"Congratulations on your victory in the duel, Guardian Yuan. Your account has received 2000 Blue Star Coins, which can be transferred..." Li Yuan had already received the notification from the Starry Sky Combat Network.
The stakes had been agreed upon before the match, and Lin Lanyue had transferred the funds in advance. So, as soon as he won, the money was automatically credited to Li Yuan's account.
"Fighting in a near-real battle, without worrying about injuries, is indeed more exhilarating than training in reality," Li Yuan grinned. "It's just a pity that it's not 100% realistic; it lacks that thrill."
Why are there so many martial artists in this era? The virtual network plays an irreplaceable role. For example, the Starry Sky Combat Network has its flaws, like not being able to fully simulate real moves, and some data can be distorted. It also can't scan everyone's real body data, so the connection between the mind and body isn't a perfect match.
But! Through a mental connection, participants can still engage in many battles and techniques that are hard to practice continuously in real life. In real combat, one mistake could mean death or injury. How many real battles could martial artists of the past experience in their lifetime? Most trained alone, and having even one sparring partner was a luxury.
In this era, every martial artist can experience thousands of virtual battles before fighting real creatures from the Star Realm, greatly improving their training efficiency. It also helps develop their mindset, courage, and skills.
Li Yuan and Lin Lanyue fought fiercely. In less than a minute, the battle ended. After all, their casual strikes were already in the thousands of kilograms. If one of them found even a slight opening, it would likely be a one-hit kill.
Before Li Yuan made his sudden strike, only Teacher Xu Bo had sensed something was off; many students still thought Lin Lanyue had the upper hand.
"Li Yuan has been retreating; a long defense will surely lead to a loss! Can he really hold on like this?" a boy wondered.
"You don't know anything!" Zhou Qi scoffed. "Brother Yuan is the strongest."
Zhou Qi might not understand, but he knew that Li Yuan had the highest martial arts skills.
"Lin Lanyue's attacks are fierce; if Brother Yuan makes even a tiny mistake, he’ll lose," Wan Xiao observed. "But Brother Yuan's defense is flawless... I feel like his spear skills are even stronger than last time."
"Who should we support to win?" Li Tianyou watched, feeling conflicted.
Suddenly, Zhou Qi jumped up, wearing leather pants, and shouted excitedly, "Brother Yuan is amazing! He won!"
"What?"
"One explosive strike? Lanyue lost?" Li Tianyou's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the scene unfold.
"Wow! That was brutal! How could he stab her in the chest?" Gu Qianghan gasped. "Sister actually lost? Li Yuan shows no mercy."
"That was so fast; Li Yuan is ruthless," the spectators exclaimed, amazed. They had thought that even if Li Yuan won by countering, it would take many more moves.
No one expected that when Lin Lanyue's attack peaked, there would be a sudden reversal.
With a direct thrust, Lin Lanyue was pierced through, her armor even punctured, showing just how powerful that strike was. It was incredibly fierce.
"Li Yuan won!"
"What's so special about the Elite Class? They got taken down just the same!"
"Brother Yuan is the best at skills," the students from Class 3 (2) cheered, feeling proud.
What does it matter if they’re from the Elite Class? What does it matter if they awakened their Martial Spirit? Overcoming and defeating so-called prodigies is a deep-rooted passion and tradition in Xia Country. It’s also the kind of story everyone loves to hear.
"This Li Yuan shows no mercy; that’s Lin Lanyue!" some boys were a bit disgruntled.
"Are you kidding?"
"Are you stupid?"
"Fool, in a life-and-death battle, should you hold back? Are you a simp?"
"Getting all emotional now?"
"Go challenge Li Yuan if you’re so brave."
"If you like someone, you should respect them," more students rebutted. "When fighting Star Realm creatures, should you hold back if you encounter someone pretty?"
Most boys here were supporting Lin Lanyue. But they generally didn’t think Li Yuan was too ruthless; they mostly saw him as fierce and powerful. When Li Yuan won, they cheered for him too.
In battle, one should give their all. Being careless or underestimating the opponent is irresponsible. The purpose of fighting is to win! This is the first lesson all students learn in martial arts class.
"The greatest respect for your enemy is to fight with all your might to defeat them. Only those who win and survive deserve to talk about spirit and glory." This is a famous quote from the second strongest in the world, 'Lant'.
At this moment, the system announcement echoed over the duel platform: "The moment of glory has arrived. Victory belongs to 'Guardian Yuan'. His spear stood like an insurmountable barrier, successfully defending his honor and becoming the ultimate victor."
"The duel space is about to close. 60, 59..." Words appeared on the screen above the arena. Many people quickly began to leave.
Whoosh! Just as Lin Lanyue was eliminated, she reappeared on the arena, but without her battle armor. She was back in her original outfit.
Li Yuan's shoulder injury had also healed, and his weapons and armor had vanished. In a non-combat state and space, no one could harm another.
"Lin Lanyue, thank you," Li Yuan smiled.
Lin Lanyue frowned slightly and said, "Your spear skills are indeed impressive. I'm not as good as you."
In the ten seconds after the battle ended, Lin Lanyue quickly reviewed what happened and realized that Li Yuan's skill level was indeed higher. Otherwise, her fierce attacks wouldn’t have been so easily blocked, and she wouldn’t have been defeated by a single counterattack.
It only showed that there was indeed a gap between them.
"But there's one thing I hope you can explain to the others," Lin Lanyue looked at Li Yuan.
"Explain?" Li Yuan was taken aback, instantly recalling the hostility she had initially shown.
"Are you talking about what others said?" Li Yuan shook his head, about to explain, "It has nothing to do with me; it was their own..."
Bang!!
A figure rushed onto the arena.
"Brother Yuan, you won today! What should we do next?" Zhou Qi ran up excitedly.
Li Yuan was stunned: "..."
"It has nothing to do with you?" Lin Lanyue glanced at Li Yuan and then at Zhou Qi, frowning slightly but saying nothing more. She left the virtual space directly.
"Huh? Why did Lin Lanyue leave?" Zhou Qi realized too late. "Brother Yuan, did I ruin the mood? I was just too excited!"
Li Yuan was silent for three seconds and slowly said, "Old Zhou, I want you to do something."
"What is it? Just tell me, Brother Yuan," Zhou Qi said earnestly.
"Be my sparring partner."
"Fight me ten matches." Li Yuan smiled slightly. "Otherwise, I won’t feel right."
"Be a sparring partner?" Zhou Qi turned to leave.
"Wow, so cool!"
"How come I never noticed this at school before?"
"I kind of want Li Yuan to be my third boyfriend; I’ll ask him tomorrow at school."
"Let me have him; I only have one." A few girls whispered among themselves, seeming worried others would hear.
The countdown reached zero, and the battle space closed.
After sparring (and defeating) Zhou Qi and Wan Xiao three times, Li Yuan finally let them go.
He returned to his personal battle space. Everything quieted down.
"Next, it's time to rank up." Li Yuan focused, and a light screen appeared before him:
Ranked Match: Gold Rank.
Points: 112 (1000 points needed to enter the promotion match)
Ranked Win Rate: 52%
Overall Historical Win Rate: 57%
"According to the rules, underage players who reach 500 points in the Gold Rank will receive a reward of 50,000 Blue Star Coins." Li Yuan thought. "If I can reach Meteor Rank, the reward is even 500,000 Blue Star Coins."
"My birthday is in August; reaching Meteor Rank in the next year will be tough."
"However, I have two big tricks to aim for 500 points in the Gold Rank, so there’s still hope." Li Yuan reached out and clicked.
Ranked match matching.
"Win a match, gain 1-12 points; lose a match, lose 1-12 points." Li Yuan thought. "If the opponent's rank is higher than mine, winning gives more points. If the opponent's rank is lower, losing will deduct points sharply."
"Hopefully, I can rank up all at once today." Li Yuan thought.
Ding—Match successful.
"You are about to enter the ranked match; your opponent is Gold Rank (322 points). Please prepare for battle," the system reminded.
"You are about to enter the battle space. Countdown 10, 9..."
(End of Chapter)