Chapter 40: Red List Update, Top 50 in the City (Please keep reading)

[Yang Jian, congratulations on your victory! You have successfully passed the promotion match!]

[Points +3]

[Congratulations on successfully promoting to the Star Rank]

[Total Points: 151]

[Ranking (Chi Qiong): 9]

……

Lin Qi stood in his personal space, his expression calm as he exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"After nearly a month of hard work, I've finally successfully promoted to the Star Rank today."

"The 500,000 Xia Country Yuan reward is officially mine."

The corners of Lin Qi's mouth curled up slightly. To him, 500,000 Xia Country Yuan was an indispensable sum of money.

After composing himself, his thoughts turned back to Wu Feng from moments ago.

Whether it was Lyu Xiang or Wu Feng, they truly lived up to their reputations as geniuses of the No. 1 Middle School's elite class; their strength was immense.

Wu Feng, in particular, had saber techniques that were very close to the Second Tier, and he had even mastered the first killing move.

If it hadn't been for his lack of proficiency with that killing move, allowing Lin Qi to find an opening and strike him down with a single spear thrust, winning against him wouldn't have been so easy.

"I am still not strong enough. I need to continue honing my spear techniques," Lin Qi thought to himself.

Finally, he looked at the ranking column, specifically at the 9th place position.

"The Red List is a comprehensive ranking calculated based on win rate and number of matches."

"Being 9th on the Red List means I am ranked ninth within the scope of the Chi Qiong Martial Arts Hall."

Lin Qi mused. However, this 9th place wasn't very representative; the scope of the Chi Qiong Martial Arts Hall was too small. Once the scope expanded to the entire Tianhai City, his rank would likely plummet.

"It's still early; I can continue matchmaking."

Glancing at the time, Lin Qi chose to continue matchmaking.

……

One hour later.

[Yang Jian, unfortunately, you have died!]

[Rank: Star]

[Win Rate: 93%]

[Points: 160]

[Ranking: 9]

[Through combat with a powerful enemy, your proficiency with "Mountain-Crushing Spear Technique" has increased. Spear Technique +1%]

[Through combat with a powerful enemy, your proficiency with Movement Technique has increased. Movement Technique +1%]

[Spear Technique: Tier 1 92% → 93%]

[Movement Technique: Tier 1 87% → 88%]

……

Lin Qi quietly stared at his personal information.

"I've been matchmaking for two hours. Ever since I won the promotion match and reached the Star Rank..."

"Hardly any of the opponents I've encountered have been weak. Every win has been too close."

"That last opponent was just too strong; I couldn't beat him."

"My spear and movement techniques have improved, but after several high-quality battles, they only increased by 1%. It seems breaking through to the Second Tier won't be that easy."

Lin Qi pondered silently before finally choosing to exit the Red Realm.

"Buzz!"

"Qi-ge, you're out!"

Jiang Tao's voice rang in his ear.

"Tao-zi, you're out so early?"

Lin Qi looked at Jiang Tao, who was standing by a virtual pod sipping a drink, and asked curiously.

"I just got out a little while ago. By the way, Qi-ge, you've promoted to the Star Rank too, right?" Jiang Tao asked.

"Of course!" Lin Qi laughed.

"Me too!"

The two shared a smile and a fist bump. Lin Qi then took a refreshing potion from his backpack and consumed it.

Making way for others, he followed Jiang Tao to find Guo Heng.

In the corner of the virtual room, there were many available spots, and many people were gathered together resting and chatting.

Guo Heng was sitting among them, along with his three friends.

Two of them were acquaintances of Lin Qi.

"Wu Feng, did you also lose to that Yang Jian?" Guo Heng mocked without any attempt to hide it.

Wu Feng sat there gloomily sipping milk tea, saying unwillingly, "I was just careless. If I face him again, I'll definitely win."

Qiu Siying covered her mouth and giggled. "Lyu Xiang said the same thing, and he lost too."

Lyu Xiang's face darkened upon hearing this.

"I think the opponent is very strong. Look, he's already entered the 9th spot on the Red List."

Seeing Lin Qi and Jiang Tao, Guo Heng handed them two cups of milk tea, and then they all looked toward the Red List together.

Lin Qi took the milk tea with practiced ease; this scene had happened several times before, and it was always Guo Heng treating him. He was used to it.

He also looked at the Red List on the large screen.

First place was still [Battle-Axe Bear] Li Zhou, second was [General Guo with the Balanced Saber] Guo Heng, and third was [Ten Thousand Swords].

The top three remained unchanged, but his own name had appeared at ninth place.

"This Yang Jian is strong. He possesses incredible combat talent; even a lower realm doesn't seem to affect him much."

"He has excellent spear skills. He's even more proficient with the killing move of the 'Mountain-Crushing Spear Technique' than I am," Wu Feng said seriously, seeing that he was ranked 12th.

"Spear technique... 'Mountain-Crushing Spear Technique'?"

Jiang Tao froze for a moment. It sounded so familiar. He immediately looked at Lin Qi.

*Qi-ge seems to practice the 'Mountain-Crushing Spear Technique' as well...*

*Could Qi-ge be "Yang Jian"?*

He didn't ask Lin Qi for his nickname because he understood him; he knew that if Lin Qi didn't want to say, he wouldn't.

So, he suppressed the thought, deciding to observe further later.

"It changed!"

Lyu Xiang suddenly exclaimed.

*Beep!*

The large screen suddenly went black and rebooted.

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

The rankings on the Red List were completely updated, and all the familiar nicknames had vanished.

As everyone looked, the top three were already different.

[Red List (Tianhai City)]

[1st Place: Wind God, Rank: Star]

[2nd Place: Li Ke, Rank: Star]

[3rd Place: Great Sound is Silent, Rank: Star]

……

"The Red List has updated!"

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

"This time, the leaderboard really does cover all the virtual pod IPs in Tianhai City."

"The current Red List has already compiled all the geniuses in Tianhai City," someone remarked, and those nearby nodded in agreement.

"The Red List updated and my rank plummeted! I dropped from 39th to 289th!" someone wailed.

"Mine dropped too! How did so many people stronger than me suddenly appear?"

"A-Heng, you dropped from 2nd to 13th!" Qiu Siying suddenly said.

"Dropping is normal. All the geniuses in Tianhai City have been included; almost no one was missed," Guo Heng said, shaking his head.

Lin Qi also saw his own rank dropping, and it was a significant plunge, falling to 50th place.

In terms of comprehensive results, he was ranked 288th in Tianhai, but in the Red Realm, based solely on martial skills, he had entered the top 50.

"It seems my blood qi value is holding me back," Lin Qi concluded to himself.

"Previously, there were only 15 people on the Red List who had reached the Star Rank. Now that they've compiled the whole of Tianhai—including the three top martial arts halls, Chi Qiong, Chongming, and Heiyao, along with all the other large and small halls and individual IPs..."

"There are actually a full 98 people in the Star Rank. After midnight, there should be over 100," Jiang Tao remarked with emotion.

He had originally been ranked 8th, but had now dropped to 38th; there were 37 people ahead of him who were stronger.

"The current number one in points looks very familiar. Could it be Wang Qiufeng?" Lyu Xiang suddenly asked.

"It should be him. His nickname is Wind God, he was the city-wide first in the Tianhai monthly exams, and now he's first on the Red List. He deserves it; in Tianhai City, he is the strongest," Qiu Siying said with an admiring tone.

"Wang Qiufeng... I can't beat him," Guo Heng admitted with a nod.

"Wang Qiufeng is indeed very strong. Right after I promoted to Star Rank, I was matched with Wind God, and I was killed instantly by a single saber strike."

"We all have similar blood qi values, yet I couldn't even see his saber technique. The gap is just too large," Wu Feng sighed.

Lin Qi listened from the side, his heart racing. He knew Wu Feng's strength well; he himself had only barely won against him.

If someone as strong as Wu Feng could be killed instantly, wouldn't he be killed just as easily if he were in that position?

The gap was too vast!

"My template's talent has only just begun to show its power. Sooner or later, I will also become the number one in Tianhai City."

Lin Qi set a goal for himself in his heart. He sipped his milk tea, preparing to go home and looking forward to the 500,000 Xia Country Yuan reward arriving tomorrow.

……

(End of Chapter)