The Coach Is Warming Up

【What the hell is this gameplay?】

【Is Lingxiao Sect’s mid-laner intentionally feeding?!】

【So trash…】

【Zhou Yue keeps getting caught out every time—how is the enemy’s map awareness this good?】

【Hahaha, victory for the rogue cultivators!】

【Something feels off… Their mid-laner keeps swapping Flash and Ignite positions…】

【This playstyle… eerily familiar. Feels like I’m seeing traces of two old legends…】

【Now that you mention it, the top-laner’s mechanics resemble “Ghost Sword Immortal,” that one-trick Mordekaiser player!】

【“Ghost Sword Immortal”? Didn’t people say he went missing recently?】

【Weird. Even though the rogue team’s stomping, it feels oddly unsatisfying to watch?】

【Damn, what a waste of Li Moran’s skills!】

……

The barrage of comments flooded the stream.

No one expected the highly anticipated Lingxiao Sect team to be utterly dominated.

Two consecutive matches ended before the 20-minute mark, their Nexus obliterated with ease.

But what could they do?

Their two star players, Li Moran and Zhou Yue, were completely shut down.

The mid-lane, usually their strongest pillar, today played like a paid actor—atrociously bad!

Countless bettors in rogue cultivator gambling dens, who had staked their fortunes on Lingxiao Sect, erupted in rage, swearing to hunt down Liu Mo in person.

Now, the third match had begun.

Zhong Yi hastily adjusted their strategy, dedicating all vision control to Zhou Yue.

Zhou Qiaoling even abandoned her support role for Li Moran, roaming to assist Zhou Yue in the jungle, barely stabilizing their collapsing map control.

But a bigger issue emerged—

Liu Mo, the mid-laner, kept dying.

The enemy’s Dark Enchantress snowballed out of control, her ultimate instantly crippling Li Moran’s combat effectiveness!

Soon, the fed enemy mid-jungle duo tipped the scales irreversibly in favor of the Godslayer team.

Liu Mo’s Yasuo dashed recklessly into the enemy team, blatantly handing over another kill.

The domino effect began—Lingxiao Sect fell one by one, and Godslayer marched toward their base.

The stream’s chat exploded.

【Match-fixing! Match-fixing!】

【Refund!!!】

【Did Liu Mo bet against his own team??】

【Then why not throw in the finals? The odds would’ve been higher!】

【Ugh, scum like this should quit the Illusionary Realm and go practice demonic arts!】

【Why pick Yasuo with zero knock-ups in the comp!?】

【Even I, a rogue cultivator, can’t watch this—such a dirty win!】

【Remake!!!】

【Even caster Zhong Yi would play better than this trash Liu Mo!!】

……

“Why Yasuo? Hah…”

Zhong Yi let out a bitter chuckle reading the comments.

He didn’t know either.

During draft, he’d specifically assigned Liu Mo a wave-clearing mage to compensate for his “poor form.”

Yet at the last second, Liu Mo locked in Yasuo, claiming he’d “prove himself.”

Now…

Zhong Yi shook his head, face twisted in frustration.

If not for being on broadcast, he’d have cursed Liu Mo outright—this had to be sabotage!

……

Inside the Celestial-Demon Canyon.

“Dammit, is there still a chance!?”

Zhou Yue growled, staring at his grayed-out screen.

A long-forgotten powerlessness surged through him.

The others stayed silent.

By all logic, this was checkmate.

Then, Liu Mo—the first to die—respawned.

“Liu… Mo!”

Zhou Yue’s expression darkened, but he gritted his teeth.

“I, Zhou Yue, never beg. But today, I’m asking you to clear the waves—even if it costs your life!”

“Whatever happened to you today, we’ll let it slide!”

Liu Mo suddenly laughed.

“Heh… Hehehe!”

“We’re past pretending, aren’t we? You know.”

“Yes! They’re right beside me! They see and hear everything you do!”

“Tell me… Do I have any escape? Any way out? Huh, Senior Brother Zhou?”

The other four froze.

They’d suspected, but hearing it confirmed was another blow.

“They offered me spirit stones… artifacts…”

“What does this Illusionary Realm trash give me? Even with this talent, what’s the point of entering the inner sect?”

“Helping them win gets me more than Lingxiao Sect ever could!!”

“You geniuses with your heaven-defying aptitudes will never understand!!”

“Screw this damned sect!!”

After his frenzied outburst, Liu Mo’s champion vanished at the base gates.

【Liu Buyi (Yasuo) has left the Illusionary Realm】

The remaining four inhaled sharply.

They’d guessed Liu Mo was throwing—but not that he’d self-destruct so spectacularly.

He’d quit mid-match!

“Can… can we still turn this around?”

Zhou Qiaoling whispered.

Zhou Yue and Mu Yawen stayed silent.

Only Li Moran looked up at the canyon’s sky, as if waiting for something.

Outside the arena,

tens of thousands of viewers raged.

【Bastard!! He was bribed!!!】

【No wonder Godslayer always knew Lingxiao’s positions!】

【What kind of rogue cultivators resort to this!?】

【Well… the rules never banned it…】

【Screw that!! I’m a rogue, and even I say kick Godslayer out!!!】

【Agreed!! They’re ruining the scene!!!】

【What happens with a player down?】

【Where’s the sub!? Someone step in!】

【Holy shit, caster Zhong Yi’s logging in?? Trying to join the game??】

【The coach is warming up!!!】

【Hang in there, Lingxiao Sect!!】

……

“No!! Coaches aren’t eligible!! Why!!!”

Zhong Yi roared in frustration.

Tournament systems had unique restrictions.

During drafts, coaches could enter the altar to strategize.

If a player disconnected due to unforeseen circumstances, a substitute could take over—but only once per match…

……

Zhong Yi had tried to replace Liu Mo’s abandoned champion as the coach, but the system rejected him.

The respawn timer showed 30 seconds.

More than enough for Godslayer to end the game!

“Is there… really no hope left…?”

On the broadcast desk, Zhong Yi’s eyes reddened.

Their substitute, Bai Mu, had vanished a month ago.

How could they possibly summon him now?

As the members of the [Immortal-Slaying Path] team appeared one after another at the entrance of the high ground, Zhong Yi let out a deep sigh.

He rubbed the corners of his eyes and spoke in as steady a voice as he could muster:

"Though it’s hardly honorable... congratulations to the [Immortal-Slaying Path] team for securing this vict—"

Mid-sentence, Zhong Yi’s eyes suddenly widened.

Across the skies of the Immortal-Demon Canyon, a line of glaring text floated into view—

[Bai Mu (The Unforgiven) is joining the battle...]

The next moment,

a striking young man with a few stray locks of hair falling over his forehead materialized at the heart of the fountain.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.