Lu Xiaoxiao vaguely remembered Lin Cheng mentioning that Jiang Lingxue was also a member of the Fruit Shop.
But why had she suddenly appeared here? Did Lin Cheng know? What was the relationship between him and Jiang Lingxue? She clearly recalled that day in the bar when Jiang Lingxue had invited Lin Cheng to sing together, but his refusal had come with an unmistakably cold gaze.
Fortunately, Jiang Lingxue’s next words quickly resolved her doubts.
“To keep anyone from Tian Yuan at S-rank or above from targeting him, I came to check on things.”
Lu Xiaoxiao nodded lightly. She wanted to ask more, but when she looked at Jiang Lingxue, the woman had already turned her face away. Her pitch-black eyes were indifferently cold, as if she cared about nothing at all.
Thus, Lu Xiaoxiao had no choice but to shift her attention back to the stage.
The lights over the arena were somewhat dim.
Perhaps because darkness stirred the primal bloodlust in beasts, Lin Cheng felt as though the figure standing before him wasn’t a person at all, but a savage animal with ferocious light gleaming in its eyes, hungering for flesh and blood.
The abilities of most physical-system ability users focused on enhancing the body, and when physical power reached its peak, the innate brutality encoded in one’s genes would instinctively surface. The moment the referee called for the match to begin, Lin Cheng held his breath slightly and shifted his stance to the side.
In Lu Xiaoxiao’s view, the energy flow within his body happened almost instantaneously. She had been diligently studying the method Lin Cheng had taught her during this time, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t achieve the effortless control he wielded, as natural as breathing.
Perfect energy control meant no waste whatsoever, with every ounce poured solely into the action at hand. So when his opponent swung a fist, Lin Cheng easily dodged. He made no superfluous movements, merely seizing the brief opening as his foe recoiled to land a smashing blow on the man’s cheek.
His opponent toppled straight backward. The referee counted to ten, but the man couldn’t rise. Lin Cheng claimed victory in this bout.
Throughout it all, his expression remained utterly serene, just as he had said earlier—he was only here to join the fun and cause a bit of trouble for them.
Ten seconds later, his opponent slowly climbed to his feet. His eyes had been blazing with ferocity before, but the instant he looked up and met Lin Cheng’s indifferent gaze, a chill crept up his neck. He averted his eyes and hurried off the stage.
The next opponent soon climbed up—a fellow A-rank ability user as well. This time, however, Lu Xiaoxiao clearly saw that the man’s overall energy rating was 180, considerably higher than her own.
She had thought this would give Lin Cheng more trouble, but once again, it took only ten seconds… His opponent crumpled to the ground, unable to rise. The man might have tried to push through the pain and stand, but when his blurry vision caught Lin Cheng’s indifferent eyes, an inexplicable fear sapped his strength.
In the monitoring room.
“That’s someone from the Fruit Shop?”
“Yes. According to the intel we’ve gathered, he’s Watermelon from the Fruit Shop—a physical-system ability user. His normal power is A-rank, but he can enter S-rank via Mimicry Abyss, at the cost of some lifespan.”
“Send Dali Xiaoli to test him.”
After consecutively knocking out seven opponents, an S-rank ability user stepped up to face Lin Cheng.
Newly minted S-rankers typically had energy around 500, but S-rank was a particularly nuanced tier. As long as energy stayed below 4,999, it qualified as S-rank. The line between S and SS was drawn by qualitative changes in energy and the wondrous evolution of one’s energy origin within. The physical-system ability user now facing Lin Cheng was clearly a fresh entrant at that level.
Lu Xiaoxiao’s hands clasped together. She instinctively glanced at Jiang Lingxue, but the woman’s eyes remained perfectly calm, devoid of joy or sorrow—like an exquisite porcelain doll. If not for the faint light reflecting in her gaze, Lu Xiaoxiao might have mistaken her for a statue.
This opponent had energy at 530—equivalent to four Lu Xiaoxiaos… Suddenly, she recalled how that guy always handled her so casually in their spars. So what now?
She looked into Lin Cheng’s eyes, but they were calm to an extreme degree, as if carved from the same mold as Jiang Lingxue’s at this moment.
“That’s… an S-rank,” Lu Xiaoxiao finally couldn’t help blurting out.
“So what?” Jiang Lingxue responded without so much as glancing her way.
“Isn’t it true that… using Mimicry Abyss costs him lifespan?”
“A few seconds burn a few minutes. What’s the problem?” Jiang Lingxue replied flatly, her tone carrying a hint of disdain and impatience.
Lu Xiaoxiao froze, nearly choking on her breath.
…How had she believed Lin Cheng’s nonsense before?
Black-red blood threads emerged on Lin Cheng’s body, swiftly enveloping him entirely. Soon, his arms transformed into curved blades like white crescent moons, glinting with sharp, icy light under the faint illumination. His opponent’s skin, meanwhile, took on a bronze hue—clearly some form of surface reinforcement. Both figures vanished from the arena in the same instant, leaving only afterimages. When the blurs sharpened, one man stood while the other lay fallen.
Lin Cheng looked down at him without a word.
The referee silently counted to ten. The opponent failed to rise, a bloody gash marring his chest and healing at a rapid pace. Soon, the man left the stage, only for another to leap up moments later—a man who looked similar in appearance but more mature.
This one’s overall energy rating was 780.
The referee called the start, and once more, two afterimages clashed. There was no hesitation, no dragging things out—no brutal, bone-crunching brawl as the crowd below might have imagined. One stood, one fell. Lin Cheng merely lowered his head and gave the man a single glance.
When Lu Xiaoxiao turned her gaze to Lin Cheng, she noticed his energy had reached 999. He released his transformation, standing quietly in wait for the next challenger.
Bets on Lin Cheng had circulated earlier, but now his odds were negligible. These two S-ranks who had taken the stage were Dali and Xiaoli from Tian Yuan. They had fought in this arena for years before advancing to S-rank and rising in Tian Yuan’s ranks, rarely clashing with others since. Yet now, they had been effortlessly defeated.
Who would be the next opponent?
No one approached the stage for several minutes. A server then wove through the spectators, murmuring something. The crowd began to disperse, until the entire hall held only Lu Xiaoxiao, Jiang Lingxue, Lin Cheng, and a handful of attendants.
Footsteps echoed from the darkness. What emerged was a boy who looked only fifteen or sixteen.
Behind the fifteen-year-old boy trailed seven or eight bare-chested musclebound brutes. Lu Xiaoxiao turned to look—their energy levels all exceeded 1,000. Lin Cheng descended from the stage unhurriedly, coming to a stop before the boy.
“You’re Watermelon?”
“Mm.” Lin Cheng nodded with a smile.
“What does Litchi mean by sending you?”
“A warning.”
“A warning?” The boy’s voice carried a playful disdain. “You seem to have the situation backwards.”
“Do I?” Lin Cheng’s expression remained calm as he quietly regarded the boy opposite him. Among this group, the boy boasted the highest energy rating: 5,200.
“Your ability is impressive,” the boy said slowly. “Care to consider working for Tian Yuan?”
Lin Cheng shook his head.
“What a pity.” The boy sighed with feigned regret, a trace of reluctance in his eyes. Then he turned away, adding coolly, “Kill him.”
Lu Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. But whether she looked at Lin Cheng or Jiang Lingxue, both wore the same serene expressions. It made her feel like a total outsider tonight, completely in the dark—no matter how worried or tense she got, they seemed utterly unconcerned.
The seven or eight ability users behind the boy advanced now, slowly closing in on Lin Cheng. Only then did Lu Xiaoxiao sense a shift in Jiang Lingxue.
Jiang Lingxue’s eyes turned a clear crimson.
A scarlet matching her hair. Her lips parted slightly, uttering two syllables. Moments later, those ability users who had been converging on Lin Cheng wheeled around, their own eyes now tinged with creeping crimson. Like beasts, they eyed the departing boy with predatory hunger. Then they all lunged at him.
“You…”
Rage exploded from the boy in that instant. His seemingly frail frame erupted with terrifying power. He seized one by one, hurling them into the walls. But the next underling pounced immediately after, and even those he had thrown soon crawled back up, advancing like controlled puppets to strike at him anew. The crimson in their eyes grew ever deeper.
Chaos erupted in the hall. Lin Cheng drifted lightly back to Lu Xiaoxiao’s side. Jiang Lingxue now occupied his previous seat, so he settled on Lu Xiaoxiao’s other side, watching the farce unfold before them.
Though seated right in the middle, Lu Xiaoxiao felt utterly isolated. Neither Lin Cheng nor Jiang Lingxue spoke a word, merely observing as the boy flung his minions one by one—only for them to rise again. Unless he shattered every bone in their bodies, rendering them unable to stand, they pressed on like manipulated puppets, fearless of death.
These were all S-rankers, yet they fought like toys. Perhaps that was the drawback of physical-system abilities. Ten minutes later, the boy had broken the legs of every last one, but they still dragged themselves across the floor. He whipped around, his eyes dark and sinister as he glared toward Lin Cheng—catching sight of Jiang Lingxue’s crimson gaze.
“Enough!” His furious roar echoed through the hall. Moments later, Jiang Lingxue’s response came, calm and laced with contempt.
“Kneel.”
