Chapter 1 The Main Event

The third day of the All-Star Weekend was always the highlight, and the All-Star Game referred to this day.

The twenty-four All-Stars would be divided into two teams of twelve to compete against each other. If the All-Star Weekend wasn't just for show and the players cared more about winning and losing, this could be seen as the highest level of Glory competition.

The division of the twenty-four All-Stars was done by the Alliance. In principle, they wouldn't divide teammates into opposing sides. So far, the number of All-Stars each team sent to the All-Star Weekend had been harmonious. There hadn't been any cases where they had to split up a team's players to make both sides even.

This time was no exception. The twenty-four players were harmoniously divided into two teams.

Three from Samsara, three from Tiny Herb, two each from Wind Howl and Hundred Blossoms, and one each from Royal Wind and Seaside, making up one team of twelve.

Four from Tyranny, three from Blue Rain, two each from Void and Misty Rain, and one from 301, making up the other team of twelve.

The numbers were harmonious, but in terms of personnel grouping, the Alliance would deliberately create some tension. For example, Samsara and Blue Rain, who fought for the championship last season, would definitely not be allowed to fight side by side. Tiny Herb's Gao Yingjie and Blue Rain's Lu Hanwen were the most eye-catching rookies in the league, so the two teams were also separated in an attempt to create a duel between the two. The veterans of Wind Howl and Hundred Blossoms had transferred to Tyranny, especially Zhang Jiale's comeback transfer from Hundred Blossoms, which made the Hundred Blossoms fans gnash their teeth, so these two teams were also placed on the opposite side of Tyranny.

In addition, attention was paid to ensuring that the personnel distribution was as non-repetitive as possible. After all, many veteran players came to the All-Star Weekend year after year. What the audience wanted to see, of course, was different players or partners or opponents. If it was always the same three teams fighting those three teams every year, it would be too boring.

All sorts of arrangements were made to make the All-Star Game as exciting and enjoyable as possible. In fact, the All-Star Game was usually very interesting. Even though everyone understood that this was a show, they also knew that it was a show that was highly anticipated by players and fans. Players were happy to evaluate who was better through the duels here. The players didn't want to be looked down upon by the players, and with the gunpowder intentionally arranged during the grouping process, the All-Star players wouldn't be too half-hearted.

However, there was an embarrassing reality that had plagued the All-Star Game for two consecutive years. That was, the All-Star for the healer class. After only one Zhang Xinjie last year, there was only one again this year.

Every team in the league had at least one healer. And as a crucial part of the team competition, the level of the healer could not be sloppy. The healers of the major strong teams were difficult to distinguish in strength, which led to the healers receiving an average number of votes in the All-Star competition. Zhang Xinjie was currently known as the number one healer, but it was difficult to say how much his identity as a tactical mastermind had helped him win votes. In terms of pure healing skills, the most indisputable god of healing in Glory history was undoubtedly Fang Shiqian, the operator of Tiny Herb's guardian angel, Feng Fang. Unfortunately, he had announced his retirement after Tiny Herb won their second championship in the seventh season. Ever since his retirement, the All-Star Game had fallen into the awkward situation of lacking a healer. Judging from the current situation, this awkwardness would likely continue.

The existing healer players were stable in their level, and no one had shown any signs of suddenly bursting out. The newborn healer players had not yet shown any talent that was as outstanding as Fang Shiqian, who stood out from the crowd of good players.

However, whether there was a healer or not did not affect the excitement of the All-Star Game. In last year's All-Star Game, the side without a healer played with great abandon, and the players exploded one after another, eventually defeating the side with a healer. However, it had to be said that such a victory might only appear in the All-Star Game. In this show, the players did not have much pressure, were in a relaxed mood, and did not have too strict tactical restrictions, so it was normal to play an extraordinary game.

But this time, the scene of the gods continuously erupting finally did not appear again. The presence or absence of a healer ultimately became the key to determining the victory or defeat of the two teams. The side with Zhang Xinjie ultimately won this All-Star Game.

This year's All-Star Weekend came to an end. Compared to last year, it was indeed less lively, but it was still a successful All-Star Weekend.

After the event ended, Lou Guanning and the others still had to take the player's通道 (tōngdào, passage), while Ye Xiu and the other four came out with the crowd. Lou Guanning had already arranged a car to take the four of them directly to his banquet.

Lou Guanning's banquet was held at a club not far from Tiny Herb's home stadium, and they arrived quickly. With Lou Guanning's advance notice, the four of them entered smoothly. At the banquet venue, Lou Guanning and the others had already arrived, and they were all dressed impeccably. When they saw Ye Xiu and the others, they quickly came up to greet them.

"So amazing! It's like watching a movie!" Baozi obviously hadn't been to such a scene before and was looking around at everything.

"Haha." Lou Guanning smiled.

Chen Guo was slightly better than Baozi, but after looking around, she asked Lou Guanning strangely, "Why can't I see anyone else?"

"Anyone else?" Lou Guanning looked around. There weren't many people here yet, but it wasn't like there was no one here. Who was she referring to? Lou Guanning didn't react for a moment.

Chen Guo seemed afraid of missing something and carefully scanned the area again, "I don't see anyone!"

Hearing this, Lou Guanning suddenly reacted and laughed, "Are you referring to other professional players? Of course not, I didn't invite them."

"Ah?" Chen Guo was surprised. She thought that Lou Guanning was using his hospitality to connect with the various teams.

"Hehe, after all, this is Tiny Herb's home ground!" Lou Guanning said.

Chen Guo was still a little puzzled, but Ye Xiu immediately understood. At first, he thought that Lou Guanning's banquet was to invite the various teams, but now he knew that this guy was very measured in his actions.

This All-Star Weekend was considered Tiny Herb's event. Although Yizhan was also a host, it would be suspected of trying to steal the limelight if they used this time to hold a gathering. Especially since Yizhan had been showing off ever since the team was first built. Now that they were doing this again, it was unlikely that many teams would think that they were trying to communicate with everyone. They would probably think that this nouveau riche was trying to show off again. So at this time, inviting the various teams to participate in the banquet was really a bit inappropriate. Chen Guo was more forthright and obviously didn't consider such subtle things. After hearing Lou Guanning say that it was Tiny Herb's home ground, she still didn't react much. Finally, she asked, "Then what are we doing here?"

"It's good to get to know more people!" Lou Guanning said.

"Who are these people?" Chen Guo looked around.

"Come, come, let me introduce you." The number of drinking buddies and guests hadn't increased yet, so Lou Guanning thoughtfully introduced Chen Guo and the others. He casually inserted himself in front of two people who were chatting and introduced them.

These two people were a what-what investment consultant and a what-what executive director, with all sorts of impressive titles. Chen Guo's internet cafe was large, but its level wasn't high, so she didn't have many opportunities to come into contact with such people. Then, when she heard Lou Guanning introduce her to the other party as the boss of Team Excellent Era, Chen Guo finally realized what Lou Guanning's intention for this banquet was.

"Getting sponsorships?" After chatting with the investment consultant and executive director, Chen Guo quietly asked Lou Guanning.

"That's right." Lou Guanning nodded.

Ye Xiu and the other four finally understood who Lou Guanning was really trying to connect with at this banquet. And being able to bring them here could be said to be a super favor. Both sides were teams, so they could be said to be competitors here.

"Little Lou is too kind!" Chen Guo was now completely convinced by Lou Guanning and couldn't find anything wrong with him.

Chen Guo had no experience in dealing with this kind of situation. But she had the courage, the determination to be responsible for the team, and the awareness to be a good boss, so she went around trying to communicate with people. Chen Guo's familiar style was more popular in the marketplace, but in this kind of situation, her style was a bit rude. Chen Guo obviously understood this, so she paid more attention to being reserved. However, many of Lou Guanning's guests didn't know much about Glory eSports, so Chen Guo's communications were quite difficult. However, she wasn't discouraged and still tried to find opportunities to talk to people.

Baozi obviously couldn't do this kind of thing. This guy was wandering around like he was visiting a zoo, occasionally running back to Ye Xiu and the others to make a fuss. When someone took the initiative to talk to him, he would introduce himself as Baozi and occasionally show off the tattoo on his left arm, which made people stunned. In the middle of winter, being able to show off his arm was a skill.

Ye Xiu and Tang Rou had been hiding on the side. Tang Rou casually took a glass of wine and occasionally took a sip, while Ye Xiu held a particularly deep ashtray and smoked one cigarette after another, creating a smoky atmosphere. Tang Rou was such a radiant beauty, but no one came over to talk to her in this situation. It had to be said that it was all thanks to Ye Xiu.

The few of them didn't ask what time the banquet would end. Since they arrived, guests had been constantly arriving. Lou Guanning shuttled among them, able to chat happily with both old and young, male and female. Later, when he glanced at Ye Xiu and Tang Rou, he dinged his glass twice and strongly promoted Excellent Era again, "Today, I have a few good friends that I want to introduce to everyone."

"This guy..." Ye Xiu said helplessly. He had no choice but to cooperate with his introduction, and the group went over together.

Who knew that as soon as the introduction was over, a discordant sound appeared at the banquet.

"Hahahaha, a bunch of people who play video games, how can they be so serious and act like someone important?"

Everyone followed the sound and saw a tall, handsome young man. His words were very impolite, but he looked refined and had an extraordinary temperament.

"Who is this?" Ye Xiu asked Lou Guanning.

"I don't know!" Lou Guanning said.

"I thought this was your banquet?" Ye Xiu asked, puzzled.

"I'm hosting it very casually. I didn't send out invitations. As long as you're a member of this club, you can come and join in the fun." Lou Guanning said.