Tian Heng City Ranking Tournament matchmaking was fast. Chu Kuang then completed four consecutive matches, winning each one with ease, and his ranking rose 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 those last four seemed far weaker than Su Ling's."
After defeating another opponent, Chu Kuang felt that something was strange.
Su Ling had at least been able to react earlier, barely raising her sword to block his attack. Though she had failed to stop his spear, she had still blocked it. She had merely suffered from the disadvantage of a thin sword and been killed in a single strike.
The strength of the later opponents was simply too poor. They had not even reacted before Chu Kuang killed them in one blow.
"Their advanced cultivation techniques have probably stopped at the Minor Accomplishment Stage, and their Life Levels are likely no higher than 4.8."
Thoughts flashed through Chu Kuang's mind. He opened the rankings again, only to see the information before him change slightly.
"Having achieved five consecutive victories, the system has assessed your strength as far exceeding your current ranking. You will be matched against a higher-level opponent."
"Match found."
As the match was made, Chu Kuang was teleported into a circular arena.
The instant he landed, Chu Kuang saw a burly figure appear before him. The man was over two meters tall, built like a barbarian bear.
At the same time, phantoms appeared one after another in the spectator stands around the arena, forming a crowd of watching boys and girls.
"Li Manzi hangs around the ranking tournament every day. He's caught another five-win streak."
"Hahaha, if this kid can win five in a row, he might have a chance of reaching the top ten thousand. But now that he's run into Li Manzi, his streak ends here."
A wave of discussion rose from all around, making Chu Kuang frown slightly.
He looked up at the burly figure before him and saw the illusory panel above the man's head.
Li Yong School: Tian Heng Fourth Middle School Rank: 8762 Wins 47: Losses 26 Win Rate: 64%
"Over seventy matches, with a 64% win rate. He looks fairly strong."
Chu Kuang's thoughts stirred, but he did not think much of it.
After fighting more than seventy matches and still failing to enter the top three thousand, it proved that the other man had reached his limit. Most of those twenty-six losses had likely come after entering the top ten thousand.
Such strength was naturally not weak. If Li Yong were placed in Class Seven of Tian Heng Third Middle School's first year, he could probably rank among the top five, perhaps even third in the class.
But Chu Kuang was aiming for the top three thousand. Naturally, he would not be intimidated by someone ranked merely in the eight thousands.
"Kid from Third Middle School."
"Chu Kuang, your name is pretty wild. I wonder if you're as wild as I am."
At that moment, Li Yong grinned foolishly and scratched his head. "Looks like you're not weak. Then come on and let me have a good fight."
When the countdown ended, Li Yong gripped a Wolf-Toothed Club and lunged forward, smashing toward Chu Kuang like a barbarian bear.
"Barbarian Bear Cudgel Technique?"
Chu Kuang frowned slightly. The opponent's height of over two meters, combined with that thick Wolf-Toothed Club, made it obvious that he relied on brute force to defeat his enemies.
Moreover, the Barbarian Bear Cudgel Technique possessed a grand, forceful momentum. Taking that strike head-on would put him at too great a disadvantage.
Yet Chu Kuang did not avoid its edge. He merely took a small step back, casually braced his spear against the ground, and directly faced that overwhelming blow.
Boom—
With a thunderous crash, the strike drove the spear into the stone floor like a hammer driving a nail, burying it a full foot deep.
"Now."
Using the stone floor to disperse the force of that blow, Chu Kuang instantly lashed out with a kick toward Li Yong's waist and abdomen.
But at that very moment, Li Yong suddenly flashed a wide grin. "You fell for it!"
Buzz!
In an instant, Li Yong threw aside the Wolf-Toothed Club and charged at Chu Kuang with both fists swinging.
At that moment, Chu Kuang felt as though a barbarian bear were pouncing at him, carrying an irresistible momentum that sought to suppress him.
"Barbarian Bear Fist, Great Accomplishment Stage!"
Chu Kuang frowned slightly. Barbarian Bear Fist was a beginner-level fist technique, best suited for close combat. When fighting up close, it was like a barbarian bear pouncing upon its prey, often exerting tremendous suppressive force over an opponent.
With even the slightest carelessness, someone with a slightly higher Life Level could still be quickly suppressed and defeated by its unbroken barrage of attacks.
Using the Wolf-Toothed Club first, Li Yong had clearly intended to make him lower his guard, creating an opportunity to close in, suppress him, and defeat him.
"He looks honest enough, but he's quite calculating."
"Unfortunately, before absolute strength, fist techniques are merely the icing on the cake."
Chu Kuang understood in an instant. Not only did he fail to retreat, he poured all his strength into that kick and blasted it toward Li Yong with full force.
The kick was powerful and heavy, carrying several thousand pounds of force as it crashed down, kicking Li Yong back more than three zhang.
"Great Accomplishment External Martial Arts?"
"No..."
Li Yong's expression changed slightly. Before he could finish speaking, Chu Kuang attacked again.
Chu Kuang violently twisted his spear. The stone slabs beneath his feet shattered with a crash, and he pulled out the spear before thrusting it straight through the air, its edge capable of splitting stone and rending gold as it pierced toward Li Yong.
Chu Kuang had not been practicing the Gold-Splitting Spear for long, but with the boost from Basic Spear Technique, his progress had not been slow at all. He had already reached 47% of the Nascent Stage.
Most importantly, spear techniques were often cultivated extremely quickly in the early stages. Chu Kuang's Gold-Splitting Spear had only learned one move—Thrust.
Though this move was simple, when combined with his Life Level of 5.6, its explosive power was earth-shattering. At the very least, Li Yong's Barbarian Bear Body did not dare take it head-on.
Li Yong had thrown away his Wolf-Toothed Club, and it was already too late to retrieve it. He barely used Barbarian Bear Fist to block more than a dozen moves, but in the end, Chu Kuang's strike pierced through his chest and hoisted him into the air.
"Your fist technique is good, but your Life Level is too low."
"If you practice martial arts without cultivating your techniques, you'll amount to nothing even in old age. You should spend more effort on your internal and external cultivation techniques."
After killing Li Yong with one upward strike, Chu Kuang watched him dissolve into data and vanish, then calmly withdrew his spear.
He was not surprised by this victory in the slightest. Life Level was the foundation of every martial artist, while internal and external cultivation techniques formed the basis of Apprentice Level martial artists.
Although martial techniques could improve a martial artist's combat power, once the gap in Life Level became too great, martial techniques alone made it difficult to fight across ranks. At least before reaching Break Limit, martial techniques could scarcely allow someone to defeat a stronger opponent across a realm.
Li Yong's external cultivation technique had most likely stopped at the Minor Accomplishment Stage. His Life Level was probably only just at Level 5, leaving far too great a gap compared with Chu Kuang's 5.6.
Although Barbarian Bear Fist was powerful, fist and kicking techniques were ultimately only suited for close combat.
Chu Kuang's Geng Gold Spear had only reached the Nascent Stage, but as long as he pulled some distance between them, his powerful Life Level made dealing with Barbarian Bear Fist at the Great Accomplishment Stage effortless.
At least before entering the Mortal Transformation Realm and cultivating a Martial Dao True Body impervious to blades and spears, weapon martial arts were absolutely far more useful than fist-and-kick martial arts.
That was because weapon martial arts were true enemy-killing techniques. Fist-and-kick martial arts were more often used to complement weapon martial arts, compensating for the lack of flexibility in weapons.
"He actually won."
"Damn, that kick sent Li Manzi flying. Is that the suppression of Life Level?"
"Looks like the homeroom teacher was right. Martial techniques are ultimately just branches and leaves. Powerful internal and external cultivation techniques are the true foundation."
Seeing Chu Kuang defeat Li Yong, the spectators in the stands all showed thoughtful expressions.
Meanwhile, Chu Kuang, the central figure of the match, had already been teleported out of the arena.
Chu Kuang School: Tian Heng Third Middle School Rank: 8762 Wins 6: Losses 0 Win Rate: 100%
"My ranking shot up directly. That saves me quite a bit of trouble."
After returning to Tian Heng Star Realm, Chu Kuang glanced at his ranking and could not help showing a satisfied expression.
After that, Chu Kuang fought three more matches in a row. The strength of those three opponents was not far from Li Yong's. Basically, their talent in martial techniques exceeded their talent in internal and external cultivation techniques, allowing them to cultivate beginner-level martial techniques to the Great Accomplishment Stage first.
Relying on his powerful vitality, Chu Kuang ultimately defeated all three. However, his final opponent had been ranked in the four thousands, and that battle had already been somewhat difficult.
Rank: 4361
"In this tenth ranking match, I should have a chance of being matched against an opponent in the top three thousand, right?"
After completing nine consecutive victories, Chu Kuang opened matchmaking once more.
At that moment, he noticed another line of small text appear on the screen before him.
"Having achieved nine consecutive victories, you have triggered the ELO Mechanism. You will be matched against a higher-level opponent."
"Match successful."
Chu Kuang frowned slightly, then was teleported into an arena.
It was the summit of a towering mountain, its peak flattened into an arena. The moment Chu Kuang landed, he felt the biting cold wind all around him.
Opposite him, a man in green robes with a longsword on his back slowly descended. He looked over with a calm, detached gaze.
Ye Qingfeng School: Tian Heng Third Middle School Rank: 688 Wins 15: Losses 0 Win Rate: 100%
Chu Kuang School: Tian Heng Third Middle School Rank: 4361 Wins 9: Losses 0 Win Rate: 100%
"Fifteen consecutive victories!"
The instant he saw this man, Chu Kuang's expression changed slightly.
A perfect win rate and fifteen consecutive victories meant that rank 688 was absolutely not this man's limit. His true strength was likely far beyond that ranking; like Chu Kuang, he had merely begun participating in the rankings today.
At that moment, Ye Qingfeng glanced at him and calmly said, "You're from Third Middle School too?"
"I'm from Class Seven. And you are?" Chu Kuang asked, drawing a deep breath.
"You don't know me?" Ye Qingfeng paused, then nodded. "I've been in seclusion for the past few months. Not many students at school have seen me, so it's not strange that you don't know me."
"To achieve nine consecutive victories, you must be quite strong. Unfortunately, the system matched you against me."
"Come on. Let me see what you're made of."
With that, Ye Qingfeng stood with his sword in hand and looked at him calmly.
Chu Kuang nodded. The instant the countdown ended, he gripped his spear and thrust straight at his opponent.
Chu Kuang used all his strength in this strike, leaving himself no room to hold back.
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