Chapter 660 - 358: How Many of My Punches Can You Take

He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. The Secret Artifact had already merged into his body, but it currently only provided basic buffs. With all his stats at Tier Seven, he clearly couldn’t withstand this guy’s attacks.

He wondered, "This thing looks so plain and unadorned. Is it really at Tier Seven?"

Su Chen couldn’t gauge the true strength of this King’s Shadow. He merely controlled the Secret Artifact inside his body silently, gradually strengthening himself.

Meanwhile, in another challenge room.

"I yield!" Shen Jiqing wailed, his face deathly pale. His two arms dangled and swayed limply, seemingly stripped of all support.

A black hammer head, as large as a door panel, braked to a sudden halt. The air in front of it let out a piercing shriek, overwhelmed by the sudden stop.

The violent wind pressure exploded, smashing into Shen Jiqing’s face like an invisible sledgehammer. His vision went black, his breathing stalled, and he fell into a violent fit of coughing. The metallic taste of blood welled up in his throat, and a loud ringing filled his ears.

He staggered backward, his back slamming heavily against the wall of the challenge room. The impact sent a sharp ache through his shoulder blades, and cold sweat rolled down his temples.

Even when he was about to yield, he had still harbored a bit of greed, wanting to drag it out as long as possible. He had almost miscalculated the time. If that hammer had fallen, he probably would have died right then and there.

"Thank goodness," he muttered. "It’s probably been about six or seven minutes. I wonder how long those other guys can last."

He walked out of the challenge room. Before he even exited the tower, he heard faint exclamations coming from outside.

"The first guy with a Melting Holy Profession is out! It’s Shen Jiqing from the Martial Arts Company!"

"I’m actually the first one out!?" Shen Jiqing’s expression shifted drastically. He wondered, "Are those guys really that incredible?"

This King’s Shadow was unimaginably strong. He had thought that lasting six or seven minutes was already an impressive feat.

"Whatever. Even if I’m the first one out, I’m still in the top twenty. The odds were only one to one point five, but at least I’ll make a decent profit." Shen Jiqing adjusted his mindset. Before this started, he had placed a bet on himself.

"I know him. He’s that shameless bastard who used his Tier advantage to suppress Su Chen and take first place in the preliminaries. He even bet on himself in the outer pools!"

Shen Jiqing’s face darkened, but he sneered inwardly. He assumed it was just another group of sore losers cursing after losing their money.

"Wait, doesn’t that mean Su Chen made it into the top twenty?"

"Holy shit, we’re making a killing this time!"

"What?" Shen Jiqing’s face stiffened. Su Chen wasn’t out yet?

Having personally suppressed Su Chen, he naturally knew where the boy’s limits lay. It was impossible for Su Chen to last longer than him.

He completely ignored his own physical condition and hastily rushed outside. Looking up, he saw that there weren’t many virtual screens left in the sky.

And on one of those screens was Su Chen.

His vision darkened. He had bet his entire net worth on himself—not just his previous winnings, but all of his savings as well.

To be conservative, he had only bet on himself making the top twenty at one to one point five odds. Even if he won, it would just be a small profit, but he never expected to fail so miserably.

"I’m ruined," he muttered. "Now, I don’t know how many years I’ll have to slave away for the company."

In yet another challenge room.

"Freeze!"

Shen Yi’an’s face was deathly pale, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He completely lacked his usual calm and collected demeanor. Pressing two fingers together, his fingertips trembling slightly, he forcibly gathered the remaining Spiritual Power around his body.

In an instant, pale golden runes moved as if plucked by an invisible hand. They surged up his arm, transforming into a condensed pillar of light that shot straight toward the figure wreathed in starlight before him.

The moment the pillar of light touched the opponent’s hem, a crisp CRACK rang out. It was smashed into countless fine specks of light by a miniature star.

A metallic sweetness welled up in his throat. Gritting his teeth, golden light erupted around him once more. A second binding rune formed, transforming into an intricate, dense net of light that swept over his opponent, covering the entire sky.

This time, the nets of light intertwined and collided, unleashing a series of muffled, thunderous booms. Even the space around them warped and trembled slightly.

Yet, the attack merely exploded around the King’s Shadow, shattering into a sky full of sparks.

The King’s Shadow raised his hand and casually brushed it aside. The battered shield surrounding Shen Yi’an was torn open and smashed apart like papier-mâché, its fragments scattering in all directions.

"Ugh!" Shen Yi’an grunted. It felt as though his chest had been violently struck by a heavy hammer, his internal organs squeezed into a mangled ball.

He was sent flying backward. Feeling utterly helpless, he could only shout, "I yield!"

Exhaling sharply, the moment he pushed the door open and stepped out of the challenge room, Shen Yi’an pulled out several tubes of Recovery Potion and drank them down. He waited until his body had recovered slightly before staggering toward the exit.

After a few steps, he paused and coughed up a mist of blood. Taking a moment to adjust, his footing became much steadier, and only then did he step outside the tower.

He thought, "I wonder if the time I lasted is considered long or short."

In this tournament format, before the final rankings were confirmed, it was like opening a mystery box. There were too many uncertain variables. Even someone like him felt a bit apprehensive.

Before he even fully emerged, he saw that a large crowd had already gathered outside. They were all participants who had been defeated. Every one of them was looking up, their expressions a mix of bewilderment and shock.

"As expected, there are still people fighting inside. It’s probably Han Xingliu and a few others," Shen Yi’an sighed. He knew his chances of seizing first place weren’t very high—probably only around thirty or forty percent. If it had been a direct head-to-head combat tournament, his odds might have actually been higher.

Stepping outside to look, he saw five virtual screens remaining overhead. Because there were only five left, the broadcast feeds had been enlarged considerably.

Han Xingliu, Sheng Huaixu, Luo Yao, and Xiao Linfeng. Sweeping his gaze over them, he wasn’t surprised to see any of these names.

Han Xingliu was right at the absolute age limit, meaning he had five or six more years of accumulation than Shen Yi’an. With the Royal Court never lacking in resources, five years was more than enough to widen the gap tremendously.

Luo Yao and Sheng Huaixu were both Divine Dawn Level Star Seeds. Despite being the same age as him, their profession development progress was higher, and they had one or two more inaugurated professions than he did.