The Shame That Accompanies Huang Shaotian Throughout His Career

Upon reaching the center of the map, Liu Hao did not see Yu Feng's "Sharp Sword," guessing that his opponent was using a similarly cautious and tactical approach.

Although Yu Feng wanted to test Liu Hao's recently skyrocketing skills, he wasn't overconfident and played very carefully.

Seeing the "Sharp Sword" hiding in a corner, Yu Wenzhou nodded in satisfaction. Before the match, he had analyzed and explained Jia Shi's tactics to his team, noting that Liu Hao was someone they had to be especially cautious of. His playing style was too unconventional, making it difficult for anyone to predict his tactical deployments.

Yu Feng was hiding behind a large rock, occasionally peeking out to find Liu Hao's position. However, before he could spot Liu Hao, Liu Hao had already spotted Yu Feng and unleashed a "Quick Flash Sword."

Liu Hao's ambush timing was perfect, but Yu Feng was on high alert, and although a bit slow, he still reacted at the last possible moment. The "Sharp Sword" rolled on the spot, and then...

"It hit! Liu Hao predicted the ambush perfectly!" Pan Lin exclaimed.

Yu Feng was stunned. He thought dodging at the last moment was impressive enough, but Liu Hao had even predicted his movement?

"Damn it!" Yu Feng felt embarrassed. At this critical moment of the All-Star voting, being outplayed by Liu Hao like this would likely result in fewer votes, especially since the video would end up online.

"Liu Hao, that guy..." Huang Shaotian gritted his teeth. "Did he predict the ambush too? How does the database record this? Should we dodge his ambush or not?"

Yu Wenzhou smiled bitterly, "Liu Hao's predictions are nearly flawless. You might get hit whether you dodge or not."

Huang Shaotian uncharacteristically fell silent, furiously contemplating how to counter Liu Hao.

When the two met, Liu Hao had a slight advantage. The "Sharp Sword" locked onto Liu Hao's "Dark Days" and charged forward, following up with a "Mountain Crushing Strike."

"Dark Days" didn't dodge or evade; he had already completed the chant for "Frost Wave Sword" and slashed down. The "Sharp Sword" was immediately frozen into an ice sculpture, while the "Mountain Crushing Strike" effect triggered, sending "Dark Days" into the air.

The control effects of both players canceled each other out!

Although the control effects canceled out, in terms of damage, Liu Hao's "Frost Wave Sword" dealt far more damage than Yu Feng's "Mountain Crushing Strike."

Liu Hao once again gained the upper hand.

"Dark Days" landed, and the "Sharp Sword" thawed. Liu Hao noticed that the control effect of his "Frost Wave Sword" seemed weaker—the freeze duration was too short... No, it was the silver equipment of the "Sharp Sword" that was the issue; Yu Feng's character had extremely high resilience!

"A Berserker not focusing on critical hits but resilience? What is Yu Wenzhou planning?" Liu Hao muttered to himself.

Unable to figure it out, he put the thought aside, focusing instead on dealing with Yu Feng.

Liu Hao noticed the bright sunlight on the map and immediately had an idea.

In the twilight, "Dark Days" retreated into a narrow alley. Yu Feng chased after him, but due to his slower movement speed, he couldn't close the gap with "Dark Days."

The audience was puzzled—why wasn't "Dark Days" fighting but fleeing instead? Did he think he couldn't win? From the God's perspective, "Dark Days" was dragging a long shadow behind him.

"Something's wrong!" Yu Wenzhou suddenly panicked.

"What's wrong?" Huang Shaotian asked, confused.

"The lighting!" Yu Wenzhou realized Liu Hao's plan. From the God's perspective, it wasn't obvious, but from the first-person view, Yu Feng was being blinded by the light.

Huang Shaotian quickly caught on, watching the two chasing in the narrow alley, with the "Sharp Sword" running straight into the sun!

"Details determine success or failure." Yu Wenzhou smiled bitterly. Yu Feng might have realized it by now, but it was too late.

Yu Feng's screen was flashing with golden light. Under the glare, "Dark Days" became a blurry figure, making it impossible to discern his actions or skill preparations.

"I've been tricked!" Yu Feng panicked.

Liu Hao turned back, his back against the sunset, holding a short sword. He looked like an angel descending, with golden wings shining behind him.

When the director cut to Yu Feng's first-person perspective, the entire audience was suddenly stunned.

"So cool!" Pan Lin couldn't help but exclaim, echoing the thoughts of the audience.

Backlit with the sunset and holding a sword—the scene was just too impressive!

Li Yibo frowned, "It's the sunlight! In the first-person perspective of 'Sharp Sword,' the sun is blocking his view, making 'Dark Days' nothing more than a glowing blur, with his movements completely obscured!"

The moment was right!

Liu Hao swung his short sword, sweeping it across with a "Wave Sword." It was a simple attack, one that would be easy to dodge even in this narrow alley. But the problem was, Yu Feng couldn't see anything. With the sunlight, it was like being hit by a rogue's "Sand Throw"—he knew "Dark Days" was attacking, but he couldn't tell where the "Wave Sword" was going.

"Move left?" Yu Feng instinctively reacted.

Then, Liu Hao predicted it.

After the "Wave Sword," he followed up with an "Evil Light Slash"—the same routine again. "Sharp Sword" got up, but still couldn't see anything.

The "Sharp Sword" dove into the ground like a cannonball. Yu Feng was at a loss; with the sunlight, he couldn't face off against "Dark Days," but turning and running? In this narrow alley, dodging was already difficult, and Liu Hao had nearly perfect prediction accuracy.

"Dark Days" unleashed another "Wave Sword," and "Sharp Sword" rolled forward. This time, Yu Feng got lucky—although he still took damage from the "Wave Sword," his recovery wasn't as clumsy as before.

At this point, the commentators were at a loss for words. From the God's perspective, it looked like a low-skill output versus an opponent who couldn't even defend himself.

The Magic Swordsman, with a focus on magic damage, left the Berserker with no way to block the "Wave Sword" magic attacks. Yu Feng was on the verge of tears.

In the end, Liu Hao finished off the "Sharp Sword" with a "Ultimate Thunder Wave Sword."

The Blue Rain fans in the audience fell silent, while the Jia Shi fans applauded.

Liu Hao's performance was outstanding—he had taken out Yu Feng without losing even 20% of his health. And this was Yu Feng, the second-best player on the Blue Rain team after Huang Shaotian!

Yu Feng covered his face as he left the stage. He feared that after today's match, he would miss out on the All-Stars. Being outplayed by Liu Hao and getting beaten up like an idiot, he hadn't even been able to fight back.

Yu Feng returned to the Blue Rain bench, where Yu Wenzhou watched his dejected teammate, unsure how to comfort him.

"Played well?" But Yu Feng hadn't really done much. He spent the entire match trying to escape from "Dark Days."

"Bad luck?" That didn't seem comforting. After all, what pro player relies on luck to win?

Suddenly, Yu Wenzhou found something to say!

"Yu Feng, you actually performed well in this match."

"Hmm?" Yu Feng didn't understand. He hadn't even taken 20% of "Dark Days" HP. How was that good?

"Mana!" Yu Wenzhou smiled. "At least you drained more than half of 'Dark Days' mana. The rest is up to Shaotian."

Huang Shaotian grinned, "Leave it to me. I'll show Jia Shi that there's always someone better. Watch me take down all three and shine!"

His teammates, hearing Huang Shaotian's claim, pulled long faces. "Huang Shao, you're the third to play in this match. If you plan to take down all three, doesn't that mean I'm going to lose to Liu Hao?"

Huang Shaotian froze, realizing his mistake.

"Even if you think he's no match for Liu Hao, you can't just say it outright, right?"

The match resumed, and this time it ended quickly. Liu Hao defeated his opponent in under three minutes, with "Dark Days" still at 60% HP and about 20% mana.

Huang Shaotian didn't comfort the teammate who had just lost but eagerly walked onto the stage. "My chance to take down all three is finally here! Though it's not a real all-three takedown..."

Here's the accurate translation into English:

---

A true "three-in-a-row" is when a player is the first to appear in a team competition and then consecutively defeats three opponents to secure the victory for the team. A false "three-in-a-row" refers to consecutively defeating three opponents but not being the first to appear. 

Though the difference might seem minor, the player's achievement is vastly different. It's like playing Japanese Mahjong, where the difference between a Kokushi Musou and a Kokushi Musou Thirteen-Sided Wait is also small, but the latter is a double Yakuman, while the former is just a Yakuman.

Thus, a false "three-in-a-row," despite being a three-in-a-row, will not be recorded as an honor in a player's achievements.

"Liu Hao, are you ready to die?" Huang Shaotian immediately began his trash talk at the start of the match.

How could Liu Hao not know what Huang Shaotian was thinking? As Blue Rain's long-time defender in team competitions, Huang Shaotian rarely had the opportunity for a "three-in-a-row," even a false one. Even if the opportunity arose, it wasn't easy to achieve.

Now, with Samsara's two pillars, Sun Xiang and Su Mucheng, having already appeared in the earlier individual matches, the only one left from Jia Shi's three pillars was Liu Hao. Although Liu Hao had more health, his mana was running low. Huang Shaotian could almost see a three-in-a-row waving at him.

"Judging by how excited Huang Shaotian looks, it seems he still holds hope for victory in the team competition!" Li Yibo commented with a smile.

"Indeed, although Liu Hao has often made miraculous comebacks against opponents when at a health disadvantage, that was when his mana was sufficient. Now, with his character, Darkest Before Dawn, down to less than 20% mana, and being a Spellblade—a class heavily reliant on skills—he's in a precarious situation."

"Let's see if Huang Shaotian can take down Darkest Before Dawn with the least amount of health loss."

The commentators continued to discuss the match. Although they didn't say it outright, they had already mentally decided that Liu Hao would lose. The audience watching the match shared the same thought. Although they held onto hope, the opponent was Huang Shaotian—the Noisy Rain, the league's only opportunist, titled the Sword Saint. Would he really give Liu Hao a chance?

Liu Hao was also well aware of the situation in this battle. If played normally, Liu Hao could try to drain as much of Huang Shaotian's health as possible. Even if he managed to maximize his output, he could only take down about 40% of Huang Shaotian's health. But could his two teammates take down a 60% health Huang Shaotian?

Liu Hao had his doubts. Although he wasn't a pessimist, he had a premonition: if they played normally, it would inevitably lead to Huang Shaotian scoring a three-in-a-row!

Liu Hao excelled in predicting his opponents' moves. When this ability is honed to perfection, it develops into a talent similar to Spider-Sense, accurately sensing danger!

Liu Hao wouldn't let Huang Shaotian pull off a three-in-a-row, not even a false one!

If a normal strategy wouldn't work, Liu Hao had an unconventional one. As Jia Shi was the home team, they had the right to choose the map. This map was one that Liu Hao had carefully selected. Firstly, it was a narrow alley with sunlight obscuring the vision. Secondly, there was an ancient tree!

Yesterday morning, An Wenming... or rather, Luo Ji had officially joined Jia Shi as the team's chief data analyst.

Luo Ji didn't know much about Glory yet, but he was extremely sensitive to data. Liu Hao handed the map over to Luo Ji for analysis and gave him a directive: calculate how much damage was needed to chop down the ancient tree at the spawn point.

After over 130 attempts with Darkest Before Dawn, Luo Ji finally came up with a damage strategy.

Chopping the tree!

It required 23 normal attacks, and those 23 attacks had to land on different, extremely precise points. Only then could the tree be chopped down.

Of course, if Luo Ji only had this level of skill, he wouldn't deserve the title of math genius!

Luo Ji could even control the direction in which the tree fell. With the first 22 precise strikes, the 23rd strike could be adjusted to cause the tree to fall in different directions.

When this strategy was developed, everyone in Jia Shi looked at Luo Ji with admiration. Even Tao Xuan, upon learning of Luo Ji's abilities, waved his hand and tripled Luo Ji's salary in an attempt to keep him. But Luo Ji didn't agree, as he still had classes to attend.

Liu Hao took a deep breath. Success or failure would hinge on this. If they could score a three-in-a-row against Blue Rain, or even sweep them 10:0, Liu Hao believed he would garner more All-Star votes and achieve a higher ranking.

Liu Hao wasn't greedy for the top All-Star spot, at least not this year. He just wanted to have more All-Star votes than Su Mucheng; otherwise, that little girl would definitely mock him.

Yes, Liu Hao's goal was to use this match to make a name for himself! The reason he appeared in the first round of the team competition instead of the final defending round was to gain fame by scoring a three-in-a-row, or even defeating the Sword Saint, Huang Shaotian, in a three-in-a-row!

"Huang Shaotian, this match will be the shame that haunts your entire career!" Liu Hao slightly curled his lips as he typed this seemingly nonsensical message.

Huang Shaotian frowned slightly as he looked at the message from Darkest Before Dawn on the public screen. "The shame that haunts my entire career? Are you planning to defeat me with 60% health and less than 20% mana? Even if you were at full health and mana, you might not be able to beat me. What big talk!"

(End of the chapter)