Huya, in Lü Dehua's livestream.
On the left, Zhuzi, a national-server Dharma player, gave a thumbs-up. "Lü Dehua, really weak!"
In the middle, Dehua held his phone and let out a heh-heh-heh donkey laugh, like Fan Jin passing the imperial examination.
On the right, Xijianchui of the Huachuang Guild held his forehead helplessly. "Brother Zhuzi, Brother Hua just got lucky and scored a triple kill with Lu Bu in his last ranked match. Do you have to praise him for so long?"
"What the hell do you know?!" Dehua put on an arrogant mask. "My game skills are back at their 2568 peak tonight. Even if I run into an Overlord player, I can strike them down from their horse!"
"So the remnant soul of 2568 has possessed you, huh?"
Xijianchui grumbled weakly, just about to argue back.
A surprised female voice came from Dehua's phone.
"Is fifth pick Brother Hua?"
"Huh?"
Hearing a familiar voice, Dehua's eyes lit up. "Yun Shu? Is that you in fourth pick, little sister Yun Shu?"
"It really is you, Brother Hua." Yun Shu in fourth pick showed no surprise at all. Instead, she looked as miserable as if she had eaten a dead child. "Did you borrow another account?"
The words "borrow an account" brought back painful memories for Dehua. Not long after he had started streaming, he had happily collected five ranked losses in a row. Trembling with rage, he had pointed at the camera, his expression changing from determination to indignation to grievance before he finally gave in helplessly. "One more loss, and I'm borrowing an account!"
After six consecutive losses, his credit score had taken a massive hit, barring him from peak ranked matches. He had no choice but to borrow the hundred-star account of his beloved disciple Xijianchui, who was sitting beside him.
Zhuzi laughed. "Little sister Yun Shu, Dehua's Lu Bu is red-hot right now. He's showing every sign of returning to his peak. He'll definitely carry you this game!"
"I just hope Brother Hua doesn't throw." Yun Shu sighed and accepted it. "A fan tipped me off just now. They said the enemy's fifth pick is Exalted Emperor."
"Exalted Emperor?"
Dehua froze.
Zhuzi and Xijianchui were stunned too.
They had naturally been keeping an eye on the rookie streamer who had recently stirred up the Honor of Kings scene.
As a national-server clash lane player, Xijianchui said with a grave look, "Brother Hua, Exalted Emperor even took down the Strongest Overlord. You'd better let me play."
Hearing Xijianchui's voice, Yun Shu perked up. "Yes, yes, Brother Hua, give the phone to Achui."
"Exalted Emperor is nothing. I'll finish him with one strike of my halberd." Dehua locked in Lu Bu and declared arrogantly, "Just watch. This game, I'll beat Exalted Emperor until he's crying for his parents!"
"Let Dehua try," Zhuzi cut in. "Maybe his wild punches will beat the old master and take Exalted Emperor down."
Seeing this, Yun Shu stopped insisting. After all, Xijianchui was right beside Dehua. If things went wrong, he could take over immediately.
"Exalted Emperor's playing mid?"
The moment they saw the enemy choose a mid-lane hero, Dehua, Zhuzi, and the others froze.
"He picked him?"
"Practice long enough, and every sword will strike true!"
Douyin, in Su Hang's livestream.
Su Hang locked in Gan & Mo as his hero and spent 1,688 vouchers to unlock Gan's Long-Victorious God of War skin!
The chat immediately exploded!
"Holy shit! Gan?"
"Wait, Boss Exalted Emperor, are you going for national-server Gan & Mo?"
"Good grief, Gan's a popular mage. The glory power needed for a major national badge is nearly sixteen thousand. Can you get it in three days?"
Su Hang said easily, "Whether I can or not, I won't know until I try."
The viewers were dumbfounded. They had thought Exalted Emperor was going to spend three days racing for a major national badge on an unpopular mage. Never in their wildest dreams had they expected him to challenge the major national badge for the popular mage Gan in three days!
This couldn't be called difficult.
It was a tale from the Arabian Nights, absolutely impossible to accomplish!
The game entered the loading screen.
Su Hang's side: Ying (Teleport), Baili Xuance (Smite), Gan & Mo (Flash), Di Renjie (Flash), Sang Qi (Flash)
Yun Shu and Dehua's side: Lu Bu (Flash), Pei Qinhu (Smite), Wang Zhaojun (Flash), Goya (Sprint), Sun Bin (Purify)
"Welcome to Honor of Kings. The enemy will reach the battlefield in five seconds. Prepare yourselves. All troops, charge!"
With the familiar opening announcement, the game officially began.
Su Hang leveled his second and third skills, bought basic boots, and headed straight for mid lane with Mo in his arms.
"Master Exalted Emperor, do you need me to help you clear the wave?"
In the text chat, their support Sang Qi asked.
Su Hang replied, "No need. Go help Xuance in the red jungle, and watch out for the enemy Pei Qinhu invading!"
Although the enemy lineup wasn't strong early on and an invade was unlikely, as the saying went, it wasn't the ten thousand you feared, but the one in ten thousand. It never hurt to be careful.
He reached the brush on the left side of mid lane and first glanced at the river brush by the Overlord pit. Only after making sure the enemy Pei Qinhu wasn't there and the blue buff was safe did he carry Mo out of the brush.
Just then, Wang Zhaojun approached with her staff raised.
Su Hang had no intention of paying her any attention. He fired his third skill, Twin Swords: Far. The flying sword on one side swept fully across all four minions. His second skill, Twin Swords: Near, followed, sweeping fully across them again.
All four minions were left with a sliver of health.
Su Hang moved Gan closer and delivered two quick slaps. The juicy minion wave went into his pocket, and golden light swirled around him as he rose to level two.
By contrast, the enemy Wang Zhaojun had only just cleared the two front minions.
Su Hang was about to head up to clash lane for a routine assist when, unexpectedly, the enemy Sun Bin appeared from the brush on the right side of mid, riding a bicycle.
Su Hang immediately narrowed his eyes and changed his mind.
"Better to arrive at the right moment than early, Sun Bin."
On the right side of mid lane.
The enemy Sun Bin tossed a Time Bomb toward the minion wave from a distance.
Su Hang's fingers moved at extreme speed. He used Flash, placed himself in front of two allied minions with low health, and got right in Wang Zhaojun's face, catching Sun Bin's timed bomb with perfect precision.
Sun Bin's little head was full of big questions. He couldn't understand why Gan & Mo had deliberately caught the bomb. Was it just to blow himself up? Wasn't he asking for trouble?
Su Hang pressed his first skill, Sword Grave Thrust, pushing straight ahead. Wang Zhaojun couldn't dodge in time and took both knockback hits. Her ice-blue figure traced a graceful arc through the air before landing some distance away.
At that moment.
The timer on the bomb attached to Su Hang's Gan ran out, and it exploded with a boom. The two allied minions beside him lost the last of their health and died.
Sun Bin's level ring turned, taking him from level one to level one and a half!
In the distance, Wang Zhaojun, also at level one and a half, stood dumbfounded.
Sun Bin and Wang Zhaojun stared at each other.
Silence!
A deathly silence fell over King's Canyon.
The chat in Su Hang's livestream scrolled frantically, bursting with laughter.
"Holy shit! That's so mean, Boss Exalted Emperor, you're too mean!"
"I'm fucking dying! Boss Exalted Emperor deliberately used Flash to catch the bomb, then pushed Zhaojun away so the bomb would kill the low-health allied minions. Sun Bin got all the experience and gold, and Zhaojun can't level her second skill. She's going to cry herself unconscious in the bathroom."
"That's so fucking awesome! Those devilish details! Zhaojun missed half a wave's experience and couldn't level her second skill. She can't do anything at all!"
"That's not even the scariest part. Zhaojun will stay half a level behind Boss Exalted Emperor. When it's time for their level-four ultimates, he'll be a step ahead and can support the side lanes sooner! Zhaojun can only wait helplessly in mid for a wave to reach level four."
"The key is that Zhaojun's team has three carries this match. As the utility mid, she can't go leech experience from the jungle or other lanes either. It's agony!"
"I just came back from Yun Shu's stream. Zhaojun's furious and turned on her mic to demand what the support was playing at. Sun Bin couldn't clear his name with a hundred mouths; the poor kid was so anxious he cried."
Su Hang nodded in satisfaction.
What could a mid laner do when it was hard to set the tempo?
No problem.
As long as his play was detailed enough, there was no tempo he couldn't set!
After clearing the second minion wave.
While waiting for the third wave, he dragged the camera over to the top clash lane.
Their Ying was being ruthlessly suppressed under the tower by the enemy Lu Bu. Clad in Heavenly Demon Chaos, Lu Bu even used the skin's dance animation to taunt him.
"This Lu Bu's a little cocky."
Su Hang murmured, "Looks like I need to teach him how to behave."