"[Combat Victory Platform]?"
Hearing this, Chen Qingyu immediately looked over.
It was an immense, majestic building covering hundreds of mu. Cylindrical from the outside, it somewhat resembled the ancient Roman Colosseum from his previous life.
Outside this enormous building:
Two brilliantly radiant rankings unfurled from the heights of the sky, densely covered with names and text.
Many young martial artists had also gathered outside the [Combat Victory Platform].
Some were deep in animated discussion; some pointed at the two rankings, offering their opinions; others called out everywhere, looking for sparring partners or opponents to test themselves against.
"This is the [Combat Victory Platform]?"
Chen Qingyu ventured a guess:
"Could there be an arena inside, with lots of spectators?"
"Mm, you're half right."
Chen Qingjie explained with easy confidence:
"This [Combat Victory Platform] actually consists of countless overlapping spaces. Everyone who enters the [Combat Victory Platform] occupies a separate space."
"Of course, you can choose to watch other people fight. That means entering the spectator stands in their combat space."
"As for the interior of that combat space, it isn't an arena, either. It's a customizable setting. You can choose the weather, terrain, battlefield size, and so on."
After listening, Chen Qingyu instinctively asked:
"Then how do the fights in this [Combat Victory Platform] work?"
Chen Qingjie answered:
"Very simply. First, it depends on whether you're on the Combat Victory Rankings. Second, it depends on whether you know your opponent."
As he spoke, he pointed at the two enormous rankings hanging from the sky outside the [Combat Victory Platform] and said:
"Do you see those two Combat Victory Rankings?"
"The Combat Victory Rankings are divided into local rankings for each Great Void city and an overall ranking for the entire world."
"The local rankings take one in a thousand of the local population. For example, our [Divine Capital Changluo] has over ten million resident Blood Sea Realm martial artists, so only the ten thousand prodigies with the best battle records can make the local rankings."
"The overall rankings cover the countless Blood Sea Realm martial artists across the entire Desolate Continent, but likewise list only ten thousand. Every person listed is an unparalleled prodigy who fought their way through layer after layer of competition!"
"Only after earning a place on the local rankings can you challenge these prodigies on the overall rankings."
He paused before continuing:
"Of course, there are plenty of intricacies to it."
"For example, to avoid being challenged incessantly by people trying to make a name for themselves, those prodigies on the overall rankings usually set very high Great Void Point stakes, filtering out most challengers who overestimate themselves."
"If you aren't ranked but know your opponent, it's very simple. Whether you're training with a partner or sparring with each other, you just enter the [Combat Victory Platform] together."
"If you don't want to spar with acquaintances for fear of exposing your methods, you can also spend Great Void Points on random matchmaking, which randomly assigns you an opponent of roughly your level from anywhere in the world."
As he spoke, he looked at Chen Qingyu beside him and said casually:
"Younger Cousin Shaojun."
"This is your first time entering the Supreme Void Dao Realm, and you haven't cleared the first floor of the [War God Tower] yet. This place isn't open to you for now. Let's go."
Chen Qingyu nodded, withdrew his gaze, and followed Chen Qingjie onward.
A short while later, the two reached another bustling marketplace.
"Younger Cousin Shaojun, look."
Chen Qingjie smiled faintly and pointed at the two enormous buildings on either side of the long street.
These two buildings were no smaller than the [Combat Victory Platform], and large crowds likewise gathered at their entrances, noisy and clamorous.
"This is where the [Samsara Altar] and the [Martial Practice Hall] are."
"The [Samsara Altar] on the left can replay every battle you've fought in the past. It can even simulate opponents you've encountered so you can fight them again."
"Of course, the simulated opponents are only as strong as the opponents you encountered back then. Any methods they didn't display won't appear in the simulation, either."
At this point, he pointed to the right:
"The [Martial Practice Ground] on the right is even more miraculous. It's a supreme treasure land for cultivating and honing martial skills."
"Inside the [Martial Practice Hall], errors in the martial skills and secret arts you practice can be automatically identified and corrected. It can also manifest opponents according to your wishes, improving your mastery of martial skills as much as possible."
"The [Martial Practice Hall] even has a time-acceleration function, though it costs a great many Great Void Points."
Hearing this, Chen Qingyu's heart surged. He drew a deep breath and said:
"A treasure land! Truly a supreme treasure land!"
Anyone with enough Great Void Points could use the [Samsara Altar] and the [Martial Practice Hall] to rapidly improve their martial skills and combat strength.
Only then did he finally understand:
Why the Ninth Ancestor had said in the Floating Heavenly Palace that the Supreme Void Dao Realm itself was a treasure land, with opportunities everywhere.
What he had seen and learned so far alone was enough to set his heart racing.
"Hahaha!"
Hearing this, Chen Qingjie beside him laughed heartily:
"Younger Cousin Shaojun, you've hit the nail on the head."
"Great Void Points! Without Great Void Points in this Supreme Void Dao Realm, you can hardly take a single step."
"Here, most people have only two ways to earn Great Void Points: challenge the [War God Tower], or wager on fights and take Great Void Points from others."
As he spoke, he patted Chen Qingyu's shoulder and said with a smile:
"Come on. Let's head to our final stop, the [War God Tower]."
"I can see you're already itching to try, Cousin."
Chen Qingyu chuckled without disputing it and immediately followed Chen Qingjie, squeezing through the surging crowds toward the end of the long street.
Half a quarter of an hour later:
At the end of the road stood an enormous tower soaring into the clouds. It stretched from earth to sky, making it difficult to tell exactly how many floors it had.
The entrance to this enormous tower was a full hundred zhang wide. Vast crowds gathered there as well, no fewer than at the [Combat Victory Platform].
"The [War God Tower]. We're here!"
Chen Qingjie stopped and gazed at the tower soaring into the clouds, saying with feeling:
"The [War God Tower] can be called the foundation of every function in the Supreme Void Dao Realm. It's also the main source of Great Void Points."
"And the [War God Tower] itself measures the basic combat strength of prodigious martial artists."
Hearing this, Chen Qingyu asked in puzzlement:
"Basic combat strength?"
"Right!"
Chen Qingjie said:
"In the [War God Tower], the simulated opponents you encounter on each floor are different."
"The first floor is the easiest. You encounter an ordinary martial artist of the same realm. Their cultivation method, martial skills, secret arts, divine weapons and mystic artifacts, and combat strength are all of the most ordinary kind, and there's only one opponent."
"Any normal person should be able to clear the first floor."
"But with every floor after that, not only does the number of opponents increase, their individual strength also becomes more and more terrifying."
"On the higher floors, challengers may even be surrounded and attacked by hundreds or thousands of powerful martial artists of the same tier, or even top-level martial artists of the same tier."
Hearing this, Chen Qingyu could not help clicking his tongue:
"That extreme?"
"Far more extreme than you imagine!"
A trace of solemnity appeared on Chen Qingjie's face:
"The further you progress in this [War God Tower], the more terrifyingly the difficulty soars."
"In the early stages, a difference of one or two cleared floors might not mean much difference in combat strength."
"But later on, clearing just one floor more means a difference in combat strength as vast as heaven and earth."
Hearing this, Chen Qingyu nodded:
"I understand."
He raised his arm and pointed at the two enormous rankings likewise hanging from the sky outside the [War God Tower], asking:
"Then do these War God Rankings follow the same rules as the Combat Victory Rankings?"
"Mm, exactly the same."
Chen Qingjie shrugged and said casually:
"The local rankings list the local prodigies who can clear the most floors."
"The overall War God Rankings list the ten thousand unparalleled prodigies across the world who have cleared the most floors of the War God Tower."
"You can also watch other people challenge the [War God Tower], and they can even charge admission. There are plenty of intricacies to that, too."
As he spoke, he pointed to the very top of the local rankings on the left and said with a smile:
"See that?"
"That's our Chen Clan's number one Blood Sea Realm prodigy, Younger Cousin Chen Qinggu!"
"He ranks first in Changluo on both the local War God Rankings and the local Combat Victory Rankings! On the overall War God Rankings, he's seventh; on the overall Combat Victory Rankings, he's fifth!"
At this point, he could not help sighing with emotion:
"Younger Cousin Chen Qinggu is two years younger than me, yet he's the pride of the entire Chen Clan."
"Who knows how many people throughout the Chen Clan idolize and admire him? Even outside the clan, his fame spreads far and wide, shaking all directions."
"Faced with an unparalleled prodigy like that, I don't even think about catching up. All I can do in this lifetime is gaze up at his retreating back."
Hearing this, Chen Qingyu's heart stirred, and he instinctively looked toward the overall War God Rankings:
War God Rankings, first place: Zhou Chenlong, Human Race, age 21, from the Zhou Clan of Chenyang. Cleared the eighth floor of the War God Tower! War God Rankings, second place: Li Changhe, Human Race, age 19, from the Yama Holy Land. Cleared the seventh floor of the War God Tower! War God Rankings, third place: Noble Princess Ao, Dragon Race, age ??, from the East Sea Dragon Clan. Cleared the seventh floor of the War God Tower! War God Rankings, fourth place: Chang Qianjiao, crystal race, age 12, from the Heavenly Crystal Ancestral Court. Cleared the seventh floor of the War God Tower! War God Rankings, seventh place: Chen Qinggu, Human Race, age 18, from the Chen Clan of Changluo. Cleared the seventh floor of the War God Tower! War God Rankings, eighth place: Little Forest Sprite, spirit race, age ??, from the Spirit Clan Royal Court. Cleared the seventh floor of the War God Tower! War God Rankings, three hundred seventy-seventh place: Xu Ershiyi, Human Race, age 22, from the Heavenly Creation Holy Land. Cleared the sixth floor of the War God Tower! War God Rankings, three hundred seventy-eighth place... War God Rankings, ten thousandth place: Nameless One, Human Race, age ??, from ??. Cleared the sixth floor of the War God Tower.
Chen Qingyu skimmed the entire ranking and immediately understood.
This Zhou Chenlong stands above the whole world! Not only is he first on the War God Rankings, he's also the only invincible prodigy to have cleared the eighth floor!
And if I remember correctly, he seemed to be first on the Combat Victory Rankings, too.
Among the others, over three hundred have cleared the seventh floor. All the rest have cleared the sixth.
It seems the prodigies and outstanding talents of this world really are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river-too many to count.
As these thoughts turned in Chen Qingyu's mind, he immediately looked at the local rankings for [Divine Capital Changluo]:
With a quick glance:
The Divine Capital Changluo local rankings were a great deal less impressive than the overall rankings.
Including Chen Qinggu in first place, only seven people had cleared the seventh floor.
Over two hundred had cleared the sixth floor, while all the rest had cleared the fifth.
"Elder Cousin Qingjie."
Chen Qingyu looked at Chen Qingjie beside him and asked:
"If challengers clear the same number of floors, are they ranked according to their performance?"
"Right."
Chen Qingjie nodded and said:
"If they clear the same number of floors, the rankings are determined by the Primal Spirit of the Supreme Void Eternal World Mirror based on the challengers' overall performances."
"Even if two people both clear the fifth floor, barely scraping through with a costly victory is completely different from winning by overwhelming force."
"As far as I know, at least thirty thousand of the many prodigies in our Chen Clan of Changluo can clear the fifth floor of the [War God Tower]."
"But of those thirty thousand or more, only the nearly ten thousand with the best performances can make the War God Rankings."
As he spoke, a trace of envy appeared on his face:
"Once you make the War God Rankings, the treatment you receive in the clan becomes completely different."
"For a collateral-branch disciple like me, without powerful ancestors backing me, making the War God Rankings or the Combat Victory Rankings is my only chance to rise."
"I understand..."
Chen Qingyu nodded slightly, cupped his hands, and bowed to Chen Qingjie:
"Thank you for everything along the way, Elder Cousin Qingjie."
"When I come out of the [War God Tower], I'll definitely repay all ten Great Void Points I owe you."
"Good!"
Chen Qingjie patted his shoulder and laughed heartily:
"Go on. Your elder cousin wishes you victory from the moment you unfurl your banner!"
Chen Qingyu smiled freely, then strode forward, passed through the surging, tightly packed crowd, and entered the gates of the [War God Tower].
In an instant-
His vision blurred, and all the clamor and noise vanished.
When he could see his surroundings clearly again, he found himself in a pure-white space.
At a glance, this space was only a hundred zhang across. Everything in every direction, from the sky to the ground, was pure white, and the sky seemed to be only about ten zhang above the ground.
Welcome to the War God Tower!
A cold, mechanical voice rang out beside Chen Qingyu's ear:
For every floor of the War God Tower you clear, you will receive a fixed reward of Great Void Points! The more floors you clear, the greater your rewards, issued at a fixed time each month! Clearing the first floor for the first time will unlock access to the [Combat Victory Platform], [Samsara Altar], and [Martial Practice Ground]! You are about to begin the challenge of the first floor of the [War God Tower]! Your opponent will appear shortly. Challenger, please prepare yourself!
Chen Qingyu took a deep breath, a trace of fighting spirit appearing in his eyes.
"[War God Tower], bring it on!"