Chapter 216 Assembling the Team

Seeing the team taking shape, Chen Guo was naturally in a very good mood, smiling brightly during lunch.

"What's made you so happy?" Tang Rou quickly noticed something unusual. She hadn't been around that morning, having been on duty at the bar downstairs!

"The team is coming together nicely!" Chen Guo explained how she'd managed to pull in another ancient god that morning.

"If you count it up, we've already got enough for a full team. Our goal: to win the championship!" Chen Guo said excitedly.

"We're still a long way off!" Ye Xiu said with a wry smile, pouring some cold water on Chen Guo. "You saw Little Qiao. He's a nobody in the current champion team, a face in the crowd. But here, he's our second best player. Don't you think we're still quite a distance from the championship?"

"But that's what you said our goal was, so you must have a way to make it happen!" Chen Guo said.

"Let's take it slowly!" Ye Xiu said.

"Little Tang, what about you?" Chen Guo turned, eagerly looking at Tang Rou. "If you're serious about being a professional player, then don't work shifts anymore! Focus on leveling up. I'll still pay you."

"I... okay..." Tang Rou hesitated, but seeing Chen Guo's expectant expression, she finally nodded.

"Haha, that's great! Level up quickly, and you'll soon be able to enter the Heavenly Domain," Chen Guo said.

"How's Steamed Bun doing lately?" Ye Xiu asked Tang Rou.

"He's usually online when I am. Every time I level up, he sends a miserable 'Aaaaaaaah!' over. I think he's around level fifty-one or fifty-two now," Tang Rou said with a laugh.

Qiao Yifan's One Inch Ash had been leveled by a power-leveler. Although a power-leveler's speed in a new server couldn't compare to the large guilds clearing the wilderness, it was still much faster than ordinary players. Steamed Bun Invasion, on the other hand, was relying entirely on himself, and as a result, despite having the same starting point as One Inch Ash, he was several levels behind.

"What about Lord Grim?" Ye Xiu asked about Lord Grim Comrade.

"He's about the same level as Steamed Bun," Tang Rou said.

"Oh," Ye Xiu nodded, not saying anything more.

"Is that Lord Grim going to join too?" Chen Guo knew quite a bit about these people. Lord Grim wasn't like Tang Rou or Steamed Bun Invasion. Those two had some skill with their hands. Even though they were Glory rookies, in a one-on-one, only a few experienced players could beat them; most would be at their mercy. Tang Rou had even accomplished the feat of defeating a pro player.

As for Lord Grim, he was somewhat lacking in that area. His mechanics were completely new, and he'd also chosen a Summoner. If you just wanted to play around, a Summoner was the easiest class to play. But to play it well required extremely high-level mechanics. Chen Guo shuddered at the thought of expecting a complete newbie like Lord Grim to level a Summoner to professional standards.

"Take it easy, everyone has a chance," Ye Xiu said, "Why don't you practice more too? Maybe you can make up the numbers."

She was just there to make up the numbers... Chen Guo really wanted to smash this guy with a chair. But when she thought about the people in front of her, apart from Lord Grim, she really wasn't good enough compared to the others.

After lunch, Tang Rou went back to the front desk. Although she had decided to focus on the game, the shifts at the internet cafe were already scheduled. If someone suddenly dropped out, Chen Guo would have to rearrange things and perhaps even hire someone new. Of course, she didn't mind the small expense. In theory, if they were forming a team, then Ye Xiu and Tang Rou would be professional players. As a boss, Chen Guo should be thrilled to pay professional players a salary at the level of an internet cafe employee.

The afternoon was spent leveling up as usual. Qiao Yifan wasn't around.

That kid was disciplined. Even though it seemed like he had no future in Tiny Herb, he still diligently completed his training on time. But at this point, he was completely focused on switching to a Ghostblade. He used Tiny Herb's Assassin account, but he didn't practice Assassin-related skills very much. His mind was full of how to use the Assassin's account to practice Ghostblade skills.

Chen Guo accompanied them as usual. But she was quite busy that afternoon, chatting away with someone. But as she chatted, the expression on her face became more and more serious. By dinner time, she was completely different from the cheerful person she had been at noon.

"What's wrong?" Tang Rou was startled, looking at Ye Xiu for answers. She was smart and knew that these two were together all the time, so she let Chen Guo share the happy news and asked Ye Xiu about the unhappy things.

"I don't know!" Ye Xiu knew the problem probably stemmed from the chat she'd had with someone that afternoon, but he hadn't eavesdropped, so he didn't know who Chen Guo had been talking to.

"Uh, there's something..." Chen Guo seemed afraid to look at them, with a difficult expression.

"What is it?" Ye Xiu asked.

"Well... I chatted with Zhan Lou Lan this afternoon," Chen Guo said.

"Zhan Lou Lan?" Ye Xiu was surprised. What did she talk about with Zhan Lou Lan that made Chen Guo like this?

"I asked him about the requirements for forming a team and joining the alliance," Chen Guo said.

"Oh..." Ye Xiu suddenly understood somewhat, but he didn't say it out loud, smiling, "And?"

"I'm afraid I don't meet some of the requirements..." Chen Guo finally said it. She wanted to cry. After hearing Zhan Lou Lan's detailed explanation that afternoon, her heart had been ice-cold. In reality, she wasn't *afraid* she didn't meet the requirements, she completely *didn't* meet them. Even if she sold the internet cafe, it was impossible. The league's requirement of having a venue with at least a certain number of seats alone stumped her. Moreover, she had learned an insider secret from Zhan Lou Lan: next season, the professional league would be using holographic projection technology, so each club's home stadium had to have the technical capabilities for it.

"I'm sorry..." Chen Guo's head was buried deep. She had been the one who had enthusiastically encouraged them to form a team, but in the end, she was the one who couldn't deliver. She really regretted not having researched the situation beforehand!

"It's okay, I never planned to go the application route like Zhan Lou Lan," Ye Xiu said.

"Huh?" Chen Guo looked up.

"You don't know?" Ye Xiu looked at Chen Guo. "Every year, two teams are eliminated from the league, which means there are two entry slots. One of these slots is like Zhan Lou Lan's: you apply to the league, and the league assesses and approves teams that they deem worthy to directly enter the league. But the other slot is generated through a qualifier."

"Qualifier... you mean, the resurrection match?" Chen Guo said.

"That's right... because of some special reason, the qualifier is usually called the resurrection match," Ye Xiu laughed.

"What special reason?" Seeing that the other two seemed to know and didn't want to continue, Tang Rou was depressed. She was a newbie who didn't understand anything, so she quickly asked.

"The qualifier only has two simple requirements for participating teams: the number of members must be met, and they must pay the registration fee. There are no other restrictions. This means that professional teams that are eliminated from the professional league in the current season can also participate in the qualifier. And these professional teams are quite strong compared to the mixed bag of teams. Although every year, some strong teams emerge from the qualifier to stir things up, so far, the teams that make it to the end of each qualifier have been professional teams. In other words, of the two teams that are eliminated each season, one of them usually returns to the professional league a year later through the qualifier. So, the qualifier is now jokingly called the resurrection match because it's like a resurrection opportunity for two eliminated teams. Oh, and sometimes it's not two teams, but three or four. Teams that failed to be resurrected last season sometimes come back for the new season..." Ye Xiu explained.

"Oh, I understand!" Tang Rou nodded repeatedly.

"So, we just need to participate in the qualifier and win to the end! The league will find a way to help you with the rigid requirements needed for the application. But speaking of which, so far, it's always been the resurrection match. No grass-roots teams have ever troubled the league before. It seems I'm going to create history," Ye Xiu laughed.

"That's not the key, is it!" Chen Guo was a little frantic. "The resurrection match is an elimination system! If you lose a match, you're eliminated, and the whole year is wasted. What if we..."

"There's always a 'what if,' even if you go through the application process. There might be more than one team applying to join the league in the same year. To be recognized by the league in the end, it's not enough to barely meet the rigid requirements they stipulate. The league will consider your investment. A team that can only barely pass won't be valued at all," Ye Xiu said.

Chen Guo was stunned. She couldn't even barely pass, and now she learned that even if she did, she could easily be surpassed by other competitors with greater resources. This strength was actually very simple: it was financial strength. Chen Guo was just an internet cafe owner, how much financial strength could she have for such competition?

"The qualifier is our only option. Instead of thinking about what-ifs, we should focus on preventing them from happening. We can also use this year to work well to integrate and perfect the team," Ye Xiu said.

"Yes, very good!" Tang Rou nodded, looking expectant.

"The qualifier for this season is already underway, and everyone can follow it. The qualifier is running in parallel with the league. When the league's regular season ends, the qualifier will also have its final results. The 20 participating teams for the next season will be determined at that time. There are many teams that register for the qualifier every year. If it continues to develop, it should establish a secondary league based on it. The speed at which this league is growing is quite rapid," Ye Xiu said with emotion.