Chapter 322: The Goddess’s Overlooking Gaze
Once a Heart-attribute player lost the ability to fight, the match immediately grew far more intense.
When a healer was still on the field, both sides would inevitably fight while retreating, carefully watching their positioning and maintaining their condition. But once the healer fell, the ability to sustain a prolonged battle disappeared. Teams would begin fighting desperately, and the bloodshed would surge sharply.
“Dingchan’s sub-DPS has been holding the front line this whole time. He’s consumed too much energy—one mistake and his left arm was severed by the opponent. His combat strength has dropped significantly!”
“Dingchan must withstand Liuping’s explosive counterattack after losing a member! If they hold this wave, the match is most likely theirs!”
Xiaoxiao spoke rapidly but clearly. Her tense tone stirred the atmosphere in the livestream.
[Finally getting exciting!]
[As expected, compared to the qualifiers, the group stage is way bloodier.]
[This is nothing. Just missing limbs. In the finals, sometimes one entire team has to die before the match ends.]
[That’s why some finalists develop PTSD after competing. With the Life Reversal Array in place, they have to repeatedly experience death in different ways during matches. It’s a serious test of mental resilience.]
[How can an extraordinary’s psyche be that fragile? Those who develop PTSD from death never improve afterward. That kind of mental strength can’t survive the Great Dream Realm!]
[Finals are finals. This is only the first round of the group stage. This level is already decent.]
[True. It’s at least more watchable than earlier.]
[I wonder how Xu Zhi will evaluate it now?]
How would she evaluate it?
Xu Zhi still wore that lazy expression. Her gaze did not change in the slightest just because the match had become “exciting.” Her tone remained unhurried.
“Liuping’s coordination was already pretty s—”
She swallowed the uncivil word.
“Now that their healer is dead, their all-or-nothing push just looks more frantic. It’s not like they had no chance. Even if they lost a member first, their opponents are lower in extraordinary rank and paid a heavy price too. The opportunity was still there. If anyone on the team still had a clear head, they wouldn’t have let their teammates rush in like this.”
A faintly mocking smile curved at her lips.
“It’s like they’ve never played from behind before.”
“As for Dingchan—their coordination is better than their opponent’s, but their raw strength is too weak.”
“Especially that first-year main DPS. If you want to hold the main DPS position, shouldn’t you at least raise your extraordinary rank first?”
“Or is it that their academy truly doesn’t have a more presentable main DPS?”
Her final sentence carried an almost innocent curiosity—making it sound even more sarcastic.
[Wow… so they’re not using a stronger main DPS because they just don’t feel like it?]
[Obviously because they don’t have one!]
[Come on, this is a subordinate city academy that’s never even participated in the League before. The fact that they’ve assembled this lineup at all is impressive!]
[I think Dingchan values synergy and chemistry between members more. Their setup suits Qiu Jing well. Even if they swapped in a higher-level main DPS, they might not get the same results.]
[She sounds so arrogant. Has she never seen teams from small cities?]
[Was she born living in the heavens or something?]
[But what she said makes sense, doesn’t it? If their main DPS had a higher extraordinary rank, Dingchan’s strong coordination would’ve made beating Liuping much easier.]
[But again—is it that Dingchan doesn’t want a stronger main DPS?]
Of course not. No city team would choose to field a first-year if they had a stronger main DPS available.
With their healer gone, Liuping launched a frenzied counterattack. Dingchan didn’t make any major mistakes during this phase; their responses were fairly complete.
But in Xu Zhi’s eyes, that kind of plain “completeness” equaled formulaic play.
“Coordinated teamwork. More stable defense than Liuping. But zero creativity.”
She had already seen through them. What this team relied on was long-practiced synergy and cooperation—the cohesion of a new team that had fought its way into the League, along with Qiu Jing’s ability as a first-year to link together the reactions of his teammates’ abilities.
The chemical reactions between those abilities formed a series of “cards.” Lacking creativity, lacking aggression—but steady and coordinated, they built a card table upon which this new team could play the cards in their hands.
Once those cards ran out, the team would reach its dead end.
Moreover, they were currently facing a third-rate seeded group like Liuping. Against such opponents, playing a single card could catch them off guard and secure advantage. But against a team with absolute overwhelming strength, the seemingly stable card table they built would be crushed in an instant—fragile and useless.
Like a perfectly woven spiderweb that could still be swept away by two casual fingers.
Relying on coordination, Dingchan withstood Liuping’s counterattack. Though half their members were heavily injured, they still had a healer and could recover somewhat. Liuping had none—their overall condition deteriorated far more severely.
“The trajectory of the match seems clear now. Unexpectedly, the seeded team Liuping is about to lose their very first group-stage match against a team that came through the qualifiers.”
“That’s not good news for Liuping!”
“First-year Qiu Jing makes another move! Even without ice or snow assisting him, his individual strength is nothing to underestimate! Liuping’s support—one of the few still in relatively good condition—has been directly struck. It seems that focusing too much on teammates’ status made him neglect his own safety!”
[Definitely the worst seeded team! Embarrassing!]
[What was that support thinking? Such a huge mistake? Can’t even protect himself?]
[He just helped his sub-DPS and got caught by the opposing first-year. You can’t expect him to multitask perfectly in such an intense fight.]
[That first-year may not be dazzling, but he performed pretty well. At least he didn’t drag the team down.]
As the comments scrolled, the outcome was decided.
“Liuping’s support has fallen! Liuping’s captain has chosen to surrender rather than continue resisting!”
“Let’s congratulate Team Dingchan for securing their first victory in the group stage after advancing from the qualifiers!”
Xiaoxiao’s voice was passionate, stirring the audience’s emotions.
“This qualifier dark horse continues its journey! Even against a seeded team, they’ve created another miracle—truly astonishing.”
“I wonder what our two guest competitors today think of this special team? Any expectations for them?”
Shu Yushan hurried to answer first. “I can see why this team was able to break through the qualifiers. I hope they keep it up.”
It was a completely harmless line. His logic was simple: never speak after Xu Zhi. He knew his junior absolutely wouldn’t say anything kind.
Even in his opinion, this match hadn’t been particularly entertaining—let alone in hers.
Sure enough, on screen, the girl had already taken off her headset, seemingly ready to leave. At the question, she paused slightly and pulled a faint smile at the corner of her lips.
“Thoughts?”
“A mediocre main DPS. Mediocre decisions and command. A mediocre team. And a mediocre match.”
“I don’t really know why I came today. It didn’t feel very meaningful.”
“Expectations?”
A polite smile rested clearly on her face. Her tone was gentle enough.
Yet her words carried an indescribable sense of superiority—like a lofty goddess lowering her gaze from above, watching ants dance at her feet in a futile attempt to catch her attention.
“I have no expectations for this team.”
