The Protagonist's Gaze! Ye Xuan: Did You See That, Coward? Lin Yuan: Oh.

On the arena.

After basking in a tsunami of cheers for a full half minute, Ye Xuan slowly suppressed the wild joy and excitement in his heart.

Just then, he seemed to sense something.

Somewhere in the unseen, a detached gaze seemed to fall upon him from a corner at the very top of the stadium.

That gaze held no hostility, no killing intent, not even a trace of emotion.

Yet it carried an intensely uncomfortable feeling, as though it were watching an ant perform...

A sense of scrutiny.

Ye Xuan abruptly looked up.

His gaze, sharp as a sword, locked precisely onto that direction—

The Supreme VIP Box!

Though they were separated by a vast distance and special one-way glass.

He knew that Lin Yuan was there!

He could almost see that man looking down at him from on high!

Boom!

An even more violent fury erupted from the depths of Ye Xuan's heart!

Coward!

A coward who only dared hide inside his shell, without even the courage to enter the competition!

Did you see that?

This was the stage Ye Xuan deserved!

This was the glory Ye Xuan deserved!

And you could only be like a rat that dared not see daylight.

Hiding in some shadowy corner, watching helplessly as I climbed, step by step, toward a pinnacle you could never reach!

An extremely arrogant, deeply provocative curve lifted at the corner of Ye Xuan's mouth.

Facing that direction, he silently formed the words.

"Wait—for—me!"

Inside the VIP box.

Lin Yuan naturally saw Ye Xuan's provocative stare and the words he mouthed.

He could not even be bothered to make out what the other man had said.

He merely found it amusing.

A puppet controlled by strings, one that did not even know whether it would live or die the next second, actually dared to provoke the one controlling the chessboard?

"Heh."

Lin Yuan let out a meaningless chuckle.

He withdrew his gaze and turned his attention back to the unfinished plate of Spirit Fruit before him.

As though everything that had just happened was no more than a monkey in a show happening to look up at him.

Nothing more.

Beside him, Gu Ningxue had taken in everything.

She looked at Lin Yuan's calm, indifferent expression, which even held a hint of boredom.

Then she thought of Ye Xuan's self-righteous provocation, and an overwhelming sense of absurdity suddenly welled up within her.

The gap between these two really...

Had already grown so vast that words could no longer describe it?

One stood on the first floor, believing he had reached the fifth.

The other was already beyond the atmosphere, looking down upon the entire chessboard.

"The competition continues!"

As the host's voice rang out once more, the brief break came to an end.

The third round of draws officially began!

The display rapidly scrolled, and soon, the new matchups were revealed.

This time, Ye Xuan's name stood beside that of another overwhelming favorite to win the championship!

[Capital Martial Arts Academy · Ye Xuan VS God of War Academy · Shi Lei]

Whoosh!

The entire venue erupted once again!

"My god! The main event is here! Ye Xuan is facing Shi Lei, the 'Immovable King'!"

"Now this is going to be good! One is a madman with explosive attack power who charges forward without hesitation! The other is an absurdly durable iron wall that cannot be broken!"

"Tell me, is Ye Xuan's spear sharper, or is Shi Lei's shield sturdier?"

"My money's on Shi Lei! They say his 'King of Light Glazed Body' can withstand even a full-force strike from a Marrow Cleansing Realm Eighth Level expert! For Ye Xuan to break his defense would be harder than climbing to the heavens!"

"Exactly! Shi Lei is best at wars of attrition! Once Ye Xuan's explosive style drains his spiritual power, he'll be a lamb awaiting slaughter!"

Amid almost entirely one-sided discussion, Ye Xuan and Shi Lei, who was built like a brown bear, stepped onto the arena.

"Ye Xuan."

Shi Lei spoke in a deep, booming voice like a great bell. "Your fists are hard. I admire that. But this ends here."

He suddenly stomped both feet against the ground!

"King of Light Glazed Body, activate!"

Bzzzt—!

A golden barrier, translucent as glazed glass yet radiating the aura of Invulnerable Diamond, instantly enveloped his entire body!

He seemed to transform into an immovable wrathful vajra. Merely standing there gave people a despairing sense that he could never be overcome!

"Is that so?"

The madness in Ye Xuan's scarlet eyes grew even thicker!

Strong defense?

Then I'll blow you and your shell apart together!

"Burning Blood into a Dragon, Second Stage!"

With an angry roar, the blood within his body began to boil at an unprecedented speed!

An aura even more violent and bloodthirsty than before erupted from him!

Droplets of blood even began seeping from the surface of his skin, making him look like an asura crawling out of hell!

"Die!"

"Dragon Fighting in the Wilderness!"

Ye Xuan turned into a streak of crimson lightning and charged before Shi Lei in an instant!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, he threw dozens of punches!

Every punch contained terrifying power capable of splitting stone tablets and shattering boulders!

His dense, raindrop-like fists heavily smashed against Shi Lei's golden glazed barrier, unleashing wave after wave of deafening explosions!

The entire arena was Trembling Violently!

Yet Shi Lei's "King of Light Glazed Body" truly lived up to its reputation!

Under that storm-like barrage, the golden barrier flashed wildly and rippled without cease, but it remained firm, showing not the slightest sign of breaking!

"Useless!"

"Your attacks cannot break my defense at all!"

Shi Lei sneered from within the barrier.

"Is that so?!"

Ye Xuan's eyes became even crazier!

"Then let me show you what true power is!"

"Dragon—Roars—Through—the—Nine—Heavens!"

He abruptly stepped back, clasped his fists together, and raised them high above his head!

All the spiritual power in his body, along with his burning life essence, gathered into his fists without reservation at this moment!

A ferocious dragon phantom formed from crimson energy slowly emerged behind him, releasing a silent roar that shook the soul!

"Break... for me!!!"

Rumble—!!!

This punch seemed to detonate the void itself!

The crimson fist force transformed into a destructive meteor and heavily smashed into that golden glazed barrier!

Crack—!

A crisp sound, like shattering glass, clearly spread throughout the entire venue!

Before everyone's horrified-to-death eyes.

Shi Lei's prized "King of Light Glazed Body," hailed as absolute defense, shattered with a thunderous crash before that ferocious blood dragon!

Pfft!

As though struck by lightning, Shi Lei violently spurted out a mouthful of blood.

His massive body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily off the arena.

Ye Xuan won again!

One punch!

Still one punch!

The entire Dragon's Nest Stadium sank into deathly silence!

A hundred thousand spectators, countless media reporters, every competing contestant...

At this moment, it was as if they had all been struck by an Immobilization Spell. Their mouths hung open, their faces full of expressions as though they had seen a ghost!

After that brief Dead Silence came screams and cheers that completely lost control, like a volcano erupting!

"Holy shit!!! Is this fucking real?! Am I seeing things?!"

"One punch! Another single punch! The Invulnerable Diamond Glazed Body got smashed apart with one punch?!"

"This... this is fucking damage a Marrow Cleansing Realm Fourth Level can deal?! I'd believe you if you told me he was in the Qi Sea Realm!"

"Monster! He's a monster! This year's championship is definitely his!"

In the contestants' seats on both sides of the arena.

For the first time, a grave expression appeared on Qin Zhan's perpetually Ice Mountain-like face.

The seductive smile on Liu Ruyan's face also vanished completely.

In its place was unprecedented wariness.

As for Ye Xuan, he merely slowly withdrew his fist.

He did not even spare Shi Lei on the ground another glance.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over Qin Zhan, then Liu Ruyan, before finally landing on Gu Ningxue...

A wild, arrogant smile curved his lips.

He slowly raised a hand and held out one finger.

Everyone understood the words he mouthed.

Next!