Chapter 40: The Crimson Rankings Update, Top 50 in the City (Please Follow and Read)

[Yang Jian, congratulations on your victory and successfully passing 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 long breath.
"After nearly a month of hard work, I have finally succeeded in promoting to the Star rank today."
"The 500,000 Xia currency reward is finally in my pocket."
The corners of Lin Qi's mouth lifted slightly. For him, 500,000 Xia currency was an indispensable, massive sum.
After settling his emotions, he thought of Wu Feng from earlier.
Whether it was Lu Xiang or Wu Feng, they were truly geniuses from the elite class of the First High School, possessing immense strength.
Wu Feng, in particular, had a blade technique very close to the second tier and had already learned the first killing move. If it weren't for the fact that his technique wasn't yet proficient, allowing Lin Qi to catch a flaw and finish him off with a single spear strike, winning would not have been so easy.
"I am still not strong enough; I need to continue honing my spear technique," Lin Qi thought to himself.
Finally, he looked at the ranking column, specifically at the ninth position.
"The Crimson Leaderboard is a ranking calculated comprehensively based on win rate and the number of matches."
"Ranking ninth on the Crimson Leaderboard means that within the scope of the Chi-Qiong Martial Arts Gym, I am the ninth strongest."
Lin Qi pondered, though this ninth place lacked broader context. The scope of the Chi-Qiong Martial Arts Gym was still too small; once the scope expanded to the entire Tianhai City, his ranking might plummet.
"It's still early; I can continue matching."
Glancing at the time, Lin Qi chose to continue.

...

An 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 opponent, your proficiency in "Mountain Crushing Spear Technique" has increased, Spear Technique +1%]
[Through battle with a strong opponent, your proficiency in movement techniques has increased, Movement Technique +1%]
[Spear Technique: Tier 1 92% → 93%]
[Movement Technique: Tier 1 87% → 88%]
...

Lin Qi stared quietly at his personal information.
"I've been matching for two hours. Ever since I won the promotion match and reached the Star rank, very few of the opponents I've encountered have been weak. Every victory has been too close."
"The person I matched with at the end was simply 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 is not that easy."
Lin Qi mused, eventually choosing to exit the Crimson Realm.

"Buzz!"
"Brother Qi, you're out!"
Jiang Tao's voice sounded in his ear.
"Taozi, you're out so early?"
Lin Qi looked at Jiang Tao, who was standing by the virtual pod drinking a beverage, and asked curiously.
"I only came out a moment ago. By the way, Brother Qi, you promoted to the Star rank too, right?" Jiang Tao asked.
"Naturally!" Lin Qi laughed.
"Me too!"
The two smiled at each other and bumped fists. Lin Qi took a refreshing potion from his backpack, then gave up his spot to someone else and followed Jiang Tao to find Guo Heng.
In the corner of the virtual room, there were plenty of seats where many people gathered to rest and chat. Guo Heng was sitting among them with three of his friends. Two of them were acquaintances of Lin Qi.
"Wu Feng, you lost to that Yang Jian too?" Guo Heng asked, laughing without restraint.
Wu Feng sat dejectedly, drinking milk tea, and said unwillingly, "I was just careless. If I meet him again, I will definitely win."
Qiu Siying covered her mouth and chuckled, "Lu Xiang said the same thing, and he lost too."
Lu Xiang's face darkened upon hearing this. "I think the opponent is very strong. Look, he has already entered the top 9 of the Crimson Leaderboard."
Seeing Lin Qi and Jiang Tao, Guo Heng handed them two cups of milk tea, and then they all looked at the leaderboard together.
Lin Qi took the milk tea out of habit; this scene had happened several times before, and since Guo Heng always treated, he had grown accustomed to it.
He also looked at the giant screen displaying the Crimson Leaderboard.
The first place was still [Battle Ax Bear] Li Zhou, the second was [General Guo, Blade Standing Tall] Guo Heng, and the third was [Ten Thousand Swords].
The top three remained unchanged, but his name had appeared in the ninth position.
"This Yang Jian is very strong. He possesses immense combat talent. Even if his cultivation level is a bit lower, it doesn't affect him," Wu Feng said seriously, seeing his own rank had dropped to twelfth.
"Spear technique? 'Mountain Crushing Spear Technique'?"
Jiang Tao was stunned upon hearing this. It sounded so familiar, and he immediately looked at Lin Qi.
Brother Qi seemed to be practicing the "Mountain Crushing Spear Technique" as well.
Could Brother Qi be "Yang Jian"?
He didn't ask Lin Qi about his nickname because he understood him; if he didn't want to say, he wouldn't. So, he kept the thought to himself, intending to observe further.
"It's changed!" Lu Xiang said suddenly.
"Beep!"
The giant screen suddenly went black and rebooted.
When it turned back on, the entire leaderboard had undergone a massive change. All the rankings on the Crimson Leaderboard had been updated, and the familiar nicknames were gone.
Everyone looked up. The top three were different now.
[Crimson Leaderboard (Tianhai City)]
[First Place: Wind God, Rank: Star]
[Second Place: Li Ke, Rank: Star]
[Third Place: Great Sound Silent, Rank: Star]
...
"The Crimson Leaderboard has updated!"
Countless people stared at the screen to check the rankings.
"This leaderboard really covers all virtual pod IPs in Tianhai City," someone said, and those nearby nodded in agreement.
"The current leaderboard has accounted for every genius in Tianhai City," someone noted.
"The leaderboard updated, and my rank dropped significantly. I went from 39th to 289th," someone wailed.
"Mine dropped too. How did so many people stronger than me suddenly appear?"
"Ah Heng, you dropped from 2nd to 13th," Qiu Siying suddenly pointed out.
"Dropping is normal. All the geniuses in Tianhai City have been included; there's almost no one left out," Guo Heng shook his head.
Lin Qi saw his own rank dropping as well, and by a large margin—down to 50th.
In terms of comprehensive scores, he ranked 288th in Tianhai, but in the Crimson Realm, relying solely on martial arts skills, he had entered the top 50.
"It seems my blood-qi value is what's holding me back," Lin Qi concluded inwardly.
"Previously, there were only 15 people who reached the Star rank on the leaderboard. Now that the entire Tianhai City is included, covering the three top martial arts gyms—Chi-Qiong, Chongming, and Heiyao—as well as other small and medium gyms and individual IPs," Jiang Tao sighed, "there are actually 98 people at the Star rank. After midnight, it will likely exceed 100."
He had originally been ranked 8th, but had now dropped to 38th; there were 37 people ahead of him who were stronger.
"The person in first place for points looks familiar. Could it be Wang Qiufeng?" Lu Xiang said suddenly.
"It must be him. His nickname is Wind God, and he's the top student in the city for the Tianhai monthly exams. First place on the Crimson Leaderboard—he deserves it. In Tianhai City, he is the strongest," Qiu Siying said with an air of admiration.
"Wang Qiufeng. I can't beat him," Guo Heng admitted with a nod.
"Wang Qiufeng is indeed very strong. Just after I promoted to Star rank, I matched with Wind God, and I was killed by him in a single strike," Wu Feng sighed. "We had the same blood-qi values, but I couldn't even see his blade technique clearly. The gap is just too large."
Lin Qi listened from the side, feeling a shiver. He knew the extent of Wu Feng's strength well, having only narrowly defeated him. If even someone as strong as Wu Feng could be killed in a single strike, wouldn't he be killed instantly as well?
The gap was simply too vast.
"My template's talent has only just begun to unleash its potential. Sooner or later, I will become the number one in Tianhai City," Lin Qi secretly set a goal for himself. He finished his milk tea and prepared to head home, looking forward to the 500,000 Xia currency reward arriving tomorrow.