Full-time master: I have a spirit behind me.

Harrison's energy exploded once again, his lazy demeanor completely vanished, and he charged at Tang San like a venomous dragon that had been thoroughly enraged.

His moves were fluid, decisive, and swift, with an added touch of agility.

In an instant, Tang San, who had been so dominant, was gradually pushed back. Pan Lin, who had been shouting excitedly, slowly fell silent. Apart from the cheers and shouts of the American team's fans and supporters, the only sounds in the arena were the constant clashes of ninja swords and claws against the Blood Sacrifice Soul.

Even Tang Hao's brows furrowed again.

Why……

Tang Hao frowned.

Judging from the opponent's skill level, there's not much difference between us. In terms of frequency, our hand speed should be about the same. As for experience, I should even have a bit more than the opponent...

But why can't you suppress your opponent, and instead you are suppressed by them?

Why is he better than me? What exactly is the difference between us?!

Forced back step by step, the clash between the ninja sword and the claws grew increasingly intense. Although he could keep up with his opponent, he simply couldn't turn the tables.

Sparks flickered, and the sounds of claws and ninja swords entered Tang Hao's mind through his headphones.

Reflection and constant questioning intertwined, ultimately forming a grand tolling bell that dispersed all the distractions.

Tang Hao was stunned for a moment, his mind going blank for a split second.

Yes, a professional player of my level is already close to the ceiling. Even if my insight is a little weak, is it really impossible to find any trace at all?
Or is it just an illusion...?

In reality, I am no worse than him; on the contrary, I am stronger.
The anxiety vanished completely in an instant.

If you always place yourself below others and expect to surpass them, you'll completely block your path to advancement if you don't see anyone above you.

Tang Hao's brows relaxed, and a smile even appeared on his lips.

How could I have never seen this before?

There's no need for me to compete; I'm already at the top.

All you need to do is be yourself.

Then, why not just wait for others to challenge you? Why are you still hesitating and worrying about things?
How stupid.

With his fingers nimbly tapping the keyboard, Tang San Da, who had been rigidly defending against his opponent's attacks, seemed to have been given a new life at this moment.

He raised his hand, deflecting the opponent's ninja sword, and then...

The fighter's [Heart-Piercing Elbow]!
……

"Tang Hao's condition seems a bit off?" Ye Xiu paused slightly, his expression becoming focused as he carefully observed Tang Hao on the big screen: "It seems..."

His words naturally attracted the attention of others.

"He's... completely out of control?" Fang Rui glanced at him, then paused, his expression turning strange. "Mu Cheng, could it be that the 'steamed bun virus' circulating online really exists and has infected Tang Hao?"

Su Mucheng rolled her eyes and ignored him.

Tang Hao's current state is indeed somewhat similar to Baozi's; he doesn't have any fixed, unorthodox fighting style, and it's more like...

"Has it really become a street fighting style?" Su Muqiu stroked his chin, his expression somewhat strange.

Li Wen's expression was also very serious. Street fighting techniques do exist. Just like the Mad Dog Fist, which focuses on mental cultivation based on criminal law, the most important thing in street fighting techniques is experience and strong physical fitness.

Be one step ahead, be ruthless, be hard-working, and be efficient.

And Tang Hao now... has clearly done just that.

"But how did Captain Tang do that?" Li Wen asked, somewhat puzzled. Judging from his skills, Tang Hao was definitely among the top in the Chinese professional league; he shouldn't have had any room for improvement...

[This is his strength in itself; he has simply removed his last constraint.] Su Muqiu pondered for a moment, then smiled.

"Restriction?" Li Wen was puzzled. Captain Tang, what kind of restriction?

Su Muqiu nodded: [Yes, hasn't Xiao Wen noticed yet? Tang Hao's psychological problems are very serious...]

Li Wen was completely stunned. After thinking for a long time, he slowly shook his head.

He wielded all sorts of rogue skills with ease, and despite the apparent chaos, he had already gained the upper hand.

Harrison, who had just countered Tang Sanda's suppression, was unknowingly suppressed by Tang Sanda again.

"What the hell?" Harrison realized something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem for a moment, so he could only resort to another burst of action.

This time, the ninjas gained the upper hand again, but were quickly overwhelmed once more.

This is impossible.

Harrison stared wide-eyed at Tang San Da across from him in disbelief, as if trying to see Tang Hao's expression through the screen.

Was he on performance-enhancing drugs? Or was there a sudden change in the cast? Is that kind of epiphany found in Chinese novels really real?!
Unfortunately, Tang Hao's expression was very calm.

Calling it an epiphany is quite apt.

The fierce and fearless playing style is a lesson Tang Hao learned in his second year as a "late bloomer." Relying on this and his youthful physique, Tang Hao reached the level of a top-tier player using only an ordinary DeLolo card.

In the third year, after experiencing various opponents and matches, his skills became increasingly refined, but he also reached the limit of what he could do.

He can suppress most other top-tier experts, but he always feels that he is lacking when facing Li Wen, Zhou Zekai, and Huang Shaotian.

Therefore, in order to go a step further, during the World Invitational Tournament training camp, he incorporated the techniques of the "sneaky style" and forcibly combined them with his most familiar playstyle.

It wasn't until the finals that the two playing styles truly merged.

But... I still feel like something's missing.

Just like a paper window, you can vaguely see the moonlight outside, but it's not real.

Until Harrison, who was even more skilled than him, chose to confront him head-on, wanting to completely crush Tang San. When the bamboo was pushed to its limit, there were only two possible outcomes.

The first type is being completely crushed by the pressure, thus losing all vitality.

The second option is... to fight back.

Xiuzhu finally launched a counterattack. Under intense pressure, Tang Hao finally found his last weakness: mentality. The difference between him and his opponent lay in their mentality, while his opponent had been convinced from the beginning that he was not as strong as him, thus ruthlessly suppressing him at will.

Tang Hao, who had always been restrained, could hardly suppress his opponent even if they were evenly matched.

If players from other professional leagues heard this, they would probably laugh at him, since no one in the entire professional league would say anything bad about Tang Hao's mentality.

The cold reception he received from Baihua Entertainment in his debut year, his late-blooming success in his second year, and his underdog victory in the Rookie Challenge – all of these demonstrate Tang Hao's strong will.

However…】 Su Muqiu sat down next to Li Wen: 【True strength doesn't need to be shown to everyone. A competitive spirit is good, but competing to prove something is a low-level approach from the start.】

Su Muqiu smiled: "Just like Ye Xiu, he never cares about what people say, he doesn't care about people discussing his declining strength, he doesn't care if others say he's old. He just does everything he can and then uses the facts to shut everyone up."

Take Huang Shaotian's provocation of Liu Xiaobie, for example. Did he even care? Hmm... this example doesn't seem quite right.

Yeah, just like when Zhao Yuzhe challenged Chu Yunxiu that year, did Chu Yunxiu really care?

Just like Da Sun, he was in a state of mind where he considered himself the best in the world, which is why he could unleash the full power of a Berserker, controlling it with complete freedom. There was no standard answer; he himself was the standard for all Berserkers.

"So, Tang Hao used to have a sense of... inferiority? And now it's more of a transformation in his mindset?" Li Wen nodded thoughtfully.

Yes, I am invincible. I have let go of the mentality of competing and comparing with others, I don't care about the form, I am not bound by the fixed situation, and I do whatever I want.

"Hmm, come to think of it, it's a bit like Zhang Sanfeng teaching Zhang Wuji?" Su Muqiu nodded.

I don't need to prove myself by defeating you. I just want to defeat you for the sake of defeating you. Adding unnecessary things will only make my heart heavy, my body tired, and my fingers less flexible.

Tang Hao smiled, raised his hand, and used the Blood Sacrifice Soul-Slaying Sword in his hand to block the falling ninja sword. A green light flashed, and green-purple mist suddenly appeared on the ninja's body.

Poisoning.

Without dodging or avoiding, he took the hit head-on from the Cherry Blossom Moon Slash, and then retaliated with a counter-attack.

Harrison's movements became chaotic. He sensed a deadly killing intent lurking in a corner he hadn't noticed. Just as he was about to create some distance to think things through, Silver Martial's claws pierced into his body.

It's just a normal claw attack with a bleeding effect; there's no need to worry about it...

【glory】!
Harrison was stunned, staring in disbelief as Tang San pulled out a sharp claw from his chest.

What he held in his hand was no longer the Silver Weapon Claw [Blood Sacrifice Soul Annihilation], but clearly [Jingyanggang]!
……

"...This...this...this...an unexpected situation has occurred! When Harrison's Ninja Saint had 15% health remaining, Tang San of Team Tang was making a normal attack...the Silver Weapon Blood Sacrifice Soul Absolute disappeared, and in its place was Jingyanggang, which had never appeared before!"
It directly triggered the burning, bleeding, poisoning, and crippling effects on Harrison's body! Even Pan Lin, who had been closely watching the battle, was caught off guard by the sudden victory.

“Indeed, it was extremely unexpected…” Li Yibo was stunned for a long time before nodding.

Tang Hao's use of a sneaky, underhanded style from the very beginning of the World Invitational Tournament was already surprising enough, but...

"Tsk tsk tsk, I never thought you'd become like this too!" Fang Rui mocked loudly.

Tang Hao sneered: "Just tell me whether you won or not?"

"Although you won, you went against your own conscience..."

"Bullshit, my only goal is to win," Tang Hao laughed.

"Throughout my life, I've never cultivated any good deeds, only loved killing and arson. Suddenly, the golden shackles are broken, and the jade locks are shattered. Ah! The tide is rising on the Qiantang River, and only today do I realize who I am..."

All eyes turned to Li Wen, who had spoken. Li Wen blushed slightly: "Well, this is something Boss Wei mentioned before. It seems to fit Captain Tang's current situation very well..."

"It's really good." Tang Hao muttered, then smiled. "Sometimes, caring too much prevents you from getting what you want, but letting go makes it belong to you again..."

"Are you going to become a monk?" Fang Rui curled his lip. "So, what have you realized?"

Tang Hao completely ignored Fang Rui's sarcasm: "I've figured it out. I'm already one of the best professional players. There's no one ahead of me. I don't need to defeat anyone anymore. I just need to move forward with my fellow players."

"So after all that thinking, you came up with the idea of ​​a megalomaniac?" Fang Rui asked, somewhat surprised.

……

Tang Hao suddenly realized that some things cannot be let go of so easily, such as how much he disliked Fang Rui.

"Idiot Thirteen, get up."

After the competition, I specially invited senior Lin Jingyan to dinner, but I haven't seriously apologized yet.

Also, let's have a good get-together with everyone from Huxiao...

Tang Hao completely relaxed, and a peaceful smile appeared on his face.

Ye Xiu smiled and looked away.

This is great, the league is getting more and more interesting every day...

"Alright, those of you going to the restroom, hurry up. We're only leading by one point, it's not time to relax completely yet. Stay alert, make the most of the time, and then come back and get some rest," Ye Xiu called out.

His only response was a few middle fingers.

The score is 3-2, with China leading by one point.

The atmosphere on the US team's bench was exceptionally heavy. Even after Dominic left the bench, no one looked relaxed.

Could we really lose?

Although no one dared to speak directly, this idea had already begun to take root in their minds.

“Kim Taemin, Pedro…” Matthew pushed up his glasses, took a deep breath, stood up, and walked towards Kim Taemin, who was frowning, and Pedro, whose face was grave: “We absolutely cannot lose the next match. The outcome of the next match could determine our final fate…”

The chubby Kim Tae-min and the slightly thin Pedro were both taken aback, and exchanged a glance: "We understand."

“Relax a bit. If our predictions are correct, the next pairing they'll be playing will definitely be the ammunition expert and the berserker. Your pairing is perfect for countering them. As long as you stick to the tactics we rehearsed, you should have at least a 70% chance of winning.” Matthew patted Kim Tae-min and Pedro on the shoulder.

Flowers in full bloom, blood-stained landscape...

If we just pinch the flower off before it blooms, its deadly fragrance won't be able to spread, right?
Kim Taemin narrowed his eyes: "If it were our group, we could definitely do it."

"Well then, good luck." Matthew nodded in satisfaction. "It's up to you guys to turn things around completely."

(End of this chapter)