Consecutive Victories

The Tian Heng City Ranking Tournament matched quickly, and Chu Kuang subsequently completed four matches in a row, each one won with exceptional ease, his ranking directly rising by over twenty thousand places.

[Chu Kuang] [School: Tian Heng Third Middle School] [Rank: 56328] [Wins: 5 Losses: 0] [Win Rate: 100%]

"The strength of the four after her seems much weaker than that Su Ling," Chu Kuang felt a hint of strangeness in his heart after defeating another opponent.

The earlier Su Ling could still react, barely raising her sword to block his attacks. Though she couldn't stop his spear, she at least put up a defense, only losing due to the disadvantage of her slender blade, which led to a one-hit kill.

The strength of the subsequent few was far too watered down; they couldn't even react before Chu Kuang struck them down in a single blow.

"These people's advanced techniques are all stuck at minor accomplishment, their Life Levels probably no higher than 4.8 at most," Chu Kuang's thoughts flickered, and he clicked on the rankings again, only to see the information before him shift slightly.

"You have currently achieved five consecutive wins. The system assesses your strength as far exceeding your current ranking and will match you against a higher-tier opponent."

"Match successful."

With the match made, Chu Kuang's figure was teleported into a circular arena.

The moment he landed, Chu Kuang saw a burly figure materialize ahead, standing over two meters tall, built as thick as a wild bear.

At the same time, phantom after phantom appeared on the spectator stands around the arena, a crowd of watching youths and maidens.

"This Li Manzi spends all his time in the ranking matches, and he's caught another five-streak winner."

"Haha, this kid managed five wins, might have had a shot at breaking into the top ten thousand, but running into Li Manzi, that streak ends here."

Murmurs of discussion rose from all around, causing Chu Kuang's brow to furrow slightly.

He looked up at the burly figure before him and saw the illusory light screen above the other's head.

[Li Yong] [School: Tian Heng Fourth Middle School] [Rank: 8762] [Wins: 47 Losses: 26] [Win Rate: 64%]

"Over seventy matches and still a 64% win rate—looks like his strength isn't weak," Chu Kuang thought, though he didn't dwell on it much.

Having fought over seventy matches and still failing to break into the top three thousand proved the other had hit a bottleneck. Those 26 losses were likely mostly from after he entered the top ten thousand.

That kind of strength wasn't weak, of course. If placed in their Third Middle School's Class Seven of first-year students, he could probably rank in the top five, maybe even third.

But Chu Kuang was aiming for the top three thousand, so naturally, he wouldn't be intimidated by a mere eight-thousand-something rank.

"A kid from Third Middle School."

"Chu Kuang, your name's pretty wild, but I wonder if you're as wild as me," at that moment, Li Yong across from him let out a simple laugh, rubbed his head, and said, "Looks like your strength isn't bad. Come on, let me have a good fight."

When the countdown ended, Li Yong gripped a Wolf-Toothed Club and lunged forward, charging at Chu Kuang like a wild bear crashing down.

"Barbarian Bear Cudgel Technique?" Chu Kuang's brow furrowed slightly. The other's two-meter-plus height, paired with a club half a foot thick, clearly marked him as someone who overpowered foes with brute force.

Moreover, the Barbarian Bear Cudgel Technique carried a fierce momentum; taking that strike head-on would be too disadvantageous.

Still, he didn't avoid the edge. He merely took a step back, planted his long spear against the ground, and braced himself to face the seemingly unstoppable blow head-on.

"Boom—"

With a resounding crash, the strike drove the spear into the stone slab like a hammer driving a nail, burying it a full foot deep.

"Now," using the stone slab to absorb the blow, Chu Kuang immediately kicked out fiercely, aiming for the other's midsection.

But in that instant, Li Yong suddenly flashed his white teeth and laughed, "You fell for it!"

"Hum!"

In a flash, Li Yong abruptly cast aside his Wolf-Toothed Club and swung both fists as he pounced at Chu Kuang.

At that moment, Chu Kuang felt as if Li Yong were a wild bear charging at him, an irresistible momentum pressing down, trying to overwhelm him.

"Barbarian Bear Fist, Great Accomplishment Stage!" Chu Kuang's brow furrowed slightly. The Barbarian Bear Fist was a low-tier fist technique, excelling at close-quarters combat. In melee, it was like a wild bear lunging, often exerting immense suppression on the opponent.

If one was even slightly careless, even with a Life Level slightly higher, they could be quickly suppressed and defeated by its relentless, unbroken assault.

His opponent was using a Wolf-Toothed Club, clearly trying to make him careless and create an opportunity to close in and suppress him for the win.

"Looks honest, but there's no lack of cunning."

"Pity—in the face of absolute power, even fist techniques are just icing on the cake."

Chu Kuang's mind grasped the situation in an instant. Instead of pulling back, he poured all his strength into that kick and drove it forward with full force.

The kick was heavy and fierce, carrying several thousand jin of crushing power that forced Li Yong back over three zhang.

"Great Accomplishment External Martial Arts?"

"No..."

Li Yong's expression shifted slightly, but before he could finish, Chu Kuang struck again.

He twisted the long spear sharply, the stone slab beneath his foot shattering with a crack, then wrenched the spear free and thrust it straight through the air, a piercing edge that could split rock and metal bearing down on him.

Chu Kuang had only recently acquired the Gold-Splitting Spear, but with the support of the Basic Spear Technique, his progress was far from slow—he had already reached the Nascent Stage [47%].

The key point was that spear techniques advanced quickly in the early stages. Chu Kuang had only learned one move of the Gold-Splitting Spear—the thrust.

Simple as it was, combined with his Life Level of 5.6, the power it unleashed was earth-shattering. At the very least, Li Yong, with his Barbarian Bear Body, dared not face it head-on.

Li Yong had already dropped his Wolf-Toothed Club. By the time he thought to pick it up, it was too late. He barely managed to block a dozen moves with the Barbarian Bear Fist before a final thrust pierced his chest, lifting him clean into the air and pinning him there.

"Your fist technique isn't bad, but your Life Level is too low."

"Training martial arts without building your foundation—you'll end up with nothing in old age. You'd be better off focusing more on your internal and external skills."

With one thrust killing Li Yong, Chu Kuang watched him dissolve into data and calmly withdrew his spear.

He wasn't surprised by this victory. Life Level was the foundation of every martial artist; internal and external skills were the bedrock for Apprentice Level fighters.

Martial techniques could enhance a fighter's combat power, but once the gap in Life Level grew too large, techniques alone could hardly let someone cross ranks and fight above their level—at least, not before Break Limit.

Li Yong's external skills had likely stopped at the Minor Accomplishment Stage, and his Life Level was probably no higher than 5. The gap with Chu Kuang's 5.6 was simply too great.

The Barbarian Bear Fist was powerful, but fist and foot techniques were ultimately only suited for close combat.

Although Chu Kuang's Geng Gold Spear had only reached the Nascent Stage, as long as he kept some distance, combined with his superior Life Level, bullying the Great Accomplishment Stage Barbarian Bear Fist was easy.

At least until stepping into the Mortal Transformation Realm and cultivating a Martial Dao True Body that was impervious to blades and spears, weapon techniques were far more valuable than fist and foot techniques.

Because weapon techniques were true killing arts, while fist and foot techniques mostly served to complement weapons, making up for their lack of flexibility.

"He actually won."

"No way, that kick sent Li Manzi flying—is that the suppression of Life Level?"

"Looks like the homeroom teacher was right. Martial techniques are just branches; strong internal and external skills are the real foundation."

Watching Chu Kuang defeat Li Yong, the spectators in the stands all wore thoughtful expressions.

As for the main character, Chu Kuang, he had already been teleported off the arena.

[Chu Kuang] [School: Tian Heng Third Middle School] [Rank: 8762] [Win Rate: 100%]

"Jumping straight up in rank saves me a lot of trouble."

Back in the Tian Heng Star Realm, Chu Kuang glanced at his ranking and couldn't help but show a satisfied expression.

Next, Chu Kuang fought three more matches in a row. The opponents in these matches were roughly on par with Li Yong—most had higher talent in martial techniques than in internal and external skills, having first mastered a Great Accomplishment beginner-level technique.

Relying on his powerful Life Level, Chu Kuang defeated all three, but the last opponent, ranked over four thousand, had already made the fight somewhat difficult.

[Rank: 4361]

"For the tenth ranked match, I should be matched against someone in the top three thousand, right?"

After completing nine consecutive wins, Chu Kuang clicked match again.

Just then, he noticed a line of small text appear on the screen in front of him.

"You are currently on a nine-win streak. The ELO Mechanism has been triggered. A higher-level opponent will be matched for you."

"Match successful."

Chu Kuang's brow furrowed slightly, and then he was teleported onto an arena.

It was a towering peak, its top flattened into a fighting platform. As soon as Chu Kuang landed, he felt the biting cold wind around him.

On the opposite side, a young man in blue robes carrying a longsword descended slowly, his gaze calm and detached as he looked over.

[Ye Qingfeng] [School: Tian Heng Third Middle School] [Rank: 688]

[Win Rate: 100%]

[Chu Kuang]
[School: Tian Heng Third Middle School]
[Rank: 4361]
[Win Rate: 100%]

"Fifteen consecutive wins!"

The moment he saw this person, Chu Kuang's expression shifted slightly.

A perfect win rate and fifteen straight victories meant that Rank 688 was definitely not this person's limit. His true strength was likely far above that ranking—he had simply started participating in the rankings today, just like Chu Kuang himself.

Just then, Ye Qingfeng glanced at him and said calmly, "You're from Third Middle too?"

"I'm from Class Seven. You?" Chu Kuang took a deep breath and replied.

"You don't recognize me?" Ye Qingfeng paused, then nodded. "I've been in seclusion for the past few months. Hardly anyone at school has seen me, so it's not strange that you don't know me."

"To have pulled off nine consecutive wins, your strength isn't bad. But unfortunately, the system matched you against me."

"Come on. Let me see what you're made of."

With those words, Ye Qingfeng stood with his sword in hand, looking at him calmly.

Chu Kuang nodded. The moment the countdown ended, he gripped his great spear and thrust it straight toward his opponent.

With this strike, Chu Kuang gave it everything he had. From the very start, he left no room for mercy.