The QR pod cafe was bustling with activity as word spread about the contest to be held. All the sect leaders and elders gathered their cultivators, and made their way to the cafe. Every pod was eventually filled, the ones who were late had to register, sit in the lobby, and wait for the event to start. Everyone lucky enough to get a pod we're enjoying their time but eventually a message and voice appeared, "Market square QR pod cafe apologizes but due to an event to be held today, all customers will be forcibly logged off in thirty minutes. If you had prepaid time remaining, the remaining balance will be returned."
Some went ahead and stopped, logging out and exiting the room and the pod began the self cleaning process. Others would hang out for awhile but eventually leave, but there were at least half that stayed all the time until the pod manually disconnected them and forced them out of the room.
At the reception desk the lead clerk, woman, stood in front of the rather large crowd now, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we appreciate your patience. First, I'll explain the rules of the 1vs1 and 5vs5 battle arena. If you look at the right wall, in approximately ten minutes a list of names will be displayed. For the solo battle arena, each screen will display a group of nine names. There will be four battles with one contender taking a break, and each person will fight each other person in their group. The battle will continue until your opponent is dead or surrendered. If both contenders avoid battling for too long, a warning will be issued. Should a second warning be necessary, both sides will lose and the round will end. A win will granted the winner three points, a draw will give each person one point, and a loss will net zero points. After nine rounds the person with the highest points will move on to the next round. If there is a tie in points everyone with the same points will move on."
The lead clerk took a step back and the next clerk , a man, stepped forward, "if you look at the next section on the right wall you will see the team names for the 5vs5 battle arena. All the same rules as the solo battles count for the team battles as well with just a few differences. First the groups with will be five teams of five members and secondly, victory won't be declared until all members of the team have been killed or have surrendered."
The male clerk bowed and stepped back and another woman stepped forward, "The last section on the wall is for the one hundred man battle royale, the rules are as follows: at the beginning of the match all contestants will be on a flying ship until the start of the match. At that time everyone will forced off the ship at the same time and you will fall towards the island. During the match, you are unable to summon or use any of your artifacts or items. You can land anywhere on the map but there will be four locations that will be presented to you as those places will have the highest chance of finding weapons and resources. You have the option to surrender but you only have one chance to win. If you decide to forfeit, your game is over and you will have to wait until the next battle royale tournament to try again. The game is over when one person is left. To prevent someone from just hiding in one spot and artificially extending the match, the island is surrounded by this red barrier. You want to be inside the barrier, because being caught by it will do damage to you over time until you are back inside or dead."
The woman finished and the lead clerk stepped forward again, "Contestants, I have been informed that all pods will be ready in five minutes. The names and the pod assigned to you will appear on the right wall and at that time you will be allowed to enter. If you aren't ready at the start of the match, that match will be recorded as a lose. After all the rounds are finished, the winners' names will move from the right wall to the left wall. Finally all matches will be broadcasted, and all residents and guests will be able to watch your progress."
The screens on the right wall activated and rows of names and the pod number they weee assigned was displayed on it.
"All contestants, please get your assignments, and make your way to your pod, the first match will start precisely at 1600", the lead clerk instructed the crowd.
As the crowd made their way to their assigned rooms, the island was surprised by a sudden change.
Zeng Meirong was sitting on the bus after her day of class, with a scroll in her hand as she continued to study the runes. She was making good progress and rolled the scroll up and stored since her stop was coming soon. She took her Qphone out and was about to pick a video from on of her favorite Qtube streamers when several QPhones including hers, began to play a video. She wasn't the only confused person, people all across Sun & Moon city and Market Square looked on as QTVs, QPhones, taxis, and screens all across public spaces and businesses played the same video.
"Citizens of Sun & Moon Island and guests from the continent of Xian, Wei Huoran presents a special event, the Battle for Supremacy. Watch on a dedicated channel as the top talent of the Sun & Moon Island and the region of Xian test their strength, intelligence, and determination to become the strongest. Three contests over the next week will start soon as cultivators compete against each other in individual contests, team battle, and will put their luck and intelligence to the yes in the final event, a one hundred man battle royale. Who will win in glorious battle, who will have to work harder after try again next year. Come to the Qtube community gaming channel, and find your friend or family member to cheer for. The first event, Early Qi Gathering stage 1vs1 starts in ten minutes, come see who the strongest of their realm are."
Everything announcing the event went silent before everyone starting pulling out their QPhones and turning on their QTVs. Pedestrians began pouring into nearby businesses to watch the event, while some owners began searching the list of participants to broadcast to their customers. Meirong had finally returned home, and turned her QTV on before changing it to holographic mode. An intuitive interface face appeared to show all the different matches that were due to start in the next couple minutes. After searching through all the matches, she selected one just to experience this phenomenon, Wu Qiang vs Chen Zihao.
Chen Zihao was sitting on a mediatation cushion, focusing his mind, and eliminating any distractions. He heard a noise and when he opened his eyes, he saw a countdown timer appear in front of him, 00:59.45 and counting down. He stood up, but then wasn't sure what to do next, so he walked towards the door as the timer followed him. When it reached reached zero, the door to the room opened, and a blinding light flashed. The room was gone and he was now in a clearing of a bamboo forest. A voice loudly announced the entry of the contestants, "Wu Qiang, of the Five Elements Sect versus Chen Zihao, of the Chen Family. Contestants are ready, and FIGHT!"
Zihao drew his sword and ran towards Wu Qiang. Qiang pulled out a spear and attacked Zihao in response. The attack was just about to reach Zihao when at the last moment he performed an unusually movement and barely dodged the spear but also brought Qiang into range of his weapon. Qiang recognized the danger and disappeared.
'Earth escape', Zihao surmised looking at the hole in the ground.
He stretched his senses out and found his opponent had moved behind him. A moment later, Qiang burst from the ground and looked slightly different as he appeared to be armored.
'Earth armor too, he isn't holding his Qi back', Zihao said to himself as he moved forward. Dodging a few more blows using the same technique, his sword glowed red as he stabbed Qiang in the armpit but the felt nothing. The empty armor fell down now that it was empty, and Zihao jumped to the left as a spear and Qiang burst though the ground again. Qiang was armored again but this time the armor was thinner that last time. Zihao used a technique to accelerate towards Qiang and gathered a flame in his off hand. Qiang sweeped his spear to negate Zihao's movement but Zihao ducked and slammed the ground with the fireball under Qiang's feet. The explosion threw both people in two different directions, Qiang was thrown backwards as his armor shattered and Zihao went airborne. His left hand was badly damaged but he could see that Qiang was vulnerable. Using the momentum, he flipped over and thrusted his sword into Qiang's chest. Just as he attacked, Qiang countered with his spear and summoned four earth spears. Both Wu Qiang and Chen Zihao found themselves back into their ready room again staring at the results while the people who watched the matches heard, "Wu Qiang and Chen Zihao, Draw."