"Boom!"
Lin Xiao stepped onto the metal floor of the alloy arena, his footsteps unsteady. When he landed, they even stirred a dull echo.
The entire venue fell deathly silent. Thousands of gazes, like tangible probes, focused on his paper-pale face and his faintly trembling body that was clearly buckling under the strain.
"Heh..." Across from him, Liu Meng let out an undisguised sneer that rumbled like muffled thunder.
He suddenly shook both arms. His knotted muscles swelled as if inflated, while veins bulged beneath his bronze skin. A savage, violent aura erupted with a boom!
The pressure of a mid-stage One-Star Martial Artist poured out without restraint, like an invisible sledgehammer slamming viciously into Lin Xiao!
"Lin Xiao! Get on your knees for me!"
Liu Meng roared viciously, his voice making the ropes around the arena hum.
He had no intention of giving Lin Xiao any chance to catch his breath. He kicked off the ground!
Boom!
The alloy arena let out a dull groan!
Liu Meng's burly body shot forward like a cannonball, wrapped in suffocating wind. In an instant, he crossed several meters!
His fist, as large as a cooking pot, glowed with ocher True Qi. It tore through the air with a piercing shriek and smashed straight toward Lin Xiao's face!
Iron Bone Raging Bull Strength! Tremendous power, heavy and unstoppable, enough to shatter monuments and split stone!
He held nothing back in this punch!
His goal was to cripple Lin Xiao—and even take his life!
A suppressed chorus of gasps rose from the stands!
Many girls even covered their eyes!
Fatty Wang anxiously jumped up and down in the crowd, his face gone pale!
On the chairman's platform, Wang Zhenshan's eyes suddenly sharpened like blades, and the hand resting on the table clenched hard!
He could tell that Liu Meng's punch was filled with killing intent! He could barely resist the urge to intervene!
At this critical moment!
Lin Xiao moved!
The instant Liu Meng's terrifying fist wind reached him, Lin Xiao's eyes—bloodshot from overdrawing his Source Energy Points yet exceptionally clear thanks to Nerve Signal Conduction Optimization—distinctly captured the fist's trajectory, the point where its power erupted, and an extremely subtle opening created by Liu Meng's forward momentum!
He did not meet it head-on! He did not retreat!
Lin Xiao's body was like weightless willow fluff. At the instant the violent fist wind touched him, he twisted sharply to the left with incredible danger.
The movement was small, yet precise to the slightest degree, as if it had been calculated countless times!
Whoosh!
The terrifying iron fist wrapped in ocher True Qi brushed past the tip of Lin Xiao's nose!
The wind of the punch stung his cheek, sending the loose hair over his forehead flying wildly backward!
That had been close!
Liu Meng's punch missed. The enormous inertia made his body lean slightly forward, leaving his move fully extended!
A trace of astonishment flashed through his eyes. Clearly, he had not expected the heavily injured Lin Xiao to evade the punch he had been certain would land!
"Dodge? Let's see how long you can keep dodging!"
Liu Meng roared, reacting incredibly fast!
His left leg swept sideways like a steel whip, carrying a heavy gust of wind as it viciously swept toward Lin Xiao's lower body!
The kick was fast and ruthless, sealing off every possible avenue of escape!
Lin Xiao's pupils narrowed slightly!
His optimized reaction speed allowed him to catch the shadow of the leg, but his heavily injured body could not keep up with his mind's commands!
There was no time to force a sidestep!
No choice!
Lin Xiao clenched his teeth and forcefully tapped the ground with the tip of his left foot!
Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging toward Liu Meng like a moth rushing into flames!
At the same time, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and took Liu Meng's sweeping iron leg head-on!
Bang—crack!
A muffled impact rang out at the same time as a teeth-grating crack of breaking bone!
"Ugh!" Lin Xiao let out a pained groan. He was sent flying as if struck by a speeding truck, both arms in excruciating pain as though his bones were about to shatter!
His body flew backward uncontrollably and slammed into the elastic ropes at the edge of the arena. It bounced back hard, and he landed on one knee, vomiting a mouthful of blood!
His face instantly changed from pale to a deathly waxen yellow!
The bones in his arms had not actually broken, but beneath the terrifying force of Iron Bone Raging Bull Strength, a bone-splitting pain and sensation of torn muscles spread through his entire body!
The wounds on his back had been shaken open again, and blood quickly stained his school uniform red!
"Brother Xiao!" Fatty Wang's eyes nearly burst from their sockets!
The stands erupted in an uproar! One strike! It had taken only one strike for Lin Xiao to cough up blood and suffer severe injuries! How could he possibly continue fighting?
"Trash! You're completely useless!"
Liu Meng grinned savagely as he withdrew his leg. Looking at Lin Xiao kneeling and spitting blood, his eyes were filled with cruel delight. "Today, I'll crush every bone in your body, one by one!" He strode forward like a giant crushing an ant and advanced once more!
Lin Xiao knelt on one knee, breathing heavily. Every breath carried the taste of blood and a burning pain in his lungs.
The pain from both arms made it nearly impossible for him to clench his fists.
Deep in his soul, the sense of depletion at -2.13 surged like a cold tide, battering his wavering consciousness wave after wave. The black cracks across the dusky-blue light screen in his mind flashed frantically, as if it would completely shatter in the next instant!
The thirty-minute enhancement period was rapidly slipping away!
His severe injuries were crazily overdrawing the life force that was already exhausted!
He could not lose! Absolutely not!
Fifty thousand Credit Points! Source Energy Points!
His hope of escaping depletion! It all depended on this battle!
"Scan! Maximum power! Target: Liu Meng! Weakness!"
Lin Xiao let out a soundless roar deep within his soul!
His intent, like a dying beast, slammed viciously into the light screen on the verge of collapse!
Buzz!
The light screen flickered and warped violently!
The black cracks spread wildly! The core released a sharp, anguished whine as it neared disintegration!
Warning! Core overloaded! Scanning accuracy severely reduced!
Target locked: Liu Meng (mid-stage One-Star Martial Artist). Technique: "Iron Bone Raging Bull Strength" (Yellow-tier High-grade, focused on strengthening sinews and bones and explosive power).
Status scan: ...A slight skeletal displacement and qi-and-blood stagnation have been detected on the right side of the third lumbar vertebra (an old injury point)...When True Qi circulates through this area, a 0.05-second delay occurs...
Modifiable item: ...Forcefully amplify the qi-and-blood stagnation at the old injury point for an instant, triggering intense pain and localized muscle spasms (estimated effect: disrupt movement and weaken power output)...Required Source Energy Points: 0.1! Warning! The core is on the verge of collapse! This operation may cause irreversible damage!
0.1 points!
Subtracting another 0.1 from -2.13 would make it -2.23!
The risk of the core collapsing completely would exceed ninety percent!
Lin Xiao bit his lower lip hard, and blood instantly seeped out!
The warning of destruction from deep within his soul stabbed through him like billions of steel needles at once!
It was the ultimate terror of complete annihilation!
But Liu Meng's iron fist, wrapped in the shadow of death, was already blasting toward his head again with a vicious gust of wind!
Killing intent was blatantly displayed on his savage face!
There was no way back! He could only gamble everything he had left!
"Modify! Target: old injury at the lumbar spine! Detonate it!"
Lin Xiao's intent erupted with one last, most frenzied roar from the depths of despair!
Command received! Source Energy Points deducted: 0.1!
Source Energy Points: -2.13 - 0.1 = -2.23!
Modifying parameters... (The light screen is collapsing violently! Black cracks have completely covered it like a spiderweb! The core is emitting a destructive wail!) ...Modification complete!
Boom!
An indescribable emptiness and tearing pain, as if his entire soul had been instantly drained and crushed, exploded in the depths of Lin Xiao's consciousness like the birth of the universe!
His vision suddenly went black, and fine threads of blood seeped from all seven orifices at once!
His body convulsed violently, as if it might fall apart at any moment!
The real world.
At the exact instant Lin Xiao confirmed the command and the Source Energy Points were deducted!
Liu Meng was grinning savagely, pouring all his strength into his right fist and preparing to smash Lin Xiao's skull apart. Suddenly, his movements froze!
His ferocious body, charging forward like a wild bull, seemed to have been struck in the lower back by an invisible hammer!
The savage grin on his face twisted instantly into an expression of extreme pain, shock, and disbelief!
"Ughhhh!"
A shriek so agonized that it warped in pitch burst from Liu Meng's throat!
The cry was filled with pain, panic, and incomprehension!
He felt as if a red-hot iron had been shoved into the old injury point at the third lumbar vertebra in his lower back—the injury he had suffered from a cultivation mishap years ago and had long since forgotten!
An indescribable, bone-piercing pain erupted in an instant and spread like an electric current through his entire lower body!
Along with the pain came violent, uncontrollable spasms in the muscles on the right side of his waist and thigh!
It was as if countless steel needles were stirring madly within his muscle fibers!
The violent True Qi condensed in his right fist instantly dispersed!
His fierce forward momentum came to an abrupt halt!
His burly body seemed to have had its spine pulled out. He instantly lost his balance, stumbled, and pitched forward like a drunk!
His face twisted out of shape from the pain and spasms. Veins bulged on his forehead, and cold sweat poured down like a waterfall!
An opening!
Blood shot from Lin Xiao's eyes!
It was a counterattack from someone driven to the brink, burning his life force!
He endured the soul-shattering pain and the extreme burden on his body, then let out a low growl like an injured lone wolf!
The last remnants of his strength erupted from his body. He no longer dodged. Instead, he charged straight at the falling Liu Meng like an arrow released from its bow!
He did not use his fist!
Instead, he gathered all his strength into the only part that could still barely exert force—his left shoulder!
At the same time, he squeezed out the last trace of barely perceptible "activity" from the dusky-blue light screen in his mind, which was on the verge of extinguishing completely. He forcibly locked onto the back and side of Liu Meng's neck, exposed before him because of the pain and spasms!
Target: carotid sinus!
Bang!
Lin Xiao's collision, fueled by his burning life, slammed into the junction of Liu Meng's jaw and neck!
The force was not especially great, but the timing, angle, and precision were as exact as a surgeon's scalpel!
"Ugh!" Liu Meng's consciousness was already hazy from the pain and spasms. This precise impact was the final straw that broke the camel's back!
His vision went black, and a powerful wave of dizziness instantly overwhelmed his consciousness!
The suffocating sensation from the blow to his neck made his hands claw helplessly at the air!
Thud!
Liu Meng's tower-like body completely lost all strength and crashed face-first onto the cold alloy arena like a heap of mud!
A dull boom rang out!
His body twitched twice, then went completely still!
Only his pain-twisted face and his wide-open eyes, still filled with shock and confusion, proved what he had just experienced.
The entire Third Martial Arts Training Hall was silent as death!
So quiet that a falling pin could be heard!
Thousands of eyes stared fixedly at the unbelievable scene on the arena—Liu Meng, who had charged in with overwhelming momentum and arrogance, was sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, completely motionless.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao, who was swaying on the verge of collapse and drenched in blood, stood stubbornly like a spear, trembling faintly!
His face was as pale as gold paper. Blood that had not yet dried hung from the corners of his mouth, his nostrils, and even the corners of his eyes. His school uniform was soaked through with blood and sweat, clinging tightly to his body and outlining his battered form.
Every breath came with the wheezing of a broken bellows, as if he would stop breathing completely in the next second.
But he was standing! Standing before his fallen enemy!
Time seemed to freeze for several seconds.
"Whoa!"
The next moment, a wave of noise like a tsunami suddenly erupted!
Gasps, sharp intakes of breath, and disbelieving discussions nearly lifted the roof off the venue!
"Oh my god! What happened?"
"Liu Meng... fell? Lin Xiao knocked him down?"
"I... I'm not seeing things, am I? Lin Xiao won?"
"He... what did he do just now? How did he do it? How did Liu Meng suddenly..."
"Silence!"
Wang Zhenshan suddenly rose from the chairman's platform. His low shout, infused with True Qi, exploded like thunder and instantly suppressed the uproar throughout the venue!
His sharp, eagle-like gaze locked onto the swaying Lin Xiao on the arena, filled with shock, doubt, and a trace of scrutiny that was difficult to describe!
He quickly walked down from the chairman's platform and reached the edge of the arena. His gaze first swept over Liu Meng, who lay motionless on the ground. He reached out to check his breathing and carotid pulse, confirming that he had only fainted and was in no danger of death.
His brows furrowed tightly before he looked at Lin Xiao.
"Lin Xiao! How are you?"
Wang Zhenshan's voice carried a note of solemnity.
Lin Xiao's condition at that moment looked ten times worse than Liu Meng's!
That was a completely spent, on-the-verge-of-collapse look!
When Lin Xiao heard Wang Zhenshan's voice, his unfocused eyes struggled to focus for a moment.
He parted his lips as if he wanted to say something, but only a string of hoarse, meaningless breaths escaped.
His body swayed violently, as if he would topple over the next second.
Wang Zhenshan's expression changed. He immediately vaulted onto the stage and caught Lin Xiao's nearly limp body.
The moment he touched him, he felt astonishing heat and weak, trembling shivers!
"Medical team! Quickly!"
Wang Zhenshan bellowed at the people below.
The school doctor and two martial arts teachers, who had been waiting nearby, immediately rushed onto the stage. Working together, they placed Lin Xiao on a stretcher and quickly performed a preliminary examination and stopped the bleeding.
"I... I'm fine..." Lin Xiao lay on the stretcher and struggled to force out a few words, but his eyes remained fixed on Wang Zhenshan, carrying a hint of stubbornness. "The prize money..."
Wang Zhenshan looked at Lin Xiao's stubborn eyes, then at the heavy prize-money bag beside the stretcher, which the school doctor had removed from Liu Meng. Inside was a thick stack of cash in Credit Points. He was silent for a moment, a complicated look flashing through his eyes, before finally nodding. "According to the rules, the winner receives the arena prize money—eight thousand Credit Points. Lin Xiao wins."
He picked up the prize-money bag and stuffed it into Lin Xiao's barely mobile left hand.
The heavy sensation reached him, and Lin Xiao's consciousness, nearly swallowed by pain and exhaustion, seemed to receive a faint trace of vitality.
He clenched the bag tightly, his knuckles paling from the force.
Ding! The host has completed the Campus Fame event (influence: moderate)... Source Energy Points settlement received: +0.3! In his mind, the faint blue light screen that had almost completely gone out flickered with extreme difficulty and weakness, like the final spark of a candle guttering in the wind. Source Energy Points: -2.23 + 0.3 = -1.93!
A faint current of warmth, nearly imperceptible, like a drop of sweet rain in a desert stricken by drought, seeped with extreme difficulty into the depths of his exhausted soul.
The black cracks spreading across the light screen, as if his entire existence might collapse at any moment, seemed to have... ever so slightly... closed up?
The core's destructive wail finally weakened and subsided.
Although the heavy burden of -1.93 remained, and neither the tearing of his soul nor the agony in his body had eased in the slightest, Lin Xiao knew that he had won the gamble!
He had temporarily crawled one small step back from the brink of total collapse!
Eight thousand Credit Points secured! Source Energy Points slightly recovered! The petty villains had been intimidated!
It was worth it!
The stretcher was lifted and quickly carried toward the medical room outside the arena.
Lin Xiao lay on the stretcher, his consciousness bobbing heavily in a sea of pain and exhaustion, until he finally sank into protective unconsciousness.
Only his left hand, clenched tightly around the prize-money bag, remained taut with bulging veins and never loosened.
On the stands, the crowd automatically parted to form a passage.
Countless gazes followed the stretcher, filled with shock, awe, confusion, and... a trace of fear.
"He... he really won..."
"How ruthless... ruthless toward himself, and even more ruthless toward his enemy..."
"Lin Xiao... we absolutely can't provoke him in the future..."
In a corner of the crowd, a figure in an inconspicuous school uniform and hood stared at the departing stretcher with a venomous gaze. Their fingers tapped rapidly across a personal terminal, and an encrypted message was quietly sent:
"Target: Lin Xiao. Suspected use of unknown method while severely injured, instantly defeating Liu Meng (mid-stage One-Star Martial Artist). Injuries extremely severe, but willpower tenacious. Suspicious point: Liu Meng exhibited abnormal agony and rigidity in the final moment. Recommendation: Raise threat-assessment level. Shadow Mark confirmed to be emitting fluctuations. Target's core condition is abnormal, with an extremely intense sense of depletion. 'Corrosive Seed' resonance weak. Continue observation."
In the shadows at the top of the arena, a cold gaze that nearly blended into the steel framework was also watching below.
Qin Bing stood there in the black combat uniform of the Special Operations Ninth Division, as silent as a ghost.
Her beautiful, cold face showed no emotion. Only her sharp, hawk-like eyes remained locked on Lin Xiao as he was carried away, with uncertain, icy suspicion churning deep within them.
"Lin Xiao... what secret are you hiding? The Shadow Alliance's mark... that bizarre reversal on the arena..."
She muttered under her breath, her voice cold as the Siberian wind. "It seems the surveillance level assigned to you... needs to be adjusted."
Her figure blurred, melting away like ink, and silently vanished into the shadows.
At the center of the arena, only Liu Meng remained, lying unconscious on the ground, with the pool of saliva he had drooled from the pain beneath him silently recounting this brutal and bizarre victory.
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