Chapter 972: The First Battle

Although Tang Wulin did not have a good impression of the Federation, he had to admit that the Federation’s scientists were outstanding.

He was not too familiar with artificial intelligence, but he understood the immense changes it would bring for mankind when artificial intelligence was widely used in the various fields.

Shadows flashed once and the scene before his eyes began to change. Tang Wulin discovered that he was on a street. At the same time, a voice was heard, “You have entered the west division. Please go to the west division competition area following the guide provided. At the same time, choose your competition mode: soul master battle or mecha battle.”

An arrow shimmering with a faint white radiance appeared before Tang Wulin’s face. He followed the arrow and walked forward quickly until he saw a building as large and grand as a stadium. Just like him, many people were heading to the building.

Apparently, it could not rival the spirit ascension platform’s hyper-realistic scene. There was still much room for improvement in this system. However, considering that artificial intelligence was actually being used here, the other features did not matter as much.

Tang Wulin followed the stream of people and entered the west division competition area. Shadows flashed past Tang Wulin’s face once again and something similar to a screen appeared.

“Please choose your competition mode.”

Tang Wulin chose both soul master battle and mecha battle without the slightest hesitation. An instruction manual then appeared on the screen.

At the top of the instruction manual were displayed two big words: ‘Registration Successful’. It signified that he had already completed the registration. Following that were the rules and regulations for mecha battle and soul master battle.

Due to the large number of contestants, the entire Federation was separated into eight divisions. The division was set according to the location of the Star Dou Cabin. Tang Wulin was in the Endless Mountains, so naturally, he belonged to the west division.

The annotation stated that there were only two options. For the contesting mecha in the mecha battle, they were either close combat or long range. The mecha battle focused mainly on the mecha operating skills, and the contestant was allowed to experience the standard mecha model used in the competition beforehand. However, the contestant was not allowed to use any customized mecha.

It was a troublesome issue for many mecha masters as they were only

familiar with their own mechas. One’s fighting capacity would certainly be compromised on a large scale when using a mecha that one was unfamiliar with.

However, Tang Wulin felt it comprehensible considering the fact that it was still a beta version. After all, if everyone brought their own mechas, how vast would the data stream need to be in order to complete such a task? Moreover, a mecha master ought to compete based on their skills in Tang Wulin’s perception.

Although the mechas were standard models, a soul master’s abilities could still complement the mecha. It was generally fairer to engage in such a mecha battle.

A soul master battle was even simpler. It was a direct competition, a battle executed on the competition stage.

The two types of competitions would be carried out in divisions with the top thirty-two finalists from the division competitions proceeding to the finals.

The competition qualifying system would be determined according to the number of contestants from each division. Overall, it was a combination of an elimination tournament and a round-robin tournament. The elimination tournament would be the basis for the competition.

The rule was simple as there was no restriction on destroying one’s opponent within the Star Dou Battle Network. One was allowed to utilize one’s most powerful skills to defeat one’s opponent in order to advance in the rankings. It was that simple.

However, a competition with a simple qualifying system would result in ruthless competition. The elimination tournament signified that if one was not so fortunate and had to confront a powerhouse at the beginning of the competition, then that would be the end of one’s journey in the competition.

Tang Wulin associated this with his heaven-defying luck when he was once in a competition on Star Luo Continent. His lips could not help twitching upon recalling the experience. He hoped that his luck would be better in the Star Dou Battle Network. He felt it would be difficult for him to become one of the three finalists nonetheless.

‘Powers below the Title Douluo rank and battle armor’s boundary below a three-word battle armor. I should give it my best shot then. I wonder if any of my companions are joining this Battle Network competition as well?’

It was appropriate that the artificial intelligence system was built to keep their identities a secret. At least, they would not be drawing attention during the early phase.

What a waste it was that there were no pairs or teams in the competition. Otherwise, he would be more confident of winning.

Of course, he was only giving it a thought for he was not with his comrades at the moment. They would not be able to join even if such competitions were held.

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Tang Wulin waved his hand once to turn off the screen when he was done reading. Then, he strolled around the stadium to check out the condition of the competition area and to familiarize himself with the surroundings.

The setup of the stadium was not complicated and it appeared to be rather beautiful. There were a few spots worthy of his attention. The stadium was divided into a mecha battle zone and a soul master battle zone. The soul master who signed up for both competitions would be assigned a staggered time accordingly by the system.

At present, one was allowed to experience a walk-through of both competition areas. He could enter the area to familiarize himself with the competition surroundings but it came at a cost. He would need to pay using Federation coins!

‘I have to spend money on this?’ Tang Wulin immediately widened his eyes for he was a frugal person. This was outrageous!

Furthermore, it was not cheap. Two thousand Federation coins were charged for the use of the battle room in the mecha zone while a thousand Federation coins were charged for the battle room in the soul master zone. With one entry, he could only engage in one battle.

“Why don’t you just go and rob someone?” Tang Wulin had an outraged expression on his face.

“You can’t get money this fast even if you were to go robbing.” At this moment, a voice was heard by his side. He turned his head to the side and found someone next to him, to his surprise.

Everyone’s appearance was altered to a certain degree upon entering this place. Everyone wore a white mask which concealed their appearances while they were dressed in ordinary gray outfits.

The person’s nickname floated above his or her head.

He was facing a person with the nickname ‘Between Four-Six’. What a weird name.

“Even when they’re in their coffins, they’re still begging for money!” Tang Wulin heaved a sigh.

Between Four-Six nodded in agreement. “So, are you planning to give it a try?”

Tang Wulin spoke slightly frustrated, “I’ll need to experience it anyhow. Problem is I don’t know how to transfer Federation coins to this place.”

Before his voice had even died down, the artificial intelligence immediately revealed its powerful ability. A screen flashed past his eyes and the electronic voice was heard in his ears soon after, “Would you like to charge it to your account?”

Tang Wulin could not help gnashing his teeth in anger. The Federation managed to do a good job in this respect!

“Yes. Charge ten thousand Federation coins to my account first.” Tang Wulin gritted his teeth and endured the pain of charging ten thousand coins to his Federation card which he used for his savings.

When the transaction was completed, he noticed a row of numbers at the lower left corner of his vision. The number was precisely ten thousand.

“Shall we give it a try?” Between Four-Six seemed to have completed his payment as well when he issued an invitation to Tang Wulin.

“Between Four-Six is inviting you for a sparring session. Please pay one thousand Federation coins to enter the battle room.”

Tang Wulin clicked ‘accept’ since it was a walk-through experience.

Two streams of radiance descended from the sky and shone upon both of them at once. The vision before their eyes turned blurry and they changed to a different location in the next moment.

It felt identical to a real stadium. The built-up area was, in fact, even larger. The enormous competition stage with a diameter that exceeded three hundred meters was truly majestic and domineering. It had ample space for them to express themselves. There were innumerable seats in the stadium’s surroundings. Of course, no one was watching them…

“Three, two, one, begin!”

The electronic voice was clear and direct. They were not given any time for preparation. They appeared on each side of the stage with a distance of a hundred meters between them. Then, the countdown began and the battle commenced!

Tang Wulin looked toward Between Four-Six just as his opponent was looking right back at him. In the next moment, both of them charged toward each other simultaneously.

Both of them did not unleash their martial souls yet.

Tang Wulin had walked forward with great strides while Between Four-Six breathed steadily. The distance of a hundred meters was closed in an instant. They unleashed their martial souls in unison when they were about twenty meters away from each other.