Chapter 102 – Feast Eater

“Ha ha ha…”

A thick, dark neck was clamped by five fingers, blocking the blood flow. The bulging veins wriggled like earthworms, as if they were about to burst out from under the skin.

In the next moment.

The tightly clenched hand suddenly released.

The burly man, as strong as an adult black bear, fell heavily to the ground, clutching his neck with both hands. His chest heaved violently, producing harsh, gasping sounds like a bellows.

“I… I surrender!”

The eyes under the Bear Mask, still bloodshot, were filled with horror and fear.

Before the referee could announce the result, the man wearing the Bear Mask stumbled and crawled towards the edge of the arena in a frantic attempt to “escape.”

The referee for this match slowly approached from the side, glanced at the card in his palm, and hesitated before announcing, “Feast Eater… wins!”

Under the Goat Head mask, Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly.

He looked upwards for a moment.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he casually shook his hand and turned to walk off the stage.

Feast Eater.

That referred to him.

In the second stage of the competition, every contestant had a “code name.”

His code name was given by Lin Zhiqin.

It came from a legend in the Mosa Sect—

A starving traveler, on the brink of death, encountered a black goat in the wilderness.

The black goat, pitying the traveler’s plight, generously cut its own leg meat, took out its own entrails, and used its blood to brew wine, preparing a sumptuous feast for the traveler.

After the traveler had eaten his fill, he draped himself in the black goat’s skin and loudly praised the feast’s deliciousness in the night…

An interesting story.

Isn’t it?

Lu Yuan glanced at his professional panel and saw prompts indicating “Professional Experience +85” and slight improvements in basic finger techniques and basic grappling.

This was his third match of the day.

The first two opponents were one eighth-rank amateur and one ninth-rank amateur.

The last one was the strongest, with an estimated basic boxing power of around 400 kilograms, clearly at the professional level.

However, against Lu Yuan, who had 14 strength points and a basic boxing power approaching 700 kilograms, it wasn’t enough.

Lu Yuan took less than three minutes to win the fight.

“Three matches, earning over forty, fifty, and eighty professional experience points respectively. It’s a bit low, but with enough quantity, it becomes quite substantial. One more match, ensuring 200 experience points per day, and in half a month, the [martial artist] level can reach lv7.”

Lu Yuan calculated as he stepped off the stage.

Without frequent encounters with elite creatures like the Cavern Rat Monster, the Mosa arena remained his primary source of experience points.

This was one reason why Lu Yuan, despite sensing the scrutiny from the numerous Goat Head sculptures and knowing Mosa was not simple, chose not to avoid it.

On the other hand, it was also due to his growing strength.

The confidence that naturally arose from his increasing power drove him forward.

In a world full of risks, avoidance never solves the problem.

“Obstacles, break them!”

This was not a matter of strategic decision-making.

It was a belief that every martial artist must hold.

As soon as he walked out of the arena, Lu Yuan saw Lin Zhiqin waiting at the entrance.

“Coach!”

Lu Yuan removed his mask, his face glowing with excitement.

He had a bit of that “Coach, how did I do? Praise me, please” look.

“Well done.”

Lin Zhiqin nodded approvingly, then pulled a thick envelope from his pocket and handed it to Lu Yuan.

“This is today’s prize money.

A total of thirty thousand.”

Lu Yuan took the envelope, a flash of excitement in his eyes, but he sighed with a hint of regret, “No next match? I thought there would be one more… I could still fight another match…”

“There will be plenty of opportunities.”

Lin Zhiqin said calmly, then gestured for Lu Yuan to leave.

“I’ll take you home.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks, Coach.”

“No problem.”

Thirty minutes later, at a familiar intersection.

Lu Yuan got out of Lin Zhiqin’s car, standing under the streetlight, waving goodbye to Lin Zhiqin.

He only withdrew his gaze after the car was out of sight.

He rubbed his cheeks; the excessive acting had made his facial muscles stiff.

Lu Yuan turned indifferently to look in a certain direction.

A few crows were perched near a trash can by the roadside, pecking at the food scraps on the ground.

When the crows met Lu Yuan’s gaze, they immediately seemed to receive some command. Flapping their wings, they merged into the night sky, flying in the direction the car had gone.

After doing all this, Lu Yuan leisurely turned and walked towards home.

Over the next three days, Lin Zhiqin took Lu Yuan to Mosa to compete every day.

Sometimes three matches, sometimes four.

The skill experience and professional experience on Lu Yuan’s [martial artist] panel increased rapidly.

The slight estrangement caused by Lu Yuan’s strength during their first meeting seemed to gradually dissipate.

They returned to their previously good cooperative relationship, almost like teacher and friend.

“Bang!”

The door of the public lounge was pushed open.

The buzzing room suddenly fell silent.

The contestants, wearing various masks, all turned their gazes to the door. Some masks already showed signs of dissatisfaction.

But when they saw the figure at the door, most of their gazes quickly retracted as if electrocuted.

They seemed extremely wary of the figure’s presence, fearing to attract his attention.

Wearing a three-eyed goat head mask, the tall and well-built figure walked in from outside.

He quickly passed through the public lounge area and entered a private lounge inside.

Only after his figure completely disappeared did the quiet room return to normal.

“It’s the Feast Eater!”

“He’s won twelve matches in a row, even ‘Fang Bear’ lost to him today, and it was a complete crushing!”

“Please, I hope the Tournament Committee doesn’t match me against him! I don’t want to get destroyed.”

“Actually, it’s not that bad. Among the top fighters, his temper isn’t the worst…”

Lu Yuan opened the locker door, placed the three-eyed goat head mask inside, and began changing his clothes.

Through the wall, he could clearly hear the discussions in the adjacent public lounge.

“That’s right, I always show some restraint.”

Hearing someone on the other side of the wall comment about him, Lu Yuan softly agreed.

After several consecutive matches these past few days, he had gained a bit of fame in Mosa’s “boiling night.”

His three-eyed goat head mask and his quick, decisive fighting style had made a small impression.

“It seems like there are more skilled fighters.”

Lu Yuan pulled his T-shirt over his head, recalling the last match he had just finished.

His opponent, code-named “Fang Bear,” was quite formidable, with strength almost equal to his own.

Moreover, Fang Bear was tough and could take a lot of hits.

If it weren’t for Lu Yuan’s almost perfect, well-rounded fighting capabilities, any fighter with boxing power reaching 700 kilograms might not have been able to defeat him.

“It looks like Lin Zhiqin was right about Mosa temporarily raising the prize money and changing the rules, attracting a bunch of skilled martial artists to compete.”

“I just wonder how strong these top fighters are, and when I will face them…”

Lu Yuan closed the locker door, shouldered his backpack, and reverted to his unremarkable senior high school student appearance as he left through the back door of the lounge.

The situation at home had greatly improved, and he didn’t have many expenses.

Now, the prize money wasn’t as tempting to him as it used to be.

What attracted him now was the martial arts event itself, offering many chances to fight different types of martial artists, gain experience, and increase his strength.

Exiting the lounge, Lu Yuan walked through the hall and went up to the first floor alone.

He then found Lin Zhiqin in a car not far from the club’s entrance.

After the event upgraded, the two of them no longer acted as casually as before and started being more conscious about hiding their identities.

After all, being scouted before a match was a big no-no in martial arts.

“When you faced Fang Bear today, you made some mistakes. If you had attacked his lower body aggressively from the start, the match wouldn’t have dragged on for so long…”

As soon as Lu Yuan got into the car, Lin Zhiqin began summarizing the match for him.

It seemed they had completely returned to their former way of interacting.

Lu Yuan listened attentively.

He carefully noted Lin Zhiqin’s advice while contemplating testing it against similar opponents in the Consciousness Space later.

After the summary, Lin Zhiqin routinely pulled out a familiar envelope.

It was thick.

Compared to before, the prize money for Lu Yuan winning three matches had now increased to 100,000!

“Your current points are enough to advance to the semifinals. You can choose whether to fight in the upcoming matches or not…”

Lu Yuan keenly sensed the unfinished meaning behind Lin Zhiqin’s words and asked, “What do you suggest, Coach?”

Lin Zhiqin glanced at him and started the car.

As the car slowly moved, Lu Yuan heard him say.

“Come see me tomorrow afternoon. There are some things… I need to teach you.”

Consciousness Space.

Lu Yuan suddenly punched.

His arm muscles bulged violently, veins popping out, instantly swelling a size larger, and then he solidly struck the burly man’s chest in front of him.

“Crack, crack”

Accompanied by a series of bone-cracking sounds.

It was as if the man had been hit head-on by a speeding car.

He was forcefully knocked back, retreating crazily.

“Stop!”

Lu Yuan pressed the “Pause Button.”

He then quickly walked to the burly man’s side, tore open his shirt, and carefully examined the impact area.

The spot was deeply indented, the skin stretched white.

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but show a look of surprise.

“Even without using a killer move, just the pure [special exertion] with double the power should be enough to pierce through this skin and flesh…”

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and then chose to enter the man’s body.

Ignoring the feeling of bulkiness and sluggishness, Lu Yuan focused all his attention on experiencing the surface layer of this body.

Lu Yuan was astonished to discover that the toughness of Fang Bear’s skin and the firmness of his muscles far exceeded his expectations.

“It’s even stronger than my own body with 15 constitution points!”

“But his constitution points definitely don’t reach 15!”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flashed intensely as his brain worked quickly…

Suddenly, he thought of something.

“Muscle Training!”

On the night he encountered the Divine Servant of the Crow Deity, Zhou Ling had mentioned a level in martial arts Muscle Training!

“Could it be that this guy’s incredible skin and muscle defense is due to Muscle Training?”

Lu Yuan exited the consciousness space, feeling his previously satisfactory body, his expression shifting.

He quickly became resolute.

“No way, I have to ask Lin Zhiqin about this properly. No matter what, I need to learn this technique!”