"Why didn't you come for the training matches yesterday?" Yu Lan glanced at Zhou Zhao, who was still catching his breath, and asked.

"I thought you wouldn't come to the tournament at all." Four-leaf Phoenix Tree said.

"Everything okay on your end?" Xiao Xinzhu asked with concern.

Zhou Zhao steadied his breathing and merely shook his head, signaling his companions not to worry.

"It's fine as long as you're here. Adjust yourself and get ready for the match." Lu Shuhang stepped forward and patted Zhou Zhao on the shoulder.

The calm and gentle voice echoed in his ear, bringing some peace to Zhou Zhao's mind.

A figure clad in formal attire descended from the pure white space above—it was the host, smooth and aesthetically pleasing, with the iris code indicating bionics.

"This league match is about to commence. The following announcements pertain to certain aspects of the match between both opponents."

"This advancement match type is a team battle. Both sides will be sent to 'Skyline City,' joining different and opposing factions to complete their respective faction missions. When the storyline ends or one side's entire team is eliminated, the advancement match concludes, and the winner is determined based on dungeon performance."

"Due to the seasonal effect of 'Matrix Rain,' a 'Singularity' will occur in every match during the latter half of the league."

This match's singularity is 'Unequal Judgment.'

Both team captains will have the right to ban an ability from the opposing team, including but not limited to Mimicry, Divine Gift, designated Super Killing, etc. More options can be checked independently, and the banned abilities will be stripped away before entering the competition venue and cannot be brought to the field.

Xu Xiaoyou's always composed expression showed a subtle change, which Lu Shuhang, who had been observing her, sharply captured.

The audience murmured.

"Banning abilities? Interesting, it's the first time I've seen this playstyle."

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

"Brother Nan, how do you think they'll ban?" asked an analyst to Nanjia Wood.

Nanjia Wood thought for a moment and replied:

"I think Hang will choose to ban Light Chasing Garden's Divine Gift. The abilities of Rose Destiny Armor are yet unknown, but in the last match against the Isomers, Dark Gold Rose had its power conservatively estimated to have surged threefold after activating Divine Gift, even suppressing Klosolan with Seventh Layer of Electric Quenching."

"If that's still not the limit of Divine Gift, I think to be safe, Hang will ban Divine Gift. I'm quite familiar with him, he wouldn't venture into anything without complete certainty."

"This is precisely contrary to Dark Gold Rose's style of doing things."

"I don't think that's necessarily the case, I believe Assassin's Creed would ban Mimicry. Dark Gold Rose's Mimicry is strong and its potential is unfathomable. In the 'Starry Singer' descent event, the Mimicry-enhanced Angelina even one-shot the 'Artist.'"

"You're all wrong, Assassin's Creed is likely to ban Tang Xin's Enhancing Ability. The enhancing power of Starry Singer doesn't need me to elaborate, it completely has the power to turn the tide."

"As for Light Chasing Garden, it's definitely going to ban Assassin's Creed's Mimicry. The legendary-class Mimicry blessed by the Heroic Spirit Hall is quite a nuisance for Queen's Armament."

The discussions from the audience reached the ears of the two on stage. Xu Xiaoyou and Lu Shuhang exchanged glances; neither broke the silence.

"Ladies first?" Lu Shuhang finally spoke, "Chairman Xu, why don't you announce the ban results first?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyou remained still, her gaze calmly fixed on the ban options panel, which ranged from strategic Mimicry to a specific generic skill of a player, so numerous it was dazzling, and her eyes remained fixed on one option.

"No, everyone is equal. No one is born with privileges."

Xu Xiaoyou said, taking out a die.

With a gentle flick, the die split into two, with one piece landing in Lu Shuhang's hand.

"Roll it."

"No problem." Lu Shuhang agreed.

Under the watchful eyes of many, they jointly tossed the dice in their hands, and people watched as the two dice turned into streams of light ascending into the air, starting to rotate and growing larger with increasing rotational speed.

Finally, the spinning stopped, and the two dice fell to the ground. Xu Xiaoyou's points cleared first—it was five.

And Lu Shuhang's was six.

"Tch." Xu Xiaoyou clicked her tongue. "Not a good start."

"Please," Lu Shuhang smiled, "Chairman Xu."

She looked up, "I choose to ban Assassin's Creed's Divine Gift for the entire team."

The bright voice echoed above the competition stage, and everyone present was stunned.

"The Chairman banned Assassin's Creed's Divine Gift!?"

Not just the analysts of various teams, even the members of Light Chasing Garden couldn't sit still. The Shadow Weaving Poem in the exclusive viewing area was dumbfounded; Assassin's Creed's team-wide genetic level hyper-model effect was well-known: map-wide hit, alongside various teleportation and position-shifting, plus layering one-shot kills, even encompassing all-round, no-dead-angle defense of the Enhancer.

He couldn't understand why, even so, the Chairman still chose not to ban Mimicry but the seemingly inconspicuous Divine Gift of Assassin's Creed.

To know, Assassin's Creed's members barely used Divine Gift in matches, and the few times it was shown, its features weren't evident. Most teams weren't even clear on what their Divine Gift effects were.

Either their Divine Gift was absurdly strong, their ultimate trump card, or their Divine Gift was laughably weak, with no need to activate it.

Shadow Weaving Poem leaned toward the latter. If Assassin's Creed's team Divine Gift was truly strong, then why didn't they use it more often in crucial matches in previous seasons?

Assassin's Creed has always been a hot contender for the championship, often coming close to winning, only to lose by the narrowest of margins. In those critical matches, if their Divine Gift had been of any use, activating it could have turned the tables, yet no one used it until the entire team was eliminated.

"You're being foolish, Chairman!" Shadow Weaving Poem lamented.

"At times like this, what are you seeking to steady?"

"You misunderstand the Chairman." said the man with glasses, pushing them up, his expression calm.

"She's not seeking stability; she's too proud. Our Chairman has always been very controlling."

"Compared to any uncertain possibilities, she prefers to have all possibilities firmly under control. Instead of choosing an uncertain direction, she would, of course, prefer the more apparent characteristic of Mimicry."

"Let's hope so." Shadow Weaving Poem sighed.

"Indeed, no one can fathom her thoughts." Analysts on the other side exchanged bemused smiles.

"It seems I still don't fully understand her." Nanjia Wood lamented.

The clamor in the stands hadn't ceased; Dark Gold Rose's choice to ban Divine Gift had already been enough to shock them, and what followed further challenged their perceptions.

"I choose to ban..."

Lu Shuhang lifted his head, his dark cyan eyes looking especially composed against the chaotic golden confetti.

"Light Chasing Garden's Artifact."