Chapter 320: A Complete Mess
[Very self-aware, aren’t we.]
[That was sarcasm, right? That was definitely sarcasm, right?!]
[Another golden quote! Another one!]
[This first-year doesn’t talk much, but every sentence is iconic!]
[Didn’t her teachers send her to take some communication classes? I think she needs them.]
[Sounds like the netizens are the ones lacking self-awareness. Someone like her needs to learn how to talk?]
Xiaoxiao had clearly not expected Xu Zhi to say something like that and almost lost control of her expression. Shu Yushan, meanwhile, appeared oddly numb and calm.
It’s fine. Compared to the things she says while attacking her teammates during training, wasn’t this already gentle?
He believed the junior must be trying very hard to restrain herself… right?!
Seeing the look Shu Yushan shot her, Xu Zhi understood that he was signaling her to rein it in.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t max out her emotional intelligence and say polished, diplomatic lines—but that was only when necessary. In other words, when she absolutely had to pretend to be well-behaved.
Xu Zhi actually hated those empty pleasantries and troublesome social maneuverings. Back in Cloud City, she had rarely bothered with such pretense. She had lived quite freely. Ever since arriving in the real world, she had already been forced to “act obedient” for a long time. She had tried very hard!
Recently, she had begun to show faint signs of reverting to her old self—partly because she had finally gained a foothold. She knew there was nothing wrong with her Lamp attribute; she had space to perform.
Still, she kept it within acceptable limits. At most, people around her felt she was sometimes intense, carrying the “arrogance” of a genius—so talented that she occasionally seemed dismissive. Given her ability, that level of pride was something others could understand.
Her persona in the Inner Court was already established. There was no reason to keep pretending to be sweet just because she was guest commentating. She was too lazy for that, and she had no intention of cultivating a perfect “star player” image. As long as she played well, popularity would follow naturally.
After all, no matter how beautifully you spoke, it could never compare to playing beautifully.
Seeing that his junior had no intention of restraining herself further, Shu Yushan sighed inwardly. On second thought, forget it. As long as she was happy. It wasn’t a big deal—at worst she’d get scolded online. Who knew? It might even boost her popularity.
“Xu Zhi probably meant to praise Dingchan’s sound strategy. Now, let’s head into a short break. The 5v5 team battle will begin shortly.”
As soon as Xiaoxiao finished speaking, the broadcast cut to advertisements, giving the three commentators a moment to rest—though Xu Zhi didn’t need one. She had barely spoken.
Once the live feed switched away, Xiaoxiao took a sip of water and hesitantly asked Shu Yushan, “Does Xu Zhi usually talk like this?”
Shu Yushan shook his head. “Not really.”
Then he added, “She’s usually much harsher.”
“So… she’s already holding back today?”
He nodded.
Xiaoxiao sighed helplessly. “All right. But Xu Zhi, you can try talking a bit more. The League doesn’t have strict requirements for guest commentators.”
What Xu Zhi didn’t realize was that after just a few of her sentences, the stream’s viewer count had already increased noticeably. Xiaoxiao was more than happy to have her speak more.
Talk more? That’s a terrible idea!
Just as Shu Yushan was about to decline on her behalf, Xu Zhi lazily agreed, “Sure.”
Oh no.
Soon, the break ended, and the broadcast returned to the commentary desk.
“Welcome back. Thanks for waiting. The team battle is about to begin.”
“We didn’t get to see Qiu Jing’s performance in the 1v1 stage. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of it in the team fight.”
After briefly introducing both sides’ team compositions again, the players entered the arena. The countdown began.
“The match begins!”
“Compared to the focused defense and attrition of 1v1 duels, you can see that in this team fight, Dingchan immediately launches an aggressive charge!”
Since she had already agreed with Xiaoxiao to speak more, Xu Zhi didn’t stay silent this time. When Xiaoxiao left her an opening, she continued, “Dingchan looks like they’re going for a fast attack. Their overall extraordinary levels are lower, and their energy reserves probably can’t match their opponents’.”
“Exactly as Xu Zhi said, Dingchan really favors quick assaults! Their support is moving in! That support is incredibly assertive—almost advancing in parallel with the sub-DPS straight into the enemy formation! Meanwhile, their main DPS is hanging slightly back!”
“He’s looking for an opportunity,” Xu Zhi said lazily but with certainty. “And he’s already locked onto a target.”
“He found it!” Xiaoxiao’s voice rose slightly. “The support and sub-DPS’s dive forces Liuping to focus on them—creating an opening for the main DPS!”
On the field, Liuping’s commander chose to have his teammates attack the two enemies who had broken into their formation, attempting to quickly reduce Dingchan’s numbers. Of course, part of that decision was because the opponent’s main DPS was only a… first-year.
A first-year who hadn’t reached the Eternal Realm—no matter how talented—had limits to their output.
“The field has already been laid out and they didn’t even notice?” Xu Zhi remarked when faint crystalline frost began appearing across the arena floor. It wasn’t obvious ice, and it wasn’t created by Qiu Jing, but by another Winter-attribute support on the team.
“If it were Senior Shu, he’d be cutting into the enemy backline support right now,” Xu Zhi added after a moment’s thought.
Shu Yushan smiled inwardly. If it were them, it would really be: “If it were us, I’d be ordering Senior Shu to cut their backline support.”
But outwardly, he simply nodded. “Yes.”
In the next instant, the first-year Winter-attribute player teleported directly behind Liuping’s healer and slashed into her body. Just as Liuping’s attacks landed on Qiu Jing, his figure flickered—shattering into chunks of ice that fell to the ground.
“One of Qiu Jing’s abilities allows him to turn into ice while attacking. Every strike is real. All he needs is ice. In an environment with ice, it’s undeniably powerful.”
“It seems Qiu Jing wants to eliminate the healer first,” Xiaoxiao timely explained.
Xu Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly. “A conservative choice. He’s not confident he can burst down the support with the healer still alive, so he can only kill the healer first.”
It was a miscalculation of timing and strength disparity. They hadn’t precisely grasped the positioning of opponents and teammates or anticipated their next moves well enough—so they didn’t dare take a riskier decision.
If it were Xu Zhi, she wouldn’t even need to think. Instinctively, she could tell the enemy backline support’s next move would be to push forward to help resolve the two teammates trapped in their formation, creating slight distance from the healer but drawing closer to Dingchan’s infiltrators—a perfect one-hit kill opportunity.
If you seized that moment and struck the vital point precisely, you could gain an immediate advantage.
But Dingchan either hadn’t realized it—or lacked the confidence to seize it. They chose the safer option: eliminate the healer.
It worked, but it required more energy and time. Variables could arise. In Xu Zhi’s view, it would have been better to take the risk and eliminate the support outright.
Most people, however, weren’t as aggressive as she was—or capable of her terrifying sense of timing.
As soon as she finished speaking, comments flooded in:
[Miss, not everyone is your teammate with monstrous individual strength!]
[This little princess eats too well. She probably has no idea what other teams are forced to eat.]
[She makes it sound so easy!]
After Qiu Jing’s intention to kill the healer became clear, Liuping reacted quickly to protect her. But their formation had already been split by Dingchan’s sub-DPS and support. Dingchan’s other support possessed a field-type ability that hindered their movements. Unable to regroup in time, the healer was forced to retreat—only to be relentlessly pressured by Qiu Jing.
Xu Zhi shook her head slightly. “Dingchan’s offense may be conservative, but Liuping’s defense is even more… that. Compared to Dingchan, Liuping is supposedly a seeded team, yet their teamfight strategy and execution are basically a complete mess…”
She didn’t finish the last words, swallowing them back at the last second—but the comment section clearly understood what she had intended to say.
[Sharp! So sharp!]
[You’re not a little sister, you’re my big sis. You really dare to say it.]
[Say more! We love the sharp takes!]
[A complete pile of crap. I’ve wanted to say that for ages. Liuping’s teamfight was crap last year too. If not for their captain carrying them, they wouldn’t have kept their seed!]
[At this rate, they might just be the worst seeded team this year.]
