What if someone had real strength, yet drew a seed player in the very first match? Losing wasn't because of weakness, but because of terrible luck? Strength alone could not fight fate, and that kind of elimination made even the spectators feel uncomfortable.
Because of this, the rules were temporarily changed this year.
Instead of knockouts, the third trial became a round-robin battle.
This information was only announced today.
That was why Fan Wei and the others had said earlier that they hoped Ryan wouldn't be eliminated before meeting them. They had assumed the old knockout format was still in place. Under those rules, Ryan might have been removed early and quietly.
But once they learned it was a round-robin, their moods instantly lifted.
Round-robin meant everyone would fight everyone.
Which meant Ryan could not hide.
