"Sit. Please take a seat, everyone!" the Lenovo CEO urged with a smile.

I glanced at He Yi, and He Yi gave me a smile before pulling me to the seat next to hers. Beiming Xue, Lian Xin and Murong Mingyue sat down in silence too. To be honest, we all knew that this was going to be more political than celebratory even before we came here. The vice chief’s appearance further proved that this was definitely not going to be a fulfilling banquet.

"First, we would like to congratulate Lenovo for winning the WEL China nationals!"

CEO Dong Xiang made a gesture at Rose, and our team manager immediately carried a golden trophy to him. Dong Xiang accepted the trophy and shot everyone a smile. "Look at this spot. Your IDs—Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand, From Water, Beiming Xue, Lian Xing and Murong Mingyue—are carved into the trophy itself! You all fought hard to leave this mark of honor for Lenovo, which is why our company would like to honor that respect by storing it in the team headquarters temporarily. Of course, we will reward you twice the amount that was promised earlier. How does 2 million RMB per player sound?"

He Yi smiled sweetly. "Thank you, CEO Dong! That is exactly what we need right now!"

Dong Xiang laughed. "I’ve known of your name for quite some time, Eve. As the CEO of Raincube and the guild leader of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, you are a woman who can cause quakes in Heavenblessed with the flick of a finger if you so wish. Now that I’ve finally met you in person, I can say for certain that you truly are as beautiful and powerful as they claim!"

He Yi replied politely, "Thank you!"

……

After everyone assumed their seats, I picked up a piece of cold chicken meat and tried to stuff it into my mouth. Unfortunately, Tang Long chose this moment to raise his wine glass and declare, "Ever since the War of Dawn City, each version of the Northern Alliance’s counterattack had only been weaker than the last. Not only that, this one war caused our server’s name to spread across the northern lands like wildfire. It is all thanks to everyone here. On behalf of the China VR department, I would like to thank everyone for their outstanding service!"

Dong Xiang also raised his glass in response and said, "The War of Dawn City was very inspiring. Time and again, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls had challenged incredible odds and come back victorious. The destruction of the one million cavalry of Hot Sand City, the slaughter of the one hundred thousand Behemoth Cavalry at Sunset Swamp, the burying of countless Bloodthirsty Beast Cavalry with a snow avalanche. I’m sure that everyone here is grateful for everything you’ve done in the Nation War!"

Dong Xiang was obviously biased toward us. Of course, the core of Lenovo’s main roster was literally made up Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls members. Of course he would side with us.

Tang Long drained his glass in one go, and we couldn’t not return the gesture. Remains, Heart Like Water and the rest of the players also raised their glasses and drained the contents. This was the first time they set foot in the "jianghu" and encountered a VIP like Tang Long, so I understood why they were acting as jittery as they were. They were probably too afraid to even breathe in the wrong direction, much less say anything.

A while later, Tang Long smiled a little and declared in high spirits, "I used to be a hardcore gaming addict, you know. I’ve played both of Eternal Moon’s games, Eternal Moon and Spirit of Grief, and I loved them both. It was the main reason I worked hard and got myself transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to the VR department. Today, I have a Level 175 magic knight account in Heavenblessed. I’m not seventh-promotion yet, so please don’t bully me if you run into me inside the game, yeah? Hahaha!"

I replied, "I’m surprised that a busy man like you would spare the time to train an account. It really is an admirable feat."

Dong Xiang added, "Haha! You don’t know this, but vice chief Tang Long has never given up on gaming despite his heavy workload. He even recruited a bunch of top-tier experts and built a guild of his own. If my memory didn’t deceive me, his guild just occupied their first territory today."

Surprised, I asked, "Vice chief Tang, could it be that your guild is… Sword Lord of Jianghu?"

Tang Long looked a bit surprised himself. "Oh? You’ve heard of them, Lu Chen?"

"Yes. In fact, your team was our opponent in the quarter-finals. The team leader is an onmyouji called Now and Forever, am I right?"

"That’s right." Tang Long smiled. "I had recruited Now and Forever at Vanished God City before transferring him over to Sky City to be the vice leader of Sword Lord of Jianghu. Also, allow me to correct a minor detail in your statement: Sword Lord of Jianghu belongs to the China VR department, not me. In fact, Sword Lord of Jianghu has no intention of participating in the war for dominance of Sky City. Their only duty is to become a guiding light of China in the upcoming Nation Wars, unite our purposes and protect Sky City!"

I raised my glass. "Protect Sky City indeed. Just based on this alone, I promise that Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls will not become an enemy of Sword Lord of Jianghu."

Tang Long laughed. "Thank you! With your blessing, I’m sure that Sword Lord of Jianghu will be able to solidify their footing in Sky City!"

However, Lin Yixin chose this moment to speak up. "You know, if there’s one thing I must criticize Sword Lord of Jianghu about, it’ll be their choice of territory. Of all the territories they could choose, they just had to choose the one that’s right next to Snowy Cathaya. Have you heard of the saying, ‘a man will not tolerate a snorer beside their bed’? To be honest, I was a hair trigger away from launching an assault on Sword Lord of Jianghu prior to attending this banquet…"

Tang Long looked at Lin Yixin, and his eyes widened in poorly disguised admiration. "Oh, you’re Wind Fantasy. Yes, I know you. To be honest, I’m surprised that Lenovo e-sports club has the clout to invite the famous Beautiful Little Pepper to their banquet! And you are beautiful…"

Lin Yixin pressed her lips into a smile before continuing, "Vice chief, I’m just giving you a heads-up, but my subordinates are an unruly bunch, so there’s a chance they may ignore my orders and attack your territory. If it does happen, please remember that I’ve already warned you beforehand, and that it’s out of this foolish girl’s control, okay? Heehee~~"

Tang Long looked a bit embarrassed, but he replied, "Yes, I understand. I’ll tell the boys to cool their jets. I promise they’ll keep a low profile inside the game!"

"Like hell they will!" I voiced inside my head. I hadn’t forgotten how arrogant Now and Forever and his goons had acted during the quarter-finals. They thought they could do whatever they wanted just because they had the support of the China VR department.

I gave Lin Yixin’s sleeve a tug before whispering, "Are you really planning to take Sword Lord of Jianghu’s territory, Yiyi?"

Lin Yixin stuck her tongue out playfully at me before whispering back, "To be honest, yeah. You didn’t know, but that asshole Now and Forever had dispatched a troop of cavalry to patrol the area less than five hundred meters away from Silver Fir City. It’s obvious that they’re hostile toward us. If I hadn’t told Purple Marquis and Nangong Lexi to control themselves, they would’ve taken out their territory already."

I gave it some thought before replying, "Let’s give Tang Long some face for now. If we wreck him right after we promised we won’t touch his territory, I’m not sure what he’ll do afterward. Heavenblessed may be an international game, but only an idiot would disregard the power he wields in China. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you about the darkness on this side of the world. It’s as black as ink, really!!!"

Lin Yixin chuckled. "Of course I know. Is there anyone more corrupt than a politician?"

……

Tang Long took another sip of wine before glancing at Stranger of Three Lifetimes. "Oh, I know you too, pretty. You’re the guild leader of Blazing Hot Lips and Chinese CGL Hall of Famer, Stranger of Three Lifetimes, am I right? I’ve seen a high resolution photo of you on the official website before…"

Stranger of Three Lifetimes sipped her red wine a bit before replying, "I am. Nice to meet you, vice chief!"

"Yes, yes…"

I could tell from her expression that her real thoughts were something like: "Vice chief my ass, pooh pooh pooh!"

As expected, Stranger of Three Lifetimes started in an unnaturally calm tone, "To be honest, I think it is a blessing to all Chinese players that our vice chief loves Heavenblessed from the bottom of his heart. After all, that is how we know that our vice chief will definitely be able to give everyone a fair gaming environment. Now, this is just my thoughts as an ignorant woman, but I don’t think that it is wise for the China VR department to interfere with the Nation War directly, especially if they’re going to do it through a guild like Sword Lord of Jianghu. During the WEL China nationals, Now and Forever had shown himself to be an arrogant man who would impose on others even though they did nothing to provoke his ire. In fact, Lu Chen himself was one of his victims. What will happen if someone like him is allowed to command the Nation War? It doesn’t take a genius to notice that Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls, Snowy Cathaya and Blazing Hot Lips won’t be able to operate normally with him in charge. With that in mind, how do you expect us to win a Nation War if we cannot even utilize our full strength?"

Holy shit!

Even as we stared in Stranger of Three Lifetimes in shock, we couldn’t help but feel a new sense of respect for the lass. No one expected her to have the courage to voice all the words the rest of us were too scared to speak. I at the very least didn’t have the courage to offend vice chief Tang Long publicly.

Tang Long’s expression grew even more unnatural, but he forced a smile on his face and replied, "I understand what you’re saying. If it will satisfy you, I can promise everyone here that Sword Lord of Jianghu will not try to assume command or arrange the tactics of the upcoming Nation Wars. You are free to choose whoever you want to be your leader, and how you want to conduct this war. Again, Sword Lord of Jianghu just wants to be a guiding light that keeps our people from straying off the right path."

I let out a cough before replying, "And we all know what that path is, don’t we? It is to protect every inch of our homeland with our lives, and keep our enemies from setting foot in our homes."

Tang Long smiled. "That is correct."

Noticing that the atmosphere wasn’t quite right, Rose hurriedly raised her glass and said with a smile, "Well said, Lu Chen! It is the natural duty of a CGL Hall of Famer to protect every inch of our homeland with their life!"

I nodded and returned the gesture. "That’s right. If someone dares to stand in our way, then we’ll teach them a lesson with the blade in our hands!"

This time Tang Long only nodded in agreement, but it didn’t take a keen eye to notice that our words had unsettled the vice chief. This was without mentioning the Fruit Knife Goddess herself had warned quitely clearly that Snowy Cathaya could launch an attack on Sword Lord of Jianghu at any moment.

To be honest though, face was something you gave yourself. Everything Sword Lord of Jianghu did had to be an order from Tang Long, so the embarrassment he received today could only be described as karma. Also, we were all adults here. We all knew that the mask we wore on our faces usually wasn't a reflection of our true feelings.

Seeing that the situation had been temporarily defused, Dong Xiang said, "Actually, I have one more news to share with everyone. Mr. Tang Long has recently been chosen to become the chairman of the CGL. Therefore, if there’s anyone here who would like to apply to join the CGL Hall of Fame, feel free to consult vice chief Tang Long directly, hehe!"

Beiming Xue looked at me and asked, "Big bro, do you think I’m qualified to join the CGL Hall of Fame?"

I gave it a thought before replying, "You can destroy half of the active CGL Hall of Famers right now, so you definitely already have the strength to qualify. As for the merit side of things, just contribute more during the Nation War, and you should be able to make it."

Tang Long added. "He’s right. Work hard, and I’ll consider it!"

I fell silent after that. Lin Yixin shot a wink and a smile at me before focusing on the food on top of her plate. The food was great, but the atmosphere was still odd to say the least.

……

It was past 8 pm when the banquet was over. We all returned to our homes and continued to accumulate resources.