This Is Reality

On the morning of the third day, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the third floor of the martial arts hall, bathing the waiting area in a bright glow.

Compared to yesterday's practical test, the atmosphere today was noticeably more grim.

In the waiting area, Lin Ye looked around. Of the hundreds of students originally in the school, only fifty or sixty remained with the qualifications to stand here and participate in the "Citywide Ranking Tournament." It was truly brutal.

"Have you heard?"

Zhang Zhen, sitting beside him, said, "The matchmaking mechanism for this ranking tournament has changed. It's no longer completely random."

"What do you mean?"

Lin Ye was somewhat curious.

"The first round will try to match opponents of similar strength to avoid eliminating the seeded players too early. But from the second round onwards, it's completely random. If you're unlucky, you might run into a monster like Chu Tiange right at the start."

Lin Ye nodded. The rules sounded quite reasonable; they ensured a certain level of fairness while allowing the truly strong to advance further.

"Do you guys know what kind of tough characters are coming from the other schools in the city this time?"

At this moment, a male student interjected to ask.

"I heard there's a student from No. 1 High School nicknamed 'Mad Blade.' They say his blood-energy is just like our school's Chu Tiange, pushing the limit of 500. Also, I heard he made it to the seventh stage in yesterday afternoon's challenge, almost matching the historical record of No. 1 High School."

At this, another male student spoke up, his tone carrying a hint of awe.

"I also heard about someone named Lei Meng from No. 2 High School."

Someone else joined the discussion, "They say he practices the 'Thunderbolt Blade' and is as fast as a lightning strike. His fighting style is fierce; everyone who has fought him says it feels like being struck by lightning."

"And there's more, there's a girl from No. 4 High School named Han Qingyue who is also terrifying. It's said she has mastered a graded martial art. Even though her blood-energy is only a little over 400, her combat power is frighteningly strong."

"I heard Liu Yuanhang from No. 5 High School is also very impressive. They say he's extremely well-rounded."

Everyone discussed back and forth, mentioning names one by one, sketching out a map of the strongest high school martial arts students in the Linjiang District.

Lin Ye listened with great interest. Having spent his time mucking about in the liberal arts track, he never imagined students could be this strong by their senior year. Today, he had truly seen it for himself.

As the group whispered among themselves, the broadcast in the waiting area suddenly rang out:

"Attention all candidates, the martial arts ranking tournament system is about to activate. Please prepare yourselves. The rules for this ranking tournament are as follows."

"First, weapon manifestation is permitted. You may choose your blade based on your martial arts expertise; you are no longer limited to basic martial arts. Second, the pain threshold is set to 50%; please proceed with caution. Third, the scoring criteria have changed. The ranking tournament only counts win-loss points; winners gain points, losers gain none. There will be no additional performance evaluation points."

"Therefore, please give it your all to seize the final victory!"

As soon as the rules were broadcast, a wave of commotion rippled through the waiting area.

"What? No performance points?"

"These rules are much crueler than last time. We had performance points before."

"It's over. Please, let me run into a weak opponent. I don't want to be eliminated in the first round."

"Not to mention, the pain setting has been significantly increased."

The crowd reacted intensely, generally feeling that this competition was far more brutal than before.

However, the martial arts world had always been this way: there was only first place, no second.

"Weapons... finally."

Zhang Zhen chuckled, seemingly feeling much more relaxed, "Finally, we don't have to just use our fists."

Li Weiwei, standing to the side, said calmly, "But for most people, fist techniques are still the most familiar. Changing weapons on the fly will only do more harm than good."

Hearing this, Lin Ye did not join the discussion. He closed his eyes to rest, quietly adjusting his state of mind while waiting for the staff's instructions.

A moment later, the staff arrived and led everyone from the waiting area to the newly prepared testing zone.

"System calibration complete. Candidates, please enter the corresponding virtual pod according to your candidate number."

The staff member shouted loudly.

In that instant, the doors of all the virtual pods slid open simultaneously. Lin Ye checked his candidate number and walked toward pod 13. He seemed to have a connection with the number 13; the position he was randomly assigned was still 13.

Lying inside, he felt the internal padding was more comfortable than yesterday's, and there was no sense of pressure when the helmet lowered.

[Identity verification passed]

[Virtual reality setting: 70%]

[Pain feedback: 50%]

[Weapon system: Unlocked]

[Preparing to connect...]

His vision went black, then lit up once more.

It was no longer yesterday's arena. Although it was still a circular arena with a diameter of ten meters, the ground now had a rough, rocky texture, and the surrounding virtual spectator stands remained empty.

Lin Ye looked down at his hands, and at this moment, a system prompt appeared:

[Please select your initial weapon form]

[Gauntlets/Blade/Sword/Spear/Staff/Other]

Without any surprises, he naturally chose the gauntlets, as Rolling Stone Fist was the only technique he knew.

A pair of dark silver metal gauntlets gradually took shape on his hands; they were of moderate weight, with flexible hinges designed at the joints.

At the same time, at the other end of the arena, a blurry figure gradually coalesced—that was his opponent.

The figure gradually became clearer, revealing a medium-built boy who had also chosen gauntlets.

The two stared at each other from five meters apart, though neither could see the other's face; it was said that the system applied a blurring effect, allowing one to see only the general outline and weapons of the opponent.

At this moment, a countdown appeared above the arena: 3, 2, 1—

Start!

The opponent charged first, his steps steady and his stance standard.

Lin Ye did not rush to engage, choosing instead to observe. Judging by the stance, the opponent's fist technique was likely also Rolling Stone Fist, but based on the details of the opening move, it was still at the Mastery level and had not broken through to the Grandmaster level like his own.

After three probing moves, Lin Ye had a clear idea.

It was indeed a Mastery-level technique, and while the opponent's blood-qi value was likely higher than his own, it hadn't reached the late stage of Body Tempering.

That made him easy to deal with.

He no longer held back, unleashing his Grandmaster-level Rolling Stone Fist with full force, executing various moves of the technique with effortless ease.

Stone Turning Wind Following followed by Rolling Stone Charge, his double-fist strikes flowed like clouds and water. The opponent was clearly taken aback, only then realizing that Lin Ye had been intentionally feigning weakness earlier. He blocked in a panic, but Lin Ye's technique changed too rapidly and the angles were too tricky for someone at the Mastery level to fully defend against.

On the tenth move, Lin Ye used a feint to draw away the opponent's defense, cut in from the side, and slammed his shoulder into the opponent's chest.

"Bang!"

The opponent flew backward, crashing five meters away.

Lin Ye followed closely behind, delivering the final, fatal blow.

[The outcome has been decided]

[Winner: Candidate No. 46]

The battle ended faster than he had imagined.

Judging by the blurry face that was dissipating, a look of obvious shock was visible. Lin Ye guessed that the opponent probably hadn't expected to lose so quickly, nor to encounter an opponent with Grandmaster-level Rolling Stone Fist in the first round of the ranking tournament.

Unfortunately, that was reality.