Chapter 39: Reward for First Place

Hongmeng Network.

Shi Yu stood in his personal lobby, watching the various real-time notifications pushed by the system on the light screen. Many of them were reports regarding his ten-game winning streak. He glanced at the friend requests that were about to crash his inbox and shook his head. He seemed to have underestimated the impact this ten-game winning streak would have.

"Is a ten-game winning streak really that difficult?" he wondered, feeling slightly puzzled. It was only the Bronze Tier, not the high-level Platinum or Star-Diamond ranks.

It wasn't until Shi Yu reviewed the news that his confusion was cleared up. The Bronze Tier basically corresponded to the early stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm—in other words, martial artists who had just established their foundation. In most universities, students with excellent aptitude could successfully establish their foundation in their freshman year, while average students typically did so in their sophomore year. Those with poor aptitude, or those who were slack in their training—working three days and resting two—might drag it out until their junior or even senior year.

For an average martial artist who had just established their foundation, their soul level was generally between 9 and 10. This level was much lower than even Shi Yu’s level after he had self-sealed his strength—at least 20% lower. Coupled with Shi Yu’s unique soul foundation and his Heaven-tier staff techniques, it was natural for him to stand out from the crowd in the Bronze Tier, resulting in a crushing victory.

[Ding! Ding! Ding!]

The system sent several more notification pop-ups. The rewards for reaching the top of the Bronze Tier had arrived.

[Bronze Tier Top Ranking Reward: 500,000 Hongmeng Coins]
[Ten-Game Winning Streak Bonus: 1,500,000 Hongmeng Coins]
[Fastest Climb to the Top of the Bronze Tier Reward: 200,000 Hongmeng Coins]

Shi Yu’s eyes flickered; this totaled 2,200,000 coins. He had to spend them quickly to exchange for resources. Otherwise, if his temporary account expired, he would truly suffer a massive loss.

He quickly browsed through the Hongmeng Mall. The mall was filled with a vast amount of martial arts resources—all kinds of rare treasures like Dragon Pulse Jade Marrow, Fire Phoenix Phoenix-Tree Wood, Star Meteorite Iron, Seven-Leaf Spirit Lotus, and so on, leaving Shi Yu dazzled. Beyond that, there were Spirit Beast Cores, Radiant Essence Stones, martial arts manuals, spirit springs, spirit fruits, and more.

However, most of them were quite expensive. Treasures that nourished the soul, in particular, cost hundreds of millions of Hongmeng Coins, which left Shi Yu gasping in shock. Ordinary martial artists really could only rely on cultivation techniques and soul-training chambers to slowly increase their soul strength. Compared to the lofty prices of soul-nourishing treasures, martial arts resources that improved one’s physique were relatively more accessible. Nine-Yang Body-Refining Pills were 300,000 per bottle; Pure Essence Body-Cleansing Pills were 450,000 per bottle... Although they still cost hundreds of thousands of Hongmeng Coins, they were at least attainable with enough effort.

In addition to these, there were numerous cultivation techniques. To benefit more martial artists, these were sold by realm. For example, buying techniques only for the Foundation Establishment stage was relatively cheap, usually costing less than a million. If one included the Aperture-Opening stage techniques, it would cost at least ten million. As for the higher Transcendence Domain, Shi Yu could not yet see those given his current access level.

After pondering for a moment, Shi Yu decided to purchase some martial arts techniques that could improve his combat effectiveness, as well as body-refining resources. Although his physical level far exceeded that of his peers in the Great Xia, it was at the very bottom in the world of *Journey to the West*—he couldn't even compare to a two-year-old monkey. If he didn't hasten his improvement, he was truly worried that when the catastrophe at the Flower-Fruit Mountain arrived, he wouldn't even be able to protect himself, let alone help the Great Sage.

The 2,200,000 Hongmeng Coins were wiped out in a few seconds. A [Star-Treading Void] movement technique cost 1,600,000, and two bottles of Nine-Yang Body-Refining Pills cost 600,000. The [Star-Treading Void] tutorial was immediately delivered to Shi Yu’s Hongmeng account, while the body-refining pills would arrive tomorrow.

Shi Yu chose [Star-Treading Void] because it shared a similar logic with his [Heavenly Dipper Universe Staff Technique], both drawing inspiration from the laws of stellar movement. When practiced to a profound level, a martial artist would seem to step on star trajectories while moving, with every step containing immense power and mysterious laws. The Nine-Yang Body-Refining Pills could improve a martial artist's physique and strength; finishing two bottles would increase his physical rating by 0.5.

...

The Hongmeng Bronze Tier hadn't been this lively for many years. Although Bronze-tier martial artists had the lowest cultivation and the poorest skills, as the saying goes, those who are unskilled often have the greatest addiction. Furthermore, they were all college students on summer break, so the discussion was heated. Posts speculating on who "Ten Feathers" was were everywhere, each with its own confident reasoning. Unfortunately, the person who had topped the Bronze Tier this time was just a high school student, and all the guesses were completely off the mark. However, this did not mean that no one knew the truth.

...

Great Xia, Southern Theater Command, Second Division.

Inside a heavily guarded building, the lights were burning bright. In an office on the third floor, a holographic video was playing.

"This is the battle for the top of the Foundation Establishment Bronze Tier in yesterday’s Hongmeng Network Competitive Ranking Tournament," said a vigorous middle-aged military officer sitting at the head of the conference table, his voice loud and articulate. "As far as the battle itself is concerned, there is no need for commentary."

"What we are interested in is one of the combatants."

The figure of "Ten Feathers" on the light screen was rapidly magnified, occupying the center of the frame. Many of the soldiers in the room looked confused. The Foundation Establishment Bronze Tier was for beginners in martial arts. Were they gathered here just to watch this? It was like a group of doctoral students coming to watch first-graders do simple addition and subtraction. Even if they calculated it quickly and well, was it necessary? Although these soldiers were puzzled, their strict discipline kept them silent and questioning nothing.

Qin Yan, the middle-aged officer at the head of the table, saw the expressions of everyone present.

"This combatant with the ID 'Ten Feathers'..." He looked around the room and said in a deep voice, "is not a college student, but a high school student!"

"What?!"

The quiet atmosphere in the conference room was instantly shattered, replaced by a murmur of surprise.

"The Hongmeng Network can only be accessed by Foundation Establishment martial artists. How could a high school student have already established their foundation?"

"Was the network hacked?"

Qin Yan tapped the table to signal for silence.

"The Hongmeng Network was not hacked, and it is impossible to hack."

"This 'Ten Feathers' has indeed not established his foundation," Qin Yan continued, explaining, "He logged in using a special trial account provided by Hongmeng. And this special account is, in fact, provided by our military."

As soon as these words were spoken, some of the soldiers who had knowledge of this area became thoughtful.

"This account originates from a project between our theater command and Central South University—the Yuelu Mountain Two-World War Experience Project. The original intent of this project was to increase public understanding of otherworldly creatures and the cruelty of war. However, in the process of implementation, we discovered many potential martial arts talents."

"Yesterday, Dean Xia of the Martial Arts Research Institute sent over a data file," Qin Yan said slowly. "You can all take a look. The person in the clearance footage of the experience project is a second-year high school student from Star City Yali High School named Shi Yu. He is the same person as 'Ten Feathers,' the current top-ranked player in the Hongmeng Bronze Tier."