Chapter 212 - 106: Holy Shit! Third Grade?

Chapter 212: Chapter 106: Holy Shit! Third Grade?

The heavy alloy door to the combat room was sealed shut.

The massive electronic screen embedded above it was flashing with a blinding blue light, a line of text displaying the situation inside—

[Student Lin Yi, Tier Eight in progress...]

The air seemed to freeze.

The corridor was packed shoulder to shoulder with students who had rushed over after hearing the news.

The previous uproar had long since vanished, replaced by heavy breathing and suppressed heartbeats.

Everyone’s gaze was locked onto the cold screen.

Their eyes were filled with disbelief, nervousness, and a trace of indescribable anticipation.

"Tier Eight... H-He’s really challenging Tier Eight!" someone couldn’t help but exclaim in a low, trembling voice.

"He’s only been at the camp for ten days! This is just monstrous!" the person next to them agreed, their expression complex.

Time ticked by, second by agonizing second, in a tense wait.

Every second felt unusually long.

Ten minutes passed.

The status on the screen remained unchanged.

Some people’s resolve began to waver.

"Seventeen minutes! Tier Eight really isn’t that easy. Looks like Lin Yi is going to stop here this time..." a student said, letting out a sigh of relief. "That’s probably for the best. If he actually passed it in just ten days, that would be too terrifying!"

"Yeah, yeah," someone immediately chimed in. "Even if he doesn’t pass this time, with his monstrous talent, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks the camp’s 47-day record!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The atmosphere, which had been stretched to its breaking point, seemed to relax slightly.

It was as if they had tacitly accepted that Lin Yi wouldn’t be able to create a miracle this time.

However, just as that relaxed thought began to take hold, at precisely the seventeenth minute—

BEEP!

A cold, emotionless, synthesized mechanical voice, like a sudden clap of thunder, unexpectedly rang through the entire metal corridor!

[Student Lin Yi, Tier Eight passed. Points +4000.]

BOOM!

The entire corridor instantly fell into a dead silence!

Everyone stood frozen on the spot, as if they had been hit by a Body Fixation Skill.

Their faces were blank with shock and confusion.

Their minds went blank.

"He... he passed?" someone mumbled, as if talking in their sleep.

The next second, the dead silence was utterly shattered!

"My God!!! He passed! Lin Yi passed Tier Eight!!" a shriek, filled with utter shock, pierced the air.

"He’s not human! He’s definitely not human! Ten days! Ten days!!" another student shouted, their face flushed red with excitement as they pumped their fist.

"The camp record is broken! Passing Tier Eight in ten days! It’s unprecedented!!" someone roared, as if they were the one who had broken the record.

"Lin Yi! Invincible!!" Fanatical chants began to ring out.

"Holy shit! Look at the screen!!" An even sharper cry of alarm cut through all the noise.

Everyone’s gaze focused on the screen again, only to see that the line of text had changed to:

[Student Lin Yi, Tier Nine in progress...]

"Tier Nine?! H-He’s still going to challenge Tier Nine?!"

"Heavens! In the training camp’s hundred-year history, no one has ever passed Tier Nine!"

"Could it be... Could it be that today, we’re really going to witness history? Witness the birth of the first monster to ever pass Tier Nine?!"

The blood that had just started to boil instantly rushed to their heads again.

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats.

They were even more nervous and more expectant than before.

Their gazes were fixed on the sealed door.

It was as if their stares could pierce through the heavy alloy and see the thrilling battle within.

...

Inside the combat room!

Lin Yi gripped the Owl Dragon Long Spear, its shaft gleaming with a cold, dark light. His figure moved like lightning, darting at high speeds within the less-than-spacious room.

Across from him, a mechanical puppet, jet-black with sleek lines, was exuding a suffocating sense of pressure!

In the previous battles, Lin Yi had passed with what was practically crushing force, relying on his powerful Qi and Blood and his exquisite spear techniques.

Even Tier Eight hadn’t taken much of his energy.

But the moment he stepped into Tier Nine, the pressure increased dramatically!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The spear’s shadow moved like a dragon, the force of the punches like cannon fire!

Every collision produced a massive, muffled boom that made the entire combat room hum, even leaving shallow dents and scratches on the alloy walls.

’Strong! It’s too strong!’

Alarm bells screamed in Lin Yi’s mind, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his temples.

This Tier Nine mechanical puppet, whether in speed, strength, or reaction time, had reached a terrifying level.

It definitely possessed the strength of a low-stage Fourth-Grade Martial Artist!

Every time he blocked, a sharp, numbing ache shot through his arm.

Every dodge was a hair’s breadth from failure!

He pushed his own strength to the absolute limit!

The Qi and Blood in his body surged like a torrential river, the full power of a Third-Grade Martial Artist pouring unreservedly into his spear.

"Nine-Layer Charge!"

Lin Yi let out a low shout. The momentum of his spear suddenly became as heavy as a mountain, carrying layers of stacked Hidden Strength as it crashed toward the mechanical puppet like a surging tide. ℴ

Wave Intent!

BOOM!

The tip of the spear clashed violently with the mechanical puppet’s iron fist, and a shockwave erupted!

However, the mechanical puppet only faltered for a moment before counterattacking with even greater ferocity!

’It’s no use! I can’t win!’

Lin Yi made an instant judgment in his mind.

He had already played all his cards, but he was still being completely suppressed by his opponent.

The mechanical puppet’s defense was indestructible, and its attacks were incomparably fierce. Every blow was aimed at a vital point, forcing him to parry clumsily and putting him in constant peril.

’Even if I immediately completed the Refinement of my remaining 13 lower limb bones to Perfection, reached the Peak of Third Grade, and my Qi and Blood surged again... could I win?’

The answer was no!

Between Third Grade and Fourth Grade, the gap in Qi and Blood might not seem vast, but it was a leap in the very level of life!

A fundamental transformation of one’s power!

A Fourth-Grade Martial Artist’s control over their power and the development of their body were far beyond what a Third-Grade could compare to!