Anti-Addiction System Activated

The point changes in the Star Network Ladder Ranking Tournament depended on both Soul Masters participating in the match.

More precisely, the winner's point gain depended on the loser's points, while the loser's point loss depended on the winner's points.

Simply put, the more points the opponent had, the more points one gained after winning; the fewer points the opponent had, the more points one lost after losing.

In each match, the points gained or lost ranged from 1 to 10.

Take a match between One-Section Soul Masters as an example:

If the loser's points were between 0 and 10, the winner gained 1 point.

If the loser's points were between 11 and 20, the winner gained 2 points.

If the loser's points were between 21 and 30, the winner gained 3 points.

And so on. If the loser's points were between 91 and 100, the winner gained 10 points.

Conversely—

If the winner's points were between 0 and 10, the loser lost 10 points.

If the winner's points were between 11 and 20, the loser lost 9 points.

If the winner's points were between 21 and 30, the loser lost 8 points.

And so on. If the winner's points were between 91 and 100, the loser lost 1 point.

Xie Xie had 3 points, placing him in the 0–10 range. After Meng Xinghe won, he gained 1 point.

As for Meng Xinghe, it was his first time participating in the Ladder Tournament. His starting score was 0, placing him in the 0–10 range. After Xie Xie lost, he lost 10 points.

Since Xie Xie only had 3 points, and the Ladder Tournament did not allow negative points, his score was directly cleared to 0.

Star Dou Battle Network, private space of "I'm the Best."

"I... I... I..."

Xie Xie, who had been teleported back by the system, wore a completely bewildered expression.

Who am I?

What just happened?

Where am I now?

"Master, I regret to inform you of some bad news. You just lost to an opponent with 0 points, so the 3 points you accumulated have been cleared by the system."

A beautiful girl dressed in a black-stockinged maid outfit delivered the cruelest words in the gentlest voice.

Upon hearing this, Xie Xie, who had yet to fully recover from his dazed state, froze on the spot like a lifelike painted statue.

After a long while, a miserable howl filled the private space.

"Ah!!! My points! System, I report someone for cheating!"

"Dear Master, cheating does not exist in the Star Network Ladder Ranking Tournament. Please calm down."

Thanks to her artificial intelligence etiquette, the maid did not say anything hurtful like, "If you're bad, practice more."

Hearing that, Xie Xie actually calmed down.

Because he suddenly realized that he might have encountered Meng Xinghe, the top genius whose name had recently spread throughout Eastsea City.

"I was instantly defeated before I could even see how he attacked. Is the gap between me and the Federation's top geniuses really this vast?"

Xie Xie was somewhat shaken, but he was still a child, and he quickly recovered.

He looked at his maid. "Match me with an opponent. I'm going to win my points back!"

"I'm very sorry, my dear Master."

The maid regretfully shook her head. "You have already been online for two hours today. The Anti-Addiction System has been activated. Other than your private space, you cannot use any Star Dou Battle Network functions today."

Xie Xie: ...

Damn it, how had he forgotten about this stupid system!

The Star Dou Battle Network's official regulations stated:

Soul Masters under the age of ten could only stay online for two hours per day.

Soul Masters over ten and under fourteen could only stay online for four hours per day.

Soul Masters over fourteen and under eighteen could only stay online for six hours per day.

Soul Masters over eighteen no longer had online time restrictions.

He was only six years old, so he only had two hours of online time each day. He had not used up his time over the past few days, so he had nearly forgotten about this stupid rule.

Thus, Xie Xie could only log off with a heart full of unwillingness.

At the same time, on the other side, Meng Xinghe also began his winning streak in the Ladder Tournament.

99.99% of One-Section Soul Masters were only One-Ring Soul Masters. At this rank, Meng Xinghe was like a tiger among sheep, slaughtering his way through everyone.

However, he did not slap his other opponents to death as he had Xie Xie. Instead, he began trying out various uses of the soul skill Fiendish Qi Shaping during the matches.

Meng Xinghe was quite lucky. His second matched opponent had a very high score of 93.

He looked at his opponent, a roughly twelve-year-old boy with ordinary features and a slightly taller build than others his age.

A twelve-year-old Soul Grandmaster was considered a genius in the usual sense, yet this boy was still stuck at One-Section at that age. His talent could only be called average.

Average talent paired with 93 points meant that the boy's Soul Power was not low. He was either level eighteen or level nineteen.

Meng Xinghe looked at the boy, and the boy looked back at him.

He appeared to be around six years old. His Innate Soul Power had to be at least level nine, and his Martial Soul was certainly powerful as well.

"Another genius Soul Master."

A trace of envy could not help rising in the boy's heart. He then released his Martial Soul and Soul Ring, entering a combat stance.

His Martial Soul was an ordinary iron sword, and his Innate Soul Power was level four. His family's inherited Soul Spirit had allowed him to obtain a Century Soul Ring and cultivate his Soul Power to level nineteen by the age of twelve.

Now, he was confident that he could break through to level twenty before turning thirteen and successfully touch the lowest threshold of genius.

As the boy advanced with his sword in hand, he could not help recalling another genius Soul Master he had encountered yesterday.

That had also been a little boy around six years old, with short brown hair and dark green eyes. The light-attribute dagger in his hand had left a deep impression on him.

It was the first time the boy had directly experienced the enormous gap in Martial Soul quality.

His iron sword and that light-attribute dagger were both weapon-type Martial Souls, so the higher-ranked Martial Soul had suppressed his. If his Soul Power had not been far higher than that brown-haired boy's, he would definitely have been the one to lose.

"The brown-haired boy's Martial Soul was a powerful light-attribute dagger. I wonder what powerful Martial Soul this handsome little boy has?"

The boy charged in front of Meng Xinghe and fiercely swung his iron sword down.

Seeing that the little boy had no intention of defending, the boy did not stop either. After all, Star Dou Battle Network was a virtual world, so there was no need to worry about casualties.

However, when the iron sword struck Meng Xinghe, the boy felt as though he had not hit a person, but an incomparably hard piece of alloy.

Anyone who had studied physics knew that forces were mutual.

The tremendous recoil transmitted through the iron sword sent the boy stumbling back several steps, and he nearly failed to hold onto his iron sword Martial Soul.

The boy stared ahead in shock. At the spot where the iron sword had struck, there was actually a small cluster of flowing golden light.

But that was not what shocked him most. It was the Soul Ring around Meng Xinghe, radiating a purple glow.

Purple—that was the symbol of a Millennium Soul Ring!

This child looked to be only six years old, didn't he?

A six-year-old with a first Millennium Soul Ring—such a genius Soul Master had actually appeared in Eastsea City!

And he was so lucky. There were so many One-Section Soul Masters in Eastsea City, yet he had been matched with this genius!