Chapter 141 – Sky Arena (Part 2)
by Salted FishJiang Yang’s PvP skills weren’t particularly outstanding. Even within the Ghost Server Legion alone, players like Birdy and Blood Bull outranked him, while 2B Fighter Jet was roughly on par with him. Your Sister was showing signs of catching up, and occasionally Your Uncle and 438 would obliterate him in the most bizarre ways. Yet, Jiang Yang possessed an unshakable confidence that was completely mismatched with his mediocre skills.
This confidence stemmed from his top-tier gear—fully enhanced orange-tier gear with all slots decked out with the best gems—and powerful consumables—all HP and MP instant-recovery potions bought with real money from the Item Mall with short cooldowns. So initially, he hadn’t taken the Sky Arena seriously, assuming he could breeze through it effortlessly.
But how many of those who dared enter the PvP arena were pushovers?
This was already the second day of the three-day deadline, or more accurately, the third night—since the “three-day” period ran from midnight to midnight, effectively giving them four nights. On YY, Crossplayer was being his usual dramatic self; those in the know would realize he was in Hide-and-Seek Paradise, while outsiders might think he’d wandered into a Haunted House. 438 had been muttering to himself for a while, seemingly gathering herbs, though none of them seemed valuable. The others were just idling, silent for so long it was unclear whether they were muted or otherwise occupied. As for himself—Jiang Yang glanced at the top-right corner of his screen—26 wins, 14 losses, total score: 95.
These were his results from the first night, right after entering the arena. But truth be told, he hadn’t played for long that night either. The number of losses far exceeded his expectations, leaving him thoroughly frustrated. Then, when the walls opened, he’d run into Everything Breaks. He’d thought he could take a breather and chat, since they were from the same server if nothing else. Everyone was exhausted from the PvP Blitz, so why not lighten the mood? But the moment he typed out a simple “Hi,” the other guy’s greatsword came swinging at him. Who knew where all that rage came from? And damn, it was a One Cut Kill. That was the final straw for Jiang Yang.
He slammed his keyboard. Fuck this, Laozi is done!
Burning with pent-up fury and finding no outlet for it, Jiang Yang ultimately decided to vent by splurging money.
Of course, no one hated money. Even when furious, he wanted his spending to at least make some noise. So, wallet in hand, he headed to the Item Mall to see if there was anything that could boost his combat power. After browsing, he realized he’d already bought all the available enhancement materials and gems—except for one new item: the 100-yuan lottery ticket.
Huaxia Online’s lottery tickets originally came in three denominations: 1 yuan, 10 yuan, and 50 yuan. After purchasing them from the mall, players would log into the game to claim the corresponding number of treasure chests from an NPC, opening them one by one for rewards ranging from gems and materials to gear and cosmetic outfits. For instance, the bikini that had been all the rage recently was only obtainable through these draws, leading hordes of male players with female avatars to flock to the lottery, eager to make their characters more alluring. But now, a fourth option had appeared: the 100-yuan ticket. Its selling point was a 100% win rate, with only one type of prize: cosmetic outfits.
Cosmetic gear—though statless, undeniably beautiful or handsome—was the holy grail for appearance-conscious pay-to-win players. These cosmetics could be layered over any equipped gear, preserving the original stats while giving the illusion of a full set.
This round of 100-yuan tickets offered entirely new, never-before-seen cosmetic outfits—each unique. If Player A drew Outfit B, no other player would ever get Outfit B again, meaning the lucky winner would be the sole owner of that look in the entire game. Imagine how flashy that would be. Of course, aside from full sets, players might also get single pieces like dresses, pants, headwear, or shoes. For deep-pocketed pay-to-win players, the exclusivity was already a huge draw. But the real highlight wasn’t even that—the most coveted prize of the 100-yuan lottery was the Goddess of Fortune Set!
This was the first time the Item Mall had offered actual gear—and purple-tier gear at that! Though, to maintain game balance, only ten sets were available in total, first-come-first-served. While their stats were lower than those of purple-tier gear from endgame dungeons, they still far surpassed orange-tier gear. And how many players could realistically collect a full set of purple-tier gear from endgame dungeons anyway? Two or three pieces at most. To assemble a full set would require not just grinding a steel rod into a needle, but also heaven-defying luck and karma.
Though the 100-yuan tickets reeked of the developers’ shameless cash-grab, the displayed odds of 9/10 indicated that one player had already won, with their ID clearly visible. So Jiang Yang decided to trust the developers’ integrity and swiped his credit card—buying fifty tickets.
That night, Jiang Yang acquired nine pairs of pants, eight pairs of shoes, five headpieces, twenty-five tops, one suit, one casual outfit, and one diving suit.
Fifty unique cosmetic outfits later, the rich guy was left in utter despair. He didn’t touch his computer the entire next day, going to bed right after watching the evening news and dreaming of distant paradises.
That he could sit back down at his computer on the third night was entirely thanks to a good night’s sleep and a day spent fishing at the reservoir near his villa—finally cultivating some peace of mind and letting his past frustrations flow away like the eastward river.
After checking his own score, it was only natural to glance at the overall leaderboard.
[Sky Arena Total Score Leaderboard]
No.1—[Silent Fortress] Alps 560 points
No.2—[Flame of the Gods] Sigh of the Gods 532.5 points
No.3—[Silent Fortress] Brother Eastwind 500 points
No.4—[Frostbite Canyon] Festive Lantern 470 points
No.5—[Holy Light Sanctuary] Dutch Souvenir 470 points
…
To Jiang Yang’s surprise, none of the top five were from Huaxia Summit. While he’d expected the returning veteran event to shake up server rankings, he hadn’t anticipated such a drastic shift.
The leaderboard spanned over twenty pages. Jiang Yang couldn’t be bothered to hunt for his own name but did look up 2B Fighter Jet, who was on page 15 with 180 points—clearly having advanced to the second tier: the 2v2 Arena.
“Thought you’d given up, seeing as breaking 100 points must be a Herculean task for you,” came the sudden teasing in his headset, startling Jiang Yang. For a second, he thought his secret stalking had been exposed. =_=
“Had some last-minute business. Not everyone’s as free as you,” he retorted, using work as a convenient excuse.
But 2B wasn’t buying it: “You dare compare yourself to a nine-to-fiver and claim to be freer? Do you even know how to write the word ‘shame’?”
Jiang Yang: “How do you write it?”
2B: “You win.”
After a few more exchanges, Jiang Yang logged into the game. He first entered Huaxia Summit to retrieve the casual outfit he’d won two days prior, equipping it and admiring his avatar’s new look from all angles before exiting and logging into Lover’s Constellation—Sky Arena.
After five minutes of waiting, the walls slowly faded, revealing his first opponent of the day:
The unmistakable top-tier hammer, the same cocky aura, the familiar… No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains.
Since Thousand Mountains had ascended to the top of Huaxia Summit tower, Mad Lad had faced him several more times during the Dimensional Rift event—countless losses, zero wins. Clearly, luck had granted Mad Lad no reprieve. He had inherited Your Uncle’s glorious legacy; the gods of misfortune and poverty had possessed him in this moment. He was not fighting alone—he absolutely was not alone! TAT
Perhaps sensing his opponent’s sorrow, or perhaps because the other hadn’t moved, or maybe even recalling past victories, Thousand Mountains broke precedent by not immediately swinging his hammer—
[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Holy shit, how are you still in the first tier after two days?!
Who the hell are you to ask me that?!
[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Two days ago, I was walking my dog, fell into a manhole, and broke my leg. Had to get a cast at the hospital, stayed overnight for observation, and only just managed to escape today to finally pick an arena tier. What’s your excuse?
[Local] Mad Lad: How’s your dog?
[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: He’s fine.
[Local] Mad Lad: …
[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Well? What’s your story?
[Local] Mad Lad: Went fishing at the reservoir yesterday and ran into a water monster.
Thousand Mountains didn’t respond for a full two minutes, likely wondering whether Mad Lad was being serious or sarcastic.
Two minutes later, he swung his hammer and charged—clearly having reached a conclusion. =_=
The moment the hammer came down, Jiang Yang backflipped behind Thousand Mountains and unleashed a Backstab + Bloodseal Strike combo!
Thousand Mountains’ HP bar immediately dropped!
In truth, Jiang Yang had already been hit by the hammer during his flip, so his HP wasn’t full either. But the physical damage from Thousand Mountains’ attack was negligible—the real threat was the chance to inflict a stun. And indeed, the stun had triggered. What neither Jiang Yang nor Thousand Mountains expected was that alongside the “Stunned” text, another four characters appeared simultaneously: “Stun Resistance!”
This was Thousand Mountains’ first encounter with a player whose gear had stun resistance! He was momentarily awestruck.
Jiang Yang, focused solely on his combo, hadn’t even noticed the stun attempt or his resistance to it. Seeing Thousand Mountains freeze after the combo, he assumed the other was lagging or had perhaps broken a finger—really, anything was possible—so he followed up with a Heartstab!
Thousand Mountains finally reacted, leaping back to create distance while instantly casting Silent Nourishment on himself. Simultaneously, he typed at lightning speed—
[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Your gear has stun resistance?!
Jiang Yang saw the message. Normally, he’d have gloated, but now was hardly the time for that. He pressed the attack!
Thousand Mountains wasn’t a patient man, but faced with someone even more impatient than himself, he had no choice but to surrender—resolving to end this quickly.
Twenty-four seconds later, Mad Lad returned to his 10M*10M cubicle.
2B asked over YY: “Did you just run into Thousand Mountains? He was asking me about your gear.”
Jiang Yang facepalmed: “You two have private chats?”
2B: “Just exchanged a few forum replies. His dog’s pretty lively, though not as cute as my cat, haha!”
Jiang Yang: “Which forum section was this?”
2B: “Pet Paradise, of course.”
Jiang Yang took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then switched to the YY window and hit mute.
Peace at last.
A disastrous start was demoralizing. Jiang Yang swore that if he encountered another pro gamer and got stomped again, he’d quit the Sky Arena for good. Might as well let Mad Lad charge into Lover’s Constellation with his measly 95-point base score…
Five minutes later, the walls opened once more—
ID: [Fairy Dreamland] Passing Master
Not a familiar name, but damn, another healer! Jiang Yang now harbored an inexplicable hatred for healers! Without a word, he charged with his dagger poised to stab!
After being stabbed, the healer hurriedly cast Silent Nourishment on himself, fully restoring his HP. But he didn’t stop there—next came Trickling Stream, a buff that restored a fixed amount of HP per second over time.
While the healer was casting, Jiang Yang had already circled behind him for a Backstab + Bloodseal Strike—with the latter critting! The healer’s HP instantly dropped by two-thirds!
Such rapid HP loss was beyond what Trickling Stream could mitigate, and Silent Nourishment was still on cooldown. Other skills requiring cast time were impractical, so the healer resorted to an instant group heal—Ten Thousand Blossoms!
Though this skill restored a massive amount of HP, it typically only refilled about 80% of a healer’s health bar. Yet this time, it completely topped him off! Jiang Yang was stunned—he hadn’t expected the other’s support skills to be this potent!
Anyone daring to enter the PvP arena was bound to be a DPS healer, but those usually sacrificed some healing potency for damage output. This guy, however, had not only retained his healing capabilities but surpassed even dedicated support healers!
Perhaps the crit had jolted Passing Master awake, because he finally took his first step since entering the arena—backing away!
Jiang Yang narrowed his eyes. His gut told him the other was preparing an offensive move—after all, pure healing couldn’t win a PvP match.
Sure enough, once the distance reached about five meters, Passing Master began casting!
Jiang Yang guessed it was Crimson Lotus Holy Fire, since healers only had so many offensive spells. In a 10Mx20M room, maintaining a safe distance was impossible, and Assassin’s Stealth was disabled in PvP Blitz. So Jiang Yang opted for aggression. Calculating that Crimson Lotus Holy Fire would chunk about one-third of his HP—not lethal—he decided to press forward, aiming for a triple combo of Bloody Handprint + Heartstab + Bloodseal Strike. With luck, he might interrupt the cast; even if not, he’d still take out most of the healer’s HP.
Jiang Yang’s triple combo and Passing Master’s Crimson Lotus Holy Fire erupted almost simultaneously!
For a moment, the arena was ablaze with dazzling effects!
Jiang Yang’s combo failed to interrupt the spell, but thanks to his gear’s crit chance, he scored another crit, reducing Passing Master’s HP to a sliver!
Without bothering to check his own remaining HP—it was roughly the same—Jiang Yang pressed his advantage, backflipping behind the healer for another Backstab + Bloodseal Strike!
He’d assumed this would finish the job, but instead, the healer’s HP jumped back up to half!
Clearly, he’d managed an instant heal just before the second strike landed!
And that wasn’t all—while Jiang Yang was still processing this, the healer began casting Revival of the Withered!
This was the most annoying part of fighting healers—they could just heal themselves!
A blitzkrieg clearly wasn’t feasible. Victory would only come by draining the other’s MP. Realizing this, Jiang Yang took a deep breath, suppressing his frustration as he patiently waited for the heal.
You like healing? Fine, heal away. Those last few big heals had already halved your MP bar anyway.
As the healer calmly cast, Jiang Yang finally had a moment to check his own HP—only to freeze in disbelief.
He distinctly remembered being hit by Crimson Lotus Holy Fire.
But since when did a healer’s Crimson Lotus Holy Fire only deal 400 damage to an Assassin? If not for the numbers below his HP bar, he’d have thought he was still at full health. =_=
Passing Master finished casting, his HP fully restored once more.
But instead of attacking, the fully healed healer stood motionless.
Suspecting a trick, Jiang Yang adopted the enemy-doesn’t-move-I-don’t-move stance.
After several seconds of standoff—
[Local] Passing Master: Hero! Let me win just once! Just this once, please! TAT
What kind of play was this? =_=
[Local] Passing Master: You can tell, right? I’m pure healing spec—complete trash at PvP, my damage is garbage! Since yesterday, I’ve only scored 12.5 points, and that’s all from opponents disconnecting! [cries]
[Local] Mad Lad: Then why the hell did you join the PvP arena? Your DPS belongs in Vanilla Forest digging ginseng!!
[Local] Passing Master: I was on the phone with a friend planning to go the Las Vegas route, and I accidentally clicked the wrong button while distracted! 555555555555555
[Local] Mad Lad: …
[Local] Passing Master: Your gear is so good, your skills so OP—you don’t need my measly 5 points. Just let me have this one… Hero!!
Jiang Yang had thought himself the most frustrated man alive, only to realize there were always greater frustrations beyond his own.
And this particular frustration kept addressing him as “Hero.” Suddenly, Jiang Yang felt a sense of duty to uphold the honor of pay-to-win rich players. =_=
[Local] Mad Lad: Come hit me then.
[Local] Passing Master: Huh?
[Local] Mad Lad: ‘Huh’ my ass, I’m letting you win. Hurry up and attack!
[Local] Passing Master: IDOL!!!!!!!!
[Local] Passing Master: I begged so many people—you’re the only one who agreed!!!
[Local] Passing Master: I believe in love again! [cries]
Jiang Yang felt that if the other kept wailing like this, his mouse hand might betray him and click an attack skill on its own. =_=
Passing Master finally stopped his effusive gratitude and began casting Crimson Lotus Holy Fire.
The flashy effects faded, and this time Jiang Yang saw the numbers clearly: 411 damage.
After Crimson Lotus Holy Fire came a minor combo of Zephyr Jinx + Willow Leaf Blade + Five Animals Play.
Another flashy display, totaling 896 damage combined with the earlier 411.
[Local] Mad Lad: Dude, how much DPS did you sacrifice? Did you stack nothing but HP stats on your gear and gems?
[Local] Passing Master: Yeah, I suck at PvP, so my guild leader said to go all-in on healing.
[Local] Mad Lad: So what’s your max single-target heal?
[Local] Passing Master: Never counted, but in dungeons, when the Blood Warrior’s tanking with barely any HP left, I can still save them—one instant heal brings them back to 90%.
This guy wasn’t a milk nanny1slang for healer—he was a goddamn milk cow. =_=
[Local] Passing Master: Uh, idol, don’t get impatient—it might take me a while to whittle you down.
[Local] Mad Lad: Already impatient.
[Local] Passing Master: Idol TAT
The idol decided to see this good deed through to the end—by disconnecting. =_=
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