Two Young Monks
The news of Gu Ding Team's seventy-game winning streak caused an uproar throughout the War God Arena.
With a seventy-game winning streak, Gu Ding and his group's points soared to 5080, directly jumping from the 253rd Floor of the War God Arena to the 509th Floor.
Such a leap is rare in the War God Arena. The emergence of five at once has drawn the attention of many powerful figures to the Gu Ding Team.
Many people above the 300th floor started paying attention to the Gu Ding Team's competition. They were particularly concerned about whether the Gu Ding Team could establish a foothold above the 500th floor.
Because with winning streaks like this, if the streak is broken in the next match after it's completed, the points multiplier for the previous winning streak is canceled. Gu Ding and his team are currently on a 70-game winning streak. If the 71st match is a draw or a loss, the current 5080 points multiplier will be canceled, leaving only half the points at 2540. However, if they win the 71st match, losing the subsequent matches will not affect the multiplier effect. Therefore, the first match after each winning streak is crucial for establishing a firm foothold and is extremely important.
Gu Ding ignored all that and looked at the War Page projected in front of him. The challenge button was grayed out and unselectable. Confused, he scratched his head and asked Sea Emperor, "Is the system broken?"
"You're all so bad! Can't you guys even read the competition rules properly?" Sea Emperor couldn't help but curse. "On days when you've reached the 300th floor, you can't apply for subsequent matches. The purpose is to allow participants to conserve their energy and fight in the best possible condition."
"Furthermore, after the 300th floor, the competition rules have changed significantly. First, you can only participate in a maximum of three matches per day. Second, if you win three or more consecutive matches, you can be blocked by stronger players on higher floors, but the maximum block height cannot be more than 100 floors higher than the blocked player. If you win six or more consecutive matches, the blocking floor limit is raised to 200 floors. If you win nine consecutive matches, anyone below 1000 floors can participate in the blocking. If the blocking is successful, the blocking player will receive corresponding rewards based on the strength of their opponent."
"In other words, you are currently on the 509th Floor. If you win three consecutive matches, anyone below the 609th floor can apply to the system to intercept you. If you win six consecutive matches, anyone below the 709th floor can apply to intercept you. As for the tenth match after nine consecutive wins, it is clear that the system does not want anyone to win. Even strong individuals above the 800th floor who have obtained the qualification to directly access the Universe Sea may make a move."
"Those who got direct qualification must be really strong," Gu Ding grinned, revealing his white teeth. Clearly, he was more interested in stronger opponents. "It's a pity we can only have a maximum of three matches per day."
Gu Ding wandered around the arena on the 509th Floor, watching several matches on different stages, but nothing particularly exciting happened. These Combat Strength were only around Two-Star Low-rank God, posing little threat to him.
Just as Gu Ding was about to leave the War God Arena, his gaze suddenly fell upon a stage where a boy of about seven or eight years old was standing. This immediately caught Gu Ding's attention. Each level of the War God Arena was accessed directly by the system. The boy's presence on this level indicated that he was qualified to stand here. However, given his young age, Gu Ding immediately wanted to watch the entire match.
On the ring, the little boy had a shaved Bald Head and wore a blue monk's robe. His opponent was a burly man over two meters tall. His face was full of scars, and he looked quite frightening. His weapon was a heavy hammer.
The young monk was extremely thin and small. He appeared visibly fearful upon seeing his opponent, his gaze constantly drifting towards another young monk below the arena. Below the arena, that young monk also looked quite young, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old.
"These two are Martial Monk," the Sea Emperor whispered in Gu Ding's ear. "Martial Monk are a school of thought left over from the Buddhist Cultivation Civilization of the Middle Ancient Era. The Buddhist Cultivation Civilization is quite peculiar, emphasizing the cultivation of the mind and the strengthening of the soul. They believe that the physical body is merely a shell, so they don't value physical cultivation. However, in the Near Ancient Era, the Buddhist Cultivation Civilization split, with one group believing that physical strength was also necessary, and this group became known as the Martial Monk school. After the emergence of the Martial Monk school, many powerful individuals began to emerge in the Buddhist Cultivation Civilization, because their souls were extremely strong, making their cultivation twice as effective."
On the stage, the young monk quickly found himself in a predicament. He was constantly being chased by his opponent, and he was only focused on escaping. Despite having many opportunities to counterattack, he missed them all.
Gu Ding could also tell that the little monk was actually quite strong, just a bit timid.
"Shi Jia, don't run away, fight back!" The young monk below the arena couldn't stand it any longer and shouted sharply.
The young monk hesitated for a moment before stopping, then resolutely closed his eyes, turned around, and unleashed a perfectly executed set of punches, each landing steadily on his opponent. After completing twelve punches, he opened his eyes, only to find his opponent's body rapidly disintegrating.
Gu Ding nodded with satisfaction. Although the set of boxing techniques was too orthodox, the young monk was clearly very proficient in it, his movements were fluid, and there was almost nothing to criticize. After watching all the matches, Gu Ding actually felt that of all the matches he had seen, this young monk was the strongest.
After stepping off the stage, the young monk kept his head down, not daring to look at the young monk.
"You didn't perform as well as you did yesterday," the young monk said, ruffling the little monk's head. "Didn't I tell you not to panic when you encounter an opponent?"
"But I'm scared..." the little monk said, sounding a little aggrieved.
"Are you afraid of losing?" the young monk asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I'm not afraid!" The little monk innocently shook his head.
"So you're afraid of pain?" the young monk continued.
"I'm not afraid!" the little monk shook his head again.
"Then what are you afraid of?" the young monk asked, somewhat puzzled.
"But that person looked so fierce, I was scared," the little monk finally revealed the truth.
"Master always says that the physical body is just an external thing, how can you be so frightened by a mere physical body?" the young monk admonished. "If you're afraid of even humans, what will you do when you encounter insectoid creatures in the future?"
"Yes, many Zerg are not only ugly when they're alive, but their blood is also green and sticky when they die," Gu Ding said, trying to scare the little monk.
He could tell that the two young monks were likely fellow disciples. The younger monk was quite strong, and although his senior brother was young, his aura was as calm as a still lake, making it difficult for Gu Ding to gauge his strength. This struck Gu Ding as odd, so he immediately approached the two.
Upon hearing Gu Ding's words, the little monk scurried behind the young monk, peeking out only half of his head to peek at Gu Ding.
"My name is Gu Ding," Gu Ding introduced himself.
"Senior brother, senior brother... he's the leader of that team of five powerhouses who achieved a seventy-game winning streak!" The little monk tugged at the young monk's robe and whispered a reminder. "They're Interstellar Pirate..."
After hearing Gu Ding's introduction, the young monk was somewhat afraid of Gu Ding, whether because of Gu Ding's strength or because of Gu Ding identity as Interstellar Pirate. He hid behind his senior brother and refused to come out.
The young monk naturally knew Gu Ding's identity. The War God Arena broadcast the news of Gu Ding Team's winning streak three times in one day, and everyone in the War God Arena heard it clearly. Moreover, after Gu Ding Team achieved a seventy-game winning streak, discussions about Gu Ding were endless.
But the young monk remained calm, like a still lake, and said to Gu Ding with his hands clasped together, "Greetings, Little Monk. I am Na Luo, and my junior brother Shi Jia and I have come out to gain experience."
"You guys are very strong, and I look forward to meeting you in the later matches." Gu Ding expressed his desire without any reservation.
Upon hearing Gu Ding's words, the young monk Shi Jia quickly shrank back, afraid that Gu Ding would see him and challenge him. He completely forgot that only after three consecutive victories was he qualified to be challenged.
Na Luo listened and simply smiled faintly, "This Little Monk does not wish to meet you in the arena, in fact, he does not wish to meet any member of your team in the arena."
Na Luo's words were entirely true. Although he hadn't watched Gu Ding's team's matches, he knew how difficult a seventy-game winning streak was, let alone a decisive victory. He didn't even need to watch Gu Ding's matches to know that everyone on their team was ruthless and decisive. But he was also a little puzzled because he couldn't sense any bloodlust from Gu Ding.
"I see, alright then." Gu Ding understood their thinking; after all, his team had been in the limelight that day, so it was normal for them to be a little intimidated. However, he also liked the two monks' straightforwardness and honesty. "Then good luck to you!"
After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Ding left the War God Arena.
Inside the War God Arena, the young monk Shi Jia finally peeked out, "Senior brother, he's gone?"
"Let's go." Na Luo nodded.
"Senior brother, are you afraid of Gu Ding?" Shi Jia suddenly asked.
"I'm not afraid." Na Luo shook his head.
"Are you afraid of the rest of their team?" Shi Jia continued to press.
"I'm not afraid," Na Luo replied with the same answer.
"So you're afraid of losing?" Shi Jia touched his nose and asked somewhat unsure of himself.
"I'm not afraid." Na Luo shook his head again.
"Then why do you say you don't want to meet them on the arena?" Shi Jia asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Because I don't like meeting anyone in the ring." Na Luo's words revealed his true feelings. He didn't like fighting by nature, but for this experience, he had to subdue his inner demons and become stronger.
Shi Jia may have understood, or he may not have. He scratched his bald head and didn't ask any further questions.
~~~
[I've always wanted to write a story about monks, but I never imagined it would appear in this book first... I owed three chapters in August, and another one yesterday, so this is four chapters.] (To be continued...)