High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Red List Update, 50th in the City

[Yang Jian, congratulations on your victory and for successfully passing the promotion match!]

[Points +3]

[Congratulations on successfully advancing to Star Rank.]

[Total Points: 151]

[Ranking (Red Dome): 9]

...

Lin Qi stood in his personal space, his expression calm as he let out a slow breath.

”After nearly a month of hard work, I’ve finally made it to Star Rank.”

”And I’ve secured the 500,000 Xia Country Coin reward.”

A small smile touched Lin Qi’s lips. To him, 500,000 Xia Country Coins was an indispensable fortune.

After collecting himself, his thoughts turned to Wu Feng from the last match.

Both Lv Xiang and Wu Feng were worthy of being called geniuses from No. 1 Middle School’s elite class. Their strength was immense.

Wu Feng, in particular, had a Saber Technique that was very close to Tier Two, and he had even learned his first Killing Technique.

His Killing Technique was still unpracticed, which allowed me to find an opening and finish him with one strike. Otherwise, winning wouldn’t have been so easy.

’I’m still not strong enough,’ Lin Qi thought. ’I need to keep honing my Spear Technique.’

Finally, he looked at the ranking column, specifically at the number 9 spot.

’The Red List rankings are a comprehensive calculation based on win rate and the number of matches fought.’

’Ranked 9th on the Red List... that means within the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, I’m number nine.’

Lin Qi mused on this. However, this ninth-place rank wasn’t very representative. The scope of the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo was too small. If it were expanded to include all of Celestial Sea City, his rank would likely plummet.

’It’s still early. I can keep matching.’

Glancing at the time, Lin Qi chose to queue for another match.

...

「One hour later.」

[Yang Jian, we regret to inform you that you have died!]

[Rank: Star]

[Win Rate: 93%]

[Points: 160]

[Ranking: 9]

[Through battle with a strong foe, your proficiency with the > has increased. Spear Technique +1%]

[Through battle with a strong foe, your proficiency with your Body Technique has increased. Body Technique +1%]

[Spear Technique: Tier One 92%→93%]

[Body Technique: Tier One 87%→88%]

...

Lin Qi silently stared at his personal information panel.

’I’ve been matching for two hours since winning my promotion match and reaching Star Rank.’

’Barely any of the opponents I’ve faced have been weak. Every win has been by a hair’s breadth.’

’That last opponent was just too strong. I couldn’t beat him.’

’My Spear Technique and Body Technique have improved, but even after several high-quality battles in a row, they only went up by 1%. It looks like breaking through to Tier Two won’t be that easy.’

Lin Qi reflected on this and finally chose to exit the Red Realm.

HUM!

”Brother Qi, you’re out!”

Jiangtao’s voice rang in his ears.

”Taozi, you got out so early?” Lin Qi asked curiously, seeing Jiangtao standing beside the Virtual Cabin drinking a beverage.

”I just got out a little while ago myself. By the way, Brother Qi, you made it to Star Rank too, right?” Jiangtao asked.

”Of course!” Lin Qi laughed.

”Me too!”

The two shared a smile and bumped fists. Then, Lin Qi took a Stimulant Potion from his backpack and drank it.

He gave up his spot to someone else and followed Jiangtao to find Guo Heng.

In a corner of the Virtual Room, there were several seats where groups of people were resting and chatting.

Guo Heng was sitting there with three of his friends.

Two of them were acquaintances of Lin Qi.

”Wu Feng, you lost to that Yang Jian guy too?” Guo Heng asked, his tone openly mocking.

Wu Feng sat there sullenly drinking his milk tea. ”I was just careless,” he said, unwilling to concede. ”If I face him again, I’ll definitely win.”

Qiu Siying covered her mouth and giggled. ”That’s what Lv Xiang said too, and he ended up losing.”

Lv Xiang’s expression darkened at her words.

”I think he’s really strong. Look, he’s already ranked 9th on the Red List.”

Guo Heng saw Lin Qi and Jiangtao approaching and handed them two milk teas, then they all looked at the Red List together.

Lin Qi took the milk tea with practiced ease. This scene had played out several times before. Guo Heng always treated, and Lin Qi was already used to it.

He also turned his gaze to the Red List on the large screen.

First place was still [Battle Axe Bear] Li Zhou, second was [General Guo Hengdaolima] Guo Heng, and third was [Ten Thousand Swords].

The top three hadn’t changed, but his name had appeared in ninth place.

”This Yang Jian is very strong. He has incredible Combat Talent. Even if his Realm is a bit lower, it doesn’t seem to affect him.”

”He has mastered an excellent Spear Technique. His Killing Technique for the > is even more proficient than mine.”

Wu Feng said with a serious expression, seeing that he was ranked twelfth.

”Spear Technique, the >?”

Jiangtao was taken aback. It sounded so familiar. He immediately looked at Lin Qi.

’Brother Qi seems to practice the > too...’

’Could Brother Qi be ”Yang Jian”?’

He had never asked for Lin Qi’s username, because he knew his friend; if Lin Qi didn’t want to say it, he wouldn’t.

So, he hid this thought away, deciding to observe for a while longer.

”It’s changing!” Lv Xiang suddenly exclaimed.

BEEP!

The large screen suddenly went black and rebooted.

When it came back on, the entire leaderboard had undergone a massive change.

All the rankings on the Red List had been updated, and the familiar arrangement of usernames was gone.

Everyone looked and saw that the top three were completely different.

[Red List (Celestial Sea City)]

[First Place: Wind God, Rank: Star]

[Second Place: Li Ke, Rank: Star]

[Third Place: The loudest sound is inaudible, Rank: Star]

...

”The Red List has been updated!”

Countless people turned to the large screen to check the rankings.

”This time, the leaderboard really does cover all of Celestial Sea City, all the Virtual Cabin IPs.”

”The Red List now includes all the geniuses in Celestial Sea City,” someone said, and those nearby nodded in agreement.

”With the Red List update, my rank tanked! I dropped from 39th to 289th,” someone wailed.

”Mine dropped too! Where did all these people who are stronger than me suddenly come from?”

”Aheng, you dropped from 2nd to 13th,” Qiu Siying suddenly said.

”Dropping is normal. All the geniuses from the entire Celestial Sea City have been included, with almost no exceptions,” Guo Heng said, shaking his head.

Lin Qi also saw his own rank falling—and by a huge margin. He had dropped to 50th place.

His overall results ranked him 288th in Celestial Sea, but in the Red Realm, based on Martial Arts Skills alone, he had made it into the top 50.

’Looks like my Qi and Blood Value is still holding me back,’ Lin Qi concluded inwardly.

”Before, there were only 15 people at Star Rank on the Red List. But now that it’s tallied all of Celestial Sea—covering the three top dojos, Red Dome, Chongming, and Black Brilliance, plus all the other large and small martial arts dojos and individual IPs...”

”...there are a whopping 98 people at Star Rank. After midnight, there will probably be over 100,” Jiangtao exclaimed in amazement.

He had originally been in 8th place, but now he had dropped to 38th. There were 37 people stronger than him ahead.

”The person in first place now seems really familiar... It couldn’t be Wang Qiufeng, could it?” Lv Xiang said suddenly.

”It must be him. His nickname is Wind God, and he’s also number one in the entire city for the Celestial Sea Monthly Exam. First on the Red List... he’s truly earned that title. In Celestial Sea City, he’s the strongest,” Qiu Siying said, her tone filled with admiration.

”Wang Qiufeng... I can’t beat him,” Guo Heng admitted with a nod.

”Wang Qiufeng is definitely strong. Right after I got promoted to Star Rank, I matched against Wind God and got one-shotted by his saber.”

”We all have the same Qi and Blood Value, but I couldn’t even see his Saber Technique clearly. The gap is just too big,” Wu Feng said with a sigh.

Listening from the side, Lin Qi was stunned. He knew firsthand how strong Wu Feng was; he himself had only managed a narrow victory.

And yet, a fighter of Wu Feng’s caliber was killed instantly. If that had been him, wouldn’t he have been one-shotted too?

The gap was too huge!

’My template’s Talent is just beginning to show its power. Sooner or later, I’ll become number one in Celestial Sea City too.’

Lin Qi set this goal for himself. He sipped his milk tea, ready to head home, looking forward to the 500,000 Xia Country Coin reward arriving tomorrow.

...