Cheers erupted from the upper floor.

No one knew who started it, but the sound spread like a spark catching dry grass.

“Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”

The chant rolled through the hall, loud and wild, fueled by excitement and alcohol. Some hunters slammed their fists against the railing, others raised their drinks high, faces flushed with anticipation.

Lin Mei gripped the railing tightly, her knuckles turning pale. Her eyes never left the dueling ground below.

“Fang-di…” she whispered, worry tightening her chest.

Not far from her, Nixian’s young aunt stood with her arms crossed. Her gaze was sharp, fixed on Lin Fang. “Good,” she murmured to herself. “Now this will show his true strength.”

Her eyes shifted briefly to Zack. “Zack Walter… an A-rank hunter who once defeated a King-tier beast with his bare hands.”

Her lips pressed together. “This won’t be a simple fight.”

Down on the dueling ground, Lin Fang looked at Zack calmly. “Sorry, but one million is too low,” he said evenly. “If you want an all-out battle with me, make it ten million.”

“Ten million?” Zack frowned for a moment.

Then he laughed.

“Alright,” he said, grinning widely. “Ten million it is. Just a few spirit cores’ worth of money. Not much at all.”

Lin Fang glanced over his shoulder. “Brother Adam, please go up.”

Adam hesitated for a split second, then nodded. He turned and headed for the stairs, climbing back to the upper floor. His eyes lingered on Lin Fang, concern mixed with trust.

Zack rolled his neck once and looked up at the crowd. “Alright, guys,” he shouted. “Start the countdown from ten.”

At once, the hunters roared in unison.

“Ten!”

“Nine!”

“Eight!”

As the numbers echoed, Zack lowered his stance. His legs spread wide, his right leg forward, fists clenched tight. His muscles tensed, veins standing out clearly under his skin.

Lin Fang, in contrast, looked almost careless.

He slipped his hands into his pockets and simply stared at Zack, his posture relaxed, his expression unreadable.

Zack’s face darkened. Anger flared in his eyes as he bared his teeth. He hated that look. That calm. That disregard.

“Three!”

“Two!”

“One!”

The moment the countdown hit zero, Zack pushed off the ground, power surging through his body as he prepared to charge—

“Fly,” Lin Fang murmured.

In the next instant, his body lifted smoothly into the air, rising several meters above the ground.

Zack’s eyes widened in shock.

Before he could react, Lin Fang’s hand emerged from his pocket, holding a compact energy blaster. He raised it calmly and aimed it straight at Zack.

It was one of the weapons he had taken from the robots during the hostage crisis three months ago, back in the trial.

The cheering stopped abruptly.

The dueling ground fell into stunned silence as everyone stared at the hovering figure and the weapon pointed below.

Lin Fang hovered in midair, the energy blaster steady in his hand. He squeezed and held the second trigger. A sharp hum filled the air as the weapon charged, blue light gathering at its muzzle.

Zack’s face twisted in anger. “What the hell are you doing?” he growled.

Lin Fang pressed the first trigger.

A beam of energy burst forward.

Zack’s pupils shrank. He threw himself to the side just in time, the blast tearing past where he had stood and scorching the ground behind him.

Lin Fang tilted his head slightly. “This,” he said calmly.

“You… fucking coward!” Zack roared.

Lin Fang’s expression didn’t change. “You’re the one who asked for an unrestrained battle,” he replied evenly. “And why would I waste my energy fighting you head-on?”

He fired again.

Zack had barely regained his footing. There was no time to dodge. The blast struck him squarely, sending his body flying several meters before he crashed hard onto the ground.

Lin Fang flew forward and descended, stopping a short distance away. He aimed the blaster downward and waited.

Zack groaned, then forced himself up. A bruise was already spreading across his body, his breathing rough.

“Lin Fang—!” Zack roared, his aura flaring violently.

Before he could take another step, Lin Fang vanished.

He streaked past Zack in a blur, moving faster than the eye could follow. A split second later, another blast fired.

The energy slammed into Zack’s back.

His body flew forward, tumbling helplessly before smashing into the floor face-first. This time, he didn’t roll. He lay there, stunned.

Lin Fang rested the energy blaster on his shoulder and looked down lazily.

Zack punched the floor and pushed himself up again, his face twisted with fury. Mana poured out of his body, wrapping around him like a second skin, forming a rough, glowing armor.

Lin Fang sighed lightly. “So,” he asked, voice calm, “is this fun for you, Zack?”

“Bastard!” Zack bellowed.

He threw his head back and roared, the sound thunderous and wild. “Aaaaaaah!”

With a violent burst of power, he charged forward at blazing speed, the ground cracking under his feet as he closed the distance, all restraint gone.

Lin Fang didn’t rush.

He hovered in the air, drifting lightly from side to side while Zack charged at him like a cannonball. Every time Zack closed the distance, a flash of light followed. An energy blast slammed into him, knocking him off balance or forcing him to halt mid-charge.

Again and again.

Zack roared in fury, pushing forward through the impacts. His mana armor absorbed most of the damage, but not all of it. Each hit left behind a small bruise, another mark added to the growing collection on his body.

Above them, the crowd stirred.

“Man… this guy is completely overwhelming Zack.”

“But don’t you think this is kind of cowardly?”

“If I could fly, I’d do the same. That skill is perfect for fighting monsters in the wild.”

“Haha, look at him. All brawl, no brains. To deal with flying targets, you don’t charge. You shoot mana blasts.”

“Maybe he can’t. Could be a pure power-type.”

“Hmpf. What kind of A-rank hunter can’t even do that?”

“Yeah, maybe he’s just all brawn…”

Lin Mei listened with her heart in her throat, eyes locked on Lin Fang. She didn’t care about the murmurs. She only saw how calm he was. Too calm.

Three minutes passed.

Zack stood in the center of the dueling ground, chest heaving. Bruises dotted his arms, shoulders, and torso. His mana armor flickered unevenly, its glow no longer stable.

Lin Fang, on the other hand, hadn’t been hit even once.

He glanced down at his watch mid-air, then looked back at Zack. “More than three minutes already,” he said casually. “You’ve burned through half your reserves and still haven’t touched me.”

He tilted his head slightly. “Still want to try your luck?”

Lin Fang’s voice remained calm, almost bored. “Don’t worry. Just give up, apologize, and get lost. I won’t even take your fucking money.”

The words hit harder than any blast.

Zack’s eyes went bloodshot. He threw his head back and roared, the sound raw and furious. Mana surged violently from his body, no longer restrained.

The air shook.

A massive shape began to form around him, mana condensing and layering upon itself. In seconds, a towering figure emerged. A giant armor of pure energy, nearly twenty feet tall, encases Zack like a raging colossus.

Gasps echoed through the hall.

Lin Fang’s eyes narrowed. For a brief moment, a familiar memory surfaced. A colossal avatar from months ago. One that dwarfed even this, towering hundreds of feet high. The one that appeared when Azazel was revived and was cut down by Alexander Han.

“So he has this too,” Lin Fang murmured.

Inside his mind, Alpha spoke, his tone sharp with interest. “It’s merely the highest form of mana manifestation, kiddo. You can form it too when you manage to have the absolute control over your mana.”

Lin Fang’s gaze remained fixed on the giant figure below.

“Didn’t expect him to have it in him,” Alpha continued. Then he paused. “But it’s unstable. Very unstable. He can’t maintain it for long, and it’s fragile.”

Lin Fang’s lips curved upward. “So all I have to do,” he whispered, “is break it once.”

The giant avatar let out a thunderous roar, raising its massive arms as mana surged wildly around it.

Lin Fang straightened in the air, eyes calm, smile faint.

“Alright,” he said softly. “Let’s end this.”

Lin Fang lowered his gaze, the giant mana avatar looming before him like a wall of rage and light. The air trembled as Zack roared inside it, the massive armor echoing his fury with every movement.

Lin Fang raised his hand calmly.

“Diving Blessing,” he murmured. “Activate. Alpha, select my right fist.”

A familiar chime rang inside his head.

*Ding! Diving Blessing has been activated.

Right fist selected.

*Ding! Right fist is not an external weapon. Selection invalid.

Lin Fang’s eyes didn’t waver.

A brief pause followed.

*Ding! Alpha’s will override the system’s rules.

*Ding! Right fist selected. Right fist damage increased by 500%.

A deep pressure bloomed in his core. He could feel it clearly now. Mana began to drain at a steady, merciless rate. Ten percent of his reserves, every second, siphoned directly by Alpha.

Lin Fang exhaled slowly.

He put the energy blaster away. There was no need for it anymore.

Below him, Zack charged forward with a thunderous roar, the twenty-foot avatar mirroring his movements perfectly. Each step shook the dueling ground, cracks spreading like spiderwebs beneath its feet. The massive arms drew back, ready to smash anything in their path.

Lin Fang leaned forward.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep