Chapter 177 - 99: Brute-forcing Through
Lin Yi walked up to Tu Jun and stopped, standing three meters away.
Tu Jun watched the youth approach alone, raising an eyebrow as the playful smile on his face grew wider.
Cradling his long staff, he spoke with condescending magnanimity:
"Kid, just you? Aren’t you going to wait for your teammates to come up with a plan? I’m a generous guy; I can give you all a little more time to prepare."
Lin Yi remained expressionless and simply shook his head calmly:
"No need. Let’s not waste time. Let’s make this quick."
"Arrogant!"
The smile on Tu Jun’s face froze instantly.
In its place was the fury of someone who had been deeply offended.
He was a proud elite from the third year of Nanjiang Martial Arts University!
A Third-Grade Martial Artist!
Having to condescend to act as a gatekeeper for a bunch of brats was already a huge indignity.
And now, some mere high school senior dared to provoke him so casually?!
The humiliation of being looked down upon by an ant rushed straight to his head.
"You ignorant fool! One punch from me, and you’ll be bedridden for a month!"
Tu Jun roared like an enraged beast.
The Qi and Blood in his body erupted, and a visible wave of energy radiated out from him!
He clenched his right fist, his knuckles cracking. The muscles in his arm bulged as he threw a simple, ruthless punch straight at Lin Yi’s face!
He put seventy percent of his strength into this punch, confident it was enough to break the bones of any peak First-Grade Martial Artist!
BAM!
A muffled thud echoed.
Tu Jun’s sandbag-sized fist was caught firmly in mid-air by a fair, slender hand!
It didn’t budge an inch!
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
The violent rage on Tu Jun’s face was instantly replaced by incredulous astonishment.
"He... he actually... caught it..."
Tu Jun’s pupils contracted violently.
Even though he’d held back thirty percent of his strength, afraid he might kill the kid, the remaining seventy percent was still enough to knock back an ordinary Second-Grade Martial Artist!
This student...
How could he possibly have taken the blow head-on without even budging?!
"Good! Now this is interesting!" A vicious glint flashed in Tu Jun’s eyes as he completely shed his contempt. "If that’s how it is, I’m going all out! Let go!"
He bellowed, the muscles in his arm tensing like steel cables as he tried to yank his fist free.
However, in the next instant, the viciousness on Tu Jun’s face turned to horror!
’I can’t move it!’
His fist felt as if it had been cast in steel, clamped tight by that fair hand.
No matter how he surged his Qi and Blood or burst forth with power, he couldn’t budge it in the slightest!
That hand was terrifyingly steady!
"My apologies."
Lin Yi finally spoke, his voice as calm as ever.
Before his voice had even faded, Lin Yi’s hand, gripping Tu Jun’s fist, yanked forward violently!
The force of the pull was immense and irresistible. Tu Jun felt his body instantly lose its balance, and he stumbled forward uncontrollably!
The instant Tu Jun’s center of gravity shifted forward, Lin Yi moved!
His entire body, like a fully compressed spring, slammed violently into Tu Jun’s now-exposed chest!
Iron Mountain Charge!
DOOM!!!
A tremendous CRACK echoed!
Tu Jun felt as if he had been hit head-on by a ferocious beast!
His protective layer of Qi and Blood shattered instantly, as if it were made of paper!
An unstoppable, colossal force tore through his flesh and slammed into his chest and abdomen!
PTUI!
Tu Jun’s eyes bulged as a gout of blood sprayed from his mouth. His body shot backward like a broken sack, flying through the air at incredible speed!
He smashed hard against the wall at the edge of the examination hall, which was forged from some unknown alloy!
The intense pain caused his vision to go black, and he passed out completely without so much as a grunt.
Lin Yi felt nothing. ’Don’t blame me,’ he thought. ’If you must blame someone, blame the people who put you here. I... wasn’t even using my full strength.’
’I really didn’t even use ten percent of my power.’
’I didn’t use the Ninefold Accumulation.’
’Didn’t use Fluctuating Intent.’
’Didn’t even use the Owl Dragon Spear.’
’I was afraid that if I’d used even a little more force, I would’ve made this seemingly mighty Third-Grade Martial Artist explode on the spot.’
Although Tu Jun was a Third Grade, Lin Yi had seen through him at a glance.
’First and Second-Grade Martial Artists probably only perform Refinement on their limb bones. It’s only at the Third Grade that they start on the torso, and even then, not many. His total Qi and Blood is probably 700 cal at most, a fair bit lower than mine.’
’He can only blame himself for being too arrogant and underestimating me from the start, allowing me to grab his fist and defeat him in a single move.’
’If he’d been more cautious and used that alloy staff from the start, maybe... he could have lasted another two or three seconds?’
Lin Yi pursed his lips.
「At the other end of the examination hall.」
Li Ming was still animatedly laying out his stalling tactics:
"...Remember! The melee group has to tie him down, no matter what! Don’t be afraid of getting hurt! The kiting group, pay attention to the tempo and drain his stamina! We..."
Suddenly, someone clapped him heavily on the shoulder, their voice trembling with utter shock and disbelief:
"Li... Li Ming! Stop! There’s no need... I think... I think it’s already over..."
Interrupted, Li Ming turned around in annoyance. "Over? Bullshit! How could it possibly be over so quick—"
His angry shout died in his throat.
He had finally noticed that all his companions were frozen in place, as if struck by a Body Fixation Skill. Their eyes were wide as saucers, their mouths hung open wide enough to fit an egg, and their gazes were locked on the center of the examination hall.
He whipped his head around, following their gazes.
The next second, Li Ming felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His entire body convulsed, and his mind went completely blank!
He saw Tu Jun—the elite from Nanjiang Martial Arts University who had been exuding the terrifying pressure of a Third-Grade Martial Artist—slumped in a corner like a dead dog.
And the guy he had just called a "black sheep," a "fucking idiot," and a "show-off" was standing nonchalantly in the center of the arena, not a single corner of his clothing out of place.
"This... This is impossible!!!" Li Ming stammered, his words a jumble of shock. "That... That’s a Third-Grade Martial Artist! An elite from Nanjiang Martial Arts University! How... how could he lose?! And to lose so... so..."
He racked his brain but couldn’t find a single word to describe the utterly absurd, reality-shattering scene before him.
The other examinees were equally, incomparably shocked. They stood dumbstruck, their minds completely short-circuited.
Lin Yi glanced at the unconscious Tu Jun in the corner, walked over, and effortlessly hoisted him onto one shoulder as if he were a sack of potatoes.
Then, facing the alloy gate, which had at some point slid open without a sound, he offered a calm reminder:
"The door is open. Aren’t you... going out?"