68: Chapter 68 Trial of Willpower and Awakening of "Martial Intent" (Part 2)

Lin Qi's fingers curled into a loose fist. Although his palm was clearly empty, the surrounding air seemed to be distorted by high heat, creating a strange, rippling effect.

The massive black skull was clearly taken aback.

In its script, humans were creatures that should kneel and beg for mercy, weeping bitterly, as soon as their weak points were touched.

Yet, the kid in front of it not only didn't cry, but actually wanted to hit someone.

"You... what do you want to do?"

The ethereal voice sounded a bit strained. "This is the deep layer of your consciousness, I am your Heart Demon! If you hit me, you are hitting yourself!"

"Heart Demon?"

Lin Qi took a step forward.

His foot landed without a sound, but the entire white space trembled along with it.

"Don't flatter yourself."

Lin Qi's tone was flat. "At best, you're just a trash can. You fill yourself with some garbage I don't want to remember and think you can control me?"

"Arrogant!"

The skull was enraged.

Black mist churned, and countless pitch-black chains shot out from all directions, like a swarm of predatory vipers, tightly binding Lin Qi's hands, feet, and neck.

Every chain had a face hanging on it.

There was the caregiver who mocked him in his past life, the enemy who stole his kills in the game, and the doctor who declared he would be paralyzed for life.

"Sink into it!"

The voice was sharp and piercing. "Rot away in remorse and pain; this is your final destination!"

The chains tightened, digging into his skin and flesh.

The pain was real, acting directly on his nerve endings.

Lin Qi looked down at the chains on his body, his expression unchanged.

"Is this all you've got?"

He asked.

"Is it not enough?" the Heart Demon roared. "As long as you still have fear, these chains will never break!"

"Fear?"

Lin Qi laughed.

The smile was cold and pure.

"I have indeed been afraid."

"Afraid of death, afraid of pain, afraid of lying in bed as a cripple for the rest of my life."

Lin Qi slowly raised his head, the lazy disguise in his eyes completely vanished, replaced by a heart-stopping sharpness.

"It is precisely because I was afraid that I had to practice boxing."

"It is precisely because I have lost things that I want to grasp everything I can in my hands."

Hum.

A low humming sound resonated deep within his mind.

That silent monument of martial arts moved.

There were no flashy magic light effects, nor any grand momentum.

Only a single will.

A Martial Intent of indomitable perseverance, one that would use its own spine to prop up the sky even if it were collapsing.

Golden light suddenly appeared.

The black chains wrapped around him, like snow meeting the scorching sun, began to emit sizzling white smoke.

"This... what kind of power is this?"

The Heart Demon's voice finally carried a hint of terror. "This is not Mental Energy! This is not magic! This does not follow the rules!"

"Rules?"

Lin Qi suddenly tensed his arms.

Snap!

A crisp sound rang out.

The chains wrapped around his arms broke at the sound, turning into black dust and dissipating.

"My fist is the rule."

Lin Qi took a deep breath, his chest swelling, and then let out a roar.

"Break!"

This roar did not sound like a human voice, but rather like a tolling great bell.

The sound waves rolled out, visible ripples spreading in all directions.

The remaining chains shattered inch by inch.

The massive black skull was struck by the sound waves, its surface covered in cracks, as it let out a shrill scream.

"Impossible! How could you use a physical attack in the space of consciousness!"

The Heart Demon collapsed.

It could not understand why a person's will could be so formidable as to interfere with reality, or even crush mental illusions in return.

"Because you are too fragile."

Lin Qi took a step forward, his figure as fast as lightning, appearing directly in front of the skull.

There were no fancy moves.

A simple straight punch.

This punch, carrying his unwillingness from his past life and his persistence in this life, was thrown out without reservation.

"Get out."

Boom!

The fist smashed into the center of the skull's forehead.

The entire white space, like a shattered mirror, collapsed with a crash.

All the black mist, screams, and illusions vanished into thin air under this punch.

...

Reality.

Underground level three, trial hall.

The alarm in the monitoring room suddenly stopped.

The young teaching assistant rubbed his eyes, looking at the timer on the screen with a look of having seen a ghost.

"Three... three minutes?"

The assistant stammered, "He's already out?"

The Old Professor beside him let his teacup shake, not even feeling the scalding tea spilling onto his pants.

"Where is the brainwave chart?" Night Owl asked immediately.

"Here."

The assistant pulled up a chart.

The brainwave curve, which should have been a mess, now presented a strange form.

It was a line pointing straight up.

Like a sharp sword, it pierced directly through the upper threshold of the chart.

"What kind of waveform is this?" the assistant asked blankly. "I've never seen this in textbooks."

"It is 'Intent'."

The Old Professor took a deep breath, took off his glasses, and wiped them. "Ancient texts record that only by honing a certain skill to the extreme, with mind and body highly unified, can this power be born."

"You mean... Martial Intent?" Night Owl frowned. "Isn't that something only legendary level 100 powerhouses possess? He is only level one."

"That's why I say he's a monster."

The Old Professor put his glasses back on, looking at the young man on the screen who was slowly opening his eyes, his gaze complex. "We may have witnessed the birth of a new school."

Inside the trial hall.

The light gate flickered.

Lin Qi stepped out.

His clothes were soaked with cold sweat, sticking to his back, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.

But his eyes were very bright.

The brightness was not a reflection, but an internal vitality that made people afraid to look directly at him.

A cool current of air was swirling between his eyebrows; it was the feedback after his Mental Energy Breakthrough.

"Hoo..."

Lin Qi exhaled a breath of stale air and stretched his neck, which made a cracking sound.

Refreshing.

This feeling was like dumping out all the garbage that had been accumulating in his heart for over a decade all at once.

Not only were his thoughts clear, but his control over his body had also reached a new level.

If the previous Flesh Refining Major Achievement had just turned his muscles into steel wires, now, these steel wires were electrified.

His reaction speed was faster, and his force exertion was more precise.

"Is this the threshold of the Tongshen Realm?"

Lin Qi clenched his fist, feeling the sense of power from his fingertips. "Although it is still very vague, the path is correct."

He raised his head and scanned the area.

The hall was quiet.

The students who hadn't entered yet looked at him like he was an alien.

After all, from the time he went in to the time he came out, it only took a few minutes at most, not even enough time to make instant noodles.

"What are you looking at?"

Lin Qi frowned. "Is there a flower on my face?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized.

Lin Qi couldn't be bothered with these rookies and was about to find a place nearby to dry his clothes.

Just as he turned around, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

Li Shaobai.

This arrogant young master of the Li family was currently kneeling beside the light gate, clutching his hair tightly, his whole body trembling like a sieve.

"No... don't take it away... that is my sword..."

Li Shaobai mumbled incoherently, tears and snot flowing all over the floor; there was no trace left of the demeanor of an S-rank Genius.

Obviously, this guy was still being tortured to death in the illusion.

Lin Qi stopped in his tracks.

He didn't intend to meddle in other people's business.

But this kid was, after all, the class monitor of the Special Training Class, and he would need him to block quite a few troubles in school later.

If he really went crazy, he would have to find another useful tool person.

Too troublesome.

"Forget it, one good deed a day."

Lin Qi sighed and walked over to squat in front of Li Shaobai.

"Hey."

Lin Qi called out.

No response.

Li Shaobai remained immersed in his own world, crying like a two-hundred-pound child.

"Tsk, you're forcing me to take action."

Lin Qi shook his head and raised his right hand.

In the palm of his hand, that wisp of newly awakened Martial Intent quietly condensed.

Although it was only a wisp, to a consciousness still struggling in an illusion, it was no less than a thunderclap.

"Wake up, it's time to eat."

Slap!

A crisp and loud slap landed solidly on Li Shaobai's face.