"To actually get matched up."
"Long time no see." Li Yuan and Tian Dazhuang were both incredibly surprised.
You see, it was almost midnight now, and by all accounts, most students would have already gone to sleep.
Plus, since it's global matchmaking, the chances of being matched up were slim—it was just too coincidental.
"You're not sleeping this late?" Li Yuan said with a smile, not making the first move.
It's not every day you run into a friend, so you tend to chat a little more.
"Aren't you up late too?" Tian Dazhuang said with a laugh, casually holding a heavy saber in his hand.
The two of them hadn't met many times.
To be precise, they had only interacted once,
But it was from that single encounter that both felt the other was a person of similar aspirations and character.
"Heard you went to Kunlun Martial University, how is it feeling?" Tian Dazhuang asked proactively.
"Not bad, just that there aren't any rivals among my peers, it's a bit boring." Li Yuan shook his head, "Besides me, the two strongest are Wu Luo."
"Wu Luo?" Tian Dazhuang was puzzled at first, then nodded his head, "I have a bit of an impression."
His memory of Wu Luo was vague.
During the Jiangbei Martial University recruitment event, he hadn't paid much attention to students below the Fourth Level.
Then Tian Dazhuang laughed, "Makes sense, with your strength, going to Kunlun Martial University must be a killing spree. If it weren't for your lack of awakened Martial Spirit, you definitely would have come to Starfire University, then it would've been more lively."
"What about you? Still number one?" Li Yuan teased.
"In this Combat Assessment, I didn't even make the top fifty. There's a big gap between my Physical Quality and those freaks up front, it'll take at least another year to catch up." Tian Dazhuang shrugged, "However, every virtual match, I do give a lot of people a good beating."
"Speaking of skill alone, I'm probably in the top ten of our year," Tian Dazhuang said frankly.
This wasn't bragging, but treating Li Yuan as a peer.
Li Yuan nodded slightly. Tian Dazhuang's talent in skills indeed was extremely high.
He reached the Fourth Level several months earlier than Li Yuan had.
"To be able to match up with me, seems like you've improved a lot. Your Fallen Star rank points must have exceeded 800 by now," Tian Dazhuang said excitedly to Li Yuan.
"994 points," Li Yuan smiled.
Tian Dazhuang was stunned for a moment, suddenly remembering that the system had reminded him his opponent had 994 points.
He was too excited seeing Li Yuan and had simply forgotten.
Tian Dazhuang, also an expert with over 900 points in Fallen Star rank, knew the significance of this score.
He was only 6 points away from advancing to the Bright Moon rank.
"If you win against me, you could participate in the promotion match?" Tian Dazhuang showed a smile, "Impressive, I just reached 900 points today and haven't been in the Bright Moon promotion match yet."
"But in this fight, I won't hold back." Tian Dazhuang was confident.
Although Li Yuan had a higher score, in Starry Skies Fighting Network battles, scores do not represent strength.
Subconsciously, Tian Dazhuang still considered himself stronger; this wasn't blind confidence.
After all, he entered the Fourth Level earlier than Li Yuan and was studying at the better Starfire University.
"Haha, it's better if you don't hold back." Li Yuan also laughed, "I've wanted to battle you for a while now. I regretted not meeting you during the invitation match."
It was indeed regrettable.
If skills were compared, Li Yuan likely would not be a match for Tian Dazhuang during the Jiangbei Martial University invitation event.
But in his bones, Li Yuan was unafraid of battles; winning or losing wasn't the goal.
Enjoying the process is what truly enhances oneself.
"Haha, alright, let's fight it out." Tian Dazhuang said with a laugh.
Li Yuan and Tian Dazhuang stopped talking, just silently staring at each other, both beginning to adjust their state.
In virtual duels, both fighters' Physical Quality is set at level 10.0.
What's tested is their combat skills.
"Attack!" The moment Tian Dazhuang moved, he was like a cannonball shot out, pouncing towards Li Yuan like lightning.
The heavy saber swung straight down in a cleaving motion.
A heavy saber is longer and much heavier than a regular combat saber, with greater momentum and weight—it can be considered a heavy weapon.
"Haha, bring it on." Li Yuan laughed out loud, advancing instead of retreating.
His long spear leaped forward, thrusting straight like lightning in a counter-attack.
Can a saber be longer than a spear?
"Clang!" Tian Dazhuang quickly retracted his heavy saber, holding it across like a small shield to block in front of him, and straightway caught the tip of the spear.
"Clang~" As soon as it touched, there wasn't the expected head-to-head clash, and Tian Dazhuang had already skillfully unloaded the force and retreated.
Li Yuan smiled, surged forward like a gust of wind, noticeably faster than Tian Dazhuang; his long spear whirling high, then crashing down fiercely upon Tian Dazhuang.
This blow, if it landed, was enough to shatter one's brains.
"Such fast speed." Tian Dazhuang's expression changed slightly, sensing something was amiss.
Li Yuan was attacking too rapidly, giving him no chance to evade.
"Boom~" Tian Dazhuang used his saber to block, feeling a terrifying force transmit through the long spear to his makeshift shield. Even though he tried his best to apply unloading techniques, his arms still went numb from the impact.
"Boom!" Tian Dazhuang retreated like lightning, warily watching Li Yuan.
If Tian Dazhuang was full of confidence before the clash,
Then after this exchange, he understood that the other's combat skills clearly surpassed his own.
"Improved this quickly?"
"During the Jiangbei Martial University invitation event, he had only just reached the Fourth Level, it's been less than five months, and he's already stronger than me?" Tian Dazhuang was shocked.
At the time of the Jiangbei invitation, Tian Dazhuang's Sword Technique was nearly at the Intermediate Rank of the Fourth Level.
After so long, and studying at Starfire University with the finest training, his Sword Technique was nearly at the High Rank of the Fourth Level.
In the eyes of his teachers, he was already considered a rare talent.