——  On May 10th, the opening ceremony of the Miracle League’s first division was held at the venue in Beijing.

  In accordance with the practice of previous years, all players of the major teams must attend. The sight of so many great gods gathering was rare. Many fans rushed to see the opening ceremony. The audience was enthusiastic and many people held fluorescent signs. The items such as light cards and big posters made it very lively.

  The Canglan team members came backstage at 6 in the evening.

  They were occasional deafening cheers from the venue. The big screen backstage showed the scenes happening at the venue. Xiao Han saw the frightening sea of audience members and couldn’t help saying, “It is more than the audience of the second division.”

  Gu Siming excitedly replied, “Of course! The first division has many great gods with high popularity. It can’t be compared to the second division.”

  Li Xiaojiang whispered, “The star’s performance, performance, performance…”

  Zhuo Hang helped him finish the words. “Isn’t it more lively than a concert?”

  Li Xiaojiang nodded seriously. “Yes!”

  As everyone was chatting, the full team of Wind Colour came backstage under Ling Xuefeng’s leadership.

  Ling Xuefeng saw the group of people and walked in a natural manner over Li Cangyu. He asked, “Are you prepared for the match?”

  Li Cangyu laughed. “Pretty much.”

  Ling Xuefeng said, “Time isn’t good to fight. I’ll cheer for you.”

  Li Cangyu nodded. “Yes.”

  Beside Ling Xuefeng was Wind Colour’s little prince, Qin Mo. Li Cangyu’s apprentice Xiao Han was also next to him. The two masters walked together and the apprentices happened to face each other.

  Qin Mo had sparred with Xiao Han for a long time and the two people gradually became familiar with each other. Recently, Xiao Han had been looking for Qin Mo to learn Chinese. They had never officially met but they had seen each other’s photos from the players data. The two people recognized each other at the same time and looked at each other curiously.

  Xiao Han found that Qin Mo was handsome and young, his body not fully matured yet. There was a trace of youthfulness on his face and the corner of his eyes were slightly raised, giving him an air of pride. However, Xiao Han knew that Qin Mo wasn’t as arrogant as other people described. He was often too angry to speak and would type a line of ellipses before going offline…

  Qin Mo also carefully looked at Xiao Han. He already knew that Xiao Han was a mixed-raced child and also saw his face when the Canglan team played. Now that he was directly facing Xiao Han, he found that this mixed-raced child looked very good. In particular, the blond hair that fell over his ears made people want to touch it and see if the hair was real.

  The two people looked at each other for a moment. Then Qin Mo removed his gaze in an uncomfortable manner. Xiao Han didn’t feel embarrassed and kept staring curiously at Qin Mo. Qin Mo’s cheeks became hot and he couldn’t help asking, “What are you looking at?”

  Xiao Han replied earnestly, “You look better than your photo.”

  Qin Mo, “…”

  Did people from the United States like to praise others so bluntly?

  Qin Mo couldn’t help feeling happy at this praise and said, “Thank you.”

  Xiao Han was perplexed. “Chinese is subtle. Shouldn’t you be modest when being praised? Why did you just say thank you?”

  Qin Mo, “…”

  Li Cangyu heard the two apprentices talking and couldn’t help laughing. He touched Xiao Han’s head and explained, “When praised, many young people will say thank you, especially if they are confident. Qin Mo has grown well, right Qin Mo?”

  Qin Mo’s face was slightly red. “Cat God is flattering me.”

  Xiao Han asked, “Why didn’t you say thank you again?”

  Qin Mo glanced at him. “Conversations should be divided into contexts!”

  \r \r \r

  Xiao Han was even more confused. “What is context?”

  Qin Mo, “…”

  Li Cangyu helplessly patted Xiao Han on the shoulder. “The domestic language habits are a bit complicated. You can slowly learn it.”

  Xiao Han muttered “Oh,” and followed his master. He just walked two steps when he turned back and waved at Qin Mo, making a gesture that showed he wanted to continue discussing the problem of context later on.

  Qin Mo felt like crying.

  Ling Xuefeng suddenly turned around and asked, “Are you teaching Xiao Han Chinese?”

  Qin Mo lowered his head and replied, “Yes, I didn’t want to teach me but he kept following me to learn…”

  “Then teach him well.” Ling Xuefeng said.

  The bottom of the food chain Qin Mo had to nod. “Yes, I know…”

  He looked at Xiao Han’s back and couldn’t help feeling some curiosity. How many skills had this mixed-race child learnt from following his master? Shouldn’t he show them in today’s match? Then there would be a good show!

  ***

  The major teams were ready backstage while the opening ceremony officially began.

  First there was a speech from the league’s chairman, Nan Jiangang.

  Chairman Nan walked onto the stage, picked up a microphone and said simply, “The seventh season is when there will be an overall reform of the competition system. Together with the World Competition, it will be a new starting point for our Miracle League. Whether it is an old contestant or new contestant, this season everyone stands at the same starting point. I hope that everyone takes the matches seriously and respects their opponent. Show the audience the wonders of the league’s professional players!”

  The chairman never liked to talk. Once he finished, he decisively handed the microphone to the host.

  The host smiled and said, “Thank the chairman for his message! I believe that the players won’t let down the audience supporting the league! Next up is the exciting entrance of the teams. First, there is the team that just returned to the league this season, the Canglan team!”

  The eight contestants dressed in neat uniforms walked onto the big stage. The host read their names in turn and introduced the team. “This is a team made of four old players and four newcomers. It is led by Cat God, who has left Miracle for three years and finally returned with new teammates! Let us welcome the Canglan team with warm applause!”

  There was deafening applause as Li Cangyu entered with his teammates. His face was very calm.

  Next was the Flying Feathers team, the Ghost Spirits team, the Red Fox team, the Cheetah team, the Pure Cleansing team and the Time team. This was arranged according to the first letter in the pinyin spelling of their name. Finally, the winners of the last season, the Wind Colour appeared as the finale.

  Once all contestants stood on the stage, the photos snapped a few photos. The audience cheered wildly and a number of people stood up, excitedly waving their light sticks.

  Once the photo taking session was complete, the host allowed all players to walk down from the big stage. They sat on the pre-arranged VIP seats and watched the opening ceremony with everyone.

  This year’s opening ceremony was much larger than usual. The venue had been expanded by a few times and the number of people who came to watch today exceeded 100,000. It was the more wonderful opening ceremony.

  However, the players of the Canglan team weren’t in the mood to watch the opening show. It was because once the opening ceremony was over, the important opening match of the seventh season was waiting for them.

  ***

  Halfway through the opening ceremony, Li Cangyu took his teammates backstage to prepare. At the same time, Tan Shitian and the Time members also headed backstage.

  The backstage area had separate lounges for the teams in order to prevent tactical leaks before the match.

  Li Cangyu closed the door and stated, “In the match that will take place later, there is no way to determine what mode Tan Shitian will select. Still, I can be sure that Time will definitely choose a team battle.”

  Bai Xuan nodded in agreement. “In order to deal with a new team, the team battle has a higher rate of winning then the arena. Time has always been strong in a team battle. I feel that Tan Shitian might choose to play two games as a team battle or perhaps even directly select three team battles.”

  Li Cangyu told them, “Our lineup will be the same as what was previously arranged. Everyone be sure to listen to the commander. Don’t feel pressure. Relax and play well. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose. This is the first game and it is enough if we play according to our level.”

  Then he reached out a hand and placed it in the middle. “Come on!”

  The team immediately placed their hands together and shouted, “Come on!”

  ***

  Next door, Tan Shitian’s expression was very relaxed. He smiled and said, “This is our home match. Not only do we have the advantage of selecting the map, we also have the freedom to choose between the team battle and arena. Cat God’s tactics are varied and we have to adapt.” He turned to look at the person standing next to him and added, “Xiao Wei, you stare at Cat God. If you can control him then do so. Don’t let him use his wind spirit.”

  He had never played against Li Cangyu but Tan Shitian had seen many of the Canglan team’s battles. It was clear that the most difficult thing about Li Cangyu was the wind spirit. It could often reverse the situation with Storm Fury.

  Cheng Wei nodded seriously at his captain’s order. “Rest assured, I will keep an eye on Cat God!”

  Cat God might be his most adored idol but once they met on the field, Cheng Wei wouldn’t be polite to his opponent!

  ***

  The opening ceremony finally came to an end. The theatre performance of the six Miracle races brought the atmosphere to the peak. The audience’s deafening screams and clapping could be clearly heard backstage.

  The two hosts smiled and walked to the centre of the big stage. “The opening ceremony ends here. Thank you to all the performers for bringing us this wonderful evening.”

  “There is another important event that will be unveiled. I believe that the audience has been looking forward to it for a long time. The season’s opening battle will be between the new Canglan team and the host Time team. Both sides have great gods gathered and it will definitely be a great sight!”

  “Let’s switch to the live room where Yu Bing and Kou Hongyi will be explaining this wonderful event for everyone!”

  The camera switched to the commentators who were already ready.

  Kou Hongyi saw the switch and immediately said, “Audience friends, good evening. Welcome to the first match of the first division of the Miracle League. The first match is Canglan VS Time. First, let’s take a look at the pre-match winning percentage prediction.”

  The winning rate predictions appeared on the big screen. 40% guessed that Canglan would win, 50% guessed that Time would win and the remaining 10% were unsure.

  This type of support ratio was normal. After all, the Time team had always performed well in the Miracle League. The major media outlets had reported on Li Cangyu’s return but he had still left Miracle for many years. Many new fans didn’t know him.

  Kou Hongyi turned back and asked, “Sister Bing, what do you think?”

  Yu Bing said lightly, “Today is the home match of the Time team. It will be difficult for the away team, Canglan to take points. However, Canglan has several ace players, especially Cat God. His ability to respond on the spot is extremely fast and his tactical literacy is also high. He is good at dealing with various situations. It depends on the games.”

  Kou Hongyi nodded in agreement. “The strength of both sides are quite high and it is hard to predict before the match. Let’s take a look at the data for the players on both sides.”

  The big screen listened the data for both teams.

  In the seventh season, the number of participants was limited to six players in the team mode and two on the arena mode. However, the number of players in the team battle and the arena could be repeated.

  In the seventh season, the Time team consisted of Captan Tan Shitian, Vice-Captain Cheng Wei, main elf archer Lu Xiao, assistant elf archers Liang Sejie and Liang Deyuan, elf hunter Zhou Yu, the paladin Chai Jun and the healer Xu Kai.

  This was the exact same lineup of the Time team in the sixth season.

  Time was a very young team and the average age of the players was less than 20 years old. There was no need to worry about the player retiring and they didn’t need to change people this season.

  Compared to the young Time team, the Canglan team was scary. There was a 26 year old player!

  Once Zhang Jueming’s data emerged, the audience members who hadn’t paid attention to the second division were surprised. People typed on the Internet broadcast room: [26! He is an antique in the World Competition!] [Uncle has courage! I will praise Uncle!]

  In addition to Zhang Jueming, Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan were 23 to 24 years old. They were considered old players in the e-sports circle.

  It was the four teenagers who pulled down the average age of the team. The four of them were 17 or 18 years old and they looked quite young in their photos.

  Once the list of players was revealed, Yu Bing said, “The players on both sides are ready. The match will start soon so let’s cut the camera back to the soundproof room.”

  The camera switched and the audience saw the players on the big screen. Two faces appeared on both sides of the screen. The captains of both teams were given a zoomed in shot. Tan Shitian smiled and looked relaxed while Li Cangyu’s expression was very calm. The two captains didn’t seem nervous at all.

  Soon, the referee’s lights lit up and the match officially began.

  The Time team’s home lights were on as the captain chose the match mode and maps.

  Tan Shitian quickly submitted the match modes—team battle, team battle, arena.

  Li Cangyu came to Bai Xuan and said, “Fortunately, Tan Shitian didn’t choose three team battles.”

  Bai Xuan looked at him helplessly. Captain Tan’s choices were actually very difficult for Canglan. Tan Shitian’s intentions were obvious. He planned to use the advantages of the Time team in the team battles to win some points. In the end, he and Cheng Wei would join hands to finish the match in the arena. The young captain’s ambition wasn’t small. He probably wanted to win all three games.

  However… there was Cat God sitting here. Wanting to take a full score from underneath Cat God’s nose, Tan Shitian was thinking too simply!