High Martial Arts: Liver Becomes the Master of the Universe

Chapter 20 Imperial Arena

In the small living room, the air became heavy because of the black metal card.

Qin Dahai and Wang Ming stared intently at the pass in Qin Feng's hand, their expressions shifting from initial joy to deep shock.

"This one……"

Wang Ming's voice was a little hoarse as he pointed to the card, "Xiao Feng, this thing is... a subspace network access pass...?"

"Given by the school."

Qin Feng placed the card on the table and explained frankly, "Teacher Li Weiguo said that he received a teacher's bonus from the school and applied for a subsidy from the school to help me get this pass."

He paused, then continued, "Three more permissions were also activated: the Imperial Arena, the Warp Exchange, and the Warp Teleportation Network."

A long silence fell over the living room.

Qin Dahai stretched out his calloused, one-armed man, picked up the card, and examined it carefully.

His fingers traced the cold runes on the card, his movements slow.

"Teacher Li..."

Wang Ming muttered to himself, his expression extremely complicated, "He actually... he actually managed to do this."

An ordinary middle school teacher has such a broad mind and sense of responsibility.

He remembered very clearly that Li Weiguo had previously wanted to reassign Qin Feng.

Qin Dahai put the card back on the table, looked up at his son, and revealed a hint of relief that was hard to detect.

"Originally, I was planning to get one for you too."

His voice was as steady as ever, “Once you get into Martial Arts Academy, this thing will be essential for everyone. Without it, it’s like being disconnected from the entire empire, truly working in isolation. I was planning to go to the factory in a few days to get an advance on six months’ salary.”

He glanced at the pass.

"Now it seems we've saved some money. Your teacher is very thoughtful."

Qin Dahai turned his gaze to Wang Ming.

"Amin, if Teacher Li ever needs any help at home, please keep an eye out for it."

"Brother, don't worry, I understand!" Wang Ming nodded heavily.

"Dad, Uncle, how do we use this?" Qin Feng pushed the card in front of the two of them.

"Drip blood to verify identity," Qin Dahai said succinctly.

Wang Ming chimed in, adding, "Yes, I've heard about it from the young technicians in our factory. This thing is bound to your genes and spiritual imprint; your imperial citizenship is the first lock. Once activated, it becomes your unique key, and no one can steal or rob it."

Qin Dahai stretched out his finger and tapped the silver vortex in the center of the card.

"Right here. Just prick your fingertip with a needle and drip a drop of blood on it."

Qin Feng nodded.

Without hesitation, he found a clean metal skewer in the kitchen and gently pricked his fingertip.

A drop of bright red blood seeped from the fingertip, like a full ruby.

He aimed his finger at the swirling rune in the center of the card, and the drop of blood fell precisely onto it.

hum-

As if an ancient machine that had been dormant for thousands of years had been awakened, a deep hum resounded in the living room.

The moment the drop of blood touched the card, it was greedily absorbed by the silver vortex runes, transforming into countless fine red threads that rapidly spread along the intricate patterns on the card's surface.

The entire black card was instantly illuminated.

A soft, non-glaring silver beam shot up from the center of the card, projecting a constantly rotating imperial double-headed eagle emblem composed of countless data streams into the air.

[Verifying Imperial citizenship...]

[Citizen ID: EC7351-G34-998109...Verification successful.]

[Scanning gene sequence... Match successful.]

[Binding spiritual imprint... Binding complete.]

[Subspace Network Passport activated successfully.]

The beam of light slowly receded, and the black metal card began to change shape under everyone's gaze.

Its edges become rounded, and the material flows and reassembles like liquid metal.

In just a few seconds, a hard card had been transformed into a simple, matte black wrist-worn terminal.

Qin Feng picked it up; it felt warm to the touch and was much lighter and thinner than his own old terminal.

He put it on his right wrist; the size was just right, not too big or too small.

He raised his hand, a thought forming in his mind.

A clearer and more stable three-dimensional holographic light screen than before was projected from the new terminal.

The interface of the light screen is no longer the simple style of the Morning Star local network, but is full of the weight and majesty of the core technology of the empire.

Against a deep, dark gold background, three enormous, slowly rotating icons occupy the central position of the main interface.

Imperial Arena

Imperial Trading Post

Subspace Teleportation Network

At the very top of the interface, a row of personal data is clearly listed.

Name: Qin Feng

Vitality Index: 1.237

[Martial Artist Level: Level 1 Martial Artist]

"Let's go to the arena and take a look."

Qin Dahai instructed from the side, "That's the place you'll go to most often from now on. On the path of martial arts, 'refining techniques' is the foundation, while 'killing techniques' are the means. Learning without practicing is just for show.

Qin Feng did as instructed, extending his finger and lightly tapping the icon for the [Imperial Arena].

The interface switches instantly.

A gladiatorial arena backdrop, brimming with an aura of iron-blooded glory, appears on the screen.

Name: Qin Feng

[ID: Not set]

Rank: None

Record: 0 wins, 0 losses

【Points: 0】

Self-introduction: None

Enemy rating: None

"Set the ID first."

Wang Ming reminded him from the side, "This thing is similar to the games we usually play; you need a screen name. But you can't just pick one randomly. Once you set it, you only have one chance to change it each year, and it costs money."

Qin Feng thought for a moment and then entered two characters in the ID field: 【Qin】.

[ID 'Qin' has been successfully set.]

"Rank is the only standard for measuring strength in the arena."

Qin Dahai pointed to the "Rank" column and explained, "From the lowest rank 1 to the highest rank 9, each rank represents a world of difference in combat skills. Above that are Fighter, Strongman, Expert, Master, Heavenly King, and Martial Venerable. Those who can reach that level are all peerless experts who are famous throughout the starry sea."

He paused, then continued, "In the arena, to ensure absolute fairness, all newcomers' physical data will be forcibly locked at a standard value by the system. Please see the rules below."

Qin Feng's gaze shifted downwards, and he saw a line of small characters at the bottom of the light screen.

[New Player Matchmaking Rules: All participants with a rank of 'None' will have their Vitality Index locked at 10, and all physical attributes will be equalized. At this stage, only skill and combat awareness will be tested.]

Vitality Index: 10.

This is a standardized combat unit that eliminates all physical differences caused by talent and resources, leaving only the purest contest of combat skills.

Qin Dahai then pointed to the second icon.

"The Imperial Trading Post, you can go in and take a look. It's the center of the entire empire's wealth and resources. From a bottle of nutrient solution to the ownership of an administrative planet, you can buy anything as long as you have money. Of course, you can also sell."

Qin Feng clicked on the [Imperial Trading Post]. The light screen in front of him instantly unfolded, transforming into a vast and boundless matrix of merchandise displays.

Countless goods, categorized and presented in holographic form, flowed slowly before him.

[Resource Potions Area]: Basic Psionic Potions, Intermediate Gene Optimization Fluid, Dragon Blood No. 3, Phoenix Tears...

[Refining, Killing, and Nurturing Techniques Section]: "Imperial Basic Body Forging Method (Complete Level Explanation)", "Seven Killing Blade Technique", "Thunderbolt Fist", "Introduction to Mental Meditation"...

[Divine Weapons Section]: C-grade alloy battle sword, B-grade psionic spear, A-grade high-frequency chainsaw sword, S-grade star destroyer main cannon...

[Teaching Services Area]: One-on-one instruction from Level 8 martial artists, tickets to lectures by Planetary-level experts, rental of private meditation rooms, genetic maps of all races...

[All Races Items Section]: Heart of the Balrog (fragmented), Complete Corpse of the Crystal Scorpion, Starship Wreckage of a Lost Civilization, A Habitable Planet in the Butterfly System...

The dazzling array of goods left Qin Feng overwhelmed.

Everything here represents endless possibilities and immense power, as well as astronomical prices.

He closed the trading post and then clicked on the last icon.

Subspace Teleportation Network

A vast star map of the empire's territory, measured in billions of light-years, slowly unfolded before him.

Countless points of light twinkle on the star map, each representing a galaxy or a planet.

Golden routes made of psionic energy connect these points of light, forming an invisible giant net that covers the entire empire.

Qin Feng casually selected two points on the star map.

[Starting point: Canaan Galaxy - Morning Star]

【Destination: Butterfly Galaxy - Hope Star】

[Teleportation distance: Approximately 1.7 million light-years]

[Estimated time: 58 seconds]

【Required Cost: 1,000,000 Imperial Coins】

With just a pass and a payment of one million Imperial Coins, one can traverse a distance of 170 million light-years in a minute.

This incredible power completely shocked Qin Feng.

He closed all the interfaces, and his heart, which had been slightly fluctuating because of his middle school entrance exam results, had now completely calmed down.

He witnessed a wider, more magnificent, and more cruel world.

He stood up.

"Dad, Uncle, I want to try my luck at the arena."

"Go try it."

Qin Dahai nodded, "Winning or losing isn't important the first time."

Qin Feng returned to his room and closed the door.

He sat on the bed, put on the new wrist-worn terminal, and closed his eyes.

[Connecting to the Imperial Arena...]

[Mental synchronization rate 100%...]

[Connection successful, welcome to the subspace.]

In an instant, his consciousness seemed to be drawn from his body by an invisible force and plunged into a tunnel composed of endless streams of light.

When he regained his senses, he found himself standing on a huge arena suspended above a vast nebula.

The arena was forged from an unknown cyan metal, with slowly flowing energy patterns beneath one's feet.

Above, a magnificent stardust storm, a tapestry of purple and gold, stretched out.

In the distance, newly formed stars radiate brilliant light and heat.

[Matching you with an opponent...]

[Matching succeeded. 】

On the opposite side of the arena, a beam of light flashed, and a figure slowly materialized.

She was a tall girl dressed in a smart black outfit, carrying a long, narrow battle knife.

The information of the two appeared simultaneously above the arena.

Qin (No Rank) VS Zhou Yu (No Rank)

Qin Feng looked at the other party's information.

[ID: Zhou Yu]

Rank: None

【Points: 10】

[Self-introduction: Proficient in using the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.]

[Enemy Evaluation (1): The number one noob at Thunder Martial Arts School on Enlightenment Star.]

In front of the two, a virtual weapon rack and armor rack appeared for each of them.

Please select your weapon.

Please select your armor.

Qin Feng's gaze swept over the dazzling array of weapons, and he finally chose the most basic standard-issue long spear.

For protective gear, he chose a set of lightweight composite armor that wouldn't hinder his movement.

Zhou Yu, on the other side, was still carrying her knife, without choosing any additional protective gear.

[Selection complete. Battle begins in ten seconds.]

[10, 9, 8…]

The countdown began, and the energy shield around the arena slowly rose.

Qin Feng gripped his gun with both hands, adopting a standard defensive stance, his gaze fixed intently on his opponent.

【...3, 2, 1!】

【The battle begins! 】

The moment the word "start" appeared, Zhou Yu on the other side moved.

Her figure seemed weightless; with a single step, she traversed dozens of meters and instantly appeared before Qin Feng.

A bright, lightning-like blade of light suddenly appeared in Qin Feng's vision, faster than his nerves could react.

Before he could even raise his gun to parry, the blade had already swiftly and effortlessly sliced ​​across his neck.

The world before my eyes suddenly spun around.

You lost.

[Points unchanged]

A cold system notification sounded, and the surrounding scenery receded like the tide.

When Qin Feng regained consciousness, he was still sitting on his bed, but his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

The experience of death just now felt so real.

He looked up at everything familiar in the room, and the extremely fast flash of the blade still replayed in his mind.

Everyone you meet is terrifyingly strong.

Their physical attributes and vitality index are exactly the same, but their skills are worlds apart.

"The road to martial arts is long and arduous."

"There is still a lot to learn."

Qin Feng smiled, put away the subspace network, and walked out of the room.

"So fast? You got wrecked."

Qin Dahai laughed heartily, his guess was pretty accurate.

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)