But Yu Wenzhou, who could normally a.n.a.lyze any problem, was completely perplexed this time. He truly could not see the reason why Ye Xiu and Mo Fan had dragged on the battle for those 23 minutes. Were they really looking for an opportunity to defeat the five of them? Yu Wenzhou didn't think Ye Xiu was that naive. Were they really just trying to screw with everyone on purpose? Yu Wenzhou didn't think Ye Xiu was that childish.

Then what was the reason?

In fact, Yu Wenzhou had thought about this the entire time after the battle ended, and when the players shook hands at the end, he actually asked Ye Xiu. But Ye Xiu had merely given him an inscrutable smile.

Now, when the reporters asked him about his opinion on those extra 23 minutes, Yu Wenzhou was very honest as he shook his head. "I was thinking about this the whole time, but I could not think of what their goal was in doing this."

"What kind of goal could there be? He was just doing this to screw with us!" Huang Shaotian said immediately.

Yu Wenzhou smiled wryly and shook his head, expressing his disagreement with that sentiment.

"You can't always think of him as so high and profound," said Huang Shaotian.

"But at the very least, there has to be logic," said Yu Wenzhou.

"s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with people, isn't that a very logical thing for him?" Huang Shaotian said.

"Normally, perhaps. But not during a match," said Yu Wenzhou.

These two G.o.ds of Blue Rain just directly discussed in front of the reporters, but in the end they still didn't reach a conclusion. Those 23 infuriating minutes had become an unsolvable riddle.

What kind of secret was hidden within?

Some of the less serious media just reported like this, garnering a sizable reaction in the circle and provoking all sorts of incredible theories.

Countless people were stuck on these 23 minutes. But Happy itself wasn't too concerned about it at all. The 23 minutes came and went, and Ye Xiu hadn't said anything about this to Mo Fan. He'd just been helping Mo Fan, with his personality, do what he wanted to.

But Ye Xiu very much appreciated how, after he'd created a diversion to help Mo Fan escape the encirclement, that kid had doubled back to try and help out Ye Xiu. In reality, Ye Xiu hadn't planned for that to happen; he'd been prepared to sacrifice himself and then let Mo Fan to continue to hide for as long as he was able. But Mo Fan had actually returned after escaping to save Ye Xiu. It looked like this guy finally knew what it meant to be teammates. And in that moment, when he'd been helping Ye Xiu break free, the two of them had coordinated quite well.

Watching each of Happy's rookies grow and develop put Ye Xiu in a very good mood. But Happy's scores weren't nearly as crazy as they'd been during that one period. From their loss in Round 19 to 301, to their loss to Blue Rain today, in those seven rounds, Happy had lost five matches.

Right now, Happy was in sixth place. In terms of placement, that only seemed slightly worse than the fifth place they'd been able to maintain earlier. But back in Round 18, Happy had been earning points even faster than Samsara, whereas now, Samsara's lead was unchanged and the only two teams in the second tier, above 180 points, were Blue Rain and Tiny Herb. After that, Tyranny, Thunderclap, and Happy were in the 160-point tier, and Hundred Blossoms and 301 were in the 150-point tier, which wasn't far off at all from the 160-point tier.

The situation of the top 8 instantly became more complex. 301 was shooting up after the winter transfers, increasing the compet.i.tion. For now, Wind Howl had become the sacrifice for 301 and were kicked out of the top 8.

Still, the differences weren't too large right now, and Wind Howl certainly wasn't done for. Although their current situation was so bad that their home fans were cheering for the away team, they still maintained the strength of their individual members. Even if they still couldn't find a suitable system for the team compet.i.tion, as long as they played the individual battles well and earned points from the weaker teams, Wind Howl still had a chance at top 8.

After them, Void couldn't be ignored either. Misty Rain, still struggling to solve their strategic problems, seemed to be a bit weaker. And then Royal Style, Miracle, and such teams were now a solid 40-50 points behind. They didn't have much of a chance at the top 8. As for the teams that were to be relegated, Bright Green and Seaside, their chances of survival had basically dwindled away.

The situation with the top 8 was still the event to watch. Who would rise to here? Who would fall from here? This was the topic most nerve-wracking and thrilling about the regular season.

In the blink of an eye, Round 26 began. The teams near the eighth-place cutoff all became important subjects for the media to report on.

Among them, Wind Howl, who'd just been thrown out of the top 8 after Round 25, desperately needed to return to their place. For a team that'd claimed that their goal was to obtain the champions.h.i.+p, it'd just be too embarra.s.sing if they couldn't even make it to the playoffs. But Wind Howl's luck with their match schedule was reaching an end. After easily abusing a series of weak teams, it was finally time for them to face their demonic match schedule.

Round 26, away game against Tyranny.

Round 27, home game against Blue Rain.

Round 28, home game against 301.

Two powerhouses and a compet.i.tor for the top 8. Those who didn't have much faith left in Wind Howl were already predicting what place they'd fall to after these three rounds. Even Wind Howl themselves expressed their nervousness during team meetings. But to the outside world, they still had to maintain appearances, repeatedly expressing how their condition was improving.

And so, they faced Team Tyranny. As the two teams shook hands before the match began, Lin Jingyan stared at this unfamiliar Wind Howl and felt overcome with emotion.

When he'd left, he had already been past his prime. His condition had slipped, and he no longer had the ability to serve as the core of a team. This could be considered a normal replacement of the old with the new. But after this, Wind Howl also let go of Fang Rui and a whole host of old "officials," instead digging up new face after new face from outside.

Lin Jingyan was now already completely unfamiliar with this Wind Howl. Unfamiliar with the players, unfamiliar with their playstyles, and unfamiliar with the atmosphere this team now expressed.

Lin Jingyan didn't know what he should be feeling. 

In terms of results, it was true that Wind Howl last season had done far better than it had while he'd been on the team. This season, even though they'd fallen to ninth, that was about the same score they'd had while Lin Jingyan was still there. Their team had always hovered around eighth.

From this it could be seen that these new Wind Howl players were quite strong. They'd done what the old Wind Howl had never managed to do, but the outside world viewed them as being in poor condition. Reading between the lines, this showed just how high everyone's expectations toward Wind Howl were.

Playoffs? No. The people in Wind Howl now were all hoping to charge for the champions.h.i.+p victory. And this was a height to which Lin Jingyan had never managed to lead Wind Howl. From this point, he wasn't as strong as this new generation of Wind Howl players.

It looked like Lin Jingyan was in no position to criticize this Wind Howl. But he was somewhat saddened by this new Wind Howl.

Elite player after elite player had gathered in this team, but in the end, they had molded together into an unremarkable whole. Even now, they didn't have a mature strategic system.

"What in the world are you guys doing?"

As he shook hands with these current Wind Howl players, Lin Jingyan truly wished he could ask them all this question.

He was now gone from Wind Howl. But after so many years with them, how could his feelings disappear so quickly?

Seeing Wind Howl's fans leave the stadium early, cheering for the opposite team, Lin Jingyan could imagine just how disappointed they were. He was someone who understood these fans the best.

When he turned around and looked, in the seats reserved for the guest team fans, the audience members were sitting all scattered about. Was Wind Howl's fan group dispersing because of their disappointment?

But Wind Howl's flag was still flying as high as ever.

It was Old Lu.

Lin Jingyan saw the fan who was raising that flag high up. It was a fan who had followed Wind Howl for a whole nine years - he'd been with this team longer than any of the players currently in Wind Howl. Accurately speaking, he'd been with them even longer than Lin Jingyan had. After all, Lin Jingyan had said farewell to Wind Howl after Season 8, leaving his experience with the team capped at seven years.

He had left.

But Old Lu was still here, lifting Wind Howl's flag just like before, occasionally giving it a strong wave.

Lin Jingyan waved his hand at him, and Old Lu nodded toward him.

They'd known each other for nine years now, growing alongside Wind Howl as this team was established.

Did Old Lu still remember what the old Wind Howl was like? Lin Jingyan couldn't help but wonder.

Very soon, the first individual compet.i.tion was beginning, and Lin Jingyan stood from his seat. For this match, he was the first to go on in the individual match.

The applause from the crowd now was from Tyranny's fans, but Lin Jingyan couldn't help but look toward the away team's audience section. Old Lu wasn't waving the flag right now. It looked like he was saying something to the seemingly bleak Wind Howl fans beside him. 

Lin Jingyan didn't worry about it any more; this wasn't something that he should worry about. He walked steadily toward the stage, at the same time glancing at the electronic display to see who his opponent would be.

Tang Hao?

When the name was displayed, Lin Jingyan hesitated for just the barest moment.

He turned his head to look toward Wind Howl's player area, and indeed, it was Tang Hao coming onstage.

Wind Howl wasn't letting their powerful general anchor the group arena? They were sending him to the individual round?

What were they trying to do? Get a head start? The team's spirits were low, so they wanted to get everyone energized with a strong opening?

Even as Lin Jingyan made guesses, his footsteps were steady as he stepped onto the stage.

Ever since that time he'd been defeated by Tang Hao at the All-Star Weekend, Lin Jingyan had never met Tang Hao in an individual battle. Now, his skill level was likely even worse than it'd been at that All-Stars.

But…

"Would he be any more difficult to fight than Lord Grim?" Lin Jingyan said to himself.