'He found out! He isn't just bluffing—he really discovered the tricks I played!'
Kobayashi Haruo stood frozen in place, his hands and feet ice-cold, his mind a tangled mess.
Dr. Huang darted up to Kobayashi Haruo's subordinate and harshly demanded, "Where's the wooden board? Get it out now!"
Kobayashi Haruo's subordinate was terrified. He wanted to destroy the evidence but didn't dare—besides Dr. Huang, other members of the Jing City Acupuncture Association had also swarmed forward, surrounding him completely. He had no doubt that if he made the slightest suspicious move, these furious people would surge forward and beat him to a pulp.
Faced with the choice between his job and his life, the man ultimately chose the latter and obediently took the thick wooden board out of his bag.
Dr. Huang snatched the thick wooden board and turned to look at Zhao Yuan.
"Pull out the Golden Needle!" Zhao Yuan instructed.
Dr. Huang nodded in agreement. In front of everyone, he first pulled out the Golden Needle he had inserted. The needle was perfectly intact. Then, he pulled out the Golden Needle that Kobayashi Haruo had inserted, and a collective gasp instantly erupted from the crowd. The comments in both live stream rooms once again flooded the screen, reaching a new peak.
Everyone could see it clearly: Kobayashi Haruo's Golden Needle had been broken, with only a small section of it left!
It turned out that during the earlier Finger Power competition, Kobayashi Haruo had hidden a tool between his fingers. At the exact moment the needle pierced the board, he had used it to snap the Golden Needle. This way, he only needed to insert a small piece of the needle into the board to create the illusion that the entire body had sunk in, leaving only the head exposed. His movements were so fast and stealthy that he fooled everyone. If Zhao Yuan hadn't reached the Mid Stage of Muscle Strengthening, granting him superhuman vision, this scam likely would have never been exposed.
"I originally thought you genuinely had Extraordinary Finger Power, and I even said I was utterly convinced by my loss. I never imagined you would resort to such despicable tricks!" Dr. Huang roared furiously at Kobayashi Haruo, holding up the broken piece of the Golden Needle.
Kobayashi Haruo was sick with regret. 'If I had known, I wouldn't have cheated,' he thought. 'With my Finger Power, I might have actually been able to beat him!'
In terms of Finger Power, he and Dr. Huang were evenly matched. He had only resorted to a secret trick to guarantee a flawless and decisive victory, but he never imagined it would backfire so spectacularly...
With his lies exposed one after another, Kobayashi Haruo decided to just go for broke and abandon all shame. He craned his neck defiantly and retorted, "So what if I broke the Golden Needle? A broken needle has no point. The fact that I could stick it into the board just goes to show how incredible my Finger Power is!"
As soon as he said this, not only the audience at the scene and in the domestic live stream, but even the viewers in the East Japan live stream turned against him, denouncing him as shameless and disgraceful.
Kobayashi Haruo tuned out their curses and challenged, "If you don't believe me, compete with me again! We'll see if my Finger Power doesn't surpass all of yours! What do you say? Do you dare face me one more time?"
Zhao Yuan granted his request. "Fine. We'll compete one more time. I'll make sure you lose so badly you'll have nothing left to say!"
Kobayashi Haruo wasted no time on words. He picked up a Golden Needle, regulated his breath, and his hand shot out. With a dull THUD, a full eighty percent of the Golden Needle sank into the thick wooden board, leaving only a small portion exposed.
This depth had already surpassed Dr. Huang's previous attempt.
"Did you see that? Did you see that? Even without tricks, my Finger Power is still stronger than yours!" Kobayashi Haruo yelled excitedly.
This result not only shocked the crowd but also exceeded his own expectations. While his Finger Power was formidable, he had never reached this level before. It was as if being cornered had forced him to unleash his hidden potential.
Kobayashi Haruo felt that his victory was certain. Dr. Huang's Finger Power was on par with his own; unless he could also pull off an explosive burst of power like that, it would be impossible to go deeper!
Dr. Huang thought so too, and his expression turned grave.
Just then, Zhao Yuan suddenly reached out, took a Golden Needle from the case, and said, "Don't celebrate just yet. I haven't had my turn."
Everyone at the scene stared blankly for a moment, while the online live stream rooms instantly erupted in a frenzy.
"Holy shit! The Great God is gonna teach Kobayashi Haruo a lesson himself?"
"Finally! The Great God is making his move! Kobayashi Haruo, let me ask you, are you scared yet?!"
"Look at Kobayashi Haruo! The look on that guy's face is frozen stiff, and he's gone pale... Haha, he looks absolutely ridiculous!"
Kobayashi Haruo trembled, his lips quivering. He desperately wanted to scream at Zhao Yuan, "Get lost! I won't compete with you!" But after a long moment of shaking, he couldn't manage to speak the words of surrender.
Zhao Yuan gestured with the Golden Needle a few times, then turned to He Chengwei beside him and asked, "Dr. He, how do you get this Golden Needle straight? It's so fine it keeps bending. I can't straighten it out, let alone use it to pierce anything."
His words instantly stunned everyone.
Kobayashi Haruo's jaw dropped, his gaze a mixture of hope and suspicion.
The online live stream rooms exploded with activity as people began to debate furiously.
"The Great God doesn't know how to use Golden Needles? For real?"
"Is he just putting on an act to trick Kobayashi Haruo?"
"I think it's real. The Great God has no reason to trick Kobayashi Haruo at this point. It wouldn't accomplish anything."
"It's over, it's over. The Great God actually doesn't know how to use Golden Needles. How is he supposed to compete? He's guaranteed to lose, isn't he?"
Although Zhao Yuan's previous performance had been nothing short of astonishing, at this moment, no one believed he could win. Zhao Yuan himself, however, wasn't the least bit worried and began to earnestly learn how to handle the Golden Needle.
With He Chengwei holding nothing back in his instruction, Zhao Yuan quickly mastered the method for using a Golden Needle.
The most crucial aspect of using a Golden Needle is controlling the force. But for Zhao Yuan, who had reached the Mid Stage of Muscle Strengthening and was also cultivating the Four Saints Technique, this supposed difficulty was no issue at all.
Exerting force with his fingers, Zhao Yuan straightened the bent Golden Needle. He nodded in satisfaction and said, "Alright, I'm ready."
Kobayashi Haruo tensed up, trying to reassure himself. 'He'll never pierce it deeply. You can tell from how he was just learning to handle the Golden Needle that this kid is completely unfamiliar with needles this fine! He's an absolute novice! Even if he manages not to break the needle, there's no way he can go deeper than I did!'
Many people shared his view. But even more were hoping that Zhao Yuan would create another miracle.
As everyone watched with bated breath, Zhao Yuan raised his hand and brought it down in a flash.
THUNK!
A dull thud echoed.
Zhao Yuan pulled back his hand, and every eye in the room focused on the thick wooden board.
"Where's the Golden Needle?"
"Why is the Golden Needle gone?"
"Did the Great God even try to pierce it? Why isn't there a needle on the board?"
A confused murmur spread through the crowd, because the only Golden Needle visible on the thick wooden board was Kobayashi Haruo's. There was no sign of Zhao Yuan's.