16: Goddess of Fortune above, please accept my humble bow.

Watching the Clown Artist on the arena stage, Lin Du exclaimed in his heart that he was lucky.

He had originally thought it would take quite some effort to see the Clown Artist, but he didn't expect to run into the Clown Artist's performance as soon as he arrived at the beast arena.

The battle between humans and demon beasts was the most popular show in the beast arena. As the pillars of the Roaring Beast Arena, when the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast and the Clown Artist met, the popularity multiplied more than tenfold.

Amidst the roaring cheers from the audience, the performance on the arena stage began.

Roar—

The Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast let out a low growl, its eyes flashing with a fierce light.

It stomped its hind legs heavily on the arena floor, and its body turned into a streak of golden light, rushing toward the Clown Artist opposite it.

Whoosh—

The speed of the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast was as fast as thunder. Wherever it passed, a lethal sense of oppression filled the air. In just a blink of an eye, the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast arrived in front of the Clown Artist.

The Clown stood alone in place, his movements still elegant, as if he hadn't noticed the large claw the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast was slamming down.

Seeing this scene, the audience members in the stands who supported the Clown Artist could no longer sit still.

"Holy crap! What is the Clown doing? Hurry up and dodge!"

"It's over, it's over. He wasn't scared stupid by the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast, was he? If he doesn't dodge now, it'll be too late!"

"Isn't the Clown known as the strongest human in the Roaring Beast Arena? How come he doesn't even have the strength to resist in front of the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast!"

"Sigh! What a waste of my ticket money..."

The Clown stood in place looking like he hadn't reacted, and the vast majority of the audience believed that the Clown was undoubtedly going to die.

The Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast was a remnant of the ancient era, and its bloodline was in no way inferior to those powerful dragon-type demon beasts.

Not to mention a mere mortal body, even if a one-meter-thick titanium alloy steel plate were placed in front of the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast, it could easily shatter it with one claw.

Among the tens of thousands of audience members, Lin Du was likely one of the only few who believed the Clown Artist could win...

As the designer of the Clown Artist, Lin Du knew deep down how overpowered the Clown Artist's settings were.

On the surface, the Clown Artist was the pillar of the Roaring Beast Arena, but in reality, he was one of the ultimate guardians in Yunlong City. His daily performances in the Roaring Beast Arena were merely for entertainment and to hide his identity.

Do you understand what a "Sweeping Monk" is?

The Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast was indeed very strong, but it was nowhere near strong enough to fight the Clown Artist.

The Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast's large claw grew closer and closer to the Clown Artist's head, and just as its large claw was about to land on the Clown Artist's head—

The Clown Artist, who had been standing still, suddenly grinned, revealing the Clown's signature evil and eerie smile on his face.

Swish—

The Clown's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.

On the arena stage, a black shadow darted rapidly around the body of the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast.

The speed of the black shadow was extreme. There were many high-level players in the audience, yet not one of them could see what was happening on the arena stage.

The black shadow brushed past the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast and transformed back into the gentlemanly and elegant Clown Artist.

In the astonished eyes of the audience, the massive body of the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast froze in place without any warning.

Its large claw remained suspended in mid-air, and the fierce aura on its body seemed to have been frozen as well!

"Huh? What's going on?"

"Why did the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast suddenly stop moving!"

Just as the audience was in a state of confusion, a soul-stirring scene suddenly appeared on the arena stage.

The Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast's large head suddenly slid off its neck!

Bang—

The head hit the ground, and the heavy thud gave the audience goosebumps.

It wasn't over yet!

After the head hit the ground, its four limbs and various body parts seemed to be sliced by an invisible blade, and one body part after another fell to the ground.

The muscular legs, the scaly wings, the thick and powerful tail, the hard-as-a-steel-whip member...

A powerful remnant of the ancient era had thus turned into a pile of minced meat in front of everyone's eyes.

The scene was somewhat horrifying, and a collective gasp of cold air sounded throughout the arena.

"Hiss~ What just happened! The Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast actually died just like that without anyone knowing why?"

"I only saw a streak of black light; I didn't see anything else clearly..."

The scene fell into chaos and confusion!

After the performance ended, the Clown Artist bowed elegantly to the audience and then walked alone into the backstage area.

Seeing this, Lin Du immediately left his seat and followed him.

In the backstage area of the beast arena, Lin Du and the Clown Artist stood facing each other.

The Clown Artist pulled a forearm-length black dagger from somewhere; he held the dagger in one hand and a silk handkerchief in the other, gently wiping the blade of the dagger.

His movements were light and slow, every action refined to the point of being impeccable.

A faint scent of blood lingered on the dagger; it was the same dagger the Clown Artist had used to slice the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion Beast just now.

"Who are you? Why are you following me?" A hoarse male voice sounded from beneath the Clown Artist's mask.

Lin Du didn't speak, quietly checking the Clown Artist's information.

[Name]: Clown Artist (NPC)

[Level]: ???

[Description]: A star of the Roaring Beast Arena, possessing high popularity within Yunlong City.

The level gap between the two was too large; Lin Du could not see the Clown Artist's true information at all.

There was only one [Thief Gods Diamond Hand], which also meant that Lin Du only had one chance to change his destiny.

Before extracting the abilities from the Clown Artist, Lin Du had to be absolutely certain that this Clown Artist was the same one he had designed in his previous life.

If the Clown Artist's attributes and abilities had changed, then the ability Lin Du extracted might also become useless.

Since he couldn't see any clues from the information, Lin Du had to use other methods.

"Clown Artist, can I have a chat with you?" Lin Du asked.

The Clown Artist's gaze was as deep as an abyss. If Lin Du hadn't awakened the Sequence Class Clown, the Clown Artist would have turned and left immediately.

Perhaps because they were both "Clowns," the Clown Artist's attitude toward Lin Du was relatively friendly.

"What do you want to talk about?" the Clown Artist asked indifferently while wiping the blade.

Lin Du thought for a moment and asked: "Is your main job performing in the beast arena?"

Whoosh—

After Lin Du finished speaking, the Clown Artist's action of wiping the blade suddenly stopped, and he looked up and swept his gaze over Lin Du.

With just that one look, the hair on Lin Du's body stood on end, and he had the feeling of being peered at by the Grim Reaper.

Lin Du suppressed the palpitation in his heart and gritted his teeth, locking eyes with the Clown Artist.

After a few seconds, the Clown Artist lowered his head again and continued wiping the blade.

"That's right, being a Clown Artist is my main job!" the Clown Artist said calmly.

Seeing the Clown Artist's performance, Lin Du already had some answers in his heart.

To confirm his conjecture, Lin Du continued to ask: "Have you heard of Starry Sky Alien Life?"

Boom—

As soon as Lin Du asked this question, the aura on the Clown Artist suddenly changed, and the temperature of the entire backstage area dropped to freezing point.

The Clown Artist's figure appeared in front of Lin Du like a ghost.

The two stood face-to-face, the protruding noses of their two clown masks pressed against each other, and their gazes collided violently in the air.

The dagger in the Clown Artist's hand was somehow placed against Lin Du's neck, and a bone-chilling cold invaded Lin Du's body from his neck; Lin Du felt as if his blood was about to freeze.

The Clown Artist stared deep into Lin Du's eyes, "How do you know about Starry Sky Alien Life!"

Players in universe ol knew that there were races other than the human race in the game. Players collectively referred to races other than humans as "Alien Races," while "Starry Sky Alien Life" was the mysterious term unique to NPC Guardians in universe ol for Starry Sky Aliens.

The Clown Artist's strong reaction to hearing "Starry Sky Alien Life" directly proved that he was one of the Guardians. Just like the content Lin Du had designed before, the Clown Artist had not been changed by the rules of universe ol.

Lin Du breathed a sigh of relief.

Since the Clown Artist was still the Clown Artist he had designed in his previous life, the [Thief Gods Diamond Hand] could be used normally.

Lin Du ignored the dagger at his throat; he moved his mind and directly used [Thief Gods Diamond Hand] on the Clown Artist.

Hum—

In Lin Du's soul, an invisible giant hand appeared out of thin air and reached into the Clown Artist's body.

A momentary look of trance appeared in the Clown Artist's eyes...

[Ding! Thief Gods Diamond Hand activated successfully!]

[You have extracted the Clown Class exclusive SS-rank skill—Ghost Blade Stabbing God Technique!]

The system prompt sounded, and countless complex memories appeared in Lin Du's mind.

A Clown Class exclusive SS-rank skill; a skill of this level was already atrociously powerful, but there was no happiness or joy on Lin Du's face; instead, he shook his head with some bitterness.

"Sigh! Is it ultimately impossible to defy the heavens and change fate..."

Being able to extract the [Ghost Blade Stabbing God Technique] was actually very, very good, but it just wasn't what Lin Du wanted most.

Just as Lin Du was feeling disheartened, an unexpected sound suddenly rang out.

[Ding! heart of the goddess of luck triggered!]

[Thief Gods Diamond Hand activated again!]

A beautiful sound rang out, and it was as if a beam of light had entered Lin Du's dim heart, brightening it up once again.

"heart of the goddess of luck actually triggered?"

"Please don't let me down this time, I beg Sister Goddess of Luck to bless me!!"

[Ding! You have extracted the Clown Artist's Class—Death Clown!]

[Death Clown: No Sequence Class (NPC exclusive)]

[Strength Talent: SS-rank]

[Magic Talent: D-rank]

[Defense Talent: A-rank]

[Speed Talent: SSS-rank]

[Class Comprehensive Rating: SS-rank]

The thing Lin Du had been longing for finally appeared; the opportunity to defy the heavens and change his fate had finally arrived.

Inside Lin Du's body, a magical power flowed rapidly through his entire body.

Wherever this mysterious power passed, his bone density and muscle fibers were greatly strengthened, and every cell in his body was being reshaped and reborn.

In just a short ten seconds or so, Lin Du's physical fitness had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Lin Du was so excited that his eyes filled with tears.

"Sister Goddess of Luck above, please accept my bow!"