While Han Xiao instructed Rotel to act secretly, the regional finals were held as scheduled.
After a fierce battle, the top eight teams in the Shattered Star Ring region have been determined. The Dynasty has won the regional championship for the third consecutive time, establishing a three-peat dynasty. Among the four major powerhouses, the Dynasty has always been ranked first. It is extremely strong in both domestic and international battles, very well-rounded, and has no obvious weaknesses.
The runner-up in the division was Temple. Although Temple's fans were relatively satisfied, casual observers couldn't help but beat their chests and cry out in regret— Temple's image as a weak team in international competitions was deeply ingrained in people's minds. If Temple made it to the international competition, it would be like losing one of Huaxia's international teams!
The third place went to Long Sky. Although they didn't perform well in the regional competition, they at least made it to the international competition and have the opportunity to show their skills. The fourth place went to Jiangcheng. With Frenzied Saber, Xie Xiaojian, and Maple Moon as the core of the team, their competitiveness is no less than that of the top-tier teams.
The top four teams in each division have been determined, and these four teams will advance to the international league.
Among the four powerhouse teams, Fish-Fragrant Eggplant once again missed out on a spot in the international competition, which has become a standard occurrence.
Rumor has it that the owner of the Fish-Fragrant Eggplant Club felt that the name was bad feng shui and planned to change the team's name. He publicly solicited opinions on social media, and netizens offered a variety of suggestions, such as spicy shredded chicken, boiled fish, hot pot skewers, and spicy blood curd, making it a scene reminiscent of a "reciting the names of dishes" competition.
Leaving aside the bittersweet moment of the Fish-Fragrant Eggplant noodles, most players are cheering for the regional top four teams who will represent Huaxia in the international competition. This version has a significant advantage: the rise of the Mechanic Class, the numerous major events of the Shattered Star Ring that have greatly improved the Black Star Army's benefits, the confidence of the Huaxia team after winning the championship in the previous season, and the club's top players being in peak form. With all the right conditions, players have high hopes for the Huaxia team, expecting them to shine on the international stage and achieve even better results.
In the individual competition, Maple Moon made it into the top eight. This year, there were four Mechanic Class in the top eight of the division, accounting for half of the top eight. The Mechanic Class has reversed its decline in the previous two versions.
The rankings for the other eight regions have also been determined. The dominance of the strong teams from various countries remains as strong as ever. Most of them are regulars in the international competition, such as the American Tulip Devil, KEY, and Thunder Python; the French teams Kimchi and Grape; the British teams Rose Knight; the Japan Yamata and Ronin; the South Korea teams Kimchi and Three-Star Bomb; the Swedish Battle Axe and Polish Wings; as well as the Russian team "White Emperor Sacred Sword" and the Australian Kangaroo Boxing. Many of them are familiar faces from the previous international competition, forming the list of the top 36 teams in the international competition, which are divided into three groups.
The group stage roster has boosted the morale of Huaxia players. Almost all of the strongest foreign teams have been drawn into Group A, making it a "devil's group," while only Temple from Huaxia has been selected. Because the regular season uses a points system, there are too many strong teams in the same group, which is not conducive to widening the point gap. As a result, many strong foreign teams with the ability to advance may not be able to reach the finals.
Long Sky and Dynasty were both placed in Group B, a fairly average group. The only truly competitive teams are Japan's Yamata, England's Rose Knight, and Swedish Battle Axe. Huaxia's two top teams are favorites to win the championship, and their chances of advancing are very high.
Jiangcheng was placed in Group C, the weakest group, where the competition was far less intense than in Groups A and B.
The group list for this year's competition is completely different from the previous year, with a significant disparity between strong and weak teams. However, this grouping format is more favorable to Huaxia than the previous year, and it is very likely that the feat of having three teams enter the international top eight will be repeated.
Huaxia players were overjoyed, practically ready to set off firecrackers in celebration on the Shattered Star Ring map – they were incredibly lucky with this group draw!
As for the unfortunate Temple Team, the Huaxia audience was completely unfazed and even laughed out loud.
[From Henan: Sacrificing a Temple and gaining three spots in the top eight, what a deal...!]
[Li Ge Yi Sheng Hei: Removing the weakest one actually increases Huaxia's average combat strength (humorous)]
[Moonlight TOEFL: Is this the story of Tian Ji's horse racing strategy? (Surprising)]
[Senior Agent of the Strategic Deception Bureau: Haha, what an amazing group assignment! God bless Huaxia, this year's victory seems assured]
Amidst a joyful atmosphere, the short break for the regional competitions came to an end, and the opening match of the international league officially kicked off amidst great anticipation.
Tens of millions of players across all major regions watched their respective competition channels on their respective forums, making the forums as lively as a festival.
The international opening match is a showdown between the previous world champions and runners-up, Long Sky versus Devil. Long Sky's fans and casual viewers are somewhat worried about this match - Long Sky's performance in the regional competition was unsatisfactory, and facing the previous world runners-up, they are likely to suffer a defeat in their opening match. Losing one game is not a big deal, but it will be a blow to morale.
Both sides entered the arena using Dungeon Crystal. On Long Sky's side, each player had a suit of armor bearing the Black Star Legion's insignia and picture, each with different functions, showcasing the Black Star Army's logo to a global audience—essentially free advertising.
On the other hand, while the Devil team also had strong equipment, their uniforms were not as uniform as those of Long Sky. In comparison, Long Sky's team had the appearance of a regular army.
Nowadays, the Black Star Army's reputation is no longer limited to the Shattered Star Ring. Players from other regions all know that the Black Star Army is the largest player faction in the Shattered Star Ring, a completely monopolistic leading enterprise, and the first faction to provide cross-star system services. In the minds of players from all countries, the Shattered Star Ring region is practically synonymous with the Black Star Army's territory.
Labeling a star field with a faction is generally a privilege reserved for cosmic-level and supercluster-level civilizations. The Black Star Army's actual power is far less than that of these two, but its popularity among players is not much less than that of a cosmic-level civilization.
In the international opening match, Long Sky swept away the slump in the regional competition, and after a long period of recuperation, finally showed its fangs, fighting back and forth with the Devil team in a fierce battle.
In this respect, Long Sky and Temple are the opposite. They are so-so in internal battles, but fierce in external battles... Perhaps it is because foreign teams are not used to this aggressive style of play and are easily crushed by the tough guys.
In the previous tournament, Long Sky narrowly defeated Devil, but this time, due to the strength of the Mechanic Class and the departure of some of Devil's key players, the gap in strength between the two has widened. Long Sky narrowly secured their first victory in the international opening tournament.
The morale of the Huaxia players was greatly Inspiration, and the screen was filled with a dense barrage of "Big Brother is back!"
The international regular season, eagerly anticipated by many players, has officially begun. Teams are fiercely competing, and the standings are changing dramatically every day.
It wasn't until the first half of the season was over that the standings stabilized. Because Group A was full of strong teams, it was difficult to produce dominant matches and the efficiency of gaining points was low. As a result, many strong teams' rankings did not reflect their true strength. Teams such as Devil, KEY, Tulip, and "White Emperor Sacred Sword" all failed to make it into the top four.
Dynasty and Long Sky were in their element in Group B, taking first and fourth place respectively. Jiangcheng, on the other hand, was racking up points in the easy matches of Group C, reaching second place. Among the top four, only the third place went to Kimchi South Korea team, which was also a member of the easy matches in Group C.
For the Huaxia team, the situation is extremely favorable... As for the Temple, which was utterly crushed in Group A, they were completely ignored by the players.
The Huaxia team had a huge advantage, not just because of the group assignments. This year's competition included capture-the-flag and two types of dungeon matches, which are the perfect stage for the Mechanic Class to shine. The Chinese teams, including Dynasty, Long Sky, and Jiangcheng, performed exceptionally well, with their PVE strength far exceeding the average level of teams from other countries. They reaped a huge advantage and made a fortune.
There is another reason... In the dungeon matches of the international regular season, the dungeons will not be selected from the same region of the players. This is to ensure that there is no information gap between the teams. In other words, Huaxia teams will not experience the insane dungeons like those of the Black Star Army in the dungeon survival battles of international competitions.
Foreign friends, on the other hand, fully experienced the hardships and misery of daily life for players of the Shattered Star Ring.
The high-difficulty dungeon released by Han Xiao is on a completely different level from the high-level dungeons in other regions. Looking at all the regions, Shattered Star Ring is the only place with a Beyond Grade A dungeon!
Under Han Xiao's relentless onslaught, the Huaxia professional players had long been accustomed to being humiliated, their mentality remaining calm and composed. When they went to fight high-level dungeons in other regions, they felt relaxed and carefree, even if they were blown to bits, they felt as comfortable as if they were on a picnic.
Conversely, teams from other regions were utterly crushed when they tried to defeat the Black Star Army, their morale crumbling and their worldviews shaken.
The basic tactic is to kill the enemy upon first sight; there's even an entry-kill tactic. The length of the cutscene determines how long you can survive.
Is this a dungeon for people to play?
How can the difficulty be so insane?!
As soon as the Black Star Army dungeon is drawn, fans of foreign teams on other live streaming channels are wailing everywhere—they died too quickly, and there was no viewing experience at all.
In the latter half of the international regular season, perhaps because the points gap was too large, the teams from various countries gave up, and the unpleasant situation of the Huaxia teams being targeted by teams from other countries in the previous season did not occur.
Dynasty, Long Sky, and Jiangcheng have maintained a steady and solid performance, with their results fluctuating, but they have all remained in the top eight, ensuring their stable positions and preventing them from falling out of the top eight.
After the final international regular season game, the rankings were finally determined.
Jiangcheng defied the trend and took first place in points. The next eight teams are, in order: Kimchi, Dynasty, Yamata, Long Sky, Devil, KEY, and Battle Axe.
Three Huaxia teams have advanced to the international top eight, replicating the glory of the previous tournament... and history is strikingly similar, with these three teams advancing again this time.
Dynasty and Long Sky are established powerhouses, needless to say. Jiangcheng, as an emerging club team, has made it into the international top eight consecutively, further consolidating its position among players and showing a trend of becoming a new top-tier powerhouse.
The Temple team failed to make it to the finals... but nobody felt sorry for them. The audience's attention is always focused on the winners, which is pretty true.
To the delight of Huaxia viewers, the matchups in this year's finals are far better than those of the previous year!
During the second league season, due to rankings and draw results, the three Huaxia teams engaged in two internal battles, with the Dynasty and Jiangcheng being eliminated by their own teammates.
This time, the teams were grouped according to their points rankings. The first-place team, Jiangcheng, will face the eighth-place team, Swedish Battle Axe; the third-place Dynasty, will face the American Devil; and the fifth-place team, Long Sky, will face Japan's Yamata. The matchups conveniently avoided all internal battles.
This group draw has Huaxia viewers ecstatic. Compared to the bad luck of the previous league, this season seems to have been truly favored by Lady Luck, with their fortunes turning around!
After the international regular season concluded, the organizers promoted the finals on the forum and set the opening date for the finals.
Rotel Xiao Faction to Assassination Target in other star systems. Some time after the international regular season ended, Han Xiao received Rotel's reply, which was still concise and to the point.
"Target cleared."
The message included a photo of the victim; the matter was handled cleanly and efficiently.
He only provided intelligence; Rotel acted independently throughout, requiring no assistance. He was extremely capable and gave Han Xiao a very reliable impression.
The Crimson Dynasty also eliminated two high-ranking members of the Blood Gold Organization.
The deaths of three high-ranking members served as a shock to all the top leaders of the Blood Gold Organization.
Targeted by the Crimson Dynasty and the Black Star Army, the leader of the Blood Gold Organization could no longer sit still and summoned all high-ranking members online to discuss countermeasures.