79: Chapter 79 Your Magic, My Steel Bones

The clamor of the arena was even louder than yesterday.

After the elimination of the first round, the remaining two hundred or so people all had some real skills.

In the spectator stands, Zhang Wei was holding a bucket of popcorn, frantically pitching to passersby.

"Bet on Brother Seven to win; this is called financial management, get it? The odds have dropped to one to five now; if you don't buy, you'll lose the chance."

A passerby rolled their eyes and pointed at the big screen: "Stop bragging, look at who his opponent is this round."

On the screen, two names were listed side by side.

Lin Qi VS Chen Bing.

"Chen Bing? That A-rank talent ice mage?" The passerby scoffed, "It's over now. A melee fighter against a crowd-control mage is just destined to be kited to death. Even if this Lin Qi has great strength, what's the point if he can't even touch the corner of the other person's clothes?"

Zhang Wei stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth and muttered: "Can't touch him? That's because you don't understand what a human catapult is."

On the ring.

The referee looked at both sides: "Second round of the elimination tournament, no rules, ends when one side admits defeat or loses the ability to fight. Begin!"

As soon as the words fell.

Chen Bing's staff slammed into the ground.

Whoosh.

A wave of white cold air spread wildly around him as the center.

In just two seconds, half of the ring was covered in thick, solid ice, the surface smooth as a mirror.

Chen Bing hovered in mid-air, stepping on a floating ice block, looking down at Lin Qi.

"Although I don't know how you made it through the first round, your luck ends when you meet me."

Chen Bing pointed his staff: "Frozen Path."

Countless sharp spikes suddenly grew from the ice on the ground; they were not only slippery but also stabbed the feet.

Ordinary warriors would be unable to move an inch in such a situation.

Lin Qi stood on the ice, his deep gray combat boots stepping on the ice spikes with a crisp crunching sound.

He didn't rush to move, but instead tried to flex his ankles.

The pot of "molten iron" he drank last night was still generating heat in his bones, that heavy sensation making him feel like a moving iron tower.

"Is this your control?"

Lin Qi looked up, his eyes calm, "It's a bit cool."

Chen Bing frowned: "Stiff-necked."

"Chain Icicles!"

The blue gem at the top of the staff shone brightly.

Dozens of sharp icicles appeared out of thin air, their tips flashing with cold light, and with a piercing whistle, they smashed toward Lin Qi like a downpour.

With this density of attack, there was nowhere to hide.

The audience in the stands let out a gasp.

"It's over."

"If these stick into his body, he'll immediately become a hedgehog."

Lin Qi watched the rain of ice, not making any evasive moves at all.

Instead, he lowered his center of gravity and exerted force with his feet.

No dodging.

Only charging.

"As long as the speed is fast enough, pain can't catch up to me."

Ding ding ding ding!

The dense sound of impact rang through the arena, not like icicles piercing flesh, but like hail hitting a bronze bell.

Those icicles, enough to penetrate light leather armor, shattered into ice shards the moment they touched Lin Qi's body.

Lin Qi's combat suit was torn in several places, revealing the dark golden skin underneath.

Except for some white marks, not even a drop of blood flowed.

Chen Bing's pupils shrank violently.

"How is that possible? Is this a human Physical Body?"

Even an S-rank defense warrior with a shield active wouldn't dare to take his Icicle spell head-on like this.

Lin Qi rushed through the icicle rain, leaving less than ten meters from Chen Bing.

Although his bones were fine, the dense impact still made his flesh ache.

This pain, instead, ignited the ferocity in his body.

"A bit painful, huh."

Lin Qi grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

Chen Bing panicked, his staff dancing wildly: "Ice Wall! Ice Prison! Block him for me!"

Three thick ice walls rose from the ground, blocking the space between the two.

Lin Qi slammed his foot down.

Thunder-Shock Slash · Earth Tremor.

Boom!

The originally solid ice layer under his feet was cracked into spiderweb-like fissures by this kick.

Lin Qi borrowed this rebound force, leaping high like a cannonball fired from a chamber.

He twisted his waist in mid-air, his spine—the Great Dragon—making a crisp pop sound, pulling his right fist behind him, his muscles taut.

"Shatter for me!"

Bang!

The first ice wall burst.

Then the second, the third.

Those magical ice walls, capable of withstanding heavy machine-gun fire, were as fragile as soda crackers in front of Lin Qi's fist, which carried dark force and brute strength.

Chen Bing watched as the gray figure smashed through all obstacles and appeared in front of him.

The incoming Evil Qi made his mind go blank, and he even forgot the incantation for his instant shield.

Whoosh.

A strong wind hit his face.

A fist hovered in front of Chen Bing's nose, less than an inch away.

The wind from the punch blew Chen Bing's hair backward, and the skin on his face was pressed out of shape.

Chen Bing widened his eyes, looking at the fist with thick knuckles and metallic-lustered skin, his Adam's apple rolling with difficulty.

Cold sweat flowed down his forehead, dripping onto the ice.

Lin Qi retracted his fist, exhaling a hot breath that tasted like rust.

"Mages should just honestly stand in the back row."

Lin Qi patted Chen Bing's stiff shoulder, "Don't play with ice next time, it's easy to catch a cold."

Chen Bing's legs went soft, and he slumped directly onto the ground.

The referee blew the whistle.

"No. 07-44, winner!"

The whole arena was silent for two seconds, then erupted into cheers like a landslide and tsunami.

No flashy magic duels, no complex tactical games.

Just the most primitive, most savage aesthetics of violence.

Tanking magic, breaking ten thousand spells with one punch.

This visual impact was more shocking than any forbidden spell.

"Damn! This is too fierce!"

"Is this guy practicing the Golden Bell Shield?"

"What Golden Bell Shield, this is practically a human tyrannosaur! Let's see who dares to call a Blank Slate trash from now on."

In the corner of the contestant seats.

Li Shaobai's fingers gripped the back of the chair tightly, his knuckles turning white.

His face was so gloomy it could drip water.

"It's only been one night, how has his Physical Body strength improved again?"

As someone from a Martial Dao Family, Li Shaobai had a sharp eye.

Yesterday, although Lin Qi was strong, he was still a mortal body.

In today's battle, the defense Lin Qi displayed had clearly touched the high-level threshold of "Copper Skin and Iron Bones," perhaps even with higher bone hardness.

"Is this guy a monster? Or did Old Mo give him some prohibited drugs?"

Li Shaobai reached into his pocket.

A dark red glass vial lay there.

This was the "trump card" the Family sent overnight; once used, although there would be side effects, it could forcibly stimulate potential in a short time and raise his strength by two small Realms.

Originally, he disdained using such methods to deal with a Blank Slate.

But now, the unease in his heart was growing wildly.

"Lin Qi... no matter what crooked ways you used, the final winner can only be me."

Lin Qi walked off the ring.

Old Mo stood in the shadows of the corridor, that chipped thermos still in his hand.

"The commotion was too big."

Old Mo handed over a bottle of pale green liquid, "Although you weren't injured, your skin and flesh still suffered contusions, drink this."

Lin Qi took it, without asking what it was, and tilted his head to gulp it down.

A cooling sensation dispelled the heat on his skin.

"That kid wanted to turn me into a hedgehog just now, it's polite enough that I didn't hammer him into the ground." Lin Qi wiped his mouth.

"Don't be too happy too soon."

Old Mo pointed to another ring in the distance.

There, flames soared to the sky, heat waves rolling; one could feel the burnt smell in the air from hundreds of meters away.

A teenager with red afro hair was standing in the middle of the raging fire, laughing wildly as he smashed a huge fireball at his opponent.

The opponent was a shield-bearing warrior, who didn't even let out a scream before being blasted out of the arena, his whole body smoking.

"See that?" Old Mo's voice was low.

"Saw it, a very spirited young man." Lin Qi narrowed his eyes.

"That is Liehuo, S-rank talent [Burst Flame]. This lunatic never holds back in a fight, and his flames have adhesiveness; once you get stained, you can't shake it off."

Old Mo looked at Lin Qi, "Your draw for the next round is in that bracket, barring accidents, he is your opponent."

"Fire mage?"

Lin Qi looked at the red-haired teenager and rubbed his chin, "I've already gnawed on an ice lolly, so a barbecue wouldn't be bad either."

"Be careful." Old Mo closed the thermos, "This lunatic has a bad habit; when he gets anxious in a fight, he likes to play suicide bombing."

Lin Qi smiled, his hand reaching into the pocket of his combat suit, touching a few cold metal nails.

"Suicide bombing? That depends on whether he has the chance to cast."