90: Doping accelerates the process, the top eight teams are in turmoil.

In the secret room beneath the private club.

Lin Haige sat cross-legged on a cushion, his upper body bare.

In front of him were several bottles of potions.

These were the forbidden drugs, "generously" provided by Zhou Wanxiong, capable of forcibly boosting one's strength in a short period.

Lin Haige's eyes were bloodshot; without any hesitation, he grabbed a bottle of the forbidden drug and gulped it down.

The potion exploded in his stomach like a raging fire!

Terrifying medicinal power instantly surged wildly through his limbs and bones.

"Ugh ah ah ah—!"

Lin Haige let out a painful roar that sounded inhuman.

His entire skin quickly turned crimson, and white mist emanated from his skin.

His Source Power aura soared at a visible speed!

Fourth Rank Five Stars!

Fourth Rank Six Stars!

..."Another bottle!"

The violent energy almost burst his body, and his bones creaked under the immense pressure.

But he gritted his teeth, refusing to give up!

Finally, the brutal energy surge eased slightly.

Lin Haige's aura had already forcibly broken through to Fourth Rank Nine Stars, firmly standing at the terrifying level of Fourth Rank Peak!

He felt the unprecedented surge of power within him, and a look of delight appeared on his twisted face.

It was an old secret method.

But this was still not enough!

Far from enough!

"For Dong'er, for the Lin Family! What is this pain!"

Lin Haige's eyes were blood-red; he bit the tip of his tongue and quickly formed an ancient and complex hand seal.

"Lin Family Secret Art—Blood Burning!"

With his low roar, a purer and more violent crimson energy surged from his heart, instantly spreading throughout his body.

His aura, building upon the Fourth Rank Peak, once again surged wildly!

Vaguely, he seemed to have touched the distant threshold of the Fifth Rank!

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of fresh blood gushed from his mouth, his face instantly paled a few shades, and his aura became somewhat unstable.

The Blood Burning secret art came at a great cost, burning the caster's life origin.

But Lin Haige didn't care; on the contrary, because of this successful attempt, an unprecedented confidence erupted in his eyes.

He felt that as long as he paid a sufficient price, he even had a chance to unleash terrifying power comparable to a Fifth Rank Card Master at a critical moment!

"Lu Yuan!"

"Yao Family!"

"I want you all... to die without a burial place!!!"

Lin Haige felt the power almost overflowing from his body and let out a beast-like roar, his voice echoing in the secret room, filled with endless malice and madness... Meanwhile, in the top-tier training suite prepared by the Yao Family for Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan also sat cross-legged, carefully reviewing his battle with Yao Yong.

The might of the battle monk had left a deep impression on him.

Every high-intensity battle was a valuable experience.

His Source Power had increased by another 3 points!

The next breakthrough was not far off.

"Thump thump thump!"

A light knock sounded.

"Lu Yuan, I'm coming in!"

Before Lu Yuan could respond, the training room door opened, and Yao Xiao, holding an exquisite jade bottle, presented it to Lu Yuan as if offering a treasure.

"This is the Jade Dew Paste from Grandpa. He told you to secretly hold a little in your mouth before the next competition; it greatly promotes the recovery of Source Power."

Lu Yuan scratched his head: "Isn't this cheating?"

"Of course it's cheating, so you have to secretly hold a little..."

Lu Yuan: 666

He took the jade bottle, and a refreshing medicinal fragrance wafted to his nose, "Thank you, Nickname, and please thank the old man for me."

"Hehe, you're welcome!" Yao Xiao's big eyes curved into crescent moons, and she immediately sat beside Lu Yuan, starting to chatter about gossip.

"Lu Yuan, did you know? The people who made it to the top eight this time are all super amazing!"

"Sun Ke from the Sun Family, I heard his blade can spew fire, it's so scary! His opponent's hair was all burned off in the last match! And it was a young lady..."

"And Sister De Xiner from Deyun Hall, she uses all sorts of weird bugs and poisons. Her opponent couldn't even see her clearly before they just lay down. It's so creepy!"

Yao Xiao recounted vividly, occasionally imitating the movements of the contestants, making Lu Yuan laugh.

"Oh, right, right," Yao Xiao suddenly lowered her voice, leaned close to Lu Yuan's ear, and said mysteriously, "And that Zhou Bufan from the Zhou Family, you have to be careful of him!"

"I heard my brothers say that this Zhou Bufan is really bad! When he's in a match, he specifically likes to torment his opponents. Several of them were severely injured by him, and some even almost had their card slots crippled! His methods are very insidious!"

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Zhou Family, Zhou Bufan.

He remembered this name.

Just then, Yao Tianbi also walked in.

He saw Yao Xiao chatting with Lu Yuan and shook his head helplessly.

"Lu Yuan, Nickname is right, you need to pay special attention to that Zhou Bufan."

Yao Tianbi said in a deep voice, "I suspect that old fox Zhou Wanxiong will definitely pull some tricks."

Lu Yuan nodded, indicating he understood.

"I will be careful, thank you, Third Uncle, for the reminder."

Yao Tianbi nodded slightly and added, "Also, regarding the preparations for the Lost Water Realm, the family has basically completed them."

"In three to five days at most, the secret realm entrance will officially open."

"At that time, you will represent our Yao Family and enter with the younger generation of other forces in the Region."

"The Yao Family will be led by a Fourth Rank Peak enshrinement; he is much stronger than me."

"My relationship with him is decent, he will look after you."

"Opportunities and dangers coexist within the Lost Water Realm; you must be fully prepared."

"But no matter what, life is always the priority. In previous secret realms, there have been casualties, Fifth Brother..."

"Alas... Anyway, remember, if it's really not working out, just run. Run back to the exit; the family will have people to meet you!"

...Night deepened.

In various corners of Canglan Province City, several other prodigies who had also advanced to the top eight were preparing for tomorrow's fierce battles in their own ways.

At the Sun Family manor, in a training room filled with rolling heat waves.

The blazing sun blade master Sun Ke was shirtless, sweat beading on his bronze skin.

In front of him floated a battle card of a blazing sun blade, burning with fierce flames.

He reached out with a special fire-resistant cloth, carefully wiping every inch of the blade'sTexture, his gaze focused as if caressing his lover.

In a quiet room at the Deyun Hall branch, permeated with a peculiar medicinal fragrance.

The Medicine Fairy De Xiner, with slender hands, was carefully mixing several powders and liquids according to some mysterious proportions.

With the addition of the last ingredient, a deep purple potion slowly formed in the jade bowl before her, emitting a strange Source Power fluctuation.

She curved her lips into a slight smile and directly consumed it.

And in a high-end bar private room under the Zhou Family's name.

Zhou Bufan leaned against the sofa, embracing two scantily clad beauties, chatting and laughing with a few of his cronies.

His handsome face bore a hint of a lewd smile, seemingly somewhat at odds with the ruthless image that Yao Xiao had described... All in all, this night was not peaceful.

At the same time, throughout Canglan Province City, the discussion about tomorrow's top eight competition had reached an unprecedented peak.

In streets and alleys, teahouses and restaurants, and on the internet, everyone was discussing the strength and matchups of the top eight contestants.

Among them, Lu Yuan's name was undoubtedly one of the most frequently mentioned.

As a Second Rank dark horse, he had successively defeated strong enemies, especially his victory over Yao Yong, who possessed an orange card, which made him famous.

Coupled with his mysterious second gold card, it added countless halos to him.

His popularity even subtly surpassed that of established prodigies like Sun Ke and De Xiner.

Major betting companies also offered corresponding odds for him to win the championship, clearly already considering him a strong contender for the title.

Countless people were crazy about him, and countless people expected him to continue creating miracles.

Of course, many also held skeptical views, believing his good luck was about to run out.

Among all the top eight contestants, the information on the Zhou Family's prodigy, Zhou Bufan, was also being studied over and over by countless people.

Zhou Bufan, a Third Rank Seven Star Card Master.

His Origin Card was not a single strongest one, but rather three purple five-star Shadow Binding Spiders!

These three cards were not only of the same origin, allowing their power to be perfectly stacked, but also, under Zhou Bufan's control, could unleash an extremely terrifying combined combat skill—the Spider Emperor Heavenly Net Formation!

Once this formation was deployed, it could create a large-scale, powerful control effect, and the venom attached to the spider silk could continuously erode the opponent's Source Power and vitality.

Even more daunting was Zhou Bufan's extremely cruel combat style; he loved to torment his opponents.

It was rumored that many Card Masters who had fought against him were driven to mental breakdowns by his Shadow Binding Spiders, and some even suffered permanent disabilities.

"Three purple five-star cards of the same origin! This Zhou Bufan's trump card is too strong!"

"It's said that these three Shadow Binding Spiders were found by his father, Zhou Wanxiong, from an ancient ruin at an exorbitant cost, specifically tailored for him!"

"Once the Spider Emperor Heavenly Net Formation is formed, it's almost unsolvable within the same rank. Even a Fourth Rank early-stage Card Master might suffer defeat if caught off guard!"

"Although Lu Yuan's Heavenly Thunder Light Falcon is fast and attacks fiercely, facing this kind of large-scale control and continuous poison damage, it might be very tricky!"

"Nonsense, he's only Second Rank."

"Have you ever seen a Second Rank make it to the top eight in history?"

"Our Lu Yuan is already very strong, isn't he...?"

Various analyses and speculations were rampant.

Finally, early the next morning.

Under widespread anticipation, the draw ceremony for the top eight, broadcast via holographic projection on the central large screen of the Dome of the Heavens arena and simultaneously on major public screens throughout the Province City, began.

Eight names, shimmering with golden light, scrolled rapidly across the screen.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the screen.

The first name stopped—Sun Ke!

The second name stopped—De Xiner!

...When Lu Yuan's name was drawn and fixed on the left side of the battle list, a huge roar erupted instantly both on-site and online.

People held their breath, waiting for his opponent to appear.

Light flickered, and the last name slowly emerged, alongside Lu Yuan's name.

When that name became completely clear before everyone—

Zhou Bufan!

Lu Yuan VS Zhou Bufan!

The entire Canglan Province instantly erupted in an uproar!

Dark horse versus fiend!

Golden Falcon versus Poison Spider!

This matchup was full of hype, instantly igniting everyone's passion!

Zhou Family Manor.

Zhou Bufan looked at the matchup results on the screen and cheered, pumping his fist.

"Excellent! I'm definitely in the top four!"

At the same time, his father Zhou Wanxiong's hearty laughter came to his ears:

"Bufan, remember, when you face that Lu Yuan this afternoon, don't hold back."

"If you have the chance, cripple him."

"That Light Falcon card, your father is determined to get it!"

A trace of bloodthirsty excitement flashed in Zhou Bufan's eyes, and he licked his lips.

"Father, don't worry."

"I will let him know the consequences of offending our Zhou Family."

"His gold card will soon be mine!"

...