Edited by - xiaoAnZheee 

The second round of the match began.

Before reaching level 6, both the junglers, Ninja and Demon Hunter didn't have strong output capabilities. The early game on both sides was relatively calm; neither invaded but focused on clearing their own buffs.

The first river crab in the mid lane was stolen by Houwen's jungler A-Yan.

Given the longer attack range of the Demon Hunter, he patiently waited in the bushes for the river crab to be low on health, then executed a combo of Q skill and Smite, instantly taking down the crab. Ye Shaoyang intended to use his Little Monster card to disrupt A-Yan's positioning but couldn't react in time.

The experience gained from one crab allowed A-Yan to reach level 6 before Chi Shuo.

Ye Shaoyang warned, "Be cautious in the bottom lane; the opposing jungle has hit level 6 first."

The Houwen's mid/jungle combo would likely focus on the bottom lane.

Cheng Xing immediately replied to the command, "Understood."

Qu Jiang took this opportunity to place vision in the river.

As expected, A-Yan reached level 6 half a minute earlier than Chi Shuo and swiftly headed to the bottom lane. Zhou Jiawen followed after clearing minions. Although he didn't have his ult, he could use Q skill to poke from a distance, accompanying the jungler to eliminate Cheng Xing.

However, Cheng Xing retreated timely, hiding behind the tower.

Zhou Jiawen checked Cheng Xing's position and said, "Retreat, we can't secure the kill."

Roaming to catch the enemy was effective, but if the kill wasn't guaranteed, retreating was wise. Without his ult, attempting a tower dive on Cheng Xing would be risky.

Houwen's jungler came to the bottom lane but didn't find any opportunity, so he retreated.

Ye Shaoyang waited in the mid-lane river bush, intending to trade with Zhou Jiawen as he passed by. However, Zhou Jiawen was cautious and suddenly changed direction near the river, circling around from behind the tower.

Unable to catch anyone, Ye Shaoyang also had to return to clear minions under his tower.

During the early lane phase, the mid-lane matchup involved trading and poking rather than outright killing. Both players moved cautiously, skillfully avoiding each other's abilities.

The commentator remarked, "Both mid-lane players are playing cautiously, with agile S-shaped movements that makes it difficult for the enemy to predict their next position. The details in their movements are crucial in the matchup between top-tier mid-lane players."

"Exactly, at the moment, their health and minion scores are identical!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Shaoyang's fans felt proud. Yangyang, a newcomer from Season 10, holding his ground against a world-class mid-laner like Zhou Jiawen during the laning phase speaks volumes.

Fans were excited, but both Ye Shaoyang and Zhou Jiawen remained calm, observing each other's next moves and reacting promptly.

Soon, both players emitted the glow of leveling up simultaneously.

The audience tensed up; would Zhou Jiawen unleash his ult to burst down Ye Shaoyang? Would Ye Shaoyang use Flash to escape, or would he counter with his devouring ult?

Level 6 mages like the Destruction Mage and the Great Witch of North Sea have the potential to instakill the enemys.

In the mid-lane duel between the two artillery mages, whose skill would land first would determine the victor!

The anticipated mid-lane mage showdown didn't unfold as expected. Ye Shaoyang suddenly entered the top-lane bush, disappearing from sight. Zhou Jiawen, intending to use his ulti but lost sight of Ye Shaoyang as he entered the bush.

He prioritized protecting his own marksman, so the vision was placed in the river and on the tower's side to prevent the opposing jungle from ambushing.

However, this detail became an opportunity seized by Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo.

Zhou Jiawen and A-Yan were moving from their own jungle to support the bottom lane.

Professional players were extremely vigilant, avoiding low-level mistakes, and often used "face-checking bushes." Even in their own turf, they remain cautious when passing through bushes, using Q skills to scout.

Zhou Jiawen's Q skill had a considerable range, appearing as a dark magic ball.

Just as he used his Q skill on the bush, a black shadow suddenly darted behind him like lightning, a sharp dagger thrusting straight towards his chest!

It was the backstab from Ninja!

Chi Shuo acted decisively, executing a swift combo with critical damage. Zhou Jiawen's health bar was instantly halved. Realizing he fell into an ambush, Zhou Jiawen immediately flashed away. However, at the moment of his flash, a faint golden light flashed before him—the visual effect of another person using Flash.

The Great Witch appeared in the path of his retreat, casting its ult at his feet.

—Great Witch Devour!

The massive monster emerged as if from the ground.

With a gaping blood-filled mouth, the monster devoured the low-health Destruction Mage.

A familiar hero voice echoed, "Let me taste it; ah, you're really not tasty at all~"

Zhou Jiawen: "..."

This voice line was also full of taunts. Swallowing someone and complaining they taste bad?

The two commentators were excited, "Oh my god, this ambush and surprise attack were executed beautifully! The speed was so fast; I couldn't react in time!" 

"Please ask the director for a slow-motion replay."

The slow-motion replay on the big screen revealed the coordination details between Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang.

"Shuoyue acted very decisively, the Ninja suddenly flanked from behind, bursting down the Destruction Mage. The Destruction Mage flashed away, but was caught by the Lieyang's flash and ult!"

"This coordination is amazing; any delay of 0.1 seconds in anyone's skill, and the kill wouldn't have been secured. After all, Zhou Zhou's Flash was timed perfectly!"

"Exactly! Zhou Zhou reacted quickly, flashing away instantly, but the skills of Lieyang and Shuoyue were seamlessly connected, and he couldn't escape!"

Tianhuan mid/jungle duo, utilizing the gap in vision in the jungle area, set up an ambush. This well-coordinated move directly eliminated the mid-lane player who intended to support the bottom lane, disrupting Houwen's rhythm!

Ye Shaoyang intentionally walked into the top lane bush earlier, misleading Zhou Jiawen and giving him the false impression that he was going to support the top lane. Unexpectedly, Chi Shuo didn't go for the upper blue buff or gank the top lane; instead, he was squatting in the jungle area with Ye Shaoyang.

Who could have predicted this?

Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo's true target wasn't the top laner or the marksman.

It was Houwen mid-laner!

Seizing the opportunity during a support-free moment, they ambushed the path of the enemy's mic laner, and it must be said that Shuoyue and Lieyang's ability to seize opportunities was impressive.

Zhou Jiawen sighed, "A-Yan, focus on farming in the jungle. I'll respawn."

With the rhythm disrupted in Houwen's mid/jungle comp, Cheng Xing in the bottom lane felt comfortable; there was no one coming to catch him.

With Qu Jiang's protection, Cheng Xing's Frost Goddess slowly chipped away at minions. Her early-game damage was low, but clearing minions with the slowing effect of basic attack was easy.

Cheng Xing was very cautious, and the opposing marksman couldn't find any opportunity to kill him.

Ye Shaoyang secured the first blood, returned to the mid-lane, quickly cleared minions, and then started coordinating with Chi Shuo.

Tianhuan's mid/junge core was different from many other teams. In most teams, the jungler clears the jungle, decides which lane to support, and the mid-laner follows after clearing minions.

However, Tianhuan's mid/junge core involved Chi Shuo helping Ye Shaoyang clear minions. Then, Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo go to the jungle together, supporting Chi Shuo in clearing the jungle.

The two of them evenly shared the economy from the mid-lane minions and jungle, as if hand in hand, touring the jungle together.

Was it faster for Chi Shuo to jungle alone or for both mid-lane and jungle to clear together?

The answer was evident.

In the live stream chat, viewers also noticed the fast-paced rhythm of Tianhuan's mid/jungle core.

[Tianhuan's pace is incredibly fast!]

[Does Tianhuan have two junglers? How did they clear jungle monsters so quickly?]

[Chi Shuo really spoils Yangyang, even leaving the blue buff with just a sliver of health for him.]

[Ninjas don't really need much blue, but after the Great Witch gets it, it can reduce the cooldown of the ultimate.]

[The Great Witch's ult is ready; are they going to cause trouble in the top lane this time?]

Clearing jungle together, Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo practiced this strategy many times on the international server. This was the true essence of mid/jungle core—where the jungle goes, the mid goes.

Like pendants hanging from each other, they roamed the canyon together.

After clearing the upper jungle area, they indeed arrived at the top lane.

The Houwen's top laner wasn't foolish, realizing that he would be targeted in this wave and retreated early. However, Old Qin disrupted his minion clearing in the front before retreating, leaving two minions uncleared!

Tianhuan's three members jointly attacked the tower, pushing down the top lane defense tower with two remaining minions.

Mid lane had a minion wave, and Ye Shaoyang went to clear minions.

After clearing this wave, the enemy's red buff conveniently respawned.

Ye Shaoyang marked in the jungle: "Let's invade red."

Chi Shuo: "Alright."

After marking, A-Yan would definitely go for the red buff. Since the last time they ambushed in the blue buff area, A-Yan learned his lesson. This time, before entering the jungle, he placed a ward in the bush.

However, as soon as the ward was placed, he saw two big masters crouching there, waiting for him.

Damn!

A-Yan immediately turned around to run, but Chi Shuo activated his Ninja ult, Earth Shadow Wrap, Ninja's Shadow Clone dashed behind A-Yan, stunned him with a critical hit, and Ye Shaoyang quickly followed up with his ult at A-Yan's feet.

Zhou Jiawen rushed over to support immediately, assisting A-Yan in retreating!

A-Yan had equipped double resistance boots, and Ye Shaoyang couldn't take his head, leaving him with a sliver of health.

Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang quickly cleared the red buff.

Zhou Jiawen furrowed his brows— he realized that Tianhuan's mid/jungle core had a too fast pace, and their coordination was incredibly harmonious. Day and Night stuck together while clearing the jungle, completely disrupting the Houwen's mid/jungle core.

Mid/jungle core vs mid/jungle core, there were two ways to play.

One was where both jungle and mid simultaneously go to ambush a certain lane, gaining a small advantage in a fight.

The other was to directly invade the enemy's jungle, disrupting the rhythm of their mid/jungle core!

In this game, Tianhuan clearly chose the latter.

First, they ambushed unexpectedly in the blue buff area, assassinating the mid-laner. Then, they took the red buff jungle, leaving the jungler weakened and forced to return home.

This way, Houwen's mid/jungle core was disrupted for a considerable 3-minute duration!

For three consecutive minutes, either Zhou Jiawen died or A-Yan returned home with low health, making it impossible for them to roam the lanes.

This was fatal in a match!

Zhou Jiawen quickly adjusted his strategy: "Let's force a kill on their marksman, break through from the bot lane."

After regaining full health, A-Yan immediately headed to the bot lane.

They expected Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang to support the bot lane, but the two didn't show up. Instead, they continued to push the top lane tower. With Old Qin, Chi Shuo, and Ye Shaoyang in a 3v1 situation, Houwen's top laner dared not defend the tower and quickly lost the inner tower!

In the bot lane, Cheng Xing and Qu Jiang had already retreated, directly abandoning the bot tower.

Houwen's jungle-mid duo intended to kill Cheng Xing in the bot lane but found he had disappeared—he had gone to the mid lane to help Ye Shaoyang clear minions.

Tianhuan grouped up to push the mid lane, and Houwen was forced to retreat.

At this moment, everyone noticed that, unconsciously, Cheng Xing had completed his three-gear equipment.

And Houwen's Jungle-mid core was completely on the defensive.

The commentators remarked, "In this game, Tianhuan seized opportunities to invade the jungle, disrupting Houwen's early-game rhythm twice, leaving Xiao Xing unharassed. With three gears, the Frost Goddess can deal decent damage in team fights. Her Q skill shoots ice arrows that slow the enemies, and her W skill creates a ranged slowing zone!"

"The two sides clashed in the mid lane, and Houwen clearly wants to take the marksman this time!"

"A-Yan acted decisively, using the long-range lock of the Demon Hunter to immobilize Xiao Xing. Zhou Jiawen quickly followed up with his ult—Black Mist Arc, releasing 6 arcing blades! Xiao Xing was instantly killed!"

After all, Zhou Jiawen was a world-class mid-laner. In a situation where his team pinned down the enemy marksman, if he couldn't insta kill the opposing marksman, he might as well delete his account and retire.

However, before Cheng Xing was killed, he made a significant contribution to the team.

He built the Chain Lightning item, shot ice arrows with incredible speed, chaining all five enemies together with the "slow" debuff.

He also placed the W skill's slowing zone behind them, blocking their path of retreat.

Despite being the most agile marksman, the Wind Nymph couldn't jump away under the influence of the slowing effects, moving as clumsily as a snail.

Ye Shaoyang counterattacked the enemy's positioning, using the Great Devour to consume them, and swallowing Houwen's marksman!

In this exchange, the marksman from both sides were killed consecutively.

It seemed like a fair trade of 1 for 1. However, Tianhuan's jungler hadn't even used a single skill, relying solely on the mid-laner to kill the enemy marksman. On the other hand, Houwen's jungler only managed to kill Cheng Xing after using all control skills.

In team fights, a crucial skill often determines the outcome.

Qu Jiang's White Bear descended from the sky, sitting on the head of the enemy jungler, and Chi Shuo immediately surged forward, killing the enemy jungler with a combo. Then, they turned around to kill the enemy mid-laner.

Ye Shaoyang used the Q skill to assist Chi Shuo in dealing damage. The White Bear also chased after Zhou Jiawen.

In a blink of an eye, Houwen's mid-laner was also eliminated!

In this mid-lane exchange of 1 for 3, Tianhuan gained a significant advantage.

Ye Shaoyang led the team to easily take down the mid-lane tower.

In the subsequent game, Tianhuan's mid/jungle core relentlessly invaded the enemy's jungle. A-Yan could hardly secure a single buff, and the enemy's jungle became Tianhuan's back garden.

The economic gap kept widening, and Tianhuan played steadily, killing the Great Dragon and pushing for the base.

In the crucial tower dive team fight, Qu Jiang used the White Bear to tank the tower, Cheng Xing stacked ice arrows from a distance, Old Qin, Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo charged in simultaneously! Old Qin's sturdy body absorbed damage in the front, Chi Shuo's Shadow Clone rapidly advanced, and Ye Shaoyang's Great Witch followed closely behind.

Great Witch devour!

With the increase in hero levels, the Great Witch's monster grew even larger. The monstrous creature emerged from the ground like lightning, opening its bloodthirsty mouth wide.

It unexpectedly swallowed three low-health enemies in one gulp!

"Let me taste it; ah, you're not tasty at all~ ”

The deep and eerie voice of the Great Witch resounded throughout the arena, causing laughter in the audience.

The sarcastic tone in Ye Shaoyang's hero voice lines was not a coincidence; it's a deliberate aspect of his character portrayal. It added a unique flavor to his in-game persona, making him stand out and leaving an impression on both fans and enemies.

The barrage of comments in the live chat reflected diverse opinions of netizens regarding Ye Shaoyang's choice of hero and his playstyle. Some find it entertaining, while others perceive it as annoying or "asking for a beating."

As for the tacit between Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo, it's not necessarily a conventional mid/jungle core system. Instead, their strategy focused on disrupting the enemy's jungle rhythm, showcasing a different approach to the standard mid-jungle coordination seen in other teams.

In the end, Ye Shaoyang's decision to disrupt the enemy's jungle routine rather than conforming to conventional strategies proved effective, demonstrating his unique playstyle and contributing to the team's success.