Whoosh—!
Bai Zhiyuan’s feet seemed to have wind. She first dodged to the side, evading Xie Yilang’s fierce, fatal strike.
Flop—!
As the tip of the blade grazed her nose at the last possible moment, she immediately executed a clumsy rolling dodge, landing within a meter of Xie Yilang.
This was a dangerously close distance. The skill was affected by the residual shockwave of the “Happy New Year Sword Technique” slash, but it was the final wave with almost depleted kinetic energy.
With Bai Zhiyuan’s health critically low, she couldn’t withstand the full residual force, but she could manage the last bit.
Bai Zhiyuan’s calculations for choosing this approach were meticulous.
She could have created significant distance the moment Xie Yilang raised his hand, taking no damage at all.
However, doing so would have meant opening too large a gap, likely missing the optimal window for the boss’s brief stun and thus failing to capitalize on it for an effective offense.
Missing this opportunity would mean enduring Xie Yilang’s life-risking, berserk offensive for a prolonged period, potentially costing her first life carelessly.
Therefore, creating distance was not Bai Zhiyuan’s optimal choice for someone pursuing the extreme. Yet, facing that blade head-on would surely kill her.
Thus, she ultimately chose to endure the residual damage at a distance that would prevent effective offense, gambling that the residual force at the extreme range wouldn't finish off her last sliver of health.
Clearly, her gamble paid off. The audience erupted in astonishment, and the bullet comments flooded in.
'I thought she was definitely dead from that strike, but she actually survived!'
'Damn, that actually worked?'
'Any experts out there, analyze what happened in that instant?'
'Impressive! Truly impressive!!'
'No way, is this sister really planning to defeat the boss in one life?'
'This is absolutely explosive even within the entire gaming circle!'
Laymen watched for the spectacle, while insiders looked for the skill.
In the eyes of the audience, at the critical moment, Bai Zhiyuan dodged sideways. After the curved blade struck, she was thrown off balance by the residual force, performed a rolling dodge to stabilize herself, and then launched a counter-attack…
But in Lu Li’s eyes, this was clearly an astonishing, divine maneuver!
In that brief instant, multiple scenarios flashed through Lu Li’s mind. He was confident he could defeat the boss with that little health remaining, but the efficiency would nowhere near match Bai Zhiyuan’s.
In the video, Bai Zhiyuan, having survived the residual force head-on without dying, began to orchestrate her offensive rhythm.
She took a step forward with a vertical slash, rapidly closing in on the boss. Then, pushing off the ground with her legs, she spun in mid-air and unleashed a plain yet potent three-hit combo.
Clang, clang, clang—
Blade clashed against blade, sparks flying!
The empty resonance, like the sound of blacksmithing, echoed wildly.
Accompanied by a dense drumbeat, Bai Zhiyuan’s sword strokes grew faster, her angles deceptively sharp. Xie Yilang could only passively raise his blade to defend.
The posture gauge quickly filled up.
Now!
Bai Zhiyuan let out a sharp cry. The moment she landed, she lunged forward in a posture that defied physics!
Slash!
Her long sword plunged deeply into Ashina Genichiro’s neck. From the moment he unleashed the “Happy New Year Sword Technique” to Bai Zhiyuan’s extreme head-on encounter with the residual force, and then seizing the brief stun window for a fluid sequence of attacks, it all happened in a flash.
The audience, still discussing the extremity of that strike the moment before, now saw the victorious “Slay” mark appear on their screens.
After a moment of stunned silence, the viewers in front of their screens went wild, uncontrollably shouting "Awesome!"
The bullet comments exploded!
'Spectacular!! So satisfyingly spectacular!!!'
'Awooooooo!!!'
'No, no, what happened? The game ended in the blink of an eye?'
'On par with the Old Master's skill, the viewing experience is off the charts!'
'When will the uploader stream? I want to subscribe to you!!'
'The Old Master and the uploader are so strong they don't seem to be from the same dimension as us. A few days ago, I saw PDD trying to play the demo and he was so beaten by the boss that he had to stop streaming.'
'Xie Yilang is a toy in their hands, but an insurmountable mountain in the eyes of others!'
'The graphics and combat system are truly amazing! That clanging sound like the ringing of iron is like the sound of nature striking my heart. So exhilarating!' 138 Reading Network
'Only one week left, it’s too long! If I can’t play Sekiro, I’m afraid I’ll have insomnia for the next few days!!'
It was hard to imagine a single video displaying an atmosphere more passionate than a live broadcast; this was quite explosive in the entire gaming circle.
Whether it was the bullet comments or the viewers in front of the screen, after Bai Zhiyuan defeated Ashina Genichiro, the fervent atmosphere reached its peak.
If Lu Li’s combat was grand and expansive, exchanging blood for blood, a feast for the eyes.
Then Bai Zhiyuan’s exquisite design and ultimate calculation became the most magnificent golden signboard of “Sekiro”.
Especially with the edited highlights paired with the original game’s passionate BGM, it showcased the game's operation and artistry to the fullest.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Lu Li, sitting in his office, couldn’t help but applaud. "Truly like a sparrow pecking a bull’s backside, indeed awesome!"
He hadn’t expected Bai Zhiyuan to make such decisive and detailed decisions in such a short time. Bai Zhiyuan did take a gamble, but compared to his own gamble that day, Bai Zhiyuan was more like someone making a calculated bet with a high chance of winning.
"Finally, I hope December arrives sooner~~ Next time, we’ll meet at the peak of Sekiro.”
At the end of the video, Bai Zhiyuan said playfully, subtly promoting Lu Li.
Even after finishing the video, the netizens’ enthusiasm had not waned.
Expectations for “Sekiro” were growing daily, with people searching for teammates to discuss it everywhere. Forums and bulletin boards had already been created. Although “Sekiro” had not yet been released, its popularity was soaring.
Bai Zhiyuan’s video had a promotional effect even greater than the official trailer released a few days prior. It directly topped the daily game popularity charts and even broke through to the trending search list.
This platform also gained immense popularity, with playback exceeding ten million!
The Bilibili users were stunned, this was too outrageous!
A small demonstration video was more outrageous than a celebrity joining Bilibili!
Meanwhile,
Keen-nosed streamers saw infinite opportunities amidst this craze. They were willing to pay a hefty sum online for the ten trial play slots that were drawn in Lu Li's previous live stream.
However, due to the scarcity of slots and the fact that activation codes were bound to fixed IPs, no streamers managed to capitalize on this trend.
Only PDD personally drove to the home of a lucky fan to try it out, and he couldn’t get past the first boss all day.
He was eventually kicked out due to anti-addiction measures. The gap between people is like a chasm—PDD said after exiting the game.
The stark contrast between the two became a talking point for many during their leisure time.
As the audience anxiously awaited the release of “Sekiro” like ants on a hot pan, major game manufacturers were in a fierce race to outdo each other.
Before the emergence of Lingjing, they maintained a frequency of releasing a small work every few months and a masterpiece every one to two years.
Those who were lazier might take three to five years to come up with a major move. Since the arrival of the "rolling king" Lingjing two years ago, the release speed had been like taking a plane.
Initially, no one thought much of it, nor did they feel a sense of crisis.
But as Lingjing rapidly grew, they were surprised to find that soulslike games had quietly captured 5% of the global gaming market, and this figure was still accelerating.
It’s important to note that although major manufacturers were involved in soulslike games, they only accounted for a small portion, with Lingjing being the dominant player.
To protect their market share, any game manufacturer with a bit of ambition joined the super-competitive ranks!
Time flew by. As major manufacturers frantically competed, December quietly arrived.
“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” is here!
…
(No more foreshadowing, the pace will accelerate, directly fast-forwarding to the game’s launch)