Chapter 23 Special Admission Qualifications
Starry Skies Fighting Network, personal space.
Li Yuan's conscious form had just returned.
Whoosh~ Countless beams of light came together, gradually shaping the figure of a young girl dressed in classic green robes.
"Guardian Yuan, congratulations on making the Blue Star Youth Chart. Your status sequence within the Starry Skies Fighting Network has been elevated," the green-robed girl said with a slight smile, "From today onwards, I'll be your exclusive AI assistant within the Starry Skies Fighting Network. I'll be fully dedicated to serving you. You can name me."
"Exclusive AI assistant?" Li Yuan blinked, slightly dumbfounded.
The AI technology in this era was already incredibly advanced.
As far as Li Yuan understood, typically one had to spend significantly within the Starry Skies Fighting Network, purchasing a series of additional services, to earn the privilege of an exclusive AI assistant.
Never did he expect that making it onto this so-called Blue Star Youth Chart would also grant him one.
"Xiao Yu," Li Yuan said bluntly. His smart wristband had the same name—Xiao Yu.
Fair treatment across the board.
"Xiao Yu is delighted to serve you," the green-robed girl said with a slight bow, her expression pure and unassuming.
"I want to see the Blue Star Youth Chart and its rankings," Li Yuan said directly.
"Certainly." The green-robed girl waved her slim hand, projecting a light screen before Li Yuan.
It displayed vast amounts of text, along with various images and footage.
Li Yuan quickly grasped the essentials.
"The Blue Star Youth Chart is compiled by the 'Starry Skies Fighting Network.' Anyone who reaches 500 points in the Gold Stage automatically qualifies," Li Yuan muttered to himself, "According to rumors, the Starry Skies Fighting Network is backed by the Seven Star Alliance, the Three Major Martial Halls, and various nations… It serves not only as a rigorous means of honing martial artists in their combat skills but also as a method for spotting martial prodigies."
It seemed that the rumors held true.
"The Blue Star Youth Chart directly ranks martial arts techniques." Li Yuan nodded slightly, "Which makes sense. The Starry Skies Fighting Network evaluation process consumes almost no extra resources—very convenient indeed."
*But if it measured both martial arts techniques and physical quality or inherent talent… wouldn't that just be the college entrance exam?* Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh.
Be it for all human civilizations or individual countries, they strive to identify technological geniuses and martial prodigies through comprehensive assessments… The college entrance exam is the most extensive and all-encompassing method of selection.
The Starry Skies Fighting Network, on the other hand, solely evaluates martial arts skills.
"The Blue Star Youth Chart covers the entirety of Blue Star, resetting the rankings every year on September 1," Li Yuan continued reading.
"Anyone who hasn't yet turned 18 by the September 1 deadline is eligible to compete for next year's Blue Star Youth Chart."
Li Yuan suddenly understood—the Blue Star Youth Chart wasn't entirely composed of minors.
The oldest participants might be nearing 19 years old.
For instance, someone born on September 2.
On the flip side, true martial prodigies might hit 500 points in the Gold Stage at just 14 or 15 years old, allowing them to remain eligible for the chart for four or five consecutive years.
*So, this cycle's Blue Star Youth Chart has only been updated for less than a month?* Li Yuan thought to himself, *Yet, in under a month, 4,684 people are already on the list?*
And that was just within the scope of Blue Star.
If you considered humanity's Seven Great Planets, how many would qualify?
By next year's August, how many more names would be added to the list?
This was merely a snapshot of the martial prodigies emerging from Blue Star over the span of a single year.
"Anyone who reaches 500 points in the Gold Stage is no pushover in their martial skills," Li Yuan shook his head lightly, "At Guan Mountain District First High, my martial arts skills currently dominate."
"But on a global scale? I'm just a tiny speck." Li Yuan calmed himself.
*It was a humbling realization of his own insignificance.*
The world was, undeniably, vast.
"Still, the journey starts one step at a time. At least I've made it onto the list," Li Yuan chuckled suddenly, "Across Jiangbei Province, there are only 47 of us on the chart, most of whom are likely juniors or seniors in high school."
Jiangbei Province had over a million high school seniors.
In terms of martial arts skills alone, Li Yuan had already risen to the forefront among them.
A year ago, Li Yuan could never have envisioned achieving such a milestone.
After thoroughly reviewing all the content.
"Rewards for ranking?" Li Yuan's gaze landed on the final page, his eyes lighting up.
—Ranking Rewards (Under 18):
1. Achieve 500 points in the Gold Stage: Reward of 50,000 Blue Star Coins.
2. Reach the Fallen Star Stage: Reward of 500,000 Blue Star Coins.
3. Attain the Bright Moon Stage: Reward of 20 million Blue Star Coins.
—Ranking Rewards (18 to 30 years of age):
1. Fallen Star Stage: Reward of 10,000 Blue Star Coins.
2. Bright Moon Stage: Reward of 200,000 Blue Star Coins.
3. Sun Eclipse Stage: Reward of 5 million Blue Star Coins.
...
"That's insane," Li Yuan muttered to himself quietly, "A reward of 20 million Blue Star Coins?"
Twenty million!
An ordinary person would have to work a hundred years to even dream of earning that amount.
Yet Li Yuan had to admit—the bar was set impossibly high, requiring one to reach the Bright Moon Stage before turning 18.
If you missed that age deadline, the reward for the Bright Moon Stage plummeted to only 200,000 Blue Star Coins.
*Forget the Bright Moon Stage; even reaching the Fallen Star Stage before turning 18 would be extremely difficult.* Li Yuan shook his head and casually asked, "Xiao Yu, how many people on the Blue Star Youth Chart have reached the Fallen Star Stage so far?"
"As of today, there are 44," the green-robed girl replied, "But the specific list cannot be disclosed."
Li Yuan nodded thoughtfully.
He had tried moments ago to find this information, and discovered that while he could check summary statistics, accessing the specific list of participants who made the chart was off-limits.
*Perhaps that was a form of protection,* Li Yuan mused, *In essence, anyone on this list is a future martial powerhouse, but still in their formative stages.*
While academic grades and college entrance exam scores might also reveal a lot of information, the difficulty in collecting such data was clearly on another level.
"Rewards." Li Yuan stared thoughtfully at the three tiers of ranking rewards listed on the page.
"Bright Moon Stage? That's way too far off, completely unrealistic."
"But Fallen Star Stage?"
"My birthday is 8.29, which leaves me about eleven months to hone my martial arts skills."
"Even if I don't manage it before the college entrance exams, it's fine; I can always keep striving afterward."
"As long as I hit the Fallen Star Stage, there's a reward of 500,000 Blue Star Coins waiting." Li Yuan set his sights firmly on the goal.
He was filled with anticipation and driven by boundless motivation.
This was a goal he genuinely felt he could achieve.
All he needed to do was surpass 1,000 points in the Gold Stage and then pass the advancement tournament to reach the Fallen Star Stage.
"Let's match for a few rounds and see." Li Yuan couldn't resist hitting the 'Ranked Match' button.
Six minutes later.
"Defeat!"
"Defeat!"
"Three consecutive matches lost. All against opponents with over 600 points; I lost every single time." Li Yuan returned to his personal space, feeling rather helpless.
Not only had his points failed to increase but they had dropped back down to 491.
Li Yuan collected himself.
"It seems 500 points really is quite the threshold. Against players below 500 points, my win rate is over 80%," Li Yuan reflected on today's battles, "But against those with 500 points—and especially those over 600—my wins drop below 30%."
*This clearly demonstrated that my martial arts skills aren't yet strong enough to dominate the Gold Stage.*
*Thinking I could reach the Fallen Star Stage before college exams? That's basically a pipe dream.*
Each rank in the Starry Skies Fighting Network represented a massive leap in skill, essentially insurmountable.
"Xiao Yu, my points dropped below 500. That doesn't affect my rewards, does it?" Li Yuan asked casually.
"It doesn't."
"The reward distribution for Blue Star Coins is based on your historical highest score." The green-robed girl smiled and said, "The 50,000 Blue Star Coin reward will undergo review on Monday and then be directly deposited into your bank account."
"Great." Li Yuan nodded.
As the top virtual platform endorsed by the authorities, the Starry Skies Fighting Network was undoubtedly reliable.
"Log out," Li Yuan said with a mental command.
He exited the virtual network.
...
Walking out of his room.
"Brother, have an apple. I've already cut it for you," his sister Li Qianqian called out from the sofa.
"Sure." Li Yuan smiled, "Watching the projection? What's on?"
"Brother, it's not a TV show—it's a documentary. 'Rob Sea Star Realm Exploration.' It's about the first time our nation's first explorer journeyed into Rob Sea," his younger brother Li Muhua eagerly explained, his words flowing effortlessly.
"Oh?" Li Yuan nodded, sitting down to eat the apple while watching the documentary with his siblings.
The Star Realm's interior was unique, where many technological devices ceased to function.
Coupled with the rampant Star Realm Creatures and looming dangers… Decades later, human civilizations were still fighting fiercely, but there were relatively few documentary materials about the Star Realm's depths.
"These explorers are all martial artists, huh? Scaling cliffs that are dozens of meters high with a single leap." Li Muhua couldn't help but comment.
"Without martial artist-level skills, daring to enter the Star Realm would be suicidal," Li Yuan chuckled, "Besides, they're far from ordinary martial artists."
At minimum, their physical quality must exceed level 20!
...
After watching the documentary for about half an hour, their aunt stepped out of the master bedroom and urged them all to go to bed.
After washing up, Li Yuan returned to his room.
For now, he didn't plan to share the news of reaching 500 points in the Gold Stage with his aunt.
*Better to wait until the rewards are actually in my account.*
Standing barefoot in his room.
"Spent the whole day in the virtual network."
"Can't neglect the Basic Cultivation Method."
"I'll spend two hours practicing the 'Solid Rock Cultivation Technique,' then move on to the 'Observing the Great Sun Starry Sky Scripture.'" Li Yuan quickly decided.
To Li Yuan, moments like sharing apples and watching projection shows with his siblings were rare and precious opportunities to unwind.
Martial arts cultivation offered no shortcuts.
It boiled down to relentless accumulation, day after day.
...
Late into the night.
As Li Yuan woke around three in the morning, leaving the house quietly to head for school.
In Jiangbei Province, at the Martial Arts Hall.
The intelligent system and the staff on duty received an inconspicuous document pending review.
"Blue Star Youth Chart for 2042-2043 cycle, Rank No. [4684], Name: 'Li Yuan,' registered residence: 'Guan Mountain District, Jiang City, Jiangbei Province'… Please conduct a comprehensive assessment within 10 days to determine if this individual qualifies for special martial artist student admission."