Chapter 1376 - So-called Talent
“In the Tiny Herb versus Wind Howl, Tiny Herb has taken the first round of the group arena!”
As the match between Samsara and Hundred Blossoms continued in the live broadcast, Pan Lin also stayed alert for updates from other matches. If the other matches had developments, the people there would also prioritize sending the information to the live broadcast.
“Oh, this is good news for Hundred Blossoms. Although Hundred Blossoms themselves...” Li Yibo cut off mid-sentence.
On this side, the first round of the group arena had not yet finished, but Hundred Blossom’s situation didn’t look too good. Zeng Xingran entered the stage with a fearless attitude, and played quite courageously. However, Sun Xiang, who was first up for Samsara, was not merciful in the slightest. In a head to head, Zeng Xingran still fell short in terms of technical skill. Zeng Xingran really didn’t have many options open to him in this situation, since he did not have the experience to compensate. He desperately fought with nothing but his stubborn refusal to accept defeat.
Zeng Xingran was at his limits and did all he could, but unfortunately, he still ultimately lost to Sun Xiang.
“Can Hundred Blossoms not seize this opportunity, when it’s finally a new era for them?” Pan Lin said.
All the Hundred Blossoms fans sitting in front of the TV wiped the sweat from their brows. It was one thing if they claimed a big victory, but were still knocked out of top eight because their competitors also won hard. However, if their competitor’s match was already falling apart and Hundred Blossoms didn’t seize this opportunity, the regret would probably be harder to endure.
Fight on!
Every Hundred Blossoms fan cheered for their team wholeheartedly. They still had two players, and they happened to be Hundred Blossoms’ core players. The fans believed that they wouldn’t lose so easily.
Fight to the last breath!
Zou Yuan entered the stage with such conviction.
He wasn’t some prodigy. His current core position was already a fluke. Hundred Blossoms had been looking toward the future when they hyped up his talent with the public, but Zou Yuan knew, deep down, that it was simply a public relations move to appease the fans. He was pushed into the core position by Hundred Blossoms because they really had no other choice. Talent? Zou Yuan didn’t know what talent he possessed back then. He was confident that Hundred Blossoms didn’t know either.
But he was very grateful.
He was grateful that Hundred Blossoms used this kind of helpless and senseless method to promote him. He was grateful that the team actually kept their faith in him patiently. He did not perform well in seasons 7 and 8. In season 9, instead of abandoning him, Hundred Blossoms instead measured him up and tailored a character to his style.
In the pro circle, there was a joke that the previous Spitfire of Hundred Blossoms, Zhang Jiale, possessed upstanding moral qualities. Thus, his successor possessed outstanding fortune...
This was a joke, but Zou Yuan had to admit that he really was fortunate.
He wasn’t some eye-catching prodigy. He could not forge a path to a core position himself. He was just an ordinary player, who somehow became a core player of a team as soon as he entered the professional circle. He actually came across this kind of dumb luck. Zou Yuan had felt hesitant, perplexed, and overly pressured.
But when he came to, he realised that he was like the child of a rich parent: he was given something that others would chase for a lifetime and still not obtain, without doing anything himself.
At this point, how could he still yell out “This isn’t what I wanted!”? He would probably be beat up by a group consisting of the whole Alliance’s regular players, rotating players, substitutes, and even those who wanted to get into the Alliance but who couldn’t. If you didn’t even want this, then what the hell did you want?
As a result, Zou Yuan started working hard. Because he knew this was a rare opportunity.
He didn’t have a gift and also didn’t know what his so-called talent was. He could only double down and train hard. He would forge his talent by grinding.
In Season 9, Hundred Blossoms acquired Yu Feng. The additional core took a lot of pressure off Zou Yuan. And this season, he had made great progress.
Now in Season 10, he managed to get himself into All-Stars with his own skills.
However, up until now, Zou Yuan still didn’t know what his so-called “talent” was. He just knew to display his hard-earned skill on the battlefield, to find more paths towards victory. Every player probably did this. While honing their own skills, they would slowly develop their own “talent”. Zou Yuan always thought of it that way.
Now, Hundred Blossoms faced a do-or-die match.
He needed to use his yet to be awakened “talent” to battle someone who was dubbed a genius in the Alliance.
But Zou Yuan did not feel fear.
He was no longer that newbie who struggled to shoulder a character like Dazzling Hundred Blossoms.
He snatched up his outlandish luck, he possessed his own tailored character, and he nurtured his own confidence.
Charge!
Bright Blossoms rushed forward.
Bullets, explosives. He created a dazzling scene of his own.
He was the successor to Zhang Jiale, but had a different style to him. Zou Yuan controlled Bright Blossoms to tangle with the renowned One Autumn Leaf in combat from the get-go.
I don’t know what talent I have, but I can defeat any opponent!
“Beautiful play! Hundred Blossoms’ Zou Yuan seems to be unfazed by the current situation. He’s proactively launched an offensive and currently has Sun Xiang firmly suppressed!” Commentator Pan Lin yelled excitedly.
“He’s playing resolutely but also clear-headedly. His attacks are strong, and he’s defending well too. The group arena isn’t just defeating the opponent in front of you; there are still two opponents after Sun Xiang,” Li Yibo said.
“Especially when one of them is currently the number one in the Alliance, Zhou Zekai,” Pan Lin added.
“Even though Hundred Blossoms won against Samsara last time 7 to 3, I recall that they didn’t win the group arena,” Li Yibo said.
“Yes, last time Hundred Blossoms got two points in the individual competition,” Pan Lin agreed.
“Well, what about this time!” Li Yibo said.
This time, after sending off Sun Xiang, Zou Yuan welcomed his second opponent, Samsara’s blademaster Du Ming.
“Two more!”
Zou Yuan counted in his head calmly and continued to charge forth.
“Zou Yuan is in fantastic condition right now!” Pan Lin yelled. Zou Yuan again proactively launched an offensive this battle, and quickly gained the initiative.
“It really is fantastic,” Li Yibo also exclaimed.
It must be good, there’s no reason for it not to be.
I had this kind of luck and hit the ground running. If I don’t cherish this opportunity, what kind of future would I still have? What future would be even more brilliant than that I already had when I first started?
Having an iron grasp on my fluke, fighting tooth and nail to not let the opportunity slip away. That is probably my so-called talent!
The talent of not letting go of an opportunity that presented itself.
Because I’m the pro player who was given the best opportunity in Glory history!
Boom boom boom! As the bright flashes on the battlefield died down and the smoke cleared away, Du Ming’s blademaster was already on the ground.
“He won again!” Pan Lin was astonished. Even though he felt Zou Yuan was in great condition, he didn’t expect Zou Yuan to go that far. He managed to defeat Sun Xiang and Du Ming, while still having 41% health left on Bright Blossoms.
“Is this guy preparing for a 1v3?” Pan Lin yelled.
“...” Li Yibo was silent. His gut tells him that this would be impossible. 1v3 was hard enough, and their current opponent was Samsara... However, Li Yibo could also see that Zou Yuan was insanely fired up. A Bright Blossoms with 41% health remaining, under the control of the currently unleashed Zou Yuan, might just be able to beat the current Glory number one Zhou Zekai!
How’s it going on Wind Howl’s side?” Li Yibo suddenly asked for information from the other matches. He wanted to calm himself a bit. Zou Yuan’s sudden unleashing defeating two opponents in a row had the commentators very tense.
“Tiny Herb is leading, 2 against 1. Wind Howl only has Tang Hao remaining,” Pan Lin said very excitedly, even though he was a commentator and should not be biased. This was because he saw the amazing opening by Hundred Blossoms falter, followed by their hush and hesitancy after the loss of a point, and now their struggle to claw back two points. Humans had emotion; how would Pan Lin not be moved after seeing this struggle? He was really unwilling to see Hundred Blossoms’ season come to an end by losing this match, even after they gave it their all. That would be too cruel. Even though this kind of feeling would be unfair to Wind Howl, Pan Lin’s heart was with Hundred Blossoms right now. Li Yibo also had to take a deep breath. Why shouldn’t he feel like this? Why shouldn’t Hundred Blossoms deserve an outcome they worked so hard for?
“What about Happy versus 301?” Li Yibo asked again.
“On that side, 301 is in the lead,” Pan Lin said.
“If 301 wins the group arena, then they would be up 4-1 against Happy,” Li Yibo said.
“Indeed,” Pan Lin nodded.
“In that case, if Happy lost the team competition as well, they would only get 1 point this round,” Li Yibo said.
Pan Lin started. Happy only getting one point... This possibility was analyzed way before the matches started. Under these circumstances...
Pan Lin hurriedly counted the points using the current results in Hundred Blossoms’ and Wind Howl’s two matches. “Happy initially led Hundred Blossoms and Wind Howl by 7 points. If they only got one point, they would be ahead by 8. If Hundred Blossoms won this group arena and went on to win the team competition, they would have 9 points and overtake Happy! Wind Howl already has three points from the individual competition. The group arena looks bad for them, so let’s say they lose these two points and go on to win the team competition, They would get 8 points and have the same points as Happy!”
“Happy has a chance to be pushed out of the top 8??!” Pan Lin said with great alarm, and hastily checked the previous results. If they had the same points...
“Oh, no they wouldn’t. Happy would have the advantage if they had the same points as Wind Howl. Happy has already secured their spot in the Top 8. If this happened, Wind Howl would be pushed to 9th because they lost to Happy twice,” Pan Lin said.
“If Happy won instead, 301 would get 4 points added to the 2 point lead they had. With only 6 points, they would be pushed out of the top 8 if Hundred Blossoms and Wind Howl both managed to win their respective team competitions,” Li Yibo said.
“Ah, so it’s like this huh,” Pan Lin nodded.
“So in conclusion, the team competition is crucial. Whoever loses the team competition out of these three teams could then potentially lose their spot in the play-offs,” Li Yibo said.