Chapter 1 The Third Season

"Welcome to the opening match of the 3rd Star Sea Professional League! I am the commentator for this match, Feng Ling."

"Hello everyone, I am the guest commentator Rou Bao."

"Hello, I am the guest commentator Li Ge."

The screen showed three commentators sitting in a studio aboard a spaceship, which hovered above the competition planet, overlooking the scene.

As the live broadcast connected, a dense barrage of comments flooded the screen, bustling with activity.

Han Xiao took out a pile of snacks, leaned back in his chair, and watched while eating, quite content.

Feng Ling: "The two sides facing off are the Changkong Team and the Royal Dynasty Team. They were the champion and third-place finishers, respectively, in the 2nd International Tournament. The two teams met in the semi-finals of the last international tournament, where Changkong defeated Royal Dynasty, preventing them from reaching the finals. It can be said that the two sides have long harbored resentment, and the pre-match atmosphere among the fans of both teams has been intense. As the defending world champion, Changkong wants to secure a victory in the opening match, while Royal Dynasty wants to avenge their previous defeat. This confrontation will definitely be a clash of titans. What are your thoughts on this match?"

Rou Bao: "I think Changkong will win. Hao Tian is a typical player who gets stronger when facing stronger opponents. I have high hopes for him."

Li Ge: "Changkong's victory over Royal Dynasty in the last tournament had some element of luck. I am more optimistic about Royal Dynasty. After the setback in the last tournament, I believe they have thoroughly studied Changkong's tactics."

After the three guests chatted for a few minutes, the Changkong and Royal Dynasty teams finally entered the arena, greeting the audience and engaging in pre-match self-introductions and friendly interactions.

The appearance of the heroes who won glory for Huaxia in the previous tournament immediately caused a climax in the comments, so dense that Han Xiao could barely see the screen.

"Alright, we can see that both sides have entered the battlefield. So, the 3rd League officially begins."

As the commentator's voice fell, the two sides formally started fighting, like lightning striking dry firewood. Compared to the previous season, the tactical skills and destructive power of these professional players had clearly risen to a new level, so the designated battlefield range had also been expanded.

Changkong played very aggressively, but Royal Dynasty was more comprehensive in their strength. Their teamwork was almost perfect. They were superior in team battles and flag capture, while Changkong only managed to win one round in the arena battle. In terms of individual strength, Changkong, with three god-level players, Hao Tian, Mingyue Changzhong, and Shining Fried Rice, slightly edged out Royal Dynasty. Although Wang Houjiangxiang's individual strength slightly exceeded any of his opponents, he was fighting a lone battle.

In the first official match, two new combat formats, team dungeon battles and dungeon survival races, also made their debut. Han Xiao was familiar with these, but the players were seeing them for the first time and found them novel.

The selected dungeons were not fixed, and each match had different ones. Before the match, several dungeon options were given to allow the players time to study. In the official match, one of these options was randomly selected, like focusing on key points before an exam. However, professional teams naturally wouldn't cram at the last minute. When the tournament system was announced a year ago, the professional teams increased their dungeon training and familiarized themselves with the processes of most dungeons in their division.

The team battle was a normal dungeon suitable for the level, while the survival battle was a high-difficulty masochistic dungeon exceeding the level. Coincidentally, the two dungeons that Changkong and Royal Dynasty randomly drew this time were all related to Han Xiao.

The team battle dungeon was a battle in the Secret War series. Both sides were in the same dungeon, and the competition goal was not speed-running, but completing some special competitive tasks, such as assassinating certain specific characters, triggering hidden side quests, etc. The two teams could kill each other in the dungeon, which was a higher test of the team's overall quality.

The survival battle dungeon was the one where three DarkStar Calamity Grades ambushed Planet Aquamarine – [Campaign: Aquamarine Defense War]. The event Han Xiao experienced in the previous version was still a high-difficulty dungeon for players.

The focus of the team dungeon battle was on the two teams using their wits and courage, using all the resources in the dungeon to attack their opponents. This combat format was more exciting and watchable than basic battles. The focus of the survival battle was on the struggle between life and death, eking out an existence and surviving against all odds. Watching the professional players being abused in various ways was extremely entertaining for the audience.

Changkong's style was more reckless. Hao Tian's strength was not in tactics. He was not well-suited to the intrigue of team dungeon battles. Although Mingyue Changzhong was an old schemer, he couldn't withstand Royal Dynasty's steady style. He was completely manipulated by Wang Houjiangxiang and beaten to a pulp.

Finally, it was the survival battle. The dungeon recreated the original battlefield. The two teams faced three DarkStar Calamity Grade Supers, including Ember. The threat level was basically instant death. Fortunately, Black Star's dungeon projection kept Ember and the others busy according to the original historical process.

The Changkong and Royal Dynasty teams appeared outside the shelter, without the protection of the shield. They endured the aftermath of the three Calamity Grade battle and the bombardment of the DarkStar battleships in the sky. The survival race allowed both sides to trip each other up, but neither side had the mind to care about their opponents. They hurriedly held their heads and scurried away, covered in dirt. The contrast with their confident and high-spirited image in the team battle was stark, which greatly amused the audience. The live broadcast channel was filled with cheerful air.

Before long, both teams were wiped out. Changkong, which was a bit more headstrong, died even earlier. Changkong was not good at surviving and was turned into ashes by Ember with a snap of his fingers.

Royal Dynasty finally won the opening match, directly shattering the world champion aura on Changkong. Han Xiao had to admit that Wang Houjiangxiang was indeed awesome. He was a representative figure of Huaxia's professional players. He used to particularly like this god-level player.

Exiting the live broadcast, many posts discussing the opening match had already appeared on the forums, as well as mutual flaming between the fans of the two clubs. Han Xiao glanced at them casually, then closed the forum, put down the snacks in his hand, and a look of recollection appeared on his face.

Han Xiao remembered that in his previous life, Huaxia encountered a devil's schedule in the 3rd Professional League, and the final result was not satisfactory. It seemed that they didn't even make it into the top four. In his previous life, there was no Black Star Army, and the overall combat power of the Shattered Star Ring Division was relatively weak.

"Now the situation is different. Huaxia has already won a championship, and they've caught up with the version where the Mechanic class is rising. The chance of defending the title is still quite high."

*Beep beep...*

Just then, the communicator on the table rang. Han Xiao flicked his finger, and the communicator flew over to him. He glanced at the caller, and it was someone from the Crimson Dynasty, an official in charge of the Evolutionary Totem project.

"Your Excellency Black Star, pardon my intrusion."

The other party's attitude was quite respectful.

"Is there a problem with the business?" Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, you know, recently, some gangs have been robbing the Evolutionary Totems purchased by cooperating civilizations. Some of these stolen Evolutionary Totems are circulating on the black market, and some have been taken away by secret employers. According to our investigation, we believe the Bloodshed Land is one of the suspects."

Bloodshed Land...

Han Xiao recalled it slightly and remembered. This was a member of the Lawful Evil alignment and jointly managed the interstellar black market with other large gray organizations. They were also a gray mercenary alignment in the black market that players could join in his previous life. Those who joined were generally wanted criminal players who liked to cause trouble.

"The Bloodshed Land is not the Fallen Ark. They at least have some rules. As long as you issue a warning to the Bloodshed Land in the name of the Dynasty, they should restrain themselves a bit." Han Xiao stroked his chin.

"That's the problem." The official's tone sank. "According to reliable intelligence, our intelligence personnel have detected the radiation signals of Evolutionary Totems on some planets of the Radiant Federation and the Arcane Church. They are very likely also buyers. The Bloodshed Land may have received their support and are fearless."

"So that's how it is... That was also within our expectations."

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. The Radiant Federation and the Arcane Church could not obtain Evolutionary Totems through normal channels, and they would not give up this special device. They would undoubtedly look for other channels.

The Bloodshed Land was also a large force with a large business. They might not have had any ideas about the Evolutionary Totems originally, but when the Radiant Federation and the Arcane Church came to them, even if they knew that this might offend the Crimson Dynasty, they could only act as pawns. The Bloodshed Land might even see it as an opportunity to get on the good side of two Universe level civilizations.

In the explored universe, the three Universe level civilizations were the biggest backers. No force could surpass them. It was not surprising that the Bloodshed Land was tempted by the olive branch thrown out by the Radiant Federation and the Arcane Church.

"So, you plan to take action against the Bloodshed Land?" Han Xiao asked.

"That's right. We hope to give the Bloodshed Land a substantial warning. We need your help to collect some intelligence."

"Understood." Han Xiao nodded.

The two sides exchanged intelligence and ended the call.

At the same time, a new mission popped up on the panel.

[【Tapping】]

[Mission Introduction: The Bloodshed Land's movements are elusive, and they have repeatedly interfered with the Crimson Dynasty's important business. The Dynasty has decided to take practical action to tap on them, to kill the chicken to scare the monkey]

[Mission Requirement: Provide the Dynasty with the whereabouts of 3 Bloodshed Land executives]

[Reward: 15,000,000 experience, Crimson Dynasty Contribution +1,000, Random Reward x1]

Track down the Bloodshed Land executives? It seems that the Dynasty is planning to start with the higher-ups. No wonder they asked for my help. This is the specialty of a Virtual Mechanic.

Playing with the communicator casually, Han Xiao thought for a while, then turned to contact Sylvia:

"Sylvia, is there any news from the Rock Spirits?"

"They have decided to purchase a new batch of Evolutionary Totems in a while."

Han Xiao tapped the table. "Help me tell them that in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, I have decided to send mechanical troops to follow their fleet and provide a free escort service."

"Understood, I will tell them."

Han Xiao nodded, hung up the phone, and then entered the quantum network vision and called out Phillip.

"In a while, hack a high-credit-rating black market account for me and anonymously hire the Bloodshed Land to rob this batch of goods."

The simplest and most effective way to deal with this kind of mercenary force is naturally to set a trap.

...

In the following days, Han Xiao was waiting for the fish to take the bait. At the same time, the divisional regular season was in full swing.

After the round-robin battles, the regular season finally produced the top eight teams and the top sixteen in the individual competition, entering the divisional finals.

The Royal Dynasty team, which ranked first in the regular season team points, and Wang Houjiangxiang, who ranked first in the individual competition points, Royal Dynasty won both first places, showing their formidable strength and obtaining the International All-Star Game qualification with absolute advantage.

The Temple and Storm teams ranked second and third respectively, and Changkong ranked fourth in the standings, which was a bit unworthy of their status as the defending world champion. Their condition was a bit low.

Next, Fish-Flavored Eggplant was fifth, and Jiangcheng achieved sixth place in the standings. Seventh was a new club team that entered the divisional finals as a dark horse, called the Changhe Team, and eighth was the Tiangong Team.

These eight teams were the top eight teams in this division and would conduct a best-of-five elimination round in the divisional finals.

The top four teams in the division can obtain the qualification to enter the international competition.

In terms of the individual competition, Feng Yue made it into the top sixteen this time and had the qualification to compete for the international competition spot. Kuang Dao also performed steadily and made it into the top sixteen.

After the regular season, each team had a buffer period for rest.

During this period, the Bloodshed Land bit the hook that Han Xiao threw out.