High-Level Martial Era

76 points!

When this score appeared at the top of the points ranking screen in the combat space for the first time, the entire combat space fell silent for a moment.

It was simply too strong.

On the spectator platform, countless viewers, through the big screen, watched the enlarged 'fight replay'.

The fierce blade light, the splattering blood, was enough to make any student's heart tremble.

"Dantai Feng!"

"Dantai Feng!" Along with Dantai Feng's departure, thunderous cheers erupted from the vast spectator platform, resounding in all directions.

Even the excitement and shouting surpassed that of Li Yuan's earlier score of 74 points.

Yes, Li Yuan's 74 points were strong, fierce, and domineering when he defeated Fang Kui.

But the sense of oppression it brought felt less than that of Dantai Feng.

Li Yuan's score was far beyond everyone else's except for Dantai Feng.

However, there were some tricks to achieving such a high score.

And Dantai Feng? Single-handedly wielding dual blades, the speed and the cunning sharpness of the combat saber lights were enough to chill the spine of any contender in the ring.

...

"Too terrifying."

"A master of Fourth Level skills, all killed by one straight slash? That's too strong, what level is he at?"

"I suspect he's achieved Subtlety with his spirit. Facing us, it's a pure downgrade beatdown."

"Simply not on the same level." Many contestants who still yearned to break into the third round whispered among themselves, filled with shock.

However, facing the outburst of Dantai Feng, those truly filled with dread were the likes of Li Yuan, Garava, Kimura Tatsuo, and Shi Ruo—these top geniuses aspiring to the top eight or even the top four.

They were all silently recalling Dantai Feng's sword technique, wondering whether they could withstand it if it were them.

"Can't withstand it."

"Ten slashes, dual blades slicing together, I could probably only block ten at most," Kimura Tatsuo gritted his teeth: "I'm definitely not his match."

Despair!

An opponent too formidable to defeat.

...

"His sword is too fast, its sudden burst speed far exceeding my spear technique." Garava clenched his fists, thinking to himself: "If I defend, I definitely won't be able to hold off."

"I must attack."

"With attack against attack, using the advantage of my weapon, there is still hope of winning." Garava thought to himself: "But according to the intelligence, isn't his best skill shield technique?"

He believed, there was hope for victory.

...

"Such fast swords, the dual blade style."

Li Yuan closed his eyes in contemplation: "The Flowing Light Sword Technique, known for its speed, judging by the fight videos Lanyue gave me... The speed of the Flowing Light Sword Technique is based on the 'instantaneous continuous force,' its disadvantage is the insufficient explosive power."

"Dual blades, further dispersing the body's and arms' force, making it difficult for each blade to unleash full power, unlikely to stop my Straight Thrust."

Having watched the fight videos that Lin Lanyue sent him dozens of times, Li Yuan felt as if he had battled 'Dantai Feng' many times.

Experience immensely rich.

"Does he really want to fight like this?"

Li Yuan kept pondering and speculating until finally, he sharply opened his eyes: "Unless he has achieved Subtlety."

"Otherwise, he is bound to lose without a doubt!"

...

"Damn it, he's showing off again." Yu Ming complained on the spectator platform.

Beside him, Guan Ying laughed and said, "Upset? Then strive to reach the finals and defeat him."

"Beating him is a joke," Yu Ming shook his head and said. "His Dual Blade Technique is designed for taking down the weak, allowing for faster, more efficient slaughter."

"It also allows him to better hide his true strength, so others can't gauge the level of his Shield Technique."

"But even if he uses two swords, I'm still hard-pressed to win," Yu Ming sighed. "Come the knockout rounds, he'll definitely use the sword and shield combination."

"I know this show-off all too well; he always seems casual and indifferent, but when it really matters, he's incredibly cunning."

...

In that special Spectator Space, many teachers watched Dantai Feng's outburst with a sense of awe.

"Dual blades like light, shadows that follow."

"For a freshman to have cultivated the 'Starry Sky Sword Technique' to such a level, he's only a step away from grasping the essence of 'Starry Light'."

"Truly worthy of being a top-tier talent at Starfire University," these teachers remarked with sighs of admiration.

A Second Rank Secret Manual's ultimate level is to grasp the essence, and once grasped, it's an entrance into Subtlety.

But these freshmen have only been in school for a few months, and many are not even 19 yet.

Such talent is too exaggerated.

However, top-level Martial Path talents like these, globally, only a few emerge each year.

"For this cage melee where all students have participated, who do you all think will get first place?" one teacher asked with a smile.

"Dantai Feng, I think. I have high hopes for him."

"Dantai Feng is most likely, the others... Li Yuan has a slim chance."

"Li Yuan? I feel Yu Ming and the others are about on par with Li Yuan."

Many teachers spoke up, each with their own opinion.

But without a doubt, the majority acknowledged Dantai Feng's prowess.

Firstly, Dantai Feng has indeed exhibited extraordinary strength.

Secondly, the reputation of being a top genius at Starfire University makes him more convincing.

...

The morning's ten rounds of cage melees came to an end, and the ten afternoon matches wouldn't start until two o'clock.

Everyone's second round of opponents.

Would all be as different as possible.

The reason for two rounds of cage melees is to ensure fairness.

The combined Points from both rounds of the cage melees will be the 'total score' for the second round.

Li Yuan logged out of the virtual network.

"All ten matches are over, and it's just past ten o'clock," Li Yuan glanced at the time displayed on his smart ring.

"There are more than three hours until the afternoon match."

"Let's continue training with the spear," Li Yuan said as he entered the underground Martial Arts Room and took out his Long Spear.

He silently practiced.

"Dual blades are easy to break!" The Long Spear in Li Yuan's hand moved like a swimming dragon, drawing dazzling arcs of light.

"But according to what Da Zhuang said, as well as the video materials Lanyue sent,"

"Dantai Feng is studying both Second Rank Secret Manuals, the Starry Sky Sword Technique and the Vajra Shield Technique at the same time," Li Yuan mused. "Combining the sword and shield makes him very tough to handle."

A single sword against a spear would undoubtedly put the sword at a disadvantage.

But when sword and shield work together, facing a Long Spear, it boils down to who has the higher skill level.

Whir! Whir! Whir!

The spear rolled like a ground dragon, bursting with sharp, powerful sounds. This First Rank superior Long Spear, nearly a hundred kilograms in weight, seemed to come alive in Li Yuan's hands.

He repeated his practice time after time.

Beating Dantai Feng? Li Yuan wasn't completely confident, but what he could do was to improve himself, striving to make his own strength greater.

He gave it his all.

No regrets in the outcome.

...For over three hours, except for a ten-minute break for a meal, Li Yuan had been wholeheartedly devoted to his practice.

It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon.

[Your Spear Technique realm has risen from 79% of the Fourth Level to 80% of the Fourth Level] a notification suddenly flashed across the Divine Palace panel.

"80%?" Li Yuan glanced at it.

It happened just as he was swimming in countless epiphanies after having comprehended the five star moves.

Therefore, Li Yuan had been making rapid progress in both spear and fist techniques over these past few days.

Suddenly.

"Beep~" The smart wristband vibrated, and Li Yuan looked down to see a V-message from Li Yang.

"In this afternoon's match, do not let Kimura Tatsuo score," the message from Li Yang was simple.

Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh, and after thinking for a moment, he replied, "Okay!"

Li Yuan was somewhat curious, however.

What's with Teacher Li, having such a bias against Kimura Tatsuo?

"Since teacher has given the instruction," Li Yuan thought for a moment, "then I should handle it well."

...

At two in the afternoon, Li Yuan entered the Starry Skies Fighting Network through the virtual network.

He arrived in the combat space, instantly appearing in the spectator seats.

At this moment, with only ten minutes left until the 11th cage melee, the spectator stands were already packed, definitely more than 300,000 people.

"Brother Yuan, good luck, strive to take first place in total points," Gu Qianghan said with a smile.

"Big Brother, we have no hope left."

"It's all on Big Brother now," the other students also cheered him on.

Although only half of the cage melees had passed, most of the new students from the Sixth Institute who had made it to the second round now had zero points.

They knew their limits.

The nearly 95% elimination rate from the second to the third round was shockingly high, which meant that most would inevitably be stopped in the second round.

Not long after, with the appearance of the burly host, the afternoon's 'cage melee' officially started.

And the number of people on the spectator platform kept soaring, from over 300,000 to swiftly exceeding 500,000.

"The cage melee, the eleventh fight, begins," the host roared.

In this match, Li Mingyue from South Sea Martial University shone brightly, securing 26 points for herself.

Her total score for the two rounds was also 26 points.

She couldn't help it.

She faced Dantai Feng in the first round and before she could defeat any opponent, she was slain by a single slash from Dantai Feng.

...The twelfth fight met with widespread attention, and numerous spectators, including Li Yuan, were filled with anticipation.

Because, according to the previous list, Dantai Feng was supposed to compete.

Unfortunately, this anticipation lasted for only 30 seconds, and then the entire spectator platform exploded.

Dantai Feng, did not appear!

Quickly, the giant screen above the stage displayed Dantai Feng's name, also marking 'Forfeited the second round cage melee.'

"Forfeited?"

"Is he that confident?" The elite geniuses from various schools all found it somewhat unbelievable.

However, subconsciously seeing Dantai Feng's score, they also felt somewhat relieved.

76 points!

That score was formidable.

Many top experts, when adding their scores across both rounds, were unlikely to reach this level.

"Damn! Showing off without an end, huh?" Yu Ming muttered under his breath, "To actually dare to forfeit? Just wait, sooner or later he'll capsize in the gutter."

"Say something positive," Guan Ying said helplessly.

...

"He actually forfeited?" Li Yuan was a bit stunned, then shook his head, "What a pity."

Even though Lin Lanyue had sent him combat videos, the effects of practicing the same secret manual differed with each individual.

If he could watch the opponent's battle directly, he could gain the most.

...

Time passed.

One cage melee after another took place, with He Liancheng, Li Jiao, Fang Kui... those students who had not fully erupted in the first round were now shining in the second round cage melee.

This also led to continuous changes in the total points ranking.

Of course.

For top talents like Yu Ming, Guan Ying, and Garava, even though their strengths were fully exposed and other combatants were extremely wary of them,

With their absolutely strong capabilities, as long as they exerted force, they could at least secure 30+ points.

Before long.

The seventeenth cage melee was about to begin.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Li Yuan and the other 199 participants spread across the spectator platform.

Suddenly vanished from the spectator seats.

In this moment, the tens of thousands of students on the spectator platform of the whole combat space were noticeably more excited.

The majority knew.

The biggest highlight of the second round cage melee was about to begin.

...

Whoosh! The two hundred participants, clad in armor and wielding weapons, appeared together on the stage.

After ten seconds, the battle began.

"Move quickly."

"It's Li Yuan and Kimura Tatsuo."

"Don't engage them."

"Let's go for it," a large group of participants, like a tide, rushed towards a far-off place, and then began to fight desperately among themselves.

Rather than being harvested en masse by Li Yuan and Kimura Tatsuo, it was better to seize the time to fight fiercely.

This was the thought of the vast majority of the participants.

"Kill!" Holding a long spear, Kimura Tatsuo was about to charge into the crowd to battle.

Boom!

A figure had already dashed in front of him, also wielding a long spear, blocking his path.

"Li Yuan?" Kimura Tatsuo was slightly startled.

In this cage melee fight, the last person he wanted to encounter was Li Yuan.

However, Kimura Tatsuo never imagined that the opponent would find him first thing.

"Li Yuan, what's the meaning of this?" Kimura Tatsuo looked at Li Yuan with considerable wariness.

"No special meaning,"

"Just that killing others doesn't pose much of a challenge, and I wanted to see how strong you really are," Li Yuan said with a smile.

Before the words were finished.

"Whoosh!" The long spear in Li Yuan's hand, like a dragon, tore through the air, striking towards Kimura Tatsuo like lightning.