Chapter 28 - 21: The Great Grinder
9.998!
10.001!
10.000!
Numbers flashed across the screen of the Qi and Blood detector.
The school’s Qi and Blood detectors weren’t the highest-grade models; they had a one-in-a-thousand margin of error.
But a range of 9.998 to 10.001!
Regardless, it proved one thing: Lin Yi’s Qi and Blood had indeed reached 10.0.
Staring at the result,
Liu Yang’s smug, self-satisfied smile froze solid on his face. His eyes bulged, looking as if they were about to pop out of their sockets!
His mouth gaped open like a fish out of water, but not a single sound escaped.
The group of classmates behind him, who had been waiting for a good show, looked as if they had been collectively petrified. The smiles on their faces stiffened before morphing into utter shock and confusion.
The entire testing room fell into a deathly silence.
You could hear a pin drop.
Everyone’s expression was frozen.
Shock!
Disbelief!
’Is the machine broken?’
Luo Qian clapped a hand over his mouth, barely suppressing a gasp that was about to escape. He stared intently at the screen, his body trembling slightly with excitement.
"Yes!" A roar that had been suppressed for too long finally erupted. "Lin Yi, you magnificent bastard! I fucking knew you had it in you!!!"
Luo Qian punched the air and burst out laughing, the sound exceptionally loud and piercing in the dead silence.
BOOM!!!
The silence was shattered in an instant!
The entire testing room exploded into an uproar! It was pandemonium!
"Holy shit! 10.000! It’s really 10.0!"
"My God! The machine isn’t broken?! This is real?!"
"Two days! He went from 9.03 to 10.0 in two days?! How is that possible?! How did he do it?!"
"A monster! Lin Yi is an absolute monster!"
"Did... did my eyes just deceive me? It jumped from 9.999 to 10.001 and then settled at 10.000? Is the machine’s margin of error really that precise?!"
"Who cares about the margin of error! The final result is 10.000! That’s a peak Martial Disciple, set in stone!"
"Liu Yang’s face... Oh my god, you guys, look at Liu Yang’s face! Hahahaha!"
In an instant, all eyes shifted in unison from the screen and Lin Yi to the petrified Liu Yang.
The color instantly drained from Liu Yang’s face, leaving it as white as a sheet.
As if all his strength had been sucked out of him, he staggered back a step and slammed into the cold wall with a dull thud.
He stared blankly at the crystal-clear "10.000" on the screen, then at the mocking gazes from the surrounding students, and finally fixed his eyes on Lin Yi, who was slowly opening his eyes on the testing chair, his expression as calm as if he had just woken from a nap.
His eyes were filled with extreme shock, incomprehensible confusion, and the immense shame of having his dignity shredded in public!
His lips trembled. He wanted to say something, but not a single word would come out.
His pride and joy, his 9.15, seemed as insignificant as a speck of dust before this 10.000!
The humiliation he had so carefully orchestrated had ended up rebounding on him tenfold, a hundredfold!
The sense of superiority he had just recently built, founded on his mockery of Lin Yi, came crashing down and shattered into a million pieces!
"No... impossible... It’s fake... The machine must be broken!" Liu Yang mumbled dazedly, as if talking in his sleep, before roaring, "That’s right! The machine has to be broken!"
"That’s enough, Liu Yang. Show some grace. Don’t make everyone look down on you," Lin Yi said as he sat up, deftly tearing off the sensor patches connecting him to the machine.
His voice was calm and steady, but each word struck Liu Yang’s heart like a cold whip:
"You saw the result loud and clear. What’s the point in deceiving yourself now? The entire class witnessed it. Don’t forget our bet... From now on, you are my personal sparring partner!"
Lin Yi deliberately emphasized the last four words.
Liu Yang’s body trembled violently, his face turning from deathly pale to ashen gray.
’A personal sparring partner... for this monster who crazily charged to the peak of the Martial Disciple realm in just two days?!’
He could already foresee what kind of inhuman "guidance" he would suffer over the next day!
Lin Yi would absolutely use this opportunity to beat him senseless without any restraint!
As a mere Senior Martial Disciple, what chance did he have of fighting back against a peak Martial Disciple?!
The immense humiliation and fear nearly made him suffocate on the spot.
Lin Yi wasted no more words. He walked straight up to Liu Yang, who looked like a beaten dog, and spoke from above, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Do you have anything else to say?"
Though Liu Yang felt a humiliation akin to a thousand arrows piercing his heart and wished the ground would swallow him whole, the entire class was watching. He couldn’t shamelessly back out, so he could only force a few words through his clenched teeth, his voice low and hoarse, "Lin Yi, I... I lost!"
"As long as you can admit defeat!" The words had barely left Lin Yi’s mouth when a cold glint flashed in his eyes and his body shot forward like a cheetah!
The muscles in his arm instantly tensed like iron as he formed a knife-hand, bringing it down with precision and viciousness on the side of Liu Yang’s unsuspecting neck!
"Urk..." Liu Yang’s eyes rolled back in his head. A short grunt escaped his throat, and his body went limp like a chopped log, crumpling to the ground as he instantly lost consciousness.
"Lin, you..." Luo Qian finally reacted and hurried over, a look of shock and confusion on his face, just as he was about to ask what was going on.
But Lin Yi had already bent down, scooped his arm under the unconscious Liu Yang, and effortlessly slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. His movements were clean and decisive as he strode toward the exit. "Luo, I have something else to take care of right now. We can talk about it when I get back!"
And then,
under the stunned gazes of the entire class, he sauntered off, carrying his spoils of war.
No one stopped him. Or rather, everyone was still reeling from the shock, and no one thought to—or dared to—get in his way.
...
Lin Yi carried Liu Yang through the winding corridors of the academic building, quickly finding an empty study room.
He slipped inside, scanned the area warily, and locked the door behind him with a CLICK.
Then, as if unloading cargo, he dumped the unconscious Liu Yang from his shoulder onto the cold, bare floor.
He deliberately positioned himself with his back to the inconspicuous security camera in the corner, making sure his actions were completely in its blind spot.
Only after doing all this did he look down at the oblivious Liu Yang on the floor.
Lin Yi’s gaze was placid as a thought crossed his mind. ’Let’s begin.’
The next moment.
SWOOSH!
The invisible Mosquito Avatar instantly pounced on Liu Yang, plunging its sharp proboscis into him.
[Paralysis Proficiency +1!]
The Mosquito Avatar bit Liu Yang, but it didn’t suck his blood. It only used the [Paralysis] skill to inject its paralyzing toxin.
After all,
Liu Yang was not yet a Martial Artist, so his Qi and Blood was useless to the Mosquito Avatar.
In other words, the current Liu Yang was far from qualified to even be a "backup blood bag."
However...
...as a way to recycle trash, he was a pretty good choice for grinding proficiency in the [Paralysis] skill.
Instantly,
the Mosquito Avatar, like a tireless woodpecker, began to bite Liu Yang’s unconscious body all over—arms, chest, stomach, thighs, back...—in a high-frequency, rain-like barrage!
The proficiency of his Paralysis Skill shot up accordingly.
[Paralysis Proficiency +1!]
[Paralysis Proficiency +1!]
[Paralysis Proficiency +1!]
[...]
Lin Yi had completely transformed into a grinder.
He was rapidly grinding skill proficiency on Liu Yang.
The steel-needle-sharp proboscis pierced the skin again and again, delivering a barely perceptible but very real stinging sensation.
Because his Paralysis Skill was only Level 2, its effect wasn’t potent enough to completely suppress the subconscious sensory instincts of a Senior Martial Disciple like Liu Yang.
Therefore, as the stinging sensations accumulated, the unconscious Liu Yang’s eyelids began to twitch slightly, and he let out an unconscious groan, as if about to break free from his stupor.
However, just as Liu Yang’s eyelids fluttered open a crack and he was on the verge of waking up, Lin Yi—who had been watching coldly from the side—struck again without hesitation!
His hand, fast as lightning, once again formed a knife-hand and chopped down.
THWACK! A muffled sound.
Liu Yang’s body convulsed violently.
Seeing Liu Yang completely lose consciousness again, Lin Yi satisfyingly retracted his hand and continued to focus on grinding proficiency.
[...]
[Paralysis Proficiency +1!]
[Paralysis Skill has been upgraded to LV3!]
[...]
After an unknown amount of time, the system’s skill upgrade notification finally rang out.
The moment his Paralysis Skill successfully advanced to LV3, Lin Yi’s tense nerves finally relaxed a little.
Now, he no longer had to worry about Liu Yang waking up in the middle of it.
A Paralysis Skill of this level might not be enough to completely incapacitate the powerful senses and motor functions of a First-Grade Martial Artist or even a Demon Beast. But it was more than enough to reliably suppress and paralyze the nerve endings of a Senior Martial Disciple, making him lose all awareness of subtle changes in his body!
Even with the Mosquito Avatar currently unleashing a furious storm of bites on his body, as long as the LV3 paralysis toxin remained in effect, Liu Yang would be like someone stuck in a swamp, unable to notice anything amiss.
Lin Yi stood quietly before the unconscious Liu Yang, his cold gaze fixed on the invisible Mosquito Avatar as it tirelessly and rapidly farmed precious skill proficiency.
This guy, Liu Yang, had recklessly provoked him time and time again.
’I couldn’t be bothered to deal with him in the past.
But now...
I’m just recycling trash.
Consider it collecting some interest.’
’For the Paralysis Skill to be effective against a First-Grade Demon Beast, I need to get it to at least LV7!’
’It’d be even better if I could break its limit and get a new, more powerful ability!’
’Looks like I’ll have to spend a bit more time "communicating" with Liu Yang from now on!’
Lin Yi had already made up his mind. Whenever he had some free time, he would seek out Liu Yang for a "spar" and try to break the limit of his Paralysis Skill as soon as possible.
Once the Paralysis Skill broke its limit,
the Mosquito Avatar would become even more terrifying.
At that point, even when facing powerful Demon Beasts, the Mosquito Avatar wouldn’t have to risk fighting at all. Using its [Concealment] and [Paralysis] skills, it might be able to suck its targets dry without them ever noticing a thing!