Skeletal Nightmare Beast!

Meng Bo wore a hooded windbreaker, his hands tucked into his pockets, his expression grim.

"Bang~"

Lin Xia landed on his feet, his eyes icy.

"Shh--!"

Before Lin Xia could speak, Meng Bo cut him off. "I know you have many questions, but I won't be answering them. I came to find you simply to remind you--

Both you and I harbor unspeakable secrets. You should know that the laws of Great Xia only permit death during a duel between Awakened.

So, you wouldn't be stupid enough to go around telling people you killed your own partner, would you?"

"You..." Lin Xia hesitated, then corrected himself: "To be precise, this shell of yours is no partner of mine!"

"Understood."

Meng Bo nodded, a meaningful smile spreading across his face. "Then I shall get down to business. It might hurt a little, so try to bear it."

"What?"

Lin Xia furrowed his brows, looking bewildered.

But Meng Bo said nothing more; his figure flickered, and he was instantly before Lin Xia.

His chest began to writhe, as if something were about to burst out from within.

"Squelch--!"

The next second, before Lin Xia could react, four crimson tentacles shot out from Meng Bo's chest, binding Lin Xia's limbs firmly.

"...Damn it!"

Lin Xia exerted all his strength, but he could not break free from the restraints.

"What a pity. I could have had a much better 'vessel'..."

Meng Bo licked his lips, his expression a mix of longing and regret. "Who could have guessed you would actually make it out of the Artificial Secret Realm alive?!"

"It was you! You did this!" Lin Xia roared. "Do you have any idea how many innocent people died in that realm, how many families were plunged into..."

"Oh, I didn't realize you were such a saint. How come I didn't see you considering their families when you killed Zhang Heng and Meng Bo?"

After speaking, Meng Bo opened his mouth, and his tongue began to stretch longer and longer—it was no longer a human tongue, for the tip was lined with circles of jagged gears.

"Squelch!"

The gear-tipped tongue pierced into Lin Xia's neck.

"Ah--!"

Lin Xia let out a shrill scream, but his eyelids soon grew heavy, and he drifted into unconsciousness.

"Gurgle, gurgle--"

Blood flowed through the tongue into Meng Bo's mouth.

Three seconds later.

"Thud~!"

Meng Bo retracted his tentacles, and Lin Xia collapsed to the ground.

As his tongue gradually shrank back to its normal size and retreated into his mouth, Meng Bo returned to his "human" state.

However, a wicked smirk remained on his face.

The next moment, at a thought from Meng Bo, his entire body exploded with a "Bang!"

On the ground lay a mass of bloody, mangled flesh.

It was a dark, foul crimson, its surface covered in bumpy, sticky muscle tissue. Several writhing, squirming tentacles squeezed out from the folds of the flesh, their tips coated in viscous saliva. Every contraction produced a sickening sound of tearing meat, looking both putrid and repulsive.

Soon, the ball of flesh began to grow and reorganize rapidly, gradually transforming into a person.

This person was none other than "Lin Xia"!

"Lin Xia" looked down at the unconscious Lin Xia on the ground, a malicious smile on his face.

He then fired an Energy Bullet, obliterating the clothes and debris on the floor.

The next second, he soared into the air and flew away from the scene.

Inside the Otherworld Combat Room at Huajing University.

Qin Tianyu looked at the three sparring robots standing opposite him, cracked his neck, and disdainfully pulled out a golden Card.

"Transform--Skeletal Nightmare Beast!!"

At his command, the [Transformation Card] instantly turned into a beam of light and shot into the center of Qin Tianyu's forehead.

The next moment, his body began to expand.

The skin tissue vanished at a visible rate, and his bones began to mutate.

In a short while, a 15-meter-tall Skeletal Behemoth appeared there.

Immediately, it nodded at the tiny Principal Tao beside it.

"Understood!"

Principal Tao, standing before a pile of instruments, immediately activated the robot's attack program.

"Swish swish swish—"

Three robots drew their Gatling guns and aimed them at the Skeletal Nightmare Beast.

"Bang bang bang!!"

As bullets rained down, the Skeletal Nightmare Beast made no defensive moves.

It allowed the bullets to hit its body.

But as the bullets struck the Skeletal Nightmare Beast's body, Principal Tao, in front of the instruments, noticed that Qin Tianyu's health bar showed no change.

Instead, the durability of the three robots was plummeting at a visible rate!

Even so, the robots, as if unaware, continued to fire at full power.

Until their durability reached zero.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

As the three robots were scrapped, Principal Tao clapped his hands, a smile of satisfaction and anticipation on his face. "After your strength increased, the Skeletal Nightmare Beast's damage reflection speed has also increased several times!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Tianyu, who had already returned to his human form, remained silent, his eyes fixed on the panel.

[Skeletal Nightmare Beast: Transformation form lasts for 10 minutes, attack power greatly increased, and gains the 'Damage Reflection' ability during this period. After the transformation ends, all attributes are reduced by 80% for 10 minutes.]

[Damage Reflection (Passive): All damage taken is reflected 100% back to the attacker. The attacker receives no pain feedback. If the attacker does not actively check their own panel, they will not notice the decrease in health.]

Qin Tianyu knew that his transformation had a fatal weakness.

That is, once the opponent does not choose to attack him but instead waits for the transformation to end.

Then he would become a toy at their mercy.

However, Qin Tianyu confidently believed that no one would be so smart as to guess his weakness.

He even felt that Lin Xia wouldn't last until his transformation!

"Imperial University—you don't deserve the title of 'First Academy'!!"

Qin Tianyu's eyes were fierce, his voice trembling. "Your so-called 'elimination system' took the life of the sister who loved me the most..."

"Boom!!"

Qin Tianyu punched the wall. "Tearing down your title is just the beginning. One day, I will kill all of you!!"

As he said this, his expression changed, and his eyes turned red. "Sister..."

The tall pine trees swayed precariously in the wind.

A ripe pinecone detached from its branch and fell.

"Bang~"

The pinecone hit Lin Xia's face with a crisp sound.

The next second, Lin Xia's eyelids slowly lifted.

He looked at the intertwined branches above, his pupils instantly contracting. He leaped up from the ground, his face filled with vigilance as he scanned his surroundings.

Only after confirming that Meng Bo's "aura" was not present did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Lin Xia went to a puddle and looked at his unharmed neck through the projection, swallowing.

"Didn't that disgusting tentacle pierce my neck?

Why isn't there even a mark?

And... what the hell was that thing!!"

Just as Lin Xia's eyes were bloodshot and filled with confusion.

A "swish~" sound came from behind him.

The cooldown for the Secret Realm entrance had refreshed.