Native Professionals

Li Zhengzai's final words left Xia Lin dumbstruck.

He looked at Li Zhengzai, who laughed.

"Professionals... Aren't you one too? Is there any need to be so surprised?"

Xia Lin's mind went blank, but he quickly recovered.

He feigned surprise. "You're professionals too? I thought I was the only one!"

Casimo spread his hands.

"The chosen one, right? The protagonist of the world? Heh, that's what I thought when I first became a professional too. But that's not how it is."

Li Zhengzai said, "Actually, becoming a professional is pretty common... It might be caused by the world's rules. Of course, that's all guesswork. The people upstairs haven't been able to make any sense of it either, so we can only look to more mysterious explanations."

"But the cause doesn't matter. What matters is that the gap between professionals and ordinary fighters is enormous."

Casimo said, "Once you become a professional, your physical condition is displayed in numbers, clear at a glance. You can also check exactly what all sorts of potions do, and there's a level system."

"Most importantly, some of your old techniques become skills, and they're generally more powerful than before!"

With that, Casimo looked at Xia Lin. "A small number of advanced Fierce Martial Arts fighters are professionals, like Shen Nianci. And every top-tier Fierce Martial Arts fighter is a professional, without exception."

Xia Lin drew a quiet breath.

His level had been too low before, so he could only frequent low-level Savage Martial Arenas. His understanding of this Ash Zone had barely scratched the surface.

Now, eating and chatting at the same table as top-tier Fierce Martial Arts fighters, Xia Lin was gradually seeing the upper echelons of power in this Ash Zone laid out before him.

"How did you become professionals?"

Xia Lin asked a somewhat intrusive question.

But the two gambling addicts didn't mind.

Li Zhengzai said, "In my case, I automatically became a professional after I mastered Gale Style Karate."

"The profession was called Karate Master."

Casimo said, "I became a professional after winning an intermediate Savage Martial Arena match. My profession is Boxer."

So there was more than one way for Ash Zone natives to become professionals.

But presumably, they had to hone a particular specialty to its peak to trigger a determination and become professionals.

Right, a determination...

Something unknown, similar to the Ash Zone System and probably from the same source, but not the same program.

"At the same time, professionals have levels too, but the ways to level up are all over the place."

For example, advancement potions.

Or everyday training and fierce battles. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a professional's level would rise, unlocking higher attribute limits and new skill slots.

According to Casimo and Li Zhengzai, both of them were level 6 professionals. When Li Zhengzai first became a professional, he had been level 4, while Casimo had been level 2.

Their subsequent methods of advancing hadn't been entirely the same either.

Casimo had even advanced for no apparent reason while eating a meal.

"There's no pattern to advancement. It's been over a hundred years, and nobody's figured one out."

"Just think of it as a gift from the world's consciousness or the universe's consciousness? Anyway, since we can't trace it back to its source, we might as well enjoy the benefits."

Li Zhengzai had a point.

The Ash Zone System, Ash Zone Walkers, native professionals, and so on weren't things Xia Lin needed to ponder right now.

Once he reached a high sequence, he would naturally learn more.

If he didn't reach a sequence, even his life would be in jeopardy. What right would he have to worry about such things?

Just then, Shen Nianci and Li Peipei's arena fight began on the television.

Shen Nianci whipped around and split into three, each wielding a curved blade as they darted toward Li Peipei with nimble footwork!

Shen Nianci, level 4 professional.

Profession: Assault Assassin.

True Clone Technique (A-rank): Active skill. Consumes 5 spirit to create two additional clones whose physical attributes are only half those of the original. Clone duration: 10 minutes.

For advanced Fierce Martial Arts fighters, an arena ten times the size of the octagonal cage wasn't actually very big.

With Shen Nianci's clones on the field, there was much less room to maneuver.

And with Li Peipei's massive build hampering her movements, at first glance, Shen Nianci seemed to have this match in the bag...

Until Li Peipei casually pulled a greatsword from her Portable Space.

Then came Dragon Flash Dance!!

"Pfft! Hahahaha!!"

Xia Lin's delighted laughter echoed throughout the lounge.

It even proved infectious to Li Zhengzai and Casimo.

For a moment, the three men's laughter rang out together!

Because Li Peipei had answered Gu Hua's old question in the arena.

Peipei had grown fat, but could she still dance?

She could. She really could!

It was just that this Dragon Flash Dance had changed.

Piercing sonic booms rang out above the arena.

There were no silver arcs of light, and she was no longer invisible.

The enormous fat girl traced a clear path through the air, trailing a series of sonic booms as she maneuvered between the three Shen Niancis at a speed visible to the naked eye, but certainly not slow!

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Those were the thunderous sounds of Li Peipei's body tearing through the air.

They were also the sonic booms of her greatsword slashing at Shen Nianci.

And, loudest of all, the crash of Li Peipei losing her footing and landing butt-first on Shen Nianci!

The fight ended with Li Peipei landing on her butt.

After gaining weight, Li Peipei couldn't quite control the Dragon Flash Dance skill, and her butt collided with Shen Nianci's original body.

Black Dragon Body (S-rank): Passive skill. All attributes +20. Dragon scales grow over the body's surface, granting massive damage reduction!

The attribute boost provided by Black Dragon Body was only so-so.

The key to its S-rank rating was its massive damage reduction.

In the fights Xia Lin had seen before, Li Peipei really hadn't suffered the slightest injury, aside from being fattened up. And that legend continued in this arena match.

The 1,500-jin heavy cannon slammed into Shen Nianci at a speed exceeding that of sound, crushing her on the spot!

For every action, there was an equal and opposite reaction.

Yet Li Peipei didn't even suffer a scratch or feel dizzy. She rose from the ground completely unharmed and brushed the bloody pulp and dust off herself with a cold expression.

The commentator's high-pitched voice rang out.

"The fight is over! The fight is over!"

"In her arena debut, the Dragon Warrior has crushed our Valkyrie Under the Moon to death!"

Boos filled the stands.

The fat woman had beaten the beauty, and the spectators didn't like the result.

Li Peipei didn't care.

She simply put away her greatsword, turned, and walked down from the arena with heavy steps.

"All right, you win."

Li Zhengzai didn't care that he'd lost the bet.

As a veteran gambler, he was long used to losing.

He merely stood up and said to Xia Lin,

"I'll teach you Gale Blade Leg right now."

He led Xia Lin to the training ground.

Casimo tagged along to watch.

Li Zhengzai finally took his position and spoke slowly.

"Fighting techniques can be mastered through study and practice, but I can't guarantee whether yours will turn into a skill, or whether Gale Blade Leg will reach B-rank if it does."

Xia Lin nodded to show he understood.

Fighting techniques, or martial arts techniques, were just like that.

Once mastered through study, their initial rating wouldn't be high, but they had room to grow. Xia Lin didn't need that growth potential, though.

Li Zhengzai spoke slowly.

"Gale Blade Leg uses the leg as a blade."

He raised his leg, and a sharp sensation swept toward Xia Lin!

Xia Lin seemed to see a flash of blade light before him, its chill bearing down on him.

Only when Li Zhengzai slowly brought the move to an end did the chill gradually dissipate.

"That is Gale Blade Leg."

"Next, I'll break down the movements bit by bit. Make sure you remember them."