167: Chapter 167 A Royal Flush at the Start, Are You Really Not Going to Shuffle the Cards?

"I want to take a bath before the match."

Lin Qi's voice was soft, but it sounded like a heavy bomb exploding in the ears of Zhang Wei and the newly arrived Elder Mo.

Zhang Wei's chubby face lost all color instantly. He grabbed Elder Mo's arm as if grabbing a last straw, his voice cracking.

"Elder Mo! Please talk some sense into Seventh Brother! Ten times the concentration of Hellfire Oil! That's not a bath, that's throwing yourself into a volcano to be boiled! You'll die!"

Elder Mo shook him off, his old eyes gleaming with a near-manic light.

"Ten times? Good! Good! Ten times is exactly what we need!" He rubbed his hands together, pacing back and forth in excitement.

"Ordinary energy impact can no longer push his Physical Body any further! It requires this kind of most violent, most direct energy to force out the potential deep within his bones! Break then establish! Do you understand?"

"I don't understand squat! What's the point of establishing if you're dead!" Zhang Wei was on the verge of tears.

Lin Qi ignored their argument and looked calmly at Elder Mo.

"Can you have it ready?"

"Half an hour!" Elder Mo promised, patting his chest, "I will personally go to the refinery to prepare it! I guarantee that every drop of oil will contain the purest explosive fire poison!"

With that, the old man rushed out like a gust of wind, as if heading to a sacred appointment.

Only Zhang Wei was left behind, slumped on the ground, muttering incessantly, "It's over... It's over... He's going to kill himself before the match even starts..."

Half an hour later, inside the exclusive special-grade training room of Longya Academy.

A huge alloy bathtub was filled with a viscous liquid as red as magma.

Fist-sized bubbles constantly rose to the surface of the liquid, each bursting with a dull explosion, the scorching heat waves raising the room's temperature by dozens of degrees.

This was the Hellfire Oil with its concentration increased tenfold.

Lin Qi took off his top, revealing a bronze-colored, sturdy upper body with smooth, explosive muscle lines.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped into the bathtub.

"Hiss!"

The moment the scalding medicinal liquid touched his skin, it made a sound similar to roasting meat.

Unimaginable, excruciating pain, like billions of red-hot steel needles, frantically drilled into every pore, piercing straight into his bone marrow.

Lin Qi's body trembled violently, veins bulging on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.

He sat down slowly, immersing his entire body into that boiling Hell.

The Internal Skill Mind-Cultivation Technique of the martial arts era was pushed to its limit, and his True Qi formed barriers throughout his body, barely protecting his heart and internal organs.

He didn't just want to resist.

He wanted to absorb!

He voluntarily dissipated part of his protective True Qi, guiding those violent fire-attribute energies along his Meridians, scouring his bones over and over again.

Each scouring felt like scraping his bones with a steel brush; the pain was enough to make an ordinary person collapse instantly.

Yet, Lin Qi's consciousness remained absolutely clear.

He could clearly "see" that his bones were undergoing some subtle changes under the forging of this Hellfire Oil.

The silver luster on the surface of his bones became more restrained after each painful scouring, as if refined steel that had been tempered a thousand times, shedding its vanity and leaving only the most solid essence.

Time ticked by.

When Lin Qi opened his eyes again, the crimson liquid in the bathtub had become clear and transparent; all the energy had been absorbed by him.

He stood up, his skin glowing with a healthy jade-like luster, and a sharp light seemed to flash between his eyes as they opened and closed.

"Crack."

He clenched his fist lightly, and his knuckles emitted a crisp explosion.

Bone Refining Realm, Silver Bone Perfection.

...

Kyoto Stadium, bustling with noise and packed to capacity.

The highly anticipated third round of the elimination tournament officially began.

Today's focus was undoubtedly on Arena No. 7 in Zone A.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the third round of the Federal Prodigy Tournament! The most anticipated duel of this round is about to begin!"

The commentator's voice spread through the venue via amplification equipment, igniting everyone's enthusiasm.

"One side of the matchup is the biggest dark horse of this tournament, the 'Martial Artist Devil King' Lin Qi, who cleared the entire Mist Forest single-handedly and topped the rankings with a massive lead!"

Amidst the roaring cheers and discussions, Lin Qi walked onto the huge alloy arena wearing the most ordinary black sportswear.

His expression was calm, his gait steady, as if he weren't here to participate in a life-or-death match, but rather for a morning jog in the park.

"And his opponent is the lead Disciple of the Elemental Tower, one of the three great Holy Lands of the Federation, the 'Frost Chief' Han Qianchi, who possesses the Divine-Grade talent [Absolute Freeze]!"

Following the commentator's introduction, a figure slowly rose on the other side of the arena.

Han Qianchi wore a gorgeous ice-blue mage robe, with intricate magic patterns embroidered in silver thread, and held a nearly two-meter-long staff in his hand. A huge ice-blue gem was embedded at the top of the staff, emitting a faint, chilling aura.

He had a handsome face, a cold temperament, and his eyes carried an arrogance as if looking down on all living beings.

The images of the two formed the starkest contrast.

One was a pure Martial Artist who had returned to simplicity, while the other was a gorgeous and powerful magic-type Prodigy.

In the VIP room, Li Pojun held a glass of red wine, his mouth curling into a cruel smile.

"Ant, enjoy your final moments."

The bell for the match rang amidst the anticipation of the crowd.

"Clang!"

The moment the bell rang, Han Qianchi didn't even look at Lin Qi.

He raised the staff in his hand high.

He had no intention of giving Lin Qi any chance to get close; he wanted to end this match completely with the most absolute power from the start.

A cold, emotionless chant echoed throughout the arena.

"Domain Expansion · Eternal Frozen Prison!"

As his voice fell, a visible white cold current spread crazily from his body to the surroundings like a tsunami!

Crack! Crack, crack, crack!

The moisture in the air was instantly frozen, and the hard alloy surface of the arena was quickly covered with a thick layer of ghastly white ice.

Wherever the cold air passed, everything withered, and everything fell into dead silence.

In just three seconds, the entire huge arena, over a hundred meters in diameter, completely turned into a frozen world!

The terrifying low temperature spread, and even the audience in the first few rows couldn't help but shiver, feeling as if their blood was about to freeze.

On the temperature monitor at the edge of the arena, the bright red numbers plummeted crazily.

-50°C!

-80°C!

-120°C!

The numbers finally stopped at minus 150 degrees!

"It's over!" the commentator shouted in a near-roaring voice, "This is the power of the Divine-Grade talent [Absolute Freeze]!"

"Forcibly changing the environment to create his own home field! Any physical-type contestant caught in this level of control Domain will have their speed infinitely weakened, and only death awaits them!"

Lin Qi, who was in the center of the Domain, already had a layer of white frost on his eyebrows and hair.

The breath he exhaled turned into fine ice crystals the moment it left his lips and fell to the ground.

An invisible, huge resistance came from all directions; he just tried to lift his foot, and the movement became as slow and stiff as slow-motion.

The bone-chilling coldness crawled into his body like countless little snakes through his pores, trying to freeze his blood and extinguish his True Qi.

Han Qianchi, floating in mid-air, looked down at Lin Qi, who was struggling to adapt on the ice, his eyes full of contempt and disdain, as if looking at an insect frozen in amber.

He raised his staff, and the gem on top of the staff lit up with a dazzling light.

"In the face of absolute Law, your struggle is meaningless."