Connection established.
Entering the virtual network, Li Yuan chose to go directly to his personal space in the Star Combat Network.
"Master, you finally arrived."
"Your exclusive assistant, Xiao Yu, is here to serve you!" A girl in white said with a cheerful smile.
Li Yuan smiled back and said, "Show me my personal match records for the ranking matches."
With a whoosh, a glowing screen appeared:
Ranking Match: Gold Rank
Points: 990 (1000 points required to enter the promotion match)
Win Rate: 88%
"990 points. I hope I don't run into anyone from the Falling Star Rank. It would be great if I could win and get 10 points in one go," Li Yuan thought to himself. "Otherwise, I'll have to waste more time."
Two months ago, Li Yuan had improved his spear technique to level three at 99%. A week ago, he also successfully raised his movement technique to level three at 99%.
Since reaching 99% in spear technique, Li Yuan had already ranked among the top players in the Gold Rank matches on the Star Combat Network. He often won ten matches without losing a single one, causing his win rate to soar from just over fifty percent.
A week ago, when his movement technique hit 99%, he set a terrifying record of 56 consecutive wins in the ranking matches, essentially making him "invincible in the Gold Rank."
But then—Li Yuan faced the matching system's punishment.
He was matched with top experts from the Falling Star Rank for three consecutive matches!
In one match, he barely held on for ten moves, while in the other two, he was quickly defeated, clearly not on the same level.
"Let's get started." Li Yuan reached out and clicked to set up his weapon configuration.
Beep—Match successful.
"You are about to enter the ranking match. Your opponent is a Gold Rank (996 points). Please prepare for battle," the system reminded him. "Entering battle space in 10, 9…"
"996 points? Is this guy also a top player? Am I really that unlucky?" Li Yuan muttered to himself.
With a flash of light, Li Yuan suddenly appeared in a huge arena, with no spectators around.
In the distance, a middle-aged man appeared on the arena, holding a spear in his right hand and a shield in his left.
"Shield and spear?" Li Yuan tightened his grip on his long spear.
Many martial artists used a combination of sword and shield or spear and shield. The spear is a long weapon but usually shorter than a single spear, making it less flexible in combat.
Having a shield greatly increases one's survival ability, giving a lot more room for error in life-and-death battles.
However, a weapon combination that includes a shield always has one weakness—it's not very flexible.
Li Yuan was not used to carrying a shield.
With a long spear, he believed he could handle anything.
"Kid, if I kill you, I can enter the promotion match," the middle-aged man laughed loudly. "I've already won ten matches in a row today."
"Ten wins in a row?" Li Yuan was slightly surprised.
"Yes," the middle-aged man nodded confidently. "You won't be my match. You might as well surrender now to avoid being killed and suffering mental damage."
In ranking matches, players are allowed to surrender voluntarily. The advantage is that they won't suffer mental damage, but the downside is that they will lose more points.
"Uncle, I know why you were matched with me," Li Yuan suddenly grinned.
"Why?" the middle-aged man asked, puzzled.
"Because the system sent me to punish you!" Li Yuan laughed, and his body suddenly moved like a dragon darting out.
Power and speed exploded!
"So fast? Is he at level 8.0 in physical constitution?" The middle-aged man was startled, realizing that this seemingly young opponent was not easy to deal with.
In the virtual network, people can change their appearance and clothing freely. However, to prevent fraud, everyone is bound to their identity information and cannot change their gender, nor can their appearance change beyond five years of their actual age.
Boom! The middle-aged man moved as well. He had over 900 points in the Gold Rank, so his strength was not weak.
"Whoosh!"
The middle-aged man blocked with his shield, shifting his steps to try to deflect Li Yuan's spear strike to the side.
"Bang!"
The spear and shield collided.
"I blocked it," the middle-aged man thought with a hint of joy, but then surprise crossed his face.
"Rip!"
The powerful spear that should have collided heavily with the shield seemed to lack much force and instead stuck to his shield.
Then, the spear tip retracted and slid along the shield, making a sharp sound.
In the next moment, "Boom!" Li Yuan quickly pulled back his spear half a meter and then shot forward again like lightning, aiming straight at the middle-aged man, avoiding his shield.
This lightning-fast spear movement was too quick, making the middle-aged man feel a sense of fear.
In a life-or-death moment, "I’ll stab too!" The middle-aged man suddenly threw his spear, launching it directly at Li Yuan.
If Li Yuan were to hit the middle-aged man directly, he would definitely be pierced through the chest by the spear, likely resulting in a draw.
"Clang!"
Li Yuan did not hesitate to pull back his spear, channeling all his strength to send the flying spear off course.
"Wham!" The spear flew off and struck the ground outside the arena.
On the arena, "Bang!" After deflecting the spear, Li Yuan turned his spear and unleashed 'Rock Solid Universe,' striking fiercely at the middle-aged man.
"Boom!"
The middle-aged man blocked with his shield, feeling a terrifying force pressing down on him, forcing him to step back involuntarily.
"Go!"
Li Yuan retracted his spear, stepped back to relieve the force, then changed his steps to perform a thrust, his spear striking like lightning.
"Clang!" "Bang!" "Boom!" The sounds of continuous collisions echoed.
The middle-aged man held his shield with one hand, becoming even more agile, blocking Li Yuan's spear attacks one after another.
After all, he was also a top expert with over 900 points in the Gold Rank, and both his movement and shield techniques were at a high level three.
But!
He was strong, yet Li Yuan was even stronger. Whether it was body control, mental awareness, movement technique, or weapon mastery, Li Yuan had reached full mastery at level three.
"Thud!"
On the nineteenth thrust, Li Yuan finally seized the opportunity, smashing through the middle-aged man's shield and piercing his throat.
Blood splattered.
"I lost?"
"How ruthless, where did this martial arts genius come from?" This was the middle-aged man's last thought as his body vanished in an instant.
"Good shield techniques."
"But the spear and shield coordination was lacking, and his body control was a bit off," Li Yuan thought to himself, subconsciously assessing his opponent. "He couldn't unleash his full physical power."
Li Yuan had already defeated hundreds of such opponents in the past couple of months.
At that moment, Li Yuan received a system notification: "Congratulations, Guardian Yuan… Points +10."
"Your ranking points have reached 1000. You cannot gain more points. Would you like to enter the promotion match?" the system asked again. "Friendly reminder: The cooldown time for the promotion match is one week."
"If you fail, you will lose 50 points."
"If you succeed, you will be permanently promoted to the Falling Star Rank."
The rules are reminded each time.
"I'll enter the promotion match." Li Yuan made his choice.
Buzz~
His figure vanished from the arena.
……
This was a small island, lush with trees, while the sea in the distance was turbulent.
"This is the fifth time."
"I wonder if my perfected movement technique will help me pass this time?" Li Yuan, dressed in light armor and holding a long spear, appeared on the island, scanning the surroundings.
This was his fifth visit.
Suddenly, whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Sounds came from the distant jungle, and twelve humanoid creatures quickly emerged.
They varied in height, with the tallest over 1.8 meters and the shortest around 1.7 meters. Each had four arms, blue skin, sharp claws at their fingertips, and long tails resembling fish fins on their backs.
"Fish Spirit Clan," Li Yuan murmured.
That's right. In the promotion matches of the Star Combat Network, players don’t compete against other martial artists but fight against 'Star Realm Creatures' set by the system.
Each rank's promotion match has various Star Realm creatures to choose from.
Li Yuan had chosen the Fish Spirit Clan every time he came here.
"Roar~"
"Howl~" "Wow~" The twelve Fish Spirits, upon seeing Li Yuan, had their eyes turn blood-red, their bodies surged, and they charged at Li Yuan, wielding their claw-like arms as if they were facing a mortal enemy.
"Every time I come here, the virtual network feels so real, even the simulated creatures seem to have full hatred," Li Yuan thought.
While pondering, Li Yuan dashed forward with his spear, changing his stance, and thrusting fiercely at the tallest Fish Spirit.
The spear created afterimages as it aimed for the creature's throat.
"Clang!" The Fish Spirit reacted quickly, swinging its claw to block Li Yuan's spear.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
Li Yuan's spear techniques changed fluidly, and after three quick clashes with the creature's claws, he slipped through the gaps between its four arms and struck straight into its chest.
"Thud~"
Blood splattered as Li Yuan's spear pierced through the Fish Spirit's chest, causing it to stagger.
However, Li Yuan did not immediately kill it but instead swiftly retracted his spear and swung it like a heavy club to block a fierce claw strike from the right.
There were still eleven more to deal with.
(End of Chapter)