Li Xuan and Wu Yuce: Team Void’s dual Ghostblades, a unique and iconic partnership in the Alliance. Where one goes, the other follows, two ghosts standing like reflections beside one another.
‘Mirror image’ is often used to mean ‘perfect copy,’ but that’s not what a mirror really does. A mirror does not reflect what it sees, but instead throws back a reversed image. Li Xuan and Wu Yuce are in that sense a true mirror image - two people who seem similar on the surface, but who function more as foils of one another in reality.
Let’s begin with the illusion of the mirror. Narratively, Void’s Ghostblades are often treated as a single, inseparable unit. The majority of Li Xuan and Wu Yuce’s early appearances are as a pair, creating a strong association between the two characters, and leading to them frequently being grouped into an indistinguishable whole.
Their similar biographical details also play into this impression of sameness. Li Xuan debuted in Season Four as part of the Golden Generation (718), and Wu Yuce debuted in Season Five (1123). Li Xuan’s age at debut can be reliably set as eighteen because of the league’s age requirement. We don’t have a confirmed age for Wu Yuce, but he was likely near to or already eighteen at his debut, so they’re quite close in age.
When we meet them in Season Eight, Li Xuan is captain and Wu Yuce is vice-captain, both positions carrying significant authority within the team. From the viewpoint of seniority and power, they’re standing on nearly even ground. Besides both playing the same class, they’re also so close to each other in skill that they themselves don’t know who is better. This is the truest kind of equality between pro players - and equality of ability means equality of prestige.
However, Li Xuan and Wu Yuce’s similarities are only a foundation. The ghost duo form a strong partnership not because they are identical, but because they are not. Instead, their aptitudes balance each other. This is most clearly shown by their playstyles. They may both play Ghostblade, but Li Xuan specializes in the team-oriented support type Phantom Demon, while Wu Yuce uses a Hybrid Sword Demon build more suitable for individual PvP.
Wu Yuce’s style is noteworthy because it is highly atypical for the Ghostblade class. Ghostblades aren’t suited to hard and direct fighting since they lack high defense or health, yet Wu Yuce’s style is explicitly described as “direct and fierce” (1225), and he is “a very headstrong and forceful fighter” (1230) with a preference toward aggressive attacks. The narration explains that Wu Yuce “preferred this method, as it suited his personality” (1225) and that “[he] was tough and unyielding, thus his Ghostblade also exuded a toughness from the bones” (1225).
Wu Yuce also doesn’t use typical Ghostblade tactics in his battles. A duel between Ghostblades is a competition in “decision-making, game knowledge, and dirtiness” (305), yet Wu Yuce is the opposite of a dirty player. Wu Yuce doesn’t trash talk during his matches, nor is he disrupted by trash talk at all (1225). He isn’t inclined to chat much in general (1356), and when he does speak he’s rather taciturn (1124, 1129). The narration explicitly contrasts him with Fang Rui, the king of dirty play. His bold and decisive personality negates Fang Rui’s attempts to play psychological games because he’ll simply straightforwardly attack anyway (1356). Wu Yuce is at his most powerful when he can charge forward for his team’s sake, setting the force of his unwavering conviction and ferocity against the opponent in front of him (1356).
Without Wu Yuce’s unshakable willpower, Void’s Ghost Duo would not exist. When he first arrived at Void, the team wanted him to switch classes, but Wu Yuce refused to cooperate, insisting that he wanted to play Ghostblade. Rather than going along with the team's needs, Wu Yuce stubbornly stuck to his choice and Void’s two Ghostblades gradually formed their partnership (1225). If Wu Yuce weren’t a very persistent and persevering person, someone who never gave up easily, they would've never gotten the chance (1260).
While Wu Yuce uses an unusual, unique Ghostblade playstyle, Li Xuan has mastered the traditional, standard Ghostblade style. Phantom Demons are not designed for PvP, so when they need to fight one on one they employ a calculative style. Avoiding close combat, moving strategically, relying on utilizing map features, setting traps, and mind games are all common features and Li Xuan embodies this style (1351). Li Xuan is cautious and avoids risks (1228). Instead, he relies on his awareness, experience, and accurate judgement to compensate for a Phantom Demon’s PvP disadvantage (1351).
In a duel between Phantom Demons, the players contest against one another in decision making and wretchedness (306). As the number one Phantom Demon, Li Xuan is naturally the number one Ghostblade at dirty play. He’s quite willing to trash talk and engage his opponents in the player chat (1086,1351), and he shows that he is capable of matching Ye Xiu’s level of dirty play (1351).
If Wu Yuce is at his most powerful when charging forward to fight for his cause, where is Li Xuan’s moment of greatest power? Ye Xiu himself gives the answer: “Even though Li Xuan’s Crying Devil is the core of Team Void, it’s never his other teammates coordinating with his Crying Devil’s Phantom Ghosts. Watch how Li Xuan deciphers the battles and then uses Phantom Ghosts to create the win for his team” (147).
Li Xuan’s power comes from his context. Void’s captain is at his most powerful when he is surrounded by other people, when he can flow and adapt and direct in response to their actions. This is a softer kind of power than Wu Yuce’s, one that is easily overlooked and hard to distinguish without intentionally looking for it. He values the team’s atmosphere (1728) and is often the person performing the emotional labor of managing his teammates’ mood (1224,1227,1348). There’s a very nice example of this when the China Glory Team discusses who was the replacement player. To preserve team harmony, Li Xuan claims to be the replacement, but because of the class dissimilarity this is highly unlikely (1728). Unfortunately, the emphasis Li Xuan places on what other people think of him gives him a tendency to value himself according to external measures - his fixation on the position of number one phantom demon, for example - and downplay his achievements (1224).
There is an adaptability to Li Xuan that comes from orienting himself using the people around him. Between Void’s two Ghostblades, he is the true mirror. When he plays Ye Xiu, he is the cunning, trash-talking Phantom Demon (1351). With his team, he is the responsible, supportive captain (1227). In the pro chat and with his peers, he is the social, amiable colleague (1105, 1625). With Wu Yuce, his closest friend, Li Xuan is perhaps most himself, more honest and straightforward (1225,1356). The debacle with Qiao Yifan’s rookie challenge occurs partially because Li Xuan mistakes what persona he needs to use - he thinks he’s facing a rival, when he’s really facing a junior who’s only played Ghostblade for a few weeks. During the course of their match, the text shows his process of gradually adjusting himself as he reasons out the correct conclusion (304 - 308).
Li Xuan shapes himself into the person that the people around him need him to be, but there is an authenticity to every role he plays. There is no sense of him wearing a mask; Li Xuan is sincere in all of his roles. He’s always adjusting himself to his present circumstances, slipping easily into the background. Without Li Xuan’s flexibility and willingness to change around Wu Yuce’s presence, pouring himself into a new shape and a new role, Void’s Ghost Duo would not exist either.
So where does this leave our mirror? How are two such disparate reflections united? Wu Yuce, always true to his own nature, Void’s constant and reliable force. Li Xuan, watchful and clever, who holds his team together with himself as the glue.
Their mirror exists because Li Xuan and Wu Yuce constructed it with their own hands, linking themselves together in mutual interdependence. Void’s Ghostblades did not inherit a dual core or a legacy. No one expected or asked them to become partners instead of rivals. Void’s Ghostblades chose the harder path on their own, pioneering the use of Dual Linking Ghost Boundaries within the pro league and forming Void’s first dual core. Their tacit understanding was built through their own willingness and efforts, and they continue to maintain their careful equilibrium with each other, despite how the world tries to pit them against one another as candidates for the best Ghostblade - “when asked by the reporters, the two would by tacit agreement always praise the other as superior” (1123).
In ten seasons, Void has made the playoffs seven times (217), and Li Xuan and Wu Yuce are now each other’s closest friends (1225). By their own will, Team Void’s dual Ghostblades have become each other’s best partner. Where one goes, the other follows, two ghosts reflecting each other in the mirror.
