadn't warned her earlier. She feared her boss would scold her later.

Liu Hao: How would I know you would poke me secretly? No, you poked me openly...

After the referee read out the match rules, the competition officially began.

To everyone's surprise, Chu Yunxiu was the first to go up in the individual match! She usually played in the arena matches.

Chu Yunxiu had arranged the lineup for this match. She knew Ye Qiu would guard the arena. Given her disadvantage, she felt it would be pointless to die in the arena match, so she opted to fight for points in the individual game instead.

Misty Rain's first player in the individual match was Chu Yunxiu, and coincidentally, Excellent Era's first player was Su Mucheng. The clash of two All-Star female players doubled the audience's excitement.

The audience always debated who was the most beautiful woman in Glory and who was the top female player. Some said Su Mucheng was the most beautiful, while others believed it was Chu Yunxiu. Some even conducted a poll on the Glory forums to decide who was prettier, Su Mucheng or Chu Yunxiu.

The final result had Su Mucheng leading by a narrow margin.

However, this result needed to be more authoritative. It was merely a reflection of who had more fans. Excellent Era, being an established powerhouse, had Su Mucheng, the sweet partner of the Battle God Ye Qiu, winning the hearts of many fans, thus having a more extensive fan base than Chu Yunxiu.

However, in Liu Hao's view, Su Mucheng and Chu Yunxiu were equally beautiful. Su Mucheng was the sunny, kind girl next door, while Chu Yunxiu was a versatile girl who could be both sweet and commanding. Each had her unique charm.

If it was purely about looks, Liu Hao might have voted for Su Mucheng. However, in terms of likability, Chu Yunxiu, who could switch between being commanding and sweet, would win. Having Chu Yunxiu as a girlfriend would be like having two types of girlfriends, offering great value.

The most controversial topic was who the top female player in Glory was. Due to Su Mucheng's more extensive fan base and Excellent Era's better performance, she was voted the top female player and the premier gunner in Glory.

But most in the circle knew Chu Yunxiu was the top female player and the best elemental mage in Glory. Her skills, whether in operations or team carry and command abilities, surpassed Su Mucheng's.

Fans of the two-star players competed in secret, unaware that their idols were not only rivals but also best friends in real life. They watched soap operas together, shopped together, and cursed Liu Hao together...

As the match began, both players went all out, delivering an All-Star-level solo match. In the end, Chu Yunxiu narrowly won with a slight health advantage.

In solo matches, gunners typically had an edge over elemental mages, but since it was Misty Rain's home ground, Chu Yunxiu effectively used the map advantage to secure her victory.

Next up was Qiu Fei. Familiarising himself with the rhythm and intensity of professional matches, he showcased his potential, winning a point back for Excellent Era.

In the third solo match, Wang Ze took the stage but ultimately lost.

Regarding Wang Ze, Liu Hao was helpless. He had given Wang Ze Zhang Jiale's insights on the Hundred Blossom Style, yet Wang Ze couldn't master it and showed slight improvement. Indeed, the Hundred Blossom Style required talent, and Wang Ze, lacking in talent, couldn't learn Zhang Jiale's shooting techniques.

Returning to Excellent Era's player seats, Wang Ze awkwardly smiled at Liu Hao, "Sorry, Brother Hao, I lost."

Liu Hao sighed, "Train hard when you go back. Add two more hours of training daily. With less talent, if you don't work hard, it'll be tough to make a name for yourself."

"Yes!" Wang Ze stood at attention.

Ye Qiu glanced over with a fake smile, "Liu Hao, your words carry more weight than mine."

"Not at all. I just take care of them more daily, so they're willing to listen to me," Liu Hao smiled. "Captain Ye is still the best, managing both me and Su Mucheng."

Ye Qiu didn't reply. Liu Hao's words were amusing but not to be taken seriously. Is Liu Hao listening to him? What a joke...

After the intermission, the arena match began.

Liu Hao was Excellent Era's starter in the arena match, facing Misty Rain's Sun Liang, a professional brawler with the ID Duliang. (Sub-player of Misty Rain)

Sun Liang was a stable performer with excellent skills, Misty Rain's third key player. His brawler had the same fierce traits as Han Wenqing, though not as aggressive.

The map was a dense forest. At the start, both players headed towards the centre of the map.

"Oh, the players have now engaged."

"Sun Liang from Misty Rain is very cautious, starting with a defensive stance. Is he planning a counterattack?"

"Liu Hao didn't hesitate, attacking directly. It's surprising. Is Liu Hao going for a close-range battle?"

"Beautiful Slash and Uppercut, Sun Liang is off balance, losing his rhythm instantly!"

"Twelve consecutive strikes! Wow, Liu Hao executed twelve consecutive strikes in close combat. The damage is significant!"

"However, as a mid-range class, Total Darkness's close combat could be much better. Can Sun Liang seize this chance to counterattack?"

"Whirlwind Bullet Counter?!! Sun Liang, who finally got an attack opportunity, was thrown off balance again by the Whirlwind Bullet Counter!"

"Sun Liang is in a passive position..."

"If Sun Liang doesn't counterattack, Total Darkness will drag him to death on the battlefield!"

"Uh... Duliang... is down."

A thrilling slaughter unfolded, with a magic swordsman overpowering a brawler. Liu Hao displayed the uncharacteristic of a magic swordsman, turning a mid-range class into a close combat god.

The live-stream audience was silent as death after witnessing the match.

It was clearly a humiliating show. Despite being a mid-range class, Liu Hao could have used kiting tactics to win more easily. Yet, he chose to defeat his opponent in close combat...

If that wasn't humiliation, what was?

At this moment, Misty Rain's fans were enraged. Even if Liu Hao was strong, he shouldn't humiliate his opponent. Having a magic swordsman engage in close combat was like both players holding AKs, but one chose to fight with bayonets and won absurdly!

For a while, Misty Rain's fans cursed Liu Hao for disrespecting and deliberately humiliating his opponent. However, most viewers enjoyed it, defending Liu Hao by saying he was conserving mana for a three-player streak, making close combat necessary and not intended to humiliate his opponent. If the opponent wasn't strong enough, who could they blame for losing?

Most of Misty Rain's team believed the latter. Liu Hao intended to conserve mana and achieve a three-player streak against Misty Rain. To Misty Rain, it was like being told, "I'm going to humiliate you; let's see if you can fight back."

Li Hua, Misty Rain's vice-captain, usually followed Chu Yunxiu, remaining inconspicuous. However, he couldn't stand by when someone bullied Chu Yunxiu or Misty Rain.

"This Liu Hao is too arrogant!" Li Hua fumed.

"Yeah, vice-captain, go teach him a lesson! Avenge Brother Sun!"

Sun Liang, a veteran, couldn't speak after being humiliated. Before Li Hua went on stage, he warned, "Liu Hao's close combat style is strange. When he fights close, he uses a fast-paced dark wave attack, but his sword moves are open and aggressive, shockingly fierce."

Chu Yunxiu also noticed something and cautioned, "Liu Hao seems to have developed a new magic swordsman style. Be careful."

Li Hua nodded, thinking close combat magic swordsman wasn't a new style.

(End of the chapter)

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