We agreed on mecha battles, but you're relying on your life force to become a god?

Beidou Yuan Universe, Battle Matchmaking Lobby.

A metallic spatial interface unfolded before Wang Xing's eyes, with countless data streams flowing like a galaxy.

He was preparing to start the next match when he suddenly received a match invitation from the sender ID: 【吕沐妃】

He clicked "accept".

Lu Mufei's virtual image appeared in front of him instantly.

Her platinum-gold hair swayed slightly in the data stream of the metaverse. The silver-white Galax GT mech had not yet been summoned; it was just a simple virtual combat suit that outlined her slender yet powerful figure.

"Why did you decide to challenge me?" Wang Xing asked, somewhat surprised.

Lu Mufei raised her chin slightly, a sly smile playing on her lips: "I saw this morning that your points were just above Gold, so I came to help you out."

Free matchmaking is indeed like opening a blind box; you might lose stars if you encounter a skilled player, and gain very few stars if you encounter a newbie. Opponents like Lü Mufei, whose mechs are strong but whose health is slightly weak, are actually more ideal experience packs.

Moreover, her Galaxy GT is known for its speed and agility, which is perfect for helping him refine his new driving style without being so powerful that it would cause him to crash.

"That's great."

Wang Xing laughed and said, "You really think of me in everything you do, but I won't stand on ceremony."

The two entered the fighting arena.

Lu Mufei summoned her Shadow GT mecha, a pink and white mecha suit appeared around her, but her gaze suddenly focused on the information panel floating in the air above.

"etc!"

A faint crackling sound, like electricity, emanated from the Galax GT mech. "HP level 7.4! Wasn't it 7.3 this morning?"

"How did you do that?"

Wang Xing, his entire body covered by the Tiger-style mecha except for his head, laughed and said, "My progress today is of course due to my relentless efforts."

"Relentless effort?"

The head sensor on the Galaxy GT tilted slightly in response to her movements, as if it were carefully examining the monster.

"I bet you stole some kind of elixir of immortality? Or maybe you found some secret realm? It's only been a few hours!"

"Enough talk, let's fight!"

The surging sensation of blood and qi from the breakthrough at Tide Pillar still lingered in Wang Xing's body, and he desperately needed a thrilling battle to consolidate his realm.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xing sprang into action.

"Swish swish swish—!"

The Tiger Walks Through Nine Mountains footwork unfolds, combined with the Great Perfection of the Three Forms of Breaking the Army, and the sword light pours out like a waterfall.

"Whoosh!"

In a hasty move, Lü Mufei maneuvered the Galaxy GT backward, the silver-white mecha becoming a blur as she tried to create distance and take advantage of her speed.

But Wang Xing's speed is by no means slow.

The third-tier movement technique not only increased his movement speed, but also provided him with precise control over spatial distance. Every step he took was precisely timed to coincide with Lü Mufei's change of direction, and the blade always loomed over her retreat.

The Galaxy GT's thrusters emitted dazzling blue light, tracing a zigzag path on the track, yet it could never shake off that dark golden figure.

"The Three Forms of Breaking the Army - Splitting the Mountain!"

The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, and Lü Mufei's arm sprang into a shield to block it, but Wang Xing's immense strength caused her pain, rendering her unable to continue. So she gritted her teeth and counterattacked, her right leg's side kick module ejecting a sharp blade, aiming straight for Wang Xing's abdomen.

Wang Xing neither dodged nor avoided, but instead used the "Tiger Walking Around the Mountain" move from the Tiger Walking Nine Mountains technique to turn around, his body sliding past the sharp blade in a strange way, and the back of the blade struck her mecha's knee joint.

The Galaxy GT lost its balance instantly with its left leg. Lü Mufei frantically adjusted the output power of the thrusters, and the silver-white mecha left a piercing metallic scraping sound as it scraped the ground.

Before she could regain her footing, Wang Xing's second slash was already upon her.

"The flow has stopped!"

The slash landed precisely on the drive shaft at the waist of her mecha, sparks flying. The speed of the Galaxy GT plummeted, like a bird whose wings had been severed.

Subsequently, Wang Xing did not give her a chance.

"Third Form - Moon Slash!"

The dark golden blade light drew a perfect arc in the sky above the arena, like a falling crescent moon.

The Galaxy GT mech was struck by the residual force of the slash, its engine groaning under the strain, and it crashed heavily onto the alloy-paved arena floor.

The battle ended in two minutes.

Wang Xing earned over 200 points, while Lü Mufei earned 5 points.

Lu Mufei removed her mecha and held her waist. Although the pain transmission from the Beidou Yuan Universe was only 30%, Lu Mufei still felt a considerable amount of pain. One could imagine how strong the real power of Wang Xing's slash must have been.

"Wang Xing isn't just indifferent to women, he's downright ruthless."

She looked up, giving Wang Xing a slightly reproachful glare, her voice as soft as if it could melt water: "I came here out of kindness to help you increase your points, and you're still so rough... My butt hurts..."

Wang Xing scratched his head, momentarily speechless. What should he say? He couldn't very well say, "Let me rub it for you," so he chuckled awkwardly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

Lu Mufei pouted, her slightly chubby cheeks flushed, and said with a hint of coquettishness, "You're stronger than when I matched with you last time... I'm not talking about your qi and blood, but your swordsmanship and movement. I can feel a significant improvement."

Wang Xing deactivated his mecha and made no attempt to hide anything: "You found out all that. That's right, both of my skills are now at level three."

"..."

Lu Mufei was silent for a moment: "What an insane rate of improvement. I'm not playing with you anymore. You should be able to handle the remaining few dozen points on your own. Congratulations in advance on reaching the Gold rank."

"See you tomorrow, Gold Saint."

Although she looked annoyed, Lü Mufei still smiled at Wang Xing before leaving.

After she finished speaking, her figure turned into a white light and disappeared, leaving only a stream of data that gradually dissipated and a faint fragrance in the air.

Wang Xing looked at the points panel: [9934]

66 points short.

He immediately rejoined the matchmaking queue. His next opponent was a non-student player he didn't recognize, wielding a heavy warhammer, who charged aggressively from the start. Wang Xing dodged to the side, using his Tiger Steps technique to circle behind his opponent, and struck the back of the opponent's mech's neck with the hilt of his blade. The heavy mech staggered two steps, and before it could turn around, Wang Xing's blade was already pressed against its energy core.

"I give up." The other party simply raised their hands.

【Battle Victory】

[Points +88]

Current points: 10022/10000

[Your points have exceeded 1, and your rank has been upgraded to: Gold One Star!]

Current points: 22/10000

Congratulations! You have been selected for the Dragon Kingdom High School Student Gold Rank Scholarship. Award amount: 50000 Dragon Kingdom Coins.

Wang Xing clenched his fist, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

In one day, he first won 50,000 from Bai Lingxue, and then another 50,000 from the national scholarship.

Earn one hundred thousand a day!

Immediately afterwards, a golden line of text appeared in view:

You have made it onto the list of top young talents!

Current ranking: 11786nd

The Youth Gold List is an authoritative list officially established by the Beidou Yuan Universe of the Dragon Kingdom, which only includes young talents under the age of eighteen who have reached the Gold level.

The ranking of this youth honor roll is not simply based on points... but rather takes into account a comprehensive range of data, including combat performance, win rate, records of challenging opponents of higher levels, martial arts level, and mecha control precision, and is calculated and updated in real time by the central AI "Zhulong".

Wang Xing did some mental calculations.

"There are over 30 million high school students nationwide, and if you include school-age children who are not in school, the total population should not exceed 40 million. To squeeze into the top 12,000 among them is already an absolute one-in-a-thousand genius. And this is just the beginning... I have only just entered the Gold rank, and my ranking is still in a dynamic adjustment period. If I perform well in the future, my ranking can continue to climb."

[You have unlocked the new battle module:]

[A Thousand-Player Battle Royale: A Hundred-Player Mech Melee, Surviving to the Last One]

[Golden Team Battle: A multi-player team competition that tests coordination and tactics]

[Abyss Survival: Simulate a Tide of Abyssal Monsters, a Time-Limited Survival Challenge]

【…】

Wang Xing glanced at the new modules and felt a surge of excitement.

The Gold rank is the real starting point; the previous matchmaking games were just child's play in the beginner's village. These higher-level modes not only allow you to earn more points, but more importantly, they expose you to more complex combat environments, which is of immeasurable value in improving your practical combat skills.

"No rush, let's settle the scholarship issue first, then we can try these modes."

At 4:20 a.m. the next day, Wang Xing appeared at the school's training ground to continue honing his various combat skills.

Although new modules have appeared in the metaverse, the matching and completion time for these new modules is too long, and since they are simulations, they lack the realism of physical experience. Wang Xing still prefers the feeling of cultivating alone.

Two and a half hours later, it began to get light.

Wang Xing finished his training, his spear and cannon skills each increasing by 1%, a considerable gain. He then headed towards the teaching building.

He bumped into Sun Donglai at the corner of the corridor.

"Good morning, Donglai," Wang Xing greeted him with a smile.

The chubby boy was wearing a hooded jacket today, with the hood pulled down low, covering half of his face.

Wang Xing noticed that his lips were somewhat pale, the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than yesterday, and his steps were unsteady, as if he were walking on cotton. He wondered what had happened to him in bed last night...

"morning."

Sun Donglai looked up and replied with a smile. But the smile seemed to be pasted onto his face, as if it would fall off at the slightest touch.

"Why didn't you eat anything today?" Wang Xing asked.

Sun Donglai's eating method requires eating a lot to maintain the circulation of qi and blood. The morning meal is especially important because the body needs to replenish itself after a lot of consumption late at night.

Normally at this time, even after breakfast, Sun Donglai would be carrying a bag of snacks or beef jerky...

But today, he arrived empty-handed.

This is not normal.

"I have no appetite."

Sun Donglai replied casually, his tone carrying a hint of detached weariness, and walked past Wang Xing: "I'm going back to the classroom first, Xing."

Wang Xing watched his retreating figure.

At this moment, the chubby boy's back view appeared somewhat thin and lonely...

"The little fat boy has been acting strangely lately; he's probably hiding something from me."

But Wang Xing didn't chase after him to ask.

High school seniors are adults and have the ability to discern things.

Moreover, everyone is an independent piece of marble, with their own texture and cracks. Don't try to sculpt the outline that the other person wants... Since Sun Donglai chose to remain silent, it was his private domain that he did not want to show to others.

…………

During the morning break, Wang Xing knocked on the door of the principal's office.

Principal Li Zhengyuan was reviewing a thick stack of documents when he saw Wang Xing enter. He put down his pen and smiled warmly, "Wang Xing, what brings you here?"

"Principal, Teacher Lü asked me to come and hand in a form."

Wang Xing handed over the application form, "I'm applying for the Gold Rank Scholarship in the Beidou Metaverse."

"Not bad, not bad, our school's second golden period."

Li Zhengyuan took the form. He wasn't surprised that Wang Xing had entered the Gold rank. After all, he had seen Wang Xing's score approach Gold when he played against Bai Lingxue yesterday.

After signing, he said, "I will have someone send the application form to the provincial education department immediately. This money comes from the provincial education fund and is expected to arrive in three days. I know some people there, so I can help you urge them to get the money as soon as possible."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Principal."

"It's okay."

Li Zhengyuan's eyes were full of admiration. "Wang Xing, all the teachers and students in our school have seen your efforts. There are still more than nine months until the college entrance examination, but we have to take it one step at a time and break it down into several small goals."

"First, focus on preparing for the school entrance exam in September. I expect you to be in the top ten, or even higher. No student from a regular class at Rongcheng No. 2 High School has ever made it into the top ten in the school entrance exam. I hope you can break that record."

"I will try my best." Wang Xing nodded earnestly.

……

Time flies, and ten days later...

The September college entrance exams arrived as scheduled.