A Total Rout

On a virtual arena within the Heaven Martial Battle Net, two figures suddenly solidified.

Zhang Zhihao braced himself and looked at his matched opponent not far away. He saw that the other person's face was shrouded in a hazy mist, making their features indistinguishable; clearly, they had enabled anonymous mode.

He immediately pulled up the opponent's information panel and quickly scanned the data.

"Blood-Qi value just broke 3, zero ranked matches... Ha, a total rookie, this one's in the bag!"

"The internet fees today weren't wasted after all. After three straight losses, the Battle Net finally decided to throw me a bone!"

Thinking that he could easily "smurf," the gloom from his recent losing streak was instantly dispelled, and his mood brightened.

However, out of caution, he decided to use the 10-second preparation time before the fight to strike first, disrupt his opponent's mindset, and ensure his victory was foolproof.

"Tch, hiding your head and showing your tail, another anonymous coward!" Zhang Zhihao activated his trash-talk mode, his voice carrying deliberate disdain. "A real man should show his name with pride!"

Chen Mochuan was taken aback upon hearing this, not expecting his matched opponent to be such a chuunibyou.

But he ignored the other's words, instead using the 10-second safety period to focus and observe his opponent.

The 10 seconds of preparation time passed in a flash, and the moment the countdown hit zero, the battle officially began!

Zhang Zhihao launched the first offensive, pushing off the ground to dash forward, throwing a jab straight at Chen Mochuan's face. The whistling of his fist showed he had been building power for a while.

Facing the fierce Zhang Zhihao, Chen Mochuan did not show the slightest panic. He met the strike head-on without dodging, and their fists collided with a dull thud.

The two traded blows, both utilizing techniques from the Foundation Building Fist.

Zhang Zhihao's fist style was rigid and fierce, seeking a quick resolution.

Chen Mochuan, however, defended while attacking, his movements fluid and natural. He neutralized the opponent's fierce onslaught at the very last second, appearing to focus on defense while firmly controlling the rhythm of the battle.

After a dozen moves, Chen Mochuan had figured out Zhang Zhihao's general situation.

The opponent's Foundation Building Fist was at a higher level than Lu Feng's, reaching the mastery stage. However, looking at his application of fist force, he had yet to grasp Clear Force. Coupled with a Blood-Qi value of only 3.63, his overall strength was actually inferior to Lu Feng's.

Still, he qualified as a decent free sparring partner.

Chen Mochuan had a thought. He recalled his previous sparring session with Feng Shi; because the other man was too strong, even his full-force attacks couldn't leave a scratch, and he hadn't fully grasped the practical effects of Clear Force. He decided to use Zhang Zhihao to test it out.

He deliberately left a flaw, exposing his left flank.

Zhang Zhihao was overjoyed at the sight, thinking he had seized a winning opportunity, and threw a full-force punch!

Chen Mochuan tilted his body slightly, his left hand flicking and guiding like a swimming fish, easily neutralizing the charged strike. His right fist, secretly imbued with Clear Force, struck Zhang Zhihao's ribs like lightning.

A dull "bang" was accompanied by Zhang Zhihao's cry of pain: "Ah!"

The sharp pain from his ribs made Zhang Zhihao break out in a cold sweat. The pain simulation in ranked matches was identical to reality and could not be adjusted; this strike made him feel as if his ribs had cracked!

When the ranked match first started, Zhang Zhihao had intended to use his Blood-Qi advantage and his mastery-level Foundation Building Fist to launch a swift attack and take his opponent down in one go.

But as they fought, he realized something was wrong. This anonymous opponent's fist technique was extremely profound, and he was being steadily suppressed instead.

He was shocked: "Mastery-level Foundation Building Fist?"

But one thing he couldn't understand was that the opponent's Blood-Qi value was only 3.20...

Logically, the Foundation Building Fist had the effect of tempering tendons and muscles and honing Blood-Qi. To reach the mastery stage, the Blood-Qi value shouldn't be this low. It would be understandable for an elderly person with declining health, but the opponent was clearly very young. Zhang Zhihao had never seen such a freak in reality.

However, even facing a strong enemy, he did not lose his fighting spirit. He believed that with his rich practical experience, as long as he kept circling the opponent, he would eventually spot a flaw, which would be his chance to win.

Yet, when he thought he had seized a flaw and attacked, he had actually fallen into a trap carefully laid by his opponent.

His smug attack was easily neutralized, followed by a heavy blow to his ribs!

This heavy punch made him completely sober: "This is definitely Clear Force! To grasp Clear Force when Blood-Qi has only just broken 3? Since when did such a fierce Tier 3 martial artist appear in Antu City?!"

Seeing that Chen Mochuan did not press the attack, Zhang Zhihao hurriedly covered his ribs and retreated in pain, while cursing the Battle Net's matching mechanism in his heart.

"I was too naive, thinking I could smurf, but I ended up running into a shark! Three losses weren't enough, now it's screwing me over a fourth time! @#￥%& Battle Net! Give me back my trust!"

Zhang Zhihao felt his ribs hurting every time he breathed. He wanted to surrender immediately, but the "show your name with pride" trash talk he had just spouted would surely become a joke for his opponent. This was something he, being a face-conscious person, couldn't let go of.

He figured that as long as he took one more punch, his poor physical state should cause the Battle Net to judge him as defeated, so he thought he would just keep going and lose "with pride."

But things once again exceeded his expectations.

The opponent did not use Clear Force again, and even changed his fist style, using a set of techniques that looked slightly unfamiliar. He was able to handle them easily, which gave him the illusion for a moment that "I can still do this!"

"Looks like the Tiger Fiend Fist, feels like it's only at the entry level. What is he trying to do?"

After only a few moves, he realized, "Damn, no... this guy seems to be using me as a free sparring partner to polish a newly learned technique!"

A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!

Coupled with the "pain that breathes" in his ribs, Zhang Zhihao decisively submitted his surrender.

Four losses, so be it. He'd definitely win the next one! He didn't believe that after encountering a shark, he could be matched with an even stronger opponent!

Seeing his opponent turn into a beam of white light and disappear from the arena, Chen Mochuan felt a bit helpless. He had just prepared to polish his Tiger Fiend Fist, and the guy had already packed up and left.

It seemed he had used too much force with the Clear Force, completely destroying his opponent's will to fight.

Fortunately, he had already gained a general understanding of the practical effects of Clear Force. He decided that if he wanted to keep someone as a sparring partner in the future, he would have to hold back his strength so he wouldn't scare them away.

Just as he was pondering, the system's settlement notification appeared.

"You have won this ranked match!"

"Points +11 (Base victory points +10, Qi Gate value difference bonus +1)"

"Your current rank is: Black Iron (511 points)"

"Congratulations on your first victory! Please keep up the good work and strive for new heights!"

Chen Mochuan nodded slightly; the point system of the Heaven Martial Battle Net was indeed user-friendly.

For ranked matches, besides receiving base victory points, winners also earn additional points if their opponent's Qi Gate value is significantly higher than their own, with the bonus increasing as the gap in Qi Gate values grows.

Furthermore, starting from a three-match winning streak, players receive additional win-streak point bonuses, which increase with each subsequent victory, allowing those with greater strength to gain points more rapidly and rank up as quickly as possible.

With his first battle a success, Chen Mochuan briefly summarized the gains and losses of the fight before unhesitatingly starting a new round of matchmaking.