186: Chapter 186 Devouring Poison! Living Against All Odds!

As the voice outside fell silent, there was not a sound left inside the training room.

Outside the alloy door of the A-grade underground training room, the air seemed to have frozen.

Zhang Wei was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, his plump body pacing back and forth in the narrow corridor while he muttered incessantly.

"It's over, it's over, everything is finished! Brother Qi is actually going to drink it! That's a death warrant given by the Li family; why won't he listen to reason!"

He rubbed his hands, the fat on his face trembling with anxiety, and looked at Instructor Su Qing, who was standing against the wall nearby.

"Instructor Su, please think of something! If you don't stop him, Brother Qi will really be gone! The seventy billion is still in my account, and I haven't even given him his share!"

Instructor Su Qing did not open her eyes, her arms crossed over her chest. She was like an ice sculpture, though her slightly trembling eyelashes betrayed the turmoil within her.

"I said it before, this is his choice."

Her voice was colder than the metal walls of the corridor.

"He is not a fool. If he dares to do this, he has his reasons. If we rush in now, we will only disturb his state of mind, and that would truly be harming him."

"Reasons? What kind of reasons could there be? Is there any reason for walking to one's death?" Zhang Wei was on the verge of tears.

Beside them, Old Mo held an ancient tome, nearly pulling his own beard out.

"Feeding oneself to the tiger, living towards death... Theoretically, this is the highest form of Body Tempering, but it requires god-like control over every muscle and every Meridian in one's body, along with the resolve to face a nine-in-ten chance of death. This kid... he's not crazy; he's walking a path of Dao that no one has ever trodden before!"

A fanatical light flickered in Old Mo's eyes, but it was overshadowed by worry.

Time ticked away second by second.

On the wall, the red digits of the electronic clock ticked mercilessly, drawing closer and closer to the start of the finals.

Finally, when only thirty minutes remained on the countdown.

"Rumble..."

That alloy door, as thick as a city gate, slid slowly to the side amidst a low roar.

Lin Qi's figure appeared in the doorway.

He was still wearing the same plain tracksuit, but the pupils of Zhang Wei and Instructor Su Qing contracted sharply.

His complexion was an unnaturally pale white, as if all the blood in his body had been drained, and there was not a trace of color on his lips. Yet, his eyes were frighteningly bright, as if two flames were burning within them.

"Brother Qi! Are... are you okay?" Zhang Wei lunged forward, wanting to support him, but was stopped by a single look from Lin Qi.

"Let's go."

Lin Qi's voice was somewhat hoarse, but exceptionally calm.

"It's time to go take the championship."

...

The finals of the Federal Prodigy Tournament were held on a floating island tens of thousands of meters above Tianhai City — the "Cloud Top Palace."

The holographic broadcast camera swept across the magnificent scene of churning clouds from a grand perspective before finally focusing on the center of the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the site of this year's most thrilling Peak showdown!"

The commentator's impassioned voice rang out across the sky.

"Our two finalists are about to take the stage! First, let's turn our cameras to the 'Thunder God' of Kyoto University, Li Pojun!"

The screen switched, and Li Pojun was already waiting in the preparation area.

He wore a streamlined, silver-white battle armor, with electricity flowing through the gaps in the plating. He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, the entire person appearing like a deity about to awaken, radiating a suffocating sense of pressure.

"As expected of the Thunder God! With this aura, he has already won half the battle!"

"Too strong! Just looking at him, I can feel the gap!"

The commentator immediately switched the camera.

"And what about our other contestant, this year's biggest dark horse, the 'Martial Devil King' Lin Qi?"

The camera panned to the preparation area on the other side.

It was empty.

"Uh... Contestant Lin Qi hasn't arrived yet? What's going on?" The commentator was also stunned.

The live stream comments exploded instantly.

"Where is he? Did Lin Qi run away?"

"No way, right? He took over seventy billion in gambling money and just packed up and ran? That's too brazen!"

"He must be scared! He knows he'll die if he drinks the drug, and it's embarrassing if he doesn't, so he just didn't show up!"

Just as the whole arena was buzzing with discussion, and even Li Qingcang's face showed a hint of a contemptuous sneer, a figure finally walked out unhurriedly from the end of the long contestant tunnel.

It was Lin Qi.

He was still in the same washed-out tracksuit, forming a stark contrast with Li Pojun opposite him, who radiated Divine Might.

Everyone noticed his excessively pale face.

He walked to his preparation area without warming up, without preparing, and without even glancing at Li Pojun across the way.

Under the gaze of tens of billions of eyes across the Federation, he took the vial of S-grade Gene Completion Agent, which emitted an eerie purple halo, out of his pocket.

The entire arena fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts in their throats.

Opposite him, Li Pojun also slowly opened his eyes, a trace of a cruel smile appearing in the depths of his pupils, which were flickering with lightning.

It's here.

The moment to watch this ant self-destruct has finally arrived.

Lin Qi unscrewed the cap, his movements without the slightest hesitation.

Then, he tilted his head back and drank the deadly poison in one gulp!

"Gulp."

The sound of swallowing, transmitted through the micro-microphone on his collar, was clearly heard throughout the world.

The instant the agent entered his throat, a violent power that could not be described in words exploded within him, like ten thousand wild, ancient Vicious Beasts breaking their tethers!

That trace of Void Realm energy, carefully added by the Li family, seemed to have a life of its own. It turned into the sharpest of blades, traveling down his esophagus, frantically tearing and corroding everything it touched!

"Ngh!"

Lin Qi let out a suppressed groan, his body trembling violently and uncontrollably.

Streaks of pitch-black, eerie patterns, like living venomous snakes, emerged from his neck at a visible speed and rapidly spread toward his cheeks and across his entire body!

Beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead, only to be instantly evaporated by the high temperature on his skin's surface.

He looked to be in extreme agony.

"My god! There really is something wrong with that agent!"

"Is... is he going to die? His body has turned black!"

Exclamations erupted from the audience, and Zhang Wei's vision went black, nearly causing him to faint on the spot.

The smile on Li Pojun's face grew even more intense.

Die! Just like that, Gene Collapse in front of everyone and turn into a puddle of pus!

However, the scene that followed caused his smile to freeze completely on his face.

It turned out that Lin Qi did not, as he had expected, try to futilely suppress that destructive power.

He gritted his teeth hard, and from his eyes, which were burning with flames, burst forth a will called "Madness"!

"Refine... for me!"

Far from resisting, he forcibly circulated the Blood Moving Technique. With his powerful martial will, he actively guided that Void Realm energy—which was capable of destroying everything—and abandoned all defense of his flesh, letting it drive straight in and slam fiercely into the bones throughout his entire body!

Using his body as the furnace, using the poison as the fire!

He would use the most violent poison in the world to burn away his mortal body and forge a Golden Body!

"Pfft!"

The pores of his skin could no longer withstand the impact of this power, and droplets of crimson blood seeped out from beneath his skin, turning him into a blood-soaked figure in an instant.

He was tottering, as if he would completely explode and die the next second.

Living towards death! Feeding oneself to the devil!

Just as Li Pojun's pupils dilated, and just at the moment everyone thought this madman was about to meet his end.

In the deepest part of Lin Qi's bones, which had already been tempered to the limit and were emitting a faint silver radiance.

A faint, yet incomparably brilliant golden light quietly ignited.