"Brother Yun, what happened to your promise to help me reach King rank? When are we doing it?"
Zhou Da came over as soon as class ended, his eyes full of anticipation.
"After midnight tonight," Ling Yun said as he packed his schoolbag. "I have to climb the Peak Tournament before midnight."
"Got it! Brother Yun is awesome!"
Zhou Da beamed, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right, Brother Yun, we haven't added each other on QQ yet!
"Hurry up and add me. It'll make it easier for you to call me!" The two swiftly scanned each other's QR codes and added one another as friends.
When he got home, Ling Yun became like a precision machine running on a preset program. Right on time, he opened Honor of Kings and began his Peak Tournament climb.
At this score range—2,300 and above—it was a place full of hidden experts. Professional players and top streamers were everywhere.
However, faced with Ling Yun's inhuman mechanics, awareness, and overall game sense, the so-called "top experts" were crushed one after another!
Whether it was his overwhelming dominance during the laning phase or his elusive dives and cleanups in team fights, he displayed power that surpassed the current version of the game!
After a fierce battle that lasted until midnight, the enemy crystal exploded for the final time, and Ling Yun's record settled at 65 games, a 93.8% win rate, and 2,300 Peak points!
With undisputed dominance, he overwhelmed the man whose ID was "Longing Turns into a Sea"—the top professional jungler Flower Sea—and climbed to first place in the Peak Tournament!
Early Monday morning, the rankings were finalized! The dazzling golden "Top of the Peak" frame crowned him like a royal diadem!
[Ding! Congratulations, host! In this land of geniuses and fierce competition, King's Continent, you have successfully broken into the top ten thousand of the Genius Ranking (Peak Ranking)!] [Quest reward issued: Wind Blade Technique!] [Wind Blade Technique]: Draw upon the power of the wind element and condense compressed air at your fingertips, forming an incredibly sharp energy blade as swift as a gust of wind. It can slash enemies from a distance. [Ding! Excessive quest completion detected! With an almost impossible win rate and efficiency, you have climbed to the top of the Genius Ranking (Top of the Peak)! You have accomplished an epic feat!] [Additional reward: Wind Blade Technique advanced into—Storm Blade Domain!] [Storm Blade Domain]: A qualitative transformation based on Wind Blade Technique! The host can guide spiritual energy to instantly create a "storm domain" ten meters in diameter around himself or in a designated area! Countless berserk wind blades will whirl and slice at high speed within the domain, forming a death storm with no blind spots! It will continuously and devastatingly annihilate all enemies within its range!
"Whoa! The bonus reward is seriously powerful!" Ling Yun's eyes lit up. "A single-target instant kill has turned into an AOE clear! This was a huge profit! From now on, I have to strive for excessive quest completion!"
Just then, a team invitation popped up in the game—Jiang Yingxue had logged on right on time.
As soon as she entered the room, Jiang Yingxue's slightly stubborn voice rang out. "Ling Yun! I'm playing mid today! I'm going to carry! I don't want to win by being carried anymore!"
Her tone was filled with the determination to prove herself.
"No problem," Ling Yun readily agreed. "As it happens, I promised to help a classmate reach King rank. How about we play as a trio? He can play support or a side lane."
"Male or female?"
Jiang Yingxue asked instinctively, her voice carrying a hint of nervousness that was difficult to detect.
"Male. My deskmate, Zhou Da."
"Oh... Then that's fine."
Jiang Yingxue breathed a sigh of relief. Her voice then grew softer, tinged with embarrassment. "But... I'm a little socially anxious. I'm not used to talking over voice chat with people I don't know well... I'll just type in the game later."
"I understand," Ling Yun said with a laugh. "But you seem pretty relaxed when you talk to me. You have quite a lot to say, too."
"That... That's different!"
Jiang Yingxue's voice was clearly shy, as if she were struggling to explain herself. "Maybe it's because... your voice sounds reassuring? I feel... even more relaxed than when I talk to my family..."
After saying that, she felt she had been too direct and hurriedly muted herself.
Ling Yun felt warmth spread through his chest, and the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably. Being treated specially and trusted like this truly felt wonderful.
Before long, Zhou Da, whose ID was "I'm Raising Pigs on the Frontline" (Rank: 1-star Diamond II), was pulled into the room.
"Brother Yun! Your ID is awesome! 'S of Honor of Kings'? Are you implying that everyone in Honor of Kings is S... as in sh*t? Hahahaha!"
As soon as Zhou Da entered, he switched on his "trash-talk" mode, his laughter exceptionally bizarre.
"Get lost! Do you even know how to talk?"
Ling Yun cursed at him with a laugh. "Keep slandering your brother and I'll let you run wild! Hurry up and get ready. There's still a beauty waiting beside us!"
"A beauty?!" Only then did Zhou Da notice that there was another person in the room. "Holy crap! Brother Yun, are you dating someone online? That was fast!"
"Dating your own head!" Ling Yun said irritably. "She's Jiang Yingqing's older sister! She also likes playing Honor of Kings, so we've been playing together often lately."
"Beauty Jiang's older sister?!"
Zhou Da's voice shot up an octave, overflowing with gossipy excitement. "Then she must be goddess-level too! Hello, Sister! My name is Zhou Da. I'm Jiang Yingqing's classmate, and also Brother Yun's most loyal underling!"
"Hello, Zhou Da. I... can't really use voice chat, so let's communicate by typing in the game." Jiang Yingxue typed in the team channel.
"No problem, no problem! Please do as you like, Sister! Being able to play with a goddess older sister is already a pleasure—even just looking at your ID without hearing you speak!"
Zhou Da's simp nature was fully exposed.
"The Seventh Class has assembled! King's Canyon, launch!" Zhou Da shouted in a strange tone.
"What the heck, you're an anime-reference addict too? You're done for." Ling Yun was so amused that he almost burst out laughing.
Upon entering the ban-and-pick screen, the three of them occupied positions one, two, and three.
Jiang Yingxue instantly locked in Daji, determined to shine in the mid lane.
"Brother Yun, what are you playing? Continuing to carry from the side lane?" Zhou Da asked.
"Of course. A real man plays the side lane!" Ling Yun replied casually.
"Huh? The side lane? Brother Yun, to be honest, that's my main position too..." Zhou Da's voice carried the awkwardness of two players competing for the same lane.
"It's fine. With Brother Yun carrying you, I'll play support and lie down... I mean, protect you!"
Zhou Da instantly changed his attitude and locked in Zhang Fei.
Ling Yun confidently locked in Ma Chao.
"By the way, Brother Yun, how many points do you have in the Peak Tournament now? I entered too quickly to see your profile clearly."
Zhou Da asked curiously. This was also what Jiang Yingxue wanted to know; she hadn't had time to look either.
"Why the rush? You'll know once we enter the game."
Ling Yun kept them in suspense.
"Oh, Brother Yun is being mysterious! Hehe, but I like it!"
Zhou Da continued clowning around.
The lineup was finalized:
Blue Side (Ling Yun's team):
Side lane: Ma Chao (Ling Yun), Sprint
Mid lane: Daji (Jiang Yingxue), Flash
Jungle: Han Xin, Smite
Farm lane: Lu Ban No. 7, Flash
Roamer: Zhang Fei (Zhou Da), Heal
Red Side:
Side lane: Lu Bu, Flash
Mid lane: Angela, Flash
Jungle: King Lanling, Smite
Farm lane: Di Renjie, Flash
Roamer: Bull Demon, Flash
The loading screen lit up!
Zhou Da's eyes immediately focused on Ling Yun's Ma Chao loading frame—the striking golden "Top of the Peak" frame, along with the gleaming provincial No. 1 Ma Chao emblem beside his avatar!
"Holy—crap—!!!"
Zhou Da's shout nearly tore the roof off. "Top of the Peak?! Provincial No. 1 Ma Chao?! Brother Yun! You, you, you... Have you been cultivating in the Canyon these past few days?! Does it have to be this ridiculous?!"
He finally understood why Ling Yun had said he would see once they entered the game.
"Calm down. It's just basic operation."
Ling Yun's voice carried a hint of lazy smugness. "Reaching first place? As easy as drinking water. By the way, my Ma Chao is currently at National Server No. 1 level. The Grand National Emblem won't be awarded until next month's settlement, though. Treasure this match. Being able to fight alongside the Top of the Peak and future National Server No. 1 Ma Chao is a blessing you earned over eight lifetimes!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Brother Yun is mighty! Brother Yun is domineering! My rank this season is all up to you, Brother Yun!"
Zhou Da immediately switched into bootlicker mode, his fawning tone sweet enough to drip honey.
At the same time, a message from Jiang Yingxue appeared in the chat box in the lower-left corner:
Daji (Jiang Yingxue): You're amazing! You reached Top of the Peak so quickly! Unlike me, I still need you to carry me to King rank...[Emote: Adoration]
She was afraid that typing too slowly would make it seem as if she did not care enough about Ling Yun's achievement.
Ma Chao (Ling Yun): Thanks for the praise![Emote: Smile] You actually play pretty well. Your awareness is good, and even if you didn't queue with me, you'd definitely have no trouble reaching King rank solo. Besides, queuing with a beauty is a pleasure in itself![Emote: Doge]
On the other side, Jiang Yingxue was lying on a soft bed. When she saw Ling Yun's words about "queuing with a beauty being a pleasure," two red clouds instantly bloomed on her cheeks, and her heartbeat inexplicably quickened. She hurriedly buried her burning face in her pillow.
"Hey, hey, hey! That's too much!"
Zhou Da began to wail dramatically, his tone filled with a single man's resentment. "I just want to climb in peace. Do you really have to stuff dog food down my throat like this? I had to eat dog food at school while watching you with my goddess Jiang Yingqing, and now I have to eat it while gaming with you and my goddess's older sister! How am I supposed to live like this? Brother Yun, you're truly scum!"
Ling Yun completely ignored Zhou Da's complaints. Controlling Ma Chao, clad in silver armor and wielding the Coldglow Spear, he charged toward the side lane with soaring momentum.
Meanwhile, when Jiang Yingxue saw that Ling Yun had not responded to Zhou Da's accusation of him being a "scumbag," an inexplicable, faint disappointment welled up in her heart. Controlling Daji, she headed toward the mid-lane river brush somewhat absentmindedly.
"Sigh, looks like I'm too bright a third wheel..."
Seeing that both of them had fallen "silent," Zhou Da instead chuckled, wearing the smug satisfaction of someone whose prank had succeeded. "Little Lu Ban, don't be afraid. Brother Da will protect you!"
Controlling Zhang Fei, he strode with a swagger that disregarded everyone around him and headed to the farm lane with Lu Ban.
Before you continue