Pasher was not an exceptionally gifted martial artist. His current ranking had been earned step by step through his own efforts. Although his opponent's ranking was not high, he did not dare relax in the slightest and carefully sized up Gu Ding.
The moment he saw Gu Ding, Pasher realized this battle would probably be difficult. He had fought more than five hundred matches in the arena. While he could not claim to judge an opponent's strength at a glance, there were still things he could determine through experience.
His opponent's momentum was clearly on the rise, which meant he had likely won several consecutive matches before this. Moreover, judging from his opponent's eyes, he was definitely a dangerous person.
"Let's test him first." With no certainty of victory, he decided to probe Gu Ding's abilities. He took several rapid steps, his figure flickering across the arena as he launched an attack at Gu Ding from a bizarre angle.
Gu Ding stood still. His opponent's footwork was exceptionally light, and his attack angles were rather unusual. He was clearly a battle-hardened veteran. Meeting all changes with constancy was the safest strategy.
When the other man's fist closed in on his side, Gu Ding used a Thunder Elbow to deflect its force, then thrust out an Absolute Finger straight at his opponent's heart. He struck extremely quickly. Pasher barely reacted in time and used his palm to shield his chest, but he was still knocked back.
Pasher retreated several meters before steadying himself. His right palm had been completely shattered, and cracks had appeared along the ribs in his chest. This was the virtual state of being severely injured within the arena. If he had not blocked that attack with his palm just now, he would probably have been completely killed already. His opponent had heavily injured him with a single strike, leaving him utterly horrified. "How could he be this strong? He clearly looks only fifteen or sixteen. Could he be a genius raised by some major power?"
"Looks like I can challenge stronger opponents." Gu Ding was not quite sure how strong he had become.
"I surrender!" Once Pasher confirmed the gap in strength between them, he decisively chose to surrender. He knew perfectly well that there was no need to continue.
"What a bore. We didn't see that little kid's true strength at all." In the monitoring room, the short-haired woman in black knee-high leather boots narrowed her eyes slightly. "Send someone ranked around two hundred thousand up there."
"Yes, Young Miss." The suited man nodded expressionlessly.
When another challenger appeared on the arena, the many spectators in the stands froze once more. This challenger was actually ranked 0167. A ranking in the tens of thousands and one at five hundred thousand were not remotely in the same league. If those ranked around five hundred thousand had usually fought around five hundred matches, then those ranked in the tens of thousands had generally fought around 00 matches. In fact, most people who entered the top two hundred thousand had awakened special abilities and were extremely dangerous.
"I thought he was someone impressive. They actually made me step in." Gu Ding's opponent this time looked to be around years old, with a long saber hanging at his waist. His tone was incredibly arrogant, and his ID was Who Is More Arrogant Than Me. "Kid, it's not too late to surrender. Don't wait until I chop you into eighteen pieces and make you cry."
"Who'll be crying is still up in the air!" Gu Ding grinned.
"Is that so?" Who Is More Arrogant Than Me placed one hand on the hilt of his saber, and an aura began rapidly gathering around him.
"Be careful. He uses the Sword Drawing Technique," Sea Emperor warned. "The Sword Drawing Technique can unleash explosive force in an instant. The longer it gathers power, the more terrifying its burst of attack will be. You have to interrupt him quickly."
Gu Ding took a Shadow Step and arrived before Who Is More Arrogant Than Me in an instant.
Who Is More Arrogant Than Me drew his saber at almost the same time, and a sharp flash slashed toward Gu Ding's waist. Gu Ding shifted his footing and dodged sideways, while simultaneously striking the side of the blade with an Absolute Finger.
Who Is More Arrogant Than Me only felt an enormous force slam into the side of his saber, nearly knocking it from his hand. At the same time, a Thunder Elbow smashed viciously into his chest. Then Gu Ding leaped high into the air and drove a Flame Knee into Who Is More Arrogant Than Me's chin.
As Who Is More Arrogant Than Me's figure gradually faded from the arena, the spectators were all stunned.
"Now we've finally seen something. So it's a special set of body techniques." In the monitoring room, the short-haired woman contentedly licked her lollipop. "Send someone ranked around eighty thousand up."
"Yes, Young Miss."
Gu Ding's next opponent appeared quickly, ranked 80958. He was a gunner, thin and lean, with a long black case strapped to his back. The most striking thing was his face, which looked as though it had been carved with a knife, its features sharp and defined. There was no expression on his face. Together with his ramrod-straight posture and resolute eyes, it was not hard to tell that he had likely come from a military background. His ID was I Am A Gunner. Such a dull ID fully proved that he was a dull person.
Compared to martial arts professions, the profession of gunner was an emerging one. Those who chose this profession generally lacked much talent in martial arts and had no choice but to make such a decision. Of course, there were also a few who became gunners simply because they liked firearms.
Gunners were generally skilled at long-range attacks. Once someone got close to them, they were not far from death. Their weakness was obvious. The opponents this profession feared most were those with powerful defense, high speed, and strong close-range combat abilities.
The man merely glanced at Gu Ding without saying a word, then removed the case from his back and took out a rifle. He calmly adjusted the sights before loading it with bullets.
Gu Ding had spent several years at a military academy, so he had naturally handled guns before. However, his talent in that area was average. He was not bad, but he was not particularly good either. Even so, he could tell from the other man's movements that he was a true gunner, fundamentally different from Gu Ding's classmates. It was not merely his proficiency with the motions. The way he held the gun was completely different, as though it were part of his body, while many of Gu Ding's classmates basically treated firearms as tools.
The moment the other man raised his gun, Gu Ding moved. Then he heard the first gunshot. His steps did not stop, and he took another Shadow Step as the second gunshot followed.
The gunner's expression grew solemn after two consecutive shots were dodged. He fired three more shots in succession, locking onto the route where he predicted Gu Ding would move.
Gu Ding changed his footing and easily dodged again, even finding it somewhat unbelievable himself. This Shadow Step is so unusual. It can actually predict a bullet's trajectory and make the user dodge accordingly.
Rat-a-tat. Two more shots rang out. Gu Ding took only one step to evade the barrage. He merely dodged and did not launch a counterattack. The main reason was that he wanted to use this gunner to train his Shadow Step footwork.
By the time the gunner changed magazines for the eighth time, Gu Ding's footwork had become extremely proficient, and there was no longer any need to continue this match. His figure shifted as he closed in on the gunner.
The gunner did not panic. He simply retreated while continuing to attack, his right index finger pulling the trigger far more rapidly than before. In just over ten seconds, another magazine had been emptied. He skillfully removed the magazine and took a new one from his pocket to reload, only for a hand to seize his wrist.
"You lost." Gu Ding gripped the other man's wrist with one hand and extended two fingers from his other hand, touching the left side of his opponent's chest where his heart was located.
An Absolute Finger blasted out, and the gunner's figure quickly began to fade.
"Looks like I underestimated him," the short-haired woman said in the monitoring room, biting her lollipop in half. "Find someone ranked within the top ten thousand and send them up."
The moment she finished speaking, she saw a woman appear on the arena where Gu Ding stood.
Strangely, the woman's ID displayed only question marks, and both her ranking and battle information were also entirely question marks.
"Check this woman's information." The short-haired woman frowned slightly.
A moment later, the suited man spoke. "Young Miss, her permission level is extremely high. I cannot view it with my clearance."
"Let me see!" The short-haired woman suddenly stood up and pressed one hand against the search screen.
Insufficient permissions. Unable to view!
The same dialog box popped up again.
"Who exactly is this woman?" the short-haired woman asked in surprise.
"Young Miss, if even your clearance cannot access it, that can only mean her permission level is above yours," the suited man reminded her. "And your status in the entire Tianhe Star Region..."
"I understand. No one is allowed to speak of what happened today." Only then did the short-haired woman sit back down, but the relaxed expression she had worn before was gone.
Dear readers, the number of bookmarks has gone up quite a bit, but there are so few recommendation votes~ If you're in a good mood, toss in one or two~ Also, this book updates at 8:30 in the morning and before 4:30 in the afternoon.
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