103 Esports King

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Jiang Zhe must have been running around construction sites quite a bit lately. After being massaged by the technician, he felt like he was floating on air. Plus, since Chen Jue was treating him to this spa session, it didn’t take long for him to spill all the details about the equestrian club.

When Chen Jue heard that the place even had an outdoor archery range, his interest was piqued.

Coincidentally, the boss of Rainbow Studio had just sent him a high-poundage antique-style Han bow. He had been fretting over the lack of a place to practice real combat archery to speed up his archery skill proficiency.

Because a bow and arrow isn’t like a dart—both are controlled items with certain dangers—it was impossible to practice archery in an apartment or on the Jiang University campus.

Now that there was a suitable place to use for free, Chen Jue naturally wanted to give it a try.

...

After finishing the spa, Chen Jue generously picked up the tab.

Seeing his extravagance, Jiang Zhe curiously asked, “Fourth Brother, didn’t you quit your job? Isn’t this a bit too extravagant?”

“No worries. I’ve been making a little extra from running business deals recently, better than when I was working,” Chen Jue waved his hand and casually offered an excuse to brush it off.

He hadn’t yet told his closest university roommates about his secret identity as a pro player, nor had he revealed it to any relatives.

Mainly, he didn’t want the “internet celebrity” label to disrupt their previously simple relationships, nor did he want to be that conspicuous treasure in their real-life social circles, becoming the subject of friends’ idle gossip.

As for the few outsiders like Guo Shao and Yang Fan, Chen Jue wasn’t too worried since they were only casual acquaintances outside his social circle.

In a sprawling city like Hangzhou, it was rare to even bump into each other, and even if they knew, they wouldn’t exploit Chen Jue’s identity for drama.

“Running business?”

“Still automotive finance loans?” Jiang Zhe mumbled a few words but didn’t press further.

Because every adult has their own path and survival skills in society.

Jiang Zhe knew Chen Jue had been in automotive finance for years, so he must have a good network and resources. Making some extra cash to get by wasn’t a big deal.

So as soon as they left Jing Tang Hui, Jiang Zhe handed Chen Jue a cigarette and started joking, “Boss Jue is generous! Boss Jue is open-handed!” Then he dragged Chen Jue to their usual slack-off internet cafe for some gaming to kick off the second half of the night.

Chen Jue didn’t refuse. After a month of intense training, life felt a bit solitary. Used to auditing classes, he needed some proper relaxation and diversion.

Using the nimbleness gained from max-level “Hidden Weapon Throwing,” he led Jiang Zhe to several consecutive MVP victories in League of Legends, with opponents surrendering after just 15 minutes each game.

Seeing Chen Jue’s rapid rise in competitive gaming skill, completely out of the bronze rank’s usual level, Jiang Zhe was puzzled.

“Fourth Brother, you’re not going to practice ranked matches every day with Fifth Brother, are you?”

“We used to be total noobs when queuing together! Your streak of pentakills seems unreal!”

When Chen Jue pulled off another pentakill and carried the whole game, Jiang Zhe leaned in to watch his moves.

Chen Jue’s fingers danced over the keyboard and mouse like a pianist—anyone could tell that was the more than 300 APM speed of a pro player!

Among their six roommates, only Wang Wei, an Ionian King-tier player, had similar skills.

“I haven’t played for a long time. The feel just came back,” Chen Jue smiled slightly.

“Check my stats if you don’t believe me.”

He hadn’t expected his fingers to become so agile, his eyesight to improve, and all that to boost his gaming performance.

Esports games test speed, vision, and reflexes intensely. Chen Jue had spent years in an office, with stiff limbs and declining eyesight that made screen time hazy. The mechanical client approvals also dulled his mental reflexes.

Fortunately, gaining the panel not only made his hands more agile and strong, but the increase in his “Mental” attribute also sped up his reactions.

Though still not at pro gamer level, dominating several low-rank matches was no longer a challenge.

...

After being carried by Chen Jue all night, Jiang Zhe was thrilled.

Not only was the gaming fun, but the luxurious spa at Jing Tang Hui was also on Chen Jue’s tab—he fully relaxed for the evening.

If not for his wife’s relentless calls, Jiang Zhe would have begged Chen Jue to keep playing.

At thirty, a man’s pressure was immense—working hard by day and taking care of wife and kids by night, little personal time remained.

After handing the last Diamond Lotus cigarette to Chen Jue and agreeing to meet again at the equestrian club next week, Jiang Zhe reluctantly left the internet café early.

Chen Jue, however, stayed behind, likely wanting to ride the gaming momentum for a few more rounds before heading home.

Having been a noob getting thrashed before, scoring so many kills and winning streaks was rare and addictive. If he stopped now, he might have nightmares.

So after Jiang Zhe left, Chen Jue immediately messaged Wang Wei to see if he wanted to queue up.

Wang Wei had just finished a game with his sponsor and was ready for another. Seeing Chen Jue wanted to join, he agreed immediately.

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Since he ran a boosting studio, leading one was no problem, leading two was still manageable.

But seeing Chen Jue’s bronze-ranked account, Wang Wei frowned, worried about dragging down the team with bad teammates. So he sent Chen Jue a King-tier account to use.

It was Chen Jue’s first time playing on a King-tier account, so he felt a bit excited. Crushing low-level matches no longer satisfied his craving for real competitive challenge.

As soon as he logged into the borrowed account, a rank announcement echoed through the cybercafé: “Player at machine 73, a top King-tier pro from Ionia!”

The announcement instantly boosted Chen Jue’s status and presence in the café.

Nearby players and others in the area all perked up their heads to look at machine 73.

“Damn! King-tier in server 1?”

“Is this some rented account for show?”

Within minutes, even during champion select, a crowd gathered behind Chen Jue’s seat to watch the pro’s moves.

The café manager even sent over three bottles of Red Bull, saying any King-tier player gets free drinks. Chen Jue was stunned.

“No way! You get this treatment for being good at games?”

“No wonder Wang Wei’s boyfriend keeps changing girlfriends since he turned pro,” Chen Jue muttered with amusement, glancing at the curious eyes behind him.

If he messed up this game, losing and failing to impress, borrowing a King-tier account would be a total social disaster.

Worst of all, the café had a projector showing his gameplay live in the lobby, so everyone wanted to see this server 1 King-tier in action up close.

Feeling the pressure and nerves, Chen Jue relied on his practiced hand speed and reflexes, plus Wang Wei’s real King-tier cooperation.

Choosing Mantis for jungle, they crushed the enemy team right from the start.

Though he didn’t get a pentakill this time, performing so well in front of such a crowd secured his reputation as a true King-tier player.

“Awesome!”

“Look at that positioning and teamwork—no wonder he’s King-tier!”

“His hand speed is insane! That APM must be over 300!”

“Dominating server 1 King-tier matches like this, maybe he should try the Korean servers.”

The onlookers were fascinated, chatting excitedly.

Chen Jue and Wang Wei kept winning match after match, and when they finally destroyed the enemy’s nexus, Chen Jue felt immense satisfaction.

Just as he was about to stretch and leave, a notification popped up on his panel:

——————

[Ding~]

[You completed an intense competitive activity, fully exercising your hand dexterity.]

[Despite external distractions, you maintained high concentration; your neural response speed has slightly increased.]

[Mental +0.01]

[Free Attribute +0.01]

——————

“Playing games can increase attributes too?” Chen Jue was surprised.

It was the first time he gained attribute points from electronic entertainment.

But on second thought, League of Legends was an esports discipline—a new form of competitive sport.

Any competitive sport inevitably involves psychological confrontation and physical conditioning; participating isn’t easier than traditional sports, so gaining attributes made sense.

Seeing the crowd growing behind him, Chen Jue quickly logged off and slipped away.

After all, he was just using a borrowed pro account. If anyone recognized him, it would be a real social nightmare.

...

He drove back to his apartment around 11 p.m., quickly washed up.

Though their usual internet café was nice, such places always had a weird smell—cigarette smoke, instant noodles, late-night snacks, mixed with the scent of adult male sweat. Without a shower and fresh clothes, sleep was impossible.

By the time he settled into bed, it was midnight.

This was the latest Chen Jue had stayed up in recent days. A strong wave of sleepiness swept over him as his biological clock kicked in.

He woke up with the sunrise next day, feeling refreshed despite the few hours less sleep.

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Checking his panel, sure enough, there was a rare “Deep Sleep” notification from early morning, increasing his physique and mental attributes by 0.01 each.

Clearly, proper relaxation had given his body and mind a better release, triggering this precious deep sleep.

“Life really needs balance!” Chen Jue reflected, watching the panel.

“You can’t be a machine; you need rest and lubrication.”

Looking out the window, the rain had stopped, revealing vast blue skies. The sudden cold front from the south had not only dropped temperatures but cleared away the clouds.

Dressed in a thick warm jacket, Chen Jue went up to the apartment roof.

The biting cold wind carried a bleak sharpness that invigorated his spirit.

As usual, he began with horse stance exercises for his eyes, then performed the newly learned Ming Tian drum routine and massaged several ear acupoints.

After over an hour in the sun, pressing the eye and ear points, Chen Jue felt a slight redness in his eyes and warmth in his ears.

The panel, showing proficiency gains of +4 and +5, triggered another notification:

——————

[Ding~]

[Proficiency reached 100%, skill level increased.]

[Ear Care Exercises Lv1 → Lv2]

[Your understanding of ear acupoints deepened; your massage techniques became more effective.]

[Your hearing has slightly improved; the atrophied ear muscles are regaining their original flexibility.]

——————

Seeing the prompt, Chen Jue felt elated.

While stimulating the ear acupoints, he noticed his ability to distinguish environmental sounds had sharpened beyond before.

For example, from the apartment roof on the eighth floor, about 40 to 50 meters as the crow flies from the security booth at the entrance, he could barely hear any sounds before due to traffic and wind noise.

But after practicing the improved ear exercises, he began to clearly hear the old security guard playing radio programs inside the booth.

It was a storytelling show—the male host’s deep, resonant voice was distinctive. Chen Jue guessed it was an excerpt from “The Legend of Yue Fei.”

He faintly caught the term “Lin'an Prefecture,” the name of Hangzhou during the Southern Song dynasty, and heard a segment describing: “Born with divine strength, before twenty he could draw a three hundred-pound bow, and operate an eight-dan crossbow. Later he learned archery from the Iron-Armed Uncle Zhou Tong, mastering the art and able to shoot enemies at a hundred paces with both hands.”

“A three hundred-pound bow?”

“This Yue Fei guy, maybe he had a panel like mine,” Chen Jue muttered in disbelief.

Though he knew such storytelling was often exaggerated, the figure of three hundred pounds shocked him.

Because the weight of a pound in the Southern Song era was over 600 grams, meaning Yue Fei could draw a traditional Song bow weighing around 360 pounds, nearly 400 pounds, before age twenty!

That was no mere supernatural strength but a little superhuman in the age of cold weapons.

Later, after morning practice, Chen Jue looked up Yue Fei’s records while having breakfast.

Surprisingly, the claim of drawing a three hundred-pound bow and operating an eight-dan crossbow was not exaggeration but documented in the “History of Song.”

This left Chen Jue puzzled.

“Is this the understated style of historical records?”

“Or is there truly such a thing as innate divine strength?”

“Could the physical differences between ancient and modern people really be that vast?”

With these questions swirling, Chen Jue immediately thought of Zhou Chuan, the eccentric scholar he had added as a friend before.

During Zhou Chuan’s presentation, his flash drive contained research topics like “Differences in Physical Fitness Between Ancient and Modern Humans.”

Knowing Zhou Chuan’s practical mindset, these topics weren’t chosen lightly; he must have found reasons for these differences.

“Looks like I need to find time to talk more with Zhou Chuan,” Chen Jue thought, putting aside his doubts for the moment.

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(End of chapter)