With Li Yuan's current level of skill, spending a week or two to break through to a score of 300 in the Falling Star rank was not difficult. However, achieving this in a short period of time was no simple task. This was because, after a series of victories, the matchmaking system of the Star Combat Network would impose a "sanction" and it was all too easy to encounter opponents far beyond one’s capabilities.
From the night before around ten o'clock, Li Yuan fought continuously until nearly two in the morning the next day.
In the open duel space, a blaring crack of sound rang out as a sharp gun shadow swept past. The long spear returned to its original position, but the burly man standing opposite Li Yuan had already vanished in shock. The blood that had spilled from his throat also dissipated in an instant, leaving the arena in silence once more.
"That was tough," Li Yuan muttered to himself. "After battling it out for hundreds of exchanges, I finally unleashed the ‘Galactic Waterfall’ with twelve successive shots." He lowered his spear and held it diagonally at the shaft.
The twelve successive shots required a buildup of momentum with each shot faster than the last, a surge that would ultimately crush the enemy. Yet, masters at the Falling Star rank were all four-sectioned experts. Many of them were Origin Warriors in reality, with high levels of insight and understanding… Most could recognize the origin of Li Yuan’s moves.
Naturally, they would use every means possible to disrupt Li Yuan’s buildup, or even exploit the process to find an opportunity to eliminate him directly.
“They're all experts,” Li Yuan smiled, recollecting the more than twenty battles from that evening. Fighting against so many four-section experts had brought him immense gains. Techniques compatible with various high-level cultivation methods as well as some intermediate skills had opened his eyes to new possibilities.
As he pondered, Li Yuan glanced at the ranking match data:
Ranking Match: Falling Star Rank.
Points: 306 points (1000 points required to participate in the promotion match)
Winning Percentage: 41%
"Finally broke past 300 points. Last time, Xiao Yu said that once I reached 300 points, I would receive a special document." Li Yuan thought to himself, "I wonder what it is."
With a single thought, he ended the battle and returned to his personal space.
“Congratulations, Guardian Yuan, you have emerged victorious. Ranking points +9.”
“Congratulations, Guardian Yuan. You are currently ranked 48th globally on the Blue Star Youth Ranking, 10th in the Xia Country region, and 2nd in the Jiangbei division.” Upon returning, two system prompts flashed before Li Yuan's eyes.
“Congratulations, Guardian Yuan. You have achieved 300 points in the Falling Star rank. Due to being under 18 years of age, you have received an invitation for the ‘Time of the Bright Moon.’” Another notification flashed.
“Tenth in the Xia Country, second in Jiangbei?” Li Yuan murmured, “Is the first in Jiangbei that Tian Dazhuang?”
Though he hadn’t interacted much with Tian Dazhuang, Li Yuan held a lot of admiration for him. A month had passed since the invitation event from Jiangbei Martial University, and with Tian Dazhuang's terrifying talent, his sword skills would only have become stronger.
In the personal space of the Star Combat Network, a purple-clad girl glided around Li Yuan, glowing with excitement. “Congratulations, Master! You've successfully entered the top ten of the Blue Star Youth Ranking and second in Jiangbei!”
“Alright, settle down,” Li Yuan chuckled. “Xiao Yu, I just received the document regarding the ‘Time of the Bright Moon.’ Please open it for me.”
“Yes, Master.” The purple-clad girl nodded, her eyes sparkling.
With a flourish, a screen materialized displaying a wealth of text and corresponding images. “Master, take a look,” she said, pointing to the screen. “The Star Combat Network rewards those who achieve Golden Rank with 500 points, Falling Star Rank, and Bright Moon Rank before 18 years old.”
“Hmm.” Li Yuan understood this well.
Before turning 18, reaching the Falling Star rank would yield a reward of 500,000 Blue Star Coins. Reaching the Bright Moon rank would reward 20 million Blue Star Coins.
“The so-called ‘Time of the Bright Moon’ is a ‘promise’ bestowed upon young masters who reach 300 points in the Falling Star rank.” The girl explained, “To achieve 300 points in the Falling Star rank usually indicates that one's martial arts skills have reached the threshold of mid-fourth section.”
“And to reach the Bright Moon rank, martial arts skills typically need to reach high-fourth section.” She continued, “The Eclipsed Sun rank demands one to attain perfect mastery of the fourth section, which means one's mind must be finely attuned."
"The Transcendent rank usually requires mastery at the fifth section."
“Hmm.” Li Yuan nodded.
The more he cultivated and grew stronger, the more he understood how rare it was to reach the fifth section. He estimated that in reality, those who could reach the fifth section were either peerless geniuses or at least very powerful Origin Warriors, like Dean Li.
This was why, on the virtual network's martial arts broadcasts, Bright Moon rank was considered very high, and it was extremely rare for someone at the Eclipsed Sun rank to be a broadcaster.
On another note, the classification of martial arts skills in reality could not be so clearly defined as on the Divine Palace Panel, where everything was precise down to the percentage. Instead, the terms were more vague: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and perfection.
Based on his own estimations, Li Yuan put forth:
“Beginner fourth section is roughly 0%-30% of fourth section.”
“Intermediate fourth section is roughly 30%-60% of fourth section.”
“Advanced fourth section is roughly 60%-90% of fourth section.”
“90%-100% is approximately the perfect stage of the fourth section, reaching what Uncle Wan describes as refined enlightenment of the spirit. By then, I should be able to seek a way to reach the fifth section.” Li Yuan sighed inwardly.
These conclusions were based on Li Yuan’s experiences from progressing through the third and fourth sections thus far.
“Even if I’m not precise, the margin shouldn't be significant.” Li Yuan thought. “So, if I can elevate my spear techniques to about 60% of the fourth section before August 29th this year, I might have a chance to reach the Bright Moon rank?”
Instantly, excitement surged through him.
Half a year ago, when he was still struggling at the Golden rank, he never dared to dream of the rewards for the Bright Moon rank. But now? A glimmer of hope stirred within him.
It was mid-April now.
“This means I have four months to hone my spear techniques.” Li Yuan concluded inwardly.
Four months to elevate his spear technique from 26% in the fourth section to over 60% would be quite challenging. After all, the deeper one delved into their own understanding of the body, the more difficult it became to continue extracting improvements.
If it were easy, the Star Combat Network would not set a reward of 20 million Blue Star Coins.
“I have to chase after it and give it a shot.” Li Yuan grinned.
Money was often never enough.
Li Yuan could clearly foresee that as his physical constitution continued to improve, the resources needed to promote his physical evolution would only become more and more expensive. He had to find ways to earn more.
“Besides,” he mused, “if I want to upgrade from an A-grade contract with the Starfire Martial Hall to an S-grade contract, I must reach the fifth section before turning twenty.”
That contract also included an extra Star Core Crystal.
What exactly the Star Core Crystal was? Li Yuan still had no idea. However, it was undoubtedly a precious item to be specifically mentioned.
“First step, aim to reach the Bright Moon rank before September.”
“Second step, strive for the level of enlightenment.”
“Third step is to achieve the fifth section.”
Li Yuan gradually clarified his three goals in his mind. Setting targets on the path of cultivation, and striving towards them, was far more important than blind training.
Every country has its five-year plan.
What of an individual?
After exiting the virtual network, instead of resting, Li Yuan began to cultivate the Great Sun Starry Sky Sutra once more.
At five o'clock, he set out from home to school.
Li Yuan was unaware that on that very night, news of the changes in the top ten rankings of the Blue Star Youth was already passing through the relevant departments.
Morning.
In Song Yi's office at the Starry Sky Martial Hall.
“Tenth in the Xia Country, second in Jiangbei?” Song Yi was astonished as she read the latest report about Li Yuan. Yesterday, when Wan Qinghe had mentioned it to her, she had been somewhat skeptical, hardly willing to believe it.
After all, based on her knowledge, Li Yuan's spear skills should only have just reached the fourth section in early March.
She never expected that in just one night, Li Yuan not only surpassed 300 points in the Falling Star rank, but directly became the tenth in the Xia Country.
The pace of progress was frightening.
“He’s improved one level in physical constitution this month.”
“His martial arts skill, which only broke through to the fourth section in early March, in just one month, he’s already risen from beginner to intermediate?” Song Yi muttered to herself.
The more she analyzed, the more shocked she became. His physical constitution could have been due to some kind of treasure, but what about his martial arts skill? That could only be attributed to talent.
“What a monster!” Song Yi shook her head, then unexpectedly broke into a smile.
“600,000? So worth it!”
“Forget it.”
“Since Wan Qinghe already offered 1 million, why not just meet his request?” A thought popped into her mind.
Once that thought appeared, it was impossible to shake off.
“One million!”
“That would resolve this conflict completely.” Song Yi considered deeply, recognizing that a few hundred thousand Blue Star Coins could eliminate an entire conflict with a super genius.
What a bargain.
Afternoon.
Thousands of kilometers away, within the Kunlun Martial Arts University in Longxi Province.
Inside a teaching building, a black-robed elder and a bald man were both staring intensely at the same projection screen that displayed copious amounts of data.
Among the information was an analysis of Li Yuan's performance in the April examinations and the news of him breaking into the top ten of the Blue Star Youth Rankings.
The two exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat peculiar.
“You just said you sent Li Yuan the ‘Limitless Cultivation Guide’ a month ago?” the bald man inquired gruffly.
“Indeed!” the elder affirmed with a nod.
“You also mentioned that your original plan was to push Li Yuan a bit, hoping the pressure would temper his arrogance? And to tell him that using the body refinement elixir once a month would lessen the pain of continuous use by fifty percent, correct?” the bald man asked again.
“That’s right.” The elder nodded once more.
“And now news is coming from the Starfire Martial Hall indicating that Li Yuan has followed your ‘Limitless Cultivation Method’ for a month?” the bald man asked, “and the results are superb, having reached the entry-level of the Falling Star rank?”
“Exactly.” The elder nodded, a bit detached.
“Old Fan!” Dean Li stared oddly at the black-robed elder. “Should I praise you or scold you?”
“Dean Li, we must look at the results.” Fan Jin’s face remained impassive: “The outcome is that my Limitless Cultivation Plan has proven successful, creating a true martial arts genius for our Kunlun Martial University.”
“His willpower!”
“His spiritual power!"
“His physical talent."
“Most importantly, his speed of skill progression.”
“The higher the skill, the faster one can excavate their physical potential.”
“All of this aligns perfectly with my research on the ‘Limitless Cultivation Method’.” Fan Jin stated solemnly: “I believe he will become an Origin Warrior before his third year.”
“I even think…”
“Perhaps Dean Hai will take a liking to Li Yuan. Should we give it a try?” Fan Jin proposed tentatively.
Kunlun Martial University was divided into eight divisions, each headed by a principal and several vice principals.
Dean Li was the vice president of the sixth division, while Wan Qinghe's “ninth senior brother” was Zhao, the principal of the eighth division.
Currently, the “Dean Hai” mentioned by Dean Li and Fan Jin was the principal of the sixth division, a true Sky-Reaching Warrior with great renown throughout the Xia Country.
“Not so fast!”
“Your conjecture is theoretical; no one has ever seen it succeed before.” Dean Li shook his head. “You know what Dean Hai’s temperament is like? If the candidate is inappropriate and nothing happens with Li Yuan, the two of us will be in trouble.”
Fan Jin shrank back a bit.
Dean Hai was significantly older than both of them.
“Let’s wait and see.”
“After all, it’s only been a month. If Li Yuan’s progress remains steady by the end of the July practical assessment, I will consider recommending him to Dean Hai.” Dean Li decided.
“Alright.” Fan Jin nodded: “I will keep a close eye on Li Yuan.”
(End of Chapter)