217: According to the league rules, it seems that he is also a helmet-wearer.

“Another game update triggered?”

In the Dark World, Chen Beixuan, who was petting a dragon, raised an eyebrow.

Waving his hand, he put the Violet Firmament Divine Dragon into his space, then released Xiao Lu and the others to avoid any issues with logging in and out.

“Um… Master Chen, did you always like pushing the main story when you played games before?”

As soon as Lu Ziming came out, he couldn't help but complain.

Other games follow the main story; good heavens, Master Chen practically shoves the main story along.

There’s no other option!

Both times the version updated, Master Chen’s shadow was behind it.

Even though he was used to Master Chen’s awesomeness, he still had to complain.

These ‘ordinary’ players had no game experience!

Chen Beixuan could only express deep understanding for this, then continued to do as he pleased.

A minute passed in a flash, and everyone logged off.

Only Pedro was left, squatting on the ground, drawing circles…

At the same time.

All players on the server were also forced offline amidst grumbling…

...

Opening his eyes.

Chen Beixuan and Xiao Lu didn't get up; they just lay in their gaming pods, browsing forums and playing mini-games.

The 30-minute update time was neither too long nor too short; it wasn't enough for a good nap.

They might as well look at some rules for tomorrow's league.

Clicking on the league promotion cover on the forum homepage, all rules and competition formats were readily available.

This included the various participating teams, with most of the rosters already compiled; specific registration required logging in tomorrow night and signing up via the panel.

This was just for official statistics for forum players to see, for promotional use.

The competition format was very simple.

It was divided into solo and team competitions.

First, they would compete for rankings in the five major regions, with the top 50 from each region advancing to the national competition until a champion was decided.

To minimize human influence, the entire process was controlled by the game system.

Random opponent matching, random combat environments, and one match to determine the winner.

Winners advanced, losers were eliminated.

This continued until the national top 32 were decided, then a best-of-three system began.

The semifinals and finals were best-of-five.

Regarding the rules.

The officials made some modifications, adopting a balanced attribute rule.

Participants' base attributes were fixed, relying more on skill mechanics and class characteristics for combat.

This aimed to minimize attribute differences, allowing more players to participate and break through based on skill and game understanding.

While it couldn't achieve 100% fairness, this approach had already earned the officials widespread praise!

In the comment section below.

Players expressed relief, saying the officials had finally done something sensible.

However, a small number of players suggested that skills and classes should also be balanced to completely eliminate the advantages of high-end players, arguing that this would be truly fair.

The officials did not heed such requests.

Some pay-to-win players even retorted directly.

“I've been working hard in Myriad Realms for so many days, spent so much money, hired so many people, wasn't it all for today?”

“I think you're just sour grapes, looking for attention here?”

“Bah! Poor people should know their place!”

“You helmet users are just here to provide emotional value for us pay-to-win players; just run along and be our grandkids!”

The helmet users who were retorted instantly exploded, with a large amount of unreadable text scrolling rapidly.

“...So what if you pay-to-win? I f***ing!”

“You bastard, I’ll kill you offline! If you have the guts, give me your address…”

“...”

Seeing this, Chen Beixuan couldn't help but rub his chin.

Helmet users who only bought helmets...

Apparently, he was one of them, and he bought it on a 24-month installment plan.

This was getting interesting.

He was really looking forward to the expressions of these wealthy pay-to-win players tomorrow…

You have money, I have cheats, we all have a bright future!

He slid his finger across the page and clicked to enter the match reward details.

The rewards were the same as when he last checked, with the addition of custom titles.

For the solo national first place, the reward was a [Brilliant-grade Treasure] + the title [Number One Under Heaven].

For the team national first place, each person received 3 [Gold Equipment Selection Boxes (All Slots)], plus the title [Strongest Team in Myriad Realms].

Regional champions received a [Gold Weapon Box], and 2nd to 9th received [Orange Equipment Selection Boxes].

The rest of the rewards weren't worth looking at, so he quickly flipped through them twice and exited the forum.

He glanced at the time; only a little over ten minutes had passed.

Sigh, what an ordeal…

“Unconsciously, without asking ~ without pain or itch ~ how much time…”

The phone rang with a ringtone carrying memories of first love, interrupting Chen Beixuan’s eyelids, which were battling each other.

He picked it up and saw it was actually Lu Ziming.

“Hello? So eager to call, are you going to pay the deposit?”

Lu Ziming: “Uh… deposit… no problem, I’ll transfer it to you as soon as the bank opens during the day, I have something else.”

Having made a joke, Chen Beixuan calmly rubbed his nose.

“Ah… I was just kidding, tell me what’s up.”

“It’s like this, tomorrow is the league, and I wanted to ask if you have any plans to form a team…”

“Team up…”

Chen Beixuan chewed on these two words and quickly made a decision.

“Teaming up is fine, but I get to decide the members.”

“Master Chen, you make the call, whoever you say, we’ll bring them,” Lu Ziming readily agreed, his voice cheerful.

With Master Chen around, first place in the team competition was guaranteed.

After a few more words, he hung up the phone, Chen Beixuan pondering the team selection.

A team for the team competition required 6 people, and after thinking it over, there were only a few candidates.

Him, Xiao Lu, Lu Ziming, Healer, Night Owl, and Bone, exactly six people.

For a team with him in it, these spots were a considerable favor.

Actually, he could also auction off the spots, and it was foreseeable that someone would definitely pay a high price for them.

Buying a spot would be equivalent to getting three divine artifacts, and it was a guaranteed win, a sure profit.

Anyone would be tempted.

But he thought about it and didn't do so.

Too much money was meaningless; just enough was fine.

It was better to give the spots to those he was familiar with; it felt more comfortable.

After making the decision.

He then called Night Owl to inform him of the news.

Night Owl was overjoyed, his previous resentment instantly vanishing!

“Oh, Chen Lao, I don’t know what to say, you’re too generous!”

He chattered on for a long time, also apologizing for what happened earlier in the day.

And he stated that within a reasonable scope, if there was anything, just let him know, and he would definitely handle it well.

Chen Beixuan hummed and hawed in agreement, then hung up the phone, satisfied.

It was comfortable talking to smart people; they knew how to appreciate and get things done.

At this moment, the game was about to finish updating, and Xiao Lu also closed her casual game.

Time zeroed out, and both logged in simultaneously.

Game, start!

...

Opening his eyes, it was still that misty Dark World.

Lu Ziming and Healer also logged in immediately, and both sides nodded in greeting.

Pedro, who had been squatting on the ground drawing circles for half an hour, his eyes lit up, and he stood up.

“Master Chen, you’re back!”

But the few of them didn't pay attention to him; at this moment, they were intently checking the server-wide update announcement!