Li Mo

That afternoon, Xu Wuyi logged into Star Martial Battle Net right on time and once again threw himself into the Asura Field of Ranked Battle.

After his placement matches, he was already at [First Rank, 74 points], not far from the 100 points required to advance to Second Rank.

And tomorrow, the subsidy issued by the school would arrive. He planned to exchange it for an Intent Fragment.

Before that, he had to accumulate the required points as quickly as possible.

The matching light screen flickered, and his opponent's information appeared.

[Life Level: 11.5]

[Weapon Used: Dual Blades]

[Rank: First Rank, 81 points]

The battle began.

The dual-blade wielder's offense was fierce, the two short blades dancing so tightly that no gap could be seen, like a sudden storm of wind and rain.

Xu Wuyi steadied his mind, his long spear moving like a dragon. His [Army-Settling Stance] held firm within his range, his [Wind-Returning Sweep] knocked aside the continuous blade flashes, and the occasional counterattack with a [Cloud-Piercing Thrust] containing [Cloud-Parting Force] forced his opponent to defend, making him seem completely at ease.

He felt he was in excellent condition, and his use of [Cloud-Parting Force] was becoming increasingly smooth.

Three minutes later, he seized a tiny opening as his opponent's twin blades crossed. [Cloud-Parting Force] erupted in an instant, and the spear tip pierced through the net of blades, striking the opponent's shoulder blade.

"Pfft!"

[Winner: Xu Wuyi! Ranked points +3!]

His points jumped to 77.

After the placement matches, the system would try to match opponents of similar strength in every battle, while the points gained or lost from wins and losses also became smaller.

Xu Wuyi did not pause and immediately began the next match.

Over the next few matches, he encountered a burly man who used a flail, an assassin with bizarre footwork who excelled at sneak attacks, and even a monk who mainly cultivated sonic techniques that could disrupt the mind.

Whether he won or lost, none of the fights were easy. Almost every match pushed him to the brink of exhaustion. Fortunately, this was inside the virtual battle net; otherwise, after finishing one fight, he absolutely would not have had the stamina to immediately fight a second one.

Among these matches, Xu Wuyi only lost the one against the assassin.

That opponent's movement technique was exceptionally strange and elusive. Every time Xu Wuyi caught a flaw, the opponent had already shifted to a new position, causing his long spear to miss completely.

Before he could wear down the opponent's stamina, his own injuries had become too severe. In the end, he was powerless to turn the tide and lost the match.

The great monk, on the other hand, was relatively the easiest to fight, because Xu Wuyi not only had very high mental strength, but had also slightly comprehended the Intent of "Mountain," greatly reducing the effect of the sonic technique.

Without that strongest killing move, the opponent's absolute strength was actually quite a bit weaker than Xu Wuyi's.

After an entire afternoon of hard work—

[Winner: Xu Wuyi! Ranked points +4!]

[Current Rank: Second Rank, 3 points!]

When the system notification sounded, announcing his successful advancement to Second Rank, Xu Wuyi let out a long breath, and his tense mind relaxed slightly.

Second Rank!

The point reward for advancing had been issued immediately, and it was already enough for him to exchange for a Martial Dao True Intent Fragment. Next, he only had to wait for the school's Federal Credits to arrive.

Feeling that his mental state was still quite good, Xu Wuyi decided to strike while the iron was hot and match one more round to consolidate his Second Rank strength.

"Match!"

[Matching you with an opponent... Match successful!]

[Transporting to Asura Field Arena No. 5874.]

Light and shadow shifted, and Xu Wuyi once again stepped onto that ancient stone platform filled with killing intent.

Across from him, an exceptionally tall and burly figure slowly took shape.

His features were rough, his hair cropped short, and his eyes carried a beastlike ferocity. In his hand, he held a Ghost-Head Broadsword that looked incomparably heavy.

At the same time, the system scan entered Xu Wuyi's vision:

[Life Level: 12.6]

[Weapon Used: Thick-Backed Ghost-Head Blade]

[ID: Li Mo]

Li Mo!

The Yingang No. 1 High School expert Teacher Zhou Yun had specifically emphasized that morning, Li Mo with a Life Level of 12.5—and according to the system scan, he was already Level 12.6!

Xu Wuyi's eyes narrowed slightly. He had not expected that right after advancing to Second Rank, he would be matched against Li Mo. Clearly, the other party had reached Second Rank long ago.

Li Mo twisted his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds, then bared a mouthful of white teeth in a grin filled with undisguised aggression. "Xu Wuyi? The one from Honghe No. 1 High School?"

He had seen Xu Wuyi's ID. Clearly, as one of the three schools participating in the joint exam, he had also learned information about the two rival schools' contenders.

"I heard you're Honghe's dark horse. Let me see what you're really made of!"

"Begin." The moment his voice fell, the system notification rang out as well.

Li Mo moved!

His enormous body erupted with astonishing speed, charging at Xu Wuyi like a humanoid tank.

The Ghost-Head Broadsword in his hand let out a shrill whistle as it tore through the air, coming down in a simple, brutal mountain-splitting chop!

Before the blade even arrived, that violent pressure of vitality and blood rushed at him head-on, blowing Xu Wuyi's hair backward and making his skin prickle with pain.

He couldn't take it head-on!

The thought flashed through Xu Wuyi's mind in an instant.

He drove power into his feet and unleashed his movement technique, honed to its limit, retreating sharply to the rear side.

Boom!

The Ghost-Head Broadsword slammed down heavily where Xu Wuyi had just been standing, splitting a deep trench into the stone arena as shards of rock flew.

Though Xu Wuyi had avoided the direct edge, the terrifying power contained in the blade shook the air and formed a shockwave, still making his blood churn and his spear arm go slightly numb.

"Such strength... This man doesn't just have a high life energy level. He was born with divine strength!"

Xu Wuyi had already obtained Li Mo's information.

Not only did this man come from an extraordinary family and eat all kinds of rare medicinal ingredients like meals since childhood, his own constitution was also gifted beyond the ordinary.

Other people simply couldn't digest that much medicinal power, even if they wanted to become medicine jars, but he was like a bottomless pit, eating however much came his way.

If not for his mediocre martial talent—supposedly, even now, he had yet to enter the threshold of the Body Tempering Method—perhaps not even Yu Peiling's life energy level would match his.

"You dodge pretty fast!"

Li Mo gave a savage grin, flipped his wrist, and changed the Ghost-Head Broadsword from a chop to a sweep, slapping it sideways like a door panel, covering an enormous range.

Xu Wuyi hurriedly ducked low, planted his long spear against the ground, and slid away with his body almost pressed to the floor, narrowly avoiding the waist-level strike by a hair.

The wind from the blade scraped across his back, burning hot with pain.

He tried to counterattack, sending a Cloud-Piercing Thrust toward the opening beneath Li Mo's ribs.

Clang!

Li Mo merely brought his blade back at random to block, and the spear tip struck the thick blade with a crisp ring.

Xu Wuyi only felt a tremendous rebound force travel up the spear shaft. The web of his hand went numb, and the long spear nearly flew from his grip.

Li Mo's figure merely swayed, as if nothing had happened.

The difference in strength was too great!

Xu Wuyi took a deep breath and pushed the Mountain Moving Method to its limit, forcing himself to calm down.

For the moment, he gave up on the unrealistic idea of counterattacking and devoted all his focus to defense.

Army-Settling Stance!

Wind-Returning Sweep!

The long spear danced in his hands, turning into layer after layer of dense defensive lines as he did everything he could to block and deflect Li Mo's wave after wave of incomparably ferocious attacks.

Every chop of the Ghost-Head Broadsword came with overwhelming weight and force, jarring Xu Wuyi's arms until they ached and went numb, his blood constantly thrown into turmoil.

Even though he relied on exquisite spear technique to block the blade, the terrifying force transmitted through it still hammered his body and organs again and again like a heavy mallet.

"Pfft!"

After one block, Xu Wuyi ultimately failed to fully neutralize the force. Sweetness rose in his throat, and he couldn't stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He was like a lone skiff in a storm, liable to be torn completely apart at any moment.