Chương 21: War God — Chapter 21 - Smurfing Backfired! Blade Technique Reached Small Success!

Meanwhile. On DouNai Live. A stream titled: [Lose One Match, Hump a Fan on Stream]. Under the camera. A handsome young man grinned at the arena's central lens.

"Everyone relax, I'm definitely hitting Gold this season!"

"Of course I'm not smurfing. If I match with someone below Gold tier, I'll drop my life force to match their rank." The chat exploded.

"Dog Tong, you have zero shame left, huh?"

"You dog, listen to yourself. You're a first-realm martial artist. Even lowering your stats, your experience and techniques still crush lower ranks."

"Smurfing is good, love it, keep watching!"

"Brother Tong, I'm not asking for much, just let me see your sister!"

"Tong Dog, if you lose forget the fan, just let your sister show up..."

"Arena 186952, everyone go gank him!"

"Just wait, Lord Tong's gonna crash and burn..."

"Silver might flip, but Bronze? No chance... all rookies who can't even call themselves martial artists."

"Old Tong, how about this: call me brother-in-law and I'll move into your place."

"A-Tong, I want to suck your..."... Watching the chaotic spam. The handsome young man smiled. Martial Arts Infinite had built-in streaming. He was easygoing by nature. The more viewers, the faster his cultivation felt like it improved. He loved showing off.

"You all really like my sister that much..." The handsome young man laughed.

"Too bad she doesn't like the spotlight... anyway, matching now!"

"Let's see who our lucky player is this time!" He fixed his eyes on the arena. [Match Successful. Your opponent: Cao Thief Ruined Me (Bronze), Life Force 0. 5, 9 Wins 0 Losses] Seeing the info, the handsome young man, Lord Tong, froze.

"Brothers! 9 wins, 0 losses. Placement matches!" Old Gramps Tong laughed.

"What do you say, should I go easy and build some karma?" He glanced at chat.

"Damn matchmaking, how does it pair someone against Dog Tong?"

"That's how Martial Arts Infinite works. Placement matches always match you one tier higher so you don't rank up easy."

"Fair warning, Old Tong, I watched this guy's 9 matches. That life force... very strong. You might not win."

"Come on, even cutting his life force in half he'd crush them... Did you forget this dog attends Tiandu Jingwu University?"

"Tong, please, just let me see your sister..."...

"Interesting..." Old Gramps Tong studied the youth across the arena. Virtual avatars with skins meant you couldn't see real appearances. But judging by the life force, probably a high school student. In solo ranked, high schoolers were mostly Bronze. A few exceptionally talented ones reached Silver. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Silver corresponded to first-realm martial artists with 10 life force.

Normally when matched against higher tiers, most martial artists lowered their life force for superficial fairness. Let alone a big streamer like him. But in reality, combat experience, technique strength, development of personal limits, the gap was heaven and earth. Take himself. Already first realm, nearly second.

"Bro, how you want to fight?" Old Gramps Tong spoke frankly.

"Want me to lower my life force more?" The opponent paused, then replied:"Up to you." Old Gramps Tong smiled. Looks like he's given up. Makes sense. Bronze player seeing his win streak probably lost all will to fight.

"Alright, I won't use martial techniques then." Old Gramps Tong planned to show some respect while sending a chat message.

"This match, I'll teach everyone a lesson. Opponent's probably a senior high student. My fans include high schoolers too. As a senior, I can offer pointers." His palm condensed. A long spear materialized in Old Gramps Tong's hand.

"Opponent uses a blade. I'll use a spear. My spear technique I learned from my sister, only first-tier level. Should be enough." He finished. A countdown appeared. 3, 2, 1... The instant 1 dropped.

'Cao Thief Ruined Me' shot forward like a streak of light. The blade gleam turned cold. It startled the stream so badly no one could type. Old Gramps Tong himself froze, caught off guard by the speed.

"0. 5 life force, max speed is 100 meters in 10 seconds, but reaching that limit isn't easy..." Old Gramps Tong's gaze sharpened. Explaining to viewers, he continued, "His blade opening, that's a martial technique. Probably Flowing Water Blade Technique. Wait, he learned a martial technique at 0. 5 life force? And so proficiently? He's a top student!" He laughed. Back when he had 0. 5 life force, he'd barely reached first-tier skill. Only approaching 1 did he grasp his first basic martial technique.

Not to mention max speed. A martial prodigy of this caliber, there wouldn't be many in an entire major province, right? Having assessed the intel, his heart relaxed slightly.

"The opening flows like clouds and water. Everyone note, Flowing Water Blade Technique is extremely difficult to master among basic blade techniques... Once this first move, 'Drifting Clouds and Flowing Water,' entangles you, the water-soft blade momentum becomes endless. So against this move, break it directly with the first strike!" He raised his spear. Seeing the blade momentum incoming, he thrust out an ordinary Center-Level Spear. Intending to deflect the opponent's blade momentum.

Blade arts rely on a single breath. Break that breath and the following moves weaken considerably. Then the outcome's decided. However, Cao Thief Ruined Me seemed to anticipate this. His form flickered, body shifting sideways, slipping past the spear tip by a hair's breadth.

"Huh?" Old Gramps Tong's pupils contracted. This kid's footwork is wrong! Before he could react, blade chops flowed like unbroken water, already coiling around him. BANG! The blade momentum, soft yet carrying steel, seemed to possess continuous layered force, endlessly compounding. Landing on the spear, it made Old Gramps Tong's tiger's mouth ache from the shock.

"No... no... this blade technique's power... why is the force so strong..." Barely fending it off with overwhelming life force, he groaned inwardly. If only he hadn't run his mouth. No martial techniques, just first-tier spear technique. Now that the opponent closed in, combined with Flowing Water Blade Technique's nature, even creating distance was extremely difficult.

'Hold on. The hardest part of Flowing Water Blade Technique is the final move... He probably hasn't fully mastered this technique... Once the second move finishes, he'll loop back to the first to wear me down... I'll counter then!' He didn't practice blade arts, but he knew among basic blade techniques, Flowing Water Blade Technique was one of the hardest to master. Especially that final move. The blade momentum surged. The accumulating force weighed heavier on Old Gramps Tong's heart. He calculated. Until.

"Wind and Rain Like Darkness!" Under a sky of blade shadows, all previous forces activated, transforming into endless fine rain. Old Gramps Tong narrowed his eyes, spear flailing wildly, barely receiving the move.

"Now!" he barked. But unexpectedly, just then. The opponent swung his blade sideways and leaped high, like a boundless thunderous wave. Faint water vapor emerged on the blade, turning into azure-blue radiance.

"Wave Roars Through Heaven and Earth!" Cao Thief Ruined Me, in midair, swung two consecutive strikes instantly. Each blade brighter than the last! In a flash, azure-blue radiance coalesced into a solid sea of blade waves, crashing down on Old Gramps Tong's spear like an overwhelming tide. Colossal force, more than double, instantly blasted the spear from Old Gramps Tong's grip...... [You Have Died.] Hearing the prompt, Old Gramps Tong drew a deep breath. He'd lost. In the stream, even chat froze.

"This guy... he's strong! Too strong!" Old Gramps Tong was shocked.

"That was Flowing Water Blade Technique at near-small-success level! And he only has 0. 5 life force!" With that life force, fully executing a complete basic martial technique set was already pushing the absolute limits. Let alone such masterful Flowing Water Blade Technique.

"Could this person be some Old Martial Arts prodigy... or someone who independently awakened martial talent? Impossible. Independent awakening couldn't have life force below 1..." He furrowed his brow. And strangest of all. This guy seemed to know the spear extremely well. His own first move, Center-Level Spear, seemed completely anticipated. Otherwise he wouldn't have dodged so easily.

"Where did this guy come from?" He didn't look at chat, which had gone berserk, but pondered deeply...

"That guy's strength is decent, just way too arrogant... didn't even use martial techniques, and used a spear on top of that." Wang Xian shook his head, took off his helmet, and logged off. This online battle gave him many insights. Over the next few days, he just needed to digest them. Flowing Water Blade Technique should go from glimpsing the threshold straight to small success. He'd come back then. ➤ Next: Blade Technique Small Success! Grandmaster's Martial Demonstration!