For a moment, the entire clearing fell silent.
Then, it exploded.
“No weapon? Is he insane?”
“An F-rank lightning user not using a Tier 2, B-rank weapon? What’s he going to fight with, his head?”
“He was Tier 1, Level 4. Even after two days, he’s Tier 1, Level 5 at most. I could take him!”
“Wait, is there a catch?”
Lin Yuan waited for the shouting to die down before slowly holding up five fingers.
“But...”
The crowd went quiet again.
“The challenges aren’t free. It’s fifty thousand per match.”
“Fifty thousand?! Why don’t you just rob us!” someone from the crowd immediately cursed.
Lin Yuan replied without changing his expression, “How could robbing people be faster than this?”
The man’s face turned green with frustration.
However, some people quickly did the math.
Fifty thousand Huaxia coins sounded like a lot, but if they won... Lin Yuan had over seven hundred points, and thirty percent of that was over two hundred points.
Was it worth spending fifty thousand to buy over two hundred points?
It was worth it as hell.
Of those ranked high on the leaderboard, which one of them hadn’t spent massive resources to get there? Fifty thousand was just pocket change to them.
Sure enough, the eyes of several well-dressed examinees lit up.
“I’m in.”
The first to step forward was a boy wearing the Hangzhou No. 1 High School uniform. He wasn't tall, but his shoulders were broad, and he clearly looked like he had some training.
C-rank earth ability, Tier 1, Level 5. He was Wang Lei. His father was in the monster materials business in Hangzhou, so his family wasn't short on cash.
“QR code or bank transfer?” Lin Yuan asked.
“QR code.” Wang Lei pulled out his phone.
Lin Yuan pulled out his own phone as well. The closer they got to Hangzhou, the better the signal; he could already get two bars in the outskirts.
He opened his receiving code and held it out. Wang Lei scanned it, and the notification chime for fifty thousand arriving was crisp and pleasant.
“Ding.”
Hearing the sound, Lin Yuan’s eyes curved into a smile.
He tucked his phone away and rolled his wrists.
He didn't take a combat stance, just stood there loosely.
“Come at me.”
Wang Lei didn't waste words either.
He pushed his earth ability to the limit, condensing a layer of grayish-yellow rock armor over his right fist before throwing a punch straight at Lin Yuan’s chest.
The force wasn't weak, and the speed wasn't slow. For a Tier 1, Level 5, he was indeed a skilled fighter.
Lin Yuan stepped to the side, letting the fist graze past his clothes.
In one fluid motion, he grabbed Wang Lei’s wrist and pulled, using the boy’s own momentum against him.
Wang Lei felt his strength vanishing like a clay ox entering the sea, his entire body lunging forward uncontrollably.
Then, his foot caught on something. Lin Yuan’s toe had hooked around his ankle at some point.
Wang Lei face-planted into the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt.
The clearing went silent once more.
One move. Just one move.
He hadn't used an ability, a weapon, or even a proper technique. It was just a pull and a trip, like an old man toying with a child.
...
“Next,” Lin Yuan said.
Wang Lei scrambled up from the ground, his expression shifting from anger to confusion, and then to a daze that said, “Was I just played like a fool?”
But a loss was a loss. Students from Hangzhou No. 1 High School still had some dignity.
He brushed the dirt off his clothes and stood to the side without a word.
The others, however, didn't see it that way. They thought Wang Lei had been too careless, letting a lightning user get close enough to negate the earth system’s advantage.
Wouldn't a long-range user fix that?
The second to sign up was a fire user, Tier 1, Level 5, B-rank.
Scan, transfer, fight.
He had learned his lesson and immediately retreated to open up the distance. He fired three fireballs in rapid succession, the fist-sized spheres flying toward Lin Yuan in a triangular formation.
Lin Yuan didn't even dodge.
He walked straight toward the fire user.
When the first fireball reached him, he tilted his head, letting it fly past his ear.
When the second reached his chest, he turned sideways, letting it graze his clothes.
When the third fireball flew toward his face, he raised his hand and slapped it, dispelling the fireball directly.
He slapped it away.
With his bare hand, he had slapped away a fireball from a Tier 1, Level 5, B-rank fire ability user.
The fire user’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Then, Lin Yuan’s knee slammed into his stomach.
The fight was over.
Third. Fourth. Fifth.
The notification chimes for the payments rang out one after another.
Fifty thousand, one hundred thousand, one hundred fifty thousand, two hundred thousand.
Lin Yuan’s mobile banking balance climbed at a visible rate. The smile on his face grew more brilliant, and his movements became even more efficient.
“Jie jie jie.”
The sixth was a wind user. He was fast and thought he could kite Lin Yuan to death.
Then he discovered that Lin Yuan was faster—not just a little bit, but much faster.
Lin Yuan’s actual realm was Tier 1, Level 8, at least three levels higher than everyone present.
Lin Yuan caught up with the wind user in three steps and struck the back of his neck with a hand-chop.
The fight was over.
Seventh. Eighth.
By the time the ninth person stepped up, someone finally realized something was wrong.
“Wait.” An examinee wearing glasses adjusted his frames and stared fixedly at Lin Yuan. “Your realm... it isn't Tier 1, Level 5.”
Lin Yuan stopped and looked at him, saying calmly, “Yeah, it isn’t.”
“Tier 1, Level 6?”
Lin Yuan shook his head.
“Tier 1, Level 7?”
Lin Yuan shook his head again.
The spectacled examinee’s pupils constricted as he cursed, “Are you fucking Tier 1, Level 8?”
Those words were like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone. Tier 1, Level 8.
Of the three thousand examinees in Hangzhou, how long had it been since they awakened? Not even half a month.
What kind of concept was going from awakening to Tier 1, Level 8 in half a month?
The undisputed number one in Hangzhou, Han Feng, was an A-rank weapon system user with family resources piled high, and he was only Tier 1, Level 5 after half a month.
This guy, an F-rank lightning user, was Tier 1, Level 8?
“And,” the spectacled examinee’s voice sounded a bit dry, “your bone tempering rounds... they don’t look like just five rounds either, do they?”
Lin Yuan didn't answer. He simply slammed a fist into the ground.
The power of nine rounds of bone tempering was unleashed without reservation.
With his fist as the center, a web of cracks spidered out across the ground.
The clearing fell into a deathly silence.
The wealthy kids who hadn't gone up yet nearly dropped their phones.
At least seven rounds of bone tempering, Tier 1, Level 8, and a lightning ability. The combination of those three things could no longer be described as just a “genius.”
“Still want to fight?” Lin Yuan stood up, brushed the dirt off his knuckles, and looked around.
No one spoke. The wealthy kids who had been so hyped up just moments ago were now like chickens with their necks throttled.
Lin Yuan waited for three seconds. No one made a sound.
“Fine then.” As soon as he finished speaking, he walked toward the edge of the crowd. After a few steps, a brilliant smile broke across his face.
“Jie jie jie, I made a killing!”
...
The moon rose from the east, hanging in the center of the sky.
Campfires lit up one by one in the outskirts clearing. Examinees gathered around the fires in small groups; some were whispering about what had just happened, while others silently checked their bank balances.
Lin Yuan returned to his spot under the large tree, leaned against the trunk, crossed his legs, and opened his mobile banking app.
Received: 450,000.
He tucked his phone back into his pocket with a grin and closed his eyes.
This money was truly easy to earn.
Rate on N.U.
