From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Zhang Chulan's nerves gradually tightened again.

He was thinking—

The deeper meaning behind Jiang Liu guiding Ma Xianhong to relax...

Should I have beaten Ma Xianhong...?

However, he had too many thoughts, which prevented him from concentrating on the game, so much so that his character "Goro Daimon" was defeated by Ma Xianhong's "Kyo Kusanagi".

"Yay!"

Ma Xianhong shouted, but immediately suppressed it. However, he couldn't contain his joy. He gestured with his fingers at Zhang Chulan and recited a rhyme he had learned from other players, which he then modified. He mocked, "My infinite combo will make you tremble. Today I'll beat you like a little dog. It's a pity that even if you train for another ten years, you still won't be my match. Anyone who wants to be my underling can line up from here to the village entrance!"

Zhang Chulan: "......Chao!"

"Let's play another round!"

Seeing this, Zhang Chulan also got a little carried away. He gritted his teeth and raised an index finger at Ma Xianhong, "I only used three-tenths of my strength just now. Now I'll show you the true strength of this genius!"

"Alright, then I'll give you another chance."

For Ma Xianhong, nothing is more fun than playing with his "family".

As Zhang Chulan became more serious, his rhythm in attacking, jumping, dodging, and releasing skills against "Danmon Goro" improved dramatically compared to before.

With his shrewd and calculating mind, Zhang Chulan meticulously planned the timing of his punches, the moments of his jumps, the control of his dodges, and the utilization of his skill energy.

However, when facing Ma Xianhong's "Kyo Kusanagi", "Goro Daimon's" health bar was always at a disadvantage, with the opponent always getting a slight advantage.

This made Zhang Chulan even more focused!

A game can't prove anything, but for some reason, Zhang Chulan always felt that this was his first direct confrontation with Ma Xianhong.

The competition is about each person's calculations and plans.

He didn't want to lose!

So he secretly used thunder magic to stimulate his meridians with Yang Five Thunders in order to enhance his mental reaction speed.

but--

"damn it!"

"You're cheating, aren't you?"

Seeing Ma Xianhong's "Kyo Kusanagi" defeat his own "Goro Daimon" with a sliver of health, Zhang Chulan broke down, even suspecting that the other party was controlling the machine with the Divine Refinement Technique.

Why are you taking this so seriously?

Jiang Liu chuckled and placed his hand on Zhang Chulan's shoulder, teasing, "It's just a bit of fun to relax, you don't need to use your lightning magic, do you?"

In an instant.

Zhang Chulan's face stiffened, and he chuckled awkwardly, "Well, I accidentally..."

"I know."

It was Ma Xianhong who spoke, despite being Zhang Chulan's "nephew," who spoke in the tone of an elder, "A young man like you takes winning and losing too seriously, unlike someone like me with lofty dreams who can view victory and defeat with a detached heart."

Zhang Chulan's eyelids trembled violently.

A heart of indifference?

I don't know who lost hundreds of games in a row two or three days ago, to the point that they thought, "I'll win one more game before I go to sleep."

"Kid, looks like you're pretty punctual."

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind the three of them.

It was that red-haired man.

Just like yesterday, he was dressed as Iori Yagami, followed by "Kyo Kusanagi" and "Heidern".

"I have always been a man of my word," Ma Xianhong said with absolute confidence.

"Alright, let's have a real duel between men!"

The red-haired man, acting like a chuunibyou, walked to the machine, pulled up a chair, and sat down next to Ma Xianhong. "I'll show you the strength of the Liupanshui King of Fighters Tournament champion!"

"hehe."

Ma Xianhong didn't take it seriously and still chose "Kyo Kusanagi" as his role.

The red-haired man chose a character dressed the same as him: Iori Yagami.

Best-of-three format.

As the first round began, the red-haired man's eyes were serious as he controlled Iori Yagami and Kyo Kusanagi to fight. The opponent attacked, and his side defended; his side attacked, and the opponent defended.

In an instant, the red-haired man realized that Ma Xianhong was completely different from what he had been two days ago; he had even undergone a complete transformation!

How did you do it?

The red-haired man was puzzled, but in the next instant, he dismissed the question and focused on the screen.

For him, games are everything!

He wasn't interested in how Ma Xianhong suddenly became stronger in just two days.

As long as you surpass him, that's it!

With such a mindset, even though he was just an ordinary person who did not understand Qi cultivation or the principles of cultivation, Iori Yagami was still equivalent to a peerless master under his control. He mastered every move to the extreme, and the pressure he brought to Ma Xianhong was several times greater than that of Zhang Chulan.

In that instant.

Ma Xianhong was completely absorbed, entering a state of self-forgetfulness. His soul seemed to merge into the body of Kyo Kusanagi on the screen. He watched as Iori Yagami, with his red hair, attacked him with a purple flame. In the instant he leaped to dodge, he rushed into his opponent's body and threw a punch.

Bang!

Iori Yagami reacted incredibly quickly, raising his hand to block and then rapidly shifting to the side, assuming a stance ready to unleash his ultimate attack.

"Now!"

However, Ma Xianhong was faster. He shouted and took a step forward, quickly rushing towards Iori Yagami. He kicked out, interrupting the release of Iori's skill. Then he quickly pressed ↓→↓→. Kyo Kusanagi twisted his waist, and a circle of red flames ignited under his feet. He gathered power into his fist and hit Iori Yagami directly in the chest.

boom!

In an instant!

Iori Yagami was engulfed in flames, and his remaining health bar was instantly depleted.

Horse, Kusanagi-kyo, Xianhong —

Victory!

"I lost."

Seeing Iori Yagami fall on the screen, the red-haired man did not play a second round with Ma Xianhong. As a King of Fighters master, he had realized the gap between himself and Ma Xianhong.

He considers himself to have reached the pinnacle of character control, but he still needs to spare a bit of attention to the opponent's character's movements on the screen and the opponent's control of the controller and buttons.

But Ma Xianhong was different. He just stared at the character he was controlling on the screen, completely absorbed in the machine, as if it were another body to him and the character was a continuation of his soul.

This absolutely represents the legendary pinnacle of "the character is me"!

Such a person is absolutely capable of becoming a world-class champion!

The red-haired man immediately extended an invitation: "Ma Xianhong! I invite you to join my King of Fighters team! I can even give you the captain's position!"

"Not interested."

Ma Xianhong refused because he really didn't have the time to play professional matches.

But the red-haired man felt that he was far inferior to Ma Xianhong in terms of skill level and was not qualified to invite him. So he shouted loudly, "Do you think we are too weak? Please rest assured, we will definitely work hard to improve ourselves and strive to catch up with you!"

Having said that, before Ma Xianhong could even speak, the red-haired man led "Kyo Kusanagi" and "Heidern" out of the arcade, presumably off for special training...

# Chapter 617 Are you a sore loser?

"That guy is way too immature, isn't he?"

Seeing that Iori Yagami had already run away, Zhang Chulan couldn't help but complain, "Games aren't everything in life."

"But for him, it may have been the majority of his life."

Jiang Liu smiled, gave Zhang Chulan a meaningful look, and said leisurely, "Life is like a play. At least some people truly put themselves into their 'roles,' while others act their whole lives without even realizing they're acting."

Zhang Chulan: "..."

"Chu Lan, go back to Biyou Village and bring me the Hetu Luoshu." After saying that, Jiang Liu turned to Ma Xianhong and said, "Want to play a round with me?"

"no problem."

Ma Xianhong was in high spirits. Although he had some concerns about Zhang Chulan returning to Biyou Village, he wasn't worried. After all, Na Dutong only had a few people, and they couldn't possibly be a match for the twelve people with superior roots.

Besides!

That connects to everywhere!

When going out on business, one must always pay attention to one's image; otherwise, how can one convince the other forces in the world of supernatural beings?

"okay!"

Zhang Chulan hurriedly left the arcade.

thereafter.

Jiang Liu sat in the spot where the red-haired man had been, controlling Iori Yagami to duel with Ma Xianhong's Kyo Kusanagi.

One game, two games, three games...

But they never won a single game.

Although he was able to fight Jiang Liu to a standstill, his dodging, jumping, unleashing of powerful moves, and energy accumulation were all a beat slower than Jiang Liu's.

In other words, the game has hard conditions and mechanics. No matter how strong Jiang Liu is, the real machine conditions are there, and he cannot crush Ma Xianhong's character just by using the controller and buttons. After all, it is not a face-to-face battle where the soul merges with the character.

but.

Nowadays, Ma Xianhong is able to face the fact of "losing" with equanimity. With each failure, he learns from the experience, works hard and steadily, and further improves his connection with the game character. Until night falls, Ma Xianhong finally reaches the state of forgetting himself and the game character and completely merging with them.

That is, the upper limit that humans can achieve under the current conditions of this machine.