Tang Xing, that blond kid, was naturally the one who'd sent the message. He was usually keen on showing off in front of others, so he was especially invested in keeping everyone updated on what was happening.
Almost as soon as he saw the news about Xu Ziming, he sent the message.
"Funny thing is, I just happened to run into that monster after it got injured. Otherwise, how could I have beaten an alien who'd undergone Life Evolution?"
"True. I'm so jealous. I wish I'd been there instead."
If you'd been the one fighting it, you'd already be dead, haha. Xu Ziming really wanted to reply that way.
"So you've seen an alien?"
Shen Xingyue, who'd been lurking in the group chat, asked curiously. From her tone, she seemed extremely curious about aliens.
"Yeah, a Flame Spirit Clan member. It looked like a demon from a cartoon, with flames covering its whole body."
After he said that, the group chat gradually fell silent.
Xu Ziming had already walked a fair distance. Before him stood Nebula Martial Hall, built on the most prime real estate in downtown Pengcheng City.
As an S-rank contracted member of Nebula Martial Hall, he didn't need to find a staff member; he could simply choose a room and go in to train.
He glanced at his account. The ten million Blue Star Coins the martial hall had promised still hadn't been paid out, and he wasn't particularly in the mood to train anyway.
So he logged back into Battle Net.
[Dear Battle Net user, welcome back to Peak of Martial Way]
The familiar voice sounded in his ears again, and an arena with a battle-worn style appeared before him.
[Ranked system updated. Star progression will replace ranked points. Win to gain one star; lose to drop one star.]
When he opened the ranked system, a notification popped into view, displaying the details of the update.
"So they've switched to a star system? Makes sense. Under the old points system, even I couldn't keep track of my rank."
Battle Net offered more than just ranked matches. There were also simulated battles against aliens and a hundred-player survival mode modeled after battle royale games.
But today, he still wanted to keep playing ranked matches.
He pressed the [Match] button. As soon as the notification that a match had been found sounded, he entered the battle screen.
At Silver rank, he might already be matched against some freak from the leaderboard, so Xu Ziming took this first match very seriously.
The scenery shifted rapidly before settling into the familiar style of an ancient battlefield. It seemed that all ranked matches on Battle Net used this backdrop.
Then a figure appeared before him. It was a sweet-looking girl, and, most importantly, Xu Ziming seemed to recognize her.
"Isn't she a streamer?"
Just like in the Old Calendar era, some high school students still livestreamed, making money from their traffic and turning it into resources for training.
Above the girl's head was the name "Found Out My Boyfriend Was Cheating With His Other Girlfriend, Desperate, Went to Pick Up a Girl and Picked His Mistress."
"What kind of thunderclap name is that?"
Meanwhile, the comments in the girl's livestream chat were going wild.
"Mengmeng's finally streaming! Her name is as thunderous as ever."
"I wonder how the handsome guy on the other side will react when he sees our Mengmeng."
"Looking at the other guy's ID, he seems to be that Third High School student who just made the leaderboard."
"What a shame. Did his first match after making the leaderboard have to be against Mengmeng?"
Xu Ziming couldn't see the comments. He only saw the girl across from him smile the moment she noticed him.
He remembered now. His opponent was Wu Mengmeng from Pengcheng No. 1 High School. She'd competed in the Pengcheng High School Martial Arts Tournament!
Only when he saw that smile did Xu Ziming remember why she'd seemed familiar.
At once, he drew Jinghong from behind him, his expression turning serious as he watched the girl across from him.
While he waited with his sword in hand, Wu Mengmeng made her move.
Purple lightning coiled around her. A long spear appeared out of thin air in her hand, and she shot toward Xu Ziming like a bolt of lightning.
Her Life Energy Level was 4.2, and her burst of speed was astonishing. But against Xu Ziming, whose true strength was close to that of a Martial Artist, she still wasn't fast enough.
It took Wu Mengmeng 1.8 seconds to reach Xu Ziming. She was extremely fast, but he still managed to block her with his hand.
Yes, his hand. His right hand held his sword, while his left caught Wu Mengmeng by the wrist as she attacked.
"Too slow." Xu Ziming's eyes held a trace of coldness, and nothing else.
"Let go of our Mengmeng's hand!"
"How did he do that? Mengmeng competed in the Pengcheng High School Martial Arts Tournament, while this Little Ming Who Can't Use a Sword is someone we'd never even heard of before!"
The livestream chat erupted. Its audience, which had numbered only a few thousand, quickly passed ten thousand.
Just then, Xu Ziming grinned. After grappling for several dozen seconds, he'd proven stronger than Wu Mengmeng.
She couldn't move at all in his grasp.
Feeling Xu Ziming's iron grip around her, Wu Mengmeng immediately resorted to her usual move: acting cute.
From Xu Ziming's perspective, a faint blush suddenly appeared on the girl's face. Then she made an adorable, innocent expression.
Just as everyone expected Xu Ziming to go easy on her, his right hand moved. His sword pierced straight through Wu Mengmeng's chest.
"What! He actually killed Wu Mengmeng just like that?!"
"66666"
A flood of comments swept across the screen, almost all expressing their shock.
Meanwhile, Xu Ziming's heart was surging like a stormy sea. I almost got bewitched by her. No, I absolutely can't lose a ranked match!
[Ranked match victory: Star rating +1] [Current rank: Silver IV, one star] [Keep up the good work]
The Battle Net system kept broadcasting. Xu Ziming sighed helplessly, then prepared to queue for another ranked match.
After waiting for about three seconds, he was finally matched.
This time, Xu Ziming focused again, pushing aside the disturbance from the last match. He wasn't playing ranked just to climb the ladder; more importantly, he wanted to improve his actual combat ability.
The scenery began to change, but this time it wasn't a battlefield. It was a picturesque forest.
His opponent's figure gradually appeared. This time it was a boy, tall and slender, his face hidden beneath a hood.
His ID was Guest Among Pines, an exceptionally elegant name.
When the two met, neither said a word. Xu Ziming struck first, charging forward almost the instant he saw his opponent.
But as he rushed in, he heard faint music, as though it were trying to disrupt his mind.
He's trained in music-based martial techniques. The thought flashed through his mind.
But he'd already reached the hooded man.
Now that I'm here, I should strike first!
Jinghong danced at his will, like a butterfly gliding through the air—light and graceful, yet carrying tremendous force.
Did I hit him? From Xu Ziming's perspective, his sword had already pierced through the hooded man's body.
No, there's no sensation.