Chapter 6: Level Advancement

Watching as that hero suddenly launched himself forward, aggressive and resolute, the crowd abruptly realized what was happening. They cursed under their breath at the underhandedness of it—resorting to trickery and a sneak attack. Still, at least if he won, it might salvage some dignity for the heroes.

Then, under the gaze of several hundred people…

Whoosh—

Without even moving, Du Gu Bieli watched as the hero rushed past his side and tumbled right off the stage. He was about to land headfirst but spun beautifully in midair, landed steadily, cupped his fists, and, still humble, said, “Thank you for your guidance. I hope fate lets us meet again.”

Du Gu Bieli couldn’t simply ignore him, so he nodded in acknowledgment. The hero then withdrew, vanishing into the crowd.

“What the hell, how could anyone be so ridiculous? He’s completely disgraced us!” Most of the heroes thought this, their faces twisted with disgust.

Yet a few wore thoughtful expressions, quickly noticing several oddities. First, when addressed as ‘senior,’ this person hadn’t denied it and had shown great composure, unafraid in the moment. More importantly, they noticed that the appearance of this warrior was blurred. This alone revealed several things.

He didn’t want to be recognized.

He was afraid of exposing his identity.

His Wind and Cloud Token had special privileges.

Usually, those with privileges have extraordinary backgrounds.

“Maybe I should go up and seek some guidance, ask about my own difficulties in cultivation? If it doesn’t work out, at most I’ll lose face once, but if it succeeds… what an opportunity! If I let it slip by, I may never encounter it again…” These lively thoughts spun in their minds, though most hesitated.

But one youth broke the stalemate, bravely stepping onto the stage. With respect, he said, “Forgive my boldness, senior. I humbly ask for your guidance.”

He immediately began to move, executing his techniques. Unlike the previous challenger, he didn’t remain stationary, but instead advanced and retreated, darting left and right, leaping and twisting, moving up and down. After a dozen or so moves, he suddenly stopped, his face flushed with embarrassment. “These are all the moves I’ve managed to work out so far—they’re not yet refined. Please forgive me, senior.”

Seeing his reddened face and obvious shame, Du Gu Bieli was reminded of the equally bashful Xiaohua, and couldn’t help but offer further advice. “I can see you’ve put thought into this. When demonstrating, you even imagined a mock opponent. This is a good attitude—keeping yourself constantly on edge, never relaxing. But your techniques are still too raw. While your attacks aren’t flashy, your angles are off. You’ve overlooked something: your opponent, your target, may have a strong resistance to blows. The damage you cause is too weak. So, you need to change, and the first step is to understand which parts of the body are fatal. Rather than striking your opponent ten times, it’s better to land a single blow to a vital spot. For example, the throat.” As he spoke, Du Gu Bieli mimicked a move the youth had used, a straightforward punch. “See, when you attack, change the angle slightly—not for the face, but press downward, aiming for the throat.”

Bang!

His fist struck out, and the air exploded with a sonic boom. The crowd could almost picture the scene: a hero on the attack, only to be struck directly in the throat, the powerful force crashing down, unstoppable, shattering bone and flesh in an instant…

The youth bowed his head in thought, then, after a while, beamed with joy and bowed deeply. “Thank you, senior, for your guidance. I understand now—the purpose of battle is to kill the enemy or render him powerless, eliminating the threat to oneself. Before, I attacked for the sake of attacking, forgetting the ultimate goal.”

Swish!

With that, he bowed again, sprang up, circled around Du Gu Bieli, and leapt off the stage.

At this moment, above Du Gu Bieli’s head, the number indicating his victories changed to five.

“My turn!”

As the youth stepped down and the crowd was still digesting what had happened, at least a dozen people rushed toward the stage. The first to land was a burly man. Before he could ask for advice, he saw a dozen others jump up as well and, flustered, said, “I was here first! You all get down!”

“What’s your hurry?” someone retorted, then suggested, “Let’s just sort out the order. Stop bickering or the senior will get annoyed and none of us will have a chance.”

“Then I’m first!” the burly man announced, unyielding.

“I’m second!” someone else chimed in immediately.

“I’m sec— thi—” A few who reacted slower tried to claim the next spots, but someone else called out, “I’m third!”

“I’m fo—” Another tried to speak, but yet another shouted, “I’m fourth!”

“…” That one gave up, tears streaming down his face.

“…”

“Tenth…”

“Eleventh.”

“…” Glancing around and seeing no more places, the last muttered in frustration, “I’m twelfth.”

“…”

Du Gu Bieli felt even more exasperated.

Looking at the impromptu line, each face brimming with hope, he frowned, startling the dozen or so heroes. But after a moment’s thought, whether it was combat or guidance, it would take about the same amount of time, and his count of victories would rise all the same. Sighing, he said, “Let’s not waste time. All of you, start together.”

“Huh?”

“What are you surprised about? With the senior’s skill and insight, handling multiple opponents at once is nothing. Get moving!”

“Oh, yes!”

“Begin!”

At someone’s shout, all twelve sprang into action, displaying their martial skills. This time, the twelfth hero was not slow.

Once all had finished, Du Gu Bieli immediately offered corrections. His words were few, but each was precise and insightful. All twelve listened and pondered, each experiencing sudden enlightenment. Then, according to “tradition,” they rushed forward, circled around, and leapt off the stage.

“Senior, please instruct me!” Someone at the very edge of the crowd couldn’t wait to shout, eager for a spot.

Strangely, the dueling stage had turned into a teaching session. Yet, among the hundreds of heroes, not a single one found it odd.

Time passed. With each cycle of demonstration and guidance, the number of Du Gu Bieli’s victories above his head began to double and climb—soon surpassing thirty, then fifty… seventy… ninety… ninety-nine…

Whoosh—

Just as his victories reached a hundred, a wisp of light, illusory and ethereal, vast and magnificent, neither real nor unreal, descended from the void.

Bathed in the light, Du Gu Bieli immediately fell silent, feeling the mysterious power surge into him, resonating with his mind, transforming his body, and deepening his understanding of what it meant to be a hero, raising his cultivation to a new realm.

Hero!

He had met the Wind and Cloud Arena’s requirements for promotion, advancing from Warrior to Hero. He raised his head slightly, gazing at the higher General-level square, his eyes full of expectation. In his heart, he silently prayed: Please, let it not be like this place—no real combat, no martial skills to challenge me. What I truly long for are opponents with advanced techniques; that is why I entered the Wind and Cloud Arena in the first place…

While he pondered, the light gradually faded. The transformation of his body and the insights into cultivation slowed and finally ceased.

He clenched his fist, feeling the multiplied explosive power in his muscles, took a deep breath, and strode off the stage.

His next goal: the General-level square.