In the virtual network, on the Star Combat Network, there was a huge battle space with no spectators around. Two masters, both with a physical score of 10.0, were engaged in a fierce fight. They were both experts in spear techniques.
One of them looked to be around forty years old, with a strong build and wearing silver armor. The other was a young man in black armor.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Both were incredibly skilled with their spears. The middle-aged man unleashed a flurry of spear strikes, forcing Li Yuan to defend with all his might using the Starry Spear Technique.
Boom! Bang! The spears clashed like lightning, and occasionally, Li Yuan would manage to counterattack once or twice.
"Impressive," Li Yuan thought. "In the Falling Star Rank, every opponent is a tough nut to crack." He felt immense pressure but was also excited. Fighting against strong opponents was the only way to improve. If he only fought weaklings, he would eventually become weak himself.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man's spear exploded with power, creating over ten spear shadows that seemed to rain down on Li Yuan. These spear shadows were actually rapid thrusts, but their speed was so terrifying that to an ordinary person, it looked like they were all striking at once.
Clang! Li Yuan, with sharp eyesight, managed to block six strikes.
Pfft! The seventh thrust finally broke through Li Yuan's defense. But in that instant, Li Yuan's eyes glinted with determination and madness. He completely disregarded the spear aimed at him and unleashed his own spear with all his strength.
At that moment, Li Yuan felt a new level of harmony between his spirit and body, with his mind controlling his body more deeply.
【Your spear skill level has increased from 4段 4% to 4段 5%】 the Divine Palace Panel notified him.
But Li Yuan had no time to pay attention; all he could see was his spear. "Kill! Faster! Even faster!"
Boom! His spear shot forward like a dragon bursting from a rocky gorge, filled with terrifying killing intent, making the middle-aged man feel a chill.
Pfft! That fearsome thrust pierced through Li Yuan’s throat and head, causing him to vanish from the arena in an instant.
Swish~ Li Yuan's spear tip grazed the middle-aged man's face, splattering blood everywhere. The battle ended, and the victor was decided.
"Where did this little guy come from? So crazy!" The middle-aged man stood on the arena, his heart still unsettled. "If he wasn't deliberately made younger, he must be around seventeen or eighteen."
"I used three major killing moves and barely defeated him," he thought, filled with admiration.
In the virtual network, in his personal space, Li Yuan appeared, not caring at all about winning or losing.
"That was exhilarating!"
"Haha, that felt great." He was more interested in the fight itself and gaining experience rather than immediately scoring 300 points.
"12 points?" Li Yuan glanced at the screen displaying his rank points.
Ranked Match: Falling Star Rank.
Points: 12 (1000 points needed to enter the promotion match)
Win Rate: 22%
In the past two hours, Li Yuan had fought 18 matches, winning only 4 and losing 14.
"At least I managed to win one occasionally," he smiled.
Back when he was in the Gold Rank, he was completely powerless against experts in the Falling Star Rank. Now, he could at least fight back.
After several battles, he noticed that most opponents were below 500 points in the Falling Star Rank, and he began to understand their patterns.
"These experts' martial skills seem similar to Tian Dazhuang's," he mused. "Most of their skill levels probably don't exceed 4段 30%."
"At my current rate of progress, I should reach 300 points in the Falling Star Rank by the time of the college entrance exam." Li Yuan felt hopeful.
That was much faster than he had expected.
Additionally, from this invitation event, he had already earned several million Blue Star Coins. He had also signed a special training contract with Kunlun Martial Arts University, so he had enough resources for now.
Therefore, he wasn't in a rush.
"However, aside from the initial 500,000 Blue Star Coins, the rest will have to wait." Li Yuan thought to himself, "I hope nothing goes wrong."
Otherwise, he would be in trouble.
At six o'clock, Li Yuan logged out of the virtual network and headed to the martial arts room as usual.
He began his basic cultivation practice for the day.
Gu Qianghan hadn’t woken up yet.
As Li Yuan practiced standing meditation and punches, he turned on the light screen projection and switched to the Xia Country "Star Realm Channel."
The Star Realm Channel focused on news from various realms of the Seven Star Alliance.
When there were no wars, it mainly aired documentaries about different realms, and during wars, it often provided live coverage from the front lines, which was very popular.
Recently, the focus was naturally on the "Secondary Star Realm Lobu Sea" conflict.
"Yesterday, news came from the Lobu Sea front line..." the host read out various news reports.
Li Yuan listened quietly.
Although he had been participating in invitation events these days, he had been closely following the Lobu Sea realm, hoping to hear good news.
Unfortunately, until today, despite the news claiming "frequent victories," there had been no updates about Base Three.
At six twenty-six, the host suddenly announced, "We have an urgent news update."
The host's voice became hurried: "Just now, the frontline support teams from Starfire Martial Hall and Starry Sky Martial Hall, in cooperation with the combat mechanical army, have successfully opened the transportation route from Base Five to Base Three!"
"Base Three has not yet fallen! It has not yet fallen!"
"The military has organized..." The host's voice was passionate, clearly excited.
Outside the light screen, Li Yuan abruptly stopped his practice, his eyes wide as he stared at the screen.
In his mind, he could only focus on the host's words: "Base Three has not yet fallen."
Not yet fallen!
"Base Three hasn't fallen; my uncle is still alive?" Li Yuan felt increasingly anxious.
Without hesitation, he began searching for news about "Base Three" on his smart wristband.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find much more information at the moment.
On the fifth day of the event, there were no assessments, just some tours and explanations.
According to the schedule, the morning activities would end, and after lunch, all students would head back.
Around nine o'clock, during the tour,
"Li Yuan, why do you look so distracted? You've been staring at your smart wristband," Wu Dongdong asked, puzzled. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Li Yuan forced a smile.
Inside, he was extremely worried.
If there was still no news, even if hope seemed increasingly slim, Li Yuan felt a sense of stability in his heart.
Now that he saw a glimmer of hope, he felt anxious.
"Dongdong," Lin Lanyue frowned slightly and gave a glance.
Wu Dongdong, not foolish, immediately sensed something was off and nodded obediently, walking ahead.
"Li Yuan, don’t worry too much," Lin Lanyue said softly as she walked beside him. "Base Three has opened the transportation route. Our Xia Country’s army has gained the upper hand and is gradually pushing back, just waiting for a full rescue."
"According to the reports, most of the trapped people are still alive; your uncle should be fine." Lin Lanyue's eyes shone brightly.
Li Yuan couldn't help but look at Lin Lanyue.
"Teacher Xu told me that the day you fainted," Lin Lanyue smiled lightly.
"Thanks," Li Yuan said quietly.
Many of their classmates knew about his uncle in the Lobu Sea, so it wasn't really a secret.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, in Jiang City, at the Starfire Martial Hall branch.
As the core of the Starfire Martial Hall in Jiang City, there were several large buildings here, equivalent to four or five buildings in the Guanshan branch combined.
In the central building, only members of L3 and above from the Starfire Martial Hall and a few service personnel were allowed entry.
On the sixth floor, in a large office decorated in a retro style,
"Hall Master Fei," Wan Qinghe slightly bowed.
In the Jiang City branch, there were very few people who could make Wan Qinghe behave this way.
But the man in his sixties sitting behind the desk in a black robe certainly had that qualification.
He was Fei Qian, the master of the Jiang City branch and one of the top figures in the Starfire Martial Hall in Jiangbei Province.
"Xiao Wan,"
"You submitted a request early this morning to upgrade Li Yuan's contract from B-level to A-level," the black-robed elder Fei Qian smiled. "You rushed over here after just a few hours without a response. Is it really that urgent?"
"Hall Master Fei,"
"It's not that I'm anxious, but I'm worried about unforeseen circumstances." Wan Qinghe suppressed his anxiety. "Have you looked over the data?"
"I have," the black-robed elder Fei Qian said with a smile, remaining calm. "And then?"
"Li Yuan, aside from not having awakened his Martial Spirit, is top-notch in every other aspect," Wan Qinghe said, unable to contain himself. "Based on my research, his chance of successfully creating a technique is over 40%!"
"In the future, the probability of him becoming a Level 29 Source Martial Artist is extremely high."
"That definitely warrants an A-level contract." Wan Qinghe looked at Fei Qian. "Kunlun Martial University directly offered him an S-level special training contract."
"Although the S-level contract from the university isn’t directly comparable to our contract levels, it says a lot."
"The key is!"
"I'm worried that if we don’t upgrade his contract, the military or Starry Sky Martial Hall might poach him directly." Wan Qinghe's voice carried a hint of urgency. "Hall Master Fei, you’ve always been wise; I hope you consider this carefully."
Wan Qinghe's words carried deep meaning.
The black-robed elder Fei Qian smiled and was about to speak when suddenly the office's smart assistant chimed in: "Master! Important communication! Should we take the call from Provincial Hall Master Yang?"
The black-robed elder Fei Qian immediately stood up, his expression serious: "Take the call!"
Wan Qinghe was startled and quickly became respectful.
Provincial Hall Master?
People like Wan Qinghe were only district-level hall masters; people like Fei Qian were only city-level hall masters. While their strength and status differed significantly, they were still Source Martial Artists.
So, Wan Qinghe didn’t feel too intimidated.
But a Provincial Hall Master? That was a true big shot, the real leader of the Starfire Martial Hall in Jiangbei Province.
The difference in rank between them and Fei Qian and Wan Qinghe was not just in title but also in strength.
According to Starfire Martial Hall regulations, a Provincial Hall Master must be a Sky Martial Artist.
Sky Martial Artists were beings that absolutely surpassed Source Martial Artists.
Beep~
The communication was established, just a voice call.
"Fei Qian," a cold female voice came from the dark screen projection.
"Provincial Hall Master," Fei Qian said respectfully.
"I’ve read the report you submitted this morning," the cold voice said. "You can give this Li Yuan an A-level contract, and all resources will increase by 20%."
"At the same time, tell him that if he can break through to 5段 in skill before he turns 20, he will be upgraded to an S-level contract and will receive a 'Star Core Crystal' as a bonus."
(End of Chapter)