Duel Space

A massive hall shaped like a city, with a vast backdrop made of blood droplets.

"Now that's impressive." Sett looked around the enormous hall. There weren't many people here, though.

"It's all right. Once you've seen it enough, it's nothing special," King Zhenlian said. "Come to think of it, I haven't been to places like this in ages. Stepping back in feels a little strange."

"I'll transfer you a hundred million Ganwu Coins. Take your time and have fun. I'm heading out. If you need anything, ask your AI assistant."

With that, King Zhenlian disappeared, though it was hard to tell whether she had logged off or teleported somewhere else.

"Heh heh, this Killing Space arena is the perfect place to start practicing." Sett grinned wickedly, itching to get started.

He paid through his AI assistant. It didn't matter how much he spent—he had plenty of money.

"Let's see. Since I'm a Planetary Level Nine, I can only challenge other Planetary Level Nines." Sett stood in one corner of the Killing Field hall, looking at the screen floating in front of him.

It displayed a long list of opponents and their strength ratings. To fight, he had to send a challenge request and wait for the other person to accept before the battle could begin.

"Damn, you've got some nerve calling yourself an unrivaled expert. Zero wins and 321 losses. How the hell did you manage that?" Sett couldn't help but complain.

People could pick any name they wanted in the Duel Space, so there were plenty of ridiculous ones.

The Duel Space also rated people based on their performance.

As a newcomer, Sett didn't even have a single star.

"You'll do. None of you have any stars anyway, and the stronger ones probably won't bother accepting. I'll start with the one-star guys." Sett found some one-star fighters, sent out a few challenges at random, then waited.

While he waited, Sett picked a name for himself: The Boss.

"Heh heh, I finally have somewhere to use this name. Woohoo, here I come!" Sett thought with a grin.

"Your challenge has been accepted. Transferring you to the Decisive Battle Space." The Virtual Universe System's notification appeared on Sett's screen.

"These one-star 'experts' sure are full of themselves. Took them long enough to accept. Just wait—I'll beat your heads in." Sett saw that his opponent was named "Pitian Kandi" and couldn't help complaining.

Sett's vision went black. When it cleared, he found himself on a vast plain with a metal platform about ten kilometers across.

A burly man wielding a blade stood on the platform. He taunted Sett, "What backwater planet did you crawl out of? You're a Planetary Level Nine, and you still don't have a rating. But I love beating up rookies like you. That's what a real expert does! Hahaha!"

Pitian Kandi had five wins and thirteen losses.

"Maybe you can't beat anyone else, so you're picking on a rookie like me?" Sett jumped onto the platform and gave the burly man the middle finger.

The man didn't know exactly what the gesture meant, but he could tell it wasn't anything good.

"Less talk, more hacking!" The man hefted his enormous blade and swung it at Sett.

"Too slow!" Sett saw the man's blade moving as if in slow motion and casually dodged it.

"That's all you've got?" Sett said, then kicked the man in the backside, sending him sprawling face-first onto the platform.

Sett sauntered over and planted a foot on the man. "You think rookies are easy targets?"

Sett had spent two years training like mad without talking to anyone. The only person he'd exchanged a few words with was King Zhenlian, who had been beating him up for almost two years.

"This is my first fight. You've been acting like such a big shot, so I'll teach you a lesson. Get up!" Sett kicked the burly man hundreds of meters away.

"You'll pay for that!" Pitian Kandi had never been humiliated like this. He sprang upright and charged at Sett again, swinging his blade.

Sett slapped him with one hand. With tenfold force behind his attacks, even a casual slap packed terrifying power.

The poor burly man was sent flying off the platform and disappeared from sight.

The Boss wins!

The Virtual Universe System issued a notification, announcing The Boss's first victory.

"Who's next?" Sett sent out a long string of challenge requests and waited for his next target.

"A rookie with one win and no losses. You only won because you got lucky. I'll show you what a one-star expert can do!" said a black-robed man holding a dagger.

The man called himself "Void Blade." He had twelve wins and three losses, which was a pretty good record among one-star fighters.

"One star and you're already acting so cocky. What, will you be flying to the heavens when you reach two stars?" Sett couldn't help giving the black-robed man the middle finger. This guy was even more full of himself than Sett was.

The man saw Sett's gesture, then darted away and vanished.

Sett casually threw a punch behind him. The black-robed man was sent flying with a single blow.

"You think you can sneak up on me with skills like that? Don't make me laugh." Sett leaped after him and taunted him.

"Again! This time, you're dead!" The black-robed man gritted his teeth, darted in again, and stabbed at Sett.

"Your skills are decent, but you picked the wrong opponent."

Sett's reflexes were incredibly fast. Even though the black-robed man moved quickly, Sett could still follow him.

One punch sent the man flying off the platform.

The Boss's second fight: victory!

"Keep them coming." Sett continued sending out challenge requests.

"You're so disrespectful. You didn't even bring a weapon. If I'd known, I wouldn't have accepted your challenge. There's no point winning against someone like you." A burly man with an honest-looking face and a three-meter-tall frame stood on the platform, addressing Sett.

The Killing Field's Duel Space let fighters choose their weapons and armor. The Virtual Universe could simulate more than ninety-nine percent of weapons, and the Killing Space could do the same.

But Sett hadn't brought any weapons. He was only wearing the clothes he'd just bought through his AI assistant.

"Heh heh, fists are the best weapons." Sett looked up at the giant.

At three meters tall, the man stood as high as a one-story building. Standing before Sett, he had a considerable advantage in presence alone.

"Since you didn't bring a weapon, I'll let you make the first move. Go ahead." The giant's nickname was "Unrivaled."

Unrivaled had twelve wins and only two losses. He was a formidable fighter, and a few more victories would put him at two stars.

"Fists don't have eyes, so watch out, Unrivaled." As Sett spoke, he threw a punch with his right hand.

"I'll block it!" Unrivaled raised his huge club and tried to fend off Sett's powerful punch.

Crack!

The club couldn't withstand Sett's punch and shattered. The tremendous force sent Unrivaled flying.

"What incredible strength. No wonder you didn't bring a weapon." The giant crouched on the ground.

"You're pretty strong, but this is the Virtual Universe. In the real universe, you'll have to be careful. Always respect the universe!" Unrivaled knew he wasn't a match for Sett, so he took the opportunity to remind him.

"Sure. Sorry about this time. Let's add each other as friends when we're out." Sett found the giant interesting and decided to add him as a friend. It would be nice to meet someone new.

"Okay. I'll forfeit, then. We'll fight again next time!"

The Boss's third fight: victory!

Sett had earned one star. But this was only the beginning. He sent Unrivaled a friend request, then continued with the duels.

"Haha, you must be The Boss. Your fists pack a punch. I'm Unrivaled, but you can call me by my real name, Sanying." A towering man, three meters tall, spoke to Sett.

"Nice to meet you! I'm The Boss, but you can call me by my real name too—Sett." Sett took an instant liking to the giant before him.

"So, are you still sending out challenges?" Sanying asked.

"Yeah. I've only got one star so far, and I can't find any tough opponents. I need to climb the ranks first," Sett said with a grin.

"Fair enough. With your strength, you could probably make it to seven or eight stars. Maybe even nine," Sanying said with a nod.

"Heh heh, I'll be right back." Sett saw that someone had accepted his challenge and hurried to tell Sanying.

Less than half a minute later, Sett reappeared beside Sanying.

"That was fast!" Sanying knew how strong Sett was, but was still surprised.

"Of course. My friend's waiting here—I couldn't leave him waiting for long. I went in and sent the guy packing with one punch." Sett grinned.

"That guy thought he was a two-star expert. As soon as I went in, he started taunting me, convinced he could beat any one-star fighter. Heh, I love people who talk a big game." Sett continued.

"Exactly. Some people aren't much good, but they sure know how to run their mouths. If there were a contest for that, they'd win a prize for sure," Sanying said with a laugh.

Sett had trained with a King Level expert and had the Zhenying Fist to back him up. He didn't even need to use his Innate Secret Technique, so winning was a breeze.

"Haha, come on. Let's go have a drink."

"Let's go!"

The two stopped dueling and went to enjoy a drink together and get to know each other better.