Published: February 12, 2025
The rules of the roulette left Ye Zhongming and the others in silence, deep in thought.
They were still unable to determine whether this rule was beneficial or detrimental to them.
One advantage they could think of was that the mountain king plateau did not require going through the final challenge, which was bound to be the most difficult one. For those aiming for rewards, this was good news.
Moreover, despite Ye Zhongming's current poverty, he was ultimately a top-tier craftsman. The few remaining materials on him could be upgraded in a short time. At the critical moment, he could even sacrifice some high-level equipment to gain more ownership of Bright Stars.
After all, compared to Dominion Equipment like the mountain king plateau, other equipment was of lower priority.
However, there were drawbacks. For example, if a certain faction had an abundance of 'money', they could purchase more Bright Stars. When rearranging the Bright Stars later, they could even directly buy Guardian Beasts that belonged to other factions.
As before, purchasing and challenging were directly linked; having more money allowed for more purchases, leading to fewer challenges, thus preserving strength. In the end, even if they spent all their money, they would still have the strength to make a final gamble.
Clearly, the roulette rules were not very friendly to the poor.
For Cloud Summit to become the ultimate winner, it required not only top-notch hard power but also a certain amount of luck. If they could avoid other people's Bright Stars and reach their own, or if the Guardian Beasts of the Bright Stars they reached were not too strong with few upgrades, it would be extremely helpful.
In a short period, various thoughts emerged. Everyone knew there must be aspects they hadn't considered because, despite the rule sounding highly operational, no one had discovered everything yet.
Now, Cloud Summit needed to decide whether to purchase the Guardian Beast on this Bright Star.
“Once we reach the center, all the Bright Stars will be scrambled. We don’t know if there’s a difference between the Bright Stars outside the central area and those inside. If there is, we can purchase those with relatively low strength at a cheap price. If not, then we need to think it over carefully.”
Xiao Min stared at the numerous patterns on the crystal and said.
“If we had known to hold back a bit when striking the Soaring Crystal, we could have occupied a few more Bright Stars. By the time the last ten rounds came, we could just wait for victory.”
A Youth Army member said somewhat regretfully, and many agreed with his viewpoint.
But Ye Zhongming shook his head.
“The Bright Stars in the central area are public. It's possible to enter Bright Stars that others have already occupied. In other words, whoever enters first holds an advantage from the start. If others fall on Bright Stars you’ve occupied, they either have to challenge and risk losing strength or pay a toll, which goes directly to the faction that occupies the Bright Star. So when entering the public area, if you have plenty of assets, you can afford to take it slow and occupy more Bright Stars. But in the early stages, it’s better to move quickly.”
Dai Zhi explained Ye Zhongming's thoughts, and those Youth Army members who had previously agreed realized that they had been thinking too simplistically.
“Not only that,” Ye Zhongming said looking at the crystal platter, “purchasing Bright Stars and challenging them ultimately involve issues of strength and wealth. Finding a balance between the two is the best approach. Otherwise, even if you reach many Bright Stars, if you lack the challenge strength or purchasing power, it will only lead to losses without any benefit.”
The King of Cloud Summit spoke while memorizing the lives represented by these patterns in his mind. He felt that these lives truly existed.
“Moreover, reaching the central area as quickly as possible while conserving wealth and preserving strength, and then moving quickly in the last ten rounds of striking the crystal to seek the final victory, is also a strategy.”