The God Suppressing Necklace stats remained on the screen for a very, very long time. All the players and audience members were flabbergasted by what they saw—

"Holy shit, 5-star Outstanding equipment?!! I didn’t even realize that an item like this could exist… a Level 110 necklace that adds 30% Attack and physical Defense? This is seriously broken…"

"Don’t forget that 24 Tactics. Goddamn, if this isn’t OP I don’t know what is…"

"What are you talking about? Those stats aren’t broken, that Outstanding property is! It’s 100% critical rate for 60 seconds once he activates it! There’s practically no one you can’t PK with this equipment!"

"Tsk tsk, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand is so lucky. If he could get this necklace sooner, he probably could have swept the entire Snowy Cathaya himself…"

"Yeah, this necklace is OP as fuck. I bet it could sell for 5 million at minimum if it was auctioned. That’s enough money to be basically set for life…"

……

While the crowd was murmuring among themselves, I smiled at He Yi and Beiming Xue before saying, "Let’s not hog the stage any longer, shall we? Anyway, it looks like we’re really lucky today. I didn’t think we would get 3 pieces of Spirit-grade equipment in total; that’s like having a 60% chance to draw a Spirit-grade equipment…"

He Yi bit her lips thoughtfully before saying, "Actually, I don’t think this roll chance is tied to the placement. Maybe it has something to do with the actual match situation? Think about it, we might have lost to Snowy Cathaya 1-2, but it was an incredibly close match, especially the final round. Maybe that’s why the system decided to increase our chances of drawing Spirit-grade equipment."

"Hmm, now that you mention it, that does sound pretty likely."

I nodded and led everyone down the stage. Then, I looked back and asked, "So, the 500k prize money is already transferred to our accounts. Anyone have any thoughts they want to share?"

Li Chengfeng replied excitedly, "I made a ton of money without resorting to corruption! It’s awesome!"

He Yi and Murong Mingyue simply smiled and said nothing.

Beiming Xue said happily, "I’m going to transfer half of it to my mom’s bank account…"

I nodded. "You’re such a good girl, Lil Beiming."

Her cheeks turned red in an instant.

……

On the stage, Fei’er excitedly—almost sensually—made it to the center of the stage before declaring loudly on the mic, "Next, please welcome our new king and champion, Snowy Cathaya, to come up the stage and receive their reward!"

The audience immediately erupted into thunderous applause. Countless people were holding up banners or screaming "I love you Wind Fantasy", "Beauty Wind Fantasy is invincible" and so on. Of course, they were all men ranging from 12-year-old kids to even 40-year-old middle-aged uncles. The Fruit Knife Goddess’s beauty and temperament "murdered" anyone of any age equally.

Lin Yixin rose to her feet and walked up the stage. She was followed by Shadow Chanel, Sun Qingqing, and Beauty At First Sight. They were trailed by the calm and collected Purple Marquis as usual. Speaking of which, a keen eye would notice that he had been staring at Shadow Chanel all this time. It was practically an open secret that Purple Marquis was in love with Shadow Chanel, but the two lovebirds in question always pretended that their love was known to no one except themselves. As a result, even the lightest teasings from Lin Yixin could elicit the brightest of blushes on both their faces.

It was time for the champions to draw their prize. A couple of flashes later, the results were displayed on the screen—

Purple Marquis obtained the reward "Sword of Sunflame" (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★★★): 550~745 Attack, Strength +95, Stamina +82, Tactics +17. Increases user’s Attack by 24%. Outstanding Property: When attacking, chance to inflict Sunflame and deal 2000 burn damage to a target.

Shadow Chanel obtained the reward "Persuader’s Robe" (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★): Defense 240, 175 Magic Resist, Intelligence +92, Stamina +85, Tactics +15. Fixed +2000 damage. Outstanding Property: Magic Attack critical rate increased by 9%

Clear Perfume obtained the reward "Bow of the Fire Lizard" (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★★★): 475~620 Attack, Agility +95, Stamina +87, Tactics +14. Increases physical attack power by 15%. Outstanding Property: 10% chance to activate Fire Lizard’s Breath, deals additional 50% burn damage to a target

Beauty At First Sight obtained the reward "Scorching Scepter" (Purple Gold–grade, Outstanding★★★★): 440~595 Attack, Intelligence +85, Stamina +80, Tactics +12. Increases Magic Attack by 17%. Outstanding Property: Max HP increased by 2500

Wind Fantasy obtained the reward "Armor of Chaotic Storm" (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★★★★): 500 Defense, 475 Magic Resist, Stamina +115, Strength +110, Tactics +22. Increases Defense and Magic Resist by 25%. Outstanding Property: Absorb, 25% chance to absorb 50% of the damage taken

……

It looked like the crowd wouldn’t be quieting down anytime soon. It was because four out of five players in Snowy Cathaya had drawn Outstanding Spirit-grade equipment! Outstanding equipment had started dropping since the new patch, but the drop rate wasn’t all that high at all. Looking at the rules, the chances that high-level Dark Gold–grade equipment would be Outstanding was less than 5%, and for Spirit-grade equipment, less than 2%. Who could’ve thought that the prize pool of Who Will Rise was so OP that almost everyone had drawn Outstanding equipment!?

Out of everyone in Snowy Cathaya, Lin Yixin’s prize was the best of them all. The 4-star Outstanding Spirit-grade Armor of Chaotic Storm had amazing stats and a 25% chance to absorb 50% of damage taken. It was almost as good as Gui Guzi’s Undying Shield! Was she trying to shame our Undying Knight to his grave? Also, +25% Defense and Magic Resist was just too good, no matter the situation!

I smiled a little. The biggest winners of this Who Will Rise tournament were without a doubt Snowy Cathaya and Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls; Lin Yixin and me. Our glory had completely outshined Candlelight Shadow, which made me wonder what the man was thinking right now. There must be a ton of doom and gloom rolling inside his head, right?

Suddenly, Fei’er glanced at me and gave me a smile. She then said, "Finally, we would like to invite our MVP player, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, to come up the stage and receive his reward. Ah, please stay here for the moment, friends from Snowy Cathaya! We have an event we would like to announce after this!"

"Oh?"

As I rose to my feet, He Yi shot me a look of praise and said, "Time to go. I wonder what the MVP reward will be? At any rate, it can’t be lousier than Beauty Yi’s prize even though we were just the runner-up…"

"Mn."

I strode up the stage and confirmed my identity once more. The word "MVP" started flashing rapidly on the big display. After Fei’er gave me the signal, I pressed the start button on the screen and watched the image change to a swirl of flowing data. Suddenly, Fei’er said in a soft tone, "Do you know that the best reward you can draw from the MVP prize pool is not a Spirit-grade equipment, Lu Chen?"

"Oh?" I perked up in surprise. She must mean that the prize was higher than Spirit-grade then. What could it be, I wonder? Immortal-grade, Earth-grade, Heaven-grade? Speaking of which, a new update patch had refreshed the equipment grades. They were now Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Purple Gold, Spirit, Earth, Heaven, Immortal and finally, a yet unknown grade. Anyway, back to the present. I wondered if she meant an Earth-grade item?

The image suddenly came to a stop, and my reward appeared on the screen:

Level +4, Luck +5, 2 million RMB prize money, and—

God Suppressing Helmet (Spirit-grade, Outstanding★★★★★)

Defense: 520

Magic Resist: 465

Strength: +120

Stamina: +115

Tactics: +20

Passive: Increases user’s HP by a fixed number of 2400

Passive: Increases user’s Defense by 20%

Outstanding Property: Mad Assault, increases user’s Attack and attack speed by 15%

Slots: 5

Level Requirement: 115

……

I nearly turned into stone at that moment. Holy motherfucking shit, it was a jackpot; another 5-star Outstanding Spirit-grade item! Not only was it the same set as the God Suppressing Necklace, its stats were maddeningly powerful. Its Defense was of course amazing, but it also gave me 235 free stats and 20 Tactics. There was no need for me to explain why 2400 fixed HP and +20% Defense were awesome, right? That Outstanding Property dwarfed even that, however. +15% Attack and attack speed, all in one helmet? This was even better than so-called "divine-grade" equipment!

I had to suck in deep breaths to calm myself down. Is this my turning point? I thought to myself. My chances of beating Candlelight Shadow in a 1v1 are probably over 80% now, aren’t they?

Pop! Before I knew it, a system notice on the display informed me that the equipment had been deposited into my bag.

Behind me, Lin Yixin’s sweet laughter soothed me. "Congratulations, Lu Chen! The helmet aside, the rest of the MVP rewards are amazing as well…"

I looked back at her and smiled. "Thanks, Yiyi."

……

After that, we all looked at Fei’er and waited. She was the one who said that the show wasn’t over yet.

Fei’er said with a smile, "Please wait a moment, the new CGL ranking points have just been tallied. Now, we would like to invite the vice president of Moon Eternal Corporation China Branch to announce the new CGL ranking!"

It wasn’t long before a group of people walked out from the back stage. The person at the forefront was an incredibly beautiful woman wearing a coffee-colored uniform, and the people behind her were all bodyguards dressed in black. I… knew this woman. She was… she was Qin Yun, the person who helped me find a blood donor for me back in Nanjing!

"Hi, Lu Chen, long time no see!" Qin Yun gave me a smile before shooting Lin Yixin a meaningful glance. "So you’re the legendary Beautiful Little Pepper. You’re definitely as beautiful as the rumors say…"

Lin Yixin was surprised that she knew her. "Who are you?"

“Who am I?"

Qin Yun shot me a weird look before motioning for Fei’er to continue the announcement. The host picked up her mic again and said, "We announced that the MVP of this tournament would enter the CGL Hall of Fame, but Lu Chen is already a CGL Hall of Famer. Therefore, we will choose the player behind Lu Chen to become a CGL Hall of Famer instead! Please announce the new addition to the Hall of Fame, Vice President Qin Yun."

An attendant walked up the stage while holding a wrapped up electronic board. Qin Yun walked up to her, pulled away the red cloth wrapped around it and revealed a line of text—

Wind Fantasy. Real name: Lin Yixin. Former ID: Beautiful Little Pepper

……

I smiled. "Congratulations, Yiyi! You’ve finally entered the CGL Hall of Fame!"

Lin Yixin nodded and replied softly, "Yeah, I can beat you up anytime I want now…"

Me: "..."

At the same time, the new ranking of the CGL Hall of Fame was displayed on the big screen behind us. Qin Yun was sighing to herself and saying, "Ai, once upon a time I was a CGL Hall of Famer too. Time truly waits for no one…"

New CGL Hall of Fame Ranking

1-5: Frivolous Scholar, Vegetable Tofu Soup, Murong Shanshan, Seven-Star Lamp, Windy Snow

6-10: Candlelight Shadow, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, Wind That Touches The Moon, Zhi Yun’er, Power Cooker

11-15: Farewell Song, Luo River God of the Capital, Wind Fantasy, Ling Xueshang, A Dust

16-20: Moonkiss, God’s Dance, Tempest Shadow, October Rain, Blue Sky Scar

21-25: Lonely Grave, Laughing At The Heavens, Blood Red, Transient Smoke and Clouds, Transient

26-28: Come See The Snow Tonight, Wei-Jin North-South Dynasties, Predestined