Sixty consecutive victories marked a watershed. Lin Yinuo could clearly feel that the gazes falling on him had changed. Beyond fervor and awe, there was more scrutiny, wariness, and even... veiled killing intent. The Asura Arena's rewards for winning streaks were extraordinarily generous, and the further one went, the more astonishing the rewards became, enough to make many powerful fighters envious. Not to mention the qualification of "one hundred consecutive victories," which represented status and strength.
He continued fighting several matches each day, but his opponents had clearly risen a notch in strength. From his sixty-first match onward, almost everyone he faced was a powerful Midgod who had comprehended at least one profound mystery and possessed extensive combat experience.
In his sixty-third match, his opponent was an elven sword god who had cultivated the profound mystery of "wind space" to an extremely high level. His sword light sealed off space like an omnipresent storm. Lin Yinuo maneuvered against him with the profound mystery of "spatial pulsation," finally tearing through the wind space with an "Annihilation Blade" imbued with the essence of destruction to secure a narrow victory.
In his sixty-fifth match, his opponent was a titan giant proficient in the profound mystery of the "lightning magnetic field," whose raging domain of lightning enveloped the entire arena. Using the Eye of Illusion-Breaking, Lin Yinuo found a gap in the magnetic field's operation and charged through at extreme speed. At close range, he pierced the giant's core with a "Fire Condensation Finger" incorporating the Fire Element's "Profound Mystery of Explosion," winning once again.
In his sixty-eighth match, his opponent was an assassin who had perfected the combination of the "dark element" profound mystery and stealth techniques. His figure moved like a phantom, and his attacks were vicious and cunning. Lin Yinuo kept the Eye of Illusion-Breaking active throughout, seeing through every route he took in stealth. He forced the assassin to reveal himself with an area-wide "Spatial Tremor," then killed him with a single strike.
Every victory was hard-won and enormously draining. Yet his control over his own power and his application of various laws and edicts also improved rapidly through these intense life-and-death battles. His fusion of the Destruction Rule and the Laws of Space became increasingly proficient. He even began trying to incorporate the "swiftness" of the Laws of Lightning into his movement techniques, making his movements even harder to predict.
Yet a tall tree caught the wind. His conspicuous, forceful rise finally brought real trouble.
One day, after claiming his seventy-second consecutive victory and stepping down from the arena, a middle-aged human man in luxurious brocade robes, with a sinister face, blocked his path. The man's aura was concealed, but through his Eye of Illusion-Breaking, Lin Yinuo could faintly see vast divine power flowing within him, scorching like magma. He was actually a Highgod!
"Boy, you're quite impressive." The sinister middle-aged man spoke with a condescending tone. "My master appreciates you. Stop this pointless slaughter and come with me. Serve my master, and you will gain far more than you would by risking your life in this arena."
His words carried an unquestionable tone of command.
Lin Yinuo frowned slightly and said calmly, "Not interested."
The sinister middle-aged man's expression darkened. "Don't spurn a favor! Here in Zijing Main City, people who reject my master's goodwill usually don't end well. It's time your winning streak came to an end, too."
An undisguised threat!
Lin Yinuo's gaze turned cold. "I'll walk my own path. No need for your concern."
With that, he ignored the man and walked straight toward the waiting area. The sinister middle-aged man stared after him, a cold gleam flickering in his eyes. With a cold snort, he swept his sleeve and left.
So it finally came. A Highgod... It seems some faction can no longer sit still and wants to recruit me, or... eliminate me. The coming battles probably won't be so peaceful.
He felt an invisible pressure. Being targeted by a Highgod was certainly no good thing. But he was not afraid. Here in the Asura Arena, retaliation outside the arena was forbidden, at least openly. If the other party wanted to stop him, they could only do it through the matches.
Sure enough, in his seventy-fifth battle, he encountered an extremely troublesome opponent.
"Next match, number 7741, 'Lin Yinuo,' against number 9, 'Golden Eyes'!"
As the announcement rang out, the entire coliseum instantly erupted into cheers and discussion more fervent than ever before!
"Golden Eyes! It's Lord Golden Eyes!"
"He actually got matched against Golden Eyes! It's over. His winning streak is finished!"
"Lord Golden Eyes is a powerhouse with eighty-nine consecutive victories! They say he's only one step away from fully comprehending his second profound mystery. He's widely acknowledged as a strong contender for one hundred consecutive victories!"
Lin Yinuo stepped onto the arena and looked at his opponent. He was a thin human man dressed in plain gray robes. His most striking feature was a pair of eyes that seemed cast from pure gold, cold and indifferent, as though devoid of all emotion.
The Eye of Illusion-Breaking quietly activated, and Lin Yinuo's heart immediately tightened. Within Golden Eyes, he saw two distinct and powerful profound mysteries of the laws flowing and intertwining! One was the profound mystery of the "speed of light," and the other was a profound mystery related to "soul attacks"! Moreover, the two profound mysteries had been fused to a considerable degree!
This was an immensely powerful fighter who had fused most of two profound mysteries! His strength far surpassed that of every opponent Lin Yinuo had faced before!
A fusion of light speed and soul attacks... This is trouble. His speed is definitely greater than mine, and his soul attacks will be all but impossible to guard against.
Golden Eyes raised his utterly unruffled golden eyes and looked at Lin Yinuo. His voice was flat, as though stating a fact. "Your winning streak ends here."
Before his words had faded, his figure suddenly blurred, as though turning into a beam of light! His speed far exceeded that of every opponent Lin Yinuo had faced before!
Lin Yinuo's pupils contracted. He drove the Profound Mystery of Space Ripples to its limit, his figure twisting and flickering rapidly!
Hiss!
A slender golden ray skimmed his neck, leaving a thin bloody mark! Had he not sensed the abnormal spatial fluctuations in advance, that strike could have taken his head off!
At the same time, an invisible, intangible, yet incomparably sharp soul impact stabbed viciously into Lin Yinuo's soul ocean like a drill!
Hum!
The trace of willpower deep within Lin Yinuo's soul spontaneously protected him once again, forming a faint barrier. But the soul impact was extremely concentrated and had tremendous penetrating power. The willpower barrier rippled violently, even showing faint signs of being pierced! He instantly felt dizzy, and even his movements stalled!
What a powerful soul attack!
Seizing the instant his movements stalled, the golden light that Golden Eyes had become struck again. Ultimate light speed and destructive energy gathered at his fingertip as he aimed it between Lin Yinuo's brows!
At that critical moment, a fierce glint flashed through Lin Yinuo's eyes. If he couldn't dodge, he would meet it head-on!
"Annihilation·Spatial Tremor!"
Holding nothing back, he thrust both palms forward, pouring in all his magical and mental power. The Destruction Rule and the Laws of Space fused at full force, and an invisible shock wave erupted fiercely around him!
This time, he did not seek range. Instead, he concentrated all the tremor's power to meet Golden Eyes' finger strike!
Boom!!!
The fingertip and the shock wave collided violently!
There was no earth-shaking crash, only a warped, tearing sound, as though space itself were wailing! At the center of the collision, countless fine black cracks appeared in space like a shattered mirror! Violent torrents of energy swept across the entire arena, making even the defensive barrier flicker fiercely!
Lin Yinuo gave a muffled grunt, a trickle of blood spilling from his mouth. His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string and slammed heavily into the barrier at the edge of the arena. Every bone in his body felt as though it would fall apart.
Golden Eyes, too, was forced to reveal himself by that concentrated spatial annihilation tremor and slid back dozens of meters. His golden fingertip trembled slightly, a fine crack appearing on it. For the first time, clear surprise appeared in his gaze as he looked at Lin Yinuo.
He actually blocked my Light-Soul Finger and even injured me? This boy...
The entire coliseum fell silent for a moment, then erupted into thunderous roars! Everyone was shaken by that head-on clash!
Lin Yinuo wiped the blood from his mouth and struggled to his feet, but his gaze grew even sharper. He had felt it: during that collision, his understanding of the fusion of destruction and space seemed to have deepened a little further!
Still not enough! An attack like that still isn't enough to defeat him!
Golden Eyes' gaze turned cold again. Light blazed in his golden eyes, and he was clearly about to unleash a stronger attack.
At that critical moment, inspiration struck Lin Yinuo. Rather than choosing another head-on clash, he did something that surprised everyone. He closed his eyes and sank his entire awareness into the [Lowgod Artifact Embryo] he had been nurturing within his body. At the same time, he drew upon a trace of new insight born from the collision just now-trying to incorporate the essence of "swiftness" from the Laws of Lightning into his movement techniques!
He needed speed! Ultimate speed, to counter Golden Eyes' light speed!
In his mind, the system notification seemed to come from somewhere far away:
[Ding! Host detected struggling in a difficult battle, seeking a breakthrough in desperate circumstances. Special check-in opportunity triggered. Would you like to perform a special check-in at [Asura Battlefield · Life-and-Death Arena]?]
A special check-in? Yes!
"Check in!"
Before you continue