"This newcomer sure is unlucky."
"You could say he's young and reckless. Daring to challenge a veteran without any training first."
"Newcomers are all like that. They think because they're top players in their own guild, they can take down Bao Xiong. Does he really think Battle Points are that easy to earn?"
The crowd gathered around the screen, chatting and laughing as though this sort of thing had become the seasoning of their daily lives.
As for a newcomer beating one of them veterans?
Their answer was simply a laugh.
"Sure enough, it's Bao Xiong picking on newcomers again. Last time he swindled a newcomer, and now he's at it again." Kong Haoran watched the battle that was about to begin and couldn't help but sigh.
"I heard the newcomer challenged Bao Xiong on his own. How did it turn into swindling?" Shi Feng asked, puzzled.
"You don't know. Last time, Bao Xiong did the same thing. The newcomer had 100 Battle Points, and Bao Xiong offered to wager 500 Battle Points. Anyone who makes it here is usually a top-tier expert in their guild, or someone with enormous potential. Naturally, they're very confident in their own abilities." Kong Haoran explained. "But these people forget that the experts the Celestial Secrets Pavilion cultivates are no pushovers either. Only a select few outstanding ones get spots."
"There's a high chance these people will become the backbone of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion in the future. And before they entered this training system, they would have been first-rate experts even in any top-tier guild—let alone after over a month of battling here, where their combat skills have already improved dramatically."
"That Bao Xiong is extremely strong. Out of the 350 trainees, he's ranked 141. He's not the kind of expert a brand-new newcomer can afford to provoke."
Shi Feng nodded in full agreement.
In the Divine Realm, top-tier guilds and super guilds were entirely different worlds. A player might reign supreme in a top-tier guild, but in a super guild, that meant nothing. The vast majority of outstanding newcomers each year came from super guilds and ultra-top-tier guilds.
Even the occasional standout newcomer who emerged from a lesser background had astonishing talent—like Bai Qingxue. As for Shuise Qiangwei, she had been cultivated within a super guild, though ultimately only on the outer layers, never receiving the core training. Had Shuise Qiangwei remained in the super guild, signing a series of contracts, she might very well have been training and improving in the simulation system all along.
"This is pretty interesting." Shi Feng watched the scene on the big screen, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
On the big screen, one side was a muscular man even taller and bulkier than Ke Le, wielding a giant axe as a Berserker. The other side was a familiar face to Shi Feng—Chi Yu, an Elementalist from the Star River Alliance. Chi Yu looked pretty much the same as he had in the Divine Realm, clearly having not adjusted his appearance after entering, unlike Shi Feng, who had made changes so his current look was quite different from his in-game one.
On the recent Experts Ranking, Chi Yu was placed at 934th—only the recent surge of new experts had pushed his rank down a bit. His combat ability was nothing to scoff at.
The training system's simulation of Divine Realm classes was nearly flawless, almost identical. The only difference was that both sides had base attributes with no weapon or equipment bonuses and no talent modifiers. Level was set to 30, and the skills available were only each class's basic skills—no special skills whatsoever. It was a pure contest of technique.
The moment the battle began, Chi Yu launched a ferocious offensive, firing Ice Arrows while simultaneously deploying Ice Walls or Frost Spheres to create obstacles—a two-pronged assault that would overwhelm most ordinary experts.
But the Berserker known as Bao Xiong was completely unfazed. Not only could he easily dodge the barrage of Ice Arrows, he used the opening to close the distance, steadily pressing toward Chi Yu, forcing him to retreat again and again.
In barely more than ten seconds, Chi Yu's HP had dropped to half. Bao Xiong, on the other hand, had only been frozen by an Ice Ring a few times and taken a few Ice Arrows and Fireballs, reducing his HP by about ten percent. Meanwhile, Chi Yu had already burned his Blink skill and was completely on the back foot.
In Shi Feng's eyes, Chi Yu had actually done quite well. Against an ordinary expert, Chi Yu's relentless barrage combined with Ice Walls would have secured the victory long ago. Unfortunately, Bao Xiong was no ordinary opponent.
Ordinary experts had very poor body control. Faced with Chi Yu's attacks, they'd be busy dodging and defending. But Bao Xiong's body control was excellent—at critical moments, his nimble transitions let him slip past Chi Yu's precise attacks with ease, step by step driving Chi Yu into a dead end.
It could be said that before the fight had even truly begun, its outcome was already decided.
Chi Yu had not yet reached the threshold of Half-Step Inner Perfection. Against Bao Xiong at close range, he had no recourse whatsoever. Bao Xiong, however, had already stepped into the realm of Inner Perfection—a difference in combat technique that was practically heaven and earth. Under equal attributes, with no special skills or items, Chi Yu had absolutely no chance of winning.
Sure enough, less than a minute into the battle, Bao Xiong caught up with a Charge, closed the gap, and finished him off with a Whirlwind Slash.
"Hahaha, little newbie, consider the 100 points you just lost as tuition. Feel free to come challenge me again anytime." The young man called Bao Xiong materialized after the match, casting a contemptuous look at the furious Chi Yu before turning to leave. "That was great—another hundred points means I can find a decent opponent to spar with for the rest of the day."
"You—"
Chi Yu tried to rush forward, but Zi Tong grabbed him.
"Chi Yu, you're not his match yet. He's clearly already entered that realm." Zi Tong's voice was stern, her words carrying both frustration and a trace of excitement.
Her strength was somewhat above Chi Yu's, but only by a narrow margin—still a significant gap from the departing Bao Xiong.
Over the past few years, she had followed the Star River Alliance through countless campaigns, defeating so many well-known experts. She had believed she had improved tremendously since leaving the super guild, yet she still couldn't surpass the internally cultivated experts of the Divine Realm's major factions.
Experts who were exceedingly rare in the Divine Realm—Inner Perfection masters—were practically everywhere here...
And a master of Bao Xiong's caliber could only manage 141th place. Only now did Zi Tong truly understand how terrifying the foundations of these giants of the virtual gaming world were. What she had seen before was merely the tip of the iceberg.
"Hm, I don't think I've seen you before—you must have just entered the training system. Interested in a match? If I win, you give me 100 points. If you win, I'll give you 500 points. What do you say?" As Bao Xiong walked toward the exchange counter, his gaze swept over Shi Feng, and he approached with a grin. "Battle Points are incredibly valuable here. Below rank 300, you only get 20 points a day. Rank 201 to 300 gets 50. Rank 151 to 200 gets 100. Rank 101 to 150 gets 200. Rank 51 to 100 gets 300 points a day. And the top 50—don't even think about it."
"So, how about a match? With 500 points, you could spar with those top-tier experts for an entire day."
"That's enough, Bao Xiong." Kong Haoran stepped forward, his voice sharp.