The Protagonist Died? (Third Update—Please Follow and Vote)

After seeing this intelligence, Lu Li was shocked as well. Although everyone joked that Kengan Ashura was really the "Devil Lance Chronicles," Tokita Ohma was the protagonist.

In the original's first part, Tokita Ohma was defeated by his master, Devil Lance Kuroki, and ultimately burned himself out and died on Kengan Island. But he was revived in the second part and still had plenty of scenes afterward.

He had loved this manga back then precisely because, as a fighting manga with an ensemble cast, its protagonist's plot armor was not so obvious. In the first Kengan finals, Ohma fought Master Kuroki. If he could not win, then he could not win—no sudden power-up or cheat could change that. It felt very realistic.

And throughout the entire work, Ohma's strength could barely be ranked among the top five. Even so, Ohma was still the protagonist. How could a protagonist die? Wasn't he revived by a deus ex machina in the second part?

Lu Li suddenly realized something. This was a real world, not a manga.

And in the real world, there were no absolute protagonists.

He calmed himself and browsed through the discussions on the Public Channel, piecing together what had happened to Ohma.

Though there was no conclusive evidence, Tokita Ohma had most likely been killed by a violator.

The reason for this judgment was that he could roughly infer the Explorers' strength from some of their remarks on the Public Channel. Those Explorers had constantly complained about how difficult this world was; they had not wanted to enter the Kengan world at all.

There were two reasons. First, their attributes did not give them much of an advantage in this world. After all, there were plenty of inhuman monsters here with absurdly high stats. Second, with equal attributes, they would most likely be unable to defeat the fighters here barehanded.

At first, Lu Li found that absurd. How could you Explorers fail to beat the fighters? After all, many ordinary fighters did not have particularly high attributes.

But after thinking about it for a moment, he understood. Not everyone had been a Martial Arts Grandmaster before entering the Space, like him.

First-rank Explorers were all people who had not been in the Space for long. Judging by the world level, the Explorers entering this world were all below level seven. That meant they had not experienced many worlds yet and had not fully adapted to combat.

And in terms of combat specialization, these ordinary Explorers with no foundation probably had not even reached expert level in fighting specialization by now. How could they possibly be a match for the powerful fighters of this world?

To put it bluntly, some Explorers might be utterly crushed by fighters with lower attributes than theirs. Their advantage lay in numbers, while the fighters of this world held the advantage in skill.

Lu Li was different. He had the advantage in stats, and against most fighters, he also held the advantage in skill. That was why he had been able to defeat Rei'an.

Could there be someone among these Explorers capable of killing Tokita Ohma? Lu Li did not dare rule it out completely, but he felt that even if such a person existed, they would not kill Ohma at this time.

As the protagonist of Kengan, Ohma had plenty of unresolved plot threads surrounding him. Killing Ohma would cause a great deal of trouble and drastically alter the storyline, making the mission world even more dangerous. Naturally, the person who killed Ohma would be the first to bear the brunt of it.

That did not fit the usual principles or interests of a first-rank Explorer. Killing Ohma offered Explorers no benefits whatsoever.

But violators were different. For a violator, the murkier the waters, the better.

"Is this a provocation against me...?"

Lu Li sneered inwardly. I hope you're someone who can take a hit.

Tokita Ohma's death sounded an alarm for him. The violator had already begun to act. With Tokita Ohma's death, undercurrents were about to surge.

Shadow forces such as the Conquest West Faction Wu and the Worm would likely make their moves as well. The Kengan Death Tournament ahead had become even more uncontrollable.

And for Lu Li, there was one worst-case possibility: the Seed of Origin was on Tokita Ohma!

If that was the case, then the Seed of Origin might already have fallen into the violator's hands. If the violator found somewhere to hide, neither of his missions could be completed, and he could only wait to die.

Lu Li pondered for a moment and felt that things should not be that bad. Tokita Ohma was too conspicuous a target. Any Explorer near him would go and verify the situation, so the Seed of Origin's location would soon become clear. The mission should not be so simple.

No matter what, he had to pick up the pace. He could not stay with the Wu Clan for too long.

Lu Li looked at Wu Fengshui as she walked toward him, rose to his feet, and said, "Let's go. It's time to begin our martial arts exchange."

Wu Fengshui froze for a moment, then smiled. "I came to call you for breakfast."

"An ordinary person can only exert one-third of the human body's strength. Greater power lies dormant within the body, and that is actually a restriction imposed by the brain to protect the human body..."

Inside the training ground, Hui-Li-Yang Wu explained the principles behind their secret art to Lu Li. "...Our secret technique, Release, removes that limiter and unleashes more of the body's power."

His aged eyes appraised Lu Li from head to toe. "Although you are a once-in-a-millennium genius in martial arts, and your physical strength is formidable as well, learning this secret art should not be difficult for you. But I am afraid you will not be able to release much of your potential."

"Oh? Is there a reason for that? Because I'm not a member of the Wu Clan?"

Lu Li asked.

Hui-Li-Yang Wu shook his head. "Not at all. The Wu Clan has a long history and has continuously intermarried with outsiders. There is no such thing as pure or impure Bloodline. The ability to use this secret art rests entirely on the bodies we have refined over thirteen hundred years. Our Constitution is stronger and can withstand greater power."

After pondering for a moment, Lu Li somewhat understood what the other man meant. From the Space's perspective, every member of the Wu Clan had Constitution as their highest attribute, far exceeding their base Strength attribute.

After using Release, the limiter in the brain was removed, unleashing greater power. Under normal circumstances, that power would damage the tendons and bones. But because the Wu Clan had gained higher Constitution attributes through generations of Bloodline refinement, they could withstand that greater power.

"So... the reason I can't release more 'strength' is precisely because my body is too balanced?"

Lu Li asked in summary.

Hui-Li-Yang Wu nodded. "Yes. I can tell that, as a martial artist, you have attained perfect physical balance. Your Strength and Constitution are equal, so even if you use Release, you will not be able to release too much. Otherwise, your body will collapse first."

Lu Li understood. It seemed he could prioritize investing points into Constitution in the future. His Strength attribute could be explosively raised through abilities such as Release.

"Now that you understand the basic principle, do you still want to learn it? If you regret it now, you can choose to keep your secret technique."

Hui-Li-Yang Wu said, staring directly into Lu Li's eyes.

Lu Li grinned. "Senior, you underestimate me too much. Even if I can't learn it, I'll still give you what I promised. Besides, I don't believe I can't learn it."

"Hahaha... I'm growing more and more fond of you. Perhaps..."

As Hui-Li-Yang Wu spoke, he shook his head again. No, no matter what, he would never let his precious great-granddaughter be with Lu Li.

Lu Li did not ask about the man's thoughts. He took out a manual he had organized before going to sleep the previous night. "The theory and core techniques behind my secret art are all in here. Senior, have a look. With your insight, I believe you'll know that I'm not deceiving you. This is real."

Hui-Li-Yang Wu accepted it and gave it a rough read. A sharp glint flashed in his aged eyes. "This is the ultimate martial art... I never imagined power could exist in such a form..."

He solemnly put away the notebook, then looked at Lu Li with a serious expression. "Then I shall begin teaching you how to cultivate Release."