Chapter 40: As You Command, Brother Xiao Chi
Endless Time suggested they start with a few rounds of 2v2. Xiao Chi agreed.
Quest for the Azure Heavens had two main gameplay modes: PvE dungeons and PvP battlefields. The battlefield mode was player-versus-player combat, with three formats: 1v1, 2v2, and 5v5.
Players could either form their own teams or queue for random matchmaking. Once a match began, the map was selected at random. Quest for the Azure Heavens featured an extensive map pool, all designed to simulate realistic environments and deliver the best possible PvP experience.
Winning a match earned every member of the team points, which could be accumulated and exchanged for weapons and equipment.
Naturally, losing a match deducted points.
Of the three PvP formats, 5v5 was the game's flagship mode and by far the most popular among players.
Five-player teams allowed for countless class combinations and tactical variations, placing much greater emphasis on teamwork, coordination, and strategic execution.
More importantly, the points earned from 1v1 and 2v2 were tracked separately from those earned in 5v5, so they couldn't be combined. And the rewards available through 1v1 and 2v2 points were limited to a handful of miscellaneous equipment pieces.
As a result, the overwhelming majority of PvP players chose to play in five-man teams.
Solo PvP and duo PvP existed mainly to satisfy a niche audience.
Solo PvP was the definition of lone-wolf gameplay—just one person grinding it out with little room for strategy. Duo PvP, on the other hand, had earned the nickname "dating mode" among Quest for the Azure Heavens players. Most teams consisted of Dao companions queueing together for fun, while a smaller number were master-and-disciple pairs, with the mentor teaching combat techniques.
Sure enough, as soon as the viewers heard they were queuing for 2v2, the chat exploded with excitement.
[Streamer, please change the stream title to "Online Dating Livestream." Thanks.]
[Are you two playing PvP or going on a date? Did the 5v5 queue break?]
[Endless Time and his endless schemes.]
[I nominate the team name "Endless Chi Chi Comes Late." I'll generously donate my ID—you're welcome.]
["Shi Zhou" sounds pretty good too.]
The two of them formed a party and went to the battlefield NPC to register their team. The NPC required them to enter a team name.
"What should we call ourselves?" Endless Time asked.
Terrified that Endless Time might actually use one of the ridiculous suggestions from chat, Xiao Chi hurriedly said, "Just make up something random. How about Just Playing Casually?"
Endless Time wasn't picky and immediately typed it in.
Team name already exists.
"Then... Just Playing Around."
Team name already exists.
"The Noob Duo."
"...That doesn't sound very nice," Endless Time pointed out politely.
Xiao Chi racked his brain.
The two stood in front of the NPC for quite a while before Endless Time finally said, "Let's ask chat to come up with one."
Instantly, the screen flooded with the same suggestion: "Endless Chi Chi Comes Late."
Oh no, oh no, oh no… Xiao Chi screamed internally.
Oh no, oh no, oh no… Xiao Chi screamed internally.
Sure enough, Endless Time said, "Thanks to the viewer Endless Chi Chi Comes Late for generously donating your ID. We'll use that."
Before Xiao Chi could stop him, the team Endless Chi Chi Comes had already been successfully created.
The only people happier than the two members of the team were the viewer who owned the ID "Endless Chi Chi Comes Late." They were practically ecstatic and immediately threw another two Fruit Bomb donations into the stream.
[What a flex! This is what you call prestige! I'm taking a screenshot and saving it in the super topic forever!]
The moment Xiao Chi saw the words super topic, his scalp tingled. He quietly picked up his phone, opened Weibo, and frantically searched for "Endless Chi Chi Comes Late." A super topic with thirty-four followers popped up on the screen.
Xiao Chi froze.
"I'm starting the queue?" Endless Time asked over YY.
Xiao Chi hurriedly put down his phone, composed himself, and said, "Go ahead."
The loading screen appeared. When it refreshed, the two of them found themselves standing on the randomly selected map.
It was the simplest map possible— The Training Grounds.
The Training Grounds had one of the highest appearance rates in both 1v1 and 2v2. It was a flat, open arena enclosed by wooden stakes, with absolutely no cover anywhere. You could see from one end to the other at a glance.
The maps used in solo and duo PvP were intentionally small. Otherwise, two players could spend an entire day running circles around a huge map without ever finding each other.
On the Training Grounds, there was no point talking about tactics. No point talking about positioning.
There was only one word for it. Fight.
Endless Time immediately called the shots. "They've got a Sword Cultivator and a healer. You keep the healer busy. I'll kill the Sword Cultivator."
Xiao Chi didn't hesitate. "Got it."
The battle began!
Both teams charged straight toward the center of the arena.
The enemy healer stayed glued to the Blade Cultivator's side, never straying more than a step away.
It was one of the most common strategies in duo PvP: the DPS focused on offense while the healer handled defense. As long as the healer's positioning was good enough, no matter how explosive the opposing DPS's damage was, a single large heal could erase all their progress, allowing their own DPS to slowly wear the enemy down.
Xiao Chi observed them for a few seconds and quickly concluded that the healer's positioning was nothing special.
She stayed glued to her DPS the entire time, never leaving even a bit of space between them.
But healers were ranged classes—they had no need to stand that close. In fact, it only restricted their DPS's movement. Sure enough, Endless Time opened with Distant Mountain Slash, one of his ultimate skills. The enemy pair was completely caught off guard. They had never expected him to burn his ultimate as an opener, and both were launched into the air. Endless Time immediately dashed after them and followed up with another slash against the Sword Cultivator. Before the Sword Cultivator could even get back on his feet, he was sent flying again.
By then, the distance between the Sword Cultivator and his healer had already widened.
The enemy healer finally snapped out of it and hurriedly tried to cast a big heal. Probably because she was panicking, it took her ages to get the spell off—and when she finally did, she aimed in the wrong direction. The heal landed on The Light Boat Has Passed instead.
Enemy healers couldn't heal opponents, of course, so the skill accomplished absolutely nothing.
Before she could cast a second spell, The Light Boat Has Passed smacked her with a wooden branch. Rooted. Beaten. The root expired. Knocked into the air. Beaten some more. It became an endless nightmare of crowd control and helplessly taking damage.
Very soon, the healer fell.
The Sword Cultivator followed without suspense.
Victory!
The entire match had lasted less than a minute.
Endless Time and The Light Boat Has Passed still had full health bars. Neither of them had lost a single point of HP.
The Sword Cultivator and healer lying on the ground fell silent. So did the entire livestream chat.
[Nearby] Kindergarten Conqueror: ...This is the first time I've ever seen a Divine Weapon in person.
[Nearby] Kindergarten Conqueror: Also the first time I've personally been chopped to death by one.
[Nearby] Kindergarten Fairy: Never thought a top player would actually queue into low-level matches.
[Nearby] Endless Time: Just formed the team. No rating yet.
The battlefield matchmaking system paired opponents by comparing the two teams' number of matches played, win rate, and rating, trying to match teams of similar strength.
That meant the newly created Endless Chi Chi Comes Late team—with zero matches played and zero rating—would inevitably be matched against other new teams or low-rated teams.
Starting with that first match, Endless Chi Chi Comes Late embarked on a complete steamrolling spree.
Ten matches in a row. Every single one ended in under a minute.
[Sure, your rating's low, but isn't this a little excessive? Is this even humanly possible?]
[One second they're happily sightseeing around the map. The next second they're lying on the ground.]
[Streamer, do you remember you're livestreaming a game? If you keep playing like this, you're going to lose all your casual viewers. Seriously.]
[After watching these ten matches, not only did I learn zero techniques, my confidence has been completely shattered.]
[Starting from the second match, Endless Time didn't even bother giving instructions anymore. The two of them just charged straight in every game. Hah.]
Turning on his mic, Endless Time said sincerely, "Sorry about that. I'll slow things down from here."
[That's somehow even more insulting.]
[Goodbye.]
Endless Time clicked Start Matchmaking.
After winning ten straight games, the system judged Endless Chi Chi Comes Late to be a fairly strong team. Beginning with the eleventh match, their opponents would be noticeably stronger than before.
This time, the system matched them against a double-DPS team named Go Easy on Us, Big Brother.
The team consisted of two female characters: a Taoist Cultivator and a Rune Cultivator.
Both wore premium cash-shop outfits, with flowing white hair and an elegant, immortal-like appearance.
[Nearby] Yuzu Tea: Wow! It's the legendary Endless Time!
[Nearby] Lemon Ice: Big Brother Endless Time, please go easy on us! Pretty please! >_<
[Nearby] Yuzu Tea: Don't hit us too hard! TVT
[They ran into girls. Now what?]
[Don't beat them as brutally as the last teams. You'll make them cry.]
Xiao Chi spoke coldly over voice chat. "Anyone who talks like that is definitely a renyao. Hit them."
[???]
[Wait, how can you be so sure they're renyao?]
[Guys have no idea how obvious it is when another guy is playing a female character.]
[I'm a woman. I could tell these two were renyao at first glance.]
[The real question is, why can Baby Xiao Chi tell they're renyao too when he's a guy?]
[Because he's not straight.]
[Because they dared to act cute toward Endless Time.]
Endless Time let out a quiet laugh. "As you command, Brother Xiao Chi."
Before Xiao Chi could stop him, the team Endless Chi Chi Comes had already been successfully created.
The only people happier than the two members of the team were the viewer who owned the ID "Endless Chi Chi Comes Late." They were practically ecstatic and immediately threw another two Fruit Bomb donations into the stream.
[What a flex! This is what you call prestige! I'm taking a screenshot and saving it in the super topic forever!]
The moment Xiao Chi saw the words super topic, his scalp tingled. He quietly picked up his phone, opened Weibo, and frantically searched for "Endless Chi Chi Comes Late." A super topic with thirty-four followers popped up on the screen.
Xiao Chi froze.
"I'm starting the queue?" Endless Time asked over YY.
Xiao Chi hurriedly put down his phone, composed himself, and said, "Go ahead."
The loading screen appeared. When it refreshed, the two of them found themselves standing on the randomly selected map.
It was the simplest map possible— The Training Grounds.
The Training Grounds had one of the highest appearance rates in both 1v1 and 2v2. It was a flat, open arena enclosed by wooden stakes, with absolutely no cover anywhere. You could see from one end to the other at a glance.
The maps used in solo and duo PvP were intentionally small. Otherwise, two players could spend an entire day running circles around a huge map without ever finding each other.
On the Training Grounds, there was no point talking about tactics. No point talking about positioning.
There was only one word for it. Fight.
Endless Time immediately called the shots. "They've got a Sword Cultivator and a healer. You keep the healer busy. I'll kill the Sword Cultivator."
Xiao Chi didn't hesitate. "Got it."
The battle began!
Both teams charged straight toward the center of the arena.
The enemy healer stayed glued to the Blade Cultivator's side, never straying more than a step away.
It was one of the most common strategies in duo PvP: the DPS focused on offense while the healer handled defense. As long as the healer's positioning was good enough, no matter how explosive the opposing DPS's damage was, a single large heal could erase all their progress, allowing their own DPS to slowly wear the enemy down.
Xiao Chi observed them for a few seconds and quickly concluded that the healer's positioning was nothing special.
She stayed glued to her DPS the entire time, never leaving even a bit of space between them.
But healers were ranged classes—they had no need to stand that close. In fact, it only restricted their DPS's movement. Sure enough, Endless Time opened with Distant Mountain Slash, one of his ultimate skills. The enemy pair was completely caught off guard. They had never expected him to burn his ultimate as an opener, and both were launched into the air. Endless Time immediately dashed after them and followed up with another slash against the Sword Cultivator. Before the Sword Cultivator could even get back on his feet, he was sent flying again.
By then, the distance between the Sword Cultivator and his healer had already widened.
The enemy healer finally snapped out of it and hurriedly tried to cast a big heal. Probably because she was panicking, it took her ages to get the spell off—and when she finally did, she aimed in the wrong direction. The heal landed on The Light Boat Has Passed instead.
Enemy healers couldn't heal opponents, of course, so the skill accomplished absolutely nothing.
Before she could cast a second spell, The Light Boat Has Passed smacked her with a wooden branch. Rooted. Beaten. The root expired. Knocked into the air. Beaten some more. It became an endless nightmare of crowd control and helplessly taking damage.
Very soon, the healer fell.
The Sword Cultivator followed without suspense.
Victory!
The entire match had lasted less than a minute.
Endless Time and The Light Boat Has Passed still had full health bars. Neither of them had lost a single point of HP.
The Sword Cultivator and healer lying on the ground fell silent. So did the entire livestream chat.
[Nearby] Kindergarten Conqueror: ...This is the first time I've ever seen a Divine Weapon in person.
[Nearby] Kindergarten Conqueror: Also the first time I've personally been chopped to death by one.
[Nearby] Kindergarten Fairy: Never thought a top player would actually queue into low-level matches.
[Nearby] Endless Time: Just formed the team. No rating yet.
The battlefield matchmaking system paired opponents by comparing the two teams' number of matches played, win rate, and rating, trying to match teams of similar strength.
That meant the newly created Endless Chi Chi Comes Late team—with zero matches played and zero rating—would inevitably be matched against other new teams or low-rated teams.
Starting with that first match, Endless Chi Chi Comes Late embarked on a complete steamrolling spree.
Ten matches in a row. Every single one ended in under a minute.
[Sure, your rating's low, but isn't this a little excessive? Is this even humanly possible?]
[One second they're happily sightseeing around the map. The next second they're lying on the ground.]
[Streamer, do you remember you're livestreaming a game? If you keep playing like this, you're going to lose all your casual viewers. Seriously.]
[After watching these ten matches, not only did I learn zero techniques, my confidence has been completely shattered.]
[Starting from the second match, Endless Time didn't even bother giving instructions anymore. The two of them just charged straight in every game. Hah.]
Turning on his mic, Endless Time said sincerely, "Sorry about that. I'll slow things down from here."
[That's somehow even more insulting.]
[Goodbye.]
Endless Time clicked Start Matchmaking.
After winning ten straight games, the system judged Endless Chi Chi Comes Late to be a fairly strong team. Beginning with the eleventh match, their opponents would be noticeably stronger than before.
This time, the system matched them against a double-DPS team named Go Easy on Us, Big Brother.
The team consisted of two female characters: a Taoist Cultivator and a Rune Cultivator.
Both wore premium cash-shop outfits, with flowing white hair and an elegant, immortal-like appearance.
[Nearby] Yuzu Tea: Wow! It's the legendary Endless Time!
[Nearby] Lemon Ice: Big Brother Endless Time, please go easy on us! Pretty please! >_<
[Nearby] Yuzu Tea: Don't hit us too hard! TVT
[They ran into girls. Now what?]
[Don't beat them as brutally as the last teams. You'll make them cry.]
Xiao Chi spoke coldly over voice chat. "Anyone who talks like that is definitely a renyao. Hit them."
[???]
[Wait, how can you be so sure they're renyao?]
[Guys have no idea how obvious it is when another guy is playing a female character.]
[I'm a woman. I could tell these two were renyao at first glance.]
[The real question is, why can Baby Xiao Chi tell they're renyao too when he's a guy?]
[Because he's not straight.]
[Because they dared to act cute toward Endless Time.]
Endless Time let out a quiet laugh. "As you command, Brother Xiao Chi."
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