Infinite Professions-Chapter 114 - 38: BattleNet

After a long day of work, Qin Chuan dragged his weary body back to his place.

Though he harbored some resentment in his heart, Qin Chuan had to admit that he had become a miserable corporate slave.

His life’s trajectory was like that of most ordinary people: an ordinary background, an ordinary job, ordinary talent, ordinary schooling, ordinary graduation, and ultimately, ordinarily not getting into university, leaving him with no choice but to join the military.

The only fortunate thing was that he had neither injuries nor death and had even used the army’s resources to advance to Tier Three. After three years of service, he chose to retire and returned to society, finding a job as a coach and continuing his ordinary and muddled life.

Life and the future were almost foreseeable at a glance.

But that was something beyond his control.

The Human Empire, though a powerful civilization that had conquered space and dominated the universe, had not become some utopian ideal society.

Human greed, the scarcity of resources, and the threat of the Cosmic Evil God forced the Empire to create a competitive environment.

After all, if everyone were happy and content, with everything they wanted and no desires unfulfilled, who would have the motivation to face those Cosmic Evil Gods? Who would still be willing to go to the battlefield and risk their lives in combat?

For humans, having nothing to do after being well-fed is a terrifying thing, because if you don’t find something for them to do, they will turn around and find something to trouble you with.

Therefore, the Empire had to create various competitive environments to give people some motivation to engage in different undertakings.

But this also led to some people falling into the difficulties and hardships of life.

Just like that old song from long ago, we are all living hard...

Qin Chuan was also living hard, at least he felt he was trying very hard.

The job as a coach wasn’t exactly hard, but it wasn’t easy either. He often had to deal with customer harassment and office politics, leaving him mentally and physically exhausted every day.

He didn’t want to go to work!

But he had no choice but to go.

So, the only thing he could do was find a way to vent and relax after work.

Opening the door of his expensive Life Support Pod, he lay inside, connected to the network, and entered that virtual yet real world.

Yes, this was his way to relax, and it was also the cheapest relaxation method for ordinary people. He could even take this opportunity to practice martial arts and earn some meager extra income.

This is...

"Dear Fist of Mountains and Rivers, welcome back to the Divine Martial Battle Net!"

Entering the Divine Martial Battle Net, all of Qin Chuan’s fatigue disappeared instantly, replaced by a vigorous fighting spirit.

The technological level of the Human Empire, needless to say, had long developed internet worlds and virtual reality technology, applying them in various fields.

This not only provided the Empire with a channel to control the economy and direct funds but also gave the public a space to enhance their strength and relax, making it a win-win situation. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Divine Martial Battle Net was one such product, as the name implies, a network platform for Martial Artists to battle, allowing them to engage in online battles through virtual reality technology, accumulate combat experience, and even simulate some cultivation techniques’ practice, breakthroughs of stages, and so on.

Those Martial Artists from civilian backgrounds, who couldn’t afford martial arts gyms or spar partners, could still come to this Divine Martial Battle Net to spar with others, enhance their strength, and even earn some extra income through battles, livestreams, advertisements, etc.

Due to the massive body of Martial Arts Professionals, to this day, Divine Martial Battle Net has already become the largest network battle platform in the Empire, unmatched elsewhere, gathering Martial Artists from various star realms and countless planets under the Empire to battle with martial arts and hone themselves.

Furthermore, various Martial Arts Academies and group institutions centered around Martial Arts Professions also engage in battles on the Divine Martial Battle Net, even organizing events to enhance their influence, thereby attracting commercial deals like pharmaceutical advertisements.

Individual Martial Artists here could not only earn money through battle betting but also showcase their martial arts talent, entering the sights of various academies and groups, and even debut through live streams, becoming signed Martial Artists of Divine Martial Battle Net, soaring to success from there.

As a corporate slave, Qin Chuan also had such ambitions, dreaming of making a name for himself on the Divine Martial Battle Net, becoming a contracted martial arts livestream star, earning millions per day, and reaching the pinnacle of life...

Although, at the moment, this dream seemed unlikely to come true, he always maintained a glimmer of hope and would play a few matches every day after work, especially during holidays, immersing himself completely, having already become an ardent fan of the Martial God Battle Net.

After logging in, the first thing Qin Chuan did was check his Battle Net level, discovering that he had already reached Tier Three Level Nine, just one step away from breaking through to Tier Four.

Due to using the Human Empire’s advanced virtual reality technology, which combined with the Life Support Pod or the network gaming pod could directly scan the body, the real cultivation level directly determined the Battle Net’s initial level.

There are two ways to increase this level: the first is by advancing in real life—once your real cultivation level increases, your Battle Net level will also increase, after all, with 99% fidelity, it’s no joke.

The second method is by advancing in the Battle Net, gaining experience through battles, or directly paying to upgrade and experiencing high-tier cultivation and martial arts in advance through Battle Net stimulation.

However, this simulation, surpassing real-life tiers, comes at a high price, so experience accumulation is very slow. Ultimately, it’s mainly about paying to upgrade, with the fidelity greatly reduced, only reaching 80% at best.

Therefore, many Martial Artists do not utilize online upgrades but rather maintain the same cultivation level as in real life, to simulate battles as accurately and realistically as possible, accumulating experience.

But Qin Chuan was not of this kind; although he knew that the network world was illusory, he couldn’t resist the powerful temptation. With the experience accumulated from battles, he had already risen to Tier Three Level Nine, about to step into Tier Four.

Tier Three and Tier Four were a watershed; a Tier Three Professional could only be a coach at a martial arts gym, whereas a Tier Four Professional could directly open a martial arts gym and dominate a region.

Qin Chuan’s martial arts talent was mediocre. He pursued a career on the common path, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would have to strive until middle age to possibly advance to Tier Four.

That’s why he would experience Tier Four Martial Artist’s power via the Divine Martial Battle Net in advance.

Of course, the most important reason was that rewards for Tier Four Martial Artist battles were higher. Even if he didn’t participate in tournaments or arenas, acting as a virtual punching bag could earn him some extra income.

After reviewing his battle and skill levels, Qin Chuan confidently entered the Battle Net, opened a room, and set the battle requirements and win-loss rewards.

Fist of Mountains and Rivers (Battle Net ID: 996123189361658)

Battle Level: Tier Three Level Nine.

Skills Owned: Xingyi Fist Skill.

Battle Requirements: Tier Three and below.

Win-Loss Rewards: Challenge amount 1,000 Yuan, same-level victory wins 1,000 Yuan, lower-level doubles the payout, the lower level triples it, with a maximum payout of 100,000 Yuan.

Viewing Requirement: 100 Yuan per view.

...

Qin Chuan set up various information, then waited in the room for his opponent to arrive.

Even though he was an office worker, he put in a lot of effort in training and had served in the military for three years, gaining experience in combat. Overall, his strength wasn’t bad, maintaining a win rate of over sixty percent, earning quite a bit extra.

This was his favorite aspect of the Divine Martial Battle Net—fairness!

Though the virtual network technology of the Human Empire had reached an astounding ninety-nine percent fidelity, capable of simulating cultivation bodies and martial arts, there was one thing it couldn’t simulate: professional power.

Neither professional talent nor the effects of professional skills could be simulated by the virtual network.

Unless someone specifically targeted the virtual world, switching to professions or talents that could be utilized virtually, no matter your professional or talent level, even as an Ultimate Professional, you were just a blank slate on this battle net, without any professional bonuses.

So, it’s relatively fair, relying solely on one’s martial arts.

As an ordinary Martial Arts Professional with ordinary talent, Qin Chuan liked this setting because it could bridge the gap between him and those with rare professions.

He didn’t have to wait long before receiving a battle prompt.

Wu Wudi (Battle Net ID: 9527222189786255)

Battle Level: Tier Two Level One.

Battle Skill: Xingyi Fist Skill.

"Wu Wudi?"

Looking at the man in black entering the room, with a face clearly modified by the system and an audacious nickname, Qin Chuan was somewhat astonished: "What arrogance!"

But then he looked at himself, the characters "Fist Rules the World" and felt relieved.

In the virtual world, if you don’t show off a little, do you have to cower like in reality?

However, this was too much; a Tier Two Level One little fledgling daring to challenge someone like him at Tier Three Level Nine?

Tier Two Level One, just developing Gang Qi.

Tier Three Level Nine, Gang Yuan perfected.

Does he even understand the gap between them?

Well, that’s an easy thousand earned again!

Qin Chuan chuckled inwardly but still maintained his demeanor, cupping his fists as he stepped forward: "Please!"

"Please!"

The newcomer nodded and returned the gesture.

Then...

"Bang!!!"

A flash before his eyes, and the battle was over.

"Opponent’s challenge successful."

"You have been defeated!"

"According to battle rules, you need to pay the opponent a prize of ten thousand yuan, which has been deducted from your personal account."

The system’s cold prompt sounded, yet Qin Chuan stood there dumbfounded, his expression blank and his eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

What happened?

What just happened?

How did he lose?

Was that guy cheating?

After a while, Qin Chuan came back to his senses and hurriedly called out to the system: "I want to watch the video, I want to watch the video."

"Due to the winner’s settings, viewing this video requires paying ten times the challenge amount, which is one thousand yuan. Would you like to proceed?"

"..."

Qin Chuan was silent for a while but finally gritted his teeth and said: "I’ll pay!!!"

"Payment successful, one thousand yuan has been deducted from your personal account!"

Ignoring the system’s prompt and the pain of losing eleven thousand yuan, Qin Chuan opened the live video playback.

He then saw, in the video, the opponent moving like lightning, striking with unbelievable speed and angle, hitting his vital points and ending the battle instantly.

"How is that possible!?"

Qin Chuan’s pupils shrank as he looked up in shock and anger: "Can a Second-stage Gang Qi Martial Artist be this fast? Even a Tier Three Gang Yuan isn’t so exaggerated; he must be cheating, I want to report him, I want to report him!"

With that, he opened the report interface, uploading the video and related details.

A moment later, the artificial elf of the Divine Martial Battle Net appeared, smiling sweetly and said to him: "We have received your report and conducted a thorough investigation and verification. There was no cheating in this battle. Thank you for helping to maintain the environment of the Divine Martial Battle Net!"

"No cheating?"

Qin Chuan’s eyes widened, pointing at the figure in the video: "Then how do you explain that speed? Is this a Tier Two Martial Artist?"

"Sorry!"

The artificial elf shook its head: "This is the player’s personal privacy, and we have no right to disclose it, and please pay attention to your language and conduct. Let’s all be civilized and courteous!"

Qin Chuan: "..."