[BATTLE OVER!]

[VICTOR: GOBLIN SOLDIERS!]

The cold system notification pulled Ye Qingxuan back from the endless feeling of suffocation and the experience of death.

Her vision went black. When it returned, she was back in the personal Battle Hall of Martial Arts Peak.

But Ye Qingxuan’s heart could no longer find peace.

She gasped for breath, her bangs soaked with cold sweat and plastered to her smooth forehead.

The suffocation and fear from that near-death experience felt so real, it seemed to have been seared into the depths of her soul.

Those indifferent, ice-cold eyes, that fiendish, god-like silhouette—they lingered in her mind, impossible to shake.

Ye Qingxuan forced herself to calm down, steadying her ragged breathing.

As a top-tier streamer, losing her composure in front of millions of fans was by no means a wise move.

She forced a somewhat stiff smile and said to the stream camera, "I lost. I was completely and utterly beaten."

"He’s really strong. Incredibly strong."

"It’s been a long time since I’ve run into such a skilled newcomer. I was really taught a lesson."

At that moment, the stream’s chat was flooded with a sea of bullet comments.

Most of them were comforting her.

"Don’t be sad, sis! You’re already amazing!"

"It’s okay, it’s okay! He must be some monstrous genius from a super-powerful family that they’ve kept hidden, just now coming out to gain experience. There’s no shame in losing to him!"

"Yeah, he got matched with you during his placement matches. The system was clearly trying to punish him; you just happened to be in the line of fire."

Ye Qingxuan felt a little comforted as she read the comments, and she interacted with her fans for a few more moments.

But right now, she really wasn’t in the mood to keep chatting, let alone start another virtual match.

The impact of that battle was far greater than she let on.

Before long, she made an excuse and quickly ended her stream.

The moment her stream feed went dark, Ye Qingxuan could no longer maintain her smile. Her entire body went limp as she collapsed onto the sofa, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions and bewilderment.

...

Ye Qingxuan ending her stream was like a signal.

In an instant, tens of thousands of viewers flooded back into Dong Dongchen’s stream.

Dong Dongchen watched the rapidly climbing number in the top right corner of his stream, his excitement mounting.

Two hundred thousand!

The number of concurrent viewers had broken two hundred thousand!

This was a peak he had never reached in his entire streaming career!

He expertly downloaded and saved the recording of the heart-pounding match, placing it in the same folder as the recording of the match against Cheng Shanhe.

Then, he subconsciously checked Lin Ye’s status.

[Goblin Soldiers: Online]

But the words "In Matchmaking" did not appear after the ID.

Normally, following his usual routine, Dong Dongchen would have immediately capitalized on this incredible wave of hype.

He would have replayed the matches on the spot, breaking down every single detail of both fights for his audience.

But today, a bolder idea rose in his mind!

’I can do a review anytime.’

’But this opportunity to skyrocket to fame might vanish in an instant!’

’Among Ye Qingxuan’s millions of viewers...’

’...there are definitely tons of clip-makers and video bloggers who will edit and release videos of this fight as fast as they can.’

’Even though Ye Qingxuan’s loss was brutal, that won’t stop her haters and the people just here for the drama from spreading it far and wide.’

’I have to beat them to the punch!’

’What I need to make isn’t just a simple fight clip.’

’It needs to be a high-quality, in-depth analysis video that truly showcases the entire process of a "new star’s rise"!’

’The star of the video can only be this Goblin Soldiers!’ 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

’I have the primary source material from spectating him the entire way.’

’I have the most direct spectator feedback and the most professional commentary!’

As this idea grew clearer, Dong Dongchen’s eyes shone brighter and brighter.

After confirming that Lin Ye wasn’t queuing for another ranked match and seeing his ID turn gray, indicating he’d logged off, he decisively apologized to the two hundred thousand viewers in his stream.

"Alright everyone, that’s it for today!"

"Don’t worry, I know what you all want to see. Give me some time. I promise, tonight, you will witness my masterpiece!"

With that, he ignored the screen full of question marks and pleas for him to stay, and ended the stream.

...

[Congratulations! You have completed your placement matches for the Martial New Star Sequence and achieved an outstanding result of 2 wins and 0 losses!]

[The system will now conduct a comprehensive evaluation based on your combat performance... Evaluation complete!]

[Your ranking in the sequence has been updated. Current Rank: 6122!]

A newcomer just entering the sequence was placed directly at just over rank 6,000.

This ranking was enough to shock anyone who understood the ranking mechanics of Martial Arts Peak.

This meant the system had determined that Lin Ye’s skill had firmly surpassed nearly two thousand of the genius Martial Artists in the sequence.

Lin Ye glanced at the ranking, feeling no particular emotion.

He logged out of the game.

The high-intensity virtual battles over the past few days had left him feeling a bit tired of this mode.

Besides, the city-wide mock exam was tomorrow.

And this afternoon, the school was holding a pep rally for it.

As the undisputed number one student at Dongjiang First Middle School, he had even been scheduled to give a short speech.

He still needed to prepare for it.

Just as Lin Ye was about to log off completely, a system notification popped up.

[Alert: Your personal inbox is full. Please clear it in a timely manner to avoid issues with receiving future mail.]

Lin Ye opened his inbox.

The next second, his brow furrowed slightly.

Unlike last time, these weren’t recruitment emails from the major Martial Halls.

Instead, his screen was filled with private messages from a pile of IDs he didn’t recognize at all.