Chapter Fifty-Four: You Are the One Bound

Ever since Lin Hao’s gold and Yuan Ge began to diverge dramatically, Xinran had never set foot on the top lane again. In the early game, personal grudges justified a few focused ganks, but by this point, Yuan Ge had clearly collapsed. If more resources were sent to catch the old master at this stage, the bottom lane would likely be decimated by a tower dive.

Especially since Lin Hao’s side still had Wan’er in the midgame, Xinran could only stick to the side lanes. This wave was a standard laning phase—Xinran lingered in the brush, ensuring Marco Polo’s farm.

“The longer this game drags out, the better it is for us. The key is just making sure Marco doesn’t get blown up,” Xinran watched the river, the minion wave, and the enemy marksman, Li Yuanfang, intently. “At this point, the fact that Li Yuanfang hasn’t taken Marco’s outer tower actually means we’re ahead in bot.”

A viewer teased in chat: “Why isn’t Xinran going to gank Haoran? His old master is running wild up top!”

Xinran glanced at the chat, “As long as Yuan Ge keeps his cool and doesn’t fight head-on, he can at least defend his tower. Besides, we have a national server-level Yuan Ge—trust me, our priority is protecting the marksman!”

“I have a feeling they’re about to start a fight,” she added.

Lian Po was slowly advancing, as if preparing to engage.

At that moment, a faint teleport sound echoed across the map. The teleportation array in the top lane had been activated—someone was coming!

Yuan Ge immediately pinged, but he dared not send his puppet to intercept. After all, the old master still had his flash-ult combo ready; one misstep and he’d be bound on the spot, leading to a complete collapse on top.

Back in the bottom lane, faced with Lian Po’s pressure, Marco Polo responded quickly, sweeping a burst of bullets his way. Lian Po sidestepped but didn’t retreat.

He was protecting the minions.

It felt like a tower dive was coming.

Xinran thought quickly.

She cast her first skill, precisely landing it on Lian Po.

Lian Po immediately used his second skill, gaining unstoppable status! Still, the damage landed. Marco Polo and Liu Chan piled on their damage, shaving a third off Lian Po’s health.

But on Li Yuanfang’s side, he was using his skills directly on the minions, whittling down Liu Chan with the explosive damage.

He was clearing the wave fast!

Finally, the minion wave was gone. Seeing Lian Po still advancing, Marco Polo retreated beneath his tower.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao’s wave met no resistance, slowly pushing toward the turret.

Xinran’s Xi Shi also withdrew from the brush to the safety of the tower. A team fight was likely brewing—she needed to position even further back.

Suddenly, a calligraphy brush struck within tower range, and Wan’er burst out from the fog of war!

Before Xinran and her team could react, Wan’er flashed in, instantly closing the gap on the retreating trio. Before they could even blink, Wan’er soared into the air!

Brazen!

Xinran was startled. For Wan’er to ult from such a distance, there were only a few possibilities: she was either a rookie, cleaning up low-health foes, or—most likely—she had plenty of backup to finish the job.

Marco Polo immediately retreated, Liu Chan’s second skill clamp missed Shangguan Wan’er.

Li Yuanfang rolled in with his ultimate and started laying down fire.

Lian Po led with interference, initiating with his third skill, pounding the ground with force.

Seeing the danger, Marco Polo quickly popped Purify and used his double dash to escape, dodging the main damage. Now, only Liu Chan was being focused!

At that moment, the final figure emerged—the old master!

Indeed, the teleport earlier had been him.

Marco Polo was in real danger.

In the chaos, Xinran immediately recognized the threat. The old master surely still had flash-ult—if he landed it on Marco, the whole match could crumble.

If Marco survived, the enemy’s dive would amount to nothing, and he could even counterattack.

Right now, the old master was still a few steps away from Marco. Relying on her years of expertise, Xinran judged that he would need to advance a few more paces to land his combo.

So, she preemptively cast her first skill in his path and instantly activated her ultimate.

Hit!

Lin Hao saw Xi Shi’s movement and burst out laughing, “Trying to predict me? The one I’m binding is you!”

He opened with a flash-ult combo!

In a blink, the old master appeared before Xinran, and Xi Shi was instantly shackled by his lantern.

What was going on?

Xinran was stunned.

The old master’s target was her?

Next, she saw Lin Hao’s old master, even amid the intense tower-dive skirmish, alternate between basic attacks and starting a recall.

She could see the old master recalling, thanks to the flashy Shadow City recall effect.

There was nothing Xinran could do this time.

Much as she hated to admit it, using the old master’s flash-ult on Xi Shi in a team fight was actually a waste.

This meant Marco Polo had one fewer threat to deal with, and would only have to worry about being cut down by Qi.

Still… Xinran couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Especially seeing the old master taunt by recalling right in the middle of the fight.

“Xinran’s anger meter +800!”

The chat in Lin Hao’s stream exploded with laughter.

“Nice bind!”

“That’s some Asian-level binding, left Xinran totally baffled.”

“Hahahaha!”

With her first skill already spent, Xi Shi had no means of resistance and was pounded to death under the tower by the old master.

Lian Po landed the third segment of his crowd control, successfully knocking up Liu Chan. Lin Hao quickly broke free from Liu Chan’s control and retreated from the tower.

At that moment, the enemy’s Jing had already flanked, opening with her first and third skills to assassinate Li Yuanfang on the outskirts of the tower.

Caught from behind, Shangguan Wan’er was forced to flee behind the enemy’s tower.

Up front, Marco Polo was ensnared by Qi, who leapt over from the blue buff area. After taking a burst of damage, he barely escaped with his life but was left incapacitated and had to return to base.

Jing opened her ultimate horizontally, targeting Lian Po and the old master with her Flying Thunder God!

This was the perfect position for her mirror field, effectively sealing Lin Hao’s retreat.

Lin Hao considered and chose to retreat into the tower.

After all...

Lian Po was tanking the tower, not him!

Jing continued her onslaught with Flying Thunder God—this spot was perfect for it, though her attacks felt more like a gentle scratch. Lian Po and the old master on Lin Hao’s side barely lost any health, while Shangguan Wan’er, aided by Qi, slipped into the blue buff area near the second tower and escaped.

Reaching the edge of Jing’s mirror field, Lin Hao timed his pull perfectly, catching Jing as she finished her ultimate. King’s Pull!

After her nerf, Jing no longer had unstoppable status while dashing with her ultimate!

Thus, Jing was yanked out of her mirror field by Lin Hao’s precise maneuver!