Battlefield mode is the traditional PVP mode. In this mode, there are no monsters or dungeons for you to fight—only player versus player combat. In the martial arts world, dying in battlefield mode comes with no loss whatsoever. If you win, you will receive battlefield honor and other related rewards.

Strategy mode, as the name suggests, is a mode where training troops and vying for territory become the eternal theme. You can help Edward King conquer the land, follow David Miller to compete for supremacy, join Michael Bolton in fighting against the Yuan army, or even manipulate James White to change history and overthrow the Great Qing Chieftain State.

Different modes satisfy the different needs of different players.

Players in every mode can earn rewards. As for which mode levels up the fastest, this has been a topic of debate for half a century. Professional players all understand that there is no fastest leveling mode—only the mode that suits you best.

The Sword Discussion Arena, simply put, is a massive battlefield in the game that connects all martial arts worlds. In the Sword Discussion Arena, you might encounter any opponent from any martial arts world. As long as you win, you get rewards.

As the former king of PVP, Brian the Great unsurprisingly chose battlefield mode to level up.

Strictly speaking, there are actually no levels or experience points in "Martial Arts World"—these concepts simply don’t exist. What players call “leveling up” is just a habitual phrase. In the martial arts world, the measure of a player’s strength is not level or experience, but one thing—internal energy!

In many martial arts novels or TV shows, a person with deep internal energy can shatter stones with a single move, withstand several punches without a problem, and leap across rooftops with ease. The game respects this setting: in the martial arts world, internal energy determines everything.

Every player, upon entering the game, is given 1 point of internal energy by the system for free.

Players can gain internal energy through fighting monsters, duels, wars, quests, and so on. The more internal energy a player accumulates, the stronger they naturally become. You should know that advanced martial arts often require profound internal energy to perform. Some high-level weapons, such as the Heaven-Reliant Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber, also require a large amount of internal energy to unleash their true power.

All attribute calculation formulas in the game are related to internal energy. Vitality growth is 5, attack and agility growth are 1, and as for defense, that requires special techniques to unlock. By looking at a player’s internal energy, you can calculate their related attributes.

For example, Little Jack, his attributes are as follows—

Player: Wandering Lady.

Title: New to the Jianghu.

Realm: Entry Level.

Sect: None

Fame: 0.

Luck: 0.

Internal Energy: 1.

Vitality: 5.

Attack: 1.

Defense: 0.

Agility: 1.

If Little Jack’s internal energy increases to 2 points, his attributes can be calculated using the fixed growth rate: vitality becomes 2×5=10, attack and agility become 2×1=2.

Now, Little Jack entered the Sword Discussion Arena and was randomly assigned to a ring map. The Sword Discussion Arena battlefield has many different duel maps, such as taverns, inns, rings, training grounds, wild valleys, and so on. Different maps suit different moves. For example, some wide-ranging martial arts can’t be fully utilized in the cramped space of a tavern. High-level players will use the terrain to gain the upper hand.

The ring where Charles Green was assigned is a square platform ten steps on each side. Opposite him stood a player with a very intimidating name—his ID was Invincible Master.

Invincible Master was ruthless and decisive. As soon as the match started, he charged forward, his right fist aiming straight at Charles Green’s face.

Charles Green sidestepped and delivered an upward kick, striking Invincible Master in the groin.

“—1……”

This damage floated above Invincible Master’s head, meaning that out of his original 5 vitality points, he now had only 4 left.

“—1……”

Invincible Master was about to lunge at Wandering Lady with a punch, but the chubby guy across from him, looking like he deserved a beating, dodged again and kicked him in the knee, leaving him with only three points of health.

At first glance, this looks a bit like real-life free fighting, but actually, Charles Green was just making good use of the game’s rules. The method he used was simple—it was the kiting technique every professional player knows.

Kiting originally came from competitive games a century ago, with the English term “hit & run,” meaning to attack while moving. In a competitive game called Dota back then, every character had significant attack wind-up and wind-down times. Skillful use of hit & run could cancel the stiff animation, allowing more damage in a given time.

In the martial arts world, the so-called attack wind-up and wind-down are actually the four words often seen in martial arts novels: “move exhausted.” For example, when someone attacks an opponent with all their strength, inertia causes their body to lean forward, resulting in a brief moment of stiffness and giving the opponent an opportunity.