https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-22-Global-Ranking-Match-4684th-in-the-World/12972669/
Chapter 21: 192 Battles! 496 Points!
Chapter 21: 192 Battles! 496 Points!
The Starry Sky Combat Network offers over ten different battle modes, including Thousand Man Deathmatch, Cosmic Survival, Rank Battles, Match Battles, and Personal Duels.
In Thousand Man Deathmatch and Cosmic Survival, players typically team up in groups of 3 to 10, and these modes not only test individual strength but also emphasize teamwork, making them highly popular.
Many martial arts streamers regularly participate in these two battle modes.
With good teamwork, it's entirely possible for the weak to defeat the strong.
Li Yuan, Yan Zhou, and Zhou Qi often form a team during their leisure time, only to be brutally defeated...
However, true martial arts experts who aspire to push their physical limits and hone their combat skills focus more on 'Rank Battles'.
In these battles, both sides have identical physical attributes, and the randomly paired cold weapons... The true test lies in their martial skills and combat awareness.
It's a pure battle of skill.
Only the victor survives.
Since their junior year, Li Yuan has dedicated almost all his free time, weekends, summer and winter breaks to Rank Battles, aiming to sharpen his martial skills through these near-realistic virtual duels.
...In the Rank Battle space, a massive arena stands empty, devoid of spectators.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Li Yuan and a crimson figure simultaneously appear on opposite sides of the arena.
"Li Yuan?"
"Lin Lan Yue, you're also in a Rank Match?" The two stare at each other, both caught off guard.
Neither of them expected to be matched again less than two minutes after their previous battle ended.
It's incredibly rare.
Whether in Rank Battles or Match Battles, players are paired with opponents of the same rank worldwide.
How many Golden Rank experts are there worldwide? At least over ten million.
Both of them fall silent for three seconds.
"I won't concede."
Lin Lan Yue speaks first, her eyes fixed on Li Yuan, and she says coldly, "Your martial skills are slightly better than mine, but that doesn't mean I'll definitely lose."
"Yeah, you're right," Li Yuan nods.
On the arena...
"Pfft!"
Li Yuan's long spear moves like a dragon, and he bursts forth again, piercing Lin Lan Yue's chest with his ferocious spear once more.
"You..." Lin Lan Yue grits her teeth, enduring the excruciating pain of having her body impaled by the long spear, managing to utter a single word.
Her entire body then dissipates into nothingness.
"You've learned to be smarter, not rushing in with all-out attacks and instead testing the waters," Li Yuan retracts his spear, shaking his head lightly, "But I only showed a single opening, and you fell for it again."
"You really want to beat me."
"The more you want to win, the easier it is to lose," Li Yuan mutters to himself, "Always keep a calm mind."
"As calm as an old dog, that's when you can charge forward without hesitation."
Li Yuan then receives a system notification: "Congratulations, Guardian Yuan, you've won this Golden Rank battle! +10 Points!"
"Her rank points are higher than mine."
"So the system determined that I'd get bonus points for winning?" Li Yuan thinks to himself.
Gaining 10 points from a single victory is quite impressive.
"Continue matching," Li Yuan thinks, and the system responds.
...
In another personal space...
"So annoying!!"
"Damn it, Li Yuan, you must have done it on purpose, aaaahhh!!"
Lin Lan Yue, standing alone in a starry scene with her blue hair, finally loses her composure, gritting her teeth as she curses, "I curse you to never find a wife in this lifetime."
Lin Lan Yue doesn't mind losing.
She's lost countless times in Rank Battles.
If she had only lost twice to Li Yuan, she wouldn't be so angry.
Since they had agreed to a duel, she had prepared herself for the possibility of defeat.
The crucial point, however, was the manner of her loss.
Twice, her chest had been pierced by a long spear. The first time could have been a coincidence, but the second time? Still a coincidence?
"Calm down, Lin Lan Yue, you need to stay calm," she takes a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, "In martial arts, one must remain calm and not panic when faced with challenges."
Suddenly...
Ding—Communication Call.
She looks at the name displayed on the communication projection.
"Second Brother?" Lin Lan Yue hesitates, then whispers, "Xiao Qing, answer it."
The projection changes, revealing a young man in a blue martial arts uniform, looking quite handsome.
The young man bears a resemblance to Lin Lan Yue.
"Little Sister," the young man smiles.
"Second Brother," Lin Lan Yue suppresses her inner frustration, forcing a smile.
"Hmph!"
Lin Lan Yue can't help but humph, "Second Brother, you do the math, how long has it been since you last contacted me?"
The young man smiles indulgently, "I heard from Gu Qiang Han that you lost to a classmate in a Starry Sky Combat Network duel, so I immediately came to check on you."
"Gu Qiang Han, that big-mouthed guy," Lin Lan Yue mutters under her breath, "I'll teach him a lesson tomorrow at school."
"Gu Qiang Han is also concerned about you, that's why he told me," the young man smiles, "You're the older sister; don't be too hard on him."
"Alright, alright," Lin Lan Yue replies, her tone exasperated.
In her heart, she plans how she'll deal with Gu Qiang Han at school tomorrow.
"I've watched your combat video." The young man spoke earnestly, "It's normal that you lost. Aside from the weapon disadvantage, his gun skill level is also much higher than yours. I estimate that he's reached the middle stage of the third rank."
"Middle stage of the third rank?" Lin Lan Yue was slightly surprised, as she was familiar with the rank divisions for martial arts skills.
She could sense that Li Yuan's martial arts skills were superior, but she hadn't expected him to be so much better than her.
"His body movement technique should also be at the third rank level. He might have a chance to be listed on the 'Bluestar Youth Ranking'," the young man said, "That's enough to qualify for special recruitment."
"The Bluestar Youth Ranking?" Lin Lan Yue was even more surprised.
Given her family background, she naturally understood the significance of this list.
"How's his physical condition?" The young man asked casually.
"Average, probably around level 6, and he hasn't awakened his martial spirit yet." Lin Lan Yue shook her head.
She also had some understanding of Li Yuan's situation.
"He hasn't awakened his martial spirit?" The young man was taken aback and shook his head, "That's a bit of a pity."
The young man was just asking casually and didn't really care.
For him, whether Li Yuan was good or bad wasn't important.
"Little sister, your sword skill should have just broken through the third rank, right?" The young man smiled, "In a normal clash, you'd struggle to win against that boy a hundred times."
Lin Lan Yue unconsciously bit her lower lip.
She was aware of her second brother's keen eye, which was even more discerning than Xu Bo's.
"Having a martial arts genius like him as your classmate is a good thing." The young man smiled, "It's a wake-up call for you, so you don't go around thinking you're the best in the grade and become arrogant."
"I'm not like that!" Lin Lan Yue frowned, "Second brother, did you come to comfort me or scold me?"
"Haha, okay."
"It's my fault, I won't scold you." The young man laughed, "Focus on honing your sword skills, and in half a year, strive to break into the Bluestar Youth Ranking."
"With this qualification, when you enter the Starry Sky University, you'll be even more valued. Dad can also apply for more resources for you from the family."
"Mhm, I know." Lin Lan Yue nodded.
She wasn't young anymore, and with adulthood approaching, she was well aware of the family's operations.
With so many young talents in the family, only by being exceptional could one obtain the family's resources for cultivation.
Otherwise, even after reaching adulthood, one would only receive 50,000 Blue Star Coins as a monthly living allowance.
Forget about anything else.
"Next week, my older brother and I will return from Flagland, and we'll come to see you specifically." The young man smiled.
"Is your matter resolved? Is Dad coming?" Lin Lan Yue was delighted.
"Dad has to go to Roseland, and there's still something with the military." The young man shook his head.
"Oh!" Lin Lan Yue pursed her lips, feeling a little disappointed.
Soon.
Lin Lan Yue ended the call with her second brother.
"Middle stage of the third rank gun skill and third rank body movement technique?" Lin Lan Yue muttered to herself, "This Li Yuan, he's reached the middle stage of the third rank in gun skill and the third rank in body movement technique?"
She remembered it very clearly.
In the first year of high school, there was no such person in the grade rankings, and he suddenly rose to prominence in the second year.
In just one year, he broke into the top thirty in the second-year-end exams and even surpassed her in the martial arts skills category.
In reality, losing the first place in one category had a negligible impact on Lin Lan Yue.
However, it made her remember Li Yuan's name.
"In that exam, my skills score was only a few points lower, which means the gap isn't that big." Lin Lan Yue clenched her teeth, "Now, his martial arts skills are so much better than mine."
Lin Lan Yue didn't quite understand.
Clearly, she had received elite martial arts education since childhood and had a dedicated sword technique teacher to guide her. Her cultivation was diligent... yet she was still quickly caught up and surpassed by Li Yuan.
"Perhaps."
"Just as Dad said, there are always some geniuses in the world." Lin Lan Yue shook her head inwardly, "It's just a pity he hasn't awakened his martial spirit. To achieve greatness in martial arts, it's too difficult."
On the surface, she was angry, feeling that Li Yuan had intentionally lost both times.
But deep down, Lin Lan Yue couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret for Li Yuan.
"Continue."
"Following Dad's 'Heart Method' cultivation, I can almost manage forty rank battles in one go." Lin Lan Yue resumed her ranked matches.
Ordinary people playing video games would get headaches after a while.
The virtual battles on the Starry Sky Combat Network put a much greater burden on one's mental awareness.
Especially when one was injured and lost, the intense pain was extremely stimulating to the mind.
Therefore, virtual battles couldn't be sustained indefinitely.
...
Night, 9 PM.
Virtual Network, Starry Sky Combat Network, inside Li Yuan's personal space.
"Finally, I'm almost there." Li Yuan took a deep breath and glanced at his rank battle panel:
Rank Battle: Golden Rank.
Points: 496 (1000 points required to participate in the promotion battle)
...
From 2 PM to 9 PM.
For seven hours, Li Yuan had barely stopped, engaging in 192 consecutive battles.
Winning 120 and losing 72.
He had accumulated points from 112 to 496.
Just one more victory to reach 500 points.
(End of Chapter)
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