On Douyin, the stream ranked tenth in the gaming category.
With hundreds of thousands of viewers online, this was the stream of Zongshi, an immensely popular Honor of Kings streamer known for his skill.
Messages packed the public chat, while effects for expensive gifts flashed one after another.
"Congratulations to Zongshi on breaking three million followers! You truly deserve the title of the internet's number-one peak-ranked jungler!"
"Before you stands the genius youth who slaughtered all the mid-lane one-tricks at fifteen, won the Mid Lane Overlord's throne at sixteen, dominated the top three peak rankings as a jungler at seventeen, and is about to claim the jungle overlord's throne at eighteen—Zongshi!"
"A genius who doesn't boast of his talent will one day become a legend. Wishing baby Zongshi the jungle overlord title at the upcoming Overlord Feast!"
"If you ask me how dominant Zongshi is in the jungle, all I can say is, he makes you feel safer than a condom!"
"I can't wait to see Zongshi beat Wolves' Xiaopang at the Overlord Feast and take the jungle overlord's throne."
"Damn! The first-ever overlord in two positions is about to be born. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil."
Wearing a white N95 mask, Zongshi watched the chat messages fawn over him like stars clustered around the moon. His slender eyes shone with high spirits, and his vanity reached its peak.
Thinking back on everything he had been through,
he could only say he was worthy of being called a genius!
He started playing Honor of Kings at fourteen and quietly honed his skills for a year. At fifteen, his skills and career took off. He joined the Wuhan EG Club as a gold-medal paid gaming companion and rank booster, claimed the Mid Lane Overlord's throne at sixteen, and entered the Honor of Kings streaming scene.
At eighteen, he became one of the top elite streamers in the scene.
"I couldn't have achieved what I have today without the support and company of all my brothers and sisters. At August's Overlord Feast, I, Zongshi, won't let you down. I'll take the jungle overlord's throne and repay you all!"
Zongshi's spirited declaration instantly brought the stream's atmosphere to a climax, and his loyal wealthy female fans sent expensive gifts one after another.
Only ten minutes after the stream began, the total value of gifts in Zongshi's stream reached a terrifying hundred thousand yuan.
"Yesterday, [Sister Ning]'s fan club level reached the maximum of twenty. I'm sure you brothers and sisters have seen the celebration video," Zongshi said with a smile. "So today, I'll keep my promise and help Sister Ning reach Honor rank!"
Quite a few viewers openly envied her. Reaching the maximum fan club level required fifty thousand yuan in gifts. All they could say was that this wealthy woman called Sister Ning really had the means.
Zongshi logged into [Sister Ning]'s Honor of Kings account. As soon as he entered the game lobby, the account's wealth dazzled him: it had one million vouchers!
The viewers were amazed.
"Holy crap! Her remaining vouchers alone are worth a hundred thousand yuan. That's inhumanly rich! No wonder she's such a famous wealthy woman in the Honor of Kings scene! It's like a knife slicing open my ass-what an eye-opener!"
With countless fans watching expectantly, Zongshi opened the nobility rankings. Sure enough, Sister Ning's account was on the list, ninth in the country!
Her Honor V10 Radiance points had reached an alarming three million, equivalent to three hundred thousand yuan.
"That's insane, Sister Ning." Zongshi's scalp tingled. Honor of Kings wasn't a money-burning game, but the fact that she had spent three hundred thousand yuan and still had another hundred thousand left showed just how deep her pockets were.
At once, Zongshi resolved to cling tightly to Sister Ning's thigh. He had to maintain a good relationship with her.
A message from Sister Ning floated across the chat. "I'm nothing special. The lady in first place is the one we can only look up to."
Zongshi looked at the person ranked first on the national nobility rankings. Although he had seen it countless times, he was still shocked every time.
Account nickname: [Liuli]
Honor V10 Radiance points: [180 million]
It was an utterly fantastical, unreal number.
If not for the fact that this female player called [Liuli] had occupied first place on the nobility rankings for ten years straight, and that the Honor of Kings officials had personally confirmed that Liuli had topped up with real money,
he would have thought she had exploited a bug to rack it up.
Zongshi looked away and turned to the public chat, comforting her. "She is the [Whale Overlord], after all. Sister Ning, you really shouldn't sell yourself short."
That was right.
This Liuli was the [Whale Overlord], one of the two unshakable special overlords among the seven overlords, and was hailed as the richest female Honor of Kings player!
Liuli was also the wealthy woman countless Honor of Kings streamers dreamed of attracting. After all, casually topping up an account with more than ten million yuan took more than simply having a mine at home. She was undoubtedly a young lady from an aristocratic family.
After that little interlude,
Zongshi opened the ranked-match interface.
The account was at King rank with one star. He had privately promised Sister Ning he would reach Honor rank on a winning streak, so he gave it his full attention.
After all, Sister Ning's account had a perfect record across multiple seasons. Unlike the other wealthy female fans won over by his charm, Sister Ning valued his overlord-level jungle skills, which could guarantee a winning streak.
That was why she had spent lavishly to raise her fan club level to the maximum.
Zongshi clicked to start matchmaking and declared boldly, "Before I end the stream tonight, everyone will witness a woman's account reach Honor rank with a hundred percent win rate!"
If anyone else had said that, the viewers would certainly have thought he was bragging. But coming from Zongshi, it was something that would soon become reality!
Six seconds later, a match was found.
They entered the ranked draft screen. Zongshi was in the second slot, but to his frustration, the system had assigned him to mid lane.
Although he had won the Mid Lane Overlord title two years ago, he had focused on improving his jungle play since then. Now, his mid-lane skills were at best on par with the top hundred peak-ranked players, and at the start of the season, when all sorts of players were mixed together,
he simply couldn't guarantee a hundred percent win rate.
So he turned on his mic to speak with the teammate assigned to the jungle.
"Brother in fourth slot, can we swap positions? I'm the number-one jungler on the Chinese server. I guarantee I'll carry."
The fourth player's microphone flashed, and a sagacious voice came through.
"Are you Zongshi?"
The familiar voice startled Zongshi.
"Liu Wei? Are you Liu Wei?"
Liu Wei in the fourth slot was overjoyed. "I screw your monkey, it really is Zongshi! Yeah, yeah, it's me, Liu Wei."
Zongshi was delighted. "What a coincidence, Brother Wei! Fate brought us together in the same match."
The viewers were also quite surprised. They hadn't expected Zongshi to run into Liu Wei.
Liu Wei's real name was Han Han. He was currently a top-tier Honor of Kings streamer known for his skill. In season 18, he had dominated the top three peak rankings and won that year's jungle overlord title! He could be said to have led an entire era of Honor of Kings.
"Then there's no need to swap. Brother Wei, I can trust you in the jungle." Zongshi had considerable respect for this "old senior." After all, Liu Wei had been the jungle overlord in 2020. Even if his skills had declined badly, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.
Liu Wei grew anxious. "Hey, don't do that! You play jungle. I've fucking lost three in a row, so let me get carried for once."
Liu Wei immediately swapped lanes with him.
"All right, Brother Wei, watch me this match." Zongshi didn't refuse. He was just about to chat with Liu Wei about the Overlord Feast when Liu Wei suddenly let out a strange cry of anguish.
"Ah, fuck! How did I run into this god of pestilence again?"
"Quick, ban Zhao Yun!"
"Is there a strong Zhao Yun player on the other team?" Zongshi immediately looked at his stream's chat. Many viewers who had poured in from Liu Wei's stream sent messages.
"Boss Zongshi, the fourth player on the other team is Exalted Emperor!"
"Our Liu Wei's three losses in a row were all thanks to Exalted Emperor!"
"Exalted Emperor's Zhao Yun nearly stabbed Liu Wei into a hedgehog."
Zongshi raised an eyebrow. "Is that the Exalted Emperor who gave Gu Shi an ultra-feed score in a Bronze match last night?"
He received an affirmative answer.
Zongshi was immediately intrigued. "I didn't expect an extra surprise."
As Liu Wei poured out his grievances, he warned him, "Zongshi, don't underestimate this Exalted Emperor. His jungle awareness is fucking insane, like he has a heavenly eye. He's especially sneaky, too. He ambushed and killed me at least five times in those three matches."
"Is he really that uncanny?"
Zongshi asked, half-convinced.
Liu Wei urged him earnestly, "If you take him lightly, you'll definitely regret it."
The more Liu Wei talked Exalted Emperor up, the more Zongshi felt he was exaggerating. After all, losers often talked up the winners as a way to shift the blame.
"Brother Wei, don't boost someone else's morale and crush our own."
Zongshi couldn't conceal the swagger in his voice. He had dominated the jungle peak rankings at eighteen, so he had every reason to be cocky. Besides, if you weren't going to be arrogant, why play jungle?
"Brother Wei, today I'll knock Exalted Emperor down a peg for you! I'll teach him how to spell humility!"
Bang!
The sound of a hero being locked in rang out.
Zongshi picked his signature hero-Luna!