Chu He Behind the Keycard

"You... how could you still be alive?!" Zhou Hu staggered back in terror, his legs going weak.

Jiang Yuan said nothing. With a shift of his feet, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, so fast that he left an afterimage in the air.

Just as Zhou Hu turned to run, a hand like cast iron clamped tightly onto his shoulder.

"Let me go! Jiang Yuan, if you dare touch me, the school won't let you off!" Zhou Hu shrieked, trying to threaten him with school rules.

Jiang Yuan's gaze was indifferent. The five fingers gripping Zhou Hu's shoulder suddenly tightened. Using the specific force technique of the Profound Heaven · Shattering Bone Hand, his fingers precisely slipped into the gaps of Zhou Hu's shoulder joint before wrenching outward.

Crack! Crack!

Two crisp sounds of dislocating bones echoed through the corridor. Zhou Hu's arms instantly lost all control and hung limply at his sides. The intense pain made him scream like a slaughtered pig as he collapsed to the floor and rolled around in agony.

Jiang Yuan stepped forward and planted a foot on Zhou Hu's chest. The crushing weight left Zhou Hu barely able to breathe.

"Who gave you the keycard?" Jiang Yuan's voice was calm, yet it carried a chilling pressure.

Snot and tears streamed down Zhou Hu's face as his mental defenses completely crumbled. "Chu He! Chu He from Celestial Pivot Industries! He gave me this black card and told me to tamper with the gravity room!"

"What did he offer you?"

"He promised that if I seriously injured you before the competition and made you unable to take part in the selection tournament, he'd guarantee me a place in New Star Martial University's preparatory class! He'd also give me a second-tier blood vitality potion!" Zhou Hu spilled everything between sobs and screams.

The pressure beneath Jiang Yuan's foot increased slightly. Zhou Hu's ribs let out a dangerous creak.

"What preparations did Chu He make against my damage reflection ability?" Jiang Yuan pressed on.

"A high-frequency vibration module! He had one installed in Song Xi's Armor-Breaker Type III Cybernetic Body!" To save his life, Zhou Hu revealed every secret he knew. "Chu He said your damage reflection can only rebound macroscopic physical impacts. The force from high-frequency vibrations can pierce your defenses directly and shatter all your bones and internal organs in the arena!"

Jiang Yuan slightly eased the force beneath his foot after hearing that. It matched his suspicions exactly. Chu He had planned it well, but unfortunately for them, Jiang Yuan had already gained a preliminary grasp of Thunderclap Vibration in the gravity room—a technique with the same destructive vibrational power.

"Brother Yuan! Grandpa Jiang! I've told you everything I know, please spare me!" Seeing Jiang Yuan fall silent, Zhou Hu thought he had murderous intentions and hurriedly threw out his final bargaining chip. "I have money! I've got an older sister at home—she's gorgeous and has an amazing body! I can give her to you as a slave. You can play with her however you want! If that's not enough, my mom takes great care of herself too. She's still got plenty of charm, and I can introduce her to you as well!"

In the corridor, an utterly fawning smile actually squeezed onto Zhou Hu's tear- and snot-streaked face.

With trembling hands, he turned his personal terminal's screen toward Jiang Yuan. Indecent footage was playing on it.

"Brother Yuan, look. This is a private video of my sister, Guo Yuting. Her body is absolutely top-tier. Just say the word, and I'll have her come serve you right away. You can play with her however you want!"

Zhou Hu's desire to survive erupted to its limit. He even opened another encrypted folder.

"And my mom—she's a little older, but she takes especially good care of herself and has lots of experience. Plenty of big shots in the circle like her type. If you're interested, I can arrange it!"

To stay alive, he had completely cast aside all dignity and morality, treating the women closest to him as merchandise to be traded at will.

Jiang Yuan did not even glance at the filthy screen. He merely raised his foot and kicked Zhou Hu's wrist with precision.

Smack!

The personal terminal flew from his hand and smashed against the wall. Its screen went completely black.

"I'm not interested in your family's business."

There was no emotion in Jiang Yuan's voice, yet it sent a chill from Zhou Hu's head to his toes.

He bent down and slipped the keycard into his pocket from between Zhou Hu's fingers, which had loosened from the pain. Then he looked down at Zhou Hu, sprawled on the ground like a pile of mud.

Zhou Hu trembled all over beneath his gaze. A warm, foul-smelling dampness spread through his crotch. He had actually pissed himself in fear.

"Jiang... Jiang Yuan, I was wrong. I really was wrong. Chu He forced me to do it. I was just his errand boy. Please let me go. I'll never dare again!"

Crying and shouting, he tried to drag himself backward with his still-functional lower body.

Jiang Yuan withdrew his foot. Someone rotten to the bone like this was too filthy to step on even once more.

"Go back and tell Chu He that I've accepted his gift."

"At the selection tournament, I'll personally go thank him."

Hearing those words, Zhou Hu seemed to receive a pardon. He scrambled and crawled toward the other end of the corridor.

Jiang Yuan did not look back and left the underground training grounds directly.

Ten times gravity had already stabilized his Metal-Stone Body. Next, he needed a target sturdy enough to test the power of Thunderclap Vibration.

The school's central arena happened to store the armor-breaking test posts used for the selection tournament.

Jiang Yuan slung the wooden box over his back and headed straight for the central arena along the corridor.

He pushed open the arena doors. The metal hinges let out a brief scrape, and a figure was already waiting in the empty testing area.

Shen Liuli held a wooden sword. She first noticed the blood still at the corner of Jiang Yuan's mouth, then shifted her gaze to the black keycard in his hand.

"Someone tampered with the gravity room?"