Promoting to One-Star Rank

Such stories continued to spread within the martial arts hall.

Many people had seen the video from the cultivation room and were astonished by Lin Mu's performance.

However, some raised doubts.

Lin Mu was still young; even if his martial arts talent was outstanding, he couldn't possibly have reached such a level. It was very likely that he had stumbled upon the answer by chance.

Lin Mu was unaware of all this.

After receiving the three hundred thousand, he went to the purchase counter. After some browsing, he chose a movement technique.

Flowing Dragon Steps (Second Stage)!

After paying two hundred and eighty thousand, he turned and left.

Money came quickly, and it went just as fast.

As a martial artist, as long as one trained, one needed to spend money.

He went to the potion counter again and bought a few D-grade Blood Qi Potions, then returned home.

Lin Mu took out the book recording the Flowing Dragon Steps and read it carefully.

Before long, a system notification sounded.

"Observing the Flowing Dragon Steps manual. 212x efficiency achieved."

In an instant, Lin Mu's understanding of the Flowing Dragon Steps skyrocketed, with many details deeply etched into his mind.

He began moving according to the requirements of the Flowing Dragon Steps, his footwork becoming extremely elusive, his movements like a swimming dragon.

As he finished one cycle of the technique.

"Completed Flowing Dragon Steps training. 121x efficiency achieved."

A system notification came through.

Lin Mu felt his Blood Qi become fuller, a look of comfort on his face.

In just a short while, he had achieved initial mastery of this second-stage movement technique.

Taking out the potions, Lin Mu consumed them, and his figure moved continuously within the cultivation room.

His footwork was like thunder, and one after another, dragon-like afterimages appeared.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these ten days, Lin Mu went to the Virtual Duel Hall every day and spent two hours instructing Li Yan in cultivation. Apart from that, all his time was devoted to training.

As the system notification sounded once more, Lin Mu's Blood Qi had clearly improved. He looked at his attribute panel, and a stream of information appeared.

"Name: Lin Mu."

"Blood Qi Value: 1.9 points."

"Skills: Fist Technique (Black Iron Grade 40%), Movement Technique (Black Iron Grade 57%)."

"Cultivation Method: Five Hearts Facing Heaven Art (Minor Success 52%)."

"Martial Techniques: Dragon Roar Fist (Perfected), Flowing Dragon Steps (Perfected)."

"..."

Compared to before, his Blood Qi Value had increased by 0.56, Fist Technique proficiency by 4%, Movement Technique proficiency by 37%, Five Hearts Facing Heaven Art by 10%, and Flowing Dragon Steps had reached Perfected.

The change was extremely pronounced.

"Exhilarating!" Lin Mu couldn't help but say.

He stretched his waist and walked outside.

During this period, he went to the Virtual Duel Hall every day, and his practical combat experience had grown significantly.

After these days of dueling, he had completely left the novice stage behind and was only one step away from the One-Star Title.

Arriving at the Virtual Duel Hall, Lin Mu entered the virtual space with practiced ease.

A stream of information appeared.

"Virtual Nickname: Lin Ying."

"Current Rank: None."

"Points: 390."

"..."

"Duel!" Lin Mu said.

"Ding! Your current points have reached the promotion standard. Would you like to participate in the Promotion Match?"

"Participate!"

"Matching... Match successful."

Lin Mu was transported to a dueling platform, and a figure appeared before him.

At the same time he appeared, dozens of figures materialized in the spectator stands.

"Wu Gang, go for it! I'll always love you!"

"Wu Gang is so handsome! Mwah mwah!"

"This match is his promotion match. If he succeeds, he'll be the fastest person in Li City to reach One-Star Rank."

"..."

Voices rained down from the spectator stands.

Lin Mu's face showed a trace of surprise.

Wu Gang!

A Star Martial Artist with some fame in Li City.

He had a handsome face and always livestreamed his training sessions, which had attracted quite a few blind fans.

But his talent was indeed decent. At seventeen, his Blood Qi Value had reached 1.89, and he had mastered multiple martial skills to a high level.

Because of this, he maintained a very high win rate in the Virtual Duel Hall.

When Wu Gang's figure appeared, his eyes locked onto Lin Mu, and his face carried a hint of arrogance.

"You're really unlucky, running into me in your promotion match."

"And then?" Lin Mu said calmly.

"In front of me, you don't stand a chance. If you're willing to admit defeat obediently, I might let you lose with some dignity," Wu Gang said.

"Idiot!" Lin Mu couldn't help but curse.

The Virtual Duel Hall had a very strict regulatory system. If someone deliberately threw a match or voluntarily surrendered, there would be severe penalties.

After all, there was a chance someone had placed bets on every match.

"Ungrateful!" Wu Gang said coldly.

Lin Mu ignored him and directly operated the interface, placing a bet of ten thousand yuan.

Now he could bet five times a day, ten thousand yuan each time.

Once he reached One-Star Rank, the amount would double, but the difficulty of winning would also increase.

Seeing this, Wu Gang sneered and also placed a bet of ten thousand on himself.

His blind fans followed suit, and soon the total bets on his side reached sixty thousand yuan.

A mechanical voice rang out at that moment.

Wu Gang's figure moved, instantly leaping up.

Gales of wind appeared around his leg as he kicked toward Lin Mu with extreme ferocity.

Lin Mu dodged, his right fist gathering power. His fist shadow moved like the wind, striking Wu Gang's abdomen at an extremely tricky angle.

Boom!

Wu Gang was sent flying, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

He adjusted his breathing, his figure moving rapidly as a golden light surged forth.

A kick like a spear appeared before Lin Mu.

Second-stage Martial Skill, Adamantine Leg!

Facing this attack, a Dragon's Roar sounded from Lin Mu's body.

His steps shifted, moving like a swimming dragon.

The moment they clashed, he shattered Wu Gang's assault with overwhelming force, striking Wu Gang hard.

Boom!

A thunderous sound rang out as Wu Gang's figure flew backward, blood spraying from his mouth.

His eyes were filled with utter disbelief.

He was a Prodigy!

Since joining the Virtual Duel Hall, he had maintained a ninety percent win rate.

Yet in a fight with Lin Mu, he hadn't even lasted three moves.

Lin Mu's face carried a calm expression as he slowly walked up to him and kicked him in the face.

"Match over. Winner: Lin Ying!"

A mechanical voice announced.

Lin Mu returned to the virtual space, and at the same time, a series of mechanical voices rang out.

"Congratulations. You have successfully passed the promotion match and obtained the One-Star Title."

"The reward of twenty thousand yuan has been issued."

"Since you have obtained the One-Star Title, part of the Blood Qi Value restriction has been lifted. In future battles, your opponent's Blood Qi Value can differ from yours by at most 0.5."

"..."

Lin Mu let out a light breath upon hearing this information.

He knew that every 0.01 difference in Blood Qi Value created a certain gap.

And a gap of 0.5...

If he wasn't careful, he would lose to his opponent.

Still, this could temper him.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Mu called out again, "Duel."

As his voice fell, his figure was teleported onto the arena platform.

Meanwhile, on the other side, information about him was compiled and appeared on an office desk.