Chapter 40: The So-called Unlimited Rules, Section 1

Hei Fa was unaware of the disputes among the high-ranking officials of the competition. The troubles of the Moor tribe also had nothing to do with him. In fact, these few days were truly the most relaxed time he had spent on the Moor tribe’s flagship.

During these days, Hei Fa declined all unnecessary social engagements. He spent his days either eating or sleeping, acting like a dead pig. It took three days before he regained some energy and had time to watch other events in the competition.

It was then that Hei Fa truly realized just how grand the Moor Empire’s competition was. The entire Barbarian Star Region had become a venue for various competitions—ranging from mining and other production contests held on planets to survival challenges and exploration races in space. There was an overwhelming array of events. Across this vast star region, crowds and ships were everywhere, with star stations of all sizes visible everywhere, their doors always open. As long as you wanted to, you could enter any star station. Their well-developed living and viewing systems ensured that you could comfortably watch every event you desired—truly top-notch service.

Moreover, the Moor tribe’s understanding of teleportation technology was widely applied in civilian use. Short-distance teleportation corridors were established between several large star stations. After paying a certain fee, any spectator could teleport directly from one station to another—extremely convenient.

With such convenient conditions, Hei Fa naturally wouldn’t miss them. In fact, he spent most of his remaining rest time at these star stations.

Ship operation competitions.
Self-driving armored duel competitions.
Individual combat competitions.
Survival challenges in harsh environments.

Hei Fa hardly missed any battle-related events. Amid the noisy crowds, he quietly observed every competition, greedily absorbing the war knowledge of the Moor Empire. No one knew how much help these short few days had been to him.

But even the most comfortable times must end. Five days later, Hei Fa finally received news: Grand Duke Taro had arrived.

As Hei Fa’s backer, Grand Duke Taro was obviously full of enthusiasm. Wei Li had reported Hei Fa’s performance over these days to him. Of course, when he learned that the most popular contestant, Number 336, was actually his subordinate Beck, the old man was almost overjoyed.

You should know that rumors about Participant No. 336 have been circulating widely these days. Even in the Castle of Sighs, this name is well-known to the Grand Duke of Tarot. How could he possibly stay seated now that he’s learned the truth?
So he came. According to the competition schedule, the final round begins the day after tomorrow. Of course, the Grand Duke of Tarot couldn’t miss this opportunity. He wanted to see with his own eyes how his subordinate would earn this highest honor. At the same time, he also wanted to give his subordinate who brought glory to him some encouragement. If before Beck’s status in his eyes was only due to that elusive Stone of Light and Darkness, now Beck’s value came from himself.
An excellent commander, the only participant in a thousand years of the Moorish Empire to break through dead ends. If the Grand Duke of Tarot still didn’t understand the significance of this, he wouldn’t be worthy of being a grand duke of an empire.
When Black Hair returned to his flagship, the grand duke had been waiting for a long time. By his side, Miss Veli’s slender figure was always by his side. Seeing Black Hair arrive, both the grand duke and Miss Veli’s eyes lit up.
“Hehe, Beck. It’s been a few days. You look in good health. It seems the rest you took recently was very effective. You’ve recovered from the fatigue of consecutive matches, right?” The Grand Duke of Tarot stroked Miss Veli’s arm as she supported him and asked with a smile.
“Greetings, Your Grace. As you said, I did rest well.” Black Hair, as usual, gave a simple military salute. But the grand duke and Miss Veli were already accustomed to his attitude, so they didn’t show any surprise. The grand duke casually waved his hand, signaling Black Hair not to overdo it.
“That’s good, that’s good. But to be honest, Beck, you really surprised me these past days. Participant No. 336—if it weren’t for Miss Veli telling me personally, I really wouldn’t have believed it was you. So, are the dead ends accumulated by the empire over the years that difficult?”
“Yes, very difficult. Extremely difficult,” Black Hair replied calmly. “I must admit I’ve done my best, but I still can’t achieve satisfactory results. Out of fifteen matches, two ended in draws, and in one, I couldn’t turn the situation around at all. I’m sorry to disappoint you, Your Grace.”
“Disappointed? Why??” The Grand Duke of Tarot was stunned.

“The win-rate isn’t ideal, and of course it will disappoint you. I thought my command skills were quite good. Now I realize it was just arrogance. Compared to the other contestants’ win rates, I really have no reason to be proud. I just checked—seems there are quite a few people besides me who have a perfect record. It’s unbelievable. My score is barely enough to get me into the finals,” replied the black-haired man with a frown, clearly annoyed.

On the other hand, the Grand Duke of Tarot had a rather interesting expression. He was stunned at first, then suddenly burst into laughter. “Different. Completely different!” he said, waving his hands repeatedly. The Grand Duke laughed more and more wildly, eventually even gasping for breath. Miss Veri was the only sensible one; she quickly patted his back several times to help him calm down.

“Did those guys not tell you? Beck, it seems you still think all the contestants are facing the same kind of competition? A perfect record? Ridiculous. If they had to compete in your matches, they’d consider a 50% win rate impressive.”

“Hm?” The black-haired man was puzzled. Clearly, he didn’t understand what the Grand Duke meant.

It wasn’t really his fault for being slow to grasp it. After all, his matches were held in isolation. During the breaks when he went out, he mostly watched other matches. He hadn’t had time to study his own competition. Plus, due to the special nature of commanding matches, the skills of all commanders were somewhat concealed. It was normal for him not to know.

Unless someone told him the truth, he really couldn’t realize the abnormalities in his matches right away. And since Miss Veri and the Grand Duke of Tarot hadn’t been able to meet him, they probably didn’t even have the chance to tell him.

So until now, the black-haired man still thought all other commanders were facing the same kind of competition as him.

Seeing his slightly surprised expression, the Grand Duke laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. It’s just that you’re not lucky. Those fifteen matches were almost all endgames passed down from the empire. They’re extremely difficult. Even other contestants wouldn’t easily encounter such endgames. I estimated before coming here—that someone with your ‘luck’ has a chance of less than one in ten thousand.”

“You mean… other contestants’ matches are different from mine?” Hearing the Grand Duke’s explanation, the black-haired man was both amused and frustrated. Especially when he remembered what he had said to Miss Veri before the competition, it seemed utterly absurd.

“You won’t be disappointed, because I’m lucky Beck, accompanied by the goddess of luck…” Thinking back to his confident tone earlier, Black Hair suddenly felt this might be the biggest joke played on him by fate. Fifteen such complex situations—judging from the Grand Duke’s words, each one extremely rare, ones that other contestants couldn’t even come across—had all fallen his way. He truly was exceptionally “lucky.”

But the preliminary rounds were already over. Even if Black Hair was unwilling, what could he do? He could only swallow his frustration and wait until the competition ended to seek clarification from the tournament officials. But by then, would they still care about a mere minor lord?

“Hmm, it is a bit different. But it doesn’t matter. It’s a good thing. At least now your name as contestant number 336 is well-known. Once the tournament ends and your true identity is revealed… Hehe, Beck, don’t forget your old man then.” The Tarot Grand Duke’s eyes sparkled with laughter as he said this half-jokingly and half-as a reminder.

“Yes, Your Excellency. Beck will always remain Beck. Please rest assured.” Black Hair quickly regained his composure and replied solemnly.

Seeing his usual respectful attitude, the Tarot Grand Duke nodded in satisfaction. He patted Miss Wei Li’s hand, and the two exchanged a subtle glance.

“Hmm, right, there’s one more thing. I’ve wanted to tell you for a while, but it’s been delayed by the tournament. Since you’re here now, I’ll just tell you. Beck, I’ve taken back control of the 763 Star Station. I plan to assign it to you. Starting today, you’ll be the governor of the 763 Star Station. Congratulations.”

“Ah? That’s truly good news. But I can’t leave now. I was wondering if Your Excellency would allow me to delegate this to my subordinates?” Black Hair’s expression remained unchanged as he asked calmly.

“Of course, Beck. You’re also a direct subordinate of my daughter. This star station is precisely where you two met. Since I’ve entrusted it to you, it’s up to you to arrange things. Hmm, as for that destroyed 351 Star Station, the empire is also starting to repair it. Once it’s fixed, it’ll be under your responsibility too. In other words, the five star systems around those two star stations will become your territory from now on.” The Tarot Grand Duke replied with a smile.

“Thank you, Your Excellency, for this reward.” Black Hair nodded and accepted it without hesitation.

He was well aware that this was likely the Grand Duke of Tarot’s recognition of his worth. It seemed the hard work he had put in during this time hadn’t been in vain. Five star systems’ territories had now been assigned to him. He just wondered what kind of tactics the Grand Duke would use once the competition ended and he achieved a higher rank. Surely he wouldn’t try to marry Miss Veri to him, would he?
The dark-haired man thought for a while and couldn’t rule out such a possibility. He couldn’t help but shudder deeply from within, his face turning pale…