98: Condensation

The observation center on the Isolated Island was quiet, yet permeated by a terrifying aura capable of instantly crushing any Martial Artist below the Heavenly Extreme Rank.

Sol watched the screen before him, a faint, inscrutable smile on his handsome face.

“Heh heh...”

“As expected of the one hailed as the strongest Prodigy in the history of the Blue Star Martial Dao Civilization.”

“This decisiveness in killing makes even me, a King Rank Martial Artist, feel a little startled.”

Coldness flashed in Adolf’s eyes as he spoke in a chilly voice.

“The targets are all humans.”

“Truly decisive in killing.”

Bard smiled, his words concealing a sharp edge.

“Not entirely.”

“It worked out quite well for the teams from Xianbei Country, Batan Country, and our own country when they encountered him.”

“Shouldn't those national teams that were wiped out consider whether they somehow provoked our Prodigy Lin Yan?”

Jiang Mobai summed up the situation calmly.

“If you ask me, this kid made things too complicated.”

“If it were me, I would have dropped in and immediately headed south.”

“Instead, he had to circle around, resulting in nobody making it onto the individual rankings, and the country ranking only just reaching first place.”

As he spoke, he pointed a finger at the screen in front of him.

“Look.”

“He's made both of these teams alert, and they've run straight into the inner circle.”

“Wait, which two countries are these teams from?”

Bard immediately replied.

“Hmm... judging by the cursor color, it should be the USA and the European Union Country.”

“I didn't expect two of our top four powerhouses to unite on the very first day. This is unprecedented in previous grand competitions.”

Sol and Adolf narrowed their eyes simultaneously, a dangerous cold light flashing across them.

Jiang Mobai, Bard.

Let's see how long you can remain smug... “Captain.”

“We arrived a little late; they've become alert.”

Yao Tianyi scanned the surrounding corpses of exotic beasts and spoke softly.

“It's only the first day. Even if they run, they'll only head toward the inner circle,” Xia Fei said. “We should be able to catch up if we continue the pursuit.”

Lin Yan did not immediately answer the two of them, instead looking back at the many figures who had followed him in the pursuit all day.

Their faces were slightly weary, but their bright, piercing eyes instantly met his gaze.

Everything was silent, but he instantly received a clear message.

Captain, give the order.

Lin Yan spoke slowly.

“You've followed me, rushing from morning until night.”

“I can see that the Qi and blood in many of your bodies are nearing exhaustion; you are relying entirely on sheer willpower to sustain yourselves.”

Just as everyone was about to say something.

His voice continued to ring out.

“My first objective has been achieved.”

“We are also ranked first on the National Leaderboard.”

“Next, Yao Tianyi and Xia Fei will take you to hunt exotic beasts and raise your individual points.”

Yao Tianyi and Xia Fei's expressions changed.

“Cap—!”

Lin Yan glanced at the two of them.

“I will go after the remaining two countries, the USA and the European Union Country, alone.”

Everyone's expressions changed as well.

“Captain!”

“We just need to recover for a bit!”

“That's right! We only need a moment to recover, and then we can continue fighting!”

“Captain...”

Before the many anxious voices could fully subside.

Lin Yan had already turned and vanished into the night.

“Yao Tianyi, Xia Fei.”

“When the grand competition ends, I do not wish to see us lose a single person.”

Just as everyone was about to chase after him.

Yao Tianyi roared.

“Understood!”

Then he immediately turned around.

“Recover right here!”

This...!

Everyone looked at each other.

A trace of complexity flashed in Xia Fei's eyes, and she spoke softly.

“Do as the Captain says.”

“With his strength, he will be much better off alone than with all of us.”

“Following him will only distract him.”

“He is protecting us.”

Clearing out all threats, creating a safe environment for hunting exotic beasts, and then challenging the alliance of the two powerhouses by himself.

Flame King.

This is the courage of the Blue Star's strongest Prodigy!

Actually.

There was one point she missed, which was also the most important point to Lin Yan.

It was too easy.

So far, none of the events posed even the slightest threat to him.

This was definitely not the ultimate killing move for which the two countries went to such lengths to advance the grand competition.

He had a premonition that this was just a warm-up, and the main course coming up was the key to this life-or-death game.

And this was the main reason Lin Yan wanted to go alone... [cultivation]: Ninth Rank First Level

[Martial Skill]: Basic: National Martial Art Unparalleled (profound extreme High Grade Perfection); Basic: Halberd Technique Unparalleled (profound extreme High Grade Perfection)

[the overbearing charge value]: 145%

The eight national teams wiped out after eliminating the Bangzi Country team yielded great harvests, with an average index of three and a half stars per team, which is 70% charge value.

Therefore, after five Fusions, not only did his Martial Skills reach profound extreme High Grade Perfection, but his cultivation also rose to Ninth Rank First Level, leaving him with quite a bit of charge value remaining.

Of course, this was still not enough; the charge value could not be saved.

Lin Yan glanced at the obvious man-made tracks in the darkness, and as his figure flickered continuously, a martial skill stone appeared in his hand.

“Ding!”

“A Half-Step King Rank Martial Skill detected. Consume 100% charge value for Fusion?”

The System prompt arrived.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Half-Step King Rank... Only after learning about the “Basic” Rank from the kings road did he realize a blind spot he had always overlooked.

His System panel information had actually revealed this Rank to him long ago.

Where?

The Martial Skill list!

Whether it was Peerless National Martial Arts or Peerless Halberd Technique, both had the word “Basic” in front of them.

So he wondered, were the Heavenly Extreme Rank and King Rank, as named on Blue Star, called the same way in the Starry Sky?

Now he saw that he had guessed correctly.

The proper name for Heavenly Extreme Rank should be Half-Step King Rank.

In that case.

“Fusion.”

There was one more thing he needed to confirm, and it was the most important thing.

The familiar feeling of a Martial Skill progressing from beginner to proficiency swept over him.

Countless mysterious and profound images instantly flashed in Lin Yan's eyes.

Suddenly.

Boom—!

A sudden loud bang erupted in the silent night, and the entire ground shook violently.

This wasn't due to the powerful Qi and blood surge from the Martial Skill Fusion, which was often like a volcanic eruption, but rather from a single contact with the ground during his rapid movement.

“Ding!”

“Fusion successful.”

Lin Yan, who had stopped, glanced at the ground which had instantly sunk several meters, and slowly raised his hand, clenching his fist with all his might.

Bang—!

Another burst of air exploding sounded.

A profound power, extremely faint yet transcending the power of Qi and blood, flashed and vanished.

He immediately looked at the System information, a smile appearing on his face.

[cultivation] Ninth Rank Third Level

[Martial Skill]: Half-King: Peerless National Martial Arts (Condensing Potential Major Achievement); Basic: Halberd Technique Unparalleled (profound extreme High Grade Perfection)

[the overbearing charge value]: 45%

Sure enough,

the power from the last Prodigy Fledgling of the Yao Race he encountered on the kings road was indeed derived from a Martial Skill.

Condensing Potential Major Achievement... Although he didn't fully understand the meaning of these four characters yet, he had already realized from the recent experience that this was definitely a power that crossed levels.

No wonder he didn't instantly kill that phantom with one halberd strike back then.

But then again.

Seventh Rank Ninth Level cultivation, combined with the profound power of a Half-Step King Rank Martial Skill, only achieves the combat power of an invincible Eighth Rank Ninth Level.

This so-called Starry Sky Prodigy is also a bit of a failure.