56: Chapter 56 The competition begins, the fourth step of making friends.

After Wang Lin found a seat and sat down, Captain Huo Xiao sat beside him and said, "Young Master Wang, rest assured, this match is a guaranteed win."

Wang Lin said, "I know."

Captain Huo Xiao said, "Oh, how does Young Master Wang know?"

Wang Lin said, "I knew three days ago."

Captain Huo Xiao's smile faded slightly. He looked at Wang Lin's profile and suddenly felt that this young man was much smarter than he had imagined.

He was silent for a moment, then nodded gently. He neither denied nor admitted it, only saying, "Young Master Wang sees things clearly."

The match began.

The referee stood in the center of the ring and raised his right hand, "First round, contestants from both sides, enter the ring."

On the side of Dark Blade, a person stood up.

Wang Lin's gaze fell on that person; it was a new face.

He looked to be in his early thirties, of medium build, neither fat nor thin.

Su Wan glanced at him and whispered, "Be careful."

He nodded, did not reply, and turned to walk toward the ring.

"His name is Shen Yuan," Captain Huo Xiao's voice came from the side. "He has been out executing missions and just returned yesterday."

On the other side of the ring, the person from Blood Fang also stood up.

That was a man of thirty-five or thirty-six years, tall and sturdy, with a broad back and thick waist, his arms thicker than Wang Lin's thighs.

Wang Lin did not know him, but judging by the reactions of the people around him, this person held significant weight within Blood Fang.

Someone in the stands exclaimed in a low voice:

"It's Xiong Lie!"

"The vice-captain of Blood Fang!"

"Peak LV5, I heard he has already stepped half a foot into the sixth level..."

Xiong Lie. Peak LV5.

One is a new face who just returned, the other is the vice-captain of Blood Fang.

The gap on paper is not small.

The referee looked at the two, retreated to the edge of the ring, and brought his raised hand down sharply.

"Begin."

Xiong Lie did not move.

He looked down at Shen Yuan, "Are you the one sent by Dark Blade to die?"

Shen Yuan opened his eyes and looked at Xiong Lie, "To die? Before yesterday, perhaps so."

Xiong Lie frowned, "What do you mean?"

Shen Yuan did not answer.

He raised his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing Xiong Lie.

A visible stream of white air surged from his palm, wrapping around his arm.

Frost Power.

Wang Lin's eyes narrowed slightly.

Ice Ability is not rare, but that chill surging from Shen Yuan's palm far exceeded the scope of an ordinary LV5.

Xiong Lie's expression changed.

His combat instincts told him that the aura of the person in front of him was wrong.

"Playing tricks."

Xiong Lie spat, stomped his right foot hard on the ground, and charged toward Shen Yuan like a truck.

His arms changed the moment he charged.

Muscles swelled, veins bulged, and a layer of dark red luster appeared on the surface of his skin.

This was his unique Superpower: Savage Bear Transformation.

Strength tripled, skin hardness comparable to steel; one punch was enough to smash through a half-meter-thick steel plate.

That punch carried a whistling wind, as if it wanted to smash Shen Yuan entirely into the ring.

Shen Yuan did not dodge.

He raised his left hand, fingers spread, meeting it head-on.

The moment fist and palm met, there was no expected loud noise.

"Hiss!" A soft sound.

White frost exploded from Shen Yuan's palm, spreading along Xiong Lie's fist, wrist, and forearm at a Speed visible to the naked eye.

Where the ice layer covered, Xiong Lie's layer of dark red skin faded, turned gray, and cracked at a Speed visible to the naked eye.

Xiong Lie's pupils contracted sharply.

That chill did not stay on the surface but penetrated the skin, passed through the muscles, and seeped into the bones.

His entire right arm lost sensation within three seconds.

"You..." He jerked his fist back, took two steps back, and looked down at his right arm.

The disdain in his eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a grave wariness.

"What on earth..."

He gritted his teeth, gripped his right arm with his left hand, and violently activated his Savage Bear strength, shattering the surface frost into powder.

The crushed ice fell to the ground, making a soft sound.

Shen Yuan stood in place: "My Superpower is Frost."

"It can freeze everything I touch."

"Flesh, bones, Superpower, and even thoughts."

"Three days ago, my frost could only freeze LV4 opponents at most."

"Against someone like you at peak LV5, my ice would be shattered by your Savage Bear strength before it even touched your skin."

"But that was before yesterday..."

Xiong Lie stared at him, the expression on his face becoming increasingly ugly.

He vaguely guessed something, but he was unwilling to believe it.

"You... did you take a genetic serum?"

Shen Yuan did not deny it.

"Yesterday, our captain gave me a level five genetic serum."

"So now... you are not my match."

Five words, not heavy, but every word was like a stone, smashing into the hearts of everyone present.

The stands erupted.

"Level five genetic serum?!"

"Where did Dark Blade get such a thing?!"

"Isn't that something only found in laboratories? One vial costs hundreds of thousands of points!"

"Is Dark Blade crazy? To fight one ring match, they bet their entire fortune?"

The discussions surged like a tide, but Captain Huo Xiao down below just smiled slightly.

This was Captain Huo Xiao's fourth step in befriending Wang Lin: showing his own strength.

It could also be called: showing his own utility value.

He wanted to let Wang Lin know that in the future, when he encounters difficulties he cannot solve, Dark Blade will help him.

Because they, Dark Blade, have this strength.

Xiong Lie stood in place, his right arm still trembling slightly.

He gritted his teeth, shook his right arm, took a deep breath, and set up his offensive stance again.

"So what if it's a level five genetic serum?"

"In such a short time, can you fully absorb the power of the serum?"

He stomped forward, his left fist smashing toward Shen Yuan's face with a fierce gust of wind.

This time he held nothing back; his Savage Bear strength was pushed to the limit.

His entire left arm expanded a size, and the veins under his skin bulged like earthworms.

Shen Yuan dodged to the side; the left fist grazed his ear, the wind of the punch blowing his hair backward.

At the same time, Shen Yuan's right hand had already pressed against Xiong Lie's chest.

The frost exploded again, as if an ice flower was blooming on his body.

Collarbone, shoulder, ribs, abdomen...

Xiong Lie roared, his Savage Bear strength exploding to shatter the frost on his chest.

But the moment he shattered the frost, Shen Yuan's figure suddenly became blurry.

A layer of thin ice condensed under his feet, and he glided silently over the ice surface.

His Speed was so fast it was like teleportation, appearing behind Xiong Lie in an instant.

Wang Lin's eyes widened slightly.

Gliding on ice? Wang Lin's gaze became focused.

He also possessed Ice Ability, obtained from one of Commander Leí Héng's subordinates, but he had never thought it could be used this way.

He previously only treated Ice Ability as a means of attack, using it to freeze opponents, create ice walls, and fire ice blades.

But Shen Yuan's usage gave him a whole new train of thought.

Ice is not just for attacking; it can also be used for acceleration, for displacement, and for controlling the rhythm of the entire battlefield.

"A bit interesting!!"

On the ring, Xiong Lie felt the chill behind him and turned around violently, but it was already too late.

Shen Yuan's left hand was already pressed against the back of his neck.

"It's over."