College Approaches

Mao Zi was naturally hot-tempered. Hearing the ADC of the Hua Cai Battle Team snort coldly, he immediately exploded.

Suddenly turning around, Mao Zi glared at the Hua Cai ADC: "Who are you calling a poser?"

The other party didn't care in the slightest, his voice filled with contempt: "What? I can't even say a word?"

Mao Zi was about to lose his temper: "Damn it, you think winning a match is a big deal? You think you're so smug?"

The other party sneered and shot back: "Winning is better than losing, anyway. Why didn't your so-called trump card play today to save the day in the do-or-die match like before? Or were they afraid it would be useless even if they did?"

"Fuck, whether our guy plays or not is none of your business!"

Mao Zi couldn't take it anymore, almost rolling up his sleeves to rush over and demand an explanation from that ADC.

Fortunately, at this moment, the other members of both teams noticed the commotion. Brother Liu and the captain of the Hua Cai Battle Team quickly pulled the two apart. After some persuasion, the minor squabble on the stage was finally settled.

"Ah, so that's what happened..."

After hearing Brother Liu's explanation, Lin Xiao nodded, then commented: "Then their ADC really does like to stir up trouble."

"Right! See, even Xiao Zi says so!"

Mao Zi immediately cried out, his voice filled with indignation: "Damn it, their ADC has absolutely no sportsmanship! So what if they won! He actually came over to provoke us! Who could stand that!?"

Brother Liu glared at Mao Zi: "Stop talking. At first, he might not have meant it that way and just asked casually. Your cold attitude wasn't any better either."

Mao Zi defended himself: "Damn it, how is this my fault! Didn't you hear that kid's tone when he asked me? He was clearly mocking us! Fuck, if Xiao Zi could have played, would that guy even have a chance to be so arrogant after the match?"

Hearing this, Lao Xiao nodded beside him: "Yeah, in yesterday's finals, Hua Cai's ADC was quite decent, but he was indeed very arrogant. If Xiao Zi were there, he could have taught that guy a lesson."

His voice carried a hint of regret at the end.

In the eyes of everyone on the Cheng Team, a fixed belief had formed: no matter how strong the opponent was, as long as their Xiao Zi took the stage, he could absolutely shut them down completely.

There wouldn't be a single worry.

And if the opponent was even more arrogant, that would be even better—perfect for giving them a satisfying slap in the face.

Hearing Lao Xiao's words, Lin Xiao couldn't help but shake his head, then announced:

"Alright, enough chatting. Let's watch the match replay for a review."

Mao Zi's eyes widened: "The finals are already over, and we still have to do a replay review!?"

Lin Xiao smiled: "It's not like we're only playing in the Scorpio Cup. For other tournaments in the future, we still need to keep improving our skills."

...

Soon after, in the VIP room, the members of the Cheng Team gathered together again, starting to watch the recording of the finals from the day before.

Regardless of win or loss, Lin Xiao skipped the games they won and fast-forwarded directly to the match they lost.

The fourth game, which went on for quite a while, was the longest and most intensely contested match of the entire tournament.

Before that point, the kill score and gold of both sides were basically even.

In Jiang Ran's mid lane, the Purple team's Orianna had a slight advantage, while in the bot lane, the Hua Cai Battle Team held the tempo a bit more.

"Ah, Draven."

Looking at the champion chosen by the Blue team's Hua Cai ADC in the video, Lin Xiao smiled.

He had previously faced a Draven in the City A Net Bar Tournament.

That match against the Jin Shi Battle Team was a complete slaughter by the Glorious Executioner.

But in this video, this Hua Cai ADC's Draven was indeed played quite well.

By the 15th minute, the Draven with a KDA of 3/0/1 was already able to completely suppress Brother Liu's Lucian in lane.

However, the Cheng Team handled it very well in this match. Jiang Ran's mid lane carried Ignite, Lao Xiao's support Nami in the bot lane also had Ignite, and A Chuan's top-lane Dr. Mundo quickly built tank items. When a team fight broke out, it prevented the Hua Cai ADC's Draven from dealing effective damage.

In the 22nd minute, Hua Cai's mid-lane Syndra used her Q to stun Lao Xiao's support Nami, executing a beautiful engage. Then, Draven swung his two vicious spinning axes, violently slaughtering to secure a double kill.

Right after, in the 24th minute, Mao Zi's jungle Rengar coordinated with Brother Liu's Lucian to shut down the split-pushing Draven in the bot lane, wiping out more than half of the stacks on the opponent's Sword of the Occult.

Huh?

Ah, that's right. This Hua Cai ADC had once again bought the highly taunting Sword of the Occult.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao nodded and praised:

"Nice."

After being caught out once, the Hua Cai Draven clearly played much more conservatively and cautiously. Furthermore, because the Blue team's Hua Cai Battle Team had a clear gold lead during this period, with a solid frontline and plenty of backline damage, they won the next two team fights quite easily.

In the 30th minute, in front of the Purple team's mid-lane inhibitor turret, the final team fight broke out.

Once again, Hua Cai's mid-lane Syndra initiated with a Q, catching Brother Liu's Lucian, followed by her ultimate and Ignite, bursting him down instantly.

This sealed the outcome of the match.

However, the only thing that made people frown was that while several Blue team champions were destroying the enemy's nexus turrets, the Hua Cai ADC's Draven stubbornly chased down Lao Xiao's support Nami inside the fountain, killing her with two axes.

Although it wasn't BM in the literal sense of throwing, it was still very bad manners and unsportsmanlike.

...

"See! Their ADC has always had such an arrogant attitude!"

Finding this evidence, Mao Zi pointed at the computer screen and complained indignantly.

Lin Xiao also frowned slightly and nodded in agreement:

"Yeah, that was indeed uncalled for."

Seeing Lin Xiao agree with him, Mao Zi got even more worked up and grumbled:

"What 'Hua Cai University Battle Team'... Do these students even act like college students? Zero sportsmanship! They're far worse than Fudan whom we met in the semifinals!"

Lao Xiao, looking at his support Nami lying dead in front of the fountain in the video, was also displeased and snorted coldly:

"Next time I meet that guy, I'll definitely get my revenge."

A Chuan said honestly from the side: "Next time... there probably won't be many chances. These provincial tournaments are rare, and college teams like theirs mostly participate in collegiate leagues."

Mao Zi was a bit unwilling: "But we can't just take this lying down..."

Then he suddenly remembered something, turning his head to look at Lin Xiao, his eyes lighting up: "Xiao Zi! You're going to college in our province after the gaokao, right? Damn, once you're in college, joining the school's esports team will be as easy as drinking water! In future collegiate tournaments, you'll definitely have a chance to run into this shitty Hua Cai team again!"

Lin Xiao smiled: "Ah, isn't it a bit too early to talk about that?"

Mao Zi shook his head repeatedly: "No way! Aren't you about to graduate high school? Oh, today was your last mock exam, right? When is the gaokao?"

Lin Xiao scratched his head: "Well... it's coming up soon."

It was indeed coming up soon.

The gaokao, the first major turning point of his life, was only a mere half-month away.