An Uninvited Guest!

Lin Xia curled his lip in disgust, his stomach churning.

He knew that gray Buou was pure evil.

But he honestly hadn't expected him to be so violent.

For the next while, Thin Buu put on a killing show.

Although he had only inherited Fat Buu's skills and hadn't gained any new ones,

the boost to his stats still gave the little monsters a world of trouble.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Thin Buu finally finished off all the Flame Snakes.

Just then, a giant three-headed snake monster emerged from the lava.

[Flame Snake Leader (LV8): Each time it takes a fatal hit, it loses one head and grows stronger.]

"Get him, Buou!"

Lin Xia gave the order.

He watched Thin Buu grapple with the leader, making no move to help.

Instead, he raised both hands and began forming the gestures for the [Neo Tri-Beam].

Lin Xia had already seen what Buou could do and knew he could defeat the leader.

But it would take some time.

And Lin Xia didn't feel like waiting.

So he planned to charge up his Ki Blast Cannon while Buou kept the leader busy, then take it out in one shot!

Ten seconds later.

"Neo Tri-Beam—!!"

At Lin Xia's furious shout, an earth-shaking wave of energy blasted forth!!

"??!"

Buou, locked in a struggle with the leader, heard the commotion and immediately looked up, his face full of question marks.

All three of the Flame Snake Leader's faces showed shock and panic.

As a speed-type monster, it instinctively tried to flee the attack.

But when the leader tried to swing its tail, it found it couldn't move.

It looked back and saw Buou grinning wickedly as he clung tightly to its tail.

The next second,

the powerful energy wave struck.

With a scream, the leader and Buou were swallowed up in an instant!

[Flame Snake Leader slain!]

[Experience +1500!]

A notification appeared before Lin Xia's eyes.

The secret realm exit also appeared behind him.

Without hesitation, he walked straight through.

When Lin Xia returned to the forest, it was still deserted.

The secret realm entrance had turned a dim gray before his eyes.

That meant it was on cooldown for him and wouldn't be available again for six hours.

Seeing this, Lin Xia used the Dance in the Sky Technique to fly up to a tall pine nearby. He found a sturdy-looking branch and plopped down on it.

Then he took out the Stamina Supplement he'd bought on the way—a loaf of bread—and ate it to recover from the exhaustion the Ki Blast Cannon had caused. At the same time, he opened the link Zhu Tingyu had sent him, his expression serious.

As the saying went, know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

He finally had time to study Qin Tianyu carefully.

"Whoosh!"

A virtual screen appeared, playing footage of Qin Tianyu's previous battle.

Since this year's tournament still used a 5v5 format, Lin Xia zoomed in on Qin Tianyu and focused his attention on him alone.

In the footage, Qin Tianyu seemed completely unconcerned by the Imperial University contestant's relentless attacks. He dodged with an easygoing, relaxed air, always keeping himself out of harm's way.

He didn't even take the initiative to attack, staying on the defensive the whole time.

"What a show-off..."

Lin Xia couldn't stand watching and started fast-forwarding.

Before long, Qin Tianyu's attack flashed across the screen. Lin Xia paused at just the right moment, then resumed playback at normal speed.

"Nightmare Entanglement—!!"

A cloud of smoke-like gas shot from Qin Tianyu's palm.

Lin Xia zoomed in again and finally made out a blurry, eerie face flickering in and out of view within the smoke.

When the gas hit the Imperial University contestant, it didn't cause any visible injury.

The contestant lowered his head to stare at the spot on his chest where he'd been hit, looking doubtful.

It was as if he were saying, That's it? Is that all?

But the next second, his eyes suddenly rolled back. He clutched his head and dropped to his knees with a thud.

Veins bulged along his neck and forehead. His mouth twitched now and then, and his expression twisted with agony, as if he were enduring something unbearably horrifying...

Then Qin Tianyu let out a cold laugh and snapped his fingers with his right hand.

"Whoosh!"

At the same time, a black ring of light appeared beneath the contestant's feet.

The ground inside the ring began to crack. Amid a series of bone-chilling screams, one skeletal hand after another reached out.

They grabbed the contestant without mercy and began dragging him into the ring, as though they meant to haul him straight to hell...

The contestant's face was crumpled with despair and helplessness. His lips trembled slightly, as if he were struggling with all his might to say the words, "I surrender!"

But he clearly couldn't.

Soon, the contestant's body was submerged in the ring from the waist down.

"Stop!!!"

The referee, who had witnessed it all, seemed to realize how serious the situation was. He rushed over at once and signaled for Qin Tianyu to cancel the spell!

Qin Tianyu was clearly reluctant, but he had no choice but to comply.

He snapped his fingers again, and the countless skeletal hands on the contestant began retreating into the ring.

But!

When the referee dragged the contestant's body out of the ring,

Lin Xia was shocked to find that the man's lower body looked as though something had eaten it. Bite marks covered it; most of the flesh on his thighs was gone, leaving only blood and scraps of meat clinging to the bones...

Even if the contestant survived, his career as an Awakener was basically over.

"A control-type skill?"

"Even though I don't know what it feels like to get hit by it..."

"I'll have to be extra careful. I absolutely can't let [Nightmare Entanglement] hit me!"

Lin Xia muttered to himself.

Then he played another clip—

Qin Tianyu used a Transformation Card and turned into a Skeletal Behemoth nearly fifteen meters tall!

But the behemoth didn't seem to have any special skills.

It only attacked with basic moves like "stomping, smashing, and clawing."

Even so, the Imperial University contestants were completely unable to defend themselves.

Lin Xia noticed that the Skeletal Behemoth seemed immune to damage...

No matter what moves the Imperial University contestants used, Qin Tianyu remained unharmed. His health didn't decrease in the slightest.

"No way. When this guy turns into a monster, does he get a period of 'invincibility'?!"

Lin Xia scratched his head, his expression turning grim. "If that's really the case, this is going to be a problem..."

"Are you a monkey? If not, could you come down from that tree?"

A familiar voice rang out.

Lin Xia's brows knitted tight. He put away the screen and looked down, his pupils contracting instantly.

The person who had arrived was none other than Meng Bo, back from the dead!!