It had been 39 days since the game launched.
Qi Sheng had compiled information on the players' current average level, the most popular Astral Veins combinations, and their average daily Sacrificial Power output.
While consolidating forum activity during that time, he had discovered something that left him both amused and exasperated.
As the game developed, all kinds of new playstyles kept emerging.
But they were all related to different combinations of Monster Souls. Players embedded different Monster Souls in their Astral Veins, then released the traits of those combinations while in their main form.
Only three playstyles had developed in ways that went against the game's intended design.
Players on the forums jokingly called them the Three Great Demon Sects.
At the top of the list was the Apocalypse Tech Guild, also known on the forums as the Arms Dealer Guild.
Players who joined this guild generally didn't follow the hunting-based growth path. They focused entirely on developing and upgrading weapons, as well as making money.
Guild members advertised and sold weapons in popular forum threads every day. They were also one of the player factions that earned the most Sacrificial Power in the game, with customers ranging from major guilds to countless Lone Players. Their recent growth had been fierce, and they released even more powerful products every so often.
Since their playstyle went against the mainstream, the Arms Dealer Guild was branded a "demonic faction."
In second place was a newly formed guild called Gene Ascension.
It had been created by Yu Ze, a player Qi Sheng had recruited with an extra slot half a month earlier. All its members were researchers from the genetic modification department.
A post about Gene Seeds had thrust the group into the spotlight.
As the technology rapidly advanced, Gene Seeds had become