A Terrifying Newbie

Red Sky Martial Arts Hall, Virtual Room

"Damn it, at my level, none of the opponents I get matched with are weak. I lost again."

Less than an hour later, Guo Heng exited the Virtual Cabin with a frown.

There was still plenty of time before the hour was up, and neither Lin Qi nor Jiang Tao had come out, so he decided to wait.

He wandered around the Virtual Room. There was a convenience store inside selling drinks and snacks, as well as seats, and he planned to find some acquaintances to chat with.

In Tianhai City, only the three top Martial Arts Halls had enough Virtual Cabins. Those who frequently came to the Virtual Room were bound to run into familiar faces.

At that moment, he saw a group of people chatting, including some people he knew.

"I actually carelessly lost to a Newbie just now. His Spear Technique Realm was clearly below mine."

"I'm already a proficient user. In a while, I'll be able to reach Arena Star Rank."

"I wanted to get revenge, but I found that I couldn't get matched with him no matter what."

A Curly-Haired Man indignantly recounted his experience.

"What a strange thing. With your strength, Lü Xiang, you actually lost to a Newbie? You're in the top thirty of our grade at No. 1 High School."

"This Newbie doesn't seem simple. Maybe some expert just registered for Red Realm."

Someone pondered seriously.

"His name is Yang Jian. I don't know whether that's his real name, but remember it. If you run into him next time, help me get revenge," Lü Xiang said bitterly.

"I think you were simply too careless, Lü Xiang. That's why you let him seize the opportunity."

A Beautiful Girl with a slender figure and an expensive Martial Arts Uniform spoke mockingly.

"Yang Jian? A Newbie?"

"What are you talking about?" Guo Heng squeezed into the group and asked.

"Old Guo's here?" everyone greeted him.

"We were talking about Lü Xiang being defeated by a Newbie."

"Oh? Tell me more." Guo Heng's eyes lit up.

Bright light enveloped Jiang Tao's vision. The glaring lamps made him rather uncomfortable.

"Damn it, that opponent was really strong. I couldn't beat him at all."

Jiang Tao sat up, only to feel exhausted and mentally drained.

The Virtual Cabin beside him also opened. Lin Qi sat up with a pale face, as though he had been completely hollowed out.

Lin Qi felt as though his brain had turned to mush, as exhausted as if he had stayed awake for three days and nights in his previous life.

"Qi Ge, I feel so tired!" Jiang Tao shook his head.

"Me too. My mental energy's seriously overdrawn."

Lin Qi held his head as well.

"It's normal to feel tired. Staying in the Virtual World for too long consumes a huge amount of mental energy. Especially after being killed, the intense pain stimulates the mind and causes significant damage."

"So it isn't recommended to stay in Red Realm for too long."

Guo Heng walked over with a smile and handed them two bottles of blue liquid.

"These are Spirit Refreshing Potions. They can restore your mental energy."

"Spirit Refreshing Potions?"

"I remember one bottle costs a thousand Xia Guo Bi." Jiang Tao's eyes widened, and he did not dare reach out to take one.

Lin Qi also showed a curious expression.

"Don't worry, it's on me. I won't deduct it from your pay," Guo Heng continued.

"Then we won't stand on ceremony." Jiang Tao chuckled and accepted it without hesitation.

Lin Qi did the same. He opened the Spirit Refreshing Potion and drank it in one gulp.

The blue liquid entered his mouth, releasing a fresh minty fragrance.

A cool sensation swiftly spread through his brain, and his mental exhaustion instantly eased.

The color also returned to his face at a speed visible to the Naked Eye.

"It's really amazing. The effect is so strong. No wonder it costs a thousand a bottle."

Jiang Tao sighed, then asked:

"By the way, Qi Ge, how many points do you have now?"

"12 points!"

"That many? I only have 6 points!" Jiang Tao said in surprise.

"Getting 12 points on your first use is very impressive."

Guo Heng was quite surprised as well. That meant Lin Qi had won at least four matches. Winning four matches the first time he entered the Arena was rare.

"By the way, A Heng, I unlocked the ranking feature. I'm ranked 458th. Where can I see the overall Ranking List?" Jiang Tao asked curiously.

Guo Heng pointed at the enormous LED Big Screen mounted high on the distant wall.

"Right in front of you!"

Jiang Tao and Lin Qi also looked toward the Big Screen, and the data displayed on it appeared before them.

"This is the Ranking List compiled from Red Realm Arena records. For short, it's called the Red Rankings."

"However, it currently only covers our Red Sky Martial Arts Hall Tianhai Branch. Anyone whose login IP is at Red Sky Martial Arts Hall is counted."

Guo Heng pointed at the Big Screen as he explained.

Lin Qi and Jiang Tao were already looking at the Ranking List.

[First Place: Battle Axe Bear, Rank: Star]

[Second Place: General Guo, Blade Ready, Rank: Star]

[Third Place: Ten Thousand Swords, Rank: Star]

[...]

"Battle Axe Bear is first. Could that be Li Zhou from our class?"

"It should be him!"

"A Heng, isn't that second place you? You're even Star Rank. That's amazing!" Jiang Tao exclaimed.

Guo Heng raised his chin, the corners of his mouth curling up as he said modestly:

"This is only temporary. As time passes, other experts will gradually enter Red Realm, and the rankings will change."

"As far as I know, several experts from No. 1 High School rank ahead of me. Their families have Holographic Virtual Cabins."

"If they log in at Red Sky Martial Arts Hall, they might instantly take first place."

"The Red Rankings also have another name: the Genius Youth Ranking. It only applies to martial artists aged eighteen and below."

"College students are excluded. After the College Entrance Examination ends, the rankings are generally recalculated."

"The ranking scope will expand every so often. Right now, we can only see the rankings for Red Sky Martial Arts Hall in Tianhai."

"Next, it will expand to all of Tianhai, then all of Cang Province, and eventually the entire country."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that I'm second right now. Once the scope expands, my ranking will drop."

"What I need to do is hold my position."

Lin Qi and Jiang Tao benefited greatly from Guo Heng's explanation. This information was not exactly secret, but it would still have taken them time to learn it themselves.

With Guo Heng answering their questions, they saved a great deal of time.

"By the way, what's the deal with these ranks?" Jiang Tao pointed at the Star Rank on the screen and asked.

Guo Heng explained:

"Ranks represent your strength."

"If you pass the Man-Machine Test in the Arena, you become a Newbie. After finishing ten matched battles, you can become Elite."

"During matches, defeating an opponent earns 3 points, a draw earns 1 point, and a loss earns no points."

"When your points exceed 150, you can advance to Star Rank."

"Red Realm Arena divides ranks into four tiers: Star, Bright Moon, Shining Sun, and the strongest, God-level."

"I'm currently Star Rank!"

Lin Qi and Jiang Tao exchanged a glance, astonishment filling their hearts.

"You need 150 points to advance to Star Rank? Doesn't that mean winning at least 50 matches?"

"The opponents I encountered just now were already strong enough. They were all geniuses. Winning 50 matches is really difficult," Jiang Tao exclaimed.

Lin Qi was shocked. After only five matches, he had already felt how powerful his opponents were. Everyone who could enter Red Realm was a genius.

These geniuses were each stronger than the last. Winning fifty matches was incredibly difficult.

Since Guo Heng had managed to win fifty matches, it was obvious just how strong he was.

"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. Red Realm's officials have already launched an event."

"As long as you can advance to Star Rank before October 10th, which is before the Tianhai Monthly Exam, you can receive a reward of 500,000 Xia Guo Bi."

Guo Heng suddenly remembered something and said it.

"500,000?"

Lin Qi's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Advancing to Star Rank could actually earn him 500,000 Xia Guo Bi.

Even a Second-Class Genius Loan was only worth 500,000 Xia Guo Bi.

Lin Qi quietly calculated that if he could obtain both the event reward and the Second-Class Genius Loan, he would have 1,000,000 Xia Guo Bi.

He exchanged a glance with Jiang Tao, and they reached an unspoken agreement.

They had to get their hands on that 500,000. The two of them desperately lacked money.

"I just heard some students from No. 1 High School's Elite Class chatting. One of my classmates, who's in the top thirty of our grade, was actually defeated by a Newbie named Yang Jian."

"This Newbie isn't simple. You two are Newbies too, so you might get matched with him. Be careful," Guo Heng reminded them with a smile.

"Yang Jian? He dared to use Erlang Shen's name. He's pretty confident in his strength," Jiang Tao remarked.

Lin Qi froze. He had not expected the gossip to end up being about himself.

"Don't worry, we'll be careful."

He spoke with a hint of guilt.