Global Rank [4684]

Chapter 22

In rank matchmaking mode, as his winning streak continued, Li Yuan occasionally matched against experts with over 500 points in the Gold Rank.

But they were a minority after all. Most of the time, priority went to opponents with similar rank points.

After creating "Hidden Dragon in the Rocky Ravine," my spear technique had greatly improved. When facing Martial Arts experts in the lower Gold Rank again, my win rate had risen sharply. Li Yuan was somewhat mentally exhausted, but he was still filled with fighting spirit.

His points had soared all the way up to this point.

Ordinary adults did not have sufficiently strong mental strength. They probably needed to rest after six or seven battles, and could fight at most twenty or thirty matches a day. Otherwise, it would damage their minds and affect their real-life cultivation. Li Yuan's eyes gleamed. "But I can go through two hundred Virtual Wars in a single day and still maintain peak condition."

Why had Li Yuan's Martial Arts Technique continued to soar over the past year?

Aside from the fact that he truly possessed talent with the spear,

it was also inseparably connected to his ever-strengthening mental power.

The stronger his mental power, the greater his control over his body during daily cultivation, and the faster his spear technique improved.

Likewise, during Virtual Network battles, it allowed him to fight more matches.

The Virtual Wars he experienced in one year were equivalent to the tempering that many people received over three or even five years of Virtual Wars.

With that being the case, how could Li Yuan's Martial Arts Technique not improve rapidly?

"I have to win the final match."

"The fifty thousand is mine." Li Yuan clicked the option box—begin matching.

Beep—match successful.

"You are about to enter a ranked match. Your opponent is Gold Rank (499 points)... Countdown: 10, 9..."

Inside a livestream room on Starry Sky Fighting Net, the stream's title read, "The Road to Martial Arts Valedictorian: Charging Furiously Toward 500 Gold Points."

Within the livestream room were an elven-clad girl who looked around seventeen or eighteen, and... a middle-aged commentator.

"Brothers."

"Xiu'er has ambitions of becoming Nanming City's Martial Arts valedictorian. In the previous school Martial Arts assessment, her Martial Arts Technique score exceeded 360 points... Today, she is attempting to break through to 500 Gold Rank points."

The girl occasionally tilted her head, looking extremely adorable as she waited for a match.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged commentator was highly excited.

"Five hundred Gold Rank points—not just in Nanming City, but in all of Jiangbei Province, there are still fewer than fifty people under eighteen who have reached this rank... Let's see whether Xiu'er can succeed on her third attempt." The middle-aged commentator spoke rapidly.

"Oh! Match successful!"

"Her opponent has 496 points. It looks like this is also a Martial Arts expert attempting to reach the Gold Rank threshold."

"In today's first two attempts, she encountered opponents with over 600 points. This opponent only has 496 points... Let's wait and see... 5, 4..." the middle-aged man said excitedly.

There were as many Gold Rank Martial Arts streamers as hairs on an ox.

But underage streamers who could reach Gold Rank were rather rare. Aiming for the college entrance examination's top spot, an elven girl, pretty... such gimmicks were even more eye-catching.

This young female streamer named "Xiu'er" was quite popular on Starry Sky Fighting Net.

At this moment, the viewer count had already exceeded two thousand.

Of course, minors were not allowed to livestream alone. They had to be at least sixteen, required a guardian's accompaniment, and faced weekly time limits on livestreaming... These were all explicitly stipulated by law.

"This time, she should make it."

"With the opponent at 496 points, they look much weaker than her first two opponents."

"Kill them."

"Xiu'er has already fought over thirty matches today. Her win rate today is 56.6%, which is pretty good. Sending a tip."

"I've watched Xiu'er's streams for two years."

"It's raising her up! Raising a Martial Arts valedictorian—I'm waiting for the day Xiu'er becomes one."

"She'll definitely win." Massive waves of text bullet comments, voice bullet comments, and video bullet comments flashed past... along with all kinds of tips.

Suddenly.

Whoosh! The livestream scene changed, forming an arena. A youth holding a long spear appeared on the other side of the ring.

"A youth?"

"The opponent looks so young. Could he be a minor too?"

"He must be an adult. This is only a virtual avatar. If he were also a minor, wouldn't he also be able to compete for the college entrance examination's top spot?" The viewers discussed it.

On the battle arena.

"Hm? So many people?" The moment Li Yuan stepped onto the arena, he saw that the previously empty spectator stands had suddenly filled with a vast crowd, packed densely together.

Looking around, there were probably several thousand people.

"A major streamer?" Li Yuan swept his gaze over the area before finally landing on the elven girl over twenty meters away, who held a silver spear.

In normal Gold Rank matchmaking, even if one encountered a streamer, having over a hundred viewers was already quite good.

A major streamer with over a thousand spectators? This was Li Yuan's first time encountering one today.

Li Yuan could have completely muted the spectator stands and blocked out the audience beyond the arena... but he chose neither option.

"A streamer?"

"She even seems to be an underage girl streamer?" Li Yuan heard some of the spectators' voices. "Let's see how strong she is."

In truth, it was not as though Li Yuan had never tried livestreaming. He had once wanted to earn money through streaming and ease his family's financial pressure... but he quickly discovered something.

The waters in this line of work ran too deep.

Unless one was a supreme expert who had reached the Eclipse Rank, becoming popular was extraordinarily difficult.

For streamers who became popular, Martial Arts Technique was only a small part of the reason.

Being able to fight did not mean being able to stream.

Nothing that made money was easy.

Moreover, Li Yuan understood things clearly. Virtual battles were ultimately only supplementary tempering for Martial Arts Technique. Real-life cultivation was the core.

The purpose of earning money was also to cultivate Martial Arts.

He could not sacrifice the root for the branches.

"Xiu'er?" Li Yuan looked at the elven girl's name and vaguely recalled it. He seemed to have scrolled past some of her livestream clips before.

But the impression was not deep. She probably was not that kind of top-tier streamer.

"Hello."

"For this match, could you go easy on me?" The elven girl held her silver spear and smiled playfully, looking quite adorable.

Li Yuan frowned slightly.

Whoosh!

The elven girl suddenly moved. Her Level 8.0 physical fitness gave her incredible speed as she charged at Li Yuan like lightning.

"Xiu'er is being unethical again."

"Stab him!"

"This kid got fooled too, huh? He probably hasn't watched Xiu'er's stream." A flood of voices rose from the spectator stands.

"Pfft!" The silver spear thrust straight ahead!

"A direct thrust?"

Li Yuan did not hesitate in the slightest. His left hand gripped the butt of the spear while his right supported the shaft, and he likewise launched a direct thrust from the Centered Level Stance.

It was as though they were both using moves meant to perish together.

But Li Yuan's chosen spear was nearly three meters long, about half a meter longer than his opponent's... and Li Yuan's avatar was taller, with a greater reach.

It was destined that Li Yuan's spear would strike first.

An inch longer, an inch stronger.

"Bang~"

At the instant their spearheads crossed, the elven girl's silver spear violently trembled, erupting with terrifying force as she attempted to knock Li Yuan's spear aside... Clearly, she had also noticed the disadvantage of her weapon.

"Bang~"

Yet Li Yuan seemed to have foreseen it. He also shook his great spear, meeting force with force.

Then, with a glance from the corner of his eye, Li Yuan retreated sharply with the momentum, landing and dispersing the impact of that force.

Whoosh! A violent spear wind howled.

The elven girl's following strike missed, its spearhead only an inch away from Li Yuan's head.

"Even after repeated collisions, she can keep her spear stable and attack continuously... This should be a killing combo." After evading the strike, Li Yuan made his judgment. "I need to be careful."

In a normal life-and-death fight, the rebounding impact from repeated collisions would travel through the spear shaft and affect the wielder. Many movements became difficult to perform, requiring readjustment.

Yet she could attack continuously, which meant her combo was highly unusual.

A so-called killing move was one that perfectly mobilized one's force, allowing defenses and attack combinations that ordinary people could not achieve.

"What fast reactions. What powerful footwork." The elven girl's pretty face was equally shocked.

This combo was one of her killing moves. When she launched a surprise attack, she could often end the battle in two or three moves.

..."What incredible footwork."

"So steady!"

"There are experts among the common folk."

"Xiu'er got out-Xiu'ered." Many viewers in the spectator stands laughed. They did not actually care that much about winning or losing.

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"

Their weapons collided again and again. Both were considered spear experts, their bodies moving at high speed as they constantly probed each other.

They tried to seize the other's flaws and find an opportunity.

But Li Yuan was extremely steady. He basically did not attack proactively, seeking no merit but only avoiding fault. He blocked the elven girl's silver spear again and again through defense.

"Virtual battles are meant to temper my spear technique. Fighting one more match or one fewer match makes no difference." Li Yuan's heart was still as water, and he was in no rush.

But the elven girl grew increasingly anxious.

She had already heard the jeers from the surrounding audience. Many were teasing her: "This is kind of boring," "Why aren't they fighting yet?" "Just charge in!" "They're just circling each other," "Are these two putting on an opera?" "If she can't show off, can she still be called Xiu'er?" "What happened to all that boasting?" "Told you she wasn't good enough"...

The elven girl wanted both victory, to reach 500 points and claim the reward, and a good livestream effect.

"This guy is like a turtle."

"If this keeps up, it won't end in five minutes. Half the audience will probably leave. I can't wait any longer." The elven girl gritted her teeth and took the initiative to attack.

"Clang!" "Bang~"

After several collisions between spear shafts and spearheads, Li Yuan kept retreating with his spear while the elven girl advanced step after step.

"An opening." The elven girl's eyes brightened slightly.

In fewer than ten exchanges, Li Yuan had nearly been forced to the edge of the arena. Just as the elven girl thought she was about to win—

Whoosh! Li Yuan, who had defended throughout the entire fight, suddenly erupted. The long spear in his hand shot forward.

Rip—

The spear tore through the air, unleashing a piercing shriek!

"Not good." The elven girl, Xiu'er, had barely contracted her pupils and tried to retreat when the spearhead had already pierced her throat.

It was simply too fast!

The fight had lasted nearly two minutes, and she had held the upper hand for over ninety percent of that time.

But when she attacked repeatedly, at the instant her old force was exhausted and new force had yet to arise, Li Yuan seized the opportunity. She was defeated in a single exchange.

"Martial Arts livestreams have good entertainment value. Viewers tip gifts, and streamers can profit."

"Spectators can sometimes also ignite one's fighting passion." Li Yuan silently withdrew his spear and glanced toward the bustling spectator stands in the distance. "But those who rise with the momentum are often trapped and disturbed by that same momentum."

"A life-and-death battle should be pure."

"Battle is not for entertainment. It is to determine life and death."

"Your Martial Arts Technique is not beneath mine, but your mind was not wholly focused on the battle." Li Yuan stared at the elven girl whose body had already vanished. "That is why you lost."

Life-and-death combat had never been determined solely by physical fitness and the level of one's Martial Arts Technique.

There was also one's mentality.

Having cultivated the Rock Cultivation Method, Li Yuan's mentality was terrifyingly steady.

"Congratulations, Guardian Yuan. You have won this Gold Rank Match. Points +10."

"Congratulations, Guardian Yuan. You have reached 500 Gold Rank points and are qualified to claim a reward of 50,000 Blue Star Coins."

"Congratulations, Guardian Yuan. You have entered the Blue Star Youth Ranking. Your global rank is [4684], your Xia Country rank is [1224], and your Jiangbei Sub-district rank is [47]. Detailed rankings may be checked through the following methods..."

(End of this chapter)