Healthy Competition

Chapter 45: Healthy Competition

Crimson Plains.

Duan Xing sat on a gnarled, dead tree, gazing at the players fighting in the distance, utterly bewildered.

Over the past few days, he had discovered that this group of mysterious beings possessed a special ability to switch between monster forms for combat.

Though physically frail, their abilities were not weak.

But he simply couldn't comprehend the behavioral logic of these mysterious beings.

He observed that they often gathered together, scouring the mountains and plains for Evil Spirits and monsters, engaging in group brawls. They were extremely combative.

Yet, they didn't do this to fight for territory or resources, nor did they hunt monsters for food. It seemed they simply fought for the sake of fighting, then left with smiles on their faces.

Today, he witnessed an even stranger phenomenon.

These mysterious beings had erupted into internal conflict.

Duan Xing didn't see internal conflict within a species as a problem; even within his own Tidal Rebellion Legion, there were ideological differences among various factions.

The issue was that these mysterious beings had been queuing orderly in front of a cave just moments before, chatting and laughing.

For some unknown reason, they suddenly started fighting savagely, employing brutal tactics, with the sole aim of killing their own kind.

This behavior, erupting into a death match at the slightest disagreement, left Duan Xing full of questions.

It was the same with the time they risked their lives to save him. Before that, he had killed thousands of these mysterious beings. Logically, he should have been an unforgivable enemy in their eyes.

Yet, they had desperately rescued him when he was on the verge of death, at the cost of many of their own lives.

Duan Xing couldn't fathom the logic behind this series of actions.

"I don't understand."

He muttered softly, looking down at the rune imprint in his hand, his expression turning dejected.

He had come, but he couldn't go back.

Without the shuttle's assistance to send a signal, he couldn't find his way back, nor did he even know where he was.

Thinking of this, Duan Xing ground his teeth in frustration.

The shuttle was protected by rune armor with anti-damage properties. In theory, as long as it suffered external damage, his Runes Armor would receive a signal, allowing them to arrive quickly.

Furthermore, the shuttle had a positioning function. Even if it were stolen, he could quickly locate it.

But bizarrely, the shuttle had vanished into thin air without being damaged or moved.

Besides these mysterious beings, he couldn't think of any other possibility.

This was also why he had been observing the mysterious beings' movements recently, trying to find out where his lost shuttle had gone.

"Fan Zui Group members, gather at Emperor's Tomb Village! Rip off the heads of those Shen Yi Guild bastards! They'll pay for bullying our people."

"Boss, we've contacted Ban Zhuan Group. They're on their way and will join us for the charge later."

"We've also contacted Youngster Group. They're waiting in Crimson Plains and will rendezvous with us once we get there."

The battle for soul crystals had continued until now. The two major guilds had truly ignited their animosity and were summoning reinforcements for another round.

Even Li Tie, who had always fought alone, was recalled to participate.

The forces led by Fan Zui Group, after assembling at Emperor's Tomb Village, marched in a vast procession towards the Crimson Plains region, and a new round of chaotic battle began.

Besides the combatants, there were also many onlookers caught in the fray.

They had no affiliation with either of the warring guilds and were purely there to watch the excitement.

During this time, they even engaged in discussions on the forums about the strength of the two guilds.

The most hotly debated topic was Li Tie of Fan Zui Group, known in-game as "Da Tie," who ranked first in Body Tempering level.

At this stage, many players had opened their second Star Vein, but Li Tie was the only player at Body Tempering level 5. In his human form, he could inherit the full attributes of five monster soul imprints.

His combat power had been outstanding in this chaotic battle.

The war axe, formed by the fusion of five Spirit Weapon soul imprints, possessed immense power and was invincible in the melee. No player from Shen Yi Guild could withstand even a single blow.

The onlookers engaged in heated discussions about this.

Black Night Long: This guy is really strong. His strength is definitely top three among all players, maybe even first. The ultimate output of the Spirit Weapon style is too violent. It makes me tremble. He truly kills one and then another, going on a killing spree.

Dark Land is Fun to Play: Such absurd output. I can only say he got lucky. He entered the game earlier than us. The few Primal Monsters near Emperor's Tomb Village early on were very weak. He killed five of them alone, truly striking it rich.

Human Race Rises: Stop talking nonsense. If you really encountered a Primal Monster, you wouldn't have the strength to hunt it. I've seen this guy in other games. He's a top fighter for Fan Zui Group, incredibly fierce. It's said he participated in the real-world war that suppressed alien races back then.

I Won the Lottery: His strength might be formidable in reality and in-game, but on the forums, he's still a bit lacking. Everyone on the forum is at Star Vein level 20, Body Tempering level 20. The existing 13 soul imprints aren't even enough to equip (smiley face.jpg).

Amidst their discussions, players were filled with interest in the Spirit Weapon style pioneered by Li Tie.

It was currently the most violent close-combat Star Vein style among all existing soul imprint combinations.

When Li Tie's war axe struck a target, it carried effects like armor penetration, damage amplification, and mental impact, resulting in astonishing lethality.

Under Li Tie's charge, Shen Yi Guild was routed one-sidedly.

The battle lasted for over an hour before concluding, ending in Shen Yi Guild's crushing defeat.

But this didn't mean the hatred disappeared; all the onlookers understood that these two guilds had now thoroughly fallen out.

In the future, when players from both sides met in the outside world, a battle was inevitable.

Just as the onlookers had predicted, an hour later, Shen Yi Guild members began logging back online. However, they didn't immediately launch a revenge operation. Instead, they chose to spam the regional voice channel, buying up Sacrificial Power.

Their intention was obvious: they wanted to increase their combat power before fighting the Fan Zui Guild again.

This action caused the purchase price of Sacrificial Power to surge once more.

The guild leader of Shen Yi Guild offered a 200:1 purchase price for Sacrificial Power, stating that players willing to sell large amounts could receive an even higher price.

This move sent the gold-farming players into a frenzy, as it meant their real-world earnings from killing monsters would increase.

Regarding the conflict between the two major guilds, the onlookers expressed their full support.

Qi Sheng, who was observing from the shadows, was naturally aware of the clash between the two major guilds.

He had no intention of obstructing it.

Before he had transmigrated and inherited the Di Zhao's firmament origin, he too had loved various types of games and was a devoted player.

When he created the Challenger System, he had already considered the issue of player competition.

In MMORPGs, there were many factors that stimulated players' desire for growth in strength, and one major factor was the conflict and competition between players.

Many games deliberately set up resources that players had to compete for to trigger conflicts and force players to spend money.

Some game companies would even specifically recruit "shills" to cause trouble in the game, or join different guilds, igniting fierce confrontations between players from opposing sides to increase both parties' desire to spend money to become stronger.

From the perspective of strength growth, the motivational aspect of player conflict far outweighed the losses incurred from internal strife.

With the subsequent pressure from external forces like the Black Tide legion, players within the same faction would inevitably choose to cooperate to face the threat.

(End of this chapter)