The Black Dragon Ranking

When Chen Daolin came out of the Trial Tower, he found Yang Hui standing by the entrance, looking down at his information on the black stone pillar to the left of the main entrance. Yang Hui patted him on the shoulder and comforted him. "It's all right. Cheer up. You'll have another chance."

"..."

Yang Hui led Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan out of the Nine-Layered Tower, asking as they walked, "What codenames are you planning to choose? Today is August 29, 2056, so you'll have to wait until September 1 to officially join the Training Camp... That means your codenames have to start with 5608. As for the last two digits, since only the two of you are joining in August, you can discuss and choose two numbers."

"Hmm, I'll go with 34," Chen Daolin said.

"Then I'll choose 67," Ji Xuan said. She had always remembered that passing out on the day of the college entrance exam, June 7, had been a turning point in her life.

"34? 67?" Yang Hui nodded. "Those will be your student codes. The rest of the paperwork will be taken care of right away."

That very day, two new names appeared on the Black Dragon Sculpture Ranking of the world's number-one Training Camp: "No. 183 Chen Daolin ()" and "No. 184 Ji Xuan ()."

The news spread almost instantly to the five great powers around the world and their various Base Cities. Governments, military forces, special organizations, and wealthy families all learned of it. Information on Chen Daolin and Luo Bin was quickly gathered as well.

Jiangnan Pavilion was a compound set aside specifically for students from Jiangnan Base City. It had four buildings in all. With the newly arrived Chen Daolin and Ji Xuan joining the two students who already lived there, Jiangnan Pavilion now had four students.

Chen Daolin soon met his two roommates, Shi Jiang and Zhao Ruo.

Shi Jiang was a little over 1.7 meters tall. He was lean but sturdy, with muscles that seemed forged from steel. His gaze was restrained, though now and then a glint in his eyes could make people's hearts skip a beat. He was said to be strong enough to consistently remain in the top five of the Black Dragon Ranking.

Zhao Ruo, by contrast, was a petite girl with short hair, slightly dark skin, and small eyes. She looked quite ordinary, but she was outgoing and lively, and very warm toward others.

Jiangnan Pavilion had four buildings. Shi Jiang lived in the one to the south, while Zhao Ruo lived in the one to the west. Chen Daolin chose the building to the east, and Ji Xuan lived in the one to the north.

At the enthusiastic invitation of their "senior sister" Zhao Ruo, the other three came to visit her in her building's living room.

After chatting for a while, Chen Daolin learned a lot about the Elite Training Camp from Zhao Ruo and Shi Jiang. They told him, for instance, about the points that were so important to the students.

The Black Dragon Ranking was essentially a leaderboard for points: the more points you had, the higher your rank.

From the 1st to the 28th of every month, students earned points. The rankings were tallied on the 29th to determine each month's final standings. When the next month began, everyone's points were cleared and reset to zero. Then they worked hard to earn more points and climb the rankings again.

Points were calculated by multiplying "Battle Achievement Points" by "Combat Power Amplitude."

Battle Achievement Points were earned by killing monsters.

An Elementary Beast General-level monster was worth 1 Battle Achievement Point.

An Intermediate Beast General-level monster was worth 10 Battle Achievement Points.

An Advanced Beast General-level monster was worth 100 Battle Achievement Points.

An Elementary Lord-level monster was worth 1,000 Battle Achievement Points.

"Combat Power Amplitude" was simple: it was the "punch-force exertion level" multiplied by the "Trial Tower level." It could only be determined in the Virtual Space.

For example, if someone had 1,000 Battle Achievement Points, a punch-force exertion level of 1.5, and a Trial Tower level of 2, their Combat Power Amplitude would be 3. Their points would be 1,000 multiplied by 3, giving them a total of 3,000!

Points were extremely important in the Training Camp. The higher a student's rank, the more resources they received, and some of those special resources were coveted even by War Gods. As a result, nearly everyone in the top thirty of the Training Camp had War God-level strength. Yet they kept their strength hidden and avoided hunting even Elementary Lord-level monsters, staying in the Training Camp instead.

This made the competition in the Training Camp extremely fierce.

Chen Daolin returned to his building, sat down at the desk in his study, and opened his computer to read the "Student Handbook."

Points were extremely important; they determined how resources were allocated among every student in the Training Camp.

"Trial Room? Challenge Room? Gravity Room? These three training rooms were all made using artifacts from the Ancient Civilization Ruins." As he read, Chen Daolin learned more and more about the Elite Training Camp. It truly had a great deal of advanced equipment, though the most valuable items were still the devices from the Ancient Civilization Ruins.

There was only one of certain devices from the Ancient Civilization, such as the "Gravity Room." How was training time allocated? That depended on the students' points. Those with more points naturally got more time to train and improved faster.

"If you rank first each month and manage to do so nine times, you can receive a portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, choose any three complete sets of secret manuals for free, and choose Hong or Thunder God as your teacher, becoming a personal disciple."

"If you rank first each month and manage to do so six times, you can receive a drop of Jade Marrow worth 30 billion, choose any complete set of secret manuals for free, and receive one personal lesson from Hong or Thunder God."

"Punch-force exertion level 6: receive a portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, an SS-Class Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons..."

"Punch-force exertion level 5: receive..."

"Trial Tower level 5: receive the position of Inspector in the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, a portion of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, an SS-Class Combat Suit, a complete set of weapons, any three complete sets of secret manuals, and a set of the Ancient Civilization Ruins' 'Black God'..."

There were several ways to earn huge rewards: monthly rankings, punch-force requirements, and Trial Tower levels...

The rewards for Trial Tower levels were clearly the best. But when Chen Daolin thought about his own Trial Tower level of 1.0, he silently skipped past that section.

Even the world's number-one fighter, Hong, had only reached the sixth level. Reaching the fifth would make someone one of the world's most elite fighters, second only to Hong and Thunder God.

As for punch-force exertion level, if he could master the first level of World Destroyer, he could increase his strength by 90 percent, bringing his exertion level to 1.9. But that was still far from the requirement for the huge rewards.

So all he could do was look on enviously.

"Gun technique, Movement Technique... Looks like I'll have to work hard." Chen Daolin clenched his fist, a surge of ambition rising in his heart. Since he had come to this world, he naturally wanted to make something of himself.

The Training Camp focused most on three things: Trial Tower level, punch-force exertion level, and rank on the Black Dragon Ranking!

To raise his Trial Tower level, he had to improve his gun technique, Movement Technique, and exertion level.

To raise his punch-force exertion level, he had to comprehend the World Destroyer gun technique.

And his rank on the Black Dragon Ranking was determined by his Combat Power Amplitude (Trial Tower level × punch-force exertion level) multiplied by the Battle Achievement Points he earned from hunting monsters.

So, strength was the foundation, and comprehending the gun technique was the foundation.

Chen Daolin suddenly understood.

Then he eagerly looked up a number of instructional videos by War Gods. The video directory clearly divided them into categories, including Guidance Technique, Movement Technique, exertion, saber techniques, sword techniques...

Chen Daolin started with the Movement Technique videos. From them, he learned that Movement Technique was divided into four levels: Basic Level, Micro-level, Perfect Level, and Artistic Conception Level. These depended mainly on personal insight and were difficult to teach. The Artistic Conception Level was even impossible to put into words.

Saber techniques, gun techniques, and the like were likewise divided into four levels: Basic Level, Proficient Level, Mastery Level, and Artistic Conception Level.

Chen Daolin's gun technique and Movement Technique were both still at the Basic Level. Among all the students in the Training Camp, he was at the very bottom.

He was bewildered.

How did I even get into the Training Camp in the first place?

Right, thanks to his physical strength and King Kai Fist.

A flash of inspiration crossed Chen Daolin's mind.

Could he use King Kai Fist in the Virtual Space?

Chen Daolin thought it over carefully.

If he could use King Kai Fist, he would be able to improve his overall strength. At the moment, he could use Kaio-ken x3.

Everyone's physical attributes in the Virtual Space were fixed and had nothing to do with their physical attributes in reality. In other words, if he could use King Kai Fist, he could triple his strength.

His punch-force exertion level would instantly reach 3.0!

And it wasn't just his punch force that would triple. His speed, reflexes, defense... everything would improve significantly. He'd be about as strong as an Advanced General-level fighter. An Advanced General-level fighter could kill an Elementary Beast General-level monster with ease. Even if he were surrounded, he could use his speed to create distance, then strike back.

That would be incredible. Maybe he could even clear the first level of the Trial Tower and raise his Trial Tower level to 2.0.

Then his Combat Power Amplitude would be 6.0! That way, by the end of next month, his ranking would surely rise a lot. He might even shock a whole bunch of people.

Chen Daolin grew excited.

The question now was whether he could use King Kai Fist in the Virtual Space. In theory, since punch-force exertion techniques could be used in the Virtual Space, and King Kai Fist worked on a similar principle, then he should be able to use it there too. He had already mastered Kaio-ken x3 in reality, so he ought to be able to use it in the Virtual Space.