Sharpening The Knife Doesn’t Delay The Cutting of Vegetables With The Bow[eSports]: Chapter 100

100. Pre-Battle

In front of the Capital’s Starry Sky E-sports Arena, many people were already lining up before dawn. Groups of young people holding banners gathered there, their faces visibly excited.

Although the competition was still hours away, there was no sign of fatigue on their faces. Security personnel were already maintaining order on the nearby streets, and the crowd rivaled the busiest train stations during the Spring Festival travel season.

In recent days, the prices of hotels near the Starry Sky E-sports Arena had skyrocketed, and the hotel owners could not hide their smiles. Regular season tickets were extremely hard to come by, and many prominent e-sports streamers and internet celebrities had either stopped streaming or switched to outdoor live streams, posting various reasons for their absence. However, their fans didn’t need to guess the reason—only one event could cause all these dedicated streamers to take time off simultaneously.

The Karma Cup regular season had begun.

Today, Chen Xingran didn’t wake up early as usual, nor did he go for his morning training in the courtyard outside the base. Today was especially significant for him; after training with ZMD for several months, this was his first official entry into the professional arena. Even someone as steady as him couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous, reminiscent of the anxiety he felt before entering the exam hall for the college entrance examination in his previous life.

“It’s just the regular season, don’t be so nervous,” Yang Yunche said, handing Chen Xingran a glass of water. His voice, calm and magnetic, had a reassuring effect.

“Mm,” Chen Xingran replied, downing the water, which indeed helped ease his nerves.

“Make sure you’ve packed everything you need,” Fu Zhou said as he walked in from the doorway. “ID cards for the competition, operating uniforms, identification cards, professional league invitations…check them all again. Don’t forget anything and end up having to come back for it.”

His words were mainly directed at Chen Xingran. Luo Baibai and the others were seasoned competitors, but Chen Xingran was still a newcomer. Manager Fu’s concern resembled a teacher sending students off to an exam.

Chen Xingran checked his bag to ensure he had everything and asked, “When do we leave?”

“No need to go so early,” Fu Zhou replied with a smile. “Didn’t you go over the schedule several times yesterday? Our match is at 8 PM. Hetai Industrial Park is very close to the Starry Sky Arena; it’s just a few minutes’ drive. We just need to get there three hours early for interviews and makeup. And it’s only noon now, we haven’t even had lunch.”

Their group’s first match was scheduled on the first day of the regular season, and there were two matches before theirs, so there was no need to rush.

“Oh,” Chen Xingran nodded, feeling restless and unsure of what to do.

“If you’re really feeling anxious, maybe play some games,” Fu Zhou suggested. “I can see you’re not settled just sitting here. Practicing a bit might help, so you don’t get too nervous later.”

This was a concern Fu Zhou had been worried about. No matter how outstanding Chen Xingran’s performance in games or how dominant he was in training matches, he was still an inexperienced player who had never officially stepped into the professional arena. Moreover, he was still young, and this time, he would be standing on a real stage, participating in the largest super league, with countless eyes from all over the country and the world watching his every move. All his actions would be thoroughly analyzed post-match.

Chen Xingran was also a new member of the prestigious ZMD club. Whether it was a brilliant play or an accidental mistake, he would attract significant attention. It was normal for someone without experience to feel nervous. There was a previous case in the professional league where a promising rookie shone in training matches but ended up trembling and vomiting during the official match, ultimately having to be replaced by a substitute.

“I’m fine. I’ll go to my room to adjust myself,” Chen Xingran said.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous. After all, in both his lifetimes combined, he had never faced a competition of this scale. The ancient martial arts competitions in his past life were nowhere near this level of public attention, incomparable to the Karma Cup. However, Chen Xingran knew how to adjust his emotions and didn’t want his feelings to affect his teammates.

“How about practicing with the sword?” Yang Yunche raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Now?”

“Yeah,” Yang Yunche stood up. “Come on, let’s spar a bit.”

Chen Xingran thought for a moment and then followed him.

“Do you think Ran Bao will be okay?” Luo Baibai asked, concerned, watching them leave.

“It’s a path every professional player must walk,” Fu Zhou shrugged. “When you joined the youth training camp, didn’t you play several lower-tier league matches? But you were still nervous when you first entered the Karma Cup. It’s the same for him. This is Xingran’s first match, and it’s such a large-scale event. Being nervous is completely normal.”

After a pause, Fu Zhou continued, “But I think he’ll adjust quickly. You guys just need to perform well.”

Chen Xingran and Yang Yunche entered the training room, sat in their respective operation pods, and started a few practice sword matches.

Chen Xingran’s skills had significantly improved since he first joined the game. His swordsmanship was unstoppable, and he had also mastered terrain maneuvers and skill combinations. Yang Yunche found it difficult to find opportunities to chip away at his health.

Out of five matches, Yang Yunche only managed to win one against Chen Xingran.

For a professional player, being skilled only with melee weapons and not knowing how to use any ranged weapons is a severe weakness and makes them easy to target. However, this rule seemed to completely fail when it came to Chen Xingran.

This is a sword fighting demon king who can make people tremble with fear just by relying on melee weapons, enough to make people ignore his only small flaw.

Chen Xingran stayed silent, practicing his sword skills. Just as he exited the game and returned to his room to prepare for the next match, Yang Yunche’s voice came through.

“Still nervous?”

Chen Xingran paused for a moment, then said, “A little better…”

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Yang Yunche smiled. “Adjusting your mindset is a crucial skill for a professional player. It’s a course you can’t avoid or escape from. So it’s fine, just treat it like any other training match.”

“But…” 

Chen Xingran hesitated before continuing, “I’m afraid that if I don’t perform well, I’ll drag down the team’s points.”

He didn’t care about his own performance, but the thought of ZMD’s score falling behind and being drowned in a wave of criticism from players and fans because of him made him feel awful.

“You seem to have some misconceptions about yourself,” Yang Yunche chuckled, “and about ZMD.”

“…Huh?”

“You’re the sharpest sword of ZMD, and my most trusted… teammate,” Yang Yunche said softly. “I have never doubted that. Chen Xingran shining brightly on the battlefield, dominating the competition, is as natural as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, isn’t it?”

“Moreover.” 

Yang Yunche paused, then added, “even if, in the worst-case scenario, you don’t perform well, there’s still me, Xiao Nan, and Luo Baibai. It’s not just me; we are all here.”

“ZMD is the strongest.”

“…”

Chen Xingran was silent for a moment before nodding, “Mm.”

Perhaps it was because of Chen Xingran’s consistently outstanding performance that he carried a great aura as well as immense pressure. He subconsciously believed that only his good performance could keep ZMD shining, forgetting that this was a team game.

Team games mean wholehearted trust. Not only do Yang Yunche and the others trust Chen Xingran, but Chen Xingran also needs to trust in the abilities of Yang Yunche, Luo Baibai, and Xiao Nan. After all, before he came along, ZMD was already one of the most dazzling teams in the professional league.

Everyone’s performance has its ups and downs; that’s normal. But ZMD is never afraid of mistakes because they can afford to make them.

Because…

ZMD is the strongest.

…

Perhaps because of Yang Yunche’s words, Chen Xingran seemed to have thought things through. When he came out of the training room, he looked different from before. The nervousness and unease were gone, replaced by a vigorous fighting spirit.

“Ran Bao.”

Luo Baibai noticed something and gave Chen Xingran a once-over, detecting a subtle change in him. “Did the captain inject you with chicken blood ¹?”

“Huh?”

“He’s good at this sort of thing.”

Xiao Nan, sitting on a chair, smiled. “When Baibai first went on stage, he was even more nervous than you, couldn’t sleep well, and his appetite halved. In the end, it was the captain who enlightened him.”

“What did he say back then?” Chen Xingran asked curiously.

Luo Baibai showed a look of recollection, thought for a moment, and said, “It was last year. I think he said… if I made a mistake, he’d confiscate one of my figurines?”

“And if you didn’t follow orders, you wouldn’t be allowed to eat for three days,” Xiao Nan added from the side.

“Yeah.” Luo Baibai nodded. “He also said that if I didn’t perform well, he’d make me cross-dress and do a pole dance live in front of all the ZMD fans. He said that if I couldn’t give the audience exciting plays, I should at least bring them joy and laughter.”

It’s impressive how clearly you remember it all.

Yang Yunche looked kindly. “You’re welcome; you deserved it.”

Chen Xingran: “…”

“You guys spent so long in the practice room, what did the captain say to you?”

Luo Baibai asked him, “Did he threaten you too? No salary or confiscation of your bonus?”

Chen Xingran looked hesitant, unsure whether to speak or not.

“It’s about time. The van is already waiting outside.”

Fu Zhou glanced at the time, addressing the four members of ZMD, inadvertently giving Chen Xingran a way out.

“Let’s go.”

The four did a final check, grabbed their bags, and left the base, boarding the black van.

“Even though I’ve said it many times before.”

As a line of vans drove away from the base, the scenery outside the windows receding, Luo Baibai, in the players’ van, extended his hand, “But let’s say it one last time before the match—ZMD, Jiayou!”

Striking a pose like the protagonist in a hot-blooded anime, he looked incredibly earnest. Xiao Nan rolled his eyes, not really inclined to respond.

But Chen Xingran earnestly placed his hand on top of Luo Baibai’s.

Seeing Chen Xingran cooperate, Xiao Nan and Yang Yunche reluctantly extended their hands as well. Four hands of varying sizes and colors stacked together, pressed down, and then lifted up—

“Jiayou!”

TN:

Tried to proofread from the first chapter but I’m not the kind that can re-read something after the first time so I ended giving up and just said f*ck it I’ll continue editing the way I have been and if it turns into a sh*t-show, well I tried😭. So just bear with it and let me know if you find any errors or random new name changes or are just confused with anything and I’ll do my best to fix it. I also couldn’t get an editor or proofreader so… Good luck to all of us I guess✌️🥲.

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Translator Notes

1. Colloquial: Extreme excitement or energy[↩]