Chapter 72 - 62: Great Success in Spearmanship
"This means that for every torso bone he successfully refines, the increase to his Qi and Blood is double that of refining limb bones! It also means that the actual power and might he can unleash per calorie of Qi and Blood is twice that of a Martial Artist of the same rank! Perhaps even more! Do you get it? This is a fundamental difference in quality!"
"GASP... Double Qi and Blood? Double power output? Put them together, and isn’t that four times the strength? Oh my god, no wonder Zhao Hao couldn’t take a single blow!"
"A monster! Yang City No. 1 High School has produced a monster! The top ten universities? I’d say his admission is a done deal!"
"Lin Yi! Lin Yi! Lin Yi!"
Someone in the crowd started the chant.
Before long, the uproar in the arena transformed from angry disbelief into a fanatical roar of worship for the victor!
Manager Wang looked on with satisfaction at the fervent atmosphere below, gesturing for quiet with both hands. With a broad smile, he struck while the iron was hot:
"Ladies and gentlemen! Honored guests! I’m sure that wasn’t enough to satisfy you, was it? We have yet to see the true extent of Lin Yi’s strength! How could we possibly let the magnificent display of such a prodigy end after just one match?"
His voice was pure instigation:
"To satisfy all of your expectations, and to allow Lin Yi to better showcase his exceptional talent, we here at the arena have decided—in response to popular demand—to arrange a bonus match for Lin Yi!"
"Bonus match! Bonus match! Bonus match!"
A deafening, tsunami-like roar instantly shook the heavens.
The crowd’s enthusiasm had been completely ignited.
All eyes were fixed on Lin Yi on the stage, burning with anticipation.
Full of expectation.
Manager Wang once again raised his hand for silence, his voice suddenly growing impassioned:
"However! Given that Lin Yi’s strength is simply too overwhelming, no one in the First Grade Middle Stage can even test his blade! Therefore, our arena will bring out a truly heavyweight opponent—a peak First Grade High Stage expert, known as ’Swift Sword,’ Ge Jinjiang!"
"BOOM!"
The moment the name was spoken, the audience erupted once more!
"’Swift Sword’ Ge Jinjiang? It’s him!"
"Good heavens, the arena even managed to bring him out? He’s the undisputed king of the First-Grade Martial Artists here at the Thunder Arena!"
Manager Wang chimed in at the perfect moment, his voice booming with dramatic flair:
"That’s right! It is ’Swift Sword’ Ge Jinjiang! Of his sixty-two lower limb bones, he has already achieved Perfection in the Refinement of sixty-one! His Qi and Blood value is as high as 310 calories! What’s even more terrifying is that he has brought his Cultivation of the combat technique, the Thunder Sword Skill, to the Micro Level! His sword strikes like a sudden clap of thunder, so fast you can’t even see its shadow! His strength is considered top-tier within the First Grade Realm!"
Manager Wang flung his arm out, pointing toward the contestant’s tunnel:
"Next, this battle of titans between our new phenom, the ’Torso-Bone Prodigy’ Lin Yi, and the veteran king, ’Swift Sword’ Ge Jinjiang, is guaranteed to be a spectacular, spark-flying, peak showdown! So keep your eyes peeled!"
Following Manager Wang’s impassioned announcement,
a figure slowly walked out from the shadows of the tunnel.
He was slender, dressed in crisp black martial attire. His face was a stark white, the kind that comes from staying out of the sun, but his eyes were as sharp as a falcon’s.
In his hand, he carried a sheathed longsword. The scabbard was simple and archaic, with faint, lightning-like patterns seeming to shift across its surface.
Every step he took was exceptionally light and steady, as if he were floating. He ascended the stage without a sound, and an invisible, sharp aura began to emanate from him, causing those in the front rows to instinctively hold their breath.
It was none other than "Swift Sword" Ge Jinjiang!
Lin Yi’s gaze instantly locked onto him.
His opponent’s steady gait and the sharp aura he subtly emanated put an unprecedented pressure on Lin Yi.
’310 calories of Qi and Blood? That’s over eighty more than me... but in terms of raw strength, he’s still no match for me!’
Lin Yi made a quick mental calculation, his fighting spirit beginning to rise.
’But... he’s cultivated a true killing technique, and it’s at the Micro Level! All I have are basic spear arts... In terms of skill, I’m at a complete disadvantage!’
’Pressure! This is exactly the pressure I need! Ge Jinjiang’s swift sword... it might just be the catalyst I need to break through, to help me bring my ’Listening Spear Force’ to full Perfection and step into the realm of control!’
Lin Yi tightened his grip on the cold spear in his hand, his gaze becoming incredibly focused.
「Half an hour of preparation time passed in a flash.」
"Begin!"
With the host’s command, the highly anticipated bonus match was officially underway.
"SWOOSH!"
The instant the word was spoken, Ge Jinjiang moved!
It was as if he had springs for feet. His figure became a blur, a black shadow moving so fast it left only an afterimage burned onto the retina!
His longsword, still sheathed, seemed to arrive before he even moved. Though the blade remained in its scabbard, a cold, sharp intent was already locked onto Lin Yi!
Aimed straight for Lin Yi’s throat!
Fast!
Suffocatingly fast!
Lin Yi’s pupils contracted. He instinctively swung his spear horizontally, the shaft blocking the sword’s tip by a hair’s breadth!
"CLANG!"
A piercing clash of metal on metal!
A massive force, mixed with a cunning, vibrating energy, surged through the spear shaft, numbing Lin Yi’s arm. The hasty parry made his entire body stagger.
He immediately focused, pouring his entire concentration into the spear. He tried to sense the trajectory, magnitude, and intent of his opponent’s power through the vibrations, to predict the direction of the next sword strike.
However,
Ge Jinjiang’s sword was too fast, too unpredictable.
Just as Lin Yi judged that his opponent’s force was dipping and prepared a low sweep, Ge Jinjiang’s blade impossibly flicked upward, changing direction like a striking viper!
"RRRIP!"
The cold edge of the sword instantly ripped through the front of Lin Yi’s clothes, leaving a shallow, bloody line on his tough skin from which blood immediately began to seep.
A searing pain shot through him!
’So fast! And what a freakish change of direction!’