The martial arts arena was still abuzz with noise, but the atmosphere had become utterly different from before.
Lin Chen's earth-shattering "gray potential," followed by his ruthless act of crippling Lin Bao's right arm with a single punch, were like two massive hammers that completely overturned everyone's understanding of him. They also turned the once-clear testing situation into something hazy and unpredictable, with undercurrents surging beneath the surface.
The practical combat ranking matches continued.
Yet everyone's gaze would unconsciously drift toward the black-clad youth standing quietly in the corner, his expression still carrying traces of "dazed confusion" and "loss."
Fear, reverence, curiosity, jealousy, disdain... all manner of complicated emotions intertwined into an invisible net that enveloped Lin Chen.
He was like an enormous riddle, impossible to fathom. People wanted to approach and uncover his secrets, yet feared being swallowed by them.
Lin Chen seemed entirely unaware of all this, still immersed in his own "world." In truth, however, his mind was like the keenest radar, constantly monitoring the changes in the arena and the reactions of those powerful figures on the platform.
He knew that his "performance" was not over yet.
The practical combat ranking matches would not only determine the top ten, but also settle the final rankings! This concerned the subsequent allocation of resources, as well as the slots for the Three Great Families Competition!
With the "Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer Early Stage" strength he had currently "displayed," along with the label of "low potential," he still needed to "work harder" if he wanted to secure a place in the top ten—or even strive for a relatively high rank.
Very soon, the preceding matches came to an end one after another.
It was Lin Chen's turn to take the stage again.
His opponent was an inner disciple at the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer, named Lin Feng. The man was powerfully built and skilled in a fierce, domineering set of Mountain Splitting Fist techniques. He had also performed quite well in the earlier preliminary testing.
The moment Lin Feng saw that his opponent was Lin Chen, his expression immediately turned rather ugly, his eyes filled with wariness.
Although Lin Chen's potential test result had been absurdly poor, the scene of him severely wounding Lin Bao with one punch was still vivid in everyone's mind! Lin Bao had been at the peak of the Fourth Layer! Though he had been injured, the power of Lin Chen's punch was absolutely not to be underestimated!
"Senior Brother Lin Feng, please instruct me." Lin Chen stepped onto the stage, his face still wearing that "standard" expression of slight nervousness and lack of confidence. He clasped his hands toward Lin Feng, keeping his posture extremely low.
Seeing Lin Chen's harmless-looking appearance, then recalling the ruthlessness with which he had crippled Lin Bao, Lin Feng became even more unsettled, unable to gauge the depths of his opponent.
"Hmph! Junior Brother Lin Chen, please!" Lin Feng forced himself to remain calm and assumed a stance. Yet he did not dare attack rashly, instead taking a defensive posture as he prepared to test Lin Chen out first.
Lin Chen secretly laughed when he saw this. It seemed his earlier "fierce reputation" had already achieved its intimidating effect.
However, he had no intention of "revealing" his strength right away.
If he was going to act, he would act the whole performance through!
"Hah!" Lin Chen gave a low shout. His feet moved in the seemingly clumsy Willow Catkin Movement Technique as he swayed toward Lin Feng!
He did not use the more powerful Surging Wave Palm. Instead, he once again used that basic set of Fierce Tiger Fist! His fist wind howled, and he looked imposing enough, but both his speed and strength were clearly controlled at the level expected of a "Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer Early Stage" cultivator! Because of factors such as "low potential" and "an unsettled mind," he even appeared somewhat... lacking in stamina?
At first, Lin Feng remained cautious and defended tightly. But after receiving several moves, he discovered that Lin Chen's attacks seemed... not as powerful as he had imagined?
The force behind his punches was indeed fierce, but compared to the punch he had used against Lin Bao earlier, it was like the difference between heaven and earth! His movement technique was also still that same swaying, unsteady mess, as though he might fall at any moment!
Could it be... that he had truly gotten lucky before? Or did low potential really affect his performance?
Lin Feng gradually steadied himself, and his courage began to rise.
"Mountain Splitting Fist!" Seizing one of Lin Chen's "openings," he let out a furious roar. His right fist was like a colossal axe splitting open a mountain, carrying a sharp gust of force as it smashed viciously toward Lin Chen's chest!
He used seventy percent of his strength in this punch! He wanted to knock Lin Chen back in one blow and establish victory!
Faced with this heavy, overwhelming punch, "panic" appeared on Lin Chen's face again! He hastily raised both arms and crossed them before his chest to block!
Bang!!!
A dull thud rang out!
Lin Chen's entire body seemed to have been struck by a massive hammer. He staggered back seven or eight steps before barely stabilizing himself! His face turned several shades "paler," and even a trace of blood "spilled" from the corner of his mouth. Naturally, he had forced it out beforehand with true qi!
"Whoa!" The crowd below the stage instantly erupted!
"Did you see that?! Lin Chen really can't keep going! Senior Brother Lin Feng knocked him back with one punch!" "I told you so! Trash potential is still trash potential! There must have been something fishy about his earlier victory!" "Looks like that's all the strength he has. There's nothing to fear!"
Some of those who had previously been intimidated by Lin Chen began stirring restlessly again. Their gazes toward him once more filled with contempt and disdain.
Lin Bao, who had already been carried away for emergency treatment but had regained consciousness and was watching the stage with venomous hatred, nearly laughed aloud at this sight. Trash! He really is trash! Once the testing is over, just watch how I kill you!
On the platform, the people from Lin Zhenhong's branch were also greatly invigorated! It seemed this little bastard's potential truly had been exhausted, and this was the limit of his strength!
Even Lin Xiaotian and Lin Zhenyue, who had continued to hold expectations for Lin Chen, furrowed their brows once more. Had they... truly misjudged him?
Yet just when everyone thought Lin Chen could no longer continue—
"Cough, cough..." Lin Chen "struggled" to cough twice and wiped away the "blood" from his lips. Suddenly, however, his eyes erupted with the mad, unyielding light of a wounded beast!
"Senior Brother Lin Feng... you... you are very strong! But... I will not admit defeat!" he roared, as though he had exhausted every last shred of his strength!
Then he staggered forward once more! It was still that same Fierce Tiger Fist! Still that same appearance of "running out of strength"!
Lin Feng's heart settled completely when he saw this! It seemed this piece of trash was already a spent arrow!
He sneered and threw another punch to meet him!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two exchanged blows, fists and palms colliding with dull impacts!
On the surface, Lin Chen was completely at a disadvantage! Lin Feng pressed him relentlessly, forcing him back step by step! Danger lurked at every turn! Several more "wounds" appeared on Lin Chen's body! He looked utterly miserable, as though he could collapse at any moment!
But!
Again and again, he forcibly endured through sheer "tenacity"!
Every time he was knocked back, he would "stubbornly" charge forward again! Every time he was "injured," the look in his eyes would become even more "mad"!
That cockroach-like resilience—the kind that simply refused to die—along with his desperate bearing as though he were prepared to burn away his life, instead made Lin Feng, who held the advantage, increasingly alarmed! The longer he fought, the more constrained he became!
What is wrong with this guy?! He clearly looks like he can't go on anymore, so how is he still holding out?! And that look in his eyes... it's too terrifying! It's like... like he wants to perish with me!
Lin Feng was frightened by Lin Chen's "madness"! He began to hesitate and no longer dared strike heavily, afraid that if he truly drove this "lunatic" into a corner, they would both end up badly wounded!
And at the very instant Lin Feng's mind wavered and his offensive slowed—
A sharp gleam flashed through Lin Chen's eyes!
An opportunity!
This was the very opportunity he had been waiting for!
"Aah—!!!" He let out another "grief-stricken" roar, as though gathering every ounce of power he possessed into this final strike!
This time, he did not use Fierce Tiger Fist. Instead, he used the technique the family head had "bestowed" upon him—the Surging Wave Palm!
Naturally, it was a Surging Wave Palm that he had deliberately "weakened" and "disguised"!
Earth-yellow light flared across his palm once again! Yet compared to before, it seemed somewhat dim, and the palm force did not stack in layer upon layer. He only unleashed one layer... perhaps barely two?
But even so!
This palm still contained power that could not be underestimated! Moreover, its timing was exquisitely precise down to the finest hair! It struck exactly during the gap when Lin Feng's old force had faded, his new force had yet to arise, and his mind was in disorder!
Bang!!!
Lin Feng only felt a fierce palm force crashing toward him! Though its power seemed weaker than expected, the timing was far too tricky! In his haste, he only managed a barely adequate block!
His blood and qi immediately churned violently. He staggered back five or six steps, his chest tightening with discomfort!
After striking with that palm, Lin Chen's body seemed to lose all strength at once. He suddenly tipped backward and fell to the ground with a thump! His face was "pale as paper," and he panted heavily, as though he no longer had the strength even to stand!
"I... I..." Looking at Lin Feng, who had also been forced back, Lin Chen's eyes showed a mixture of "disbelief" and the relief of surviving a disaster. "I... I won?"
Silence!
The entire arena fell into a strange silence once more!
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the dramatic scene onstage!
He... he won?!
Lin Chen... had actually won again?!
Though the victory had been so "difficult"! So "fortunate"! So "tragic"! He had even exhausted himself to the point of collapsing!
But... he had still won in the end!
That youth with low potential, who had looked as though his oil had run dry and his lamp was about to go out, had actually relied on near-mad determination to forcibly "drag down" Lin Feng, a middle-stage Body Tempering Realm Fourth Layer cultivator?!
This... this was simply...
"His resolve is admirable! Truly admirable!" On the platform, Third Elder Lin Zhenyue stroked his beard and praised him, his gaze toward Lin Chen full of appreciation! Though the victory had been ugly, that unyielding resilience was an indispensable quality for becoming strong!
Lin Xiaotian also nodded faintly, a trace of gratification flashing through his eyes. Although he still had doubts regarding Lin Chen's potential, such fighting spirit was still worthy of recognition.
Only the people from Lin Zhenhong's branch looked even more displeased! Trash! He could not even defeat a piece of trash whose potential had run dry! How useless!
On the stage, Lin Feng's expression shifted between green and white. He looked at Lin Chen, sprawled on the ground as though he might stop breathing at any moment, then at his own numbed arm and faintly aching chest. In the end, he clenched his teeth and clasped his hands toward the referee, his voice carrying unwillingness and humiliation. "I... I concede!"
He had truly been frightened by Lin Chen's "madness"! If they continued fighting, who knew what else this lunatic might do! Besides, losing to someone whose "potential had run dry" was embarrassing, but it was still better than being dragged into mutual destruction with him!
"Lin Chen wins!" The referee announced loudly at once, as though a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
Only then did Lin Chen seem to let out a breath of relief. Supported by two stewards, he "struggled" to his feet, gave another "weak" salute toward the stage, then limped down from the fighting platform.
This battle once again changed everyone's impression of Lin Chen!
This fellow might lack potential, but his ruthlessness and resilience were simply terrifying! He would rather risk severe injury or even mutual destruction than fail to drag his opponent down with him!
Better to provoke him less in the future!
With a "miserable victory," Lin Chen successfully reinforced his image as someone with "insufficient potential but unyielding resolve, and passable strength at best—probably no more than the early Fourth Layer"!
The following ranking battles became even more interesting.
Because of Lin Chen's presence, and his mutual-destruction style of fighting, some who had originally wanted to challenge him—or who might have drawn him as an opponent—began to hesitate.
After all, no one wanted to fight a "lunatic" to mutual ruin for the sake of an empty reputation, thereby affecting their future development.
In the end, over the next several rounds of matches and challenges, Lin Chen "struggled" to win another battle. His opponent had likewise been intimidated by his "madness," fought with too many restraints, and was eventually caught by Lin Chen, who "narrowly won." He also lost one battle "reasonably enough." His opponent was a genius at the Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer Early Stage, and even after Lin Chen "gave his all," he could not bridge the gap in cultivation. He ultimately suffered a "regretful" defeat.
Thus, his final ranking was fixed at—seventh place!
This rank was neither high nor low. It suited his image of having "insufficient potential but passable strength," while still allowing him to obtain decent rewards and an allocation of resources. At the same time, it would not attract too much attention or bring him excessive trouble!
It was simply... perfect!
When the final rankings were announced and Lin Chen went onstage again to receive the reward for seventh place—the reward was still somewhat more generous than those given to others of the same rank, making the family head's favoritism obvious—the "exhausted," "weak," yet faintly "satisfied" and "unyielding" expression on his face once again drew countless sideways glances.
The testing ceremony finally came to a complete end amid all manner of complicated emotions and discussions.
The situation among the Lin Family's younger generation seemed... truly destined to change because of this mysterious youth's appearance?
No one knew the answer.
Only Lin Chen himself knew that all of this had merely been a grand play he had carefully directed!
The true storm had yet to descend!
Carrying his generous rewards, Lin Chen silently returned to his small courtyard beneath countless complicated gazes.
He shut the courtyard gate, cutting himself off from the outside world.
The exhaustion, weakness, and confusion on Lin Chen's face vanished in an instant, replaced by eyes as calm as an abyss and... a trace of cold killing intent!
The "actor's" role was over.
Next, it was time for the "hunter" to take the stage!
Lin Bao... your nightmare had only just begun!
Tonight would be your... day of death!
No, perhaps sparing your dog life and letting you watch as I ascend step by step toward the heavens would be the cruelest torment of all?
A cruel, icy curve lifted at the corner of Lin Chen's mouth.
He began carefully examining his condition and adjusting his breathing, swiftly recovering the energy he had expended on his daytime "performance." At the same time, he sorted through the rewards he had just received, along with the "spoils" he had gathered earlier.
Spirit stones, medicinal pills, magic artifacts, talismans... as well as that mysterious beast-hide movement technique manual, and the Nine-Orifice Black Stone that had caused the furnace to react!
All of these would become the foundation for his actions tonight!
Before you continue