T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 553. Mission
The Stars Cup: A Testament to the Stars.

Held every eight years, it is the highest honor among stars, often referred to as the "World Championship".

Due to their outstanding performance in the first competition of the Virtual and Real Boundary, the final winner was given a special title.

"T0 Guild".

As the second Stars Cup begins, star trails created by the Stars Campfire illuminate the in-game sky.

The starlight was like mist, dazzling and brilliant.

The speckled fluorescent blue, the torrent of data as thick as ink, formed by countless data points, used a star map as a scroll to outline the names of people at the boundary between reality and illusion.

Ink drips from the star map scroll, blurring the information about their roles during the competition.

With their dazzling achievements, they earned themselves the right to be remembered forever.

Every year as the 8th annual competition approaches, their stories will resonate once again.

Just as everyone was wondering whether the boundary between virtual and real could dominate the leaderboard in this competition, a message exploded like a thunderclap in the community.

Almost instantly, a long article and related screenshots circulated throughout all the Stars of Proof communities.

It was posted from the official account of the virtual-real boundary.

At the beginning of the long article, Jiang Heyi and French Fries, in a tone close to friends, described the current situation of everyone that the community players care about most.

Everything is going well. Some are getting married, some are getting engaged, and the children of the four primitives are old enough to run errands.

However, the ceremony was only attended by close friends within the circle.

While satisfying the jailer's desire to be tortured, Jiang Heyi publicly announced that he had already married the Tea God.

Then, at the end of the article...

"Through the witness of the stars, we gained friends, love, wealth, fame, and tickets to an unknown future."

"As the guild leader of a T0 guild, and as the number one player on the Tower World rankings."

"And, as a player, I believe that the achievements and stories we created together with everyone at the boundary between reality and virtuality eight years ago are beyond question."

"We have tasted both fame and fortune."

"The spotlight is too dazzling. Even though we've been out of the spotlight for a long time, people still habitually focus their attention on us and ignore other excellent players."

"This stage belongs to those who have not yet tasted success. I wish all game enthusiasts can achieve their dreams here."

"I hope to play games with everyone for a lifetime, blurring the lines between reality and virtuality."

Following the long post was the premiere of Orange Tea.

With the help of the prison guard, Orange Tea's live streams have been going on successfully for the past few years.

However, she starts her broadcasts at her own pace and doesn't have a dedicated chat group, which is why she's jokingly called "Tea Secret Realm".

You need to be lucky enough to catch her quietly starting her live stream so you can be among the first to join the chat.

Few people can attract a large number of viewers to join the live stream and share their experiences simply by sitting in front of the screen as a listener, without signing with any party or doing any promotion, like the Tea God.

People have become accustomed to the company of the "Tea God".

Sometimes, Orange Tea feels like a nun listening to confessions. People who visit the live stream can find comfort here, no matter what troubles they have or what little secrets they have hidden deep in their hearts.

Many people say that they feel much happier after talking to Orange Tea.

And this seems to be one of the prison guard's favorite attributes.

Through the words of the Tea God, it was emphasized once again that this withdrawal from the competition was a collective decision made by everyone.

However, at this point, the focus of everyone's attention had become somewhat strange.

"Ah, I really want to kill that jailer."

"Waaaaah, why is it the jailer?! FFFFFFF!"

"I can't accept it, I can't accept it! Damn it, I wish you well, Tea God, and I'll feed you to the jailer!"

Such contradictory statements appeared in every corner of the bullet comments.

On one hand, she said in the community that she could accept the relationship between the prison guard and the tea god, while on the other hand, she was having a brain war with her left and right brain in the live broadcast room.

The Tea Master watched for a while, then covered his mouth in front of the screen and chuckled.

"Thank you, yes, it's actually quite good. It's like an onion, it smells very strong and pungent, but it tastes very sweet when cooked."

"Your understanding of the prison guard is too one-sided, and you're also very harsh on him, which is not good."

The viewers in the live chat were even more outraged.

"Wow, even the Tea Master looks like a jailer now."

"Still defending the jailer!"

"We need a stroke of luck! We need a stroke of luck to save us!"

"If they really crash, the Tea Master will be heartbroken."

"Fine then, may my luck run into me and kill me!"

The aftershocks continue.

The statement made by the person at the boundary between reality and illusion was a nuclear bombshell for the entire Witness for the Stars community.

Many players in overseas servers lamented that they would never have the chance to defeat the boundary between reality and illusion in a major tournament again.

"Is it possible that the player at the boundary between virtual and real discovered that their gaming skills had declined and feared that the content of this competition would be too advanced for them to handle, so they became a coward?"

"Joke analysis, IP, kimchi."

"Thank you for sending me a joke after 8 years."

"Looks like you haven't been purged yet. After the Tower World ended, your guild strongholds were all destroyed by Chinese players. Have you forgotten?"

"If anyone had even seen a glimpse of the Tower World back then, they wouldn't have said such outrageous things."

Subtly, players on both the Chinese and international servers are mocking those who make such dark speculations.

Players who personally experienced the explosive dominance of the virtual-real boundary and dominated the rankings as T0 players back then would never say "they were cowards".

Well-known players from home and abroad have flocked to leave messages on the official account of Virtual Reality Boundary.

"We will definitely leave the honor of being a T0 guild in the Chinese server."

"Thank you, sir. Back then, I gained the right to join the community by listening to your stories and looking at your videos and guides. Now I am also qualified to participate in the competition. Although I can't compete with you, I appreciate your contributions to the community."

"The TOP4 strategy group for the Chinese server was founded by these experts. When we started playing, the information we found was mostly thanks to them. We are very grateful."

"It's normal for a big shot like you to enjoy life. If we don't live up to expectations, you can step in and get revenge. Anyway, it's not like you'll never participate in competitions again."

Over the past 8 years, many new players have joined the game.

Many of them have become well-known gamers of the new generation, creating their own accounts and gaining a considerable number of fans.

But the boundary between reality and illusion remains an unattainable shadow for them.

It rose to prominence rapidly over the course of a summer, becoming a phenomenal buzzword.

Almost every hot topic in the game is at the forefront, and it goes viral both inside and outside the game.

Contentment is practically written into the profile of the Virtual-Real Boundary Guild, and they have acted accordingly for many years.

These seniors, who showed "non-competition" before the competition, also encouraged those who came after them; they had only respect in their hearts.

Of the top 4 guilds in the Chinese server, the remaining 3 also left comments.

Ready to eat: "We, the Khorne, have never been a T0 guild before. Now that we've got it, we'll follow your lead. We've always been copying your strategies anyway, so let's just keep copying for the rest of our lives."

Huangliang Yimeng: "What a coincidence, we haven't taken the Funny Tree either. Why don't we take it first and then withdraw, and you can wait for the next 8 years?" Crimson Music Box: "Sharing the spoils? Who said that just because the boundary between the real and the virtual is gone, you two can easily take it? As for me, aren't we Orange Sky in the TOP 4?"

The top 4 players in the Chinese server are "fighting amongst themselves," a scene that everyone enjoys seeing.

After learning about this, Xue Shui Fried Noodles and the enamel mug didn't say much.

Although the victory in the Star Cup was directly linked to Holora's reward, the two of them vaguely sensed Holora's intentions and those of the Overlord behind her.

"Indirectly promotes the progress of civilization."

This is the compensation given to the seven people who took away the boundary between the virtual and real worlds.

As for whether they can use this information to accelerate progress, or whether they will be trapped in endless internal strife, unable to glimpse the deeper mysteries of the world...

That will be a choice made by all civilizations.

Focusing solely on the top-ranked reward is too narrow-minded; it's sufficient to ensure that there are national server teams among the top performers.

The shortcuts pioneered by Chinese players will be paved by them to pave the way to a brighter future.

"By the way, have you been reading that novel lately?"

The enamel mug asked curiously, "What novel?"

"The Path to Immortality Through Spiritual Resurgence: Starting with Selling Fried Chicken"

"Huh?" The enamel mug stared at its old friend in confusion. "This, this is the title of a novel? It's so long?"

"How many years has it been since you read a web novel? They're short, not weird, and if you don't put the selling points in the title, nobody will read them."

"Just from the title, it sounds like a really bad novel." The enamel mug smiled wryly. "The first half and the second half don't even look like the same thing."

"I didn't plan to watch it at first either."

The person making the snow water fried noodles gestured for the other person to look at their phone.

"What? The author's name? Tomato-flavored fries..."

In an instant, the enamel mug fell silent, staring at its old friend with a look of astonishment.

"This can't be..."

"It's her work, Lu Yanfei's," Xue Shui Chao Mian continued. "Not only that, this book also provides a detailed description of the local customs and culture of the Three Kingdoms region where the Star Gazing Sect is located."

"It covers everything from clothing and customs to local cuisine, in great detail. It even goes so far as to write a long and detailed section on spiritual practices."

"Many comments on the chapters say, 'Have you ever practiced immortality? You're just making this up.'"

"This Star Gazing Sect started by selling fried chicken and soda, and transformed itself from a weak and impoverished sect into a top sect in the Three Domes Land."

“There is a very interesting detail: the recipe for fried chicken soda used by the young leader of the Star Gazing Sect came from a reclusive master who developed it himself after he secluded himself in the mountains following the revival of spiritual energy.”

He swallowed hard.

He understood completely upon hearing this.

"This...this can't be...another world that Holora connected to, can it?"

It's not a novel at all; it's a documentary literature that retells real-life stories in another world!

What kind of reclusive masters are they? They're just blurring the lines between reality and illusion.

With this novel, French Fries leaped from a mediocre writer to a mid-level online writer in terms of income, and his growth trend is obvious, showing the potential to become a legend.

“Then we should let others read this novel too. Perhaps in the distant future, our descendants will have the opportunity to interact with the immortals of the Three Realms.” The enamel cup was both amused and exasperated. “This is a ready-made reference.”

The person who ordered the snow water fried noodles shook their head.

"What do you mean? You're not going to tell them?"

“No, I think they might not be immortals,” he said. “In the latest chapter, the people of the Star Gazing Sect have developed incredibly powerful explosives. In an era when spiritual energy is just beginning to recover, their explosives are invincible.”

"Can you imagine people who planned to steal the secret recipe for fried chicken soda by force being sent to their deaths by a self-destructing alchemy furnace?"

"Can you imagine that after realizing the power of steam, this group of people would use spiritual energy as an aid to try to research a steam-powered mechanical system with characteristics of the Three Domes Land?"

Xue Shui Chao Mian sighed, “This isn’t just a world of cultivation. Someone is secretly exploring unorthodox technological paths and intends to make them work together.”

The enamel mug suddenly opened its mouth wide in disbelief.

He suddenly understood why this book had such a large following.

In the world of cultivation, stealing the recipe for fried chicken and soda, and using explosives to defeat enemies—can these three keywords appear in the same book?

Are you sure this isn't some kind of animation aimed at children?

The case is solved; AI really can't replace humans.

"I have a feeling that these things are the boundary between reality and illusion..."

“I sensed it too, but Holora didn’t say anything, so I guess she tacitly approved it,” Snow Water Fried Noodles sighed. “Perhaps this is also driving the progress of civilization in the Three Domes.”

"The Testament of the Stars is not just about providing entertainment."

Xue Shui Chao Mian put his phone on the table, put his hands behind his back, slowly got up, and walked to the French windows.

The afterglow of the setting sun ignited the entire courtyard, turning it into an amber-colored dreamscape.

The moss on the artificial rocks is edged with gold, and the surface of the koi pond is shattered into countless sparks.

What will our world be like in the future?

The enamel mug also moved to the window, its gaze following the setting sun.

"Don't be so sentimental, things will definitely get better than they are now."

Suddenly, as I ate the snow water fried noodles, I felt a pang of emotion.

"Perhaps those children are born with a mission. They are born into this world, yet they bear the weight of a destiny elsewhere..."

The enamel mug glanced sideways: "Reading too many novels?"

Snow water fried noodles waved its hand.

"Intuition, I've always trusted my intuition."

The enamel mug remained silent for a long time before he spoke softly.

"If, as you say, they received the Lord's favor for a certain moment of sacrifice... then what awaits them? Problems that even the Lord cannot solve, yet they are required to bear them?"

As he spoke, he suddenly understood all the reasons.

"So that's how it is. The Lord's generosity is their life-saving money. After all, this is the land where they were born, their homeland."

Both of them looked somewhat dejected.

Although their interactions were limited to games and the internet, the way people acted and behaved on the boundary between the virtual and real worlds deeply impressed them.

Over the years, they have also privately kept a close eye on the boundaries between reality and fiction.

Because of Holola, and also because of the idea of ​​taking the easy way out.

At that moment of clarity, their eyes met, and they both understood what the other was thinking.

"Let them feel as much happiness as possible. If hell lies ahead... the beauty of this life might help them grit their teeth and get through it."

"After all, they are children who grew up on this land beneath our feet, in this world."

Unbeknownst to them, their simple thoughts resonated with Holora and the people behind her.

Although we live in different worlds and at different levels, our emotions are universal.

(End of this chapter)