Chapter 92 – Battle Arena

Li Cangyu logged into the game, opened the guild window and saw that the contribution points was once again full.

Vice President Small Elf saw him online and immediately sent a private chat message: [President, the contribution points are full. We can rise to a level five guild!]

Li Cangyu sent him an encouragement emoji and replied: [You’ve worked hard.]

Small Elf smiled. [You’re welcome President!]

Li Cangyu went to the guild administrator to upgrade the Food Squad to a level five guild. The server immediately issued a golden announcement.

[Congratulations to the Food Squad for upgrading to level 5! A level five guild has no limit on the number of people. Feel free to apply!]

The presidents of the major guilds were stoic when they saw this.

The president of the Food Squad was Cat God. This wasn’t a secret among the presidents of the large guilds. However, Luo Xiaoluo didn’t know the truth. He sent a message to President Time Machine: [President, the Food Squad has reached level five! What should we do next? Continue to ally with them?]

Time Machine sent him a smiling expression. [Of course, this is the guild of Cat God.]

Luo Xiaoluo wondered: [Cat God? Which Cat God?]

Time Machine: [Your favourite Cheng Wei’s idol, Cat God.]

Luo Xiaoluo: […]

Oh my god! He thought this person was Cheng Wei’s fan and even used Cheng Wei’s signature to lure him to join the guild!

When he saw Braised Fish change to a summoner’s weapon in the novice village, he also directed in a righteous manner: [You are a novice. Elves should play archers or hunters.]

Luo Xiaoluo’s face turned red with humiliation as he remembered all of this. A big rookie actually tried to guide Cat God!

Luo Xiaoluo’s fingers trembled and he sent a message to Love to Eat Braised Fish: [Are you really Cat God?]

Li Cangyu replied: [Did Time Machine tell you?]

Luo Xiaoluo: [Yes!]

Li Cangyu smiled and typed: [I am Cat God.]

Luo Xiaoluo was silent for a moment before shamelessly asking: [Cat God, can you give me a signature?]

Li Cangyu was surprised. [Aren’t you Cheng Wei’s fan?]

Luo Xiaoluo: [Cheng Wei’s idol is also my idol! Cat God, please give me a signature!]

Li Cangyu couldn’t help laughing. [Okay. But you have to keep this matter a secret for the time being. Don’t tell anyone else.]

Luo Xiaoluo immediately sent a row of smiling emojis. [I know Cat God! I will keep your secret.]

These players in the online game might not be comparable to professional players but Li Cangyu felt they had some lovely points, especially the three classmates. This person was Cheng Wei’s fan, so there was no need to put on the act of a ‘great god.’

[President, why haven’t you been online these days?] Small Elf sent another message.

Li Cangyu replied: [I’m in New York and went to watch the Carnival.]

Small Elf was envious. [You went to the venue to watch it?]

[Yes.]

[Did you see Captain Ling? Was it close up? Is he handsome?]

Li Cangyu thought, ‘Not only did I meet him, but I also hugged him while sleeping.’

[I saw him. He is more handsome than his photos.] Li Cangyu didn’t hesitate to boast about his sweetheart.

Small Elf excitedly said: [I also wanted to go to watch but a student has no money to go abroad. I don’t know when the Carnival will be held in China!]

Li Cangyu smiled. [It will happen one day. As long as China’s Miracle players are recognised around the world, the World Competition might be held in China.]

This was his best wish. He might not be there personally when the moment came but he believed that one day, the stage of the world’s e-sports competition could also be moved to China.

[By the way, I bought gifts for the three of you. I asked my friend to bring them back to China so give me your address and I’ll mail them to you.] On the day that he showed Xiao Han around, he bought three sets of commemorative bookmarks. They were out of print domestically and Li Cangyu was very grateful to the three university students for helping him manage the guild. Therefore, he bought souvenirs for the three people.

Small Elf was thrilled. [Thank you, President! I’m so touched, hahaha!]

Li Cangyu smiled and typed: [There is one more thing I have to trouble you with. I am going to open a Food Squad cross-server arena challenge. Those who pass the first challenge will win 50,000 gold coins and the second challenge will give one million gold coins. For the next few days, please make a program and publicise it on the forums.]

Small Elf was stunned: [One million? Our guild warehouse doesn’t have that much money!]

Li Cangyu sent a row of smiling faces. [Don’t be afraid. No one can take the money away.]

Small Elf: […]

Li Cangyu: [Rest assured, we won’t make a loss from the business. Just do it.]

The reward of one million gold sounded terrible since they would go bankrupt if they lost. However, the president probably had another purpose apart from increasing the fame of the Food Squad.

Small Elf thought this and immediately agreed. [I will discuss it with the other two and write a promotional post. After it is done, I will show it to President.]

***

The publicity post was soon written and Small Elf sent it to Li Cangyu’s mailbox. Li Cangyu looked at it carefully. This guy was very talented. He was probably on the promotional committee or part of the student association’s promotional department at school. The advertisement was excellent and full of appeal.

Li Cangyu said with relief: [Very good. Post it on Sunday night.]

There were still two days until Sunday. Li Cangyu delayed it because Xiao Han hadn’t given him a definite answer yet. He just thought this when his phone lit up. Xiao Han had sent him a text message. [Master, I told my father. He didn’t agree…]

Li Cangyu smiled helplessly. It seemed he would have to go there in person.

Li Cangyu wanted to thoroughly understand Xiao Han’s situation, so he replied: [Don’t be afraid, I’ll come tomorrow to see you.]

***

The next afternoon, Li Cangyu took the bus to Boston and found the address that Xiao Han had given him. It was Xiao Han’s home.

Li Cangyu entered and found that Xiao Han was the only one at home. In the living room, there was a photo of a trio. Xiao Han was only six or seven years old in the photo. He looked like an innocent and ignorant child. The blond hair and black eyes made him look like a lovely angel.

His father was Chinese. He wasn’t very handsome but his facial features were dignified and he looked very tough. His mother was a blonde, blue-eyed American with white skin and a stunning appearance. Both husband and wife were smiling and seemed very loving. However, there were no signs of a female around the house.

Li Cangyu was very sharp and soon realised that Xiao Han’s mother might not be here anymore.

Xiao Han saw that his master’s gaze was on the photo and couldn’t help lowering his head. “My mother died of breast cancer. It happened soon after my father brought me to America.”

It was no wonder that this child was so proud and stubborn. Many children who grew up in single-parent homes would be particularly rebellious. Li Cangyu saw him hanging his head and couldn’t help feeling distressed. He gently patted his apprentice’s head.

Xiao Han cried out stubbornly, “I’m fine. It has been many years and I haven’t been sad for a long time.”

Li Cangyu was silent for a moment before changing the topic. “What about your father?”

Xiao Han said, “My father went to the law firm because he needs to deal with a lawsuit.” He took the initiative to pour water for Li Cangyu was he spoke. “Master, drink some water. Do you want me to make something for you to eat?”

Li Cangyu was surprised. “You can cook?”

Xiao Han scratched his head with embarrassment. “It isn’t as delicious as Vice-Captain Bai’s cooking.”

Li Cangyu laughed. “There is no need. I’m not hungry. I will talk to your father when he returns.”

This teenager reminded Li Cangyu of himself.

In the beginning, he was the same age as Xiao Han and embarked on this challenging road despite his father’s opposition.

He was very distressed by Xiao Han and wanted to make Xiao Han’s road as smooth as possible. Now he had the ability to protect this teenager.

***

Xiao Han’s father came back in the afternoon. He saw Li Cangyu and was obviously shocked, asking, “You are?”

Li Cangyu took the initiative to hold out a hand and introduce himself. “I am the captain of Xiao Han’s team, Li Cangyu.”

Xiao Zhenjun was surprised. He thought that his rebellious son mixed with several unemployed people while playing the game. He didn’t expect the team captain to actually come here.

Li Cangyu looked handsome, had a humble attitude and gave a very reliable first impression.

Xiao Zhenjun glanced at him and said, “Hello. I thought Xiao Han was just looking for an excuse to go out and play when he said he wanted to play the game competitively. Is this really true?”

“Yes, I am a professional player from the Dragon Warriors E-Sports Club and the current captain of the Miracle division team. I am recruiting talents to prepare for next year’s professional league.” Li Cangyu patiently explained the situation of the Dragon Warriors club and also took out a contract template to show him.

Xiao Zhenjun was a lawyer. After reading the contract, half the doubts in his heart were dispelled.

Li Cangyu continued saying, “Mr. Xiao, we aren’t just playing around. You can rest assured that if Xiao Han follows me, he won’t fall behind. I started playing competitively at his age and there are many competitors his age in the professional league right now. If he joins the team, I am confident that I can train him to be a great god in the league.”

Xiao Han was standing to the side and not talking. Once he heard this, his eyes flashed and he looked at Li Cangyu with a touched expression.

Li Cangyu smiled and stated, “Don’t be in a hurry to refuse. Why don’t you develop a better understanding of the Miracle Professional League first? I have a lot of data on the professional league on this USB drive. You should take a look and then make a decision.”

He was very prepared as he took a USB flash drive out of his pocket and handed it to Xiao Han’s father.

Xiao Zhenjun looked at the data very quickly. In less than five minutes, he looked away from the computer. This time, his eyes weren’t filled with as many doubts.

“Can Xiao Han’s level reach the point of playing competitively?” Xiao Zhenjun looked at his son and didn’t feel very reassured. “I know he has been playing the game recently but I thought he was just blindly playing.”

Xiao Han immediately looked up. “No! I made a lot of money selling equipment and gold coins in the game!”

He hurried to show his bankbook to his father. “See, this is the money I made myself. I will be 18 years old in January and I can support myself.”

The teenager’s eyes were stubborn and serious. Xiao Zhenjun looked at the number in the passbook and felt mixed emotions.

He always felt that his son became stubborn and rebellious because of his mother’s death. He thought his son was just casually playing the game and hadn’t expected the child to actually make money from it. The money wasn’t much but it was enough for daily expenses.

He had been busy working for the past few years and rarely stayed home with Xiao Han.

Xiao Han had the common 17-year-old youth’s ‘go against the adults’ attitude but he wasn’t a bad person. He was actually very sensible. At a young age, he learned to cook and make money. His academic performance wasn’t good but he had talent in other areas.

“Mr. Xiao, you can rest assured that we will take care of Xiao Han after he returns to China. The team has a well-equipped group dormitory and a canteen. The team also has a 17-year-old young man who is a similar age. The two of them can become excellent friends. Our team might’ve just been set up but there are a few excellent players. For example, Tree of the US ICE team. He is Chinese and has decided to join our team after his contract ends this year.” Li Cangyu paused before saying with firm eyes, “If you give me Xiao Han, I can guarantee that he will have a good future.”

Xiao Han looked at his father. “Dad, let me go back to China. I want to go and play the game.”

“…” There was a long silence before Xiao Zhenjun spoke. “Let me think about it.

The other party was already shaken. If Li Cangyu spoke any further, it might be counterproductive.

Xiao Zhenjun politely left to let them eat. Li Cangyu tasted Xiao Han’s cooking. It wasn’t as delicious as Bai Xuan but it was very rare for such a young person to be able to cook.

Once dinner ended, Xiao Zhenjun called his son to the study to say a few words. Then Xiao Han ran out happily, crying out to Li Cangyu, “Master, my father agreed!”

Li Cangyu saw him excitedly jumping up and down and gently rubbed his head. “It is good that he agreed.”

Xiao Han kept speaking. “My father isn’t comfortable about me going back alone. He has recently wanted to open a law firm in China so he will go back with us! By the way, he also told me to go back to New York with you to make sure that I am suitable to play competitively.”

Xiao Han’s father was a professional lawyer and very calm. Li Cangyu looked up into the man’s eyes and smiled. “Mr. Xiao, rest assured, I won’t let you and Xiao Han feel disappointed.”

Xiao Zhenjun nodded. “Then please look after Xiao Han.”

***

Li Cangyu went to Boston alone but brought back a little blond-haired, black-eyes sidekick. Bai Xuan asked with a smile, “It seems the problem has been solved? Xiao Han will be living with us?”

Xiao Han nodded with delight. “Yes!”

It was great that he could eat the chicken wings cooked by Vice-Captain Bai!

After dinner, Li Cangyu went to the guild to explain the promotion for the arena challenge. The Food Squad members started to advertise in the Miracle forums, Baidu and other game sections.

The news that the Food Squad was going to open a cross-server arena challenge quickly spread throughout the country.

Ling Xuefeng returned to China and saw this advertisement, which had risen to the top of the forum’s daily popular advertisements. It stated: first defeat Frost Descends and receive 50,000 gold. Second, defeat Love to Eat Braised Fish and win one million gold.

Li Cangyu was really witty. He was a master and used this high bonus to attract masters. Besides, Xiao Han could play against various masters and improve his PK level as quickly as possible…

Ling Xuefeng thought up to here and sent a message calling his apprentice over.

Qin Mo came to his master’s room and bowed his head. “Master is looking for me?”

Did he make a big mistake recently? Was Master going to lecture him as soon as Master returned home?

The surprising thing was that Ling Xuefeng actually gave Qin Mo a set of bookmarks. “I bought this for you in New York.”

Qin Mo immediately received them “Thank you, Master!”

Master might seem indifferent on the surface but he was a very attentive person!

The deeply moved Qin Mo listened to Ling Xuefeng’s next words. “I will arrange a task for you. Starting from tomorrow night, the Food Squad will open a cross-server arena challenge. Find a side account to enter the arena.”

“The Food Squad?” Qin Mo had long known about the challenge. Love to Eat Braised Fish was Cat God. Qin Mo thought about being abused by Cat God and couldn’t help whispering, “I…I can’t beat Cat God.”

“Naturally.” Ling Xuefeng agreed. “I’m not asking you to defeat Cat God. Just beat the first stage.”

QIn Mo was puzzled. “The first stage? Are you talking about Frost Descends?”

Ling Xuefeng explained, “He is Cat God’s new apprentice.”

Qin Mo sighed with relief. “Master, you’re telling me to open a side account against Cat God’s apprentice?”

“Yes, have the president prepare at least 10 accounts with different classes. If each one can win against Xiao Han, I will give you an opportunity to participate in the playoffs.”

Playoffs?

Qin Mo’s eyes brightened and he immediately exclaimed, “I know! I will beat him!”

‘The boy called Xiao Han, let’s go.

My master and your master are the strongest opponents. It is time for us apprentices to face each other.’

Qin Mo vowed that since Cat God abused him, he must make Xiao Han cry and beg for mercy tomorrow.