Chapitre 144: Hunter 144: Come Over Here
"Hold up, don't fight yet. Did you figure out what moves those two are using?"
Chen Chuanlong sensed something was off. That earlier slam—they should have lost their combat ability without using Qi for protection.
But that guy only spat out a little blood, and without using Qi to shield himself, he was only lightly injured. That meant his physical body was extremely tough, something that couldn't be underestimated. And let's not forget the guy who had injured him.
"Let's take them down first!"
Wang Zilin agreed with Chen Chuanlong, and they quickly teamed up.
Iron Fist, the contractor, still thinking about how to retaliate, noticed the two Outcast were targeting him. Glancing at Lin Jiu, he picked one of them and charged.
Lin Jiu, in sync, chose the other Outcast, Wang Zilin, as his opponent.
"Come over here!"
Iron Fist waved his hand, taunting Chen Chuanlong.
Chen Chuanlong, without understanding why, suddenly felt a surge of anger. Without thinking through what his opponent might do, he rushed forward, attacking with Qi.
Iron Fist, having used his taunt skill, grinned. His iron gloves gleamed again, and his entire body seemed to explode with an intense aura as he unleashed eight swift attacks on Chen Chuanlong.
[Berserk Tyrant Fist Lv. 10 (Active)]
Consumes 80 mana to deliver 8 strikes. Each hit increases power by 10%, with each strike causing shockwave damage (Cooldown: 5 minutes).
Lv. 10 Bonus Skill: Berserk (Passive)
[Every attack deals area damage.]
With each punch Iron Fist threw, loud booms echoed, and the ground trembled. Chen Chuanlong, provoked by the taunt, was immediately incapacitated.
On the other side, things were quieter. Wang Zilin barely had time to set up his stance before Lin Jiu appeared behind him, grabbed his arm, and applied a joint lock. Wang Zilin realized the danger and prepared to counter, but Lin Jiu moved faster, slamming him to the ground, knocking him out cold.
"Holy crap! Xingtong, you're knowledgeable. What kind of moves are Brother Red and that guy with the iron gloves using?"
Zhang Chulan felt that Lin Jiu's fighting style was a bit odd—quick, and efficient, but something seemed off.
Feng Xingtong frowned, "That guy with the iron gloves seems to be using techniques similar to Western martial arts. But Brother Red… that earlier slam had some Tai Chi elements, and now his joint lock feels like military combat techniques… It's like, how do I put it?"
"He's just doing whatever works!"
Zhang Chulan finally realized. Lin Jiu's combat style had a bit of Bao'er's unpredictability—no particular system, just whatever got the job done!
Lin Jiu and Iron Fist had each taken out one Outcast, and now it was time for them to face off. Iron Fist looked serious. His swift victory had cost him a lot—his mana was drained, and several skills were on cooldown.
Meanwhile, Lin Jiu easily defeated his opponent without using any skills, showing a clear difference in strength.
"Damn it, I ran into the worst kind of opponent for close combat!"
Iron Fist cursed internally. Skill-based fighters like Lin Jiu were a nightmare for close-combat fighters like him.
Lin Jiu glanced at Iron Fist and quickly checked with the system what the consequences of abandoning the competition would be. There were two possibilities: immediate execution if only one main quest remained, or if there were a second quest, the contestant could choose to abandon the current one, though the second quest would be much harder.
Lin Jiu knew that Iron Fist still had a way out, but the second quest would be much tougher. So if Iron Fist saw no hope of winning, he might surrender instead of fighting to the death.
Satisfied with his assessment, Lin Jiu summoned his weapon, [Dawn Shadow], and focused his gaze on Iron Fist.
"Shit… I surrender!"
Iron Fist immediately gave up when he saw Lin Jiu draw his sword. The aura Lin Jiu exuded was several times sharper than before. Iron Fist, experienced in combat, knew that if this weren't the tournament, he might not even get the chance to surrender!
"Huh?"
Zhang Chulan, who was excited to see Lin Jiu finally show his true strength, was disappointed by the sudden surrender.
Iron Fist made a practical choice—he wasn't going to bet his life on the tournament's rules. Lin Jiu didn't look like a normal person, and if things got heated, who knew if he'd stick to the rules? Iron Fist had heard stories of lunatics who would risk even forced execution for the thrill of the fight. With the chance to win one of the Eight Mysterious Skills on the line, who wouldn't get a little impulsive?
Lin Jiu sheathed his sword, indifferent to Iron Fist's pragmatic decision. It worked in his favor.
"Brother Red is amazing! He didn't even have to use his sword before the guy surrendered. But I didn't see him carry a weapon when he entered the ring?"
Zhang Chulan was curious about the mysterious way Lin Jiu had summoned his blade.
In these tournament worlds, such techniques were often concealed by the system, making it look like just another skill. With Outcast abilities being so varied, Zhang Chulan was naturally intrigued by how Lin Jiu had done it.
Before Lin Jiu could respond, Xu San and Xu Si arrived, changing the topic. Lin Jiu hadn't planned on explaining much anyway—Zhang Chulan might very well become his opponent later.
"Isn't that Canglong?!"
Zhang Chulan heard Canglong's shout from a distance.
When they approached, they saw Canglong placing bets, with Bai Shixue explaining the odds for the different Outcast fighters. These odds were seen by the Outcast community as a reflection of each contestant's strength.
"Am I that underestimated?"
Zhang Chulan muttered as he looked at his own 1:100 odds.
Canglong laughed, "Well, your first match was so flashy… You knocked out the heavens!"
"Huh? Why isn't Brother Red's name on here?"
Zhang Chulan scanned the names, curious if anything could be gleaned from the odds.
Lin Jiu: Heh, already studying your future opponents, huh?
Lin Jiu had considered betting on Zhang Chulan's high odds to make some money but ultimately decided against it. If Zhang Chulan ended up as his opponent, who knew how that would turn out.
Bai Shixue explained Zhang Chulan's confusion: "Anyone who won their first match by default, or isn't a top favorite like Zhuge Qing or Zhang Lingyu, won't have any bets placed on them yet, so their names don't appear."
Zhang Chulan looked again, confirming Bai Shixue's explanation—he didn't see Feng Baobao's name either. Lin Jiu had only made two moves in his match, making it hard to gauge his true strength.
"Zhang Lingyu, Zhuge Qing, Jia Zhengliang… I wish Brother Red would run into all of them!"
Lin Jiu felt a chill, frowning slightly. Was someone secretly plotting against him? Better to stay cautious!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone