Chapter 5

In the training room, a guy with a yellow, messy hairdo looked quite upset, clearly very angry. He was probably the one who was shouting about a duel earlier. If Bian Yan’s intuition was correct, the person called “Pei Yun Chang” should be the one with the slightly handsome face and black hair sitting at the far end. It’s not that Bian Yan wanted to describe it this way, but because the room was full of internet-addicted teenagers with dyed hair in all sorts of colors. Only he and Pei Yun Chang had natural black hair, making them stand out.

Bian Yan didn’t expect his first day to be so lively, so he leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and found himself a perfect spot to watch the show. Today, Shen Chuan and Qin Yu Xuan were not around, so it was up to Xu Ke to maintain discipline.

“Pan Shi, if you keep throwing things and arguing with your teammates, you’ll be suspended from training for a week,” Xu Ke said, hands on her hips to add authority. “And anyone else who stands by or causes trouble will have to write a review and face punishment!”

Pan Shi quieted down at the mention of “suspension,” but only for a few seconds before he stubbornly retorted, “Sister Xu Ke, didn’t you say we could have internal matches? I want to duel Pei Yun Chang!”

Hearing the provocation again, the black-haired guy at the edge finally moved, and Bian Yan finally got a clear look at his face. He realized for the first time that the WIN team uniform looked quite nice.

Pei Yun Chang stood up from his chair, tall and slender, over six feet tall, making him very noticeable among the rainbow-colored hair. “We play different lanes, so we can’t duel.”

Pan Shi knew he was right, but he still didn’t want to admit it, speaking with disdain. “If you’re scared, just uninstall the game and go work in a factory, so you don’t have to sneak around in the team.”

“Fine, then you say how we should compete,” Pei Yun Chang replied impatiently, ignoring Pan Shi’s accusations.

“We’ll play 5v5, rock-paper-scissors to pick players, the winner gets 0.5 points, and we’ll see who scores higher,” Pan Shi quickly suggested.

“Okay,” Pei Yun Chang agreed readily, looking around. “But there are only nine people, so I can take a bot on my side.”

Pan Shi snorted, “No need to act all high and mighty.”

Pei Yun Chang looked up, cursing under his breath. He waited for Pan Shi’s “brilliant” idea.

Bian Yan, standing outside the crowd, almost burst out laughing at that look. But the next second, his smile froze on his face.

“Hey, brother!” Pan Shi waved towards the door, “Yeah, you, don’t look back, you’re the new guy Shen Chuan mentioned, right?”

The whole room of rainbow heads turned to look, and Bian Yan suddenly became the center of attention, feeling a bit embarrassed, so he stood up straight.

“Yes.”

“What position do you play?”

“Marksman.”

Pei Yun Chang raised an eyebrow subtly, then lowered his head, and Bian Yan couldn’t see his expression.

Pan Shi rubbed his hands excitedly, “Brother, how good are you?”

Bian Yan glanced around, thinking, “Not bad~”

Some people didn’t get to watch the show but ended up adding a match for themselves. But it was also a chance to get to know everyone, so Bian Yan quickly accepted the situation.

“We’ll take the newcomer on our side, you pick first,” Pan Shi quickly arranged Bian Yan.

Pei Yun Chang glanced at Bian Yan, then looked away.

“Alright, what happens if we lose?”

“If we lose… we apologize and call the other person ‘big brother,’ and no barking until the end of the youth training camp.”

Pei Yun Chang chuckled lightly. “Alright.”

The two quickly picked their teams. Pei Yun Chang’s side had a black-haired guy, two yellow-haired guys, a white-haired guy, and a red-haired guy. Pan Shi’s side had a yellow-haired guy, a black-haired guy, a white-haired guy, a blue-haired guy, and a purple-haired guy. The whole scene looked ridiculously funny.

To avoid tactical leaks during the game, the two teams played in separate rooms. It wasn’t until the game started that Bian Yan realized the black-haired guy on the other side was also playing marksman.

Since it was a match with their dignity on the line, Pan Shi naturally didn’t hold back, using all three ban slots to ban Pei Yun Chang’s usual marksmen. The first ban was even Pei Yun Chang’s main hero. Petty.

Bian Yan silently complained in his heart. Until he saw Pei Yun Chang counter-ban Pan Shi’s main hero… Well, neither of them was any better.

In the end, Pan Shi’s side banned three of Pei Yun Chang’s marksmen, and Pei Yun Chang’s side banned three of Pan Shi’s counters. These two…

No wonder they could be on the same team.

After some discussion, Bian Yan’s side successfully picked the strong marksman Curse Star on the first pick. With the three marksmen banned, all the strong heroes of the season were already banned.

But Pei Yun Chang took a risky move and picked an underdog marksman—Light. Light’s skills were simple and straightforward, with a low pick rate. Curse Star was a new hero from a few seasons ago, with damage, control, and mobility, and it was Bian Yan’s main hero. If the skills were equal, Curse Star could completely suppress Light in the laning phase.

Bian Yan was confident in his skills, his slender index finger couldn’t help but rub back and forth on the mouse. As the system announced, the game began.

Both supports went to help the mages with the lane, leaving Bian Yan and Pei Yun Chang alone on the lane. As soon as they met, they exchanged a few hits through positioning, neither gaining an advantage. So they tacitly started clearing the wave, not interfering with each other.

Curse Star had penetration early on, clearing waves faster than the opponent. Bian Yan seized the opportunity, after finishing the last minion, he immediately dashed in front of Light and followed up with an enhanced basic attack!

So fast!

Pei Yun Chang didn’t have time to dodge and took the full combo. Bian Yan pressed the advantage, dashing in, building up his passive, and looking for another chance.

Light’s first skill was a beam of light, and Pei Yun Chang cleverly used this, positioning the three minions in a line. Bian Yan was aggressive but not reckless, his skills were accurate, and Pei Yun Chang was pinned under the tower.

“Not bad, little brother, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Pei Yun Chang get pinned down in the early game,” Pan Shi was pleased.

“Well, you’re seeing it today,” Bian Yan smirked, his fingers sliding as he dashed in again!

Pei Yun Chang had no mobility, knowing he couldn’t dodge, he had to take Bian Yan’s attack head-on. Then he countered with his first skill—a beam of light cutting through the three minions!

Pei Yun Chang not only leveled up to two and retreated under the tower but also successfully traded health with Curse Star, making him take tower damage.

Damn it. Careless.

Bian Yan had been playing Sacred Domain for so long, his operations were smooth, and his damage calculations were precise. Few could gain an advantage in the early laning phase against his Curse Star. Either they got beaten, or they lost money. But Pei Yun Chang not only didn’t miss any minions but also successfully traded health with him.

Bian Yan lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

Although Pei Yun Chang didn’t miss any minions, he was almost depleted by Bian Yan’s harassment and had to retreat under the tower to recover health and change equipment.

“Pei, I’m here!” The red-haired support shouted, running over from the mid lane to assist, “Wow, this new kid plays pretty aggressively, let me heal you.”

While the opponent was recovering, the purple-haired support on Bian Yan’s side also arrived. The bottom lane began a new round of 2v2.

Bian Yan’s side first entered the bush, sticking to the wall to find an opportunity, even meticulously building up his passive with empty attacks.

“Where’s the enemy jungler? Support, give us some vision,” Bian Yan naturally started giving orders.

“The jungler’s not in the blue area, don’t worry,” the purple-haired support was clear-headed, checking vision and then hiding in another bush.

The minion waves clashed again, the red-haired support stood like a wall in front, while Pei Yun Chang stayed behind, clearing minions from a distance. No sign of showing up. The minion wave was pushed to the enemy tower.

“Can’t ambush,” Bian Yan sighed, rolling out of the bush just before the first minion’s health disappeared, luckily not missing any gold. But their position was bad, either they missed minions, or they risked getting caught while clearing the wave at the enemy’s doorstep.

Bian Yan couldn’t bear to miss gold, choosing to attack while pulling back. But Pei Yun Chang had already cleared the second wave, with better economy and equipment than Bian Yan, naturally not giving him a chance.

Bian Yan also realized this, deliberately controlling the distance so Pei Yun Chang couldn’t hit him with basic attacks, only taking skill damage at most. Not enough to give away a kill.

“Bro, my skills are ready,” the red-haired support signaled.

“Go.”

Light twisted its body, activating Frenzy, and shot a precise beam at Curse Star, instantly taking away half of Bian Yan’s health.

“Damn, how’s the damage so high all of a sudden!” The purple-haired support was shocked, rushing forward to block damage for Bian Yan.

The red-haired support used two skills together, reducing cooldowns and increasing damage for Pei Yun Chang. Before they could react, Light’s first skill shot again!

It’s over.

Bian Yan knew he couldn’t touch Pei Yun Chang at this point, with both junglers on their way, he could only focus all his attacks on the red-haired support. As Pei Yun Chang’s final basic attack landed, the screen announced—

“First Blood!”

Bian Yan’s screen went dark, even though he traded for the enemy support, it still wasn’t worth it.

“How can Light’s early damage be so high?!” The purple-haired support was stunned, “It’s like a fake.”

“No worries, Pei Yun Chang is a skilled player, getting solo killed by him is normal,” Pan Shi’s cheerful voice came from the side.

Bian Yan, known as a gaming prodigy during his time as a solo player, hadn’t heard such words in a long time. Pan Shi was having a back-and-forth with the white-haired guy in the top lane, still finding time to comfort Bian Yan, “Hang in there, I’ll come support you soon.”

“Look at his build,” Bian Yan’s voice was calm, devoid of emotion, “He’s building magic items.”

“What?” The purple-haired support didn’t believe it, opening the control panel.

Light was a unique marksman among all, in a lane dominated by physical damage, he was the only one with skills that had magic penetration. It was an innovative move by Sacred Domain officials. Although the magic penetration build for Light was unconventional, it had a major flaw: low basic attack damage, relying entirely on skills for damage. In a lane dominated by basic attack crits, it wasn’t advantageous, almost like a mage in a marksman’s disguise. So it only trended for a little over a season before being phased out.

But Pei Yun Chang took a bold move, picking a magic penetration build for Light, combined with a support that could increase damage and reduce cooldowns, making his skill damage extremely high in the early game. It worked wonders against a basic attack-focused marksman like Curse Star.

“Is this the game understanding of a starting player successor?” The purple-haired support clicked his tongue.

“What did you say he is?”

Bian Yan had just returned to the lane when he heard this, his fingers trembled slightly. Before the purple-haired support could answer, suddenly—

Four people jumped out of the bush, the enemy jungler, mid-laner, marksman, and support were all waiting for him. Bian Yan was focused down. The killer—Light.