Chapter 54: RG Club Makes Its Move

“Although they were not using their main accounts, and seemed to have chosen players’ accounts to play on, and although their original classes were not the ones they used, their tactics and timing could not possibly be mistaken. There simply are no players in the Unyielding Silver bracket with such ability. Judging from the way they worked together, they were clearly several hired players from one of the power-leveling studios I know. If that Witch King you mentioned is no weakling, and all of you are as skilled as he is…”

Ye Lingxue glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then leaned close to Ye Yu’s ear and whispered, “You are players of professional caliber. Starting out as trainees in a professional academy would not be difficult for you.”

To be honest, Ye Yu was stunned after hearing this. He had not expected “Three Years Short” to hire players of this caliber to test them. His surprise was not entirely unexpected, however. He was still curious: even if “Three Years Short” was testing them in this manner, there was no guarantee they could stand against them. After all, the people in “Three Years Short’s” group were nowhere near this strong.

“We’re going to war with the First Faction in a few days. It will decide the victor.”

“Hm? What did you say?”

A flash of astonishment crossed Ye Lingxue’s eyes when she heard Ye Yu speak after a moment of hesitation.

“You’re actually planning to fight the leading faction on your Xuantian Server?”

Ye Yu looked at his sister’s face, now practically pressed against his own. Almost instinctively, he raised his right hand and pinched her astonished cheek.

“That’s right, Sis. The person leading them is a tycoon player called ‘Three Years Short.’”

“If this had happened before, perhaps you might have had a chance. But now, that may no longer be the case.”

Ye Lingxue slapped his hand away, then grabbed both sides of his face and said, “Three Years Short’s team has now become a trainee team under the RG Club. At present, they are the only publicly announced professional team in the beginner servers.”

“I see. No wonder they sought out a power-leveling studio to test our strength. So their club has been advising them from behind the scenes as well. But the RG Club is notorious for its treachery. It has won quite a few awards in other gaming competitions, but its methods are far too underhanded. The chief coach is Shang Zhou, the man known for his sinister schemes.”

Ye Yu’s face twisted in pain.

“Sis, let go. That hurts!”

“If the RG Club chose to target Three Years Short’s established team instead of you, then they obviously have another motive. They want to use this opportunity to eliminate you and build the reputation of their first team in the beginner servers. They have quite the clever scheme planned. By the time you face Three Years Short, he probably won’t be the same Three Years Short you knew before.”

Ye Lingxue was growing anxious. A trace of anger appeared on her face as she said, “And you just had to accept their challenge at a time like this. I doubt things will end so easily. I was wondering why an RG player on my server had recently been urging everyone to visit the arena. He said it was the first arena battle of the beginner server’s trainee team. I never imagined you would be the opponents they were facing.”

“Heh. The RG Club really is infamous for its schemes. It seems the rumors are true. They have no shame at all—planning to use our defeat to raise the reputation of their trainee team in the beginner servers, while secretly hiring a power-leveling studio to test our skills. Shang Zhou’s plans are certainly cautious.”

Ye Yu’s expression remained calm. There was not even a hint of surprise in his eyes. Clearly, although he took the matter seriously, it was not enough to shake his resolve.

“Shang Zhou is notorious throughout the esports scene for his treachery. He is filled with wicked ideas, and every scheme he comes up with is more devious than the last. This sort of calculation is entirely in keeping with their style. The RG Club has three financial groups supporting it. Shang Zhou may have a terrible reputation in esports, but ever since he took charge of RG several years ago, the club has won championships both large and small. It is one of the most prominent clubs in the entire esports world.”

Ye Lingxue spoke impatiently, then looked at Ye Yu with a serious expression.

“The RG Club is no longer the same as the one you remember. Its coaching staff consists of five people. Shang Zhou is the head coach, while the other four are players who retired from Godshatter. They were once famous competitors in Godshatter’s individual events. The RG Club is taking the Godshatter division very seriously, which is why it established the Azure City branch specifically for that game. The Three Years Short team you are facing has probably reached a formidable level under their guidance during this period. And if the club secretly replaces them with other players to defeat you and build their reputation first, that is absolutely something RG would do.”

“But we’ve already accepted the challenge. We can’t retreat just to help them achieve their goals, can we? Since that’s the case, I’ll fight them. For us, this battle is unavoidable—and we must win it.”

Hearing Ye Yu’s words and seeing the determination on his face, Ye Lingxue did not know what to say for a moment.

“Whatever happens, you need to understand the opponent you’re facing now…” Her worry was unmistakable. She continued, “…I can’t help you this time. If the RG Club secretly replaces their players, then even if I find people to assist you, it still…”

“It’s fine, Sis. I’m not going onto the field alone. You should have a little faith in me. I’m not weaker than I was before. I’m even stronger now.”

A confident smile lifted the corners of Ye Yu’s lips. He gave Ye Lingxue a thumbs-up.

“Hmm. If your group truly possesses the strength you claim, then you do have a chance. And perhaps the RG Club thinks it can defeat you without replacing its players. There is still an opportunity.”

Ye Lingxue pondered for a moment before continuing, “But now that I think about it, you never caused this kind of trouble when you played games in the past. You’re becoming more and more talented at attracting trouble. It seems that playing Godshatter really suits you—as naturally as a fish takes to the sea.”

“Haha. Maybe it’s because I never met a group like this before. In the end, all of us became magnets for bad luck, and the trouble we attract is always the serious kind—the sort that gives people a headache.”

Ye Yu shrugged. He then handed Ye Lingxue a token bearing the name Purple Void City.

“Godshatter is, after all, a game with cross-server access. There are two days every month when players can enter other servers and look around. Sis, if you have time then, come and see me.”

After seeing Ye Lingxue off, Ye Yu naturally did not return to carefree eating, drinking, and having fun. Nor did he idle around, simply waiting for the final battle to arrive.

This was a battle he was permitted to win, but not to lose. He would not do anything foolish. Since the opponent stood backed by the colossal RG Club, Ye Yu would naturally make proper preparations.

He returned from the auction server to the Xuantian Server, and everyone soon gathered around him.

“Boss, who was looking for you?”

Knowing Warmth and Cold asked curiously. After all, the person who had sought Ye Yu out was a female player. According to Warm and Cool, she had even passed a real-person verification. Could a woman with such an alluring figure really be interested in Ye Yu?

At the thought, Xiao Mo’s cheeks flushed slightly. The legendary figure before him possessed quite a reputation. Even if it was limited to the Xuantian Server, he was still one of the leading beginner players on the beginner section of Godshatter’s official forums.

“You people are so nosy. Are all men this curious?” Ye Yu shook his head with a laugh. “The person who came to me earlier told me that the opponents who tested us before were players from a power-leveling studio. They were extremely skilled and had merely been hired to test our abilities. Unfortunately for them, they misjudged the situation and ended up being crushed by our Witch King.”

Ye Yu smiled. Seeing this, A Cup of Wine Traps Heroes was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Players from a power-leveling studio were actually that weak? I really didn’t expect it. Looks like my skills are good enough for me to work at one of those studios now.”

“They probably weren’t using their best classes,” Old Hu said after hearing Ye Yu’s explanation, his brows drawing together slightly. “But being able to use another class and still perform those seamless combos under arena balance adjustments… that is certainly not something players in the Unyielding Silver bracket should be capable of. After what Third Brother just said, my guess has been confirmed.”

He looked at Ye Yu.

“You should know the current identity of Three Years Short’s established team by now, shouldn’t you? The news was only announced recently, but the player who came to find you was probably there to tell you that as well.”

“Yeah.”

Ye Yu nodded. He was clearly surprised that Old Hu had already noticed this.

“What’s going on? What do you know? What are you two talking about?”

The others looked confused and began asking questions.

“Three Years Short as he is now—no, more accurately, the higher-ups of the First Faction—may well be under the control of a professional club. Three Years Short’s established team has already become one of that club’s trainee teams in the beginner servers. Among all the beginner-server teams publicly announced so far, Three Years Short’s is the only one officially designated as a club trainee team.”

Old Hu explained, “They are trainees under the RG Club, assigned to the beginner servers.”

“So it’s that sinister RG Club,” Luo Feng said after hearing Old Hu’s words. He fell silent for a moment, then grasped the crux of the matter. “They chose Three Years Short as their trainee team so they could use our reputation to elevate their own. Once they become famous in a single battle, both Three Years Short and the First Faction will be famous as well.”

“Third Brother, the person who came to find you wasn’t your sister, was it?”

Qu Zheng moved closer to Ye Yu and asked in a low voice. In Godshatter, apart from the clubs that had previously invited them, the only person who could have delivered such information so quickly was probably Ye Yu’s sister, Ye Lingxue. No one else could have obtained the news so fast.

“What? The boss has a sister?”

“Third Brother has a sister?”

“My goodness, his sister actually came to warn us? I never would have expected that!”

Everyone erupted in surprise. Ye Yu helplessly shook his head, glanced at Qu Zheng, and said irritably, “Yes, my sister told me. But she never expected us to clash with the First Faction at a time like this, let alone start a battle like this in the arena. She said that Three Years Short is now an RG trainee, so with the RG Club directing and training them, it’s easy to imagine how rapidly their skills have improved.”

“Heh. Even so, we’ll fight them all the same!” Old Hu laughed coldly, clearly showing no fear. Instead, his eyes burned with fighting spirit. “Does being trained by the RG Club automatically make them strong? They still have to possess the ability to begin with. Players like that are hard to judge.”

“Exactly!”

“That’s right!”

“Don’t back down. Fight them!”

Ye Yu looked over the group. Not one of them had been frightened by the fact that the RG Club was standing behind Three Years Short’s team, and no one’s resolve had wavered. Instead, their fighting spirit had been ignited. Naturally, this was an excellent development.

“All right. In that case, we need to prepare properly. Only by knowing both ourselves and our enemy can we emerge victorious in every battle. The fight begins tomorrow. Get some proper rest, and repair your equipment. If your equipment runs out of durability, we’ll be in trouble.”

With that, Ye Yu and the others left first. He also planned to organize their deployment and discuss a strategy for dealing with Three Years Short and the others.

“The intelligence I received is accurate. Today’s three opponents, as well as those who did not take the field, were all hired players from a power-leveling studio. Their purpose was to test our strength. They never expected our Witch King to overturn all three of them alone, causing them to stumble right from the start. Still, this basically confirms that they really were here to study our skill configurations and provide Three Years Short with better training methods tailored to counter us.”

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