The doubles competition had to be completed in August, and time was tight. Xie Mingzhe was in no mood to make new cards, so he simply downloaded all the competition videos from this period and studied them carefully, including all the AH group matches. He discussed any doubts he had with his master.

After watching the entire competition from a bystander's perspective, he did discover a lot of problems and his tactical thinking would also be improved - as his master said, he still lacked experience and his reactions in competitions were not sharp enough, and all these needed to be accumulated slowly.

In a blink of an eye, it was August 26th, and the semi-finals of the doubles competition officially began.

The four players and the coach of Nirvana all came to the backstage to watch the game. They met many familiar faces here. Xie Mingzhe found that the players who were eliminated before, such as Ye Zhu, Gui Sirui, Bai Xu, Yi Tianyang, etc., all came to watch the game. Obviously, everyone had the same idea as Xie Mingzhe - to learn the playing style of the masters and join in the fun.

Ye Zhu and Bai Xu were sitting together. When they saw Xie Mingzhe, their expressions were a bit complicated. Xie Mingzhe walked over and smiled frankly, saying, "I was eliminated. Shouldn't you be gloating over my misfortune? Why don't you say anything?"

Ye Zhu looked away awkwardly and whispered, "I was eliminated anyway..."

Bai Xu thought, after all, you made it to the quarterfinals, and I was eliminated in the round of 16. Isn't it just a slap in the face to mock you?

Xie Mingzhe sat in the front row without hesitation, leaving the two of them with their backs. The two young men felt something was wrong, as they always felt that there was a boss sitting in the front row, so they kept their mouths shut throughout the game, fearing that they would say something wrong and Xie Mingzhe would laugh at them.

As a result, Xie Mingzhe himself smiled happily: "Beautiful! Nie Shen's operation was amazing."

In the picture, Nie Yuandao released the beasts and quickly moved away. Before Fang Yu's water droplets could bounce up, the sharp cry of a golden eagle was heard in the air. Shan Lan released the bird card, which knocked down Qiao Xi's jellyfish at lightning speed. Nie Yuandao's beast card seemed to have eyes on its back and immediately bit the jellyfish, killing it instantly.

——Perfect land and air coordination.

The tacit understanding between the master and the apprentice is truly amazing, as if all the cards are operated by one person.

Fang Yu and Qiao Xi wanted to slow down the process, but Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan wanted to end the battle quickly.

Shan Lan's flying bird cards gave Fang Yu and Qiao Xi a splitting headache. The birds flying in the air were too fast, and it was difficult to control them with aquatic cards. Coupled with Nie Yuandao's response on the ground, Nie Lan and his apprentice pushed forward like a bulldozer and directly wiped out Fang Yu and Qiao Xi!

Nie Lan undoubtedly won this game.

Xie Mingzhe was very satisfied watching the performance and said with emotion: "They are indeed the champion duo, they have great chemistry."

Chen Qianlin said admiringly: "The tacit understanding between the two of them is unmatched by ordinary people. Basically, when Shanlan controls one card, Nie Yuandao can kill one card. They move in the sky and underground at the same time. The speed is too fast, and it is difficult for the opponent to defend."

Yu Ke asked quietly, "If we were to face Shanlan in the quarterfinals, we would probably be defeated 2:0, right?"

Xie Mingzhe nodded: "Well, we need to study carefully how to crack the land-air combination. If it doesn't work, I can use my fairy card. The fairy card also releases skills in the air. Maybe it can limit Shanlan's flying birds?"

The second game started soon.

Tang Muzhou and Xu Changfeng faced off against Ling Jingtang and Xu Hang. The audience's vote before the game rarely turned into a 50%:50% balance. It was obvious that both sides were evenly matched and both had a chance of winning.

In the first game, Tang Xu wanted to use the vine control flow, but Ling Jingtang's weapon critical hit was too strong, and he killed Ivy Rose at the beginning. Tang Muzhou and Xu Changfeng fell behind by one game, and Xie Mingzhe was really worried.

I wasn't nervous when I played in the competition myself, but I got nervous when I watched my seniors play in the competition...

Maybe it was because I was too worried? I knew my senior had a way to deal with it, but I was still worried about an accident and being defeated 2:0.

Fortunately, Tang Muzhou quickly stabilized his mentality after falling behind by one game. In the second game, he used the long-range plant stacking poison to kill Ling Jingtang. In the deciding game, he used the invincibility of the big banyan tree to block Ling Shen’s most critical burst and turned defeat into victory!

Xie Mingzhe clapped excitedly: "Beautiful! So handsome!"

Pei Jingshan, who was sitting next to him, raised his lips slightly and said, "Your senior brother got promoted, and you seem to be happier than him?"

Xie Mingzhe's ears were warmed by what he said. Pei Jingshan knew the relationship between him and Tang Muzhou. Was he really a little excited just now? Xie Mingzhe coughed dryly and said calmly: "Senior brother really fought well."

Pei Jingshan smiled but said nothing. He found that Tang Muzhou and Xie Mingzhe were fans of each other. Was their relationship quite harmonious? As good friends, there was no need to worry about them breaking up for the time being.

The interview took a long time. When Tang Muzhou came to the backstage, the other players had already left. He took the initiative to walk in front of Xie Mingzhe and others and asked casually: "The doubles final is on August 27, and the individual competition will officially start on September 2. What are your plans during this period? Are you preparing for the individual competition or making cards?"

Chen Xiao joked, "You've made all the plant cards, so I can't make any flowers. I should just focus on preparing for the individual competition."

Xie Mingzhe did not answer, but put his finger on his chin, thinking.

Tang Muzhou had no intention of asking further questions, so he changed the subject and whispered in Ah Zhe's ear, "Have you finished the new classification of immortal cards that you said you would add?"

Xie Mingzhe came back to his senses and said, "Not yet. I haven't had any inspiration recently. I'll think about it carefully."

Tang Muzhou encouraged him with a gentle look: "Don't worry, there is still time."

Everyone returned to the club together. Xie Mingzhe couldn't sleep in the dormitory, so he simply logged into his game account. He found that Yu Ke and Qin Xuan were online in the middle of the night, and the friend list showed that the two were building their own arena.

Xie Mingzhe went in curiously to take a look. It turned out that two people were fighting seriously, practicing the club's cards one by one. Since Xie Mingzhe knew that the password they usually used to open the ring was 8888, he entered the password and entered directly, quietly, and neither of them noticed him.

Xie Mingzhe watched for a long time while Yu Ke and Qin Xuan practiced and discussed at the same time.

It was late at night, but they had no intention of going to sleep yet.

Xie Mingzhe looked at the time 02:30 in the upper right corner, and his eyes felt a little hot for a moment.

In fact, he knows that there has been a lot of criticism online since both Nirvana teams were eliminated in the doubles competition. Because of his high popularity and the support of Tang Muzhou, the black fans who scolded him were driven away. His Weibo has been very quiet recently, and his fans are cheering him on every day.

Chen Xiao's situation is similar. After all, he has the relationship with Chen Qianlin, and he is a good friend of Tang Muzhou. In addition, he is handsome and his appearance represents justice. Although he was eliminated in the round of 16, not many people scolded him.

However, Yu Ke and Qin Xuan have been enduring the online violence of "you are a burden". Some of them are even irrational fans of Chen Xiao and Xie Mingzhe, who think that they have dragged down their male idols and caused them to be eliminated in the doubles competition.

Qin Xuan and Yu Ke said nothing on the surface, but they were working hard to train in private...

At 2:30 in the morning, the two of them were still carefully studying the data of each card.

Xie Mingzhe felt really sad when he saw this scene.

Both of them were dragged into this situation by Xie Mingzhe.

At first, Xiao Ke was tricked into joining the team by saying "I'll be your joker" and Qin Xuan was recruited into the team by saying "making a scene". If it weren't for Xie Mingzhe, Yu Ke and Qin Xuan might have become professional players.

Although Qin Xuan and Xiao Ke are still far from being first-tier players, Xie Mingzhe believes in their potential. Qin Xuan has helped him a lot during this period, and the design of each card is the result of Qin Xuan's hard work. Although Xiao Ke is heartless, he is everyone's happy fruit, very well-behaved, obedient, and hardworking.

He has always believed that Qin Xuan's calmness and Xiao Ke's sharpness will become Nirvana's most powerful weapons. As a commander and weapon user, he must not make the same mistakes as in the doubles match again.

Since you have dragged someone into this, you should be fully responsible.

Xiao Ke and Qin Xuan are now facing unprecedented pressure. If Nirvana fails to perform well in team battles, there will be more condemnation against them online. By then, they will be speechless and Xie Mingzhe will feel sorry for his teammates.

My senior mentioned today that the individual race will start right after the doubles race ends.

According to the league's competition system, the individual competition is divided into 8 groups. Each group will first play a points round-robin match, and then a 16-to-8, 8-to-4, and so on to determine the champion. The schedule will be as tight as the doubles competition, with a game almost every two days.

With such a tight schedule, Xie Mingzhe didn't have much time to think about how to make cards and perfect his deck. After the individual competition, the team battle would start immediately, and he also needed to study his opponent's team battle tactics...

I thought I had plenty of time, but when the competition started I found that it was not enough.

Moreover, the most crucial point that distinguishes the individual competition from the doubles competition is that the opponents are very strong and are top students selected from the entire league!

The group stage will not be as easy as the doubles stage. No matter whether you are facing great players like Nie Yuandao and Ling Jingtang, or new generation players like Pei Jingshan and Gui Sirui, if you don’t prepare seriously, you will definitely be beaten badly.

In a three-day individual competition, he would study his opponent on the first day, practice on the second day, and play on the third day, repeating the same cycle over and over again. How could he make cards like this? How could he prepare for the team competition? But he couldn't just deal with his opponent in the individual competition casually for the sake of making cards, as that would be disrespectful to the competition.

How can we have the best of both worlds?

After Xie Mingzhe left Xiao Ke and Qin Xuan's arena room, he fell into deep thought.

***

The next evening, everyone arrived at the finals venue.

Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan vs. Tang Muzhou and Xu Changfeng, this doubles match was extremely intense!

The number of games in the finals was increased, and for the sake of ratings and excitement, it was changed to a best-of-five BO5 format.

The two sides were very close from the beginning. Nie Lan won one game, and Tang Xu won one game back, making it 1:1. Then Tang Muzhou won the third game with vine control and overtook the score. As a result, Nie Lan caught up in the fourth game and made it 2:2!

The battle was extremely tense. The decisive game was probably a matter of luck. Two of the three maps randomly picked were death maps. Tang Muzhou banned one, but Nie Yuandao left the other. Shanlan used the bird's flexible aerial repulsion to force Tang Muzhou and Xu Changfeng into a desperate situation, and finally won the victory in a thrilling way.

Wu Yue almost jumped up with excitement: "Congratulations to Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan for winning the championship of the 11th season of the doubles competition!" Liu Chen followed up and said: "Congratulations to the Nie Lan combination for creating the legend of winning the doubles competition three times in a row. They really deserve to be the boss of the doubles group!"

Tang Muzhou walked over gracefully and shook hands with Nie Yuandao: "Congratulations."

Nie Yuandao smiled and said, "It's the last session, and it's quite satisfactory."

Shan Lan followed his master with tears in his eyes - was this the best gift his master left for him before retiring? He really didn't want his master to leave, but no one could change the decision made by Nie Yuandao.

Tang Muzhou knew the inside story that Nie Shen was preparing to retire, and he sighed in his heart. He patted Shan Lan on the shoulder and joked, "Three consecutive championships are enough for you to be proud of for a long time."

Shan Lan forced a smile and said, "Thank you. I won by following my master."

Nie Yuan raised his eyebrows and said, "What are you talking about? You are also very good. Did you win the championship of the individual competition last year for free?"

Shan Lan lowered his head a little embarrassed, Xu Changfeng echoed: "That's right, I lost to you last year and only won the runner-up, Lan Shen, don't be modest."

Shan Lan smiled, shook hands with Tang and Xu, and followed his master back to the backstage.

The award ceremony will be held at the end of the season, so after the doubles competition, the players only need to be interviewed, and they will have to wait until the final year-end ceremony to receive the award.

Seeing Tang Muzhou return to the backstage, Xie Mingzhe took the initiative to step forward and joked, "We almost won. Do you need comfort?"

Tang Muzhou nodded: "Yes, how do you plan to comfort me?"

Xie Mingzhe thought hard for a while and said, "I'll treat you to a meal, just the two of us."

Tang Muzhou readily agreed.

The two did not go to the restaurant outside, but packed supper and went back to Tang Muzhou's villa to eat. Under the warm light, the two sat in the restaurant and ate happily, just like returning to their own little home.

Tang Muzhou suddenly held Xie Mingzhe's hand and asked, "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood? Is it because your senior didn't win the championship?"

Xie Mingzhe looked up and said, "You and Xu Changfeng have won the doubles championship before, so it doesn't matter if you are the runner-up this year. Just think of it as collecting medals of different colors. Why would I be in a bad mood because of this?"

Tang Muzhou's eyes became gentler. "What's the matter? You've been staring blankly with your head down since the day of the semi-finals. What are you thinking about?"

Xie Mingzhe: “…”

No one noticed his abnormality, but Tang Muzhou noticed it. The person in front of him really cared about him the most. He didn't dare to tell his master about something in his heart, but maybe he would feel better if he told his senior brother?

Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe cleared his throat and said, "Star Card Alliance, is there any precedent of a player giving up the right to compete in an individual competition?"

Tang Muzhou was stunned for a moment, frowning slightly: "Individual competition? You want to give up?"

Xie Mingzhe nodded, with a somewhat conflicted look on his face: "I actually really want to play in the individual competition, but time does not allow it. Our deck is not perfect yet. The competition in the individual competition is fierce and the schedule is very tight. It is difficult to spare time to make cards. My teammates are working very hard. If I make a mistake in command during the team competition, I will feel even more guilty."

Tang Muzhou looked at him silently.

Xie Mingzhe lowered his head and continued, "Human energy is limited. If you participate in all events, you won't get good results in any of them. It's better to specialize in one event... I think, I'm still young, and when Nirvana's deck is perfected, I will still play in the individual competition next season. But in the team battle, if we are eliminated in the first round, we will feel that all the efforts we made for so many cards and a whole year have been wasted, and we will be very unwilling..."

"Yeah." Tang Muzhou's voice was low, and it seemed particularly gentle in the warm little home late at night: "Your idea is not wrong. What are you worried about? Are you worried that your master will be disappointed, that your fans will be disappointed? Or are you afraid of being scolded by netizens?"

Xie Mingzhe was stunned for a moment, raised his head and met Tang Muzhou's gentle eyes.

The man gently rubbed his hair with his dry and warm palm and said softly, "If you give up the individual competition, it will only affect you. If you lose the team competition, it will affect the entire Nirvana. You want to consider the overall situation, I think it's right. Time is tight, and it is easier to achieve results if you specialize in one thing. As long as you have firm confidence, Senior Brother will always support you. If you are worried that Master will not agree, I will go and talk to you. If netizens scold you, I will scold you back."

Xie Mingzhe: “…”

The deep part of my heart suddenly felt warm.

He always supports the decisions I make unconditionally. It is a great fortune to meet a lover who understands me.

All the previous troubles were swept away, and Xie Mingzhe's face once again returned to a bright smile.

He looked at Tang Muzhou and said seriously, "That's right. Once you make a decision, don't hesitate. I'm going all out this time. I've prepared so many cards for the team competition. I don't want to be eliminated in just one day in the playoffs!"

Seeing that he had regained his energy, Tang Muzhou smiled slightly, held his hand and said, "Okay, eat first. The midnight snacks we bought are getting cold."

Xie Mingzhe glanced at the food on the table and immediately started to wolf it down.

Tang Muzhou looked at him like this, and his eyes became even gentler.

His decision to give up the individual competition for the team competition surprised Tang Muzhou. Every player wants to stand on the championship podium of the individual competition, but with Azhe's current strength, it is indeed difficult to win the individual competition. And to take care of both the individual competition and the team battle will only distract his attention and not benefit either side.

This is also the reason why Tang Muzhou and Pei Jingshan only competed in small events and not in team competitions in their first year of debut.

There are too many things involved in a team competition. Just studying the opponent and planning tactics is very energy-consuming. Therefore, he and Xiao Pei chose to form a team after they became famous in individual competitions and their decks were mature. Xie Mingzhe did the opposite, which was actually very difficult.

Tang Muzhou was actually very pleased that he could react in time and focus on one event. If he participated in all three events, he would definitely not get good results in all three events. The defeat in the doubles competition was a wake-up call for Xie Mingzhe, and he made the most calm and rational decision - he could take it or leave it at the critical moment, and he knew how to consider the long-term. This kind of Ah Zhe made Tang Muzhou admire him even more.

See you in the finals, no joke.

Xie Mingzhe really wants to bring the Nirvana team to the finals stage.

Only in this way can you avoid wasting so many team competition decks you have made.

I will not let down my teammates' trust in me.

The author has something to say:

We've skipped the individual competition, as we've thought about this a long time ago. There's nothing new to come up with in a 7v7 duel, so we'll go straight to the team competition.

It was indeed difficult for Xie Mingzhe to compare three projects at the same time. This choice was more rational. Ah Zhe was still very magnanimous and far-sighted at the critical moment.