Unequal Ruling

"Why didn't you come for the training match yesterday?" Yulan asked, glancing at Zhou Zuo, who had not yet caught his breath.

"I thought you weren't even coming for the league," Four-Leaf Wutong said.

"Is everything okay on your end?" Xiao Xinzhu's tone was filled with worry.

Zhou Zuo calmed his breathing and did not answer, merely shaking his head to tell his companions not to worry.

"It's good that you're here. Readjust your state and prepare for the match," Lu Shuhang stepped forward and patted Zhou Zuo's shoulder.

As the steady and gentle voice echoed in his ears, Zhou Zuo's heart settled a little.

Above a space of pure white, a host dressed in formal attire descended; their form was smooth and aesthetic, and the coding in their iris indicated their status as an android.

"This league match is about to begin. The following matters for both sides of the match will be announced."

"The type of this qualifier is a team confrontation match. Both sides will be deployed to 'Skyline City' and will join different and opposing factions to complete their respective faction missions. The qualifiers will end when the storyline concludes or when all members of one side are eliminated, and the winner will be determined based on their performance in the dungeon."

"Due to the influence of the season effect 'Matrix Rain,' every match in the latter half of the league will generate a 'singularity.'"

"The singularity for this match is 'Unequal Ruling.'"

"Both captains will be eligible to ban one of the opponent's abilities, including but not limited to mimicry, divine endowment, designated ultimate techniques, and so on; more options can be viewed personally, and banned abilities will be stripped before entering the match field and cannot be brought into the arena."

Xu Xiaoyou's eyes flickered slightly, her face having remained calm until now. Lu Shuhang, who had been observing her, keenly captured this change.

Discussions broke out below the stage.

"Banning abilities? That's interesting; it's the first time I've seen this kind of gameplay."

"Hey, this match is going to be worth watching. I'm starting to look forward to it."

"Brother Nan, how do you think they will choose their bans?" an analyst asked Nanjiamu.

Nanjiamu thought for a moment and replied:

"I think Old Hang will choose to ban Light-Chaser Garden's divine endowment. The capabilities of the Rose Life Garment are still unknown, but in the previous match against the Heterogeneous Front, the strength of the Dark Gold Rose was conservatively estimated to have surged threefold after activating that divine endowment, even suppressing Clotho-Lan at seven layers of Quenched Electricity."

"If that wasn't even the limit of that divine endowment, I think for safety's sake, Old Hang will definitely ban the divine endowment. I'm very familiar with his personality; he won't take risks without absolute certainty."

"In this regard, his style is the exact opposite of the Dark Gold Rose's."

"I don't think that's necessarily the case. I think Assassin's Creed will ban mimicry. The Dark Gold Rose's mimicry is very strong, and its upper limit is difficult to estimate. During the advent event of the 'Starry Singer,' Angelina, amplified by that mimicry, even killed 'The Artist' in one hit."

"None of you are right. Assassin's Creed will most likely ban player Tang Xin's buffing abilities. I don't need to elaborate on how strong the Starry Singer's buffs are; she is completely capable of turning the tide of a battle."

"As for Light-Chaser Garden, they will definitely ban Assassin's Creed's mimicry. A legacy grade mimicry blessed by Valhalla is no small trouble even for the Queen's Arms."

The discussions from below the stage reached the ears of the two on stage. Xu Xiaoyou and Lu Shuhang looked at each other, and neither spoke to break the silence.

"Ladies first?" Eventually, Lu Shuhang spoke. "President Xu, how about you announce your ban result first?"

Xu Xiaoyou did not move upon hearing this, her gaze calmly fixated on the ban options list. It ranged from global mimicry to specific universal skills of a certain player, so many it was dizzying, yet her gaze remained fixed on one option.

"No, everyone is equal. No one is born to have privileges."

As Xu Xiaoyou spoke, she took out a die.

With a light swipe of her hand, the die split into two, and one of them landed in Lu Shuhang's hand.

"Let's roll."

"No problem," Lu Shuhang agreed.

Under the gaze of thousands, they threw the dice in their hands together. People watched as the two dice turned into streaks of light and flew into the air, beginning to spin. Their volume increased as the rotation speed grew faster.

Finally, the rotation stopped, and the two dice landed with a thud. Xu Xiaoyou's number became clear first: a five.

Lu Shuhang's number was a six.

"Tsk," Xu Xiaoyou clicked her tongue. "A bad start."

"Please?" Lu Shuhang smiled. "President Xu."

She looked up: "I choose to ban the divine endowment of all Assassin's Creed members."

The clear voice echoed above the tournament stage, leaving the audience stunned.

"The President banned Assassin's Creed's divine endowment!?"

Not only the analysts of the major teams, but even the members of Light-Chaser Garden could not sit still. Shadow Weaver Poem, in the exclusive viewing area, was completely dumbfounded. The overpowered effects of Assassin's Creed's members, all with legacy grade abilities, were well-known: global strikes, various position swaps, stacking instant kills, and even a buffer with all-around defense.

He could not understand why, even so, the President did not choose to ban mimicry but instead chose to ban Assassin's Creed's inconspicuous divine endowment.

One had to know that the members of Assassin's Creed had rarely used their divine endowment in matches. Even the few times they had shown it, its characteristics weren't clear; most teams didn't even know what their divine endowment effects were.

Either their divine endowment effects were ridiculously strong and served as a final trump card, or their divine endowment was so laughably weak that there was no need to activate it.

Shadow Weaver Poem leaned toward the latter. If the divine endowment of the Assassin's Creed members was truly strong, why didn't they use it during the most critical matches of the previous seasons?

Assassin's Creed had always been a top seed for the championship, and they could have won several times if not for tiny gaps. In those critical matches, if their divine endowment had any use at all, they could have achieved a comeback, yet no one had activated it until they were all eliminated.

"You're making a mistake, President!" Shadow Weaver Poem cried out in grief.

"At a time like this, why are you still playing it safe?"

"You don't understand the President at all," the man in glasses pushed up his spectacles and said calmly.

"She isn't playing it safe; she's too arrogant. Our President has always had a strong desire for control."

"Compared to any uncertain possibility, she prefers to hold all possibilities firmly in her hand. Rather than choosing an uncertain direction, she would naturally prefer mimicry, whose characteristics are much clearer."

"Let's hope so," Shadow Weaver Poem sighed.

"As expected, no one can guess her thoughts," the analysts on the other side smiled helplessly at each other.

"It seems I still don't understand her enough," Nanjiamu sighed to himself.

The uproar in the audience had not yet subsided. Dark Gold Rose's choice to ban the divine endowment was already shocking enough, but the next sentence was even more of a blow to their understanding.

"I choose to ban... Light-Chaser Garden's items."