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

Chapter 191 Devil's Day

"now it's right!"

Even while lying in his hospital bed for the past two weeks, Xiong Tieshan has not been idle.

Through various channels, we learned just how much real money the Shattered Star Club spent to poach players.

Well, the numbers were so large that even he was tempted.

"It's not worth investing so much just to snatch a few clients from Kuangtie Club."

"Using the pretense of dealing with the no-card-playing game, they're actually stealing members from the other two high-end clubs. That makes sense!"

The stubborn old man slapped his thigh and suddenly realized.

As for Xu Yan's claim that the Shattered Star team is suspected of abusing performance-enhancing drugs...

Reporting directly to the Lingka Association is indeed pointless.

The main problem is that the definitions of "banned cards" and "banned drugs" are very broad.

In theory, relevant departments would certainly compile a list of prohibited cards and drugs and update it regularly.

In reality, neither remnants of the past nor enhancement potions are uniform industrial products.

Simply redesign the sealing card, engrave a few new runes, or fine-tune the proportions of certain ingredients in the enhancement potion formula.

It is easy to obtain a brand new product that has not yet been added to the prohibited list.

In addition, there are intricate relationships between the Lingka Association and the four major card manufacturing companies. Many members of the "Anti-Drug Committee" are actually former employees of the four major card manufacturing companies.

With this "revolving door" phenomenon so prevalent, it's no wonder they're unlikely to enforce the law impartially!

"Unless it's caught on the spot, there's solid evidence, and no serious consequences have occurred, it's difficult to bring down the Shattered Star Club with this kind of thing. Moreover, breaking the rules will only provoke the Spirit Card Association's hostility."

Xiong Tieshan said, "Originally, we were just running a pure cardless club and didn't necessarily have to take the Ling Card Association seriously. But since we are going to expand the second-hand card distribution network, we will inevitably have to deal with the Ling Card Association in the future. There is no need to offend people rashly."

Xu Yan nodded, indicating that he understood.

He didn't intend to report it directly; he was just wondering if he could use this incident to his advantage.

If he wasn't mistaken, the banned drug taken by the Shattered Star team, while greatly enhancing their vitality, would also increase the burden on their brains and affect their optic nerves.

Applying strong flashes of light at a specific frequency can potentially trigger seizures.

"is it?"

Xiong Tieshan became interested.

"The problem is that neither of our two opponents tomorrow are members of the Shattered Star team."

Xu Yan didn't explain how he figured it out, but simply said, "If we really have a chance to make it into the top 32, we'll have to draw lots again, and we might not even be able to meet any players from the Shattered Star team!"

At the beginning of the "Dawn Cup", in order to avoid players from the same team meeting too early and causing a "self-destruction" situation, eight competition areas were divided according to the distribution of seeded players and the different teams they belonged to.

When the round of 32 is reached, a new round of draws will be held.

Who you'll encounter in the finals depends entirely on luck. You never know, the previous champions and runners-up might clash in the very first round of the finals, which could be incredibly exciting.

"You don't have to worry about that."

A sharp glint flashed in Xiong Tieshan's eyes, his white tiger whiskers twitched, and he grinned, "I guarantee that if A-Jian and A-Long can get through tomorrow's round, they will definitely encounter a player from the Shattered Star team in the draw, and nine times out of ten, they will meet Chu Zhifeng!" Xu Yan was slightly taken aback.

After a quick thought, he laughed too.

That's right, in any competition that's tainted by commercialism, the so-called fair and transparent "drawing" is nothing but a game to fool three-year-olds.

Even the fairest lottery results must yield to the consideration of maximizing commercial interests.

Moreover, the Shattered Star Club will definitely manipulate the draw and will never allow the members of the Mad Iron Team to continue with the "New Cardless Style" banner, let alone make it into the top eight.

What better way to demonstrate the superiority of the multi-card strategy and the power of "Silver Moon Meteor" than having the former ace player of the Kuangtie team personally extinguish the new hope of the no-card strategy?
"I hope so, then we'll have a good show!"

Xu Yan's eyes gleamed, eager to see what was happening.

"Come on, let's analyze the two opponents that Ah Jian and Ah Long will face tomorrow!"

Xiong Tieshan has fully recovered and is full of energy and enthusiasm.

……

The new match day has been known as the "devil's day" in previous Dawn Cups.

Because by this stage each year, those who advance have been engaged in continuous combat for several days, often leaving them exhausted, covered in wounds, and their guardian spirits exhibiting signs of disordered remnants.

Today's competition is crucial for their chances of advancing to the finals—a world of difference in their future studies and career prospects, whether or not they have the experience of reaching the finals of a major competition.

Therefore, many players will keep their trump cards hidden and save them for today.

On top of being mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted, they also had to guard against others using their trump cards, making it extremely difficult.

For Hou Zhijian and Xiong Rulong, the two players from the Kuangtie team, "Devil's Day" actually brought them a unique advantage.

The Wukaliu are known for their tough skin, abundant energy, and strong will.

Although they had also suffered heavy losses in the previous rounds.

Their opponents, however, were in a ten-fold worse situation.

In addition, Xu Yan used the Wanhun Sect's secret technique to massage them, and the nutrient solution and strengthening medicine provided by "Deep Blue Pharmaceuticals" in order to open up the situation were all of the highest quality.

When the two players took to the court, they were in excellent form, looking as if they had played two fewer rounds than their opponents.

When Xiong Tieshan appeared on the coaching bench with a smile, the two were extremely excited and performed exceptionally well, winning two more hard-fought victories and successfully advancing to the finals!

At this moment, no one would consider the victory of the Kuangtie team to be a fluke.

Even when Xiong Tieshan and Xu Yan whispered to each other, sometimes pointing mysteriously at the arena, sometimes chatting and laughing, and sometimes writing and drawing in their notebooks.

Many industry insiders who witnessed this scene suddenly realized what was going on and imagined a spy drama in which "Shattered Star Club launched a shameless sneak attack, Crazy Iron Club turned the tables on them, and Xiong Tieshan may have been strategizing in the hospital room for half a month in advance."

The appearance of Xiong Tieshan also had an impact on Chu Zhifeng.

Despite this, he still won.

But under Xiong Tieshan's meaningful gaze, his performance was less than satisfactory.

Even a layman could see that his movements to activate the sealing card were stiff and clumsy, and his posture in controlling the guardian spirit was rather reluctant, as if his flesh and blood body and the remnant soul of the past had a serious conflict, and he wished he could get rid of the magnificent "Silver Moon Meteor" and solve the problem with his hard fists, just like in the past.

(End of this chapter)