Chapter 140 - 113: Martial Arts Rising Star
Dong Dongchen clicked to spectate almost out of pure muscle memory.
However, the scene of the battle had only just materialized before his eyes in a swirl of light and shadow.
The intense clash he had anticipated never happened.
Instead, he was greeted by the cold victory screen.
[The fighter you were spectating, "Goblin Soldiers," has won the match!]
[Now exiting spectate mode...]
Match Duration: 17 seconds.
Dong Dongchen stared at the number, stunned. He froze in his seat.
’Seventeen seconds?’
’No way...’
He had fought a grueling battle with that guy for nearly three minutes!
The image of getting thrashed in the final five seconds was still fresh in his mind.
’How did a different opponent not even last twenty seconds?’
He had just staked his reputation as a streamer, confidently vouching for the guy and saying he wasn’t cheating.
And this was the result? The moment he turned his back?
After a brief silence, the chat in his live stream exploded.
"This is nuts! Absolutely nuts! What do you have to say for yourself, streamer? Say something!"
"Hahahaha, I actually kind of believed it at first. He takes several minutes of grinding to beat the streamer, but he one-shots someone else in ten-something seconds?"
"You guys remember, right? When Chen first got matched with him, he specifically turned on his mic to tell him he was live!"
"Case closed! This kid was afraid we’d see proof of him hacking, so he deliberately dragged out the fight with Chen! The second the stream was over, he dropped the act!"
"Poor Chen. He got played for a fool and was still trying to prove the guy’s innocence!"
Dong Dongchen’s expression soured as he watched the screen fill with mockery and doubt.
The facts before him seemed to point toward the worst-case scenario.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the status of that ID change again.
[Goblin Soldiers: Matchmaking...]
’He’s queuing again!’
"I’m watching another one!"
"This time, we’ll watch from the beginning! Even if it’s another instant kill, I’ll pull up the recording and analyze it for you guys, frame by frame!"
He didn’t hesitate this time. The moment Lin Ye found a match, he jumped straight into spectate mode.
Fortunately, he had made it in time.
As he entered the spectator space, the countdown to the start of the battle was just hitting its final second.
[FIGHT!]
The next second.
Dong Dongchen’s pupils contracted violently!
Onscreen, the figure holding the standard-issue longspear moved the very instant the battle began!
It was a complete departure from the steady, defensive stance he had taken against him.
This time, he chose to attack first!
What kind of speed was that?
Even from the god-like perspective of spectator mode, all Dong Dongchen saw was a black phantom erupting from its spot and crossing several meters in an instant!
What followed was a series of metallic clashes, so rapid they almost blurred into a single, explosive sound!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The noise lasted less than two seconds before abruptly stopping.
Onscreen, Lin Ye’s opponent, a heavily armored Warrior with a broadsword, was still holding a blocking stance.
There were no wounds on his body.
But a perfectly precise, bloody hole had appeared in his throat.
A single, piercing blow!
The fight was over.
Dong Dongchen watched the scene, a storm raging in his mind.
He finally understood.
When facing him, this person’s spearmanship hadn’t shown any trace of a particular style or routine.
Now, Dong Dongchen realized it even more clearly: all of his attacks had only one purpose.
A one-hit kill!
Those attacks, which looked like a ferocious storm... in reality, every thrust of the spear was aimed precisely at the weak points in his opponent’s defense.
The ultimate goal was to create an opening for that one fatal strike!
This aligned perfectly with the Ultimate Truth of spearmanship his family elders had taught him.
’Weapons are instruments of death.’
’Any move not aimed at killing the enemy is just for show.’
In Dong Dongchen’s stream, the chat messages spamming "Hacker!" had noticeably decreased.
They were replaced by more exclamations of awe and confusion.
"That... that speed is insane!"
"So ruthless!"
"Why do I get the feeling he wasn’t even using his full strength when he fought Chen?"
Dong Dongchen ignored the chat. The look in his eyes had completely changed.
He cast aside the last shred of doubt in his mind.
Most so-called "banned drugs" worked by boosting all physical functions for a short period.
But that kind of power is a Frenzy, and it’s difficult to control. It would be impossible to perform such precise and calm maneuvers.
He just needed to keep watching.
Time would prove everything.
For the next half hour, Dong Dongchen and his hundred-thousand-plus viewers witnessed countless slaughters that could only be described as artistic.
No matter the opponent’s style or weapon, the outcome of the battle was always the same.
Ended by a single spear thrust in an incredibly short amount of time.
The style of each fight varied slightly, but the aesthetic of slaughter, that pursuit of ultimate efficiency, ran through them all.
Half an hour later, when Lin Ye pinned another opponent in place with a clean back-thrust, Dong Dongchen finally let out a long sigh of relief.
He could now say it with certainty.
"Alright, everyone."
"Even the top-tier military-grade banned drugs on the market right now don’t have effects that last this long."
"If we rule out extreme cases like faking his age or using a remote neural link for someone else to play on his account, then what we’re seeing right now is, almost certainly, an absolute monster of a genius!"
Lin Ye’s ID finally turned gray.
He had logged off.
In Dong Dongchen’s stream, the tide of the chat had completely turned.