(MZ) “Let’s not worry about Zi Ji Ge insulting an elder from that faction for now. We will deal with this after the tournament.” Madam Zheng said calmly.

(BM) “What she says is correct, if they were to do anything they would have to wait until the end of the tournament.” Baron reassured everyone.

(H1) “Humph, you better watch your mouth from now on Zi Ji Ge, just because you are being considered for the position of one of our elders, that doesn’t mean that you can just go around and insult everyone you come across.” The first husband of Madam Zheng warned her.

(ZJG) “I’m sorry.” Zi Ji Ge said in embarrassment.

(MZ) “Now, now. We can’t undo what has already happened. Let’s just get into how the tournament works and forget about this matter for now.”

(YF) “Yes, let’s. I haven’t been to many of these types of high-end tournaments so any advice that you may have will be greatly appreciated.” Yue Fei said and smiled at Madam Zheng.

(MZ) “Well, I haven’t been to a lot of these either, but I have purchased information that will be quite helpful later on in the tournament. First, let’s talk about the setup of the tournament. Meng Tian you know more about this than me, how about you start us off?”

(MT) “Sure, I don’t mind. The first portion of the tournament is the air battles, followed by the land battles, and finally, we have the naval warfare simulations. These are the 3 subdivisions of the tournament, and they all have the same way of determining a winner. You could be the last army standing and yet still not be placed within the top ten of the rankings.” Meng Tian started.

(ZJG) “How could that be? That should be the point of war, to find out who lasts longer than their opponents.”

(MT) “While that may be the case in all of the other outer tournaments, we do something that is a little unorthodox. There will be a panel of judges that decides the merits of the one who will be granted the upper rankings. This is due to us being one of the few communities that implement a free for all tournament instead of the usual one on one or one group on one group facing off. This is also the way that the tournament selection works except there isn’t anyone that judges who get to become a faction.”

(BM) “Can you explain how they decide who is the winner of this tournament if they are judging it?”

(MZ) “Well, I can explain that one. It is very unfair how they do it since they favor those who have already made a name for themselves. Even if you best a much more well-known strategist then you still may be placed lower than the person you defeated in battle. Also, there are rumors that they are being bribed into giving higher ranks to those who bring them gifts and such presents.”

(BM) “So the Sun Alliance elders are the ones to judge?”

(MZ) “That is correct. I believe that if you truly want to get a high ranking while not having made a name for yourself, you have to be so outstanding in your sims that they would have to be blind if they did not give you due credits. Of course, most everyone that participates is aware of this type of conduct from the judges, but most strategists would be outraged if they were beaten by someone new and nameless. It would be a slap to their ego and they would actually take action against the judges for smearing mud on their name.”

(BM) “Oh, so there is still a sort of moral conduct with these strategists even if their goal is not justice. That’s an interesting dynamic between those who participate in the tournament and those who run it.”

(YF) “Does this mean that Wang Jian, Bai Qi, Li Mu, and Lian Po bribed their way to winning so many tournaments?”

(MZ) “While that is part of the reason, those four co-leaders of the Yellow Wang faction are still a force to be reckoned with. Their grasp of tactics and warfare is incredible and not only that, few would be able to challenge them individually at least within our Chinese community. That’s the reason that they are four out of the top 20 elders, that title isn’t just for show.”

(BM) “I wonder, how long do you think it will take for Guan Yu to make it to the top 20 position?”

(MZ) “That is a tall order for anyone. I only made it because the Chinese community desperately needed talented strategists that could blow their enemies out of the water literally. My main competitor hates me for this since he could only get to the top 40 of the elder rankings despite my obvious success.”

(BM) “I understand, he must be quite infuriated that he reached a bottleneck in his rankings and you come here all of a sudden and make it into the top 20 within a hundred years.”

(MZ) “That is just how this cruel world works. To be honest, that jealous little pig is no match for me when it comes to sea battles, the only reason that he is still compared as my equal is that he has a much better foundation here than I do. However, with time I will be able to gradually take all the power that backs him from him and he will be utterly powerless to stop it. The ones with power will gradually gravitate towards each other and I am the clearly stronger one. Heck, even my two husbands together will put up quite a stiff resistance to him.”

(BM) “Be wary, they must be aware of the power that you are amassing and will surely strike at you when they feel threatened enough.”

(MZ) “Not to worry, we have already made preparations for when that inevitably occurs and we will crush them with no mercy.”