Chapter 250: Earth-shattering
“If someone wins the match, what price can you offer?”
“Asking like that, does he actually want to go up?”
“No way, did he not see how powerful that Flame Horn tribesman was just now?”
…
Lin Qi’s question left the people of the City of Light Chasing puzzled. They did not understand what this newly appointed Vice City Lord was trying to do.
“He’s not really planning to go up, is he?” Wu Zhuoqun looked at Lin Qi, his brows involuntarily knitting together.
“Reckless! This is sheer recklessness!” Elder Xiang was anxious as well. “Those people from the Holy Blood Mercenary Group are not so easy to deal with! What is a young man like him doing blindly joining in!”
Tuan’s strength was plain for all to see. He was simply not someone a Top Bone Forging Realm Expert who had mastered an Extraordinary Martial Skill could handle.
If Lin Qi went up now, it would be courting death.
“Hall Master Lin, are you planning to step onto the arena?” When Di Luoya saw that the one speaking was Lin Qi, he was slightly surprised.
So young and already a Top Bone Forging Realm Expert who had mastered an Extraordinary Martial Skill, Lin Qi’s future could be said to be boundless. In fact, this time contacting Lin Qi had been just to follow procedure; he did not expect Lin Qi to actually do anything.
The Human Race had been in decline in the City of Light Chasing for a long time, and their say in matters had dropped again and again. Even if the City of Light Chasing changed hands, the impact on the Human Race would not be great, let alone on Lin Qi, this new Vice City Lord, who had only just taken the post and had not yet received a single share of the City’s allocated resources. Even if Lin Qi had not shown up today, no one could have blamed him.
“I was only asking out of curiosity.” Lin Qi saw the burning gaze Di Luoya cast at him and just smiled.
He had not intended to participate in this contest over the city, since it was not a fight to the death between two cities. No matter how the City of Light Chasing changed hands, it would not affect his Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
Let alone that he was not familiar with City Lord Di Luoya and had no reason to help.
But the bounty City Lord Di Luoya had offered did make him a little tempted.
Five thousand Energy Crystals was a result that even Players plundering in the Mountain of the Dead for many days could not earn, and he was desperately short of Energy Crystals.
Setting aside that building a Cultivation Tower alone required one thousand Energy Crystals, just upgrading from an advanced martial arts hall to a Special Grade Martial Arts Hall and unlocking the Intermediate Gravity Chamber would consume a huge amount of Energy Crystals.
To modify an Intermediate Gravity Chamber, first he needed a room built from B6-grade or higher alloy, and the modification cost was no longer in units of energy but directly in Energy Crystals. One chamber cost five hundred Energy Crystals, and each use also cost Energy Crystals, two per hour, practically daylight robbery.
Of course, the Intermediate Gravity Chamber was truly powerful. The maximum gravity in a Primary Gravity Room was a twentyfold gravity environment, while the Intermediate Gravity Chamber reached three hundredfold gravity.
A three-hundredfold gravity environment could directly crush a Bone Forging Realm Martial Artist to death. If used to improve a Body Strengthening Secret Technique, the efficiency would be astounding.
It had to be said that the Second Level of the Body Strengthening Secret Technique had been stuck at 20% entry-level for far too long, while his actual level had reached 54% entry-level. Without a sufficient gravity environment, he simply could not improve further.
The B6-grade alloy for constructing an Intermediate Gravity Chamber was relatively simple to obtain. From all kinds of scrapped B6-grade battle armor and weapons collected by Players, he could dismantle what was needed directly, or he could use a Flying Transport Vehicle acquired through transactions with the Half-Beast Race of Wanxing City to fly deep into the Wilderness Area and have people mine Rem Titanium Gold.
But Energy Crystals were a major problem, one that could not be solved just by digging Small Energy Veins or selling Large Sausages to Dona.
After hearing this, Di Luoya could not help but laugh and say, “If someone really can win the match, I can additionally offer one hundred thousand Energy Crystals as a reward.”
As to whether anyone in the City of Light Chasing could defeat Tuan, he had no hope at all. In his view, only that person from the Domain City could do it, and the price he was naming was one hundred thousand Energy Crystals.
He did not mind telling everyone this, to give the various races of the City of Light Chasing some motivation, so that they would fight with more enthusiasm when stepping onto the arena.
When the people in the venue heard this, they all inhaled sharply. Even the Bone Forging Realm Experts from Star Tower City were momentarily moved, some even wanting to go up and defeat Tuan.
“One hundred thousand Energy Crystals, you really are generous,” Hu Lei looked at Di Luoya, impressed by his boldness.
If not for restrictions of identity, even he would have wanted to make a move for one hundred thousand Energy Crystals.
“If you don’t give, how can you gain?” Di Luoya glanced toward Tuan on the arena. “And I don’t think the price you paid to hire the Holy Blood Mercenary Group is less than this.”
After the Red Moon turmoil, the Holy Blood Mercenary Group had become famous throughout the Wushan Region. Ordinary factions simply could not afford to hire them.
If he could hire the Holy Blood Mercenary Group for one hundred thousand Energy Crystals, he would not hesitate.
“Unfortunately, no matter how high you set the reward, it’s useless.” Hu Lei only smiled faintly. “Tuan’s strength is not something you Bone Forging Realm Martial Artists cooped up in cities can contend with. No matter how many go up, they are only going to die.”
The Holy Blood Mercenary Group Members behind Hu Lei all nodded in agreement.
The martial artists in the city at most fought Monsters in the Wilderness, and such battles were usually groups encircling a single Monster.
But the Holy Blood Mercenary Group was different. All their formal Members were from the Flame Horn Tribe.
Because they always lived in the Wilderness, almost every day was spent in slaughter. There was no such thing as a group encircling one Monster; it was one person facing one Monster. The various Training regimes they endured left less than one in a hundred alive; they truly walked with death.
Tuan was one of the outstanding ones among them, having undergone three bloodline awakenings. Each awakening made them stronger and closer to the god of their Flame Horn Tribe.
So-called city-bred Genius Martial Artists, so-called Vice City Lords, were all jokes in front of the Flame Horn Tribe.
Just as Hu Lei finished speaking, Lin Qi directly raised his hand to sign up.
“Lord City Lord, may I give it a try?” Lin Qi looked at Di Luoya and asked softly.
“You really want to go up?” Di Luoya looked at Lin Qi, who had signed up, with utter surprise in his eyes.
In his view, Lin Qi being so young yet possessing Vice City Lord Level strength meant he had an immense Possibility of reaching the Blood Condensation Realm in the future. Furthermore, Star Tower City would not target the Human Race. Under normal circumstances, Lin Qi had absolutely no reason to go up.
Of course, one hundred thousand Energy Crystals was an astronomical figure for any Bone Forging Realm Expert. As a young man, there was no way Lin Qi would not be tempted, but faced with a Monster like Tuan, Di Luoya found it hard to imagine that Lin Qi did not understand the situation.
“Since Lord City Lord has offered such a generous reward, I doubt anyone can refuse such temptation.” Lin Qi nodded, expression firm.
When he had spoken earlier, he had only wanted Di Luoya to raise the price.
He had originally thought Di Luoya might agree to add twenty or thirty thousand, and that would already be good. He had not expected him to go straight to one hundred thousand. How could he refuse that?
“Insane! He’s gone insane! Stop him, quickly!” Elder Xiang nearly jumped up when he saw Lin Qi voluntarily signing up.
It had not been easy for the Human Race to produce someone with a chance to break through to the Blood Condensation Realm, and now he turned out to be so greedy for money he was willing to risk his life.
But before Elder Xiang and the others could persuade him, City Lord Di Luoya agreed on the spot, allowing Lin Qi to enter the arena immediately, pushing Elder Xiang and the others into near despair.
Since City Lord Di Luoya had given permission and Lin Qi had taken the initiative to go on stage, if they tried to stir up trouble now, they might even be thrown out.
“It’s over, it’s all over.” Elder Xiang looked at Lin Qi on the stage, his eyes full of indescribable dejection.
“Elder Xiang, according to my investigation, Hall Master Lin is no fool.” Xiong Yuedie looked at the calm Lin Qi and voiced her thoughts. “Since he is willing to step onto the arena, he must have some degree of confidence.”
“Confidence?” Elder Xiang looked at Lin Qi on the stage and felt a sliver of hope arise. He thought Xiong Yuedie made sense. He had been too anxious and had even forgotten that Lin Qi before him was a genius.
A genius, after watching Tuan’s performance, would not choose to fight without some certainty, especially when it was a matter of life and death that could not be taken lightly.
“Confidence? These humans really do like to dream,” the Elegant Noblewoman of the Winged Tribe glanced at Elder Xiang and the others in the distance, inwardly full of contempt and schadenfreude.
Tuan had indeed displayed strength, but that was only part of it. City Lord Hu Lei of Star Tower City had said that Tuan could transform twice more, meaning he could further raise his combat power two more times. Who knew by how much those two boosts would increase his strength?
Not long ago, Lin Qi had only killed a Four-armed Blade Demon who was not even a Top Bone Forging Realm Expert, and his martial arts hall had been heavily damaged in the process, which showed that Lin Qi’s strength was not so great.
Even if Lin Qi had hidden some strength before, he could at best be somewhat stronger than Tuan in his current state. Once Tuan transformed again, the outcome between them would be uncertain.
On the arena, as the barrier around it rose, the nearly five-meter-tall Tuan studied Lin Qi with some curiosity.
“I thought the City of Light Chasing was full of nothing but the old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled, and not a single Martial Artist with Courage. You’re not bad,” Tuan praised. “For your courage alone, I will let you die without pain.”
“With just you, I’m afraid you can’t do that,” Lin Qi shook his head, looking at Tuan, who resembled a Demon of fire.
He did not know Tuan’s exact Physical Fitness, but now, even in his normal state, he himself was terrifyingly strong.
His actual Strength was close to seventeen tons, with a speed of nearly two hundred meters per second.
Once he used the Club in battle, his Strength would increase by 50%, reaching twenty-five tons. This was a level of Strength that even Top Bone Forging Realm Experts who had trained Super-tier Martial Skills to Third Level Perfection could never reach.
A normal Top Bone Forging Realm Expert’s punch was only close to twenty tons. With Tier 2 Battle Armor, it might reach twenty-six tons. But with Tier 2 Battle Armor, one swing of his Club had nearly thirty-five tons of force. That was not a gap that could be bridged by simply making the Body a bit larger.
“Di Luoya, your Vice City Lord is quite interesting. He can remain this calm before Tuan; it seems his strength is pretty good,” Hu Lei looked at the indifferent Lin Qi and chuckled. “Looks like both you and I are lucky today. We’ll get to see Tuan’s second transformation.”
Di Luoya remained silent, a bit nervous as he watched Lin Qi on the arena.
He knew very well that since Lin Qi was willing to step up, he must have some confidence. Although he did not believe Lin Qi could defeat Tuan, it would be enough as long as he could stall for time, instead of ending like the Crystal Race Old Man from before, whose fight had lasted less than a second. Otherwise, by the time that person from the Domain City arrived, he would already be bankrupt.
On the arena.
“You’re pretty good. It seems you’re confident you can defeat me as I am now.” Tuan looked at the unmoved Lin Qi, his excitement growing. “Then I won’t hold back. Be honored! You will become the thirty-third person to force me to use my second transformation!”
As he spoke, Tuan’s figure grew taller again, and black scales emerged all over his Body. He looked like a giant of the Mountain Ridge Race. Fortunately, his Tier 2 Battle Armor was made of nano Materials and could change shape with his Body, letting him once again turn into a blood-red beast.
At this moment, not only had Tuan’s appearance greatly changed, but his Qi and Blood also surged dramatically. His terrifying Qi and Blood naturally formed a pillar of energy that shot up to the Energy Barrier above, allowing those outside the barrier to feel waves of heat and an indescribable suffocating pressure.
“How could the increase be this great?” Di Luoya was stunned as he watched Tuan’s second transformation.
Compared to before, even without Instruments, one could see how enormous this Improvement was. The Tuan before them was no longer human. Calling him a king among High-Level Lords would not be an exaggeration.
“The Flame Horn Tribe’s transformation truly lives up to its name,” Hu Lei beside him watched in shock.
He had seen many first-stage transformations of the Flame Horn Tribe before, but this was his first time witnessing a second-stage transformation, and he had not expected it to be so strong.
After completing his second transformation, Tuan thrust his Spear forward. Without using any Technique, it was a simple stab, yet so fast it resembled lightning, catching many Bone Forging Realm Experts below the arena completely off guard.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
A series of booming impacts erupted, sparks flying.
“You actually blocked it?” Tuan stared in surprise at Lin Qi, who held a Black Cudgel, finding it hard to believe.
In his second-stage transformation, his Strength and Speed far surpassed the first stage. Combined with his Super-tier Martial Skill at Third Level Perfection and the support of Tier 2 Battle Armor, a single thrust of his Spear had nearly thirty-seven tons of force. That kind of blow would send even Vice City Lords flying instantly if they did not use Martial Skills.
But Lin Qi had simply blocked it head-on, taking it completely without seeming affected at all. It was unbelievable.
“Very good! No wonder you were so confident just now. You are qualified to make me go all out!”
Tuan immediately laughed, stepping back to the edge of the arena. With a furious roar, his Body grew once more, reaching nearly seven meters, like a High-level Monster. His overflowing Qi and Blood filled the entire arena, making ripples appear continuously on the barrier all around.
“I have only shown my third-stage transformation before our Leader. You are fortunate to be the second. Even in death, you can be proud.” Tuan looked at Lin Qi, his Fighting Spirit surging.
Although he could defeat Lin Qi in his second-stage transformation, he preferred the feeling of crushing geniuses.
In his third-stage transformation, his actual Strength had reached forty-five tons, no weaker than a Blood Condensing Realm Master. Among the entire Holy Blood Mercenary Group, only the Leader knew this.
But the Leader was far too strong. Even in his third-stage transformation, he was like a baby before the Leader, unable to experience a real Battle, merely being toyed with unilaterally.
Now he felt that Lin Qi before him might be able to give him a real sense of Battle.
“Third-stage transformation? Enough to be proud?” Lin Qi looked at Tuan, who was like a small hill, and could not help but smile. “Did you think you were the only one who could transform?”
As he spoke, Lin Qi activated the Star Energy Construct Secret Method. A transparent Energy enveloped his entire Body. His hair and Clothes moved without wind, and an indescribable aura of Supernatural Life swept over the entire venue.
“You can transform too? How is this possible!” Tuan stared at Lin Qi, whose life force had skyrocketed, his scarlet eyes full of disbelief.
And it was not just Tuan. Everyone in the venue was stunned, unable to understand how someone of the Human Race could transform.
On the arena, Lin Qi, who had entered his extraordinary form, did not want to waste Energy. With a Startling Swan, he appeared before Tuan in an instant and swung his Club down fiercely, not giving Tuan any chance to use a Martial Skill.
Tuan’s Reaction was quick. He immediately swung his Spear up to Block.
Boom!
The collision between Spear and Club never came. Instead, the Club in Lin Qi’s hand seemed alive, changing its Attack trajectory at the crucial moment to avoid Tuan’s Spear and smashing directly into Tuan’s Body.
As an Extraordinary Lifeform, Lin Qi’s Strength limit far exceeded fifteen tons, reaching twenty-one tons. Although it was not much higher than his normal upper limit, combined with the Club’s massive amplification, a single strike contained fifty-six tons of force.
This strike landing on Tuan’s Tier 2 Battle Armor was no less than Tuan taking head-on a blow from a Top Bone Forging Realm Expert using a Martial Skill.
With just that one strike, Tuan’s entire Body was hurled into the Energy Barrier of the arena. His battle armor shattered, his Internal Organs were crushed by the Internal Force, and he collapsed on the arena floor, more breath going out than in, blood gushing uncontrollably from his mouth. He was clearly beyond saving…
