In Medicine King Valley, Guding's negotiation with Anthony went smoothly.
Anthony's demand was simple: the rookie ranking competition would start in three months. Guding just needed to place in the top fifty to be sufficient; the Medicine God Alliance's Tianhe Branch would then issue a reward worth a hundred million Star Coins. If he could make it into the top ten, the reward from the Tianhe Branch would increase to ten billion Star Coins.
Such a win-win situation was naturally not something Guding would refuse. Even if he didn't make it into the top fifty, there would be no loss for him. All he needed to do was to register under the name of the Tianhe Star Domain when participating in the competition, something he had planned to do anyway. Thus, a consensus was quickly reached between the two parties.
After finalizing the arrangements with Anthony, Guding strolled around for a bit but did not expect to attract quite a crowd along the way. His appearance had been widely spread by that video. The video was displayed in the public area, and not only the pharmacists and temporary residents of Medicine King Valley knew it, but also many who had never been there.
Left with no choice, Guding logged out of the system.
Sitting in the cockpit seat, staring out at the endless black cosmos, Guding asked, "Sea Emperor, is there any news today?"
"There's nothing major," the Sea Emperor seemed somewhat bored, "just heard that Cain has also turned to the new route. This time, he wants to return to the Cosmic Sea. Also, Koude Brad's the Judge of Pirates is said to be heading towards the new route as well. The opening of this new route has excited all the interstellar pirates of the Dragon Ascension Universe Country. Many who had gone to other Cosmic Countries are changing course, ready to travel the new route."
"It's suddenly become lively; I think it's quite good," Guding said with a grin. He was the kind of person who liked excitement and always joined in where it was liveliest. One of the main reasons he had enjoyed working at the Rose Tavern over the years was because he met a wide variety of people there and heard many different stories. It was these people and their stories that had given him the idea of becoming an interstellar pirate.
Thinking of Cain and Koude Brad, Guding increasingly felt that these guys with bounties of billions of Star Coins were incredibly strong. He had seen Cain in action, moving so fast that the eyes could barely keep up. And, as Koude Brad had a bounty amount similar to Cain's, his strength must also be comparable.
"You really need to quickly enhance your power. With your current level, entering the new route will have you eaten up without leaving even your bones behind," the Sea Emperor bluntly voiced his thoughts.
"I understand. On the new route, there should be plenty of strong individuals around the same strength as Uncle Cain, and even stronger ones might emerge," Guding nodded. He chose the new route not because he was naive and clueless, but because he was clear about what he could and couldn't do without any overestimation of his own abilities.
"Connect me to the virtual Arena, please! I need to practice all the moves available for the Cell Comprehensive Index score of 100 points in the virtual Arena first. That way, once my body's strength reaches the required level, I can get familiar with the moves quickly to use them directly, saving a lot of time practicing the moves," Guding planned to enter the virtual Arena and continue cultivating the Extreme Body Technique.
"This is a temporary solution, not a cure, but there's no other choice now," the Sea Emperor felt somewhat helpless about Guding's physique but promptly connected him to the Arena.
Upon entering the Arena, Guding saw his latest profile:
Name: This Killer Is Not Afraid of Cold
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Challenge attempts: 10
Victories: 10
Defeats: 0
Draws: 0
Win Rate: 100%
Points: 55
Honor: Ten Consecutive Wins
[Honor Description: Achieve ten consecutive wins in the Arena, with points accumulating. First match 1 point, second match 2 points, third match 3 points...tenth match 10 points.]
"Can these points be exchanged for items?" Guding seemed to recall an explanation he had seen somewhere.
"Yes, in the Beginner Arena, the purchasing power of 1 point is equivalent to a hundred Star Coins. That's why many people who aren't very wealthy come here to compete and then either sell points or directly purchase items with points," the Sea Emperor added. "Of course, there are also some rich individuals who accumulate points just to show off their strength, so they often buy points from those with high scores."
"Direct buying and selling of points?" Guding raised an eyebrow. "Won't the system prohibit it?"
"No, the system allows it, taking a 5% fee from every transaction," continued the Sea Emperor.
"So points can be transferred from one person to another?" Guding had only been to the Arena once and was still unclear on many things.
"Yes, how else would there be trade?"
"But then, what's the point? Can't others still see the number of battles and win rate?" Guding felt that just accumulating points wasn't very meaningful.
"That can be hidden with money, preventing ordinary people from looking it up and just showing a point score on the outside," the Sea Emperor laughed. "What's more, from what I know, wealthy folks can even bribe their opponents to inflate their points and win rate. As long as enough money is given for the opponent to admit defeat. There are quite a few people in the Arena who are short on cash, and they compete for money."
"It seems like there are unwritten rules everywhere," Guding shook his head in resignation.
"Many things can't be completely eradicated, only regulated and controlled. Overall, the Arena system is quite well run, and the overall order has nearly been unaffected," the Sea Emperor offered his opinion.
"As long as it doesn't affect me, it's fine. I can earn some extra money while practicing the Extreme Body Technique. That's the biggest use of the Arena for me," Guding also knew that such things were unavoidable.
"Don't underestimate any opponent in the Arena, even in the Beginner Arena, there are experts. I just looked up the battle video database. You wouldn't stand a chance against any of the top hundred players here in the Tianhe Star Domain division," the Sea Emperor cautioned.
"No worries, losing to a real powerhouse isn't shameful," Guding said with a smile as he pressed the random pairing fight button.
"Miss, that guy from last time is here again," a staff member in the system operations room said after seeing Guding's pairing information, dialing a number.
"Got it, I'll be right over. For now, match him with someone around rank ten thousand," a female voice answered from the other side of the communicator; it was the woman who had been sucking on a lollipop in the operations room last time.
"They've matched you with someone ranked around ten thousand," the Sea Emperor informed Guding of the pairing results befor