Chapter 158 - 148: Nothing But a Husky

It wasn’t just Su Ze whose attention was captured by this particular arena; it also had the largest crowd of spectators gathered below.

A young man from the Great Desert Kingdom was being completely overpowered by a student from the Lin Hua Noble Academy, utterly unable to fight back.

Below the stage, many students from the Lin Hua Noble Academy were red-faced, shouting with excitement.

"Go, Senior Wen Jia!"

"Teach these bumpkins from the Six Countries a lesson!"

"Haha, let them see who the true masters of the Lin Hua Continent are!"

The Lin Hua Noble Academy student, Wen Jia, lived up to their expectations. A few minutes later, he sent the young man from the Great Desert Kingdom flying off the stage with a roundhouse kick.

"Prince!" a middle-aged man wearing a headcloth hurried forward to help up the similarly dressed young man.

It seemed the young man was indeed a Prince from the Great Desert Kingdom. However, princes in the Great Desert Kingdom were a dime a dozen; not every one of them was worth their salt.

Wen Jia stood on the stage, striking a victor’s pose as he looked down on them and said:

"With your meager strength, you might be considered a genius in the Six Countries, but in the Lin Hua Country, you’re nothing. Among the younger generation of the Lin Hua Country, people stronger than me are a dime a dozen."

The Prince from the Great Desert clutched his chest, his face pale, but he still lifted his head to meet Wen Jia’s gaze and said:

"I admit you’re stronger than me, but there are plenty of geniuses in the Six Countries who are stronger than I am. Beating me doesn’t give you the right to look down on all the geniuses of the Six Countries!"

Wen Jia let out a contemptuous laugh. "You people from the Six Countries only know how to fight amongst yourselves. You’re all incredibly short-sighted. What kind of geniuses could you possibly produce?"

’Isn’t this the perfect opportunity for me to get up there?’ Su Ze thought.

’I’ll get up there, display my overwhelming power, crush Wen Jia in a classic face-slapping, and stun the entire audience. What a perfect web novel plot.’

"How arrogant!"

Su Ze’s sharp rebuke drew everyone’s attention.

Just as he was about to step onto the stage, he was suddenly stopped by a staff member below.

"Sir, if you wish to compete, you first need to go to the counter, sign a contract, and pay the fee. You can only get on stage once you have a match token."

Su Ze’s expression froze. He shot the staff member an annoyed look. ’Who interrupts someone when they’re trying to look cool!’

Still, he obediently turned and went to the counter to pay the fee. ’Fine,’ he thought, ’I’ll pay for my chance to show off. I can live with that.’

At the counter, Su Ze presented his identification, signed the required contract, and then demonstrated his evolutionary power to verify his evolution level.

Only evolvers of the same tier were allowed to spar in the arena. Furthermore, if you accidentally killed your opponent, you were solely responsible; the venue’s owners were not liable.

The final step was payment. You had to pay the full amount upfront. If you won, you would be refunded half.

But just as Su Ze was paying, a blond young man walked toward the arena.

The blond youth handed his match token to the staff member below, leaped onto the stage, and said expressionlessly:

"Next time you insult the Six Countries, remember to leave the Ancient An Country out of it."

Wen Jia couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "See? I told you people from the Six Countries only know how to infight. Even now, you still have to prove that your Ancient An Country is better than the other five?"

The blond youth turned to the staff member below the stage and asked, "Can the match begin?"

The staff member nodded, blew a whistle, and announced, "The match begins now!"

In the next instant, both the blond youth and Wen Jia moved. They were both close-combat evolvers, and they immediately engaged in a perilous, close-quarters brawl.

Su Ze stood below the stage holding his match token, a speechless expression on his face.

’I was about to make my grand entrance, and someone stole my thunder...’

’But I’ve already paid. I’m definitely going to get my moment in the spotlight!’

’Whoever wins, I’ll just go up and beat them down!’

The two fighters on the stage moved with incredible speed; someone with a weaker eye might not have even been able to follow their movements. However, as a close-combat evolver himself, Su Ze could clearly understand the fight between these two evolvers of the same tier.

Wen Jia clearly focused more on agility. He moved quickly and attacked with great speed, his strike frequency noticeably higher than the blond youth’s.

The blond youth’s advantage, on the other hand, was strength. He was stronger than Wen Jia, and if he could just seize an opportunity to pin Wen Jia down, he would quickly secure his victory.

And just as Su Ze predicted, when Wen Jia circled around for a sneak attack, the blond youth suddenly activated a skill. It was as if all his bones had vanished; his body became incredibly pliable, sticking to Wen Jia like a stubborn leech.

The blond youth’s body instantly elongated, wrapping itself tightly around Wen Jia.

With both arms bound, Wen Jia was completely immobilized. The blond youth constricted tighter and tighter, until Wen Jia couldn’t even breathe.

"It’s ’Bone-Entwining,’ the signature skill of the Tier Three S-class exotic beast, the Soft-Boned Python," Liou Wenxin explained from the side. "The skill’s strength lies in how the user’s body enters a ’soft-boned’ state while wrapped around an enemy, making them immune to most physical attacks."

Su Ze nodded. "Pretty impressive. Is he vulnerable to electricity?"

Liou Wenxin nodded. "He is."

Su Ze: "Then it’s garbage."

Soon, the match on the stage was decided.

Wen Jia had several bones broken by the blond youth’s constriction and was forced to concede.

Below the stage, the students of the Lin Hua Noble Academy fell into a collective silence, their faces etched with disbelief.

After all, despite Wen Jia’s modest words, he was actually a famously powerful student at the Lin Hua Noble Academy.

They couldn’t believe that Wen Jia had actually lost to a hick from one of the Six Countries.

The students felt disgraced and wanted to reclaim their honor, but none of them were stronger than Wen Jia.

"That Wen Jia is all talk! What a disgrace to our Lin Hua Noble Academy!"

"Exactly. It’s a shame those monsters from the academy aren’t here. We’ll just have to let this hick from the Ancient An Country be arrogant for a little while."

The blond youth released Wen Jia and returned to his normal form. He looked down at Wen Jia, who was still lying on the stage, and said, "A wolf does not deign to run with dogs. This isn’t infighting; it is the pride of the strong."

"How arrogant!"

Su Ze shouted again. Finally, it was his turn.

He handed his match token to the staff member below and vaulted onto the stage.

The blond youth expressionlessly sized Su Ze up and asked, "What country are you from?"

Although Su Ze’s reputation was skyrocketing in Dongli, his fame clearly hadn’t spread far enough for someone from the Ancient An Country, at the southernmost tip of the Lin Hua Continent, to recognize him.

"Su Ze, from Dongli," Su Ze said, straightening his back and speaking in a clear voice.

The blond youth nodded. "Remember this name: Luo Sai, from Ancient University. I’m the one who’s going to defeat you."

Meanwhile, the staff members quickly carried the injured Wen Jia away. One of them asked Luo Sai, "Do you need to take a break?"

Luo Sai gave a slight nod. He needed some time for his "Bone-Entwining" skill to come off cooldown.

He might be wild, but he wasn’t a fool; he wouldn’t blindly underestimate an opponent.

Ten minutes later, the referee blew the whistle and announced the start of the match.

The blond youth, Luo Sai, seized the initiative. He closed the distance at high speed, appearing before Su Ze in an instant.

Su Ze didn’t move an inch. He was more than happy to let his opponent get in close. As Luo Sai’s Cannon Fist shot toward his face like a meteor, Su Ze simply raised an arm to block.

Luo Sai froze, startled. He had expected Su Ze to use some kind of defensive skill or a movement ability to dodge. He never imagined Su Ze would block it with his bare arm.

’Does he not want that arm anymore?!’

BOOM!

Luo Sai’s confident punch smashed into Su Ze’s forearm. However, the sound of breaking bones he expected never came. Instead, a piercing pain shot through his own hand, as if he had just punched an indestructible wall of Super Alloy.

Luo Sai’s face went pale with shock as he hastily retreated.

"W-what kind of monster are you?! How can your bones be so hard?!"

He was in utter disbelief.

Then it dawned on him: not only were Su Ze’s bones hard, but his strength was also terrifying.

If it were just a matter of hard bones without the corresponding strength, that last punch would have definitely forced Su Ze back a few steps at the very least, if not sent him flying entirely. He wouldn’t have been able to stand his ground without moving an inch.

Su Ze grinned. Having consumed a large amount of Tier Three Coral Stone Powder, his bone density was now comparable to Tier Three Super Alloy. No evolver in the Cocoon Stage should be able to harm his bones.

"My turn."

Su Ze unleashed a Gravity Chain, pulling Luo Sai toward him, and hammered a fist at his chest.

’I’m not aiming for his head,’ he thought. ’Don’t want to kill him and have to pay for it.’

Luo Sai’s expression flickered. He didn’t know what skill Su Ze had just used, but he could faintly sense the terrifying power behind that incoming punch.

He didn’t hesitate, unleashing his ultimate move: "Bone-Entwining."

Like a giant python, Luo Sai elongated his body and coiled himself around Su Ze.

But when Su Ze’s fist connected with Luo Sai, it felt like hitting a slippery eel; most of the force was dispersed.

Even so, the blow was still strong enough to make Luo Sai spit up blood.

This horrified Luo Sai even more. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened to him if he’d taken the full force of that punch without "Bone-Entwining" to disperse the impact.

Luo Sai didn’t dare to be careless for a single moment. He used his full strength, frantically coiling and tightening around Su Ze like a python strangling its prey, binding his arms and legs.

This was the only way to keep Su Ze from counterattacking. If Su Ze landed even a few more punches, Luo Sai knew he wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

In reality, however, Su Ze didn’t feel the slightest bit of discomfort from the constriction. Unlike Wen Jia, his bones wouldn’t break. They were far too hard. If Luo Sai squeezed any tighter, he would only end up hurting himself against Su Ze’s unyielding frame.

To Su Ze, the pressure felt more like a massage. It was actually quite comfortable.

’Could this masseur from the Ancient An Country please use a little more force...’ Done wasting time, Su Ze activated his "Thunder God Body" skill.

ZZZAP...

Blue arcs of electricity flickered across Su Ze’s body, instantly conducting to Luo Sai, who was pressed tightly against him.

Wisps of white smoke began to rise from Luo Sai’s body, carrying the faint scent of cooked meat.

His eyes rolled back in his head as he released his hold on Su Ze, collapsing onto the stage with a THUD. His body continued to twitch, already cooked medium-rare.

Su Ze recalled the remaining electricity. He had held back and not used his maximum output. Otherwise, Luo Sai wouldn’t be medium-rare right now; he’d be well-done.

Su Ze glanced dispassionately at Luo Sai and smiled. "You thought you were a wolf, but you’re really just a husky."