I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

After the system announcement disappeared, the entire arena was quiet for about three seconds.

Then a flood of discussions ensued.

Public channel.

"580 points for 'Seeing Flowers Through the Fog'? Second place only got 320?"

"His points alone are more than the second and third place combined."

"What's the point of competing? Just award them the championship."

"Don't worry, the system says the first phase is over, which means there's a second phase to come."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the system's second announcement popped up.

The second phase of the Supreme Arena is about to begin!

The top 120 players in the first stage will automatically advance to the second stage.

[Second Stage Format: One-on-One Battle (1V1), Single-Elimination System.]

A total of eight rounds will be held to determine the final champion.

[Special Rule: The second stage will employ a "complete correction" mechanism. All participants' levels will be uniformly corrected to LV50, and all attributes will be forcibly standardized to the server-wide average at LV50. No individual attribute differences will be retained.]

[Retained Items: Job Skills, Talent Effects]

[Equipment Effect: Nullifies all effects.]

[Consumable: Do not use.]

[Competition Venue: Enclosed circular arena, 100 meters in diameter.]

[Countdown: Starting in 5 minutes.]

After the announcement finished, the public channel was silent for two seconds before it exploded.

"Complete fix? Unify all attributes?"

"Am I seeing things? All the attributes are the same?"

"What about the magical attack power of the 'seeing through the fog' technique?"

"That's all."

"Then how can he fight back? He relied entirely on those one-shot kill skills, and his damage was all built up from his attributes. Once his attributes are leveled out, won't his damage be about the same as an average person's?"

"This is getting interesting."

"In the first stage, he relied on overwhelming his attributes; in the second stage, his attributes were reduced to zero, and he relied purely on skill."

"Those veteran players from the old districts finally have a chance."

Li Wu stood on the high platform of the ruins and read the announcement twice from beginning to end.

His first reaction wasn't nervousness, but a frown.

The attributes are consistent.

He chewed over those four words for three seconds.

What does a complete overhaul mean?

This means he lost over 5,000 points of intelligence and over 7,000 points of magical attack power.

He is exactly the same as everyone else on the field in terms of statistics.

Same health, same mana, same attack power, same defense.

Li Wu opened the attribute panel.

The panel still showed the data from the first phase, which would refresh in five minutes, but he had already calculated it in his mind.

The average level of all players at level 50.

Strength is roughly between 100 and 150, agility is about the same, intelligence is about the same, and luck is... around 10 or 20.

His magical attack power will drop from over 7,000 to 300 or 400.

This number made him frown even more.

Three to four hundred magic attack.

The damage formula for the Burning Star Return to Ruins Arrow is based on magic attack multiplied by the skill multiplier and then multiplied by the critical hit coefficient.

In the first stage, his Burning Star Return to Ruins Arrow could kill sixteen top experts in one shot. The core reason was that his magic attack of more than 7,000 multiplied by the skill multiplier resulted in a damage value of tens of thousands.

Now the magic attack has increased to three or four hundred.

Even if the skill multiplier remains the same, the final damage will only be two thousand, or even less.

Two thousand damage is enough to kill a squishy character instantly, but it won't be enough to kill a tank.

The terrifying image of "clearing the field with one arrow" that he established in the first phase is almost impossible to replicate in the second phase.

Just then, the communicator rang.

Hua Zitong.

"Did you see the announcement?"

"I saw it."

"With all attributes unified, your damage will decrease significantly." Hua Zitong's voice was calm, but her speaking speed was a little faster than usual.

"I've done a rough calculation, and your Star-Burning Return to Nothingness Arrow can no longer indiscriminately kill in the second stage."

"Um."

"The number of Blazing Sun Piercing Arrows is approximately between one thousand and one thousand five hundred."

"Um."

"One-on-one duels, the opponents are all among the top 120 out of 110,000, some are even at the level of a sword saint."

Hua Zitong paused for a moment.

"Can you still win?"

Li Wu remained silent for two seconds.

In those two seconds, he went through all his skills in his mind.

Burning Star Return Arrow, Blazing Sun Piercing Arrow, Fusion Piercing Arrow, Ice and Fire Spiral Arrow, Chain Lightning Arrow, Blink Arrow, Multi-Arrow Field, Rock Guardian, Blizzard, Frost Arrow, Wind-Cutting Arrow...

The effects of these skills are retained.

The area collapse effect of the Burning Star Return to Ruins Arrow is retained.

The concept of the Blazing Sun Piercing Arrow's penetrating effect is retained.

The teleportation effect of Blink Arrow is retained.

The internal explosion effect of the Ice and Fire Spiral Arrow is retained.

The damage is too low.

But the skill mechanics remain unchanged.

He has domain control, concept penetration, teleportation, deceleration, freezing, and healing.

What do others have?

The preset skills provided by the system.

"We can win," Li Wu said.

"reason?"

"Their skills are given by the system, while my skills are created by myself. When the attributes are the same, the difference in skills will be more obvious."

Hua Zitong didn't reply immediately. After about three seconds, she said, "I agree with your assessment. But there's one thing you should pay attention to."

"explain."

"After your attributes are unified, your health will also be at an average level, around a little over a thousand. If the opponent is a warrior or assassin, they can kill you in two or three hits after getting close."

"You've lost the evasion advantage from high agility, and the instant-kill ability from high magic attack. Once you get close, you're in great danger."

"I know."

"What else?" Li Wu asked.

"That's all for now," Hua Zitong said. "Take care of yourself."

The communication was disconnected.

Li Wu put away the communicator and glanced at the countdown.

There are two and a half minutes left.

He stood on the high platform, his gaze sweeping over the ruins of the arena below.

You can still see the glassy crater left by the Burning Star Return to Ruins Arrow, as well as the traces of his sixteen kills with a single arrow.

That's the result of overwhelming superior attributes.

That will be the last time.

Li Wu took a deep breath.

He wasn't flustered.

Resetting his attributes to zero was indeed a huge blow to him, but he never thought that his greatest strength was his attributes.

The attribute is a number; a number can be given or taken away.

However, his understanding of the secret texts, his control of the combat rhythm, and his use of skill combinations are not reflected in the attribute panel.

The system cannot take it away.

The countdown continues.

He saw that people on the public channel were already discussing the match schedule for the second phase.

One hundred and twenty people, single-elimination, eight rounds.

He ranked first in the first stage, so according to the competition rules, he is at the very top of the upper bracket.

The opponents for the first round were quickly revealed!

[Round 1 Matchup: Foggy View (Area 21) VS Sky Shield (Area 7)]

Li Wu looked at the ID but didn't recognize it. He casually clicked on the other party's brief information.

Class: Paladin.

A heavy armor class known for its defense and sustain, the Paladin's "grinding" ability is amplified in an environment where stats are evenly distributed. Capable of tanking, healing, and dealing damage, the Paladin is a tough nut to crack for any DPS class.

"A paladin..." Li Wu murmured softly, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Perfect, let's use this to test the knife.

The moment the five-minute countdown ended, a white light enveloped him.

The next second, the scene before his eyes changed, and he found himself in a closed circular arena with a diameter of 100 meters.

Fifty meters away, a burly figure clad in heavy silver armor, wielding a massive tower shield and warhammer, also appeared.

Paladin of District 7, Sky Shield.