Chapter 21: 192 Matches! 496 Points!

Chapter 21: 192 Matches! 496 Points! The Starry Sky Battle Network is divided into more than ten different combat modes, including Thousand-Person Battle Royale, Star Realm Survival, Ranked Matches, Matchmaking, and Personal Duels.

Modes like Thousand-Person Battle Royale and Star Realm Survival usually involve teams of 3-10 people, focusing not only on individual strength but also on team coordination, making them very popular. Many martial arts streamers frequently participate in these two modes. With good teamwork, it's entirely possible to defeat stronger opponents.

Li Yuan, Yan Zhou, Zhou Qi, and their friends often team up for these modes during their leisure time, only to get brutally defeated...

However, those truly dedicated to pushing their limits and honing their martial arts skills focus more on the Ranked Matches.

In Ranked Matches, both participants have identical physical attributes and randomly assigned cold weapons, making it a pure test of martial arts skills and combat awareness.

Only the victor survives.

Since the second year of high school, Li Yuan has dedicated almost all his spare time, including holidays, to ranked matches, using these near-real virtual battles to sharpen his martial arts skills.

...In the ranked match combat space, there is a massive arena with no audience.

Shua! Shua!

Li Yuan and a fiery red figure appeared simultaneously on opposite sides of the arena.

"Li Yuan?"

"Lin Lanyue, you're in ranked matchmaking too?" They stared at each other, taken aback.

Neither expected to be matched against each other again just minutes after their previous duel.

This was incredibly rare. Whether it's a ranked match or a matchmaking match, the system matches players with similar ranks globally.

How many golden rank players are there worldwide? At least tens of millions.

Both were silent for a moment.

"I won't surrender," Lin Lanyue was the first to speak, her eyes fixed coldly on Li Yuan. "Your martial arts skills may be slightly better than mine, but that doesn't mean I'll definitely lose."

"Mm, you're right," Li Yuan nodded.

Forty-two seconds later.

On the arena.

"Puchi!"

Li Yuan's spear struck like a dragon, once again piercing through Lin Lanyue's chest with a swift and fierce attack.

"You..." Lin Lanyue, enduring the intense pain of the spear through her body, managed to utter one word before her figure dissolved into nothingness.

"You've gotten a bit smarter, not attacking recklessly and instead probing my defenses," Li Yuan retracted his spear and shook his head lightly. "But you still fell for my feint."

"You want to win too badly."

"The more you want to win, the easier it is to lose," Li Yuan muttered to himself. "You must always stay calm."

"Calm like an old dog to advance steadily."

At this moment, Li Yuan received a system notification: "Congratulations, Defender Yuan. You have won this golden rank match. Points +10!"

"Her rank points are higher than mine."

"So the system gave me a bonus for winning?" Li Yuan thought.

Winning a match and gaining 10 points was quite substantial.

"Continue matchmaking," Li Yuan commanded mentally.

...

In another personal space.

"So frustrating!!"

"Damn Li Yuan, he must be doing it on purpose. Ahhh!!" Standing alone in a starry sky scene with dyed red hair, Lin Lanyue couldn't hold back her anger, muttering through gritted teeth, "I curse you to never find a wife."

Losing didn't bother Lin Lanyue much. She had lost countless times in ranked matches.

If she had just lost to Li Yuan twice, she wouldn't be so angry.

Having agreed to the duel, she had already prepared herself mentally for defeat.

The issue was the way she lost.

Twice, her chest was pierced by a spear. Once could be a coincidence, but twice?

"Calm down! Lin Lanyue, you need to stay calm," Lin Lanyue took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "Martial arts training requires a calm mind. Don't panic when things go wrong."

Suddenly.

Beep—a communication request.

Seeing the name on the communication display.

"Second Brother?" Lin Lanyue hesitated and then said softly, "Little Qing, answer the call."

Buzz—the projection changed, showing a young man in a blue martial arts uniform, quite handsome.

The man resembled Lin Lanyue somewhat.

"Little Sister," the man smiled.

"Second Brother," Lin Lanyue suppressed her frustration, smiling slightly. "Why are you contacting me all of a sudden?"

"What, I can't contact you?" the young man smiled.

"Hmph!"

Lin Lanyue couldn't help but snort, "Second Brother, how long has it been since you last contacted me?"

The young man smiled indulgently, "I heard from Little Qiang that you lost a duel on the Starry Sky Battle Network. I'm here to check on you."

"That big mouth Gu Qianghan," Lin Lanyue frowned. "I'll teach him a lesson tomorrow."

"Little Qiang told me because he's worried about you," the young man smiled. "You're his elder sister, don't bully him too much."

"I know——" Lin Lanyue drawled, her mind already plotting how to handle Gu Qianghan at school tomorrow.

"I watched your battle video," the young man said seriously. "Losing is normal. Besides the weapon disadvantage, that boy's spear skills are much better than yours. I estimate he's at mid-tier third stage."

"Mid-tier third stage?" Lin Lanyue was slightly surprised. She knew the martial arts skill stages.

Lin Lanyue could sense Li Yuan's skills were superior, but didn't expect the gap to be that wide.

"His footwork should also be at third stage, possibly qualifying for the 'Blue Star Youth List,'" the young man said. "That's the standard for special recruitment."

"Blue Star Youth List?" Lin Lanyue was increasingly astonished. She understood the significance of that list due to her family's background.

"How's his physical strength?" the young man asked casually.

"Average, probably just over 6th level, not awakened to martial intuition yet," Lin Lanyue shook her head. She knew a bit about Li Yuan's situation.

"Not awakened to martial intuition?" The young man was taken aback, shaking his head. "That's a pity."

The young man had only asked out of curiosity and didn't really care about Li Yuan's situation.

To him, Li Yuan's performance didn't matter.

"Little sister, your sword skills just broke through to third stage, right?" the young man smiled. "In a hundred duels, you'd rarely win against that boy."

Lin Lanyue couldn't help but bite her lip. She was unwilling to accept this but knew her second brother's judgment was more accurate than Teacher Xu's.

"Having such a martial arts genius as a classmate is a good thing," the young man smiled. "It serves as a wake-up call, preventing you from getting too proud just because you're the top student in your grade."

"I'm not proud," Lin Lanyue frowned. "Second Brother, are you here to comfort me or to lecture me?"

"Haha, alright."

"My fault, I won't lecture you," the young man laughed. "Focus on honing your sword skills. There's still half a year left. Strive to make it onto the Blue Star Youth List."

"With that credential, you'll be more valued when you enter Starry Sky University, and Father can request more resources from the family for you," the young man said.

"Yes, I understand," Lin Lanyue nodded. She was old enough to understand how her family operated.

There were many children, and only those who excelled would receive family resources.

Otherwise, even upon reaching adulthood, she would only get 50,000 Blue Star Coins a month for living expenses.

No additional resources.

"In two weeks, Big Brother and I will return from the Flag Country to visit you," the young man smiled.

"Is Father coming?" Lin Lanyue was pleasantly surprised.

"Father has business in Russia with the military," the young man shook his head.

"Oh!" Lin Lanyue pursed her lips, a bit disappointed.

Soon after.

Lin Lanyue ended the call with her second brother.

"Third stage mid-tier spear skills and footwork?" Lin Lanyue murmured. "Li Yuan has progressed so quickly."

She remembered clearly.

In her first year, Li Yuan wasn't even ranked in the top students. He suddenly emerged in the second year.

In just a year, he ranked in the top thirty in the second-year final exams, even surpassing her in martial arts skills.

Losing one top spot had little impact on Lin Lanyue but made her remember Li Yuan's name.

"That exam, my skill score was only a few points behind, meaning the gap wasn't big," Lin Lanyue bit her lip. "Now, his martial arts skills are much better?"

Lin Lanyue didn't understand.

Despite receiving excellent martial arts education from a young age, having a specialized swordsmanship teacher, and training diligently, she was still surpassed by Li Yuan.

"Perhaps."

"As Father said, there are always geniuses in the world," Lin Lanyue shook her head. "It's a pity he hasn't awakened martial intuition. Achieving great success in martial arts will be very difficult."

She was upset, thinking Li Yuan intentionally targeted her in both duels.

But deep down, Lin Lanyue felt a bit sorry for Li Yuan.

"Let's continue."

"Following Father's mental training method, I can handle about forty ranked matches in one go," Lin Lanyue resumed matchmaking.

Ordinary people feel mentally exhausted after long video game sessions.

The Starry Sky Battle Network's virtual battles impose much greater mental strain.

Especially when injured or defeated, the intense pain severely stresses the mind.

So, virtual battles can't be sustained indefinitely.

...

Night, 9 PM.

In the virtual network, Starry Sky Battle Network, in Li Yuan's personal space.

"Finally, almost there," Li Yuan took a deep breath, glancing at his ranked match panel:

Ranked Match: Golden Rank.

Points: 496 (1000 points to qualify for promotion match)

...

From 2 PM to 9 PM.

Seven hours of nearly non-stop battles, 192 matches.

120 wins, 72 losses.

Increasing his points from 112 to 496.

Just one more win to reach 500 points.