Chapter 520 – Qualification Tournament
Seeing the team taking shape, Chen Guo was full of hope and felt very glad. She had a smile on her face the entire time at lunch.
“What’s making you so happy?” Tang Rou soon saw Chen Guo’s abnormal behavior. She wasn’t there that morning, since she had been working downstairs at the front desk.
“The team is growing so smoothly.” Chen Guo commented on the recruitment of the old God.
“Think about it, we already have enough people to build a team. Our goal is the championship!” Chen Guo said excitingly.
“We’re still extremely far from that goal!” Ye Xiu laughed bitterly, pouring cold water all over Chen Guo’s excitement. “You already know Little Qiao. He’s a nobody in the champion team, but in our team, he’s our number two player. Don’t you think we’re still far away from being champions?”
“It was you who said it, so you must have some solution!” Chen Guo said.
“We’ll have to take things slowly for now!” Ye Xiu said.
“What about you, Little Tang?” Chen Guo turned to Tang Rou eagerly, “If you’ve truly decided to become a pro player, then stop working! Just focus on the game. I’ll still pay you your salary.”
“I…… Alright……” Tang Rou was going to say something, and then she saw the expression of expectation from Chen Guo, so she nodded.
“Ha ha, that’s great. Work on leveling. Soon you can enter the Heavenly Domain as well.” Chen Guo said.
“How is Steamed Bun doing?” Ye Xiu asked Tang Rou.
“He’s usually there when I get online. Whenever I level up, he will send an “AHHHHHHH” to scream at me. He’s level 51 or 52.” Tang Rou smiled and answered.
Qiao Yifan’s One Inch Ash was leveled by someone else. Even though his speed of leveling couldn’t compare to those new server accounts in the big guilds, it was much faster than a normal player’s levelling speed. Steamed Bun Invasion did the leveling by himself. He and One Inch Ash had started at the same level, but with the same amount of time, he had fallen behind a few levels.
“And Concealed Light?” Ye Xiu also asked about Concealed Light.
“He’s about the same level as Steamed Bun.” Tang Rou said.
“Oh.” Ye Xiu nodded without saying anything more.
“So, Concealed Light will join in too?” Chen Guo was quite familiar with these people. Concealed Light wasn’t like Tang Rou or Steamed Bun Invasion. These two people had incredible technical skill. Don’t underestimate them because they’re noobs. In a 1v1, if the opponent wasn’t exceptionally experienced, the opponent would get massacred. Tang Rou even had the glorious history of killing a pro player. That isn’t something that can be done through pure luck.
As for Concealed Light, he was somehow deficient in this aspect. His technical skill was completely obsolete and he had even chosen to play a Summoner. If it were just for fun, the technical skill required for a Summoner was extremely simple, but if one wanted to play it at a high level, the requirements for technical skill were extremely high. The thought of expecting a rookie summoner play at a pro level made Chen Guo shiver.
“Take it slowly, we’ll all have opportunities.” Ye Xiu replied in a comforting manner, “Why don’t you practice too? Maybe you can even be used as a sub or something.”
I’m only a sub…Chen Guo really wanted to smash him dead with a chair, but objectively compared to other people on the team, she fell short of everyone, except Concealed Light. What a tragedy!
After the meal, Tang Rou continued to work the front desk. Even though she had decided to play the game professionally, the schedule of the Internet Cafe was already set. Chen Guo couldn’t remove one person all of a sudden. She needed time to make adjustments. She might even have to employ a new attendant. This small investment was nothing to her. In theory, Ye Xiu and Tang Rou were already pro players. Paying pro players the salary of an Internet Cafe employee was something Chen Guo should gloat on in secret.
They were all leveling in the afternoon, except for Qiao Yifan.
This kid was well-behaved. Even though there wasn’t a future for him in Tiny Herb, he still took his training seriously and completed it on time. It’s just his heart was now focused on his Ghostblade. He had the Assassin account at Tiny Herb, but he did not do much training for assassin related skills. His mind was occupied with how to use an Assassin to practice Ghostblade skills.
Chen Guo still helped them level. However, this afternoon she seemed to be busy. No one knew who she was talking to. They just heard the sound of typing. As time went by, her facial expression became heavier and heavier. By dinner time, she was completely different from the gleaming person she had been at lunch.
“What’s wrong?” Tang Rou was scared for her. She looked at Ye Xiu with an inquiring expression. She was smart. She knew that those two were together every day, so she would tell happy stuff to Chen Guo and ask Ye Xiu for troubling stuff.
“I don’t know!” Ye Xiu knew that something might have happened when she was chatting with another person that afternoon, but he hadn’t peeped on their conversation, so he didn’t know who Chen Guo was talking to.
“Err, there’s something…” Chen Guo looked as if she was afraid to look at them and was too embarrassed to speak.
“Yes?” Ye Xiu asked.
“Well…I was talking to Loulan Slash this afternoon.” Chen Guo said.
“Loulan Slash?” Ye Xiu was lost for a moment. What did she need to talk about with Loulan Slash that made her act this way?
“I asked him to give me some information on joining the Alliance. It seems like there are a few compulsory requirements.” Chen Guo said.
“Oh…” Ye Xiu started to understand the situation, but he did not reveal his thoughts. He smiled and asked: “And?”
“I’m afraid…I can’t meet some of the requirements …” Chen Guo finally said it. She wanted to cry. After Loulan Slash gave her an explanation in the afternoon, she felt her heart turn to ice. It wasn’t that she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to meet some of the requirements for applying to the Alliance. It was that she couldn’t meet even a single one of the requirements, not even if she were to sell the Internet Cafe. The requirement for a stadium with a certain amount of seats alone had sealed her hopes. She was even more desperate after Loulan Slash disclosed inside information to her. The next season, the live game would employ visual projection technology. All hosting clubs must satisfy the technological requirements.
“I’m sorry…” Chen Guo lowered her head. She had been the one excited for the formation of a team, but she failed at the crucial moment. She really regretted it. Why didn’t she learn about these things before!
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to apply for the Alliance like Loulan Slash did anyway.” Ye Xiu said.
“What?” Chen Guo lifted her head.
“You don’t know?” Ye Xiu looked at Chen Guo. “ Every year two teams drop out of the Alliance, so there are two places for new teams. One of them enters the Alliance like Loulan Slash. They apply for the Alliance,and the Alliance will examine them and approve the qualified team to enter. The other team is decided through a qualification tournament.”
“Qualification tournament…You mean, the revival tournament?” Chen Guo asked.
“Exactly…Due to a special reason, the qualification tournament is often called a revival tournament.” Ye Xiu smiled.
“For what reason?” Tang Rou wasn’t happy. It seemed like both of them knew the reason and had stopped there, but she was just a newbie who didn’t know anything, so she hurriedly asked.
“For this qualification tournament, there are only two simple requirements: enough team members and a participation fee. There are no other requirements, which means, the two pro teams that were relegated can still compete in the qualification tournament. Pro teams are much more competitive than any random team. Even though there are some strong teams that can cause problems for the pro teams in the qualification tournament every year, in all of the previous seasons, the teams that came through the qualification tournament were pro teams. That is to say, of the two teams that got relegated, one of them has always returned to the Alliance through the qualification tournament one year later. That’s why people call it the revival tournament, because it feels like an intended opportunity for the two eliminated teams to re-enter. Well, sometimes there aren’t two, there might be three or four previously relegated teams. The teams that failed to revive in the past will sometimes try again the next year.” Ye Xiu explained.
“Oh, now I see!” Tang Rou nodded.
“So all we need to do is participate in the qualification competition and win all the way to the end! The Alliance will figure out some way and help you complete the necessary compulsory requirements. But speaking of this, the Alliance has never troubled by an amateur team before through the revival tournament. It seems like I’ll have to make history.” Ye Xiu laughed.
“That’s not the point!” Chen Guo was frustrated, “ The revival tournament is a knockout tournament! Losing one game results in immediate elimination, a year wasted! What if…”
“There are risks in everything. Even if you apply for the Alliance, the risk still exists. There is probably more than one team applying for the Alliance. It’s not enough to barely reach the requirements if you want to be approved. The Alliance will inspect your investment. A team will never be taken seriously if they barely meets the minimum requirements. “ Ye Xiu said.
Chen Guo was stunned. She couldn’t even fulfill the minimum requirements. Now she knew that even if she were able to satisfy those standards, she would most likely get beaten by other more competitive opponents. The competition here was simply money.
Chen Guo was only the owner of an internet cafe! What financial strength did she have to compete with?
“The qualification tournament is our only way. Instead of thinking what could happen, concentrate on preventing those things from happening. We can make good use of this year to break in our team members and perfect our teamwork.” Ye Xiu said.
“Yes, that’s right!” Tang Rou nodded, she already looked full of hope.
“The qualification tournament for this season is happening right now. You can look into it. The qualification tournament and the league games take place at the same time. By the end of the season, the qualification tournament will produce its final result. That’s when twenty teams for the next season comes out. There are many teams participating in the qualification tournament. If it continues to develop, it should develop into a secondary league. Well, well, the Alliance is growing so very fast isn’t it.” Ye Xiu sighed.
