As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 158 You guys are so foolish!

"It's Ah Long's match!"

Wang Dali also caught the key words, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly called his brothers to stare at them with wide eyes.

The men who participated in the re-employment training course all have a simple affection for the Kuangtie Club.

They clenched their fists, cheering for Xiong Rulong, firmly believing that the Kuangtie team would win consecutive victories.

Xiong Tieshan, however, was not so optimistic.

Xiong Rulong's opponent, Zhao Lian, is a very strong single-card-style Spirit Master who has reached the top 32 in the Dawn Cup for two consecutive years.

His guardian spirit is the Seven-Star Electric Eel.

It possesses an agile physique and a stealthy attack posture.

At the same time, it has sharp teeth and a sharp tongue, capable of tearing through the strongest armor and the most powerful muscles in one bite.

It also possesses the core skill of releasing electric arcs, which can shock opponents who are stronger than itself, leaving them dizzy or even completely paralyzed.

Moreover, like all single-card spirit masters, Zhao Lian also developed more abilities of the "Seven-Star Electric Eel" through his daily interactions with his guardian spirit. He creatively weakened the discharge skill and applied it to himself, using a weak current to stimulate his muscles, nerves, and even cells for a long time, thus maximizing the strength of his muscle fibers and the speed of his nerve reaction, thereby gaining unparalleled attack speed.

In several matches of the first two Dawn Cups, Zhao Lian's opponents all possessed stronger theoretical abilities than him.

Zhao Lian, however, did not give his opponent a chance to unleash the full potential of his guardian spirit.

With lightning speed and a series of interconnected attacks, he drags his opponent into his rhythm until the opponent is tightly bound by the "Seven-Star Electric Eel," suffering muscle spasms, foaming at the mouth, and almost suffocating from the shock.

Xiong Rulong is a typical power-type athlete with a strong back and waist, a head of bronze and bones of iron.

If it were to face those "Spirit Snails" that move slowly and have weak combat power, there might still be room for maneuver.

However, facing a single-card-based Spirit Master who relies on both Guardian Spirit and personal cultivation in the first round, especially an agile and speed-type player like Zhao Lian, is extremely challenging.

Xiong Tieshan even suspected that someone might have rigged the draw to deliberately target the Kuang Tie team.

However, there's no point in thinking about these things now.

True warriors never bother to choose their opponents.

No matter who stands opposite you, fight to your heart's content, win honorably, and fall spectacularly – that's the cardless style!
Xiong Rulong makes his appearance.

The moment he stepped onto the ring, Xiong Tieshan, watching on television, widened his eyes in astonishment.

He... he must be seeing things, right? What the heck is that glittering silver thing on Ah Long's wrist?

This kid is actually wearing a card reader?

Moreover, the design is quite exaggerated, and it's polished to a shine, as if afraid others won't see it?

Xiong Tieshan swayed, barely managing to catch his breath, and his face turned ashen.

The commentator also seemed somewhat incredulous:
"We see that the red team player has entered the arena, and like Hou Zhijian, he is wearing a card reader on his wrist."

"According to the information, Xiong Rulong's uncle is Xiong Tieshan, the founder of the Kuangtie Club. He is a veteran who has been practicing the cardless style since childhood."

"In previous Dawn Cups, the players of the Kuangtie team never wore card readers, which is also the habit of all cardless builders in the entire Heroic Spirit Alliance."

"Today, we have seen two players from the Kuangtie team break with convention. Does this mean that in the face of fierce competition, the cardless strategy has also been forced to change and abandon tradition?"

Besides the commentary, Xiong Tieshan also heard scattered boos from the audience.

It seems to come from supporters of cardless streaming.

Although the Kuangtie Club is facing a major crisis, even a broken ship has some nails; the cardless strategy that has been passed down for thousands of years still has a certain market.

Especially in border areas, the friction between humans and wild remnants of the past is quite intense.

Innocent civilians and wilderness travelers are frequently harmed by ancient monsters.

This also gave the "Severing God Path" some room to survive.

Many survivors whose entire families were torn to pieces by ancient monsters will naturally embark on the path of the Godslayer, willing to dedicate the rest of their lives to annihilating all the remnants of the ancient souls in the world.

They are also the most steadfast supporters of cardless streaming.

This is also why Xiong Tieshan has always appeared incredibly tough, stubborn, and even obstinate to the outside world.

He must cultivate the persona of a "devout believer in the Way of God" in order to secure his base.

My daughter has some business acumen, but not much.

The commercialization of the Kuangtie Club over the past two years, including the introduction of training cards, has certainly attracted some casual users, but it has also aroused dissatisfaction among its most steadfast, hardcore, and loyal core fans. Today, Kuangtie's actions have touched a raw nerve with these core fans.

"Ah Yue, Ah Long, you're both confused. Even if the no-card strategy has many flaws, it doesn't mean that you can solve the problems of the Kuang Tie Club by using sealing cards. Isn't this a typical case of playing to your weaknesses and avoiding your strengths?"

Xiong Tieshan stared wide-eyed at the spherical screen, where Hou Zhijian, who had finished today's match, was acting as a temporary coach, leaning over the edge of the ring to give Xiong Rulong "personal instructions".

Judging from the gestures the two were making, it seemed that Xiong Rulong was also going to adopt Hou Zhijian's tactics, using a basic deck of cards like "Giant Sword" and "Great Rock Turtle" that were good at both offense and defense, to "fight for health" with his opponent.

Xiong Rulong harbored doubts about the no-card strategy and even longed to become a multi-card strategy Spirit Master.

In private, he would also secretly consult Hou Zhijian about the art of spirit control, without his uncle and master knowing.

Xiong Tieshan was not unaware of these matters.

Despite his seemingly stubborn nature, he didn't necessarily want Xiong Rulong to hang himself on the crumbling, withered tree of the No-Card Flow.

However, in this era where sealing cards are becoming more and more advanced and spirit control techniques are becoming more and more automated or even foolproof, it's never too late to switch to a spirit master.

The golden period for cultivating strength, vitality, and foundation is only a few short years, fleeting and irreplaceable.

Xiong Tieshan originally intended to keep his impetuous nephew in check for another year or two before letting him go his own way.

Unexpectedly, he still couldn't keep his composure.

“Ah Long, your situation is different from Ah Jian’s. You have never systematically studied the art of spirit control. Even if you can forcibly activate the bronze battle card with your surging life force, the response speed will definitely be as slow as a snail. It may take three to four seconds to fully summon the guardian spirit.”

"And your opponent happens to be a single-card-based spirit master who is in sync with the guardian spirit and can summon the 'Seven-Star Electric Eel' in just half a second."

"If you stick to the no-card strategy and take the initiative to attack when your opponent activates the sealing card, there is a 10% chance that you can completely seal your opponent's 'Seven-Star Electric Eel' inside the sealing card and win the game."

"Even if you lose, it will be a dignified defeat, a glorious loss, and you will win the sympathy of your die-hard supporters."

"By acting so cleverly and playing to our weaknesses while avoiding our strengths, we're not only losing face, but also our morale!"

Xiong Tieshan wished he could crawl into the TV screen, grab Xiong Rulong, and shake him hard to wake him up and stop him from humiliating himself.

Unfortunately, the match had already started.

Sure enough, as the referee tossed the specially made crystal coin high into the air, Xiong Rulong immediately swung his arm and stiffly activated the sealing card.

He was like a beginner, quite clumsy and nervous, his movements were too exaggerated, like a goose with its feet tied, flapping its wings comically, and almost tripping over its own ridiculous movements.

In contrast, the opponent took a slight step back, creating a safe distance, while moving with a light and elegant posture, his arms waving naturally. The card reader stirred up visible ripples in the air, and the scattered spiritual flames were about to converge into crisscrossing spiritual networks, forming an intricate array of runes.

The two sides performed drastically differently.

Even a seven-year-old child could see that the two players' summoning speeds differed by at least five times.

It's likely that by the time Zhao Lian's "Seven-Star Electric Eel" wraps around Xiong Rulong's neck, the latter might not be able to summon his guardian spirit.

Zhao Lian thought so too.

His slightly upturned lips revealed his composure and confidence in victory.

However, in the next 0.1 seconds...

Just as his summoning rune array was about to take shape.

A sudden change occurred!

Almost tripping over himself, Xiong Rulong, whose summoning posture had completely distorted, made no attempt to adjust in time.

Instead, he lunged forward, his legs straining fiercely, his calf muscles like an overloaded engine, outputting unparalleled propulsion, causing the soles of his shoes to rub heavily against the ring, producing a piercing scream.

In an instant, he transformed from a clumsy goose into a tyrannical dragon king, darting towards Zhao Lian with lightning speed, almost touching the ground!
Zhao Lian's pupils suddenly contracted to two pinpoints.

Only then did he realize that because of Hou Zhijian's performance, Xiong Rulong's exaggerated card reader design, and his clumsy summoning posture, he had been prejudiced and fallen into a cognitive bias, failing to maintain a safe distance.

He has completed the construction of the summoning rune array.

One could even see the terrifying figure of the "Seven-Star Electric Eel" faintly appearing and disappearing in the psychic ripples deep within the rune array.

However, it was too late.

Before the "Seven-Star Electric Eel" emerged from the summoning array, Xiong Rulong, with an agility completely different from his massive body, had already cut into his lower body, firmly grabbing his legs and locking his ankles and knees.

The most powerful and visually stunning move in the no-card style, the dive slam, has been perfected!

(End of this chapter)