Chapter Forty-One: The Marvelous Use of the Nine-Ringed Staff

Taking a support to the solo lane isn’t unheard of, but… The solo lane is all about the clash of skill—pure one-on-one battles, which is what gets solo lane players’ blood boiling. What infuriates them most is when, in the heat of battle, the opponent suddenly calls for backup.

Maybe it’s a matter of awareness.

But to bring a support to the solo lane right from level one…

As the saying goes, “Bringing a support to the solo lane is a sign of weakness.”

Lin Hao didn’t pay much mind to the situation on the solo lane. Since his side was the red team, the solo lane was at the bottom of his map. In other words, the enemy Zhou Yu and his support Zhang Fei had already cleared the wave and were heading toward the bottom lane.

Lin Hao sent a signal to his bottom lane, finished clearing his wave, and then followed in the wake of Zhou Yu and Zhang Fei, making his way toward the bottom lane.

…

Inside Ji Ran’s streaming channel.

Ji Ran was a player who liked to micromanage and direct his teammates—being a jungle king, he kept the tempo of the entire game while farming his jungle.

“Taking a support to the solo lane, Ma Chao’s going to have a tough time. But Ma Chao does have Sprint, and Old Master and Liu Chan are both lacking in burst; at level one, it’s still hard for them to kill Ma Chao.”

“But if Ma Chao gets hit hard and has to recall, he’ll fall behind in gold.”

Ji Ran chatted with his viewers as he pulled the blue buff into the brush to clear it.

Jin Chan probably won’t invade my jungle, right?

That was his instinctive thought.

After all, with Zhou Yu and Zhang Fei on his side, he didn’t have much to fear about Han Xin’s jungle early on, so he used Smite right away.

Now, since his mid and support had moved toward bottom lane, there was a chance Jin Chan might peek into his blue side.

So Han Xin pulled the blue buff straight into the brush.

If he hadn’t, and Jin Chan saw him, he’d probably get trapped and looped, and Jin Chan would unleash a combo on him.

Now Jin Chan had no vision; even if he knew Han Xin was on blue, at most he’d use his second ability to help damage it a bit.

Ji Ran felt confident.

Yet, the monk in golden robes slowly made his way to his buff, separated from his blue buff’s pit by only a wall.

A suspicious move.

But Ji Ran felt no tension whatsoever.

…

“Thanks to Jin Chan for helping me clear the buff…” Ji Ran was about to express his gratitude, when he abruptly stopped.

The next moment his eyes widened.

What the…?

What’s going on?

Ji Ran’s rage meter +1100!

…

The perspective shifts back to Lin Hao’s channel.

After clearing his wave, Lin Hao went straight for the enemy blue buff’s location.

“Han Xin almost always starts blue. Let’s see if we can steal it.”

He reached the edge of the jungle, and saw, through the wall, that the blue buff pit was empty.

No need to guess—Han Xin had dragged the blue into the brush.

So…

Lin Hao smirked mischievously and used his second ability!

The Nine Rings Staff!

A golden halo descended over Han Xin’s buff location—not on Han Xin or the blue buff in the brush, but slightly outside, just below that brush.

This was exactly at the extreme range where Jin Chan could cast his second ability through the wall onto the blue buff.

The next moment, something magical happened: the blue buff, still battling Han Xin in the brush, suddenly ignored him and slowly ambled over toward Jin Chan’s second ability.

Then, as the duration of the ability expired, the blue buff slowly wandered back to its pit, steadily regenerating health!

It had been pulled away!

Lin Hao sent two consecutive recall taunts, the Shadow City recall effect flashing ominously above his head.

After that, Lin Hao strode back to mid lane.

Meanwhile, in his mind, he received a notification of Ji Ran’s rage meter increase.

Delightful!

“What?!”

Not only Ji Ran, but most viewers in both streams were stunned by this scene.

What just happened?

…

Of course, the details didn’t matter. What mattered was that Ji Ran’s blue buff had been pulled away, his Smite wasted, and he’d have to start over.

It was reminiscent of Lin Hao’s earlier one-level Guan Yu rampage in the jungle—except Jin Chan’s trick was cheaper and more effective.

“What the hell kind of play is that?”

“Isn’t Jin Chan’s second ability like Xi Shi’s, just a small AoE explosion? How does it attract jungle monsters?”

“Guys, you’re way behind. This patch already has Fei, and you still don’t understand Jin Chan’s abilities?”

“Right, I remember now—Jin Chan’s second can draw jungle monsters and minions toward its center.”

“When clearing the first mid wave, didn’t Haozi mention this already?”

“Knowing is one thing, but who would’ve thought it could be used like this?”

Lin Hao laughed: “So you’ve finally caught on? This is the beauty of Jin Chan’s second ability. But to pull the enemy blue like I just did requires practice.”

“Simply put, you need the outer edge of the circular cast range of the second ability to overlap with the edge of the blue buff pit at the lower-right protrusion! Position yourself precisely, and cast the second—doesn’t matter if Han Xin’s dragged it into the brush or if the blue’s still in its pit, you can pull it every time!”

Jin Chan hadn’t been released long, and most people only knew his abilities in general; tricks like this were new to viewers.

What started as a casual entertainment stream turned into a learning experience, and many viewers were itching to try this tactic in ranked.

Back in the game, Zhou Yu and Zhang Fei reached the bottom lane: the poke battle had ended, and Old Master and Liu Chan, having received Lin Hao’s signal, quickly retreated.

Zhou Yu saw them return to the tower and didn’t chase deep—he simply helped Ma Chao steal the river crab on the side lane.

At that moment, he noticed activity in Han Xin’s jungle.

He didn’t know the specifics, but when Zhou Yu shifted his vision to Han Xin’s position, he saw Han Xin had abandoned his blue buff and was now hitting the nearby wolves.

Had Jin Chan disrupted his jungle rhythm?

How was that possible?

Looking again at Jin Chan: he was leisurely strolling through mid, fully exposed, recalling repeatedly, and his health was perfect.

Unbelievable.

No choice—after snatching the bottom river crab, Zhou Yu led Zhang Fei toward mid. He was aiming for the mid river crab.

The mid river crab skirmish was Zhou Yu’s favorite—he was a siege specialist, needing to ignite and fan the flames for damage. Whether he could take the crab or not, he was sure to pressure the enemy’s health bar.