"I know Black Blade represents HIM. Of course their chances of winning are far greater than ours. But I never thought you would bow your head for that reason."
"You are the big shot in players' eyes! The one they admire the most!"
"In this Trial Grounds, all beings are equal. Even HIM, he's the same as us."
"This is the one match where we have the greatest chance of defeating him. This is also the one match where we have the greatest chance of proving ourselves."
"And just like that, you've given up. For the sake of so-called rewards, you've given up your right to prove yourself."
"Of course, winning the Trial Grounds is important. But if the victory doesn't come from our own choices, our own planning, then what's the point?"
"Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix, that is my principle."
"I thought it was your principle too. Looks like I was wrong."
At this, Grayfist let out a long sigh, turned his head to look at Steve, and smiled.
His gaze seemed somewhat relieved.
"I've always cared about winning and losing between you and me."
"Because we've never competed fairly in the same field."
"To be honest, I want to beat you. I want it so badly it drives me crazy!"
"But now, I don't want to anymore."
Saying this, Grayfist finally laughed from the bottom of his heart. His face was full of release.
"The moment you even had the thought of meeting Black Blade, you already lost."
After speaking these words, Grayfist felt his whole body lighten.
These were his truest feelings from deep inside.
Grayfist was someone with an extremely strong competitive streak.
He played games for the sake of reaching the very top.
That's why Steve, the so-called number one player in the game, became his obsession.
In fact, if Steve didn't exist, perhaps Grayfist would have become the Steve of today.
But unfortunately, Steve already existed. So Grayfist could only take another path, climbing to the peak in a different direction.
If he couldn't become the most admired player, then he would become the most feared player.
Just as he said, he had his pride. Every step of the way, he had relied only on himself.
He had always thought Steve was the same as him.
At first, Grayfist always wanted to measure himself against Steve. But later, after he took Steve and his men in, Grayfist's thinking really did change.
As he said, the Trial Grounds was an excellent chance to prove oneself.
Grayfist had always wanted to climb to the top. In the Main World, Xu Yuan stood at the peak. Grayfist had no way to surpass him.
So he settled for becoming the peak of the players' side.
But now, here in the Trial Grounds, all beings were equal. He had finally found a chance to prove himself.
They said HIM was like a god in this world. This was a chance to surpass a god.
Grayfist had thought Steve felt the same way as him.
But in the end, all those thoughts had been only his own wishful thinking.
And because of that, he truly let go. He finally gave up his obsession with Steve.
Though Grayfist let go of that obsession, he still hadn't reached true clarity.
He didn't understand yet, if one's inner self is strong enough, there's no need to prove anything to others.
But that lesson, perhaps it would have to be Xu Yuan who taught it.
Hearing everything Grayfist said, Steve was also deeply moved inside.
He had known that Grayfist, openly and secretly, had always compared himself to him. But he hadn't expected Grayfist's inner journey to be like this.
The reason Steve was touched was also because Grayfist hadn't been wrong, Steve of the past really was much like Grayfist.
Just as Grayfist said, among these top players, which one didn't have their own pride?
Steve had once been the same as Grayfist. He cared about winning and losing. He cared about what players thought of him. He worried about being surpassed.
After posting guides on the forum, he would read the comments over and over, to see if anyone questioned him.
After winning in the Trial Grounds, when Xu Yuan took his weapon then returned it, his first reaction was also to go to the forum and check if anyone was mocking him.
When he saw people comparing him with Black Blade and Grayfist, he cared about which of the three players everyone thought was strongest.
After winning in the Trial Grounds, he even thought about challenging Black Blade one-on-one again, just to prove himself in front of the players.
Back then, he really was the same as Grayfist.
But that's normal. Humans are social creatures. From birth we care about others' opinions.
Many times, we do countless things only to prove ourselves, to show others how far we can go.
But what meaning does proving all that have?
Others are, at the end of the day, only spectators along your life's path. Nothing more.
In your own life, you alone are the main character.
You don't need to prove yourself to anyone else. You only need to follow your own heart.
Living for others only grows more exhausting. Only by living for yourself can life be bright and brilliant.
In real life, many things are out of your control, and it's hard to truly live only for yourself.
Since life in reality is already so tiring, why should playing a game be the same?
Isn't gaming supposed to be about relaxing and freedom?
It was because Steve figured this out that he began to change.
This was also why he could, in such a short time, let go of the fame and status inside the game that he once cared about so much.
If it were real-life fame and fortune, Steve still wouldn't be able to let go.
But in-game? Something intangible, untouchable, nothing more than feeding vanity.
What's there to cling to?
All the more since Steve had already found what his heart truly desired.
Before he realized all this, Steve hadn't understood Black Blade or Pengpeng, and even looked down on them a bit.
He couldn't understand why, as players, as those called the Fourth Calamity, they would bow their heads to something within the game.
No matter how powerful Xu Yuan was, in the end he was just a being spawned from the game.
Steve really couldn't understand why Black Blade and Pengpeng were so loyal to Xu Yuan.
But now, Steve could more or less understand.
Black Blade and Pengpeng had long since lived with more clarity than him.
They didn't care about players' opinions. They followed only their own hearts.
Pengpeng didn't join Xu Yuan's camp for fame or profit. He joined because he wanted to see Little Bug.
And Xu Yuan's camp gave Pengpeng a sense of belonging he had never felt in the players' camp.
Under Xu Yuan, no one looked down on Pengpeng just because he was a player.
They treated him as family, as someone to be trusted.
In the real world, Pengpeng might have been a nobody, unnoticed and unimportant.
But in the game world, he was valued, trusted. That was what his heart needed.
Because he stood firm in what he wanted, he never cared if others looked down on him or called him HIM's dog.
Because what he cared about had never been others' opinions, but only what his heart told him.
Black Blade was the same.
That was why Steve and Black Blade now had that feeling of mutual recognition.
Because Steve had also become the same kind of person as Black Blade.
But Grayfist had not yet become that kind of person.
Even though he let go of his obsession with Steve, no longer wanting to measure victory and defeat against him,
he still wanted to prove his ability to everyone else.
So his true obsession wasn't Steve, it was self-proof.
At this, Steve let out a sigh.
'This knot… I'm afraid I don't have the ability to untie it…'
Steve couldn't reveal his plan to Grayfist, so there was no way to explain.
But Steve was sure of one thing, after winning the upcoming match, Grayfist would throw everything he had into preparing for the day he confronted Xu Yuan.
On that day, Grayfist would face the truth.
That truth would shatter his worldview all over again.
But this time, he would not deny himself.
Because along the road toward that truth, Grayfist would already have kept surpassing himself, proving himself to himself.
At that time, with just a little guidance from someone, he would fully understand.
Thinking of this, Steve felt much lighter. He was curious what that Grayfist would be like, and very much looked forward to meeting him.
"I only followed my own heart."
"Grayfist, I believe one day you too will follow your heart without hesitation."
Saying this, Steve locked eyes with Grayfist. In that moment, both men's gazes were full of determination.
"There is no outside interference here. Here, it is absolutely fair."
"This is the duel you've always wanted."
"Grayfist, let's have a battle without holding back."
Hearing Steve's words, Grayfist took a deep breath and broke into a smile.
"Alright."
"Though with our identities, making this decision in the current situation is indeed a bit childish…"
"But I'll go along with it."
"Just as you said, neither of us can convince the other. Only by fighting it out can we settle this."
"I'll speak with my men beforehand. If you win, I'll make sure they follow you wholeheartedly and help you without reservation."
"If you lose, I won't mistreat your brothers either. I'll treat them as my own, but I'll lead them to the end in my own way."
Hearing this, Steve finally felt his hanging heart settle.
He nodded in agreement, then said, "Call the brothers over."
"This is the moment they should witness."
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