Xu Yang decided to change tactics during the second round and take down the enemy archers first. It was because Ling Xueshang was too good at commanding, and their chances of victory were zero unless they tried something different.

However, the intelligent Ling Xueshang predicted the change of tactics perfectly and adapted as well. This time, all three archers used Freezing Arrows to slow down the fighters while their warriors attacked aggressively. Our second seed simply couldn’t withstand the bombardment long enough to kill the archers and turn things around!

Pu...

Chaos Moon was the first to die before everyone, followed by High Fighting Spirits. They were 5-Strength warriors with paper-thin Defense, so of course Ling Xueshang’s 2000+ Attack was too much for them to handle.

Moreover, Ling Xueshang’s stratagem was Encourage IV that boosted her party members’ Attack by 37%. Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls Second Seed’s stratagem was also Encourage, but it was only Rank 3. Even in this department they were inferior to their opponents!

……

In the end, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls Second Seed couldn’t overcome their opposition and ended their dreams at Top 16. Still, it wasn’t an undeserved loss considering how powerful The Monarch Descends party was.

Despite having lost the match, our players didn’t seem too sad about it. A laughing Gui Guzi was carrying his bag on one hand and slapping Xu Yang’s shoulder with the other. High Fighting Spirits and Eighteen Steeds of You and Yun were walking next to Chaos Moon and teasing her about something. The girl ignored them both, took out an apple from their bag and started eating even before they got off the stage.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

Gui Guzi smiled. "I feel like we were played like a fiddle by Ling Xueshang…"

I broke into laughter. "The Monarch Descends is an experienced and veteran guild who made it to the WSL before. Just think of it as training and do better next time. Don’t worry, there are plenty more tournaments to participate and take revenge, and I’m sure you’ll have the last laugh in the end."

"Right!"

Gui Guzi gave me a strong nod before pulling out a knife from his bag to carve up a watermelon for himself. He didn’t know that his action gave Beauty Ling Xueshang quite the fright when she walked out of the battle room.

The next match of Group C was the battle to reach the semifinals. Again, it was a clash between titans—

Snowy Cathaya VS The Monarch Descends

I didn’t know how the match would turn out since it was a battle between a CGL Hall of Famer and my Beautiful Little Pepper. However, I did notice that Snowy Cathaya’s morale was sky-high, and they looked like nothing could stop them this tournament. I couldn’t help but wipe a sweat for The Monarch Descends and Ling Xueshang.

Now that I thought about it, Lin Yixin and Snowy Cathaya had taken out plenty of parties with CGL Hall of Famers in them such as Hunting Moon Dynasty and Return of the Kings. If she managed to eliminate The Monarch Descends as well, then it would be no exaggeration to say that Lin Yixin’s path to victory in this tournament was paved with corpses of CGL Hall of Famers!

……

Both parties entered the tournament ring, and just as I predicted the tactics they employed in the battle alone were good enough to be a highlight of the tournament!

Initially, Ling Xueshang sent her two-man warrior party forward to block Snowy Cathaya’s offense. However, Lin Yixin wisely ordered Shadow Chanel to set fire to the tournament ring while the rest of them withdrew to a corner. Her goal was to weaken the enemy warriors and drag the battle line toward their corner.

Realizing that they would be at a disadvantage if they didn’t do something, Ling Xueshang immediately ordered her archers to aim high and shoot over the literal wall of fire. This time, it was Snowy Cathaya’s turn to suffer some minor damage, with Purple Marquis losing almost half of his health. However, Lin Yixin reacted instantaneously and ordered Purple Marquis to attract the enemy’s firepower. At the same time, she patiently waited for both parties to move closer and closer to each other until Ling Xueshang and the archers finally stepped past the safety line and entered the "minefield”. Lin Yixin immediately pulled out her Frozen Sword and shouted, "Kill them all!"

The battle truly began in that moment, and it didn’t end until almost five minutes later. Using both martial prowess and clever tactics, Lin Yixin and Purple Marquis were ultimately able to defeat The Monarch Descends at the cost of three party members.

Ling Xueshang had single-handedly killed Clear Perfume and Shadow Chanel. There was no such thing as small fries in the CGL Hall of Fame.

The second round was just as close as the first, and this time Beauty At First Sight couldn’t hold her cool any longer. Pressing her jade flute to her lips, she literally floated into the air and played a melodious tune that dazed the enemy—

Combat Log: Player "Beauty At First Sight" used “Hopeless". All enemies within 100 yards have their Attack and attack speed reduced by 10%, as well as 40% hit rate reduction. Lasts 25 seconds, cannot be cancelled unless the caster is killed!

……

Holy fuck, the ace in the hole is finally revealed. A 40% hit rate debuff! What is this nonsense?

The next moment, Ling Xueshang missed two arrows in a row, pissing her off so much that she stomped her foot in frustration, "Aaaahh! How can such a skill exist in this game? I don’t want to live anymore…"

Lin Yixin complied and rushed her with the Frozen Sword. She blocked the archer’s retreat path with a couple of beautiful movements and one-shot her with an Extreme Break.

The moment Ling Xueshang died, The Monarch Descends immediately toppled like a mountain. Unable to withstand Snowy Cathaya’s onslaught, their remaining players were routed in less than a minute!

I felt my something crawling across my scalp as I whispered, "Fuck, this ‘Hopeless’ is a bit too powerful, isn’t it?"

He Yi nodded. "I initially thought our chances of beating Snowy Cathaya are over 60%, but now I wonder if we even have a 40% chance of winning…"

Li Chengfeng took a gulp from his cola before grinning. "Don’t worry, if we can kill Beauty At First Sight immediately, then this skill will disappear on its own. Don’t forget that she’s just a bard, she can’t be too powerful…"

I nodded in agreement. "Chengfeng, let’s kill Beauty At First Sight immediately while Beiming Xue slows Lin Yixin down with Freezing Arrow. We cannot give her the freedom to attack us as she pleases."

"Got it!"

Everyone nodded in unison before waiting for the next match to begin.

Group D, the final group to enter the quarterfinals and after that, the semifinals were—

Warsky Alliance VS Hegemon Palace, Dirge of War VS Baidicheng

……

Looks like the three CGL Hall of Famers of Warsky Alliance were finally going to clash against the dark horse of this tournament, Little Piglet and Shangguan Wan’er. This will be an interesting battle to watch.

Whoosh!

Li Chengfeng suddenly rose to his feet and rubbed his stomach a little. "Fuck, I think I drank a little too much cola. Anyone interested in forming a party with me and venturing into the toilets together?"

I shook my head. "Just go. I’ll party with sis later…"

Murong Mingyue: "Fuck you, I ain’t going with you, you little gangster…"

Li Chengfeng laughed loudly before going away.

On the stage, Warsky and co. faced Wang Dongliang, his good friend Zhao Yufeng, Little Piglet and Shangguan Wan’er on the stage and glared at them with daggers in their eyes, and vice versa. The hostile stand-off lasted for a while before they finally entered the battle rooms and initiated the match right away.

The clash of titans was incredibly fierce, and Little Piglet’s performance was especially noteworthy in this match. Unfortunately, Farewell Song was just as good as he was, and after a couple of clashes and some very, very patient skulking, the assassin finally managed to stun Little Piglet while the latter was busy attacking Laughing At The Heavens. The Cold Wind Swordsman quickly went to his grave after Farewell Song and October Rain ganged up on him.

Warsky Alliance ultimately beat Hegemon Palace 2-0 and became the victor. It didn’t really come as a surprise, however. Warsky Alliance had always been a powerful guild with three CGL Hall of Famers in it, and Farewell Song especially was known as the strongest assassin of China right now. If even I had to watch out for him, why would Little Piglet be an exception to the rule?

The next match was between Dirge of War and Baidicheng.

While the match was ongoing, I looked at the direction of the toilet and voiced my puzzlement, "The fuck is taking Li Chengfeng so long? Did he accidentally wash himself down the toilet or something?"

Beiming Xue replied, "If that’s true then you’ll have to search for him at Huangpu River…"

Me: "..."

I waited a bit longer and finally grew impatient. "Seriously, what the heck is he doing? Our match against Candle Dragon is about to begin! I’m going to the toilet to find him!"

"Mn!"

He Yi nodded. "The semifinals will start in about 15 minutes, so come back quickly!"

"Okay!"

I rose to my feet and walked out of the venue. A beautiful attendant walked up to me and asked, "Where are you going, Lu Chen?"

"Eh, I’m going to the toilet to search for Legendary Brave…"

The attendant’s mouth fell open. "What? There’s Legendary Brave in the toilet? I guess even braves have hardcore tastes these days…"

I nodded. "I know right? At least it’s just the gents toilet…"

"I see. Be careful though. There are more participants than usual and all kinds of people in this tournament. Just now, I saw a male participant looking around in the ladies toilet, and he refused to give me his name when I asked him who he was. I only knew later that he was Profound Puff, the priest of Hegemon Palace…"

"Hmph, that guy’s not a good person."

"I know…"

……

Well, no time to chat. I needed to find Li Chengfeng as soon as possible because the match was about to begin. It was be stupid to miss the chance to become champion because one of our players went missing in the toilet.

I went straight for the toilets, but before I even entered the gents toilet, I saw two people standing in front of the wash basins and glaring at each other. My mind turned blank as a shiver crept across my entire body—

There was water everywhere and blood on the ground. Li Chengfeng was gripping a gooseneck faucet and leaning against the wall. There was also blood dripping down the faucet. The front of Li Chengfeng’s shirt was red, and there was blood still dripping down his arm.

On the other side of the wash basins and close to the mirrors, a guy in military uniform was sitting on the floor and staring at Li Chengfeng coldly. He was also gripping a faucet, and he had a big scratch on his forehead. He looked terrible with blood and hair stuck together in a jumbled mess, and his lips looked dry and cracked. He was also glaring at Li Chengfeng.

That man was none other than Candlelight Shadow, of course!

……

Thud thud thud!

I ran up to them both, stopped atop a muddle of water and asked in an indifferent tone, "What’s going on?"

Li Chengfeng looked at Candlelight Shadow before laughing loudly. "No… nothing…"

Candlelight Shadow smiled disdainfully at me before saying, "You’re an idiot, Falling Dust. Don’t you understand yet? He joined Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls because he has an ulterior motive. All this time he’s just been using you for his own goals. Haha, who would’ve thought that someone as smart as you could be this stupid sometimes, hahaha…"

"Ulterior motive?"

I looked at Li Chengfeng, and he looked back at me without saying anything. His silence was an admission in its own right.