Personal space remained unchanged. As Yun Ruoxi selected her course, a thick black curtain instantly enveloped her.
In the blink of an eye, Yun Ruoxi found herself inside a traditional Combat Arena.
Her clothes had transformed into a loose white martial arts uniform, and her flowing blue hair was neatly tied back with a headband.
An old man with a mustache shaped like the character “八” and a stooped back slowly approached.
His throat was replaced by an exposed metal hose, emitting a hoarse sound like a saw cutting wood:
“Combat is a killing art; every move must carry viciousness. Assassination Combat is a reckless, self-sacrificing skill. If you’re afraid to die, you’ll never make an impact. So the primary goal of this course is—to train courage.”
The old man’s voice was extremely unpleasant, like a handsaw scraping wood back and forth.
“I’m your Assassination Combat instructor. You can call me Saxin. For your first lesson, you have only one objective.”
He tossed a Dagger that clattered to Yun Ruoxi’s feet.
“Kill me, or… be killed by me a hundred times.”
Yun Ruoxi swallowed nervously, bent down to pick up the Dagger, and gripped the hilt tightly with both hands.
“Then, let’s begin!”
Even without a camera, she instinctively showed a bit of nervousness. Then she saw Saxin slowly walking toward her.
Her breathing grew heavy, and her fingers tightened until the fingertips turned white.
As Saxin closed the distance, unable to bear the pressure, she suddenly shouted and charged forward with the Dagger held before her abdomen.
Swish!
At that moment, Saxin also moved. His actions appeared slow but effortlessly knocked the Dagger from Yun Ruoxi’s hands with a whip-like kick.
Then, with a follow-up palm strike, he shattered her throat bone.
In the virtual world, Pain Level can reach up to 99%, but users are typically only allowed around 40%.
Only battle platforms for Star Energy users unlock higher Pain Levels, usually between 70%-80%.
Long-term exposure to excessive pain can desensitize users, causing them to ignore subtle physical abnormalities.
Only true sadists set the Pain Level to maximum.
But now—
The moment her throat bone was crushed, Yun Ruoxi clearly felt a fierce wave of pain and burning surge like a tidal wave.
Immediately after came a strong suffocating sensation that strangled her breath.
These sensations were incredibly real.
These madmen in the battle camp had truly set the Pain Level to 99%!
Yun Ruoxi’s vision darkened as she knelt on the ground, struggling in agony.
Moments later, her sight blacked out. She was declared dead, and all Negative Status on her vanished.
Her shattered throat bone was also restored to its original state.
She instinctively touched her neck, heart still racing.
This is the power of the virtual network, allowing one to accumulate combat experience at zero cost—even experience death itself.
“Again!” Saxin said expressionlessly.
Yun Ruoxi silently picked up the Dagger.
Indeed, she lacked any Combat Talent. Since that was the case, she might as well rely on the system.
【Beast Combat Instinct】 activated!
She once again pressed the Dagger against her lower abdomen and charged at the stooped Saxin.
But this time, her ruby eyes were tinged with bloodshot red.
Watching the blue-haired girl fight in a posture seemingly unchanged from before, Saxin shook his head slightly and quietly marked her Combat Talent as “Average” on the system interface.
Then he lifted his leg again, aiming a precise kick at the Dagger in her hand.
But just then—
The girl abruptly halted, stopping dead in her tracks.
The heavy whip-like kick passed just before the Dagger, the fierce gust fluttering the hem of her loose martial arts uniform.
Saxin’s expression remained unchanged as he took a step forward.
Following the momentum of the whip kick came a spinning kick, but the girl nimbly stepped back several paces, evading the strike.
“Not bad…” Saxin’s eyes flickered.
Dodging the first strike wasn’t impressive—most trainees could do that.
But to dodge the second kick on first encounter showed sharp observational skills.
Still, that alone wasn’t enough.
Swish!
Suddenly, a Dagger was thrown at him.
Saxin kicked it aside.
When he looked up again, the blue figure was already close, mustering all her strength to kick him in the groin.
“Clever!” Saxin’s eyes finally showed a trace of approval.
To think of throwing the Dagger to draw attention and then close in for a sneak attack—considering she was only ten years old—this was a sign of Combat Talent.
Bang!
Yun Ruoxi’s heavy groin kick landed perfectly, but the expected sensation did not come.
Instead, it felt as if she had kicked a steel plate, her foot burning in pain.
“Good choice, but you also need to consider the opponent’s body structure.” Saxin calmly commented, “My lower body has been completely transformed into metallic prosthetics. This attack is useless.”
No sooner had he spoken than he lifted his leg and kicked Yun Ruoxi’s right knee, breaking it.
“Ugh!”
A sharp wave of pain surged through her. Yun Ruoxi groaned, tears welling in her eyes, but she forced herself not to cry out.
Instead, she lunged forward, trying to gouge Saxin’s eyes with her hands.
Saxin dodged sideways; Yun Ruoxi missed and fell to the ground, quickly rolling to avoid his stomping foot aimed at her head.
Saxin was genuinely surprised that an attack meant to secure a kill had been evaded.
He didn’t rush to strike again but carefully observed the girl.
Watching her hop on one leg, face streaked with tears, yet still holding a defensive stance, his gaze gradually grew warm as if discovering an uncut jade.
“You have great talent,” Saxin said.
“I… really have talent?” Yun Ruoxi instinctively shrugged, tears stinging as they fell, yet she maintained a timid tone.
“Don’t worry.” Saxin’s lips curled slightly. “I will sculpt you well.”
With that, he attacked again.
But this time, it was no longer cautious probing. Instead, it was a relentless storm of strikes, as if to push her to her absolute limit.
With a broken leg, Yun Ruoxi didn’t last long. A few moves later, Saxin’s crushing kick ended her life.
When she respawned in the Combat Arena and picked up the Dagger again, Saxin charged once more.
“Not so fast! Let me catch my breath!”
Yun Ruoxi gritted her teeth and fought back but soon fell again.
Respawn, fight, fall…
She suddenly felt trapped in an endless death loop.
But through these repeated deaths, Yun Ruoxi truly gained combat experience, becoming increasingly adept at using her previously unfamiliar 【Beast Combat Instinct】.
This skill granted her sharp combat intuition, allowing her to become a killing machine guided by instinct alone.
But jade cannot become a gem without carving.
Saxin had seen her talent and believed she was worth refining, so he chose to personally sculpt her.
Meanwhile, on the system, Yun Ruoxi’s Combat Talent, initially rated as average, was corrected by Saxin’s evaluation.
【Yun Ruoxi, Combat Talent: Top-tier】