36: lucky

" Shatter. "

A bland word spilled from Lin Chen's lips.

The next second!

A slender golden finger-beam, arriving after yet striking first, pierced through that massive icy Sword Qi with an utterly unreasonable, overwhelming force!

Boom—!!!

Amidst the gazes of everyone present—instantly frozen, sluggish, and as if they had seen a ghost—Liu Ruxu's strongest Divine Ability exploded! It transformed into crystals of ice filling the sky!

That golden finger-beam, having broken the Divine Ability, did not lose its momentum. It instantly crossed the distance and, before that proud daughter of heaven could even react, gently tapped against her forehead.

" Thud. "

A soft sound.

Liu Ruxu was struck as if by lightning. All of her Protective Aura shattered instantly. She flew backward over a hundred meters, slammed heavily onto the edge of the Arena Platform, spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, and passed out!

One finger!

Merely one finger!

The entire venue was dead silent.

Everyone's faces maintained that expression of dullness, numbness, and shattered worldviews.

That man whom they had mocked countless times, the one who was "drained dry" and had "Heaven-Defying luck," had actually… killed the favorite to win this tournament in one second with a single finger?!

This… is this a fucking dream?!

It was unknown how long it had been before someone recovered their voice from the extreme shock and uttered a question like a sleepwalker.

" Wh-what… just happened? "

" I… I think I saw… Senior Sister Liu's [Ice Age]… shatter on its own? "

" That… that finger of his, what exactly was it? So… so fast… "

Most of the Disciples had cultivation bases that were too low; they hadn't seen clearly what had happened at all!

In their eyes, it was simply Liu Ruxu unleashing an earth-shattering ultimate move, and then, that man pointed a finger casually, and Senior Sister Liu was defeated just like that!

This looked… really too much like a "fluke"!

" It must be a coincidence! "

" That's right! It must be that when Senior Sister Liu was channeling her Divine Ability, her spiritual power went awry, and she suffered Qi Deviation! That man just got lucky and happened to point his finger at that exact moment! "

" Yes! It must be like that! Otherwise, there's no way to explain it! "

Such voices soon rang out within the crowd.

The people, especially those female Disciples who had mocked Lin Chen the harshest before, subconsciously found the most "reasonable" explanation for this scene that overturned their perceptions.

They refused to admit that the man they had looked down upon before could be a peerless expert capable of killing a Golden Core Genius with a single finger!

Meanwhile, on the podium, those judge Elders, although they had seen the process clearly, had looks of shock and confusion on their faces that were a hundred times more intense than those of the ordinary Disciples!

" That finger… is strange! " An Elder frowned, " The power doesn't seem that strong, but the 'Intent' contained within it is sharp to the extreme! It's as if it could pierce through everything! "

" Indeed! The girl Liu's Divine Ability wasn't defeated by power, but rather… it was directly 'erased' by a higher level of 'Law'! "

" This… this has already exceeded the scope of what we can understand. Could it be… that he has some powerful protective Magic Treasure on him? "

They discussed among themselves, guessing at various possibilities, but not a single person believed that it was Lin Chen's own power!

How could a man at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage possess such unfathomable means?! It must be relying on external objects! It must be!

And on the main seat, Sect Master Yun Yun's graceful and luxurious face no longer held the indifference from before.

She stared fixedly at Lin Chen on the Arena Platform. In her deep Phoenix eyes, brilliant light erupted, filled with scrutiny and… a trace of solemnity that even she herself hadn't noticed!

She saw it more clearly than anyone else! That finger just now was definitely not some Magic Treasure!

It was a type of attack that could only be unleashed after condensing one's own power and spirit to the extreme—an attack that was almost at the level of "Dao"!

(This man… is not simple! He absolutely hides a massive secret on him!)

(Did he obtain some ancient Legacy? Or… is there an expert guiding him from behind?)

(Where on earth did that girl Bingli find such a monster?!)

Her thoughts raced, but her face remained as calm as a still well. She would never admit in public that she had misjudged him.

As for Lin Chen, he acted as if he had done a trivial matter. He looked at the questioning gazes below the stage and the inquisitive gazes of the Elders on the stage, and sneered inwardly.

This was exactly the effect he wanted. Doubt. Speculate. The more you cannot see through me, the less you will dare to easily make a move against me.

He slowly walked over to the unconscious Liu Ruxu and fished out the jade token representing advancement from her bosom.

Then, he turned around and flashed a bright, harmless smile towards Sect Master Yun Yun on the podium.

" Sect Master, "

" This Disciple has luckily won. "

" The condition you promised earlier, that defeating a Golden Core Stage cultivator would count as passing the assessment—this Disciple… should have completed it, right? "

He didn't mention a word about "First Place" or the "Double Reward." It was as if he were truly just a "lucky person" who had "luckily" completed the minimum requirement.