82: Chapter 82 Infinite Arena

That sound seemed like a switch.

Whoosh!!!

The upper half of the thick alloy block suddenly slid forward a small distance along an absolutely flat, almost imperceptible white line, before losing support and crashing down. The fracture surface was as smooth as a mirror, gleaming with the luster of metal instantly melted and then solidified by extreme heat.

The blade mark, created by the Flowing Rainbow Five Forms - Rushing Shadow Form, had already vanished after cutting through the target, as if its existence was only for the result of 'penetration' and not for showing off the process.

Li Wen maintained his drawing stance, breathing slightly heavily.

His Mental Energy felt completely drained, leaving a dull ache in his empty Sea of Consciousness. His entire body throbbed with dense soreness and tearing sensations from operating beyond its limits.

But his eyes were astonishingly bright, like a star that had just sliced through the haze in the night sky.

A trace of uncontrollable excitement coursed through his exhausted body.

"I succeeded— — — — Shadow— — — — This is— — — — the ultimate in pure speed— — — —"

He looked down at the standard long saber in his hand, whose blade even showed slight signs of high-temperature distortion from the extreme burst, feeling the vacuum aftershock slowly dissipate in the air that had been violently torn apart. Finally, his gaze settled on the special alloy that had been cut in half.

The smooth mirror surface of the fracture reflected his sweat-soaked yet sharp and imposing face, and it seemed to reflect a path toward a higher Realm, toward a purer blade edge of 'speed'.

[You have gained enlightenment in Heavenly Rainbow Five Forms - Rushing Shadow Form, Physical Body Control +3]

[Technique: Blade Technique - Unity Realm (Physical Body Control 77 → 80 / 100)]

Two System panels actively appeared before his eyes.

"As expected of a high-level Blade Technique that directly points toward Saber Intent. I gained this much control just from the first time executing it."

Looking at the panel information, Li Wen's slight previous doubts completely vanished.

Next, he only needed to completely comprehend this single move, and that would be the day his Intent was formed.

He did not leave the training area immediately but slowly sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes to regulate his breath.

During the recovery process for his heavily depleted Primordial Spirit, every detail of the successful [Lueying Style] execution, aided by the passive One Proof, Eternal Proof, caused that pure, instantly achieved white mark to flash back and imprint itself repeatedly in his mind.

This imprint would surely become the sharpest beginning on his blade's edge.

After a brief rest, Li Wen returned to the virtual world. Since he could finally use the Lueying Style, he naturally wanted to experience that extreme speed some more.

His gaze swept over the dozens of information transfer gates surrounding the initial space, finally landing on the energy vortex gate faintly emitting clamorous shouts, labeled with the light character [Infinite Arena].

"This is the place." Li Wen stepped into it.

After a brief sensation of flowing light passing by, the scene before him changed abruptly.

The clamor instantly engulfed him like a tsunami.

He was standing in a strange space infinitely vast, resembling the boundless starry river of the Universe.

Within his field of vision, countless massive platforms—the arenas of the Infinite Arena—floated like stars in the endless void.

Each arena was enveloped by a faint light membrane, isolating the inside from the outside to ensure that the energy fluctuations from the battle would not leak out and interfere with others, but sound and visuals could be clearly transmitted.

The platforms varied in size and shape. Some were flat as a mirror, suitable for pure clashes of power; others were covered with strange rocks and ruins, designed specifically for complex terrain tactics.

Some even simulated extreme environments like storms, sand seas, or gravity anomalies to meet the needs of different Martial Artists.

The background was a deep and magnificent nebula and a rotating galaxy, forming a magnificent yet grim picture scroll.

Countless virtual figures shuttled between the arenas, fighting, and shouting.

Blade lights and sword shadows crisscrossed, energy bursts roared, occasionally mixed with the victor's wild cries, the loser's angry roars, or the fervent cheers and commentary from the spectators.

The air was filled with a primitive and pure scent of combat hormones, stimulating the desire to win in everyone present.

The rules of the Infinite Arena clearly surfaced in Li Wen's consciousness:

Combat Modes:

Matchmaking Battle: Randomly find an opponent, no pressure for Rank advancement/demotion, mainly used for familiarizing with skills, tactical drills, or purely enjoying combat.

Ranked Battle: Official competition concerning Rank glory and potential rewards. Win to gain points, lose to drop points, until promotion/demotion.

Rank Tiers: From lowest to highest: Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, platinum rank, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, King.

Nine distinct tiers, clearly stratified. Crossing each tier represents a massive leap in strength.

New Account Mechanism: Upon first entering Ranked Mode, placement matches are required.

Usually 5–10 matches. The System preliminarily determines the player's starting Rank based on performance and opponent strength.

Time Limit: Members of factions other than the Virtual Company, regardless of Rank, have a basic daily combat duration limit in the Infinite Arena.

This limit stems from the high cost—the Infinite Arena is a massive computational resource pool provided by the 'Virtual Company.' High-intensity and detailed simulated combat consumes astronomical 'traffic' every second.

Therefore, the Virtual Company charges fees to other factions.

Lifting Restrictions: After the basic duration is exhausted, extra time can be purchased by consuming xinhuo points. The more invested, the longer one can fight.

Spectating Mechanism: Virtual spectator stands are set up below the arenas. Any member can enter a specific arena to watch by paying a small amount of points or possessing the relevant permissions.

Simultaneously, the System opens a live broadcast function, allowing combatants to freely choose to broadcast live or record.

Li Wen felt the atmosphere of this boiling battlefield and, without hesitation, issued a command to the System: "Start Ranked Placement Matches!"

"Identity confirmed: Li Wen, member of the Xinhuo Hall Qingshi Branch. Entering Ranked for the first time, initiating placement match procedure. Matching opponents of similar strength— — — —"

At the same time, on a flat, bronze-colored arena numbered 'GYD—734',

a burly middle-aged man with slightly gaudy armor emblazoned with a cartoon tiger head, 'Diamond Tiger Old Jin',

was wiping virtual sweat from his brow, his face beaming with irrepressible excitement and a smile.

His virtual live broadcast room hung in a corner of the arena, and the bullet comments scrolled rapidly:

[666! Old Jin has this one locked down! Three consecutive Silver wins!]

[I told you the streamer's touch is hot today, anyone who comes will become a kebab!]

[Don't jinx it, don't jinx it! One jinx and he'll instantly lose!]

[Streamer, that move where you stabbed someone's butt with your spear earlier was too slick hahaha!]

[Won two matches in the promotion series and now you're getting cocky? Hurry up and finish the last one, I'm waiting to see the famous scene of the streamer getting crushed by a big shot after ranking Gold!]

Old Jin looked at the rapidly scrolling bullet comments, chuckled, and winked at the invisible camera: "Brothers, stay steady! What do you mean cocky? This is called soaring momentum! See that? In those last two matches, the opponents weren't weak Silver players either, right?

They were all arranged perfectly by your Tiger Brother! Last match of the promotion series, watch Brother Hu take the Gold Medal in one go! From now on, I'll be a man with a Gold badge when I go out!"

In reality, he was an Advanced Martial Artist under the Mercenary Alliance faction. After years of roughing it in the wilderness as a mercenary, surviving several brushes with death, his skills had only just managed to step across the threshold of the Unity Realm recently.

Before his Breakthrough, he had been stuck at Silver Peak, failing several times to break through to the Gold tier.

This time, he felt his condition was excellent, having won two tough promotion matches in Silver, his confidence had soared to its Peak.

He followed the route of being an entertaining minor streamer; his technique wasn't top-tier, but his straightforward personality made for great live content.

[Match successful! Your opponent is ready.]

The cold System notification sounded.

Diamond Tiger Old Jin's spirit lifted. He spun his spear with a cool flourish, chest puffed out, and walked toward the center of the arena, ready to greet the 'last stepping stone' on his path to Gold.

However, when the light projection opposite him solidified and revealed his opponent's figure, the smile on Old Jin's face instantly froze. His eyes shifted from full confidence to stunned bewilderment, and then quickly collapsed, like an eggplant hit by frost. His entire spirit and energy withered by more than half.

Standing opposite him was a youth who looked no older than seventeen or eighteen.

He wore the standard black combat uniform of the Kindling Hall. His face was slightly young but exuded composure. Hanging at his waist was a plain, unadorned standard long saber.

The youth stood still, his eyes calm, without any unnecessary fluctuation.

— — — —" Old Jin seemed to have a fishbone stuck in his throat. He turned his head toward the 'camera' of his virtual broadcast room below the arena, forced a smile uglier than crying, and complained mournfully: "It's over, brothers— — — —! Bad luck! I knew the promotion series wouldn't be that easy! The boasts I just made are still warm, and I've run into a monster again!"

In the audience seating below, upon seeing Li Wen, many people suddenly understood, immediately letting out knowing laughter and sounds of sympathy: "Hahahaha! Old Jin just slapped his own face!"

"A welcome sight! I love watching the streamer instantly turn timid when he runs into a Genius!"

"Tsk tsk— — — — Look at his age, definitely one of those Prodigies from high school who got signed early by the Four Great Factions!"

"Old Jin, my condolences. If he can last ten seconds, it counts as a win!"

"Ten seconds? You think too highly of Old Jin. Which of the seed talents signed by the Four Great Factions isn't above the Unity Realm? Crushing someone like Old Jin, who just stepped into the Unity Realm, is as easy as eating and drinking."

The sources of members for the Four Great Factions were clear:

One type was Martial Artists recruited from various strata of the Blue Star Federation, like Old Jin, most of whom were already adults;

The other type was like Li Wen—young talents and seeds who showed astonishing potential during high school and were signed early!

The latter group was extremely rare, but every one of them possessed resources and training that ordinary people could hardly attain at their starting stage; they were truly 'monster' level existences.

After all, even signing the lowest D-Rank contract with the Four Great Factions required reaching the Unity Realm in high school.

In the Infinite Arena, a young face had only two possibilities: either a university student or a high school student.

(PS: The Infinite Arena is a public platform. The mainstream users are people from the Four Great Factions and university students; members of some smaller factions also participate.)