Lying His Way into the Top 8

Hearing Lin Zhen's words, An Ning shook her head repeatedly. "No, your injuries are quite serious. It won't be able to heal in less than ten days. Let's not participate in the arena, okay?"

As she spoke, An Ning gently stroked Lin Zhen's hair, as if coaxing a child, which made Lin Zhen both amused and exasperated.

"Ah Ning, since I dared to participate, I must have some confidence. Just now, my Mental Power has advanced to the Diamond-level."

"What? Diamond-level Mental Power?" An Ning was also a Mind Power Master, but her Mental Power was only at the Dark Gold Mid Stage, which was already extremely rare and talented. She knew how difficult it was to advance in Mental Power, but she never expected Lin Zhen to reach the Diamond-level.

That's something only Stellar Realm cultivators can achieve, and many Stellar Realm haven't even reached Diamond yet. For example, Old John, who cultivated for a hundred years, still couldn't advance to Diamond.

A glint flashed in Lin Zhen's eyes, and a dazzling light appeared within the Dark Gold aura, which greatly shocked An Ning.

"Diamond-level Mental Power must be incredibly powerful, but... but your body..."

"I have the Radiance Power to heal, and as far as I know, Aning has mastered the Water Element very well, and it has a good healing effect. Even if it can't be fully recovered in one night, it should be enough to restore more than half of the body."

Seeing that An Ning still seemed worried, Lin Zhen smiled and said to her, "Besides, even if I lose in the virtual environment, my injuries in reality won't worsen. What do you have to worry about?"

"But... but..."

"No buts, come on, Aning, let's start now. I hope I'm lucky enough to avoid strong opponents in the first few matches so I can have more time to rest."

Lin Zhen scooped An Ning up and held her in his arms. An Ning blushed and punched Lin Zhen twice, then gently placed her hands on Lin Zhen's chest. The surging Water Element began to rapidly heal Lin Zhen's injuries.

Under the dense Water Element, Lin Zhen's Charged Particles also flickered with a faint glow, healing his injuries.

An Ning's understanding and resonance with the water element is clearly superior to Lin Zhen's radiant power. Lin Zhen has learned too many things, so he is definitely not as quick to understand as An Ning or Su Mingyue, who are more focused on learning one elemental energy.

With the help of the healing energies of light and water, Lin Zhen gradually recovered.

********

As the second day approached, the Knockout Round of the God of War Arena Tournament continued.

But to people's surprise, Lin Zhen did not withdraw from the competition and Xuan Ze to continue participating.

Although Lin Zhen's actions in Paris yesterday were earth-shattering, proving his strength to the world and even demonstrating his ability to barely contend with the Stellar Realm, his injuries mean he can no longer achieve anything in the arena.

His insistence on participating was seen by many as a matter of conviction, a fight purely for honor. In reality, he had no chance of winning the Champion, and even advancing to the Top 16 was questionable.

Almost all the other War God considered Lin Zhen a pushover.

So what if you're strong? Old John's knife wound had already reached his internal abdomen, and he had been whipped several times. His external injuries were also severe. An Ning carried him onto the flying saucer, and continuing to compete would only be asking for more abuse.

Therefore, when drawing lots to form groups, almost everyone hoped to meet Lin Zhen in the first round, which would almost guarantee them a spot in the Top 16.

The draw results came out quickly, and Lin Zhen was to face Alice, the War God from the European Union, in the first round!

Alice also made it to the top 32. Yesterday in the battle in Paris, when Lin Zhen rescued An Ning, no one cared about Alice and Hansen. In the end, no one knew where they went.

After the battle draw, the other War God marveled at Alice's good fortune, but Alice announced a surprising decision.

She forfeited the match!

With just this simple sentence, Lin Zhen advanced to the Top 16!

This news caused another huge uproar, with the European Union's "War God" being the first to voice his opposition.

"I am Al from the European Union. I have something to announce now. Alice and Hansen left the Paris Base City yesterday. They betrayed the European Union and are traitors to the European Union. They are in cahoots with Lin Zhen and An Ning. According to reliable sources, they also went to the East yesterday, probably to join Lin Zhen and the others."

Some European Union, America, and Tsarist Russia War God condemned Alice and Hansen's betrayal, but Hansen later posted a message online.

"It's not that we want to betray the European Union, it's that the European Union wants to take its anger out on me and Alice because of what happened to Chris. You all want us dead, but we won't just sit here and wait to die. I think Lin Zhen and An Ning would be happy to give us Huaxia citizenship."

Both sides made statements, each sticking to their own opinion and arguing endlessly. However, people generally believe that Lin Zhen got a good deal. Alice is An Ning's friend and deliberately let Lin Zhen win, allowing him to enter the Top 16 without any effort. When it comes to the top 8 in the round of 16, Lin Zhen will definitely be eliminated.

Even those who run the betting pools don't have high hopes for Lin Zhen. When Lin Zhen advanced to the top 32, his odds were adjusted to 1 to 5, but today, with his advancement to the Top 16, his odds have dropped to 1 to 10.

The round of Top 16 was quickly completed, and various experts advanced one after another. Su Mingyue eliminated another African Union War God of War and also advanced to the Top 16.

In the round of 16 to 8, Lin Zhen's opponent was surprisingly Su Mingyue.

After the draw, Su Mingyue voluntarily gave up the competition. Gongsun Du even lost his temper with Su Mingyue because of this. However, he also knew that Su Mingyue Su Mingyue would never do anything to the injured Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen could only smile wryly at this matter. Although Yue'er meant well, she had only brought trouble upon herself.

By making it into the Top 8 without contributing anything, Lin Zhen once again attracted a barrage of criticism from around the world.

An Ning, whom I saw yesterday, was beautiful and outstanding enough, and I don't know how many men envied her. Today, Su Mingyue's actions also indirectly confirmed the relationship between Su Mingyue and Lin Zhen.

This made countless men who Su Mingyue green with envy, and they all cursed Lin Zhen to suffer a crushing defeat in the next round. After that, no women would participate in the battles, so who could Lin Zhen, who relied on his looks, rely on?

After two rounds of uncontested victories, Lin Zhen gained a considerable amount of rest time. An Ning stayed by his side, healing his injuries. After more than ten hours of continuous treatment, coupled with the restoration of his radiance, his injuries were finally mostly healed, and he could sustain himself as long as the battles were not too intense.

The draw for the Top 8 was completed quickly.

Kholov of Tsarist Russia versus Pogba from Africa.

Doc from the America will face Moro from Brazil.

The European Union's Al faces off against India's Yunas.

Lin Zhen from Huaxia faced off against Shahan from India.

Upon seeing that he had finally been paired with Lin Zhen, Shahan burst out laughing on the spot and immediately made outrageous remarks online.

"Lin Zhen, that guy who advanced by relying on women, definitely doesn't want to run into me. But fate is often so strange. He arrogantly eliminated my brother Omar, True God has given me this chance for revenge. I want to say to Lin Zhen, Lin Zhen, you can continue to Xuan Ze to hide under women's skirts. I won't laugh at you. Whether it's Su Mingyue or An Ning, the taste under their skirts must be very sweet. Want me to give you a wash and then we can switch? I don't mind hiding inside for a while, hahaha!"

Upon hearing these words, An Ning, who was treating Lin Zhen's injuries, immediately changed her expression.

"That Shahan has such a nasty mouth. Lin Zhen, you mustn't get angry about this. He's deliberately trying to provoke you."

Lin Zhen took a deep breath. "Of course I know his tricks, but he really disgusts me. He's insulting you and Yue'er, and I will definitely punish him."

"I believe in you, but you must not be too careless. Shahan is a Dark Gold Late Stage Mind Power Master, known as the Great Indian Wizard. He is seventy-five years old this year, making him the oldest among all the participating War God. He also has the strongest Mental Power. Not only does he possess a high-grade Mental Power defensive Star Artifact, but his attack methods are also extremely strange."

"What kind of bizarre method is it?"

Have you ever heard of spirits?

Lin Zhen was stunned for a moment. He knew a little about spirits; they were the energy manifestation of a person's soul power, what people called ghosts.

However, ghosts are basically useless against martial artists. Martial artists have strong willpower and good Mental Power, and it is difficult for them to be affected by ghosts. In the interstellar space, ghosts are useless, but I didn't expect to hear about spirits now.

"This person is not only proficient in Mental Power but also in fire power. He kills people with Mental Power, removes their skulls and imprisons their souls inside, preventing them from leaving the body and forming a spirit body. These things can affect other people's brain nerves under his control. It is a unique attack method. In these battles, Shahan did not even move a single step and advanced smoothly all the way."

"Is it really that powerful?" Lin Zhen asked.

"Yes, he even said that if it weren't for Kholov's solidified Mental Power, the Champion of this battle would definitely have been his. He wouldn't have needed to move an inch to win the championship, since a spirit is an energy body and is not suppressed by Kholov's Gravity Field."

"That's really not easy to deal with, but don't worry, An Ning, I'll take care of him."

An Ning nodded. "I believe in you. You do need a fight to prove that you didn't get into the Top 8 by relying on women. I've called Alice and Yue'er and told them that you've advanced to Diamond Mind Power Master. Even if they fight, they're no match for you. In fact, you're the strongest."

"Hehe, my Aning understands me best," Lin Zhen laughed.

"Go to hell, who's yours?" An Ning blushed slightly, her long eyelashes fluttering, but her hands never stopped working. A stream of Water Element was injected into Lin Zhen's wound, making the scab almost fall off.

Her delicate fingers gently stroked Lin Zhen's Lin Zhen, then wrapped another bandage around it. An Ning exclaimed with delight, "It's really almost healed! Lin Zhen, as long as you don't use too much force, the wound won't burst open."

"It's okay if it bursts open; injuries from the Virtual World won't carry over into reality."

Lin Zhen stood up, picked up the Virtual Helmet, and the quarterfinals were about to begin.

An Ning also stood up and said to Lin Zhen, "I need to go home. I'm back in Ice City but haven't gone home yet."

Lin Zhen nodded, somewhat reluctant to let An Ning leave.

An Ning said to Lin Zhen, "I'll be back in a little while. I'll prepare a delicious meal for you to celebrate your Champion victory."

Looking at An Ning, who was full of confidence, Lin Zhen suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I think that Shahan might be right about something."

"What?" An Ning looked at Lin Zhen, who was so close to her, and her face unconsciously flushed slightly. She was stunningly beautiful.

"It must be very sweet."

An Ning was stunned for a moment, then her face turned red. She wanted to hit Lin Zhen hard but couldn't bring herself to do it. So she stomped her foot in anger, turned around and ran out of Lin Zhen's room.

Watching An Ning leave, Lin Zhen smiled and put on his helmet. A flash of white light, and the arena appeared before him.

This is the second update today, a guaranteed minimum update, and there will be an extra update later for those who vote with monthly tickets.