Chapter 215: Esports Milk Poison, First Signs Appear (2/3)

On this particular day, Fang Qi’s shop was a chaotic din, on one hand, the gathered cultivators clamored to see techniques more fearsome than the Sword Twenty-Three, while on the other, the three-day registration window was drawing to a close.

Tomorrow would be the final day of preparation, with the tournament commencing the day after, the competition's itinerary had largely been set in stone.

For the Diablo solo tournament, roughly eighty-odd people had registered, the rate of increase had slowed to a crawl, and the final tally would at most reach about a hundred.

As for Counter-Strike, because a good many players who previously never touched firearms—such as the Royal Squad—had joined at the eleventh hour to frantically bone up on gunplay just for the tournament, nearly forty teams had formed, a number unlikely to exceed fifty by the deadline.

Yet this was already a massive turnout, for over forty teams meant that Counter-Strike boasted at least two hundred active players.

And counting those not participating, the total population was surely larger.

With so many contestants, it was naturally impossible to hold matches or stream them one by one, requiring instead a meticulously structured plan.

Thus, the first two days of the tournament were designated as the open qualifiers.

Contestants would be randomly pitted against twenty different players in Diablo, or fifteen different teams in Counter-Strike, earning one point per victory, with the top sixteen advancing, and ties broken by total combat time.

Only then would they proceed to the second round of the tournament.

After a day of preparation had come and gone...

On the dawn of the tournament, the entire Origin Internet Club could be said to be a gathering of giants!

Be it giants in reality or titans within the game!

And players like Nalan Hongwu and An Huwei, who were participating in the Diablo solo tournament, had arrived remarkably early today!

The complete roster of contestants and teams was displayed across the giant screen.

"Why are there so many Sorceresses?" Song Qingfeng, a participant himself, clutched a bowl of instant noodles, his eyes glued to the giant screen, where Sorceresses occupied nearly half the display out of the hundred-odd competitors.

As everyone knew, the Sorceress possessed an utterly infuriating skill called Teleport.

To say nothing of things like Frozen Armor and Energy Shield.

This was profoundly unfriendly to melee combatants!

Song Qingfeng’s face darkened perceptibly.

Meanwhile, spurred by Fang Qi's influence, Paladins ranked just behind Sorceresses, claiming a close second place.

Only below them came Druids, Assassins, Barbarians, and the other classes.

At that moment, Nalan Mingwei was also staring at the grand teams listed on the giant screen with a solemn expression, pondering the matches while formulating feasible strategies in her mind.

The open qualifiers for the Counter-Strike team tournament were tomorrow, so she was not terribly anxious.

Su Tianji cast a glance at the giant screen.

Behind her, Fenghua, Yuexin, and the two great artifact masters of the Liuyun Daoist Palace also stole a look.

This resulted in a furious scolding from Su Tianji: "What are you looking at? All of you, come with me to practice!"

Captain Su was feeling intensely anxious! At a time like this, they had actually spent two whole days studying Storm Riders, and today they had not even practiced their tactical synergy!

Tomorrow they would have to face the open qualifiers! If a guild as grand as the Liuyun Squad failed to even make the top sixteen, where would she hide her face?!

In contrast, Nalan Hongwu, An Huwei, and the others were raring to go, walking straight toward the counter: "Kid Fang! When does it start?!"

Fang Qi checked the time; starting at nine o'clock, there was roughly a one-hour buffer period.

Once everyone had finished their breakfast, the hundred or so competing players were escorted to the second floor, which had now been partitioned into a dedicated tournament room.

As the referee, Fang Qi naturally remained inside the tournament room, while at that moment, before the giant screen.

Jiang Xiaoyuan had long since picked out a choice spot, nestled into the grand sofa!

On this day, even Ji Donglai, a man who usually seemed busier than the Emperor himself, had come rushing over.

The Grand Princess Ji Yu and her entourage intended to practice later, so they sat on the sofa for now, casting a glance to the side: "Young Master Xiao, you've come to watch the tournament too?"

"Of course!" Xiao Yulv declared proudly, "Based on the intelligence this young master has gathered from watching games in the shop these past days, I have already analyzed the most popular championship contenders and the seed players with a shot at the top eight. Does the Grand Princess care for a copy?"

"..." Ji Yu's face darkened, "Young Master Xiao is dabbling in this now?"

"An amateur hobby! Just an amateur hobby!" Xiao Yulv waved his hand nonchalantly, "Though this young master dares guarantee that not even the boss understands the field as clearly as I do!"

"Do tell!" Nalan Mingwei said as she took a sip of Cola, evidently harboring a sliver of interest, "What sort of intelligence do you have?"

"As for the absolute favorite to win this Diablo tournament..." Xiao Yulv said, "Old Master Nalan goes without saying, but this young master has noticed a few others who are usually quite low-key yet hold promise for the top eight."

Xiao Yulv flicked his folding fan open and smiled, "Even the likes of City Master An and Old Master Nalan might capsize in an unremarkable ditch if they aren't careful!"

"Are they truly that formidable?" the Second Prince remarked beside them, clicking his tongue.

But since he did not play the game, he was not entirely clear on the details, unlike certain individuals from the Shengjing Academy who ran to join the tournament at merely level ten or so.

"Well... see for yourself and you will know. Look at that Cryomancer named White Wave on the screen." As Xiao Yulv spoke, the screen displayed a total of eight split-screen battles, and one quadrant just happened to show a Cryomancer with the ID White Wave, whose level was exceptionally high, bordering on level forty.

"This person started playing very early; you might have even crossed paths with him before," Xiao Yulv said, "This group of Sorceresses he runs with are all incredibly powerful!"

The group watched the screen, seeing that White Wave’s opponent was a Paladin of over level thirty, a level that was by no means low!

Charging forward at the opening bell before he could even touch his target, White Wave had already teleported away, leaving a Blizzard cascading over the spot he had just vacated.

Gesticulating wildly with familiarity, Xiao Yulv explained to the onlookers, "See that? This is the strength of a Cryomancer. Not only can they freeze their opponent, but after learning Teleport, they can maintain distance from the rival Paladin at any moment..."

"Uh..." Nalan Mingwei pointed at the screen, "Young Master Xiao, it looks like that Paladin is about to win..."

"White Wave is about to win?" Xiao Yulv said confidently, "Normal, norm—"

"What did you say?! Who is about to win?!" Xiao Yulv snapped out of it and looked at the giant screen, only to see that White Wave seemed to have made a slight mechanical error while drinking a mana potion, which the opposing Paladin seized upon to charge, stun with a Shield Bash, and unleash a flurry of Zeal, instantly beating his health down to the brink of emptiness!

And what was wrong with this Paladin?!

Xiao Yulv looked at the giant screen with utter bewilderment; as the Frozen Orbs and Blizzards crashed down, the Paladin barely seemed to lose any health at all!

Instead, the opponent relied on the area-of-effect damage of Holy Freeze to gradually wither away White Wave’s health pool!

"Toggling between Holy Freeze and Resist Cold, and the timing of the switches is grasped flawlessly! Not only that, the timing of the attacks is also executed to perfection; he must be a master in reality as well!" Nalan Mingwei took a casual sip of Cola, "This Paladin named Fu Jianghe must be noted down so the others can watch out for him later. His practical combat skills seem remarkably potent."

Xiao Yulv: "..."