65: What happened to the elimination? How come he actually died!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The stone club slammed against the ice wall in front of Su Wanqing, sending ice shards flying.

The ice wall vibrated violently, already covered in cracks.

Lin Yuan stroked his chin.

Tsk.

A bit troublesome.

To save, or not to save?

Logically, this was an individual competition.

Everyone was a competitor.

Moreover, this Tower of Heaven was set up by the Dragon Shield Bureau, so safety measures must be in place.

If one lost, at most they would be teleported out, eliminated.

Su Wanqing was a C-rank Peak, after all; she shouldn't be unable to handle even this much, right?

Besides, if he rashly intervened, what if it affected the performance of "Ice Phoenix"? Wouldn't he just be asking for trouble?

Right.

Better to avoid trouble.

In his heart, Lin Yuan found a perfect excuse for his inaction.

He calmly shifted his gaze from Su Wanqing and began to survey this new "coliseum."

He didn't think much of it until he looked closely.

Upon seeing it, his brows furrowed.

It was too chaotic.

Fights were everywhere.

Contestants and various strange beasts were mixed in a chaotic battle.

Flames, frost, flashes of blades, sword shadows... and roars of various beasts and human shouts of anger.

The entire space was a giant meat grinder.

Not far from him, a C-rank Intermediate member from the Modu Branch Bureau was entangled in a fight with a Black-scaled Dragon Serpent.

The member was clearly specialized in speed, with agile footwork, dodging and weaving under the Dragon Serpent's attacks.

The dagger in his hand occasionally left sparks on the serpent's body.

However, the Black-scaled Dragon Serpent's defense far exceeded his imagination.

His attacks couldn't even break its defense!

"Roar—!"

The Black-scaled Dragon Serpent seemed enraged, and its massive tail, carrying immense force, swept across!

The member's face changed drastically; he wanted to dodge, but it was already too late.

"Bang!"

A dull thud.

He was directly sent flying like a broken sack, spitting out a large mouthful of blood in mid-air.

His body slammed heavily onto the ground.

The Black-scaled Dragon Serpent gave him no chance to breathe, opening its huge maw and swallowing him whole in one gulp.

"Gulp."

The serpent's belly rippled.

The battle was over.

Lin Yuan watched this scene expressionlessly.

He was still thinking.

This guy had really bad luck.

He must be about to be teleported out, right?

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds... ten seconds passed.

The anticipated teleportation beam did not appear.

The swallowed member seemed to have just... disappeared.

The expression on Lin Yuan's face froze.

Something was wrong.

[Electromagnetic Induction, activate!]

An invisible perception swept over the Black-scaled Dragon Serpent's body.

Inside the serpent's belly, the member's bio-electric current signal... had completely extinguished.

No signs of life.

Dead.

Not eliminated.

He was truly, genuinely dead.

The hint of cynicism on Lin Yuan's face vanished completely.

He abruptly turned his head and looked towards Su Wanqing again!

"Crack—!"

A crisp sound.

The last ice wall in front of Su Wanqing finally could not withstand the repeated bombardments of the three ogres and shattered with a crash!

Her face was pale, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Clearly, maintaining the ice wall defense had consumed a great deal of her energy.

"Roar!"

An ogre grinned viciously, raising the stone club in its hand and bringing it down towards the unprotected Su Wanqing!

If that blow landed, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Cold air surged within Su Wanqing's body again, trying to condense a new defense.

But it was already too late!

Just at this critical moment.

"Swish—!"

A purple electric flash, gone in an instant!

The ogre, with its stone club raised high, froze.

A bewildered expression appeared on both of its heads.

Then.

"Thump."

Its massive body fell straight backward.

At its chest, a gaping hole, charred at the edges, was still emitting smoke.

The other two ogres were stunned.

Su Wanqing was also stunned.

She only felt a blur before her eyes, and a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

It was Lin Yuan.

He stood with his back to her, still enveloped by lingering electric arcs.

"Hey."

Lin Yuan spoke without turning his head, his voice devoid of its usual playfulness, only calm remaining.

"Can you still stand?"

Su Wanqing opened her mouth, but before she could speak.

The other two ogres, having recovered, let out roars and swung their stone clubs, striking at Lin Yuan simultaneously from both left and right directions!

Lin Yuan didn't even glance at them.

He simply slowly raised his right hand, palm facing upwards.

[Palm Thunder]!

"Noisy."

He uttered two words faintly and casually flung the lightning ball towards the ogre on the left.

That ogre had no time to react.

"Boom—!!!!!"

The lightning ball exploded violently on its chest!

The wild lightning devoured its body!

Before the aftershocks of the explosion could dissipate, Lin Yuan's figure vanished again!

[Lightning Step]!

He appeared behind the ogre on the right, his five fingers pressed together, his hand transforming into a blade, covered with a layer of continuously flowing lightning!

"Swoosh!"

The hand-blade sliced cleanly across the ogre's neck.

The headless corpse crashed to the ground.

In total, no more than three seconds.

Three Warlord Rank beasts, completely wiped out!

Lin Yuan's figure reappeared in front of Su Wanqing.

"You..."

Su Wanqing looked at his back, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Don't just stand there."

Lin Yuan turned around, his expression unusually grave.

"Things aren't looking good."

Su Wanqing took a deep breath, suppressing her internal injuries, and nodded.

"I saw it, that person just now..."

"Hm." Lin Yuan interrupted her, "This broken tower's system has crashed, and the safety mechanisms are offline. Now, this isn't a training ground."

He surveyed the bloody battlefield around them, enunciating each word.

"It's a slaughterhouse."

No sooner had he spoken.

"Rumble rumble rumble—!!!!!"

The entire merged space began to tremble violently!

More fiercely than any time before!

The ground beneath their feet was cracking, countless bottomless ravines appearing out of nowhere!

The sky, the canopy formed by countless stitched-together scenes, was peeling away in chunks!

A terrifying pressure descended from above!

All the contestants and beasts currently fighting stopped their movements at this moment, trembling.

Lin Yuan and Su Wanqing looked up simultaneously.

They saw a massive rift slowly opening at the core of the collapsing canopy.

Behind the rift was a chilling darkness.

An eye slowly opened from within that darkness.