Chapter 132: Better to be Shattered Jade than an Intact Tile

Old Master and Luna were fighting with increasing ferocity. Zhang Fei and Ma Chao simply could not handle it; especially after being tethered, their health bars were plummeting.

"This isn't right," thought Xiaojin. "The opposing team doesn't even have a marksman, so why is our front line crumbling so badly?"

Xiaojin had just finished taking the dragon. His focus had been entirely on the Dark Tyrant, especially since Lin Hao’s Luna had been hovering so close. After successfully securing the dragon with a well-timed Retribution, Xiaojin realized that Wei Liang’s Marco Polo had already been wiped out, while Ma Chao and Zhang Fei were being chased down relentlessly.

Xiaojin waited for his first skill to come off cooldown and dashed in, hoping to land some crowd control to peel for his teammates and see if he could turn the tide. Just then, Zhou Yu and Sun Bin, having finished pushing the mid-lane tower, finally arrived.

Zhou Yu unleashed a torrent of fire followed by his ultimate, stunning Zhang Fei on the spot. He then used his wind skill to push the flames forward—straight toward Xiaojin!

What is the biggest regret for a Li Bai player? It is dashing in with their first skill only to realize that the situation is dire, the enemies are too numerous, and they are intentionally positioning themselves to ambush his shadow.

After Xiaojin dashed in, he discovered that Luna had already bypassed Ma Chao and returned to the location of his shadow, waiting. Zhou Yu’s fire surged forward, and Xiaojin’s health bar began to melt away.

Of course, that was not the most infuriating part. Just as Xiaojin steeled himself, intending to use the opposing front line to reset his ultimate and perhaps take down Old Master, Old Master’s "Master’s Tether" interrupted his move once again. Zhou Yu’s damage kept stacking, and before Xiaojin could even cast the ultimate he had just reset, he was beaten to death.

Lin Hao’s attempt to camp the shadow had been for nothing. "Looks like a gutsy Li Bai, willing to shatter like jade rather than stay whole like a tile," Lin Hao sighed. Since he didn't get the kill, he figured most of Xiaojin’s frustration would be directed at Yifan.

Next came the cleanup phase. Ma Chao was in an awkward spot; he had lost his spear in the chaotic melee and hadn't retrieved it before his ultimate ended—likely because Yifan’s Old Master had interrupted him with his first skill. After missing the shadow, Lin Hao canceled his ultimate to reposition and deal some extra damage, hoping to snag a kill. In short, they chased them all the way to the enemy's blue buff area, where Lin Hao and his team successfully eliminated both Ma Chao and Zhang Fei.

The opposing team had been wiped out again, leaving only Ying Zheng shivering under his mid-lane tower.

"Awesome, Brother Yifan!" the Sun Shangxiang player, currently waiting to respawn, couldn't help but praise over the voice channel. In a match of this level, once the game started, Yifan’s iconic Old Master national rank badge and the large "2" on his Peak Tournament frame were enough to confirm his identity; his teammates recognized him easily.

Hearing the praise, Yifan didn't respond over the mic, opting instead to tell his stream viewers: "Luna helped me peel the fire there, otherwise I would have been shredded by Marco Polo. A normal jungler would have just gone for the dragon. The fact that Luna turned back to deal with Marco first shows his game sense is already at a very high level." He paused, then added, "Of course, I am definitely the primary contributor to this play."

The comments on Xiaojin’s stream were polarized. Some blamed him for not focusing down Old Master immediately, allowing him to trigger his second skill and survive with a sliver of health. Others argued that Xiaojin had secured the dragon, and it was his teammates who insisted on fighting and throwing the game. Regardless, a loss is a loss.

Xiaojin’s response was silence. Normally, he was quite lighthearted while gaming and didn't pay much attention to details, but whenever he felt he had played poorly and caused the team to fall behind, he would fall silent and focus intensely on his mechanics.

The game continued. Lin Hao’s team held the advantage across all three lanes. After clearing a wave and recovering over half his health, Luna—accompanied by an Old Master with two bars of health who played as if he were immortal, along with Sun Bin and Zhou Yu—began to push the mid lane.

Ying Zheng’s sword rain was ready, but Old Master’s movement was so slippery, combined with Sun Bin soaking up some of the damage, that Old Master managed to escape with a single hit point left. The mid tower fell.

After returning to base to recover, they continued their advance. Due to the significant gold gap, the opposition could only retreat repeatedly until they were defending their high ground. Lin Hao’s team wasn't afraid of the late game, but ending it while they had a gold advantage was obviously better.

At thirteen minutes, Lin Hao and his teammates began poking at the enemy's outer structures. It was meant to be a minor poke, but Yifan grabbed the enemy Zhang Fei and began attacking him and the tower simultaneously. This was the bottom-lane high-ground tower. With its health nearly depleted, Yifan intended to destroy the tower and then initiate a team fight.

Sun Shangxiang and the others naturally focused their damage on the tower. Lin Hao was in a slightly awkward spot; the next wave of minions had just spawned and hadn't reached the high ground yet, leaving him with little room to maneuver. Seeing Old Master go in, he had no choice but to follow, landing a basic attack on the tower before turning to strike Zhang Fei.

"Yifan is taking a huge risk playing like this," Lin Hao thought, though he didn't voice it. Yifan’s playstyle was different from everyone else’s. His strength lay not just in his script-like movement, but in his unique and highly effective understanding of the game. He often ended matches with poor KDA stats yet somehow managed to win, occasionally climbing to rank one on the Peak Tournament ladder. Before playing Honor of Kings, he had been a Master-tier player in the Ionia server of League of Legends, and his understanding of minion waves and tower priority always superseded his hunger for kills.

He wanted to force an engagement on the enemy tank, and the enemy Zhang Fei wasn't about to indulge him. Zhang Fei had been looking for a chance to use his interference item to defend, and seeing the opportunity, he immediately unleashed his ultimate!

Roar!

After a brief animation lock, Zhang Fei spat out his breath. The recovery time for this ultimate was quite long, and Yifan used his movement to slip behind Zhang Fei, avoiding the damage, though he ended up even closer to the enemy backline. Lin Hao, having just followed Old Master, applied a moonlight mark to Zhang Fei and immediately dashed backward at an angle, successfully dodging the stun from Zhang Fei’s ultimate.

The other three teammates were not as lucky. Zhang Fei’s ultimate hit at a perfect angle, and with a bit of luck, he managed to stun Zhou Yu, Sun Bin, and Sun Shangxiang in the backline.

*Ding!* The interference was activated.