23: A series of "good luck"

Lin Ye's first victory was like a preposterous stone thrown into a calm lake, the ripples it created refusing to subside for a long time.

"Relying on his thick skin and tough flesh to endure, and then winning by pure dumb luck"—this became everyone's unanimous assessment of Lin Ye's battle.

He thus became a minor laughingstock. Whenever a Disciple lost on the arena, others would jokingly say, "If only your luck were half as good as Lin Ye's."

Lin Ye was indifferent to all of this.

After being helped off the arena, he found the most secluded corner, leaned against a stone pillar, and immediately closed his eyes, as if he had truly fallen asleep from exhaustion.

However, in the depths of his consciousness, he was calmly replaying the battle he had just fought.

"The defensive power of Golden Bell Shield is even stronger than expected."

Over the past month, he had desperately taken on missions to exchange for Medicinal Pills, barely managing to level up Golden Bell Shield to the Minor Achievement Realm of the first layer, "Skin Tempering." He could feel that the skin all over his body had become as tough as oxhide, possessing extremely strong resistance to blunt force.

Shi Lei's seemingly fierce punches, when they landed on him, had most of their force dissipated by this layer of tough "skin"; less than one-tenth of the power truly penetrated his body.

"But it's still not enough," Lin Ye silently thought, "If I encounter an opponent using a Sharp Weapon, the defense of the 'Skin Tempering' Realm might not be so effective."

As for that final push, it was the result of his meticulous calculation. He seemed to be passively taking a beating, but in reality, he had been using his body to sense his opponent's habits of exerting force, and his eyes to observe his opponent's breathing rhythm. Finally, at the moment when his opponent was agitated and most vulnerable, he delivered the most "coincidental" strike.

This almost instinctive battle awareness, which even he himself hadn't realized, had been subtly imprinted into the depths of his Soul by the System during countless days and nights of background idling.

The Minor Competition progressed rapidly, with elimination rounds one after another.

An hour later, the match list for the second round was announced.

"Arena Number Seven, ninth match! Lin Ye, against, Feng San!"

When this name appeared, another burst of uncontrollable laughter erupted among the crowd.

"Hahaha! It's Lin Ye again! I'd like to see if his luck is still that good this time!"

"His opponent is 'Ghost Shadow' Feng San! Although Feng San isn't strong in power, his 'Wind-Following Steps' are elusive, and his speed is among the best in the Outer Sect!"

"This is going to be a good show! Lin Ye, that wooden dummy, probably won't even touch Feng San's clothes before being slowly worn to death on the stage!"

Amidst the discussions of the crowd, a thin, ordinary-looking Disciple, like an ape, lightly landed on Arena Number Seven with a few leaps. A smug smile hung on his lips, and he looked contemptuously at Lin Ye below the stage, who was still "rubbing his eyes and looking sleepy."

Lin Ye slowly climbed onto the arena again, still looking as if he hadn't fully woken up. He even stretched a big yawn in front of everyone.

"Match start!"

With the referee's command, Feng San's figure moved instantly!

"Swish!"

He transformed into a faint wisp of green smoke, circling Lin Ye at high speed, so fast that he left rings of blurry afterimages on the arena!

"Kid, your tortoise shell might be very hard, but I wonder if it can keep up with my speed!" Feng San's teasing voice seemed to come from all directions at once, making it difficult to pinpoint his location.

Before he finished speaking, a fierce palm wind had already struck from behind Lin Ye!

Facing such a speed-oriented opponent, Lin Ye's response was still so "simple and unadorned."

He didn't dodge, didn't evade.

He didn't even bother to turn his head.

"Bang!"

Feng San's tricky palm strike landed squarely on Lin Ye's back.

Lin Ye's body stumbled forward abruptly, and the faint bronze glow on his skin flickered again and disappeared.

As for Feng San, he felt as if he had slapped a slippery, unyielding rock. A recoil force numbed his palm, and he immediately used the momentum to retreat, merging back into the rapidly moving afterimages.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

For the next period, the entire Arena Number Seven staged an extremely comical game of "cat and mouse."

Except, this "mouse" was constantly attacking the seemingly clumsy "cat."

Feng San's figure was like a ghost, his palms, fingers, elbows, and knees raining down like a storm from various incredible angles, continuously landing on Lin Ye.

And Lin Ye, like a puppet being toyed with by a mischievous child, was spun around on the arena. He would sometimes fall forward, sometimes stumble backward, and sometimes spin in place, his movements extremely clumsy.

But he just wouldn't fall!

No matter how dense Feng San's attacks were, he could always, at the last moment, stabilize his figure in an extremely "lucky" way, like a tumbler that couldn't be knocked down.

The crowd below the stage had gone from initially enjoying the show to feeling somewhat numb.

"This guy... he really is a tortoise! He can't be knocked down?"

"Although Feng San's speed is fast, his power is his weakness. It seems he can't break through that strange body-refining skill of his."

"So what? Lin Ye doesn't even have a chance to fight back. When his stamina runs out, he'll still lose!"

However, what they didn't notice was that on the arena, Feng San's smug smile had long disappeared, replaced by a look of solemnity and... bewilderment.

The shock in his heart was stronger than anyone else's!

Every one of his attacks seemed to hit, but that slippery, unyielding feeling made him incredibly uncomfortable! Moreover, no matter what angle he attacked from, his opponent could always "just happen" to use the toughest part of his body to absorb the blow!

Was this really a coincidence?

High-speed movement consumes a lot of physical energy. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Feng San's forehead was already sweating, his breathing began to quicken, and his footwork inevitably showed a hint of stagnation.

Now!

In Lin Ye's always half-closed, seemingly sleepy eyes, a gleam of brilliance, imperceptible to others, flashed again!

Just then, Feng San swayed again, appearing to Lin Ye's left, and delivered a hand chop to his neck!

Lin Ye, on the other hand, seemed to be startled and flustered, his body suddenly tilted to the right, and at the same time, his right foot seemed to trip over something, sweeping backward in an extremely "clumsy" manner!

This kick was so "coincidental."

It just happened to sweep across Feng San's left ankle, which was supporting his body!

Feng San, who was moving at high speed, suddenly lost his footing, and his entire body instantly lost balance!

"Ah!"

He let out a cry of surprise, his body uncontrollably falling towards the edge of the arena.

Before he could react, Lin Ye, who had just "tripped" him, seemed to trip over his own foot again, his body "stumbling" forward, and that seemingly weak hand, with extreme "precision," pressed against Feng San's back, which was about to fall.

A gentle "push."

"Thud!"

Feng San followed in Shi Lei's footsteps, falling off the arena in an extremely disheveled manner.

"Are... Arena Number Seven, Lin Ye... wins!"

The referee's voice, this time, was noticeably trembling.

Lin Ye, on the other hand, due to "overexertion," also fell face-first, lying on the arena floor and not getting up for a long time.

If the first victory was luck,

Then this second one... the entire venue fell into a strange silence. Everyone looked at the figure groaning on the ground with eyes that saw a monster, their brains completely unable to comprehend what was happening before them.

Continuous "good luck," this luck was simply too much!

The next third round, fourth round... Lin Ye's "good luck" continued.

His opponents were stronger one after another. There were those who used wooden staffs, those skilled in grappling, and even a Disciple at the third layer of the Qi Refinement Stage!

But without exception, the final outcome was the same.

No matter how fierce the opponent's attacks were, Lin Ye could always endure them with his "tortoise shell."

Then, at the end of the battle, he would always, in an incredible and "incredibly lucky" way, seize a tiny, almost negligible mistake from his opponent, and decide the victory with a single palm strike!

Either the opponent slipped on his own and was "coincidentally" pushed off the stage by him.

Or the opponent dropped his weapon and was forced off the stage by his "opportunistic" move.

Or the opponent ran out of Qi and was "worn down" by him until he conceded defeat.

One "narrow victory" after another made the name "Lin Ye" the most bizarre and incomprehensible existence in this Minor Competition.

He became the biggest dark horse of this Minor Competition, and also the biggest joke.

"Son of Good Fortune," "Man of Destiny," "Walking Human Lucky Charm"... all sorts of mocking titles were bestowed upon him.

And Lin Ye carried his "performance" to the very end.

With each victory, his face would become a little "paler," and his body a little "weaker." In the end, he even needed two people to help him off the arena.

But he, stumbling and staggering, "narrowly won" his way through, successfully passing the preliminary rounds under a gaze of utter astonishment.