The virtual battlefield, filled with yellow sand.
The gale whipped up gravel, hitting Zhao Feng's heavy bright silver armor with crackling sounds. He slammed the half-man-high tower shield heavily onto the ground, shrinking half of his body behind the shield, and looked at Lin Zhiran, who was a dozen meters away, with contempt.
"Kid, don't say I'm bullying a rookie." Zhao Feng's voice sounded a bit muffled through the helmet. "I'll give you a three-move handicap. Within three moves, as long as you can make me take half a step back, I'll count it as your win."
The spectator channel was in an uproar.
"Too arrogant, right? But Zhao Feng does have the capital to be arrogant. That set of Top-Grade Black Iron 'Fortress' set is said to be able to withstand a strike from a Tier 2 Beast." "It's going to be hard for Cold Light. The novice spear only has 5 Attack Power, while Zhao Feng's Defense is at least 50. How can he break through that? It's completely scratching an itch." "Sigh, the win streak is going to break. What a pity for this newcomer."
Lin Zhiran listened to the mockery in the wind, his expression under the mask remaining rippless.
Give me a three-move handicap?
He shook his head gently. In this world, never hand your fate over to the mercy of your opponent.
"No need."
Lin Zhiran spat out two words lightly.
The next second, his figure suddenly vanished from the spot!
"So fast!" Zhao Feng's pupils shrank.
Although he was verbally dismissive, he was, after all, a battle-hardened elite of the dojo, and his combat instincts were still there. Almost the moment Lin Zhiran started moving, he immediately activated his defensive skills.
Talent Skill—Immovable as a Mountain! Martial Skill—Shield Wall!
Hum!
An earthen-yellow halo instantly enveloped Zhao Feng's whole body. The tower shield in his hand glowed with a heavy metallic luster, as if it had become one with the earth beneath his feet. At this moment, he was an immovable iron tower!
Even if a speeding truck hit him, he was confident he could bounce it away.
"Come on! Let me see what waves you can make with that fire poker!" Zhao Feng roared, his muscles tense, ready to welcome the impact.
Lin Zhiran's figure was like a black lightning bolt, crossing the distance of a dozen meters in an instant.
Facing that desperate tower shield, he didn't choose to go around the back, nor did he look for gaps.
He chose the most foolish, most direct, and most violent way—
A frontal clash!
The Black Iron Long Spear in his hand vibrated violently during the high-speed sprint. There was no dazzling battle qi light on the spear tip, only a heart-palpitating dead silence.
Heart of the Spear God Passive Triggered—Absolute Armor Break!
In front of this Talent, there was no defense, only distance.
"Break... for me!"
Lin Zhiran shouted in his heart. The muscles in his arm bulged instantly, converging all his strength into one point, and stabbed ruthlessly into the very center of the tower shield!
That was the point with the strongest defense, and also the point Zhao Feng was most confident in.
Ding—!!!
A metal impact sound, sharp to the extreme as if piercing eardrums, resounded through the entire desert.
Everyone watching subconsciously covered their ears.
However, the scene they expected of the spear breaking and Lin Zhiran being knocked back did not appear.
On the contrary, the image seemed to freeze at this moment.
Zhao Feng's originally confident smile solidified on his face. He heard a crisp sound that scared his soul away.
Crack.
That Top-Grade Black Iron Tower Shield, known to be indestructible, actually shattered like a biscuit at the point where the spear tip touched it!
No resistance, no pause.
The spear was like a hot knife cutting through butter, instantly piercing the heavy tower shield, followed by the fine steel armor inside, and finally Zhao Feng's proud protective Vitality.
Puchi!
The cold spear tip penetrated out from Zhao Feng's back, bringing up a splash of bright red data streams.
One spear, pierced through!
"How... is it possible..."
Zhao Feng looked down at the rusty long spear in his chest, his eyes full of disbelief and fear. "My defense... was..."
"Your defense is not bad." Lin Zhiran slowly retracted his spear, his voice as calm as if stating a fact. "But it was in my way."
Bang!
Zhao Feng turned into a sky full of white light and dissipated.
The System notification sound rang out in the silent desert:
[Battle ended! Winner: Cold Light!] [Congratulations, promotion successful! Current Rank: Silver Tier 5!] [Eleven consecutive wins! Obtained extra Point Rewards!] [Nova List Ranking Updated: 998th (Jiangnan City Division).]
The entire spectator channel was dead silent for full three seconds.
Then, the bullet screen exploded completely!
"Holy shit?! What did I see? Pierced? Directly pierced?!" "That was a Top-Grade Black Iron Tower Shield! Even a C-Rank Alloy Weapon might not be able to stab through it, right? He used a novice white-board spear?!" "Bug! Definitely a Bug! I want to report this! This doesn't fit data logic at all!" "Report my ass! The Ladder System is controlled by the National Master Brain, where would Bugs come from? This is called True Damage! This is called Armor Penetration Build!" "Too handsome! That move of retracting the spear was too damn handsome! God Cold Light, please accept my knees!" "Fan for life! From today on, I am a follower of the Cold Light Cult!"
Lin Zhiran paid no attention to the madness outside.
Standing in the virtual space, looking at the newly lit "Silver" badge and the extra 1000 Combat Points (equivalent to 10,000 Alliance Dollars) in his account, he gently exhaled.
"Finally on the list."
Although it was only 998th, at the tail end of the list, for a newcomer who had only played for one night, it was already a miracle.
"That's about it."
Lin Zhiran glanced at the time; it was almost 2 AM. If he was late for tomorrow's combat class, he would definitely be punished to run laps by Instructor Wang Gang again.
He decisively chose to log off.
...
Lightyear Speed Internet Cafe.
Lin Zhiran took off the helmet and rubbed his slightly swollen temples. The long period of high mental concentration made his body feel a bit exhausted, but his spirit was unusually hyper.
He walked to the counter to return the card.
The greasy-faced boss was still watching a live stream, but this time he wasn't watching beauties, but a game commentary channel.
On the screen, the highlight reel of "Cold Light" piercing Zhao Feng's tower shield with one spear was being replayed. The commentator was shouting hoarsely: "Incredible! This is a textbook example of breaking a surface with a point! This newcomer named Cold Light is definitely a dark horse in this year's College Entrance Exam!"
The boss watched with relish, not even noticing Lin Zhiran putting the card on the counter.
"Boss, return card." Lin Zhiran knocked on the table.
"Ah? Oh, right, right." The boss came back to his senses. While processing the refund, he sighed, "Students nowadays are really formidable. Look at this Cold Light, tsk tsk, instantly killing an elite of the Thunder Dojo with one spear. Too ruthless. Hey, student, you play Ladder too, do you know who this Cold Light is?"
Lin Zhiran took the few dozen bucks returned to him and pulled down the hood of his hoodie, covering most of his face.
"Don't know him."
He replied indifferently, his voice a bit hoarse. "I'm just a rookie, the kind who gets abused when I go up."
"True, this kind of expert is definitely elusive." The boss shook his head and handed him the change. "Go home quickly, it's so late."
Lin Zhiran nodded, pushed open the door, and walked into the night.
Hiding his merit and fame deep within.
...
The next morning, Jiangnan City Third High School.
The atmosphere on campus today was exceptionally heated. Almost everyone was discussing the big event that happened in the Ladder System last night.
"Hey, did you guys watch that video? That spear from God Cold Light was simply superb!" "Of course I watched it! It was so satisfying! Usually, people from the Thunder Dojo have their eyes on top of their heads. This time, being taught a lesson by a newcomer with a white-board spear, I died laughing." "I heard Zhao Feng was so angry he smashed his home VR capsule on the spot." "Do you guys think this Cold Light could be from our school? Looking at the body shape and age, he seems to be a high school student too."
Lin Zhiran carried his schoolbag and silently walked through the discussing crowd. He was like a transparent person, listening to others' worship and speculation about his other identity. His heart held no fluctuations, and he even wanted to laugh a little.
Just walking into the classroom, he felt a low pressure.
Zhao Tai sat in the first row, his face so gloomy it looked like water would drip from it. The few lackeys who usually followed him were all silent as cicadas in winter, daring not to speak.
Zhao Feng was Zhao Tai's cousin. Usually, Zhao Tai bragged about this cousin a lot. Last night, his cousin was slapped in the face in public; it felt like a stinging pain on his own face.
"Damn Cold Light... Don't let me find out who you are!" Zhao Tai growled through gritted teeth, an expensive pen in his hand snapped in half by him.
Lin Zhiran walked past Zhao Tai without squinting and returned to his seat in the corner.
"Yo, our F-Rank genius is here."
Zhao Tai was worrying about having nowhere to vent his anger. Seeing Lin Zhiran, he immediately directed the fire at him. "What's up? Did you hide under your blankets and cry after going home last night? Or did you fail to even beat that AI puppet?"
Lin Zhiran put down his schoolbag, took out his textbook, and said calmly, "Yeah, didn't beat it. It was too hard."
"Pfft..."
Several students around couldn't help laughing out loud, their eyes full of disdain. Failing to pass even the novice tutorial wasn't just a problem of poor talent anymore; it was practically useless to the extreme.
Zhao Tai sneered, his mood seemingly improved a bit. "At least you have self-knowledge. Don't say you are a student of our Third High when you go out in the future. Embarrassing! Also, for the combat class this afternoon, remember to wear something thick. I'm afraid one punch will shatter your frame."
Lin Zhiran didn't respond, just silently opened his book.
The sunlight outside the window fell on his profile, reflecting a patch of tranquility.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the combat class in the afternoon.
Since Zhao Tai wanted to reclaim his dignity so much, then as "Cold Light," he couldn't expose himself, but as "Lin Zhiran," showing a little bit of progress in "Basic Spear Technique" shouldn't be too excessive, right?
After all, I'm just an F-Rank clumsy bird who practices hard.
The corner of Lin Zhiran's mouth curled up into an imperceptible arc.