"Are you going to pay or not?" Qin Fen asked again. Returning to the Sky Arena Network during this time still allowed him to earn money just as easily, and he didn't want to waste time here.

Gang Benwu looked at Qin Fen, struggling and hesitating. Paying someone to fight was an affront to a warrior's honor. But if even a challenge was refused, that was an even greater stain on his honor.

"Fine! I'll pay!" Gang Benwu said, reaching for his pocket, only to freeze completely the next second.

As someone invited by the Military District to join the army in Hezhou, his food, lodging, and transportation were all provided by the Military District. How could Gang Benwu possibly have money on him?

"This..." Gang Benwu asked with some embarrassment, "I didn't bring any cash. Can I owe you? I'll give you double after the fight."

"Sorry," Qin Fen shook his head. "No credit is given."

Qin Fen held a deep resentment toward outstanding debts.

Back in high school, he had several jobs that paid weekly, but in the end, he hadn't received a single penny.

Since then, any job Qin Fen took required immediate payment upon completion, regardless of whether the company was large or small. He stuck to this principle religiously.

Without waiting for Gang Benwu to say more, Qin Fen walked around him and quickly headed toward the barracks.

Gang Benwu stood rooted to the spot, watching Qin Fen's retreating back. His two massive fists clenched hatefully, blue veins tracing across the backs of his hands like two giant sledgehammers. "Qin Fen, tomorrow I will slap two thousand US dollars in your face right here, so you can know the consequence of insulting a warrior's honor." The bunk remained empty. Shaking his head lightly, he sat on the **.

This young man, ever since learning the full story of Pu Zhonghuan's defeat upon emerging from seclusion, had become even more fanatical about martial arts cultivation. He should have been back by now, but there was still no sign of him.

Lying on the ** after calling Song Jia, and learning from her that Lin Liqiang and Inzallota were enjoying a carefree university life, Qin Fen logged into the Sky Arena Combat Network without any lingering concerns.

Having maintained an unbroken winning streak for a long time, the number of challengers had begun to decrease significantly. Most of the incoming mail consisted of requests akin to apprenticeship, hoping Qin Fen would offer guidance on combat techniques.

These past few days, Qin Fen had been pondering whether to convert his acceptance of direct combat challenges into opening small, private martial arts schools via the Arena Network, seeking a new economic outlet.

Opening a martial school was somewhat different from the competitive arena channels of the Sky Arena Network.

Qin Fen had inquired and learned that to establish a so-called martial school, one had to enter the main network of the combat platform.

That was the Sky Combat Network—a massive, comprehensive platform integrating technology, martial arts, and daily life.

This place was a fully simulated society where you could be an air force pilot, a chef, a mechanic, or a mecha operator.

Of course, here you could also establish a sect, found a school of martial arts, or a large guild.

If one possessed ambition, one could even establish a nation in this virtual world!

A martial school? In the context of the Sky Combat Network, this meant founding a sect and establishing one's own martial arts lineage.

In reality, many founders of martial arts schools also established online sects on this Sky Combat Network to scout for successors suitable for their lineage.

Naturally, this attracted large crowds. Conflicts, struggles for talent, or the need to promote one's sect were often resolved through combat.

The Sky Arena Combat Network was essentially the duel channel within the Sky Combat Network, the product born most directly from this need for combat.

Of course, within this vast Sky Combat Network, besides the actively interacting human participants, there were also "beings" virtually created by programming.

For instance, Qin Fen's initial mastery of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Gong was learned by following these virtually created "beings."

However, ever since mastering the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Gong, Qin Fen rarely entered the Sky Combat Network; he needed to focus entirely on making money. As the requests for guidance increased, Qin Fen's mind began to stir. Although his own skill was far from sufficient to found a major lineage, offering adjustments to the cultivation of two-star martial artists was not difficult.

He couldn't establish a major sect, but running a small one should be achievable. Small sects on the Sky Combat Network were as numerous as dust motes, mainly because establishing a sect in reality was a cumbersome process filled with numerous restrictions.

On the Sky Combat Network, these restrictions were far fewer. By paying a very small sum of money and passing a sect-founding trial, one could formally establish it.

Just by opening his mouth and pointing out flaws in others' combat posture, he could earn greenbacks, which was much easier than struggling for a narrow victory in a match.

If it were only about the money, Qin Fen wouldn't have been so interested in setting up a small sect. Having been constantly indoctrinated with the concept of combat by various instructors, the dormant fighting spirit within Qin Fen was increasingly awakening.

Disputes between small sects were common within the Sky Combat Network. Anyone daring to create a small sect usually possessed some genuine skill, and fighting against such individuals promised exhilarating matches.

It was the perfect scenario: earning money while simultaneously honing and improving oneself through combat. Qin Fen thoroughly enjoyed such arrangements.

After fighting two matches, Qin Fen exited the Sky Arena Combat Network and turned on his desktop computer by the bedside to check web pages, wanting to know the cost of founding a sect. The Sky Combat Network's requirements for founding a sect were: Condition One: Pay one hundred US dollars.

Seeing the figure of one hundred US dollars made Qin Fen wince. The Federation certainly knew how to make money; with countless sects on the Sky Combat Network, a hundred dollars collected from each would amount to a substantial sum.

Condition Two: (Optional) The system randomly selects three martial artists of the same level as challengers. The applicant must defeat them one by one to establish the sect. If any challenge fails, the one-hundred-dollar application fee is non-refundable, and one must pay again for a future attempt.

If one believes the challenge cannot be successfully met, they can pay an additional two hundred US dollars to the system to waive the trial against the three same-level opponents.

"How corrupt!"

Behind Qin Fen, a voice articulated his exact thoughts.

Without turning around, Qin Fen knew it was Zhang Xiangyang from his own squad. This recruit was not particularly outstanding in training but never ranked at the absolute bottom—lukewarm was his defining characteristic. The pair of plain glasses on his nose, as he claimed, served to display his erudition.

A month ago, if he hadn't rushed back in time to fight Pu Zhonghuan, Zhang Xiangyang might well have been the one fighting him next.

"Corrupt indeed."

Qin Fen echoed Zhang Xiangyang's statement, nodding repeatedly as he quickly scanned the martial artist comments regarding sect founding.

"The success rate for the martial artist trial is around fifty percent," Zhang Xiangyang said, pushing his glasses up his nose again, muttering, "That’s too balanced, isn't it? Fifty-fifty? Isn't there something fishy going on?"

Qin Fen looked slightly surprised at this usually unremarkable squad mate. Having studied under various instructors these past few days, he had naturally dabbled in probability theory, an area the Gun King emphasized heavily.

Just skimming the comments, Qin Fen had also noticed the implied information regarding the fifty percent success rate for the sect-founding trial.

He hadn't expected Zhang Xiangyang to spot this subtly conveyed piece of information immediately.

"Looks like we need to calculate this carefully," Zhang Xiangyang said with a slightly mysterious smile. "If we calculate the exact right moment to initiate the sect-founding trial, the chance of success should be higher."

Qin Fen slowly nodded. While he feared no challenge regardless of timing, avoiding the accidental loss of one hundred dollars certainly warranted some careful calculation.

At this point, Zhang Xiangyang sat down on Qin Fen's **. "I've noticed you seem particularly drawn to logging in there. In our company, you're the only one who always logs into the Sky Combat Network if you're just staying in the barracks. Are you that obsessed?"

Qin Fen smiled and nodded as an answer. He couldn't exactly tell the man he wasn't logging in to play, but primarily to earn money while simultaneously training his own combat skills, and to encounter diverse martial arts to improve himself.

"What? Thinking of starting a sect?" Zhang Xiangyang asked with a chuckle.

Qin Fen shrugged, not denying it. Since he was looking up information about founding a sect, he certainly wasn't randomly browsing pages out of boredom. If he were bored, he would be better off sleeping early to recover more energy.

"Founding a sect is a deep subject," Zhang Xiangyang adopted the demeanor of an old hand. "Old Qin, I'll be straight with you. If you just want to mess around, you can open a sect anywhere. But if you want to get serious, you can't just pick a random location."

"Oh? Is there a geographical selection for founding a sect?" Qin Fen rarely interacted with the main network, so Zhang Xiangyang’s words were new to him. Intrigued by the prospect of founding a sect, he immediately became interested.

"Of course," Zhang Xiangyang grabbed the mouse and quickly opened a webpage, speaking like a seasoned expert. "This is the map developed by the Federation, closely resembling our current power structure, with five major planets. However, besides these five, the Federation has added several more planets to this map to expand the playable area."

Qin Fen nodded in agreement. These few added planets hadn't existed initially; they were incorporated later when the Federation updated its data after a massive influx of users.

"Yes! That’s right, you even know that," Zhang Xiangyang pointed to Earth, humanity's homeworld. "Song Wendong is hailed as the Martial Emperor of Earth. The top masters of the other four major planets call him Qilin, which is where his Qilin Gate originates."