Victory

The internet was already in an uproar. Many people could hardly believe that Lin Zhen had lasted until now. Especially that dodge just now—this kid's Neural Reaction was outstanding.

But even more people firmly believed that Zhang Huai would definitely kill Lin Zhen in the final ten seconds. After all, the gap in their realms was right there.

At that moment, Lin Zhen made an unexpected move.

His legs went weak, as though he lacked the strength to remain standing and was about to collapse.

Zhang Huai had not yet caught his breath. He had originally planned to recover a little before giving Lin Zhen a vicious blow, but upon seeing such an opportunity, his battle instincts still made him attack in an instant.

"Three Consecutive Strikes!"

Three savage slashes came crashing down upon Lin Zhen's head. This was already the last of Zhang Huai's strength. He wanted to settle Lin Zhen in one go.

"Clang! Clang!"

Lin Zhen raised his spear again and forcefully blocked two slashes. The powerful impact drove him back again and again, but when the third slash came down, he suddenly used the force of the opponent's attack to take a sharp step backward, causing Zhang Huai's final slash to miss.

Having missed with one slash, Zhang Huai staggered two steps forward.

Only three seconds remained!

As Lin Zhen retreated, the tail of his Long Spear braced against the ground. The flexibility of the shaft came into play at that moment, like a pole vaulting pole, springing Lin Zhen's body back.

Borrowing that force, Lin Zhen let out a furious roar, and the gleam of his spear suddenly erupted.

A gale appeared out of nowhere, blowing violently and stretching Zhang Huai's hair into a straight line.

"First Form of the Nine Heavy Spears River, Gale!"

The moment of counterattack had arrived!

Zhang Huai saw only flickering Light and Shadow before his eyes. Amid that Light and Shadow, a black spear shot out like a venomous dragon, lunging straight for his throat!

What a fierce Spear Art, what meticulous planning. This strike is impossible to dodge!

He had never imagined that Lin Zhen could reach such a point!

Only at that moment did he realize he had fallen into a trap.

Lin Zhen had calculated everything long ago. His final display of exhaustion had also been an act, meant to exploit Zhang Huai's eagerness for victory and lure him into the trap.

If not for their one-minute agreement, Zhang Huai believed he could have killed Lin Zhen. But his blade techniques emphasized force and ferocity, while that kid had first used the advantage of a long weapon to withstand his attacks, then used his outstanding Neural Reaction to dodge, rapidly draining his strength.

His final counterattack had been timed flawlessly. It came at precisely the moment when Zhang Huai's old strength had run dry and his new strength had yet to arise. Such a counterattack was indeed difficult to resist, especially since this move appeared incredibly powerful.

Faced with Lin Zhen's long-planned strike, Zhang Huai still displayed the ability of a General Level Martial Artist. Relying on the Inner Force in his dantian that only a War General possessed, he held his blade horizontally, poured in the remnants of his strength, and pushed fiercely with both hands, hoping to shove the spear aside!

"Screeeech!!!!"

The piercing metallic collision dragged out into a long shriek, making everyone present frown.

A shower of sparks raced from the spearhead to the tail. Lin Zhen's strength was ultimately inferior to Zhang Huai's, and Zhang Huai had forcibly avoided the fatal strike to his throat. However, although the Long Spear did not pierce through Zhang Huai's throat, it stabbed into his shoulder, sending blood splattering everywhere.

The Long Spear pierced through his body, nearly punching through Zhang Huai's shoulder!

Zhang Huai was injured!

With three seconds remaining before the battle ended, Lin Zhen had actually launched a desperate counterattack and wounded Zhang Huai with one spear thrust!

But the battle was not over yet. At that moment, everyone saw the danger Lin Zhen was in.

The two were too close. Lin Zhen's weapon was a Long Spear, which was practically useless in close combat. As long as Zhang Huai drew back his blade and counterattacked, Lin Zhen would have nowhere to dodge at such close range.

The internet fell silent. Events had changed too quickly for anyone to have time to type or leave voice messages.

Zhang Huai realized this as well. Though he had taken a spear strike, it was not fatal, and time had not run out yet. He still had a chance. As long as he pulled back his blade, he could finish Lin Zhen with one slash.

He acted as soon as the thought arose, fiercely pulling his blade back.

There was a saying that habitual thinking could kill. He had trained with weapons for too long and had forgotten that a Martial Artist's fists were weapons too.

Lin Zhen was far more decisive. The instant they drew close, he abandoned the Black Dragon Spear in his hand and suddenly drove a fist at Zhang Huai's face.

The two stood practically nose to nose. Zhang Huai held his blade in both hands and had no way to dodge. Lin Zhen's fist smashed into his face.

"Take this!"

"Urgh!"

His head snapped back. The instant he looked up, he saw his own nosebleed spraying into the sky.

Before he could react, Lin Zhen's second attack arrived.

This time, Lin Zhen did not use his fist. He swung his arm in a full arc and delivered a heavy slap across Zhang Huai's face!

"This slap is to teach you never to lay hands on ordinary people!"

"Slap!"

With eight hundred pounds of force behind it, the slap made Zhang Huai's ears ring and his head spin. Half his face immediately swelled up.

Before his right hand had even fallen, Lin Zhen's left hand came next.

"This slap is to tell you that if you look down on others, you'd better be prepared to get beaten into a drowned dog!"

"Slap!"

Both sides of Zhang Huai's face swelled. He wanted to roar and counterattack, but another fist immediately struck his abdomen, driving his roar back down his throat.

"Bang!"

Lin Zhen punched Zhang Huai squarely in the mouth, knocking out two front teeth.

He knew Zhang Huai would recover soon. He had to seize every second.

"This punch is to tell you that if you spew shit from your mouth, watch your teeth!"

"Ah!" Zhang Huai was about to lose his mind.

"Crack!"

An uppercut snapped Zhang Huai's mouth shut. "What the hell are you yelling for? Even a dog barks better than you!"

Snot, tears, and blood streamed down together. Zhang Huai was nearly driven mad with rage. He desperately tried to pull back his blade and counterattack. He was a War General Martial Artist with Dark Force. Lin Zhen's few punches could not kill him. He just needed one chance, one chance!

Lin Zhen clearly knew that as well. Realizing he could not continue, he grabbed the shaft of the Black Dragon Spear and yanked it back, then spun around with a returning spear thrust!

Yet Zhang Huai was ultimately tough enough. Though he had suffered repeated heavy blows, he retained a trace of clarity. He hated Lin Zhen to the core. Slightly shifting his shoulder, he held his blade horizontally, prepared to take one of Lin Zhen's spear strikes head-on before cutting him down with a single slash.

Lin Zhen understood Zhang Huai's intentions as well, but he still chose to thrust his spear. He had already calculated everything.

"Clang!"

A sword struck sideways and knocked Lin Zhen's spear aside. The one who intervened was Du Yanhu.

"Why did you interfere?" Lin Zhen demanded angrily.

"Captain, why did you stop me from killing Lin Zhen?"

Du Yanhu shot Zhang Huai a cold glare. "Are you trying to disgrace yourself completely? This is a livestream. Countless people are watching. Time is already up."

"Ah! Time... what time? I... damn it! I'm not willing to accept this!"

Zhang Huai's hand holding the blade trembled. He had recovered somewhat, but he had taken quite a loss. Though he still had the strength to fight, he had forgotten that this was a wager with Lin Zhen, one with a one-minute limit.

"Even if you're unwilling, swallow it. Zhang Huai, remember this: it's one thing for you alone to lose face, but you're still a member of the Blood Hand Squad. As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. There will be plenty of chances for revenge. But with this being livestreamed online, we can't afford to be disgraced along with you."

After saying that, Du Yanhu ignored Zhang Huai and turned to Lin Zhen. "Lin Zhen, I have to admit that you're impressive. Very few Level Seven Warriors can reach your level. We will honor our agreement and transfer twenty million to you now. But remember this: from today onward, you and the Blood Hand Squad are enemies."

"From the moment I made my move, I was already perfectly clear on that." Even facing Du Yanhu, a Level Four War General, Lin Zhen showed no fear whatsoever.

In truth, Lin Zhen was also at the end of his strength by then. If he did not reveal his Mental Power, he was absolutely no match for Zhang Huai.

If he used Mental Power, perhaps he might have been able to kill Zhang Huai, but that was only a possibility. Besides, he did not want to expose it yet.

This was enough. He had plenty of time to play with Zhang Huai later.

Du Yanhu rummaged through Zhang Huai's clothes, pulled out his phone, and asked directly, "What's the password?"

"594250," Zhang Huai reluctantly gave the number.

Du Yanhu was momentarily speechless. "I... am... an idiot! Damn it! Look at the password you set. You really are an idiot. It's all been livestreamed, and it's embarrassing enough to have you as a teammate. Lin Zhen, tell me your account number. I'll transfer the money now."

Lin Zhen gave him his account number. Soon, twenty million in cash arrived in his account, bringing the total in his card to thirty million.

For Zhang Huai, a Beginner War General, twenty million was definitely no small sum. It was already most of his savings. Losing it to Lin Zhen made his eyes redden.

"We're leaving. Demon Hunter Squad, Mountains and rivers will meet again. We'll meet again."

Leaving those words behind, Du Yanhu took his squad and the injured Ouyang Yu away.

As for those thugs, he did not even spare them a glance.

Only after the other side had disappeared did Lin Zhen's body tremble. This battle had drained an enormous amount of both his physical and mental strength.

Still, he looked at Zhao Liang and the others with a smile. "I won! I think I even broke through to Level Eight."

"Yeah! We won!"

Zhao Liang cheered, and all the members of the Demon Hunter Squad gathered around Lin Zhen. They smiled at him kindly, patting his shoulder, rubbing his hair, and thumping his chest, congratulating Lin Zhen in a manly way.

Lin Zhen smiled as well. He knew that from this moment on, he had truly earned the squad's recognition and officially become a member of the Demon Hunter Squad.