27: Chapter 27 The Ruthless Zhou Lizhe

Chen Wu.

Another recognized genius in the school.

He possessed high vitality and excellent swordsmanship. He and Zhou Lize never really got along, and they had clashed openly and covertly many times.

"This is going to be interesting."

"Two geniuses are colliding!"

"Chen Wu has always disliked the likes of Zhou Lize. The two of them argued many times even before awakening. I'm afraid they're going to have a brutal fight this time."

On the arena stage.

Zhou Lize walked up slowly, a cold, sinister smile on his lips.

Chen Wu held his training sword, his eyes cold and indifferent.

"We finally met."

Zhou Lize licked his lips.

"Someone like you, who couldn't even beat an F-rank from Class 7, is unworthy of fighting me." Chen Wu sneered.

Zhou Lize was momentarily speechless. Very well... I didn't want to do this, Chen Wu... You forced my hand!

The tension between the two was clearly running high!

As soon as the referee announced the start, Chen Wu struck first with his sword!

Swish!

The training sword sliced through the air, its path fast and tricky, aiming straight for Zhou Lize's shoulder and neck.

Zhou Lize shifted his feet, using Wandering Step to dodge by a hair's breadth. He struck back with a palm, its edge glowing with a strange, dark hue.

Snake's Touch!

Chen Wu's expression changed, and he blocked horizontally with his sword.

Clap!

As their Source Qi collided, Chen Wu felt a numbness in his arm, as if something cold and sinister was burrowing in through the point of contact.

What is this?

His gaze darkened, but his offensive became even fiercer.

The sword light blurred into a single sheet, forcing Zhou Lize to retreat continuously.

Gasps erupted from the sidelines.

"Chen Wu is suppressing him!"

"That sword technique is beautiful!"

"Zhou Lize doesn't seem to be doing so well!"

But only those truly watching the battle realized something was wrong.

Although Zhou Lize was retreating, his expression grew increasingly excited, and a hint of crimson even flickered in the depths of his eyes.

His movements began to become fiercer, more vicious, more like a beast suppressing its instincts.

Bang!

After another collision, Chen Wu suddenly groaned, his movements slowing by half a beat.

The skin on his arm was faintly turning black.

Toxin Erosion!

Zhou Lize's A-rank talent was starting to take effect!

The next instant, Zhou Lize lunged forward, his speed actually faster than before. His five fingers curled like hooks, slashing fiercely toward Chen Wu's chest.

Rip!

His clothes were torn open, and blood splattered.

Chen Wu was forced back several steps, his expression finally changing.

"You..."

"Only noticing now?" Zhou Lize grinned, his smile sinister. "Too late."

It was as if something inside him had been completely unleashed; his vitality fluctuations became exceptionally violent, even faintly carrying a murderous intent.

On the arena, Chen Wu gritted his teeth and fought on, but as the Toxin Erosion continued to invade, his movements grew slower and slower. Finally, during a collision, he was blasted away by a palm from Zhou Lize and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Bang!

Chen Wu struggled to crawl up, his face pale to the extreme.

He knew he couldn't win.

Continuing would only lead to a worse outcome.

So, he raised his hand, just about to concede...

"I..."

But before he could finish.

The fierce light in Zhou Lize's eyes surged, and he suddenly exploded into action!

"Shh!"

Crack!

He stomped hard on Chen Wu's lower leg, and the sound of bone fracturing exploded instantly.

"Ah!"

Chen Wu let out a miserable scream, his entire body arching.

But it wasn't over.

Zhou Lize followed up with another kick, snapping his other leg, then delivered a palm strike that bent his arm into a twisted shape!

The entire arena fell into instant silence.

Everyone was stunned by this scene.

It was too vicious.

"Stop!"

The referee teacher finally snapped out of it and shouted sternly.

Several other teachers rushed over.

Zhou Lize, however, acted as if he hadn't heard. Stepping on the continuously screaming Chen Wu, he looked up and scanned his surroundings, his face full of twisted excitement and arrogance.

"Trash is just trash!"

"Still a genius?"

"In front of me, what are you even worth!"

"Lu Cheng!"

He turned his head sharply, looking toward the crowd below, his voice hoarse and shrill.

"You better listen well!"

"Once you run into me, you'll end up even worse than him!"

The sidelines finally erupted.

"Is he crazy?!"

"He was about to surrender, and Zhou Lize still used such a heavy hand?"

"This is too much!"

A teacher with a grim expression spoke up directly:

"This behavior is too vile! This is a martial arts competition, not a street fight. What he did is unacceptable!"

But just then, a deep, heavy voice rang out.

"What's unacceptable about it?"

Everyone turned to see a tall, sturdy, rugged-looking middle-aged man walk out.

It was Zhou Lize's homeroom teacher, Homeroom Teacher Zhao Zhenshan.

He walked with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, even faintly biased.

"In combat, fists and feet have no eyes."

"It's quite normal not to be able to hold back, isn't it?"

"Since you stepped into the arena, you should be prepared to get hurt."

When these words were spoken, many teachers frowned.

But Homeroom Teacher Zhao Zhenshan didn't care at all. He just looked at Zhou Lize on the arena, his eyes full of obvious appreciation.

Others didn't know, but he was aware.

Zhou Lize had already consumed the blood of the Corrosive Heart Viper, a fierce beast specifically prepared by the Zhou Family, and had successfully gained its trait—Poison Blood. His blood and vitality possessed corrosive abilities.

At the same time, his combat ability had been greatly improved!

This child has a promising future.

As for hurting people?

On the path of a genius's growth, how can there be no bloodshed?

Lu Cheng stood in the crowd, watching this scene with a blank expression.

Qian Duoduo next to him was about to explode with anger.

"This old geezer is just too shameless!"

Lu Cheng didn't respond, just watched Zhou Lize on the arena.

The latter was also looking at him, grinning and making a throat-slitting gesture.

Soon, the competition continued.

But the atmosphere that followed was significantly more oppressive.

Zhou Lize's ruthlessness had scared many people.

Meanwhile, Lu Cheng advanced easily all the way.

Some conceded, and some were defeated after a symbolic exchange of blows.

Soon, the semi-finalists were decided.

Lu Cheng, Su Wan, Zhou Lize, and another student who had luckily made it through.

The semi-final draw happened to deliver the most explosive matchup directly to everyone.

Lu Cheng.

Zhou Lize.

Once the news broke, the whole arena boiled over.

"It's here!"

"They finally met!"

"Wasn't Zhou Lize beaten badly before? What are you thinking?"

"That was just when he awakened. A week has passed since then. Zhou Lize has the Zhou Family behind him—who knows how many resources they've provided? How could Lu Cheng compare to that?"

On the arena.

Zhou Lize stared at Lu Cheng, his eyes cold and sinister, yet filled with irrepressible excitement.

"I have waited a long time for this match."

Lu Cheng loosened his wrists and put on the gloves Instructor Qin Feng had given him, his tone indifferent.

"A loser who's already been beaten once really talks too much."

Villains who are both weak and love to bark like this really can only bully the likes of Chen Wu.

Chen Wu: Are you being polite?

The smile on Zhou Lize's face froze instantly, then became ferocious.

"Do you think you can beat me?"

Boom!

The moment his voice fell, he stomped his foot on the arena, and his whole body charged out like an out-of-control beast!

His speed was actually a cut faster than when he fought Chen Wu before!

Meanwhile, a layer of faint, dark red patterns appeared on his skin. The patterns moved under his skin like living creatures, dense and numerous, resembling snake scales attached to his flesh, making one's scalp tingle.

Someone in the crowd immediately exclaimed.

"What is this?"

"Beast bloodline?!"

"The Zhou Family actually managed to get him something like this?"

On the sidelines, Homeroom Teacher Zhao Zhenshan stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm, and his lips even curled in a faint, imperceptible smugness.

A mere commoner, worthy of competing with Young Master Zhou?

Resources, bloodline, medicine, martial arts—what does Lu Cheng have to compare?

But Lu Cheng, on the arena, showed almost no change in expression.

Zhou Lize struck with a palm, the wind of the blow cold and fishy. Toxin Erosion and Poison Blood were both activated simultaneously, and the cold, sinister aura rushed toward his face, as if trying to burrow into his lungs and organs through his breath.

But the next instant! Lu Cheng shifted his feet.

[Wandering Step] activated!

He moved like a gust of wind skimming the ground, dodging the palm strike by a hair's breadth. His clothes were torn and snapped by the palm wind, but he didn't take a single solid hit.

With the palm strike missing, the fierce light in Zhou Lize's eyes intensified, and he backhanded a claw swipe!

Ssh!

The air seemed to be torn with a cracking sound.

Lu Cheng lowered his shoulder slightly, shifted his body half an inch to the side, and dodged again.

Zhou Lize pursued again!

Lu Cheng dodged again!

Zhou Lize's attacks became faster and faster; his palms, claws, and elbow strikes blurred into one. The toxicity continued to spread across the arena, and even the students near the edge of the arena couldn't help but subconsciously retreat.

But no matter how he pursued, lunged, or burst forth, Lu Cheng seemed to have seen through his moves in advance.

He couldn't hit him.

He couldn't hit him at all.

Even if he occasionally grazed him, it had none of the expected effect.

The damage reduction from [Lone Hero], combined with Lu Cheng's exaggerated recovery ability, made him absurdly tough.

The more Zhou Lize fought, the more alarmed he became.

Something's wrong!

Why can't my Toxin Erosion seep in?

Why do my tearing claw strikes feel like hitting iron plating?

At this moment, Lu Cheng finally moved.

He pressed his feet forward, advancing instead of retreating, closing directly into Zhou Lize's guard!

Zhou Lize's pupils contracted.

"You're courting death!"

But before he could finish his sentence, Lu Cheng had already twisted his waist and dropped his shoulder, his fist striking out suddenly!

Three Styles of Crushing Fist!

First style!

Bang!

His fist slammed into Zhou Lize's ribs like a heavy hammer. A dull thud exploded, knocking his body sideways and disrupting his breathing for a split second.

Second style!

Lu Cheng took another step forward, his shoulder knocking the opponent's center of gravity off balance, and his fist struck from bottom to top, smashing fiercely into Zhou Lize's chest.

Bang!

This strike forced Zhou Lize back two steps, his chest feeling stuffy, his vitality churned by the impact.

Third style!

Lu Cheng's gaze turned cold. With force generated from his waist and back, his entire arm snapped out like a fully drawn bowstring. His fist, carrying a short and violent explosive force, struck directly toward Zhou Lize's face!

Boom!

Zhou Lize barely managed to raise his hand to block, but he was still shaken by the punch, his arm going numb. He stumbled backward, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

The arena went silent.

Then, it exploded.

"Holy shit!"

"Zhou Lize is being suppressed and beaten?!"

Zhou Lize stabilized his body and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes becoming increasingly crazed.

"Impossible!"

"How could I lose to you!"

The next second, he gritted his teeth hard.

Click.

It was as if something had been bitten directly in two.

A strange, fishy, sweet taste instantly exploded in his mouth.

The poison hidden in his mouth had been crushed and swallowed by him on the spot!