83: Chapter 83 100% Win Rate

But high school students were different; every single one was a Genius scouted and signed early by major powers.

High school students in the Infinite Arena were essentially a label for the second identity type, signifying that their starting techniques were already at the Unity Realm.

Li Wen naturally heard the words from his opponent and the audience.

He paid no mind to the opponent's identity or reaction, calmly looking at the burly man across from him who was treating the match with extreme caution. He nodded slightly in greeting: "Kindling Hall, Li Wen. Please enlighten me."

His mind stirred, and the standard long saber at his waist silently slid into his hand.

There was no flashy starting Move, just his hand pointing diagonally towards the ground, awaiting the signal to begin the fight.

Diamond Tiger Old Jin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the bitterness and unease in his heart. The expression on his face gradually turned solemn.

He knew how terrifying this kind of monster was. The calmness in the opponent's eyes made his heart palpitate; he didn't look like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth at all.

He tightened his grip on the refined steel long spear. The wide, thick spearhead shimmered with a cold light under the starlight reflecting off the arena floor.

"Damn it, fortune favors the bold! Let's go!" Old Jin roared, cheering himself on. "Mercenary Alliance, Zhang Jingang! I dare not accept your instruction, I only hope— Ah!"

He had intended to cup his fists and exchange a few more polite words to stall for time, trying to see if he could avoid the first, most terrifying wave of the aggressive attack.

However, the starting chime sounded like the whisper of the Grim Reaper, exploding above the arena without any warning.

Buzz!!!

Just as the starting chime faded, a strange illusion seemed to manifest in the center of the arena: Li Wen's figure swayed almost imperceptibly, an amplitude so small it was nearly impossible for the naked eye to capture.

But immediately following that, in the empty space at the center of the arena, a nearly transparent 'ray' with a faint pale hue appeared out of thin air.

This ray had no trajectory; it was as if space had been instantly sliced open by a single line, carrying the meaning of absolute finality.

"Flowing Rainbow Five Forms - Rushing Shadow Form"!

It was so fast that even thought froze!

"Ah?!"

Zhang Jingang's hair stood on end, and a fatal chill shot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head.

He hadn't even managed to fully raise his long spear to block when his pupils were filled by that ghastly pale light.

All his fighting spirit, all his defensive preparations, became a joke in the face of this saber light that purely pursued the ultimate in speed.

Swish—!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a faint tearing sound, like a hot knife slicing through butter.

The tip of the refined steel spear, along with nearly half of the shaft, snapped off cleanly, the break surface smooth as a mirror.

The pale 'Rve Ying' continued undiminished after severing the spear shaft, grazing with extreme precision along the edge of the protective armor protecting his vital spot under his left armpit, leaving a deep scratch.

That icy sharpness almost froze his soul rigid.

If this were a battle to the death, this single strike would have sent him to see his great-grandmother—

A surge of white light moved, and Zhang Jingang's body was instantly refreshed back to its original position.

Victory and defeat were decided!

【Victor: Li Wen!】

The entire GYD-734 arena seemed to fall into a moment of absolute silence. The laughter and discussion from below the stage abruptly ceased.

Zhang Jingang stood frozen in place, maintaining the posture of half-raising his broken spear. He looked down at the mirror-smooth break on the spear shaft, then felt the icy touch from the protective armor under his left armpit, and cold sweat instantly poured down his forehead.

The shock brought by the enormous gap in strength far exceeded all his prior expectations of 'encountering a Genius.'

After a second of silence, the audience below the stage instantly erupted into a wave of fervor even greater than before!

"Holy crap!!"

"One strike! Just one strike!"

"What did I just see? A flash of saber light, and the spear was gone?"

"Advanced Blade Technique? It really is an Advanced Blade Technique! That speed— My dynamic vision couldn't capture the trajectory at all!"

"Damn, that was so cool! Is this the strength of a signed Seed player?"

"He doesn't have a Rank yet, clearly he just finished placement. With this strength, he probably isn't an ordinary signed player; likely a B-Rank signing at minimum."

The crowd below discussed animatedly.

On the stage, Li Wen stood with his saber sheathed.

Executing the 'Lueying Style' in actual combat for the first time, feeling the exhilarating satisfaction of cutting through everything, his understanding of the true meaning of 'speed' deepened by another layer.

However, he also clearly felt that his execution was still very clumsy. Being able to execute it relied entirely on his high Skill Realm, combined with activating his Primordial Spirit Power and Absolute Focus just now.

Otherwise, at his true personal skill level, directly executing it would have been utterly impossible.

Of course, looking at it another way, if he hadn't believed he could barely execute it, he wouldn't have come to the Infinite Arena.

The purpose was to execute it without any side effects, gaining more experience with this Move beforehand.

Numerous thoughts flashed through his mind, and Li Wen refocused.

He looked calmly at the still stunned Zhang Jingang and cupped his fists slightly: "I concede."

【Placement Match Record Updated: 1 Win 0 Loss.】

【Your current ranking performance is preliminarily assessed as: Silver Three.】

【Matching for the next Placement Match—】

The System's prompt awakened 'Diamond Tiger Old Jin,' who was still in a daze.

He snapped out of it like waking from a dream and quickly cupped his fists in return. The expression on his face was extremely complex, containing lingering fear and shock.

There was also a trace of reverence toward a true powerhouse. His bitter face from the live stream returned, and he wailed to the audience: "Concede what, concede— Big Brother thinks too highly of me! That one strike— It almost scared my shorts off!"

"Brothers, Brother Tiger's Road to Gold— is temporarily stuck!"

He was quite straightforward. Losing to such an existence didn't make him feel ashamed at all; instead, he immediately adjusted his mentality, preparing to use this surprise encounter as live stream material.

Meanwhile, Li Wen's opponent for the second Placement Match was slowly materializing on another stage.

Li Wen's figure vanished from the GYD-734 arena amidst the System's teleportation light.

The advancement match belonging to 'Diamond Tiger - Old Jin' became an interlude, and Li Wen's journey in the Infinite Arena had only just begun.

Twenty minutes later.

Inside the pure white starting space.

Li Wen silently perceived the opponents who appeared across the arena during the past twenty minutes, whose auras were clearly strengthening continuously.

After reaching the Gold Rank.

Opponents in the Gold Rank already had a gap in skill and combat experience compared to the Silver Tier.

He needed more focus and stronger Primordial Spirit Power support to maintain the nascent form of the 'Lueying Style' he could barely execute during combat.

After several Placement Matches, the record finally settled at: 【Placement Match Record: 6 Wins 0 Losses, 100% Win Rate.】

The light screen refreshed: 【Your final Placement Rank is: Gold Four.】

This result was astonishing for a new account's first placement series.

Placing Gold usually meant the System judged him to possess a solid Unity Realm foundation and respectable practical combat performance.

But Li Wen didn't show much joy on his face.

The cost of victory was clearly perceptible.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the luster of his Primordial Spirit, which was originally as warm and smooth as jade, had dimmed to the extreme, emitting a humming sound of imminent collapse.

Waves of tearing, dull pain and dizziness emanated from the depths of his brain. His temples throbbed violently, as if countless fine needles were piercing him.

This was a sign of severe Mental Energy overdraft.

Every burst where he attempted to execute the 'Lueying Style' had involved the full exertion of his Primordial Spirit layered under the state of Absolute Focus.

The 'Lueying Style' itself had extremely stringent requirements for Will concentration, Physical Body coordination, and precise micro-control of the Primordial Spirit.

Although fighting in the virtual world wouldn't cause actual physical damage, the pressure exerted on Mental Energy was incomparably real, especially when releasing skills that challenged current limits.

"Can't hold on any longer—"

Li Wen frowned slightly and immediately issued the command: "Exit Infinite Arena."

The light screen vanished, and the clamorous noise receded like a tide. His consciousness instantly returned to the private martial arts room.

"Hoo—"

As soon as his body detached from the virtual connection pod, a violent, dizzying sensation like the world spinning fiercely washed over him.

Li Wen couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, forcing himself not to fall. However, his vision kept blacking out intermittently, and his feet felt weak and unstable. He had to immediately reach out and brace himself against the cold surface of the pod to steady his body.

He leaned against the pod wall, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths, massaging his temples for a full few minutes. Only then did the intense dizziness and the piercing pain inside his skull slightly subside, leaving behind a wave of exhaustion and a heavy sense of weakness, like a receding tide.

"The consumption of Mental Energy was even greater than expected," Li Wen thought with some helplessness.

It seemed that a Move like the 'Lueying Style,' which touched upon the threshold of Saber Intent, was a heavy burden for him at his current Realm, even when barely executed with the aid of Absolute Focus and Primordial Spirit Power.

He dragged his exhausted body and slowly walked to the sofa in the rest area, sinking heavily onto the soft backrest.

He then picked up the special tablet resting on the coffee table, which was connected to the Kindling Hall's private network.

The feeling of extreme depletion of Mental Energy was so strong; he urgently needed replenishment.

He immediately tapped open the Resource Mall page on the private network and began searching.

"Search: Auxiliary potions for restoring Mental Energy."

The screen instantly refreshed, displaying a dazzling waterfall of information:

【Level 1 Energy Restoration Potion】: Basic potion, can slightly replenish Mental Energy consumption and alleviate mental fatigue. Price: 2000 xinhuo points.

【Level 2 Energy Restoration Potion】: Effect superior to Level 1, faster recovery speed. Price: 20000 xinhuo points.

There were numerous types on the list, with varying effect descriptions, but the core purpose of all was to assist in restoring Mental Energy.

The prices rose steeply according to the improvement in effect and Rank.

The lowest-tier Level 1 Energy Restoration Potion was priced at 2000 xinhuo points, while potions, incense, or potion combinations with stronger effects directly soared to several thousand or even tens of thousands of points.

Looking at the astonishing figures, especially compared to the five million core Cultivation points he had just spent from his account, although he still had over 4.99 million xinhuo points untouched, Li Wen still felt a pang of heartache.

"I'll buy the cheapest one first to test the effect." Li Wen no longer hesitated. He selected the 【Level 1 Energy Restoration Potion】, quantity 1.

Confirming the purchase, the payment interface immediately popped up. 【Detected Rank: V4, Discount active (30% off). Actual payment: 1400 xinhuo points.】