38: Chapter 38 The Blind Box Army: All Dark Horses

The air on the arena stage was so parched and hot it felt as if it were about to ignite.

"Who else!"

A thin, scrawny boy stood in the center of the arena, gripping a dagger that crackled with faint blue electrical arcs. His chest heaved violently, and his face bore a look of near-manic excitement.

At his feet lay a 1.9-meter-tall burly man, currently foaming at the mouth and twitching all over—a reaction to his nerves being instantly fried by high-voltage current.

The entire audience was in an uproar.

Because that scrawny boy's talent rating was only F-rank, a recognized bottom-feeder. Yet, the fallen giant was a genuine D-rank strength talent user.

This kind of upset, leaping across two major ranks, was practically unheard of in previous competitions.

"Is that... an E-rank elemental weapon, the Thunderclap Dagger?"

In the preparation area, someone recognized the dagger's origin, their voice trembling. "That thing is priceless and rare on the black market. I heard it can instantly release five thousand volts of high-voltage electricity! Does this kid have a gold mine at home?"

"Gold mine my ass! He got that from opening a blind box at Lin Fan's place yesterday. I was there too—he only spent two thousand yuan!"

Two thousand yuan for a divine weapon that could take down a D-rank powerhouse?

These words were like a depth charge, exploding within the fifty-thousand-seat stadium.

Before the shock could subside, another burst of exclamations erupted from the adjacent arena.

"Awooo!"

A high-pitched yet wild wolf howl rang out.

A half-person-tall cyan wolf cub, like a ghost in the wind, bit down hard on a contestant's ankle. The contestant screamed, lost his balance, and was kicked out of the arena by the girl opposite him.

"A Wind Wolf... that's a Wind Wolf cub."

"My god, even a battle pet? Was this also from a blind box?"

"Cheating! This is blatant cheating!"

Someone shouted, eyes red with envy.

The referee glanced coldly at the person. "The rules only prohibit banned drugs; they have never forbidden the use of weapons or battle pets. This is called 'foundation,' understand?"

Foundation.

These words slapped the faces of the protesters like a physical blow.

What was foundation?

In the past, only children of elite families were worthy of discussing foundation or owning divine weapons.

But now, Lin Fan's blind boxes had forcibly lowered the threshold of this 'foundation' to a few thousand yuan.

On the VIP platform.

Several admissions officers from top martial arts universities could finally no longer sit still. Their previously lazy postures instantly straightened as they leaned forward, eyes burning as they stared at the 'fully equipped' students below.

"Interesting."

An elderly man in a Tang suit lightly stroked his beard. He was the Director of Admissions for Kyoto Martial Arts University. "The quality of this year's Jianghai City students is a bit... 'above standard.'"

"Old Chen, you see it too?"

Beside him, a glamorous woman from Magic City Martial Arts University pointed at the girl holding the Wind Wolf cub. "That F-rank little girl has mediocre talent herself, but with that Wind Wolf, her comprehensive combat power is nearing C-rank. This kind of pairing has an extremely high survival rate on the battlefield."

"I heard this all stems from something called a 'blind box'?"

"Investigate that student named Lin Fan. If these things can really be mass-produced... then this little fellow's value might be higher than an S-Rank Talent."

The heavyweights exchanged a meaningful look, and a red pen drew a heavy circle around the name 'Lin Fan.'

...

In a corner of the preparation area.

Wang Teng stared fixedly at the big screen, the water bottle in his hand crushed into a wad of scrap plastic.

Out of control.

The situation had spiraled completely out of control.

This competition was supposed to be a stage for the Wang family to display their wealth and dominance, but now, the spotlight was being stolen by a bunch of peasants holding 'blind box equipment'!

"Damn it, damn it!"

Wang Teng gritted his teeth, bloodshot veins spreading like spiderwebs in his eyes. "That Lin Fan... must die!"

He turned abruptly to look at a scrawny young man behind him, wrapped entirely in a black robe.

"Monkey, you're up next."

Wang Teng's voice was cold and venomous like a snake. "Don't forget the ten million I gave you. I want that Lin Fan blinded and crippled. If anything happens, my Wang family will back you up!"

The young man called Monkey licked his parched lips, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth.

"Don't worry, Young Master Wang."

His hands slid out from his sleeves, holding two pitch-black Emei Piercers between his fingers—vicious weapons coated in lethal poison. "With C-rank speed talent plus these, let alone a Martial Apprentice, I could make even a newly initiated Martial Artist leave their eyes behind."

"Group Seven, Match Three: Lin Fan versus Hou San!"

The referee's voice finally rang out.

The noise of the crowd fell eerily silent in an instant.

The main character was taking the stage.

As the instigator of this 'blind box storm,' Lin Fan's current popularity was ridiculously high.

Countless eyes focused on the figure slowly walking onto the arena.

No armor, no divine weapon, not even protective gear.

Lin Fan wore a washed-out school uniform and had his hands in his pockets, strolling to the center of the arena as if he were taking a walk in his own backyard. He even had the leisure to wave at the camera, flashing his signature professional fake smile.

"Hey everyone, the blind box shop is open as usual during the competition. Zhang Hao is over there keeping an eye on it. If you want to get stronger, hurry up!"

The entire audience was floored.

This is a damn arena!

Big brother, can you show some respect for your opponent? Are you inserting a hard-sell ad right now?

"Courting death!"

Opposite him, Hou San felt immensely insulted.

He was a gold-medal fighter from the Jianghai City underground pits, with no fewer than ten lives on his hands! This pretty boy who only knew how to do business dared to ignore him?

"Match start!"

The moment the referee's hand dropped—

Whoosh!

Hou San's figure instantly vanished from the spot.

Fast.

Extremely fast.

His C-rank speed talent, [Ghost Shadow Steps], erupted with full force. He pulled an afterimage through the air, circling to Lin Fan's side and rear like a specter.

"Go blind!"

Hou San grinned savagely, the Emei Piercers in his hands letting out a piercing whistle as they aimed straight for Lin Fan's eyes.

This move was incredibly sinister.

It didn't aim for his life, only to destroy his eyes.

It was intended to make Lin Fan spend the rest of his life in endless darkness and pain.

The crowd gasped.

No one expected this Hou San to use such a lethal move right from the start.

"Lin Fan!"

Su Qingxue stood up abruptly, her hands gripping the railing in front of her so hard her knuckles turned white.

The poisonous piercer was less than three inches from Lin Fan's eyeball.

At this distance, let alone dodging, an ordinary person wouldn't even have time to blink.

However.

At the center of the storm, Lin Fan didn't even lift an eyelid.

Eye of True Sight, activate.

The world slowed down instantly.

Hou San's lightning-fast movements appeared to Lin Fan like a slow-motion shot at 0.5x speed. He could even see the leftover vegetable bits in Hou San's teeth and the reflection of his own face in those eyes filled with violence and greed.

Too slow.

Too weak.

To someone with 4000kg of punching force and the A-rank Glazed Golden Body, an attack of this level was like an infant waving a plastic fork.

"As a demonstration subject for my products, your look is too ugly."

Lin Fan's voice was very soft, yet it drilled clearly into Hou San's ears.

The next second.

Lin Fan moved.

No fancy footwork, no extra techniques.

He simply raised his right hand, striking after the opponent had started but arriving first.

Slap!

A crisp slap that made one's scalp tingle echoed through the arena.

Hou San's hand holding the Emei Piercer stopped dead just one centimeter from Lin Fan's eyeball.

Because his entire body had been sent flying by that sudden slap, spinning seven hundred and twenty degrees in the air like a high-speed top.

The immense force shattered half of his molars instantly, and even his prideful speed talent became a joke in that moment.