151: Chapter 151 A Burst of Penetrating Force! Hitting an Ox Through a Mountain! The True Strength of a Blank Slate!

"Is that all? The show is just getting started."

Lin Qi withdrew his fist. He looked at Xiao Kuangyun, who was struggling to get up from the ground, with a hint of playfulness in his eyes.

Xiao Kuangyun's body slammed into the Energy Shield. He felt his internal organs churning, and a wave of sharp pain radiated from his chest.

He struggled to stand up, only to find that his entire body was devoid of strength.

"How can this be?" Xiao Kuangyun roared inwardly.

He was clearly wearing the [heart of thorns], which was a Rare-grade Breastplate.

Its passive effect was [Thorn Aura], capable of reflecting thirty percent of physical damage.

He had felt a massive force from Lin Qi's punch, but that power seemed to have directly penetrated his armor.

Xiao Kuangyun looked down at his breastplate. The silver heavy armor was perfectly intact, without even a single dent, and the [Thorn Aura] on the armor was still flickering.

He checked his health bar again; his shield value was still full, not having dropped a single point.

"Impossible!" Xiao Kuangyun couldn't believe it.

He had clearly spat out blood and his body had sustained heavy damage, yet the System panel showed him as unharmed. This defied all logic.

In the spectator stands, after a brief silence, an even louder roar of discussion erupted.

"What's going on? Why did Xiao Kuangyun fall?"

"Lin Qi's punch looked so weak."

"Where's the damage-reflecting armor? Why didn't we see the reflection effect?"

The commentator was also dazed. Looking at the replay, Lin Qi's fist had indeed struck Xiao Kuangyun, but Xiao Kuangyun's health bar and shield hadn't decreased.

"This... this isn't scientific!" the commentator shouted. "Could it be a System error?"

Zhang Wei watched the situation on the stage. He was stunned at first, but then a look of pure ecstasy appeared on his face.

"Seven Brother is awesome!" Zhang Wei jumped up in excitement.

"I knew it! Whenever Seven Brother takes action, there's nothing he can't handle!"

Instructor Su Qing's expression also relaxed. She looked at Lin Qi with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

"As expected," Instructor Su Qing thought to herself, "he always manages to find the loopholes in this world's rules."

Elder Mo pushed up his glasses. He watched Lin Qi's movements, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"This way of exerting force..." Elder Mo muttered to himself. "Strike through an obstacle to hit the target? No... it's even more exquisite than Strike through an obstacle to hit the target."

On the stage.

Lin Qi looked at Xiao Kuangyun. He was in no hurry to attack; he simply walked forward slowly.

One step. Two steps.

His steps were light and his posture was casual, not at all like a warrior about to launch an attack, but more like someone taking a stroll in a park.

Xiao Kuangyun struggled to his feet. He looked at Lin Qi, the mockery on his face gone, replaced by shock and a hint of fear.

"What exactly did you do?" Xiao Kuangyun asked loudly.

Lin Qi didn't answer. He just kept walking.

Xiao Kuangyun felt his skin crawl. He couldn't figure it out. Lin Qi was clearly a Blank Slate with all stats at 5. How could he possibly make him spit blood with a single punch?

Furthermore, his [heart of thorns] hadn't triggered at all. This piece of equipment was specifically designed to counter physical attacks.

"Does he have a hidden skill?" Xiao Kuangyun speculated.

But then he dismissed the thought; on Lin Qi's panel...

...his Class was "None" and his Rank was "LV.1," with no skills displayed.

When he was still three steps away from Xiao Kuangyun, Lin Qi stopped.

He raised his right fist and, with a slow and light movement, pressed it toward Xiao Kuangyun's abdomen.

The punch wasn't fast, and its power seemed weak. It had no momentum to speak of.

A louder burst of laughter erupted from the spectator stands.

"Hahahaha! What is Lin Qi doing?"

"Does he think he's dancing?"

"What use is such a weak punch?"

Everyone thought Lin Qi was just putting on a show. They felt he had just been lucky and that Xiao Kuangyun had been careless.

Xiao Kuangyun was also stunned. Looking at Lin Qi's slow-moving fist, a surge of anger rose within him.

"He's humiliating me!" Xiao Kuangyun roared in his mind.

He didn't even bother to block. He puffed out his chest, prepared to take this weak punch head-on and then make his opponent feel despair.

"Come on, you trash!" Xiao Kuangyun shouted. "Give me another punch! Watch how I reflect you to death!"

Lin Qi's fist finally touched the surface of Xiao Kuangyun's heavy armor.

However, the expected sound of clashing metal did not ring out. Lin Qi's fist merely pressed gently against the armor.

Xiao Kuangyun was taken aback. He didn't feel any impact. The opponent's fist felt like a feather landing on him.

"That's it?" Xiao Kuangyun mocked inwardly.

He was just about to start laughing, but at the very moment he prepared to speak,

...an indescribable, terrifying force exploded within his body without any warning.

"Pfft!"

Xiao Kuangyun spat out another large mouthful of blood. He felt as if his internal organs were being gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand and then violently twisted.

Sharp pain!

Unbearable, agonizing pain!

His body flew backward again, even faster and heavier than before.

"What... what kind of monster is this!" Xiao Kuangyun was terrified.

He felt as if his body had been hollowed out, with all his strength drained away.

Lin Qi withdrew his fist. He looked at the fallen Xiao Kuangyun with a calm gaze.

"Fool," Lin Qi complained inwardly, "did you really think you'd be invincible just by wearing reflection armor?"

Lin Qi's fist force hadn't acted upon the surface of the hard armor at all; instead, it had strangely penetrated the metal defense.

This force seemed to have a life of its own, bypassing skin and muscle to act directly upon his fragile internal organs.

"This is [Penetrating Force · Strike through an obstacle to hit the target]," Lin Qi thought. "A peak force-exertion technique from Ancient Martial Arts, specifically designed to counter External Hard Styles."

Lin Qi had seen through the rigidity of the System's mechanics at a glance. Reflecting damage was based on the judgment of "inflicting physical contact damage."

In the System's logic, his attack hadn't caused any damage to the breastplate itself.

Consequently, that dazzling [Thorn Aura] hadn't even rippled from start to finish.

The mocking smile on Xiao Kuangyun's face instantly froze as he lowered his head.

He looked in disbelief at his unharmed armor and his health bar and shield, which were still at their maximum values.