Was It Really Him?

"Yi Yan, Kuang Dao, they're here." Invincible Sword of Overwhelming Might ran over to War Hero Yi Yan and whispered a few words in his ear. Kuang Dao leaned in to listen too, and his brow immediately furrowed. He was about to speak when War Hero Yi Yan raised a hand to stop him.

"What's wrong?" Kuang Dao was clearly furious; even his voice came out in an angry growl. "That guy's obviously a plant Cloud Pavilion brought in, or he's one of their own, sent here specifically to make trouble for us. Now that we've surrounded him and he can't escape, he's calling in reinforcements. Fuck! Do they think our Ninth Division is a pushover?"

"It might not be that simple," War Hero Yi Yan said gravely. "Sure, War Hero and Cloud Pavilion don't get along all that well, but that's between the guilds. If there's anything to discuss, the two guild leaders should sit down over drinks themselves. At most, you and I are just errand boys down below, right? You heard it just now too. Miss Yun herself has come over. Think about it... does that seem normal to you?"

Kuang Dao immediately fell silent. That analysis had tipped him off to something too... Right, she was a guild leader, after all, with tens of thousands under her command. What were he and Yi Yan? They barely had a thousand people between them. Even if members of the two guilds had clashed, Cloud Pavilion should have sent some middle-ranking officer. Why would the guild leader come in person?

No! Something fishy was going on!

At that thought, Kuang Dao turned toward War Hero Yi Yan, his meaning obvious.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't know what's going on either." The chief Guild Leader was blunt about it, putting up a wall without even bothering to hear what his old friend wanted to ask.

Rebuffed, Kuang Dao had no choice but to put his own brain to work.

Logically, anyone who could get the Yun family's young lady boss to come in person had to be someone extraordinary. Who could it be...? Right! Wasn't whats-his-name always going on about those two sisters from Cloud Pavilion having something or other going on with a certain guy? Could it be...?

Kuang Dao had a sharp mind. A little thought, and the pieces immediately began to fall into place.

If that really was the case, the Ninth Division had picked a fight with someone they shouldn't have... Fortunately, Kuang Dao was no ordinary fellow, and he felt no particular pressure over it. It wasn't his first time going head-to-head with a gaming god, anyway. Compared with everyone else, he even had some valuable "combat experience."

"Kid." Kuang Dao patted Xiao Xiaoxian and tried to put on a smile. "You really look up to the Beaconfire Team, don't you?"

"Huh? Kuang Dao, what are you...?" The young man clearly failed to grasp the deputy division chief's intentions. Hesitantly, he said, "Yes, all the gods on Beaconfire are my idols. I've told you before. Carefree Immortal was my first spiritual mentor. He..."

"I know, I remember..." Kuang Dao had no patience for listening to him gush over his idols. He hastily cut him off and asked, "We all know you've got skills, kid. Now there's something I want to ask you."

"Oh, no, I've still got a long way to go." The young man was quite modest, but it was obvious that the deputy chief's praise had pleased him. The sight of him secretly reveling in it while trying to suppress his smile made the veteran guild members nearby chuckle.

Kuang Dao had no time for any of that nonsense. He thought for a moment, then said quietly, "We spent quite a while fighting that Mage just now. Whatever else, I know he's a formidable guy. We tried all those approaches and still couldn't take him down. Whether it's his skill or his cunning, I really do admire him."

What? Admire?

Several Ninth Division old hands who had been pricking up their ears to eavesdrop were instantly dumbfounded. Kuang Dao had deliberately lowered his voice, so they couldn't hear him clearly, but they had definitely caught the word "admire"... Now that was strange. Kuang Dao actually admired that rookie Xiao Xiaoxian?

Xiao Xiaoxian had no idea what anyone else was thinking. He answered earnestly, "Yes, Kuang Dao. I can say for certain that the Mage's skills are professional-level."

Kuang Dao pressed him. "I don't really understand where the line between professional-level players and ordinary players like us lies. Help me analyze it. Just how good is he?"

Xiao Xiaoxian visibly fell silent for a moment before answering hesitantly, "Kuang Dao, it's not that I don't want to tell you. You know how limited my own skills are. Asking me to assess and judge his ability is a little difficult... Anyway, from what I saw, we never managed to push him into a desperate situation, so it's hard to judge his true level."

Kuang Dao nearly coughed up blood. I've spent all this time humbling myself to ask you, and that's your conclusion? Are you doing this on purpose, kid?

Frustrated, Kuang Dao could only try to lead him along. "Is there a chance... I'm only saying a 'chance,' mind you, that the guy really is... One Leaf Windwalk himself?"

"What?!" Xiao Xiaoxian's cry made all the eavesdroppers around them shrink back. They had been frustrated by how quietly the pair were talking, craning their necks and straining their ears. Xiao Xiaoxian's outburst gave them quite a fright... Damn it! He nearly gave us a heart attack!

Kuang Dao had a pretty good idea now. The reason he had spoken aloud rather than sending a private text message was to see the young man's immediate reaction. Just as he'd expected! The kid was a total greenhorn who hadn't yet learned the meaning of keeping his composure.

Still, this also confirmed that the young man knew little about the matter, and War Hero Yi Yan hadn't secretly consulted him behind Kuang Dao's back. Damn it, Yi Yan had been letting this little greenhorn take part in decision-making a lot lately. That wasn't a good sign.

"K-Kuang Dao, is that true?" The young man could feel his heart pounding in his chest, sending his blood pressure soaring! Was this a joke? Fighting God Ye out in the field? That... that was way too exciting!

"I don't know either. I'm just guessing." Of course Kuang Dao wasn't going to volunteer his information to Xiao Xiaoxian. He was enjoying the young man's expression far too much.

See that? That was how a leader operated! There were things I knew, but I simply wouldn't tell you. Better still, I loved looking perfectly innocent and saying I didn't know either. You'd have to work harder on this yourself, young man. Opportunities were there for you youngsters, after all. Keep at it. I had faith in you.

Naturally, Xiao Xiaoxian understood none of those twists and turns. He was already completely absorbed in the fact that he had "crossed swords with God Ye."

Kuang Dao pondered a little longer, then nudged War Hero Yi Yan and said quietly, "I'm thinking that Mage really might be 'that person.'"

War Hero Yi Yan nodded. "We can't confirm it yet, but given the current situation, that does seem the most likely possibility."

Kuang Dao said, "So One Leaf Windwalk has joined Cloud Pavilion? We'd better report this to the guild leader as soon as possible."

War Hero Yi Yan shook his head and slowly said, "Not necessarily."

Kuang Dao asked in puzzlement, "How so?"

War Hero Yi Yan said, "Here's what I think. Cloud Pavilion isn't a club guild. It's much the same as our War Hero Family, really: a money-making machine that hasn't extended its reach into the Professional League. Besides, even guilds affiliated with teams rarely have team members participate directly in guild activities, let alone a superstar like One Leaf Windwalk. Join Cloud Pavilion? I doubt Cloud Pavilion would even have the nerve to suggest it."

Kuang Dao nodded without speaking. His old friend's point wasn't hard to understand. The Yanhuang League had twenty-four teams in total, and each club had an affiliated guild that operated under its name, collecting materials, amassing in-game currency, and so on to support the team.

People rarely saw team members come to a guild in person to help it grow... No! That ought to be called an "inspection." Although neither side was technically subordinate to the other, everyone knew that the people playing in competitions were the big shots. How could you not pamper them and cater to them? The big bosses behind the teams favored those players, after all.

It was no big deal for professional players to help their own guilds, but that depended on the circumstances-for instance, a particularly important epic quest. Even then, those who came were only second-string players. Want a star player to help? Sorry, you'd have to discuss that with the boss personally. Otherwise, forget it.

As for One Leaf Windwalk... calling him a first-rate player would be selling him short! He was a top name, a superstar, a team captain! What's more, he was famous for his wild, unrestrained nature as the "Light of Freedom," something even many people overseas loved to talk about.

When the Beaconfire Team had been competing for a World Cup berth, people had already wanted to buy it. After it won the World Cup, it became an even greater favorite among the big bosses! Those old baldies had all gone all out, desperate to bring it under their banners.

What was that? Money? How could money possibly be a problem?! We businessmen lacked all sorts of things, but money wasn't one of them!

But One Leaf Windwalk hadn't given any of them the time of day! He had also refused to establish his own club! The guy had even refused to participate in the Yanhuang League's professional competition... Who in the game could possibly rein in a man like that?

Join Cloud Pavilion? What a joke. No guild would dare entertain that hope... He couldn't even be bothered to play in the professional league, making it perfectly clear that he didn't care about money, fame, or any of that. He already had it all. Why would he tag along with you and join a guild? How naive could you be, buddy?

Of course, Kuang Dao had his reasons for thinking along those lines.

The Beaconfire Team's world championship victory had been two tournaments ago. In the last tournament, their results had been absolute shit, and they had disbanded right afterward... Nobody knew the precise reason, and none of them had ever come forward to explain it. In other words, however glorious they had been, that was all in the past. Past glory wouldn't put food on the table.

No matter how wildly popular something became, its hype only lasted so long. Beaconfire had certainly been red-hot the year it won the championship, but instead of seizing the opportunity to expand aggressively, it had refused to play in the professional league and simply drifted along. As time passed, the excitement naturally faded. Now, several years later, things were very different indeed.

In many people's eyes, the Beaconfire Team was already a thing of the past, representing former glory... and nothing more. Kuang Dao dared to go head-to-head with those gods partly because he was rough and bold, but also because he knew Beaconfire's members had no club backing them and couldn't directly challenge a major guild with overwhelming numbers.

But on second thought, Kuang Dao laughed at his own momentary notion. One Leaf Windwalk's standing in professional circles needed no explanation. It didn't matter whether Kuang Dao acknowledged it or not. The man simply didn't want to play with the clubs. If he ever decided otherwise, whichever club he wanted to join would surely send everyone out hundreds of meters to line the road and welcome him!

All that talk of having "no backing" was meaningless. He could find some in minutes! Nobody would care if that meant offending the War Hero Family. Compared with recruiting the captain of a World Cup champion team, did the War Hero Family even matter? Clearly, it wasn't worth a damn!

After working through all that, Kuang Dao more or less understood... Perhaps Cloud Pavilion simply wanted to seize this opportunity to curry favor. Having God Ye join their guild was absurd, but earning his goodwill would still be extremely useful. If they ran into something difficult to resolve in the future, he might just be able to help.

Still... some of those rumors sounded awfully convincing! One Leaf Windwalk didn't care about money or fame, but nobody had said he didn't care about women! Everyone knew what Cloud Pavilion was like~~ It had loads of girls! Not to mention that its guild leader and deputy guild leader were a famously beautiful pair of sisters! Could it be...?

The corners of Kuang Dao's mouth slowly curled upward, and his gaze began to grow dreamy... Xiao Xiaoxian happened to glance his way and immediately shuddered, breaking out in goosebumps!

Oh my god, was... was that the legendary lecherous grin?