Chapter 209: Competition-Related Matters (3/3)

Fang Qi only then returned to the counter with a look of smug satisfaction, sinking into his chair. "So, shall we continue with the rules of the competition?"

"Oh... right!" A good number of people clearly had not yet recovered their wits.

But such matters were beyond their purview anyway, so they simply chose to ignore it.

"Let us first speak of the rules for the Counter-Strike team tournament," Fang Qi began. "The members of a Counter-Strike team must belong to the same sect or faction. At most, they may recruit one external aid, and two substitute players are permitted."

Su Tianji, who had only just managed to gather the elder Lord Nalan, Nalan Mingxue, Xu Zixin, and the others, heard this and fell into a dead silence.

It was well worth noting that in shooting games of this nature, a higher cultivation realm did not guarantee invincibility.

Tactics, experience, and the like were all utterly indispensable.

For within the game, one possessed a body that drew close to that of a common mortal, and the weapons employed were firearms—a novel style of weaponry that placed immense constraints upon cultivators and martial artists of the Grandmaster echelon.

Indeed, certain habits cultivated over a lifetime had to be broken.

To offer a very simple illustration, with Su Tianji's cultivation in the real world, evading a bullet meant moving her body the very instant she witnessed the projectile leaving the barrel, or raising her spiritual essence to shield herself; but within the game...

A mortal body could not possibly hope to perceive a bullet and then dodge it.

One could only anticipate and predict based on the opponent's aiming and the pulling of the trigger, a truth that remained unalterable no matter how lofty one's cultivation might be.

And if this prediction were off by even a hair's breadth...

Who knew if the opponent might execute a flick shot?

In the beginning, Fang Qi had used a flick with a sniper rifle to instantly eliminate her while she was attempting to dodge a bullet!

To summarize it in a very plain phrase: even the cleverest housewife cannot cook a meal without rice.

Thus, those mighty figures of high cultivation were not necessarily superior to the lesser cultivators and martial artists who frequented the game; it could only be said that they possessed a certain modest advantage.

Xue Daolv felt a great surge of triumph in his heart. Ignoring a certain someone who was already cursing Fang Qi up and down in her mind, he praised loudly, "Shopkeeper, this rule is excellent! It fosters solidarity within the sects!"

"I object!" Su Tianji was nearly bursting with rage. She had gone to such lengths to gather her team, and now they were forbidden from joining forces?!

"Objection overruled." Fang Qi announced the next rule with a completely expressionless face.

Su Tianji remained speechless.

"A competitive tournament is being held?" At that moment, a middle-aged man—the Emperor, Ji Wu, in disguise—strolled into the shop. "And the rewards for the contest are actually such items?!"

He had personally witnessed the might of firearms, those novel spiritual artifacts. Though he had not yet seen the equipment from Diablo with his own eyes, since they were ranked alongside the guns, they were surely not lacking.

"However... given my status, to participate in such a contest... is it not somewhat..." He pondered the matter, but then a second thought struck him: he was currently in disguise, so what did it matter? Furthermore...

He glanced at Nalan Hongwu beside him. "The old Prince Regent intends to participate as well?"

Since Counter-Strike only permitted teams from the same faction, the variables were far too great. Nalan Hongwu intended to join the Diablo individual tournament.

Come to think of it, having played Diablo for so long, it had been nothing but slaying monsters after monsters; he had never truly fought against another person!

He had also heard of Fang Qi's previous combination of Holy Shock and the Myriad Sword Technique, which proved that the utility of skills within Diablo was by no means low!

His Paladin character possessed the finest equipment and highest level save for Fang Qi's own, and with his own martial prowess, whom did he have to fear?

Moreover, combat within Diablo was unlike Counter-Strike.

The restrictions it placed upon these grand masters were noticeably far more lenient.

It was well worth a try.

Li Haoran had also come at this time to sign up for Diablo. Relatively speaking, he had played Diablo for much longer than Counter-Strike!

But how ought he to choose his equipment...?

Naturally, he was drawn by the allure of the gear.

The attributes of equipment in Diablo were myriad. Aside from elemental attacks like ice and fire, which were common enough in the cultivation world, there were traits like 'Indestructible,' 'Repairs Durability,' 'Plus to Skill Levels,' and even 'Ethereal.'

The benefits of equipment bearing the 'Indestructible' attribute required no elaboration.

As for the 'Repairs Durability' trait, though certain exceedingly rare spiritual artifacts in this world could repair themselves, such equipment in Diablo was visibly far more commonplace than the existing artifacts here!

As for increasing skill levels—if such a technique could be thoroughly researched and understood, its significance would be obvious without saying. For instance, if the artifacts of the Blue Flame Sect could carry an attribute that increased the Blue Flame Heavenly Net by one level, or increased the level of all cultivation methods...

It would practically rival that sacred sect treasure capable of boosting the power of the Blue Flame Heavenly Net by forty percent!

And the 'Ethereal' trait was equivalent to attaching an infinite spell of concealment!

"Whew... it really requires a great deal of thought..." Li Haoran let out a long breath. As the disciple of Jun Yangzi, the foremost artifact master of the Blue Flame Sect, he naturally lusted after these things immensely.

After registering his name, he ordered a bowl of instant noodles, sat upon the sofa, and began to converse about equipment with An Cheng and the others who had already signed up.

"Eh, isn't that fat fellow...?" As they chatted, they suddenly spotted a somewhat familiar figure.

"A friend of Owner Fang," An Cheng remarked. "The Necromancer who is on the same team as Song Qingfeng."

The others still held some recollection of him. After all, the progress of Song Qingfeng and his companions' Diablo team ranked roughly second in the entire shop.

Though Fatty Wang's gaming hours were somewhat fewer than the rest, there was one highly unique point—he was the sole spellcaster in that team!

Furthermore, he was the Necromancer with the highest level and the finest gear in the entire Origin Internet Cafe!

Very few people cultivated this class to begin with, as most preferred to choose a profession that aligned with their own natural affinities. Additionally, this profession dealt with skeletons and corpses all day long, which found little favor with the crowd.

Even if it was formidable, was the Paladin not formidable? Was the Sorceress not formidable?

Thus, those who played it remained few and far between.

"Qi-zi! Put me down for a spot too!" Wang Tai walked up to the counter and spoke with great excitement.

He had not even touched The Legend of Sword and Fairy, dedicating his heart and soul entirely to Diablo!

Though his performance in the previous national examinations had not matched the other disciples, he had nonetheless made it onto the Lingyun List and taken part in the state exams. Upon his return to the academy, he had received a fair amount of backing, making his purse considerably heavier.

He had originally intended to save money to purchase The Legend of Sword and Fairy, but he had never expected the shop to host an individual competitive tournament for Diablo!

He felt he could give it a try. He would not consider the top three for now, but if he could secure a trial membership card, obtaining two extra hours of maximum playtime every day for a week would be absolutely wonderful!

...

On this day, the entire shop was practically filled with the sounds of registration, discussions of equipment, and the forming of teams.

A virtual game could actually be used to compete against one another?! And there were even prizes; to these people of an alternate world, this was a novelty beyond measure.

It was not confined merely to Fang Qi's establishment; even the Cloud Mountain Tavern, where independent martial artists traditionally gathered, had begun to hum with discussion.

From Resident Evil to Counter-Strike, these games—relatively inexpensive, immensely entertaining, and capable of aiding one's cultivation—had always been their premier choice.