CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 60 REGISTRATION FOR THE COMPETITION

Since it was a ring-style tournament, it naturally involved battles between Star Martial Warriors. Wang Lan had been planning to find some pretext to spar with people to earn experience points and skill points, but the existence of this tournament suddenly sparked an idea.

The main page was the registration page, and beneath it was customer service support. The moment he entered the page, an advertisement for the hotly contested registration of the Star Martial Competition popped up.

Wang Lan contacted customer service, and a warm and friendly voice came through the speaker.

"Hello, dear customer, this is operator number 100 at your service. Hello, how can I assist you?"

"I’d like to inquire about the registration and competition process for the Star Martial Competition."

"Of course, sir. Are you a Star Martial Warrior? Are you registering yourself?"

"I’m considering it but need to understand the details. Will the competitors’ information be disclosed? Or to put it another way, is it possible to compete without revealing one’s identity?"

"Yes, there’s an option in the registration form to choose whether to participate anonymously. If chosen, we will strictly protect your personal information. Moreover, during the competition, we will allow competitors to wear masks or other face-covering props. If you do not choose anonymity, your information may be used as part of our promotional material. I would personally recommend you opt for public registration, as the victors of the Star Martial Competition not only win prize money but could potentially become big stars. The champions of the past two editions have all done very well, and who knows, you could be the next one?"

"I’m not too concerned about that. How many opponents do I need to defeat to win the Star Martial Competition?" Wang Lan was calculating. If there were ten people, that’s ten experience points. If there were a hundred, then a thousand. And if two hundred people participated, then defeating them all would be a significant haul.

Just look at how inflated his ego was getting. After realizing that his own strength ranked among the top in Suzhou No.1 Middle School, Wang Lan suddenly became aware that he might not be as weak as he had imagined.

Though his awakening hadn’t been long ago, his advantages were just too great.

"If you become the champion of the Star Martial Competition, sir, you will naturally have defeated all competitors. Would you like to register? If so, please complete the registration on our website."

"Are there any requirements for Star Martial level?"

"None at all!"

"When is the competition, and can students participate?"

"As long as you possess a Star Martial Badge, even a child can join. The competition usually takes place on rest days or in the evenings, and our show isn’t a live broadcast. If a competitor’s schedule is tight, it’s also possible to arrange a specific time, but this is contingent on making it into the top fifty. Currently, there are only one hundred spots for official competitors, but the number of registrants has already reached five hundred. Many participants are even traveling from outside Suzhou City specifically for the Star Martial Competition. If you wish to register, sir, please do so promptly, as registration closes at twelve o’clock noon tomorrow."

Once he had the information he needed, Wang Lan quickly filled out the registration form with his personal details. He carefully checked that he had selected ’no’ for the option to publicly disclose his Star Martial Warrior identity for the Star Martial Competition, then gently clicked to submit his registration.

Wang Lan wasn’t concerned about money; what he wanted were experience points and skill points. Setting up his own competition arena was too ostentatious, not to mention something a low-profile person like Wang Lan wouldn’t do. Since a third party organized a similar event and it was possible to participate anonymously, he went ahead and registered.

After completing the registration, he could download the detailed competition flow. But when Wang Lan saw the flow, he was stunned...

In his excitement during registration, he had been misled by the customer service representative’s words and subconsciously assumed the competition was a challenge-style tournament—meaning it was only over when someone had defeated everyone and withstood all challenges to claim victory.

He had mistaken the Star Martial Competition for a continuous ring fight, but it was actually an elimination-style tournament.

For instance, if there were one hundred official competitors, they would be paired up for duels, with fifty emerging victorious and advancing. To advance from this first round, Wang Lan would only need to defeat one opponent. In this round, fifty competitors would be eliminated. By that logic, even if he became the champion, he wouldn’t fight many battles. He wouldn’t gain many experience points, would he?

Just as Wang Lan was hesitating whether to cancel his application, he inadvertently scanned the system in his mind and discovered an ongoing mission.

This ’mission in progress’ alert was like light, like electricity, like love to Wang Lan! Every time he completed a system-designated mission, the generous rewards would make him salivate uncontrollably.

He clicked on the mission alert, and the description below was frustratingly simple.

"Mission in progress: Participate in Suzhou City’s Star Martial Competition."

「The next day」

When Wang Lan went to school, he found that the Star Martial Competition really was the hot topic. He had just registered, and the program previews were already creating a buzz.

"The Star Martial Competition starts in a week, but I still need to practice the new Star Martial Skill I learned... What do I do? If I watch TV without having mastered the Star Martial Skill, my dad will kill me..." a classmate suddenly complained after class.

Clearly, this person’s main point was his newly learned Star Martial Skill, but this nevertheless sparked a heated discussion about the Star Martial Competition.

"Really? It’s starting in a week? I just saw the advertisement the day before yesterday and thought it’d be at least half a month away..."

"What’s there to look forward to? The Star Martial Competition is just a variety talent show. When I watched the first season, I was skeptical. How can two people fighting look so good? Whenever I spar with my classmates, it’s a complete mess. It’s all staged, all choreographed."

"Yeah, especially since the second season’s scandal came to light, it ruined the show. They don’t care about skill, only looks, and the outcomes are predetermined. All the top seven had connections backing them, and everyone else who participated was just there to make up the numbers."

"That’s taking it too far. It’s always been the case: genuine feelings don’t last, only schemes win people over. Do the audience members really care if their fights are real? Ordinary viewers don’t understand battles between Star Martial Warriors anyway."

"Take Li Mingfeng, the champion of the second season—a real powerhouse at the peak of the Star Shine Stage, with his immensely powerful ’Surging Wave Azure Dragon’ skill. He’s been incredibly popular for over a year now. Why do you think he has so many fans? Do you think they like him for his strength? They’re just lusting after his body."

"I really feel for Ye Xiaochen. He was obviously much stronger than Li Mingfeng, but in the end, he could only ’fight valiantly and lose.’ If he hadn’t lost, he would have breached his contract and faced huge compensation fees. Tsk, tsk, tsk... He might as well not have fought at all—just strike a few poses on a catwalk."

"After all, they’re Star Martial celebrities, right? They should at least make a show of fighting a bit. Besides, didn’t the Star Martial Competition say that it’s a competition but also a variety show? Any ’accidents’ that occur in the program... um, are all part of the show. For instance, if news of fixed matches leaks, it’s merely for ’show effect.’ In a world where everything is fake, their shamelessness is the only ’real’ thing. They’ve completely abandoned any sense of shame."

"Could anyone with a shred of shame do such a thing?"

Listening to his classmates mock the Star Martial Competition so sarcastically, Wang Lan felt somewhat panicked. Had he been duped into signing up?

He turned around and whispered to Jiang Xinyu, "Is what they’re saying true?"

"Hmm," Jiang Xinyu replied indifferently, putting down her book. "The first season of the Star Martial Competition was a complete success, so by the second season, they started to mess around. They hosted the competition in the style of a talent show, which eventually turned into a bait-and-switch variety show. The reputation plummeted, and the internet was filled with criticism. Basically, this IP has tanked."

"If it’s so reviled, why is there a third season?"

"Because the third season has a new production company, which demanded a change in the program’s chief director. They insisted on centering the competition on real fights, aiming to rebuild the Star Martial Competition from the ground up! This time, the organizers of the Star Martial Competition even specially invited well-known Star Martial experts from Suzhou City to participate, precisely to create a truly meaningful Star Martial Competition. I think, with Director Min Jian’s capability, the third season is still something to look forward to. What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Xinyu, are you like a walking Wikipedia or something? How do you know everything I ask?"

"Yesterday, while I was doing homework, an advertisement popped up on my computer. I clicked on it and glanced at it casually."

"Heh... You’re pretending!" Wang Lan said. "You must be considering signing up, right? Otherwise, with your personality, you definitely wouldn’t pay attention to something you don’t care about."

Wang Lan felt that if the advertisement could attract him enough to consider registering, then someone like Jiang Xinyu—young, eager for battle, and full of youthful spirit—would surely also find her interest piqued. That’s why she must have carefully read up on the strategies and details.

"I just glanced at it and then closed it. Why would you think I’d want to sign up to compete?" Jiang Xinyu asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"You remembered all that content from just a glance? What do you think you are, a scanner?"

"I’ve always been like this, ever since I was little. Aren’t you the same?" Jiang Xinyu’s wide eyes fixed on Wang Lan’s.

I... I’m really not!

Mingyue Wucheng sat down beside Wang Lan, smiling. "We should just watch. Participate? Do we want to lose face? A true genius like Jiang Xinyu would never deign to join such a trivial competition."

"Why not? Is it embarrassing?"

"Just think about it. Even if they’ve reformed it into a genuine competition this time, pitting us students, who have never truly fought on a battlefield, against veterans with numerous real combat experiences? That’s just asking for a beating. Don’t even think about making it into the top ten unless you’re at the peak of the Star Shine Stage. Even if Xinyu is at the Star Cloud Stage, in the ring, she might not necessarily be a match for those peak Star Shine Stage experts who have been through countless real fights. If even Xinyu can’t make it, the rest of us stand even less of a chance. In the Star Martial Competition, you either win the championship or face humiliation if you don’t. Imagine, years later, after we’ve made a name for ourselves and become powerhouses, occasionally some middle-aged Star Shine Stage practitioner will tell the media, ’Look, this so-called expert you all hype up? He once lost to me back in the day!’ Tsk, tsk, tsk... Who actually participates in the Star Martial Competition? Those above the Star Cloud Stage? Unlikely, who has that much spare time? Soldiers? Impossible. Pioneers? Also impossible. It’s not very likely for us students either. So who’s left? Isn’t it just those Star Martial Warriors who have settled down in the big cities with no ambition left?"

"When you put it that way... you have a point!" Wang Lan said.

It really did seem like signing up for the Star Martial Competition hadn’t been fully thought through. Luckily, he had chosen to remain anonymous; if it came to it, he’d just wear a mask to compete.

If joining the Star Martial Competition had seemed optional at first, it was an entirely different story once the system issued the ’mission in progress’ notification. That meant loads of experience points and skill points!

「After lunch」

Wang Lan received a text message on his phone. It was a preliminary competition notification from the organizers of the Suzhou City Star Martial Competition, stating that the preliminaries would be held at the Suzhou City Sports Hall over the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday.

All participants were to bring their personal ID and Star Martial Badge. From the registered aspirants, one hundred would be selected to join the official Star Martial Competition.