Skills have a more direct impact on combat effectiveness than character level, and can improve fault tolerance.

While moving, Hao Tian unleashed a series of combos, swift as the wind, pushing his opponent to the edge of the arena.

Boom—

Suddenly, Xingluo Qizi's body exploded with qi, burning fiercely. The shockwave burst out, knocking Hao Tian away and interrupting his combo.

"Qi Explosion! Xingluo Qizi used this move first!" the judge announced.

There were three ways to win: defeat the opponent, make the opponent surrender, or force the opponent off the arena. Xingluo Qizi was pushed to the edge of the arena. Without the Qi Explosion, he was sure to lose. It was a desperate move.

However, in the next instant, Hao Tian also activated Qi Explosion almost simultaneously. Like a rampaging wild bull, he used a skill similar to a charge, unstoppable. His iron fists, like a battering ram, broke through Xingluo Qizi's blocking arms and slammed into his chest.

Thud!!

A muffled sound!

Xingluo Qizi lost his balance and fell off the arena, raising a cloud of dust.

"The winner, Hao Tian!" the judge shouted loudly.

"He won!" The enthusiasm of the audience erupted. Hao Tian's fans excitedly stood up, shouting and cheering.

The sound waves of tens of thousands of people gathered together were like a mountain roaring and a tsunami!

Xingluo Qizi was helped back to the arena, his eyes filled with unwillingness. Although the opening match was only a performance, and neither professional player would be eliminated regardless of the outcome, it was a large-scale exposure. Winning a great victory under the spotlight was the best opportunity to show his triumphant return, but he lost. The effect of his comeback was greatly reduced, ruining his plan.

However, win is win, and lose is lose. This is the consensus of professional players. Even if Xingluo Qizi was upset, he would suppress it in his heart.

Hong Luan Niao swayed her slender waist and came gracefully to the center of the arena, smiling. "Thank you both for bringing us such a wonderful game. This was a high-level battle. It's a pity that Great God Xingluo Qizi lost. Do you have anything to say?"

Xingluo Qizi adjusted his mood and forced a smile. "Well played. I enjoyed this battle very much, and I also saw the strength of today's young people. They are very promising and will surpass us. Only in this way can they take over the burden of our older generation and win glory in international competitions..."

This was a platitude, with formulaic wording. Xingluo Qizi repeatedly mentioned young people, putting on an experienced attitude to praise the young players. He was deliberately showing off, subtly emphasizing that he was a senior.

"Thank you for your speech."

Hong Luan Niao turned to Hao Tian and smiled. "Great God Hao Tian, do you have anything to say?"

Hao Tian gestured for the microphone. Hong Luan Niao was overjoyed, fearing that Hao Tian would not speak, and immediately handed over the microphone.

Hao Tian paused, looked at Xingluo Qizi, and remained expressionless.

"Why do people who retire to make money come back?"

After saying that, he threw down the microphone, turned around, and left, not even bothering to communicate with Xingluo Qizi.

Xingluo Qizi's face turned ugly, his forehead bulging with veins, gnashing his teeth.

How could he say such things in public! Xingluo Qizi was furious.

The audience was in an uproar, and Hong Luan Niao hurriedly smoothed things over.

…

"He's got personality, I like it."

Han Xiao's lips curled up slightly.

He knew Hao Tian's story. This guy was different from those coquettish bitches. He didn't like exposure and promotion. He worked hard to hone his skills and had a very serious professional attitude, with a bit of unyielding integrity... In layman's terms, he was a game otaku + stubborn guy.

Han Xiao's standards for training were basically famous experts and potential stocks from his previous life. It wasn't that he discriminated against weaker players, but that with the same resources, experts could perform better and have a higher cost performance.

With his current abilities, he could indeed train a player to be invincible, but he wouldn't do that. Training such a player would do more harm than good. Han Xiao's rewards for Kuang Dao and the other three were only slightly higher than the average player level within a reasonable range.

Now, players were just weaker in stats, but their skills might not be lacking. It was hard to guarantee that there wouldn't be a brilliant operation. This was what Han Xiao was looking for. Although he was very powerful, he never forgot to learn. He could use powerful operations to deal with other powerful enemies.

How to target enemy abilities, how to respond on the spot when encountering unexpected situations, personal operations, layouts, and breaking situations, these were all competitive directions of the professional league.

Players grew differently, and the collision of different abilities was one of the highlights of player interactions. For example, Hao Tian didn't have Xingluo Qizi's [Quake Stomp], but he had other trump cards. Everyone had their own hidden skills and methods. How to use them in the game was also a reflection of their level. With the same attributes, experts naturally exerted more power than ordinary people.

Moreover, it was also a skill for players to develop well. For example, in boxing, A trained hard all the time, while B was terminally lazy. Everyone had the same amount of time. A accumulated more during normal times, so he was more powerful. A learned new fighting skills from a teacher, but B couldn't find a teacher and could only practice blindly on his own. But it was impossible to prohibit A from learning new skills just because B couldn't. There was no such thing.

This principle also applied to players. Usually, killing monsters, leveling up, doing quests, and farming equipment were equivalent to accumulation and development.

However, no matter how well prepared you were, the final competition still depended on your on-the-spot reaction. Maybe B was at a disadvantage throughout the whole game, being beaten to a pulp, and was about to lose. Seeing the situation was not good, the commentator outside the arena gave a mouthful of poisonous milk, and A immediately made a mistake. B seized the opportunity to turn the tables and KO'd his opponent. This kind of situation was not uncommon.

The competition was full of surprises, and surprises made the competition more interesting.

There were still about four or five months before the opportunity to go to the stars would appear, which was exactly the time when the regional competitions would be held. As the saying goes, war is a good way to make money. Han Xiao wanted to seize this opportunity to accumulate more foundation. On Aquamarine Star, only players were most valuable to him.

After the opening match, there were normal preliminaries. Each of the ten arenas had a referee, and battles were conducted simultaneously by drawing lots. The big screen broadcast brilliant operations from various arenas from time to time. 100,000 registered players underwent the first round of auditions. Everything was simplified, and a battle ended in about ten minutes.

In the later stages of the preliminaries, the selection rhythm would slow down, and the players who remained at that time would be introduced.

Kuang Dao and Rou Bao's matches were not today. Han Xiao watched a few broadcasts casually, and then opened the forum chat section.

At this time, many players were posting to discuss the opening match. Hao Tian's outstanding performance attracted a lot of attention, and praises filled the sky. Changkong Club also released an official announcement to celebrate Hao Tian's victory in the opening match.

…

A few days later.

The preliminaries were in full swing, and the players' enthusiasm remained high. Han Xiao was making a fortune in silence.

In addition to selling things, manufacturing machinery, and sparring with Hela, he spent his free time watching the games, mainly the team matches. Two teams fought in a random terrain, with six players from each side.

Martial arts, superpowers, and machinery, three professions could be further divided into different styles, forming many kinds of tactical cooperation. They also had to use the terrain, so team battles were much more exciting than single battles.

The normal team configuration was mt (meat shield) + melee vanguard + ranged + control, and the specific number of people varied depending on the tactics.

Martial arts didn't need to be mentioned. They were naturally melee and often played the role of mt.

Superpower users could take on various positions, because players' superpowers varied, including melee, ranged, and control, making them a versatile role.

Mechanical users played the role of AdC (Attack Damage Carry), protected by teammates, and shooting enemies with guns.