Chapter 19 The Effect of the Ring

Hao Tian, as the signature player of Changkong, a top-tier professional, possessed godlike PK skills and a level far exceeding the average. With these dual advantages, he made a powerful first appearance. His fists and feet launched an offensive as fierce and brutal as a venting, consecutively defeating three Deity race players.

The combat prowess of the Martial Arts class was displayed in full. The audience had expected a back-and-forth battle, but instead witnessed a one-sided stomp. The entire fight didn't even last five minutes!

This shock was like a wild horse fresh out of the stable unleashing its unbridled power, its hooves kicking heavily into the hearts of everyone present.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, an earth-shattering cheer erupted, soaring into the sky!

"Awesome!" This was the voice of the casual onlookers.

"Hao Tian, God Hao Tian!" This was the chant of the die-hard fans.

"Ritian Tian, I love you!" This was the cry of Hao Tian's loyal followers.

Hao Tian's performance refreshed the audience's understanding of the current level of combat power, instantly gaining him a large following!

Although this was a private duel, the audience's enthusiasm and excitement made it easy to mistake it for a professional arena.

"Won." Hao Tian's eyes flickered slightly; he hadn't expected to win so easily.

It was as if he had walked so far ahead that, looking back, he realized everyone behind him was so weak. He hadn't noticed that his combat power had already surpassed that of normal professional players by so much.

Initially, Hao Tian had regarded Han Xiao's "hidden storyline" as a lucky opportunity. After successfully triggering it, he didn't particularly cherish it, treating it merely as a short-term stepping stone. His professional instinct was to plan his development from a long-term perspective. Black Phantom was a Mechanic, while he was a Martial Artist, so he felt he couldn't stay with Han Xiao forever. Just in terms of skills alone, he would have to find new instructors elsewhere.

But only now did he realize how much he had gained, and he couldn't help but pay more attention to Han Xiao.

"Even at max level, the Black Phantom missions offer a very substantial experience reward," Hao Tian thought to himself.

The Black Phantom's mission rewards were truly abundant. What was wrong with enduring quirky missions for this? As a professional player, inhuman willpower, endurance, and the ability to grind were basic qualities.

"This Black Phantom line seems to have long-term potential, even longer than I expected."

The agreement was a best-of-five series. Hao Tian's one-versus-three victory ended the duel, with the other Changkong players simply acting as cheerleaders, gazing at Hao Tian with the adoration of fans. Within the Changkong club, Hao Tian, who had fought in the professional scene for many years, was everyone's idol. He was a man of few words, dedicated to honing his skills, and had won numerous trophies for Changkong. He was Changkong's veteran and hero, and was inextricably linked to the name "Changkong."

The Deity race lost completely, and the invited team players were all shocked.

*Guei guei*, everyone was a professional player, but Hao Tian was showing off too much. At least leave them some face!

The players already knew Hao Tian's strength. Leaving aside his technique, the biggest problem was the triple crush of levels, attributes, and skills. They immediately thought of Hao Tian triggering Black Phantom's hidden storyline, and couldn't help but feel envious.

"I wonder what kind of missions he's doing for Black Phantom that makes his level rise so fast."

The Temple players were envious and jealous. They also wanted this kind of treatment, but Black Phantom didn't give them the time of day.

"Everyone's level is not high right now, so this gap seems very large. When the professional league starts and everyone's level goes up, he won't beat us so easily today. The gap will narrow sooner or later," one of the Temple players encouraged the others.

The team players were just pulled in to help, and winning or losing wasn't important to them. However, Jupiter on the side was so angry that his face turned green, and he wished he could smash Bi Kong You You's smug face with a headbutt.

With official attestation, the mission item was returned to Sky Domain.

The dispersing audience excitedly discussed Hao Tian's brilliant performance.

The disputes between guilds were always a popular topic. Losing the duel was only a temporary loss of face for the Deity race; their position in the jianghu (martial world) was still that of a wealthy family. Many people within the guild were indignant.

"If our Li Ge Great God was here, wouldn't he beat Hao Tian to a pulp?"

"Changkong is just lucky. What's there to be so proud about?"

It wasn't until the dust had settled that Han Xiao arrived fashionably late the next day, swaggering along with an eight-character gait. The people from Sky Domain immediately handed over the mission. Jupiter saw this scene and regretted it to the core.

If he had known Han Xiao would appear today, he could have endured for one more day, and then nothing would have happened...

Of course, this was just Jupiter's wishful thinking.

As long as the conflict didn't escalate to a challenge, Han Xiao would always stay behind closed doors. His patience was very strong. In the beginning, when the nightmare started, he spent half a year grinding and enduring in the Germination base before seizing the opportunity to escape, reversing the situation and turning the tables.

In fact, Han Xiao had prepared even dirtier tricks. If the two major guilds reconciled or reached some kind of private deal and no conflict was formed... Han Xiao's principle was that if it didn't work once, he would do it again. He might as well drag all the other guilds in and make it a chaotic mess. He was good at fanning the flames, and he would guarantee that the hatred would burn brightly.

If that didn't work, he would simply and rudely issue a mission directly demanding that the guild rent the arena. However, that would be too blatant, and Grand Technician Han preferred to be sneaky.

"A total loss," Jupiter lamented, on the verge of tears.

At this moment, a private chat notification sounded. He glanced at it and saw that it was Li Ge's communication. He quickly answered.

"Li Ge Great God?"

"Yes, I've been watching your recent events. Do you have any combat footage of Hao Tian?"

"We recorded it all."

"Send it to me."

"Oh, oh, okay."

After receiving the footage, Li Ge said with satisfaction, "With the footage, I can analyze his combat style and prepare for the league. You did a good job."

Hearing this, Jupiter swept away his dejectedness and perked up.

It didn't matter if they suffered losses, as long as the team had an advantage. One of their guild's responsibilities was to be the team's caregiver.

...

The guild challenge demonstrated the effect of the arena. Many people's minds became active, and gradually other guilds and players began to rent the arena, defending it or holding events. The arena's functions gradually came into play. In addition to PK, arena players could also participate in arena battles or some activities, becoming more lively.

In addition to its gameplay, *Galaxy* also had the function of social interaction, and a lively arena was obviously a great social place. Some players "lost their minds" and couldn't wait to spend 24 hours a day in the arena.

As a place with exposure, the arena had demand from people who wanted to spread their fame. Guilds organized small events to increase their visibility, professional players defended the arena and interacted with ordinary players, and so on. It was like some stadiums hosting events or renting them out to celebrities to hold concerts: I provide the venue, you provide the money, and everyone gets what they need.

According to Han Xiao's experience, not only guilds, but even some companies would rent the arena to host small, sponsored events, such as the "XX (Company Name) Cup League," a commercial event not recognized by the Esports Federation. The winners would be given prize money to attract participants, which was used to promote awareness. Some professional high-level players would even participate in such small events for the prize money.

...Don't ask him how he knew. In his past life, there was a time when Han Xiao became particularly wealthy, and he dared to buy instant noodles in buckets with a wave of his hand at the convenience store downstairs.

Moreover, the events held by merchants were not necessarily PK events, but could be art galas or some sports activities.

There was always an audience for playing mini-games in games, because *Galaxy*'s tactile sensation was extremely realistic. Apart from not being able to excrete, it was very free. Players could freely use their imaginations and use the qualities of superhumans to engage in other sports, such as superhuman basketball, martial arts soccer, mechanic racing rallies, and so on. Han Xiao had seen these things in his previous life. These imaginative and fun recreational activities were very popular among casual players.

As a result, *Galaxy* gradually formed a virtual network interactive community that was strange and bustling.

The current players had only just come into contact with *Galaxy*, and were temporarily well-behaved and hadn't created various strange activities. Han Xiao provided a platform to guide players to explore the game's entertainment value themselves. There would always be sponsors who rented the arena and came up with various gameplay and gimmicks.

The arena was equivalent to an activity program, attracting players to come and watch the fun. Ordinary players could watch activities in addition to mutually free PK, which easily formed a habit and tradition. Think about it, for example, if you go for a walk every day, and the park where you walk often holds various activities, over time, even if you don't participate, you will gradually become curious and wonder what activities you will see on your next walk.

Therefore, when the arena became a common facility, it could improve players' "sense of belonging to the main city" of the shelter in the long run. After all, interest could be cultivated. To put it in a more suggestive way, this was the same principle as training. You must first make him get used to it before you can make him like it, and eventually become active...

ps: (19th National Congress, take a holiday... just kidding, I actually organized the outline today and adjusted my schedule. There's only one update today. I've been staying up all night lately, and I'm feeling a little weak.)