Some writer decided that the nameless maiden, Su Shi and Li Xiye were in love, only to be forced to kill each other regardless of their feelings. Such an ending would directly go for the hearts of readers.
Their love was deep and pure, yet they were not destined to be together. On the contrary, they would be forced to point their swords at each other. One sought to achieve the way of the unbeatable sword. The other wants to avenge a dead mother, while helping the people of Chu to be rid of a maniacal tyrant.
Zha Feng shot down the idea without a second thought. "Too gruesome, cliché, and filled with plotholes. It only diminishes the significance of both sword geniuses. Why do you have to pair up opposing genders all the time?"
Such relationship had no place in Wuxia games. In such games, humans broke through limits and became something else. In Wuxia terms, this game may barely scrape past the lower limits of martial arts, but the non-humans definitely surpassed that. Their presence made this game more than Wuxia. It now had traces of fantasy, mythology, monsters living in the mountains and seas and every crack in the Earth, etc.
The game was not some shallow, superficial platform to give developers the excuse of throwing in all forms of myth and legends to make money out of. Zha Feng had never once remained on the path he often promised his players. Unforeseen ideas and paths may make themselves known as he sifts through the material in-game, such as the weapons, settings, establishes history, etc.
This made the game far more inscrutable and unpredictable. Getting a clearer picture took multiple playthroughs from multiple perspectives. Of course, these usually fell into the hands of players who dug around the game to uncover backstories and lore. The other batch of players simply enjoyed hacking and slashing to their heart's content. These players hardly ever thought through their choices, but somehow made it through the game by sheer luck.
Zhao Youyue had not yet even thought of anything about the relationship between Li Xiye and the nameless maiden, Su Shi. They shared no past together, but they would inevitably end up in a Battle of the Ages.
It was Zha Feng who felt that Two masters did not exist without consistent chaos occuring between them, but that chaos must never take the form of love. If love had to exist between them, it had to be very implicit. However, Li Xiye would never know of Su Shi's past, or he would never be able to land a finger on her, no matter how blunt he was.
Li Xiye may be obsessed with the path of being the greatest, but he was nowhere close to the embodiment of evil. He might even fight alongside the maiden if he learned of her motives for going after Su Hu.
Even if the duo were to end up together, wouldn't it raise more questions?
Here's where Zha Feng spoke up. Nameless Maiden Su Shi would get the player to fall for her instead, making her the only waifu [1] in the game. If that's the case, watching their waifu [1] meet her fate would gut the players and murder them internally.
Only such a character had the benevolence to accompany the player throughout the game. The game would gain a special place in the memories of players, preferably for the rest of their lives?
Under Zha Feng's banner, many writers started working to covertly depict the fuzzy relationship between Li Xiye and Su Shi, only dropping the most subtle of hints that they already knew each other from the field of sword fighting. It would not be a surprise for Li Xiye to have been entranced by her swordplay. It was only his dedication to the path of perfection that gave him the will to keep unsheathing his sword.
Obsessive path seekers belonged in a realm of their own. When it came to the pursuit of victory, there was neither friendship nor love; no quarter would be given.
There was also the possibility of some players going overboard for their nameless waifu [1], like swinging their swords at Li Xiye without giving a damn, only to be killed by him countless of times, all in hopes of introducing the heartless sociopath to the power of love.
As the inevitable chaos broke loose, Zha Feng would be grinning joyfully behind the scenes. He loved it when players abused themselves. If players ever lived through a solo battle with Li Xiye, that would only help them master the arts of dodge rolling, attacking, parrying, footwork and timing, allowing them to improve to a terrifying level. By then, players would be able to solo any humanoid NPCs without any difficulties.
Evidently, anyone who defeats Li Xiye in single combat would undoubtedly gain the title of a genius. They could even share their fight on BiliBili and allow weaker players to learn and enjoy watching such an enjoyable battle. This game was known for its difficulty. Even if streamers failed to bring Li Xiye down after putting up a great fight, they would gain renown for their skills.
Some "video clearers" watched multiple playthroughs and streamers, allowing them to gossip online about the difficulty of the game online, saying that it was actually easy if you did everything in sequence.
Newbie players who trusted such lies would then end up being poorly tricked as those who watched online walkthroughs then played it themselves only to notice that they were on a completely different level, compared to the pros.
How did this differ from Zhao Youyue's perfect killing? Zhao Youyue counted on her strong skills to defend herself. Only an ultimate skill could break her defense, rendering her almost unbeatable.
The bosses' mini-skills, however, were hard to dodge, and Zhao Youyue would be unable to dodge those completely. This pro player, however, would not be struck by any skills, as the boss would already be dead before they could even launch such large-scaled skills. Such players did not have the patience to roll about methodically, picking away at the boss' health at snail's pace.
Some youkai [2] bosses even had a second form. Such features were prevalent in the game, and the transformation process took up some time. For those players, that transformation time would be enough to slay the boss with intense speed and power, no further from death than they habitually were.
Those who have suffered the wrath
Of course, even pros once started off weak. Undeniably, they were talented in their own right, but one did not master the game without first dying dozens of times. Some were even able to predict the movement of bosses and run circles around the boss, making such intimidating beings look like poodles.
TL note:
[1]Waifu - a collective term for a favorite female character by anime fans
[2]Youkai - a Japanese term for monsters