In the Virtual Universe, Luo Zhiyuan logged in using an anonymous account and called Earth. He learned that, just as in the original story, only Luo Feng and Hong had made it into the arena battles. Thunder God had been eliminated early, so he teased them, "Dad, I've already secured a spot in the Peak Finals. You and Uncle Hong had better work hard too. Don't get eliminated early like Uncle Thunder God. That'd be so embarrassing, hehe."
On the other end of the call were Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God. Hearing Luo Zhiyuan tease him, Thunder God jumped up in indignation. "I was just unlucky! I got targeted by the top expert in our virtual world, the 'Wild Savage.' Otherwise, I'd have had a shot at making it to the arena battles too!"
Luo Feng smiled in relief and watched Thunder God jump around with amusement, saying nothing. Hong cut in, "Little Zhiyuan, you've already secured a spot in the Peak Finals? In other words, you ranked first in your virtual world?"
Luo Feng and Thunder God froze, then both turned to look at Luo Zhiyuan.
One had been too busy feeling relieved, the other too busy fuming, and neither had noticed the implication. Only after Hong pointed it out did they realize what it meant.
Luo Zhiyuan nodded as if it were obvious. "Of course. That's how the rules work. And I even got a reward—a whole star system as my territory. I'm a lord now too, hehe."
Hong pondered for a moment, then said, "Little Zhiyuan, with a ranking that good, your strength must be far beyond ours."
"How about this: the three of us will send you videos of our usual training battles. Take a look and assess where our strength stands. Then you can