Wang Tao's Shock

For the first few dozen moves, Lin Ye was able to hold his own by relying on his exquisite footwork and a higher mastery of his fist techniques, even occasionally finding tricky angles and timing to cause the opponent some trouble.

However, as the battle progressed, when the NPC warrior's blood-qi began to rise slowly and its fist momentum grew increasingly heavy, this method gradually ceased to be effective. Although his Lost Track Steps remained exquisite, his room for evasion was constantly being compressed by the opponent's climbing strength.

Several times, he narrowly avoided heavy punches that would have caused his defeat, and beads of sweat had already formed on the forehead of his virtual body.

"I can't fight head-on; I must end this quickly."

"If I drag this out any longer, once its blood-qi value reaches the limit of the Body Forging stage, I won't stand a chance."

Lin Ye had a crystal-clear understanding of the situation on the field, so he attempted to find a tiny opening in the transition of the opponent's Rolling Stone Fist to land a full-force strike.

After a seemingly successful feint, Lin Ye risked cutting into the center line, driving a straight punch condensed with all his strength toward the Phantom Warrior's heart.

Just as it was about to land, the Phantom Warrior displayed agility far beyond that of a typical NPC in the blink of an eye. It forcibly twisted its body to take the punch on its shoulder, while simultaneously launching its long-prepared left fist toward Lin Ye like a cannonball.

Lin Ye's pupils shrank, his Lost Track Steps shifted urgently, and he retreated violently, but he was still half a beat too slow.

"Bang!"

The heavy force of the punch grazed his right arm, bringing a wave of intense pain and numbness. He staggered, his previously orderly combat rhythm instantly disrupted. How could the phantom NPC let such an opportunity slip? The opponent's offensive followed like a torrential storm. With his right arm injured and his movements sluggish, Lin Ye could no longer execute his Lost Track Steps with the same ease as before, and under the crushing pressure of the opponent's ever-increasing blood-qi and fist momentum, his defenses were broken one after another.

Finally, after failing to dodge and taking a heavy punch head-on, his blood-qi vibrated violently, his vision went black, and then another unavoidable fist shadow appeared before his eyes.

"Boom!"

His chest felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and his virtual senses transmitted a clear sensation of "shattering" pain. His entire body flew backward uncontrollably, crashing heavily outside the platform.

[Stage 6, challenge failed]

Large red characters entered his vision, followed by a shroud of light that gently ejected his consciousness from the Illusion Tower.

The virtual pod door slid open. Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes and let out a long, stale breath. Although he felt somewhat frustrated by the failed challenge, his reason remained intact, and he calmly analyzed the previous combat situation.

"Stage 6 is still quite difficult."

"The NPC's intelligence is very high, and it even knows how to bait the enemy. Although my Rolling Stone Fist is at a higher level than its, the gap in blood-qi is obvious, and it has a growth trait... Losing is certainly not unjust."

He silently evaluated the performance, still feeling a sense of regret.

"If I could use the Mountain-Suppressing Fist, I should be able to bridge a significant gap and perhaps emerge victorious."

Lin Ye was unsure whether the Mountain-Suppressing Fist fell under the category of basic martial arts, so he did not rashly attempt to use it.

He flexed his right arm, which had been injured in the virtual battle, took a deep breath, and slowly adjusted his state. Feeling that he was fine, he headed to the rest area under the guidance of the staff.

Passing through a quiet corridor, he arrived at the "Second Rest Area".

Unlike the noisy waiting hall, this place was much quieter and smaller. It was furnished with dozens of comfortable chairs, and currently, only a dozen or so people were scattered among them. Most were closing their eyes to rest or staring blankly at the energy screen on the wall, waiting for the trials to end.

Upon entering, Lin Ye scanned the room and spotted a familiar figure in a window seat—Wang Tao.

He was somewhat surprised. According to the order of the examinee numbers, Wang Tao should have been in one of the later batches; why would he be out before him? But after a second thought, Lin Ye understood. Given Wang Tao's blood-qi value, it wasn't strange that he would come out earlier than him, regardless of how many stages he passed.

He estimated that Wang Tao must have been defeated at the second or third stage.

At this moment, Wang Tao, who was idling in his seat, noticed someone entering. He glanced over and saw Lin Ye at the entrance. His previously listless expression instantly brightened. He waved his hand immediately and called out in a low voice, "Brother Ye, over here!"

Hearing this, Lin Ye nodded, walked through the crowd, and sat in the empty seat next to Wang Tao.

"You're out."

Wang Tao leaned in closer, his face full of curiosity and a hint of excitement at finally finding someone he knew. "How was it? How was it? Which stage did you reach, Brother Ye?"

His tone was urgent; he was desperate to know the results of others, especially the results of Lin Ye, the friend who had created a "miracle of progress."

Lin Ye glanced at him without answering immediately. He simply walked to the water dispenser nearby, filled a cup of water, and sat back down to drink it slowly.

Wang Tao was stunned by Lin Ye's behavior, not understanding why he did that. The excitement on his face faded slightly, and then, as if remembering something, his expression became somewhat awkward and unnatural.

He scratched his head, his voice dropping. "About that, Brother Ye... yesterday in the group chat... the fact that your blood-qi value was exposed, I was just a bit too excited." He looked somewhat annoyed. "I didn't think it through; I just felt that since you'd made such great progress, everyone should know... I'm sorry, I didn't get your permission."

Lin Ye put down his water cup and looked at Wang Tao's sheepish expression. He could tell that Wang Tao had no malicious intent; he was just a bit careless by nature, and perhaps he was genuinely happy for him, which led him to blurt it out in the group.

Although he knew that such things would eventually be known, he preferred to keep a low profile and didn't particularly like this kind of behavior. However, since it had already happened, there was no point in dwelling on it.

Besides, even if Wang Tao hadn't said anything, he figured others would have asked, especially that guy Zhang Zhen.

Seeing that Wang Tao's attitude was sincere enough, Lin Ye nodded and said faintly, "It's fine."

This was his way of accepting Wang Tao's apology.

Hearing this, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief and perked up again, though this time he asked more cautiously: "Then... how did you do this time, Brother Ye? You must have done much better than me."

He paused and added, "I... I crashed at the second stage again. I ran into that guy who uses his legs; his speed was too fast, and I didn't last long."

After saying this, a bitter smile appeared on his face. Sometimes, facing one's own mediocrity is a very difficult thing, especially when it matters so much.

Lin Ye was silent for a moment, empathizing with the other's experience—or perhaps, Wang Tao was simply himself without the awakened golden finger. However, seeing him looking at him with eager eyes again, Lin Ye felt both annoyed and amused.

"The sixth stage."

A moment later, Lin Ye's smile faded, and he calmly spat out the three words.

"Oh, the sixth stage... What?! The sixth stage?!!"

Wang Tao repeated it subconsciously, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He nearly bounced out of his chair, his eyes wide as saucers. His voice rose sharply due to extreme shock, but he suddenly realized the inappropriateness of the occasion and quickly covered his mouth, though the look of horror on his face could not be hidden at all.

He lowered his voice, whispering in a breathy tone: "Brother Ye, you reached the sixth stage?! That... that sixth stage guarded by a peak Body Forging expert?!"

Hearing this, Lin Ye nodded.

"My god..."

Seeing Lin Ye nod, Wang Tao gasped, looking him up and down as if he were a monster. "Brother Ye, how... how did you do it? Isn't your vitality 335? Didn't the guardian of the fifth stage use a Great Success level fist technique? You actually cleared that, Brother Ye?"

"I heard last time that a candidate with over 380 vitality fell at the fifth stage, yet you actually... no, this is just..."

He was somewhat incoherent, clearly shocked by the news from Lin Ye.

He remembered that during the last mock exam, Lin Ye had been defeated at the fourth stage, but this time he had charged straight to the sixth. This terrifying rate of progress was even more unbelievable than a sudden surge in vitality, because it meant that Lin Ye's actual combat power had likely far exceeded the level represented by his vitality, allowing him to go head-to-head with the top-tier students.