1244 The Fortunate and the Regrettable

Liu Hao had entered the Glory Alliance in Season 5. He had joined Team Excellent Era just after their reign was ended by Team Tyranny.

No one had expected such a fall from grace. After all, at the time, they had only lost their streak as champions. In the Pro League, there were always ups and downs. Losing now was no issue, just aim to win next time. Team Excellent Era's Season 4 recruit, Su Mucheng, had been astonishing to see with Ye Qiu. At the time, Team Excellent Era had still been viewed favorably, with an expectation that they would quickly pull themselves back together.

Liu Hao had also carried this type of confidence for Team Excellent Era when he became a member. But who, himself included, would have expected that Excellent Era wouldn't even make it to the finals from this season onwards?

Tiny Herb, Blue Rain… team after team, new champions arose. Player after player, All-Stars appeared. But as for Liu Hao?

It seemed like Liu Hao of Excellent Era was the only vice-captain of an Alliance powerhouse to not have been selected as an All-Star?

This made Liu Hao very dejected. But what could he do about it? Excellent Era already had the ever-radiant Ye Qiu. Then appeared the outstanding beauty Su Mucheng. They became Best Partners, and there was no shortage of rumors about a kindling relationship between the two. Besides these two protagonists of the story, not even the vice-captain could escape being given a side character role.

Liu Hao didn't want to be a side character. He watched as the others who started in the same Season as him became All-Stars one by one: Zhou Zekai, Wu Yuce, Fang Rui. All-Star status meant popularity, but it also required true skill as a foundation. In the pro scene, popularity did not come without skill.

Liu Hao did not have this popularity, but he was adamant that he had the skills. The problem was just that he paled in comparison to his ever-radiant senior. Compared to the founder of the dynasty of back-to-back-to-back championship victories, who in the Alliance wouldn't come up short in comparison? Initially, Liu Hao was proud and content that he could share in the glory, but then he realized that this glory was blinding. No one could see him. He wanted to bask in his own glory.

But… it was so difficult!

Enthusiastically showing his talents would put him off-rhythm with the rest of the team. Limit himself to the team's pace and he would get outshone by the Best Partners.

This team's structure was made for these two and they outshone those around them. Liu Hao thought about this somewhat angrily. What he conveniently failed to think about was that if you picked any random team, of course the core players would be the most prominent. If another player can overshadow the core player's existence, wouldn't they have that title instead?

If he wanted to be noticed, he had to establish his own relevance first. Liu Hao, when unable to do so, instead thought up various excuses for why he was not being noticed. This was too backwards. If he had this kind of mindset, then any ordinary arrangement would seem like a elaborate plot to undermine him.

Liu Hao really didn't want his "radiance" extinguished like this, so he continued to search for opportunities. Although Ye Xiu's ultimate departure from the team couldn't entirely be called his victory, it was at least an outcome that he was pleased to see.

His moment to shine had finally arrived, but right after, Excellent Era was promptly relegated.

This outcome was really some miles away from what Liu Hao had expected. However, Excellent Era was still Excellent Era. Even though they were relegated, their influence was still strong, and they even managed to grab the All-Star Xiao Shiqin from Thunderclap.

Sun Xiang filled the gap left by Ye Xiu's departure, but the gap he filled was only the position of One Autumn Leaf's controller; the role played by Ye Xiu in Excellent Era was much greater than that. After all, he was one of the four Master Tacticians. The arrival of Xiao Shiqin was evidence of Excellent Era's prestige as a powerhouse. However, the hidden motive behind these actions was not noticed by many.

Sun Xiang was not Ye Xiu's successor.

The role of successor fell to Sun Xiang plus Xiao Shiqin.

Two people to replace one. Excellent Era definitely could not reveal this intention.

Following this addition, Liu Hao found himself heartlessly abandoned. It was at that moment when he realized that he would forever be a side character in Excellent Era. When Ye Xiu left, Excellent Era spared no expense to find a replacement and to quash certain rumors. They even started preparing far in advance. But for Liu Hao?

Player trade, you're going to Thunderclap.

All Liu Hao received was this phone call.

Yes, breaking the news to him with a phone call. How much more disrespectful could they get? Forget about a send-off for him, Excellent Era was too busy with welcoming Xiao Shiqin!

Liu Hao left with resentment in his heart. He had thought about exposing how Excellent Era had been unhappy with Ye Xiu, and how they had schemed to pressure Ye Xiu into retirement, while at the same time being afraid of having Ye Xiu become an enemy that they would need to face; Excellent Era had been forced into some very careful maneuvering with regards to the issue. But Liu Hao didn't dare. Speaking of reasons for Ye Xiu's departure, plenty of rumors were floating around the competitive scene, some more accurate than others. However, those were still simply guesswork from outside observers. How much influence would their words have? The worst a comment here and a remark there could do was to give people something interesting to gossip about.

Of course, Liu Hao was not an outside observer. If he decided to blow the whistle, the media would be all over the story. But if he did this, it would not bode well for his future. In the Pro League, which team didn't have some skeletons in their closet? A brave Warrior of Justice may be loved by the media or the masses, but which team would dare let him join?

Liu Hao didn't want to get himself into this lose-lose situation. He still wanted to shine! He should wait until he retired before he exposed the Excellent Era scandal.

Liu Hao buried his bitterness towards Excellent Era who had abandoned him. Who would have guessed that Ye Xiu would be the one to avenge him, by eliminating Excellent Era with a grassroots team?

Life is… just absurd...

Liu Hao absentmindedly thought this at the time. I didn't do anything at all, but the person I hate and the team I hate are locked in a battle to the death. What kind of luck is this?

Liu Hao reflected upon his good luck, but then that year he still didn't make it into the All-Stars, what he'd dreamed about for so long.

It's because my team is too shit.

Liu Hao thought this helplessly.

His performance in Thunderclap that season wasn't bad at all. The team performed reasonably well too, but still did not manage to make it to the playoffs. That meant he, Liu Hao, was still no match for Xiao Shiqin. So in that season, everyone in Thunderclap, from top to bottom, missed their former Captain Xiao Shiqin. Liu Hao felt repulsed being confined in this atmosphere. Even a person long gone still outshone him! Thunderclap was even worse than Excellent Era!

Liu Hao originally did not want to stay long at Thunderclap. Add on his disgust for the atmosphere in the team, and he directly turned down Thunderclap's request for him to stay for the next season. He moved to Team Wind Howl of his own accord. It looked like standing out in this team wasn't going to be an easy task. Just as he was beginning to more carefully consider his situation, issues arose within Wind Howl and vice-captain Fang Rui left the team.

Liu Hao got his foot in the door.

In terms of skill, he was never a weak player; in terms of seniority, he had five years in the Pro League; in terms of experience, he had been both vice-captain and captain. His only weakness was that he was still a newcomer and may not have too much influence in the team yet. However, Wind Howl didn't really have anyone better, so those three advantages were enough for Liu Hao to stand out.

Liu Hao lived up to expectations. He performed well both on and off the field, and everyone could see his worth to Wind Howl. With the highest priced transfer in the summer transfer window but never a spot out among the 24 All-Stars, he seemed to have taken a decisive step forward during the season. Coincidentally, his current All-Stars ranking was at number 17, the same as Fang Rui's last year. Liu Hao was replacing Fang Rui's position both on the All-Star rankings and in Wind Howl.

Unfortunately for Fang Rui, he didn't make the All-Stars. Changing classes was damaging to a player's reputation, regardless of their skill level. However, Fang Rui's performance could still be considered satisfactory. In his very first few matches where he was getting used to the class, he could only rely on a few tricks. Following this, he had incorporated his own playstyle into the Qi Master class, resulting in improvements match after match.

But he still didn't make the All-Stars.

"Qi Masters don't understand love!" Fang Rui noted indignantly.

No one could really tell whether this indignation was real or tongue-in-cheek. Fang Rui didn't seem the type to get hung up on being an All-Star. As one whose style was to play dirty, Fang Rui should have expected divided opinions, leading to a smaller portion of this love. It was rare to witness the situation where Fang Rui would flip this reasoning on its head and say that those who didn't appreciate dirty play were the ones who didn't understand love.

The All-Stars polls closed as the New Year ticked over. With no matches, the votes did not change very unexpectedly. Most did not care about any changes in ranking within the top 24; they only cared if any at the bottom of the poll were changed.

Yes, there still were some changes.

The names on the last two All-Star spots, 23rd and 24th, frequently switched. This time, as the voting closed, two names squeezed in: Zou Yuan and Yang Cong.

After years of loyalty and diligence, Yang Cong finally made it onto the All-Stars. On the other hand, Zou Yuan made it twice previously when he shouldn't have. This time, his performance had really stood out from the rest of the pack, and he had secured a spot in the All-Stars. This time, his true value was demonstrated, and his votes were not from fans who were hung up on a character or who wanted to be spiteful towards a certain other player.

Seeing the names now at rank 25 and 26, everyone felt that it was a shame. Those two were definitely qualified to be All-Stars.

Zhang Jiale, a player in the Alliance since Season 2. Aside from his retirement during Season 8, this was the first year he had failed to make it into the All-Stars.

Liu Xiaobie. This was the second time he had missed out on a spot by an inch.

Lin Jingyan and Fang Rui, the former Criminal Duo, were now neither a combination nor teammates. However, they stood together outside the All-Star rankings.

Finally, Tian Sen and the former God-level character Peaceful Hermit could not defend their last shred of glory and were also out of the All-Stars. What might be going through Tian Sen's head right now?

The All-Star Weekend drew near!