"I’m a fan! A fan! A fan!"

Unlike the netizens from other countries, the internet users of Great Xia were all thrilled when they saw Huang Yi directly forfeit, avoiding a fight between compatriots. Huang Yi even gained a massive number of fans because of it.

"Watch this!"

Behind the scenes, the person who had specifically made this adjustment also hadn’t expected Huang Yi to forfeit. After whispering something to the person beside him, this person started rattling on with his arrangements again.

Soon, something happened that once again shocked the Great Xia netizens.

According to the rules, the Immortal Emperor, who had already won 100 matches, should have been guaranteed a spot in the top ten. No one expected that he would be called up onto the stage again.

"Match 1,741: Great Xia’s Unyielding Spirit vs. the Great Xia Immortal Emperor!"

The moment the match information appeared, the Immortal Emperor was on the stage again. Across from him was Father Shen, who bore a resemblance to Shen Fei. His real name was Shen Ziqiang, and his in-game name was "Unyielding Spirit."

He controlled sixty-four fully-realized Chinese chess pieces and had fused the General and Marshal pieces with his body. With this Fusion of General and Marshal, Father Shen could completely control all the remaining pieces. He had not lost a single match in this tournament.

His sixty-four pieces included ranged and close-combat units, capable of both physical and Magic attacks. He had mounts, chariots, and even personal bodyguards. Father Shen was simply undefeatable. When certain pieces moved to specific positions, they could form special chess-manual formations, making him even harder to fight.

This time, 99% of the players participating in the first New Olympic Games were young people. Father Shen, an "old man" in his fifties, was already an eye-catching figure just by participating. Combined with his unique fighting style and undefeated record, his Combat Power might not have been the highest, but his popularity was definitely number one in Great Xia.

In fact, Father Shen had even earned a title for it: Great Xia’s Most Fierce Tiger. Compared to the titles of Zhao Li and Huang Yi, Father Shen’s was far more resounding.

What no one expected was that Father Shen was now matched up against the Immortal Emperor.

Unlike the Immortal Emperor, who instantly killed his enemies and had fought the most matches, Father Shen needed time to set up his chess pieces. Each of his battles was quite long, and so far, he had only fought a little over ten times. The difference in the number of matches between the two was enormous, making the probability of them being paired together extremely small.

If the previous match between Huang Yi and Zhao Li could be called a coincidence, then with Father Shen now pitted against Zhao Li, everyone instantly knew it was a conspiracy.

"We protest!"

"Protest!"

"Protest!"

Sure enough, the moment the matchup was announced, everyone was stunned for a second before shouting out loud. Even some of the players from other countries watching in the arena began to shout furiously.

The fact that a man of Father Shen’s age was not only playing the game but had also inherited such a powerful ability attracted countless young fans. Now that their "idol," Father Shen, was being treated this way, no one would stand for it.

Whether he could win was one thing, but you couldn’t target him! You couldn’t do it intentionally!

"Protest!"

"Protest!"

A wave of protest erupted, both in the stadium and spammed across the internet. Finally, even the people from the Great Xia Tourism Management Office headquarters directly approached the organizers from Country F. Everyone was protesting.

Soon, an announcement appeared. With the announcement, aside from some on the Great Xia Forum and a few from the Qing City Tourism Management Office who were still unconvinced, most people calmed down.

"Announcement: Due to an odd number of participants and an insufficient pool of contestants, some players will be re-entered into the random pool... according to the matchmaking algorithm..."

The announcement was exceptionally long, but its gist was that the number of participants had created an awkward situation. Since there weren’t enough players, they had to pull the Immortal Emperor back into the random pool. As a result, Father Shen had been coincidentally matched with him.

Yes! It was just that much of a coincidence!

Although it was a coincidence, it was a fact! And facts cannot be changed.

The announcement appeared, and the uproar in the stadium quickly subsided. They had just missed the match between the Great Xia Sword and the Shield of Xia. Now, since it really was a coincidence, a battle between Great Xia’s Most Fierce Tiger and the Great Xia Sword would be a spectacular sight.

One was the Flying Sword Immortal who could instantly kill anything, Great Xia’s seeded player with the shortest match times. The other was the master strategist who took the longest in his matches, and also the oldest contestant and number one "idol." A match between the two, to be honest, was genuinely something to look forward to.

The audience returned to order, sitting upright and waiting for the match to begin.

"BEEP!"

"Match 1,741, action!"

The referee looked at the two contestants and started the match.

Then, for the second time, something happened that made everyone’s jaws drop to the floor.

"Holy shit!"

"It’s rigged!"

"What the hell!"

"Are you kidding me!"

"Twice, that’s twice! What are you people doing!"

Under the shocked gazes of countless people, the moment the referee’s voice faded, the Immortal Emperor shouted, "I forfeit."

Moreover, he looked as if he was about to drop to his knees with a THUD, and he would have if the referee, still on stage, hadn’t caught him with lightning-fast reflexes.

"It’s rigged!"

"It’s rigged!"

"Disqualify him!"

"Twice!"

"That’s twice now!"

Once they processed the Immortal Emperor’s words, most of the people in the stadium were furious. They had been played for fools twice, and they were fuming.

Damn it! I can forfeit too! There’s no shame in forfeiting to Brother Chongtian’s dad!

Ignoring the exploding audience below, Zhao Li made his move and then smiled at Huang Yi, who was off-stage. Huang Yi’s forfeit had earned him a huge amount of praise within Great Xia.

I, Zhao Li, can do it too!

When he was teleported over earlier, Huang Yi had quietly told him Father Shen’s identity. Zhao Li’s surrender was clean and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

Damn! You totally stole the show!

Below, seeing the smug-looking Zhao Li on the stage glancing his way, Huang Yi also sighed inwardly.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

No one had expected the incredibly powerful Zhao Li to surrender as well. Everyone who saw this was stunned. But immediately after, an even more stunning event occurred.

Country F’s National Treasure Divine Artifact suddenly flickered the moment the Immortal Emperor forfeited. Then, in a flurry, a large crowd of men and women, dressed in rags, sallow and emaciated, suddenly appeared in the contestant waiting area.

Just a moment ago, it was empty. The organizers had even said there weren’t enough contestants, which was why they had to randomly pull the Immortal Emperor back in. No one expected that, in the blink of an eye, more than eighty new contestants would be sent over.

Not enough people? Then what do you call these eighty-plus people?

The organizers were also startled by the sudden appearance of this wave of "refugee"-like "contestants." Previously, when people came from other countries, it was usually one or two at a time, or a dozen at most. This situation, with over eighty people arriving in a swarm, was something no one had ever seen before.

A single country’s National Treasure Divine Artifact had a maximum quota of only thirty people. But now, more than eighty had arrived!

Judging from their faces, clothes, demeanor, and attire, these people clearly came from the same place. What was going on? Could it be that someone controlled three Divine Artifacts? The few people familiar with the rules were all stunned by this scene.

"They were sent by the Divine Artifacts [Financial Storm], [Data Center], and [Scamming Waist Cutter]!"

"These three Divine Artifacts from the Eastern Hemisphere are in one person’s hands?"

Through the Divine Artifact Link in his hand, the owner of Country F’s Divine Artifact knew where these people had come from. Looking at the information displayed by the linked Divine Artifacts, he was a bit baffled. And when he determined that these teleported "athletes" were all ordinary people who hadn’t inherited any abilities, he was even more dumbfounded.

Are you here to crash the party? If I say you’re strong, you teleported a wave of ordinary people over. If I say you’re weak, you’re holding three Divine Artifacts. You’re not here to compete; you’re here to shit on the event, aren’t you...

He tried to contact the person on the other side through the Divine Artifact Link, but there was no response. Seeing everyone’s eyes turn towards him, a question arose in the heart of Country F’s Divine Artifact holder.

"Damn!"

"Which country are they from?"

"They’re here for a tournament, and they couldn’t even give them a decent change of clothes?"

"Also, have these people not slept, or are they sick? Why do they all look so sallow and emaciated..."

"Reporting in, I’m a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. I can tell that seventeen of them are likely missing a kidney. The left one, specifically..."

The organizers, audience, and contestants at the scene were all stunned. In the live broadcast thread, a huge number of discussions also broke out. There was even a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner from the Great Xia Kingdom who could tell their physical condition just by reading their faces.

Just moments ago, they were saying they were short on people and had to pull in the Immortal Emperor to make up the numbers. The sudden appearance of eighty people left everyone completely baffled.

As the condition of these eighty-plus people was quickly ascertained, everyone’s jaws were about to hit the floor.