Ranking Board

"With that kind of quality, they can be the general manager of Yinghai?"

Li Qingshan muttered a casual complaint and shut off the Communicator.

Anyway, his relationship with Yinghai had only ever been a partnership. Since things had turned sour, he just wouldn't deal with them anymore.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock sounded at the door. Li Qingshan's spirits lifted as he strode over.

Outside stood the Sales Girl, delivering his order.

"Mr. Li, here are twenty bottles of Intermediate Nutrient Solution. Please sign for them."

The Sales Girl held up an Insulated Box, her smile blooming, her attitude warmer than ever.

From the initial ten bottles of basic nutrient solution to this bulk purchase of twenty bottles of Intermediate Nutrient Solution, the young man before her had become her biggest client.

And it was easy to foresee that this client's importance would only grow.

Li Qingshan took the Insulated Box and opened it against his arm.

A chill mist swirled as twenty bottles of pale red liquid sat neatly arranged inside.

"No issues. Just process the payment."

Li Qingshan nodded, closed the box, and swiped his Communicator over the Payment Terminal the girl pulled out.

-160,000

With the newly credited one-million bonus, this time Li Qingshan didn't feel the sting as much as before.

After the Sales Girl left, he took out a bottle of Intermediate Nutrient Solution and held it up to his eyes.

Compared to the basic nutrient solution, the bottle size was the same, but the color had shifted from a luminous blue to a pale red.

Logically, "pale red" should be far less striking than luminous blue.

But the opposite was true.

The "pale red" before him was firmly fixed in place.

"New user detected. Initiating automatic identity verification."

"Pupil confirmation, fingerprint confirmation, genetic information confirmation. New user confirmed as Federation citizen Li Qingshan."

"Li Qingshan, you are authorized. Do you wish to access the Combat Space?"

"Yes."

As the words fell, his vision suddenly brightened.

A sheer cliff stood before him, its peak piercing the clouds.

Li Qingshan stood at the base of the precipice, lightly pinching the bridge of his nose.

In the instant he entered the Combat Space, the Smart Brain had transmitted a wealth of relevant information.

The Combat Space could achieve 99% realism. Death within the space would not cause harm in reality.

However, dying too many times in a short period would place immense mental strain on the user. The threshold varied from person to person.

"99% realism?"

Li Qingshan moved his limbs, lightly pinching various parts of his body.

Though the tactile sensation felt quite real, compared to the projection of the Martial Arts Space, it still carried a faint sense of looking at flowers through a mist.

"Maybe that's the final 1%."

Recalling his tens of thousands of past experiences of being devoured by wolves, Li Qingshan was utterly certain that the Martial Arts Space was 100% realistic.

Due to its nature of use, the Combat Space had no entertainment features. The surroundings were barren and empty.

Except for the cliff that pierced the clouds before him.

"Old Continent Leaderboard"

Li Qingshan's gaze swept across the smooth cliff face, which was densely engraved with name after name.

As long as one was a martial arts student in school, they could leave their name on the leaderboard.

Thus, at this moment, the cliff bore tens of thousands of names.

Li Qingshan gave them a quick glance, then lifted his eyes toward the summit hidden behind the clouds.

The mist parted on its own, and the name at the top gradually enlarged, coming into view.

"Old Continent First, Mou Yu."

Li Qingshan nodded and withdrew his gaze.

His name was not yet on the cliff. To get on the leaderboard, he had to complete his first match first.

Li Qingshan spread his five fingers, and a projected light screen appeared.

In the virtual space, opponents were entirely matched randomly by the system. Weapons could be chosen from any cold weapon within the limits.

Li Qingshan quickly selected the Thunder Pattern Blade and pressed the match button.

"Please prepare for battle. Your opponent, An Baoliang, has been selected. Rank: 68,706."

"Countdown: 3... 2... 1!"

Light and shadow shifted, and the cliff vanished.

Li Qingshan, holding the Thunder Pattern Blade, appeared on a circular platform a thousand meters in diameter.

Ten meters away, a tall, stout man was looking at him.

"Junior, is this your first time in the Combat Space?"

An Baoliang smiled kindly and strolled over.

Li Qingshan gripped the hilt of his blade and frowned slightly.

It wasn't surprising that An Baoliang knew it was his first time in the Combat Space.

He could see An Baoliang's rank, so naturally, An Baoliang could see that he had no rank yet.

But the way An Baoliang was acting so defenseless was puzzling.

The Combat Space wasn't a place for casual chit-chat.

After a moment's thought, Li Qingshan didn't rush to strike.

"Senior, what business do you have?"

"Don't be in a hurry, junior. It's just one match. I don't mind losing to you."

An Baoliang deliberately spread his hands to show he held no weapon, then explained:

"Junior, more friends mean more paths. How about we exchange contact info first, and connect after we leave?"

Without him noticing, An Baoliang had already walked up beside Li Qingshan, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.

"You know, climbing the ranks doesn't always depend on strength," An Baoliang said meaningfully.

"As long as your network is wide enough, even with random matching, you can still run into acquaintances!"

"Cheating?" Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, his words concise.

An Baoliang's method was indeed workable, but the prerequisite was a network of connections spanning the entire Old Continent's 107 Provinces.

And that was precisely the most impossible part!

Such an extensive network could never escape the Smart Brain's surveillance.

The martial arts selection touched the very foundation of Federation policy; pulling off such underhanded manipulation would be nothing short of suicide.

What's more, An Baoliang had brazenly said it out loud inside the Combat Space.

If he wasn't an idiot, then he definitely had another motive.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Li Qingshan faced An Baoliang's smiling face and gave a faint smile of his own.

He drew his blade, unsheathing it.