Chapter 197 – Bone as Blade, Battle Royale?!

Lu Yuan slowly finished eating the instant noodles from the cup.

The rich aroma of the seasoning always brought back memories of nights spent gaming with friends in the Internet Cafe.

Taking an occasional bite, he found each mouthful filled with nostalgia.

Casually setting the empty cup aside, Lu Yuan pushed open the window, letting in the autumn-scented air from outside.

The commotion in the hallway had gradually subsided, and Lu Yuan could hear Mosa’s men going from room to room asking questions.

He sat back down on the bed. By now, Yellow Bear’s people had found Lin Zhiqin’s location.

“…Eating noodles at a small noodle restaurant two kilometers away?”

“Yes, he ordered two bowls of beef noodles, one with two extra eggs, but he didn’t eat it…”

“What do you mean?”

“…Today… Today seems to be his birthday… I only realized when I heard him talking to the photo of his daughter on his mobile phone…”

“Hmm?!”

Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned by Peregrine Falcon’s response.

A quick check of Lin Zhiqin’s information confirmed that today was indeed his birthday.

Lu Yuan ended the call with Peregrine Falcon and sat quietly on the bed, thinking.

He had already sent Lin Mo’s Congenital Cellular Exhaustion Syndrome to Yellow Bear for help in finding a solution.

He also asked Yellow Bear to investigate why the world-class expert Old Liu had arranged for Lin Zhiqin had suddenly canceled.

-He had a vague suspicion but couldn’t be certain.

“Even if Mosa’s Divine Blood could save Lin Mo, could Lin Zhiqin accept the consequences of a mutated body?”

Lu Yuan didn’t know.

But these were things he couldn’t discuss with Lin Zhiqin right now.

Lin Zhiqin had pinned his last hope on Mosa’s solution, and telling him otherwise would plunge him into despair.

Lu Yuan didn’t plan to meet with Lin Zhiqin before the competition.

Without the specialized equipment to practice the [Amitabha Golden Garment], Lu Yuan instead engaged his muscles, activating Martial Deity Strength.

He began his cultivation of the [Ten Thousand Refined Body] and [Steel Bones] with simple, unpretentious body training techniques.

Both of these techniques were already at level 4, close to max level.

He estimated that once [Ten Thousand Refined Body] reached max level, it could boost his strength points by 1.

[Steel Bones], although not widely recognized, has significantly enhanced Lu Yuan.

He could clearly feel that after reaching level 4, his bones were as if forged from refined steel, incredibly hard.

He extended his hand and lightly swiped through the air in front of him.

Immediately, a sharp sound, like a blade cutting through the air, was heard.

Lu Yuan had even conducted experiments. Without exerting much force, he could chop through a solid piece of wood with his bare hands as if slicing through tofu, and the cut was remarkably smooth.

It was as if he had used a knife.

“Bone as Blade.

As described in the Steel Bone Sect’s cultivation techniques, max level [Steel Bones] can achieve the effect of Bone as Blade.

My Martial Deity Strength far surpasses the ordinary Steel Bone Strength, so the bone refinement effect is much better than the original. At just level 4, I’ve reached this level.

When [Steel Bones] reaches max level, I expect another qualitative change…”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but look forward to it, wondering if he could reach the realm of the “Mountain of Bones,” one of the five legendary talents in the martial arts world.

“Even if I fall short, it won’t be by much.”

This process of steadily enhancing his overall qualities, gradually filling in the gaps and weaknesses in his strength system, made Lu Yuan feel very solid.

While refining both bones and flesh, Lu Yuan’s mind was also active.

He opened the Golden Bear’s backend cultivation techniques and selected [Whale Body Ocean Encompassing Style], carefully pondering and mentally practicing it.

Recently, he had developed a new use for [Imaginary Enemy].

By selecting an individual as an imaginary enemy and entering the Consciousness Space, he could press the Pause Button.

Then, within the Consciousness Space, he could simulate the cultivation of the new technique.

After mastering it, he would exit the Consciousness Space and begin cultivation in reality, significantly speeding up the process.

Anyway, with a level 3 [Imaginary Enemy], the time flow in the deep dream state was vastly different from reality.

A few minutes or even hours in there could equate to just a few minutes or even seconds outside.

Previously.

Peregrine Falcon had asked him why he didn’t use his Golden Bear identity to suppress Mosa, which would make things much easier.

Lu Yuan had casually brushed off the question.

The real reason was.

“You have no idea how true strength is forged…”

“Do you know how much professional experience I can gain from an Ultimate Blood Battle?”

The next day.

Lu Yuan’s door was knocked on at 8:20 AM.

He put on his three-eyed goat head mask, opened the door calmly, and followed the Mosa Sect follower downstairs.

Along the way, the group of two-person teams like his continued to grow.

Martial artists who came to participate in this Ultimate Blood Battle kept descending the stairs, floor by floor.

Each person wore their own mask, hiding their expressions. One could only read emotions like nervousness, excitement, madness, coldness, or bloodlust from their eyes.

Lu Yuan was probably the most relaxed.

Although after yesterday’s Mental Power probe.

Now, every goat head statue in the building seemed to harbor a faint “malice” towards him.

It made him feel a constant sense of unease.

Basement level 2, basement level 3, basement level 4…

Floor by floor, Lu Yuan finally spotted Lin Zhiqin in the crowd.

Lin Zhiqin’s emotions were “calm,” without much fluctuation.

His mask was also a goat head like Lu Yuan’s, but his was pure black.

His Title seemed to be related to a goat as well.

For some reason.

Lu Yuan suddenly recalled the story Lin Zhiqin had casually mentioned when he gave him the Title “Feast Eater.”

A black goat that sacrificed itself, generous and selfless.

Lu Yuan once thought that black goat symbolized himself.

Now he no longer thought so…

“Boom-“

A massive freight elevator, loaded with over a hundred people, slowly came to a stop, breathing like a giant beast.

Following the crowd, Lu Yuan arrived at the enormous underground space he had seen with his Mental Power the previous day.

The first thing that caught his eye was the colossal goat head suspended from the dome.

Its black horns spiraled in black curls, silver-gray bones, and dark eye sockets…

Silently overlooking the crowd below, the vast space carried an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Lu Yuan noticed that many martial artists around him had increasingly unusual expressions in their eyes.

Purely immense size alone cannot evoke such feelings in strong-bodied and iron-willed martial artists.

The Goat Head generates this Effect because it contains a certain mysterious will belonging to the Mosa Sect.

Beneath the Goat Head stood a towering pyramid.

On the pyramid’s Iron Spear Throne sat a burly man with a black iron mask, resting his chin on one hand, coldly overlooking everyone.

Beside him stood a thin man with a silver sheep mask, standing respectfully.

Seeing everyone enter, the man with the silver mask stepped forward and announced in a slightly sharp voice, “Blood warriors, enter the arena!”

All the Mosa Sect followers responsible for guiding began leading the martial artists from various entrances into the arena before them.

Lu Yuan originally wanted to find Lin Zhiqin, but they were too far apart.

He decided it was fine; he could find him later when the Ultimate Blood Battle officially started.

“Swish—”

The lights above the dome turned on, and the battle arena was fully revealed to everyone.

A gigantic City Without a Roof!

Inside were various buildings, countless alleys, and streets.

It resembled a maze-like miniature city.

However, every building in this city had no roof.

And all the alleys and streets ultimately led to… the base of the central pyramid!

“Whirr—”

A burst of noise reached their ears.

Many martial artists participating in the battle looked around.

They discovered that this vast underground space had numerous spectator seats on all sides.

Countless well-dressed men and women, wearing a variety of flamboyant masks, sat in the stands, looking down with excitement and anticipation, whispering and discussing among themselves.

“No wonder the battle arena is designed without a roof; it’s for the spectators to have a better viewing experience…”

“The once-every-three-years Ultimate Blood Battle, with thousands of powerful martial artists fighting to the death… The tickets for this event must have been sold at a high price…”

When the lights came on, many people understood the purpose of the City Without a Roof.

Thousands of martial artists were absorbed into the City Without a Roof like water poured into sand, disappearing instantly.

Lu Yuan stood on a dark gray road, with a crosswalk, streetlights, and a dark green mailbox in front of him.

There were a few stores with illuminated signs not far away.

Of course, there was no one else on the street apart from him.

He could only hear the sound of people moving on the adjacent street.

Lu Yuan didn’t pay attention to it. He squinted his eyes and looked up.

Through the generally low buildings, he could clearly see the massive pyramid and the tiny Iron Spear Throne at its top.

Higher up, a gigantic virtual screen lit up.

A series of names cascaded down from the top of the screen like a waterfall.

[Title – Victory Points]

Everyone’s format was the same, and each person’s Victory Points were 0.

Suddenly, a name flickered, and its points changed from 0 to 1.

In an instant, it jumped to the top of the screen’s rankings.

The next second.

In the vast duel city, every blood warrior awakened.

The air within the city seemed to ignite with the scent of blood and battle spirit.

From the surrounding spectator seats, waves of roaring sounds erupted.

The Ultimate Blood Battle… had officially begun!

…

At the top of the pyramid, on the Iron Spear Throne.

Rage King sat quietly.

Under the black iron mask, a clear and rugged jawline was faintly visible.

“Have you found yesterday’s observer?” Rage King asked coldly.

The silver-masked man beside him bowed, speaking with near-servile respect, “We have identified a few suspects, but we are not certain which one it is. We need Lord Spear Bearer’s decision.”

The silver-masked man handed over a tablet-like device, displaying a list of titled names.

Rage King glanced at it briefly, then looked away, saying indifferently, “No need. Target them all. Desecrators of the Martial Rite must compensate with far more blood and pain than ordinary people to cleanse the offense…”

“Yes.”

The silver-masked man nodded, quickly stepping aside to issue a command.

Meanwhile.

Lu Yuan stood in front of a convenience store, his eyes curiously fixed on the contents of a glass firebox.

Inside was a steel knife, gleaming coldly.

“A battle royale? Scavenging for equipment right after landing?!”