In the last days of February, Sui Ning was still single-handedly pushing up Aeria’s national server ranking.
His undefeated streak was finally broken at Grandmaster IV, and afterward he ran into a few streamers and pros. With several absolute idiots on his team dragging him down, he narrowly lost some games—fifteen minutes in, they were already down nearly 10,000 gold plus a few dragons. Even though he fought with everything he had, it was hopeless. By the time he reached King rank, his win rate stood at 91%.
[Victory!]
With triumphant orchestral music swelling, the purple-red Grandmaster badge was shattered by a divine sword. In the next instant, the blade exploded into countless white feathers, blinding gold light bursting forth.
A dark, gilded crown floated in the center of the screen. Between its colorful gemstones were inlaid white glowing stones—pearls from afar, but up close they looked like the bones of some creature, faintly scarred by battle.
Congratulations, you have successfully advanced: Strongest King!
You have obtained qualification for the Peak Tournament! From now on, ranked games will no longer raise your tier. All honor stars from victories will be accumulated.
“…Phew.” Watching the dazzling promotion animation, Sui Ning let out a long breath and collapsed against his chair.
It had been anything but easy.
He didn’t know which god he had offended, but in Master and Grandmaster tier he kept getting matched with infamous griefers feared across the server. Game after game, they threw so hard that not even his desperate carry could save it.
In the end, even his viewers grew just as weary—whenever those familiar IDs appeared in the lobby, they would beg him to dodge instantly.
[666666, my Feng-bao mama loves you! Too strong!!]
[I declare streamer the strongest—carrying Ice King so many times, that’s not something normal people can do.]
[This is giving me an aneurysm, poor baby. If it weren’t for dumb Ice King, Feather King, and K-King, Feng-bao would have had 100% win rate to King.]
[Solo queue is just impossible. Every game [Ice Mantou] shows up, insta-locking mid and AFKing if you don’t give it—what can you even do?]
[If that dumb Ice Emperor streamed, I’d have wrecked his whole family already. Hugs for Feng-bao.]
When someone mentioned the so-called “Three Emperors and Five Monarchs of Grandmaster,” even Sui Ning, with his usually good temper, couldn’t help but chuckle wryly: “Hopefully I won’t run into them again.”
Just thinking about those games gave him a headache. By the end, his wrists trembled, his fingertips buzzing like static.
The chat immediately echoed.
[Please, please, please Glory server, have a conscience. Don’t queue my baby with those Three Kings and Five Monarchs anymore.]
[Shouldn’t be possible now—I checked Ice King’s match history, his peak was only Grandmaster.]
[Bro, you forgot K-King’s main was once top 1000 Peak?]
[Bullshit. With that level? If he’s top 1000 without hiring actors, I’ll eat poop. No national rank, always griefing yet still winning—you think viewers are blind?]
[Anyway, thanks for the hard work Feng-bao QuQ. By the way, Feng-bao’s national Aeria ranking should be locked, right? Month’s ending soon.]
Hearing that, Sui Ning pulled up his hero stats.
Hero Record — [Stellar Sprite · Aeria] : Matches: 196, Win Rate: 96% (Gold/Silver medals: 160/32), Overall Rating: 110.2, Hero Power: 16,700
Considering these nearly two hundred games were all played within four or five days, that score was already insane. And when placed on the real-time national Aeria ranking, the terror of his achievement became even clearer.
The instant the leaderboard loaded, the 3.2 million viewers in his stream collectively gasped. Outrageous!
[Rankings > National Strongest Aeria]
1. Fenglan – 16,700
2. Aeria King – 12,300
3. Have You Heard Goodnight – 12,270
4. Back Then She Also Liked Me – 12,100
5. Han_Working Hard To Climb – 12,080
……
From rank 10 to rank 2, scores were neck-and-neck, one win enough to jump several spots. But from rank 2 to rank 1? Anyone could see—this wasn’t just “ahead.”
This was a dimensionality reduction strike.
[WTF WTF WTF??? I was too busy watching Feng-bao’s plays, didn’t even notice the ranking—this scary?!]
[Say it with me: Nat-ion-al. Ser-ver. Num-ber. One.]
[God, this is so satisfying… I admit I’m a peasant, but I love this kind of #1. Way better than those clingy grinders scraping single points until someone steals their base.]
[Is it my eyes or a display bug? Seriously? 4,000 points over rank 2?? Isn’t this ceiling way too absurd?]
[I just wanna know when rank 2’s gonna change his name lol. With Feng-bao above him, doesn’t calling yourself Aeria King feel embarrassing?]
[All the high-rank IDs are heartbroken over love, haha. Baby, you’re the only one normal enough to be unique.]
Chat spammed ‘satisfying’ and weird ‘male mommy’ quotes, gifts flooding the screen.
“Thank you for the gifts,” Sui Ning said politely. “As for whether Aeria’s national #1 is safe… it should be. I’ll play other heroes later… When? Depends. I’ll be off-stream for a few days in early March.”
[??????]
[Who are you sneaking off with? Mommy forbids it!!]
[This is heartbreaking! Don’t stop streaming, please T^T]
Taking a sip of warm lemon water, Sui Ning smiled faintly at the wall of question marks but didn’t explain further.
His phone screen was still lit.
[Xiao Yunduo]: When are you coming? [cat rolling emoji]
Last night, during their chat, Sui Ning had mentioned he was heading to Shanghai. The other instantly began spilling words like beans, chattering that they were also in Shanghai and fishing for his schedule. Hearing that he was going to PNG for a trial, Xiao Yunduo became visibly enthusiastic.
Sui Ning chuckled, the question had been very straightforward.
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: March 2nd. Do you want to meet me in person?
[Xiao Yunduo]: Ah! You… [Cat shyly covering face]
[Xiao Yunduo]: ……En.
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: Sure, but I have to go to the PNG base first. I don’t know how long the tryout will last. Let’s meet up when I’m free.
[Xiao Yunduo]: Uh, actually I… well.
[Xiao Yunduo]: Okay.
Hello dear, actually I’m also at PNG. I helped arrange this tryout for you, you know. I know everything about you—even down to what time Coach Yue Huo No. 2 is picking you up, when you’re arriving at the base, and how many games you’ll play. Love you—haha, if I said that out loud, I’d definitely get killed!
Rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, Ji Yunyu, wearing headphones, kept grumbling to himself in his head. Yet the tips of his ears flushed crimson, his cheeks burning hot, standing out starkly against the pale white of his wrists.
The audience in the livestream immediately smelled blood in the water like sharks and began typing furiously.
[Ohohohoho, our C-God—what’s that expression supposed to mean, huh?]
[I’ve seen this before. My son made the same face when he was chasing a kindergarten girl.]
[No way, no way. Someone in PNG’s old single-dogs club actually has a situation? Don’t! Can’t you just focus on the game?!]
[Come on, upstairs, the barrage is just joking. Don’t take it too seriously. The kid’s blushing, that’s confirmed.]
[Oh right, blushing in February, huh?]
Too lazy to care about these weak jokes, Ji Yunyu put away his phone and queued into a new game.
When he saw the opposing ADC’s name pop up as PNG_Mior, the arrogant Xiao Yunduo couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow, humming happily: “Lucky me. Watch me crush Xu’s kid this game.”
From behind came Lin Zhaoxu’s tragic wail: “Don’t—damn it! Are you an animal? My support isn’t here yet, don’t you mess around!”
Ji Yunyu pressed his lips together, but still couldn’t suppress a delighted smile.
…As for exactly why he was smiling, only he knew.
——
March 1st arrived quickly. With an astronomical score of 17,100, Suining unsurprisingly claimed the title of [Strongest National Aeria].
Like the ancient custom of “choosing a son-in-law from the rankings,” the very day the leaderboard came out, four clubs from the HDL contacted him. One, upon hearing that Sui Ning was heading to PNG for a tryout, even directly offered a “sky-high” signing bonus of 2 million.
For a rookie who hadn’t even played a single professional match yet, that was more than twenty times the usual signing bonus.
That coach called personally, speaking with sincerity: “My team and I really look forward to getting to know you further. If you’re not satisfied with the salary, after promotion to the HPL you can sign a second contract.”
Holy crap. Xu Hexuan, listening nearby, was wide-eyed with shock.
Back when Sui Ning took bit parts in university films, he tagged along as his “agent.” They were always the ones begging for chances. But now? The other side practically sounded like they’d burst into tears if he refused.
Yet to his surprise, Sui Ning still turned them down.
“Tsk tsk, my Feng-bao’s heart is ruthless. Two million and you rejected it in seconds,” Xu Hexuan said dramatically, shaking his head.
At that, Sui Ning glanced at him. The slight upturn at the corner of his eyes shimmered under the light with a warm amber glow; if one didn’t look closely, they might really mistake them for amber.
Half kneeling on the ground, he packed his luggage. “The coach may truly want me, but the boss? Not necessarily. Didn’t you say it yourself—capitalists don’t do charity?”
Finishing his preparations for the trip to Shanghai, Sui Ning stood, lips curling faintly in a not-quite-smile: “Anyone willing to invest 2 million in me must believe they can get far more back. I don’t think their team is purely chasing honor—they’re probably buying a promotion slot.”
He’d seen plenty of such shady business in his past life, though the LPL soon abolished promotion and relegation. In this parallel world, the HPL kept it. Whether they had measures against slot-selling, he didn’t know. Either way, Sui Ning had no interest in being a dean of some low-tier league.
…Unless the signing fee was fifty million.
——
On March 2nd, Sui Ning and Xu Hexuan bought train tickets from Jinling to Shanghai.
On the way, he messaged Ji Yunyu.
[Xiao Yunduo]: Have you boarded?
[Go With the Flow and Be at Peace]: Mm. We’ll arrive in two hours.
[Xiao Yunduo]: Okay.
[Xiao Yunduo]: …I’ll wait for you. [Cute cat emoji]
“Pfft.”
Xu Hexuan glanced over curiously. “What’s so funny?”
Quickly tucking away his smile, Sui Ning shook his head. “Nothing.”
The black-haired young man leaned quietly against the window, the speeding train carrying away Jinling’s scenery.
On the seat-back screen, a short tourism video of Shanghai played.
Unlike the serene, classical Jinling, Shanghai radiated modern design. At the heart of its sprawling grid of roads stood a massive circular structure. Its ingenious lattice made it look alive, floating lightly above the ground.
This was the Shanghai Gymnasion, with 130,000 seats.
In a month, the HPL Spring Split Finals would be held there.
The Emblem of Champions would arrive with all the players.
Brilliant aquamarine paired with dazzling Sri Lankan red, each triangular cut gem inlaid into the silver-gilt trophy like burning, unyielding tears.
The victorious team would, under the witness of every War of Glory’s player in the nation, be showered in golden rain and lift the championship trophy.
As the promotional video replayed scenes of roaring matches, Sui Ning couldn’t help the upward curve of his lips. An endless anticipation swelled in his chest.
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