Thirtieth stageābegin!
This time, no beast or metal puppetāa human!
Clad in a tattered black robe, he oozed a first-turn Tribulation realm aura.
āA human?ā Lin Yun frowned, puzzled.
The black-robed bloke stepped onto the arena.
āKid, I want my freedomāIāve got to beat you, today itās you or me!ā His eyes blazed with killing intent.
A human whoād sided with demonsācaught and locked up by the empire.
His first-turn Tribulation realm aura flared full-on.
āYou or me, eh?ā Lin Yunās eyes flicked with surprise.
āDie!ā
The black-robe whipped out a dark chain, lashing it fierce.
It snaked like a dragon toward Lin Yun, air wailing in its wake.
Lin Yun swung to block!
Rare weaponātricky to master, but niche, so few knew how to counterālethal in skilled hands!
āLetās see what youāve got!ā
Lin Yun parried the incoming chain.
*Crack!*
It struck, spun back, then smashed down with endless force!
Lin Yun dodged back, still blocking.
āThis guyās a handful!ā he thought.
First-turn Tribulation realm, sure, but demon-trainedāloaded with tricks, top-tier strength for his level.
That chain masteryāwild and unpredictableācould trip up most first-turn foes.
āKid, die!!!ā
The black-robe went berserk, maxing out his power to end Lin Yun!
Chain kept coming!
Eleventh-layer Taixu Powerāunleash!
Super-divine soul-senseāunleash!
Demon bonesāunleash!
Raw might surged through Lin Yunās swordāhe slashed at the chain.
*Clang!*
Sparks flewāchain met blade.
The strike packed punch, but the chainās length ate the force, shielding the black-robe.
āThis chainās weirdāmy hits land like punching cotton, no threat to him, dragging this outās bad, just burns me dry!ā
āGotta get close!ā Lin Yun schemed.
*Crack!*
Chain lashed againāLin Yun swung, stomped, leapt skyward, inner force roaring, diving at the black-robe.
He reacted, flinging the chain up to snare Lin Yun.
āFlying Snow Sword Array!ā
128 swords shot out, swirling into a massive vortex, shredding the chain aside!
āNow!ā
āMysteriesāfuse!ā
Lin Yun plunged, five mysteries melding into his Holy Spirit-grade swordāpower spiking!
āWhat?ā Sensing the terror, the black-robe yanked the chain back to shield!
But raw force smashed it aside!
*Splurch!*
Piercing power punched through his throat.
Clutching it, his eyes bulged.
A third-rank Mahayana kidāthis strong? Unthinkable.
Three seconds, he crumpled.
Thirtieth stageācleared!
āMaking me fuse five mysteriesāyouāre not half bad,ā Lin Yun eyed him.
No clue why he was here, but Lin Yun figuredāmassive crime.
First-turn Tribulation realm was empire goldāpetty stuff got a pass, only colossal sins landed you here!
No pity from Lin Yun.
To end it fast, heād pulled five-mystery fusion!
Without it, his earlier cards and battle smarts couldāve wonāa slog, sure.
Fusion? One-shot, cleanāwhy mess about?
āNow, only Heaven-Shaking Handās left unused,ā Lin Yun tallied inwardly.
The stone gate groaned open again.
Judgesā stand.
āThatās⦠five-mystery fusion?ā
The envoys gasped, floored.
Lin Yunās move hit like a thunderbolt!
Even Hall Master He froze, stunned.
Shockwaves crashed through them.
Five-mystery fusionāthey knew how rare, how tough that was!
Super-divine soul-sense had jolted them already.
But this? Heart-pounding!
Hall Master He spun to Liang Yuan, āOld Liang, why didnāt you say he could fuse five mysteries?ā
āHall Master, itās in the fileāyou just⦠didnāt read it,ā Liang Yuan chuckled dryly.
Hall Master He went muteāfair cop.
Heād skimmed Lin Yunās third-rank Mahayana bit and binned the rest.
His bad.
āWhat else? Spill it!ā Hall Master He pressed.
āHall Master, one moreāheās barely past forty, dead young!ā Liang Yuan said.
āForty?ā
The envoys jolted again.
āForty, five-mystery fusion, super-divine first-rank soul-sense? Thatās mad!ā
āLiang Yuan, you sure? Just forty?ā Hall Master He grilled.
āNo mistakeāI tested his bone age myself,ā Liang Yuan swore.
The envoys eruptedānoise, awe, disbelief.
Hall Master He leaned back, sighing, āForty, super-divine soul-sense, five-mystery fusionāeven if he doesnāt take first, heās leagues flashier!ā
Liang Yuan grinned at Old Cheng.
āOld Cheng, Lin Yunās past 30āper our bet, thatās 10,000 Tribulation Pills you owe me,ā he beamed.
āLuckās yours!ā Old Chengās face twisted.
10,000 Tribulation Pillsāhis heart bled.
Whoād have pegged a third-rank Mahayana for 30 stages?