Chapter 49: Chapter 42: Control Level
Outside the shelter door for Senior Class 1.
Yan Shan’s eyes, caked with blood, were fixed on the closed door before him.
He could feel three terrifying killing intents rapidly closing in from behind!
’There’s no time!’
This was his last hope!
"ARGH!!"
An inhuman roar erupted from his throat.
His survival instincts completely overrode the agony of his dying body.
He completely ignored the excruciating pain from his shattered left chest and severed right arm. He madly, recklessly dredged up every last bit of his remaining Qi and Blood, pouring it all into his one good fist!
SIZZLE!
Wisps of white steam even rose from his fist!
BOOM!!!
Infused with all the power Yan Shan could muster in his desperate, near-death state, the punch struck like an out-of-control battering ram, smashing viciously into the metal door of the Senior Class 1 shelter, right beside the lock!
The furious power instantly tore the lock’s mechanism apart!
"CLANG!!!"
The sturdy alloy door let out a groan of protest before it was thrown inward, slamming against the wall with a deafening crash!
Bathed in the blinding emergency lights, Yan Shan crashed into the shelter the very instant the door flew open. He was covered in blood, his face twisted and ferocious, like a demon straight out of Hell.
"All you bastards..."
Yan Shan roared, his bloodshot eyes instantly scanning for the nearest, most easily controlled target—
a girl, frozen in place and trembling with terror.
His hand, caked in blood and grime, shot out toward her like a talon!
However.
Before he could finish roaring his threat—"Don’t move!"—
In the hundredth-of-a-second gap—as the door was violently smashed open, as Yan Shan staggered inside, as his eyes locked onto the girl!
Lin Yi, who had been lying in wait in the shadowy blind spot behind the door, as still as a stone statue, finally moved!
Without a hint of warning, without a shred of hesitation!
The Qi and Blood in his body erupted like a volcano that had been suppressed to its absolute limit!
The immense power from achieving the Perfection stage in his rib Refinement and advancing to a First-Grade Martial Artist, the surging momentum from his 23.44 points of Qi and Blood—he channeled it all to its absolute peak!
"Die!"
A single, bone-chilling syllable escaped Lin Yi’s throat.
He became a blur, a black flash of lightning!
So fast that he left a faint afterimage in his wake.
He struck from the perfect blind spot in Yan Shan’s field of vision.
A devious angle, timed to absolute perfection!
His right fist was clenched, knuckles white from the explosive force. The gnarled muscles of his arm tightened and bulged like the cables of a steel winch!
His fist tore through the air with a sharp whistle!
He was using the very technique taught by the school, one he had practiced for two and a half years—Basic Collapsing Fist!
After all, he was number one in the entire school in this particular skill class.
He had long since reached the Micro Level!
His fists were like lightning, his power contained yet unleashed at will!
It aimed straight for Yan Shan’s right temple, completely undefended and exposed by his grievous injuries!
Timing, angle, and power—all fused together in a perfect strike!
In that instant, time seemed to freeze.
Inside the shelter, all the terrified gazes were fixed on the figure that had suddenly erupted into action.
Luo Qian’s eyes were as wide as saucers.
The girl he had targeted stood with her mouth agape, a scream caught in her throat.
As for Yan Shan, his eyes, filled with madness and despair, had just enough time to reflect Lin Yi’s—a pair of eyes so calm they were chilling, yet burning with a resolute fire.
THUD!!!
A sickening thud of bone and flesh echoed through the room!
Lin Yi’s perfectly timed punch, backed by his full power, struck like an armor-piercing shell, hammering viciously into Yan Shan’s undefended and completely exposed right temple!
A savage force penetrated his skull!
As if struck by a speeding truck, Yan Shan was sent flying by the immense force, crashing into the side wall like a cannonball!
CRASH!
The wall shook violently, and dust rained down.
But Yan Shan lived up to his reputation as a veteran Martial Artist.
He took Lin Yi’s punch straight to the temple, and he still wasn’t dead!
"GHKK... GHKK..."
Yan Shan struggled, shaking his head that felt like it was about to explode, and staggered back to his feet.
His blood-caked eyes were filled with shock and incredulous rage:
"You little bastard! The fucking nerve! You dare ambush me?! I see—you must be the prized genius from Yang City No. 1 High School!"
He instantly changed his target!
’Take this genius hostage!’
’The authorities will have their hands tied!’
’This is my only chance to turn the tables!’
Fighting back the dizziness and searing pain in his temple, he lunged at Lin Yi again like a wounded, rabid tiger!
His one good hand clawed straight for Lin Yi’s throat!
Lin Yi’s pupils contracted. His mind was reeling:
’The temple! A sneak attack! A full-power blow! And it didn’t kill him?!’
’This guy’s Life Force is absurdly tenacious!’
’He’s definitely not a First-Grade Martial Artist!’
’Second Grade?’
’Maybe even higher!’
The immense pressure from the difference in their cultivation levels bore down on him like a mountain, but Lin Yi’s eyes showed no sign of retreat.
He was trapped. There was nowhere to run!
He had no choice but to fight to the death!
"Hah!"
As Yan Shan charged again, Lin Yi let out a low cry. He instantly fell into the stance for Basic Collapsing Fist, his footwork nimble and his punches whistling through the air. Instead of retreating, he advanced, meeting the attack head-on!
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
The muffled sounds of fists and feet connecting echoed rapidly in the cramped shelter.
Even though Yan Shan’s cultivation level was far higher than Lin Yi’s.
But his left lung was shattered, making every breath feel like inhaling knives and fire. His right arm was severed at the shoulder, cutting his combat prowess by more than half.
More fatally, his reserves of Qi and Blood had been almost completely exhausted by his desperate flight and the violent effort of breaking down the door. He was a spent force, running on fumes.
Right now, he had the powerful physique and combat Experience of his high cultivation level, but his severe injuries made his movements sluggish and stiff. Worse, his Qi and Blood could not sustain him.
Lin Yi, on the other hand, was a different story. The Kidney-Water Spiritual Essence rapidly healed his wounds, while his Mosquito Avatar supplemented his Qi and Blood from the outside, keeping him in peak condition.
Moreover, under the immense pressure of this life-or-death battle, his potential was being furiously drawn out.
Every move of his Basic Collapsing Fist—every dodge, block, and counterattack—grew more fluid and harmonious. Insights flooded his mind like a tidal wave.
The mastery of his fist technique, which had long been at a bottleneck, began to shift and climb!
In Lin Yi’s eyes, Yan Shan’s furious yet unsustainable attacks had become the perfect whetstone!
’It’s close... this is the feeling!’ Lin Yi’s courage surged as he fought, his eyes growing brighter. A thought exploded in his mind like a thunderclap: ’Control Level! My Basic Collapsing Fist is about to break through to the Control Level!’
The four great realms of Martial Skills mastery:
Basic Level, Proficient Level, Micro Level, and Control Level!
The Micro Level was already a one-in-ten-thousand rarity, achievable only by those with extraordinary insight.
Among the nearly two thousand high school seniors in Yang City, only Lin Yi had achieved the Micro Level in any skill.
As for the Control Level, that was an even more distant, almost unreachable realm.
A level unattainable even by old masters who had immersed themselves in their art for decades, day in and day out, and achieved profound enlightenment.
It was the stage where a Martial Skill was truly integrated into one’s very flesh and bone, to be used at will, controlled by instinct—a level where skill bordered on the Dao itself!
Yet now, in the heat of a life-and-death struggle, Lin Yi had touched the gate leading to the hallowed hall of the Control Level!
He was so thrilled he could have shouted for joy.
His fists flew like the wind, his attacks a driving storm of blows.
He had completely drawn Yan Shan into his own tempo!
The roles of attacker and defender... had reversed!
The mad ferocity on Yan Shan’s face was finally replaced by genuine terror!
He felt trapped in an invisible net. His opponent’s movements became more erratic and unpredictable, the force behind them strange and unfathomable. Every clash sent his Qi and Blood into turmoil and made his old wounds scream in agony!
At this very moment!
Lin Yi was struck by a sudden moment of enlightenment!
All his insights into the Collapsing Fist technique merged into a perfect whole!
His fists followed his heart; his intent launched the strike!
An unprecedented sense of control flooded his entire being!
It was a natural culmination.
Basic Collapsing Fist—
had officially reached the Control Level!
WHOOSH!
The instant he broke through, the nature of Lin Yi’s fist changed!
He threw what looked like an ordinary straight punch, but the angle was impossibly devious, and its speed suddenly spiked!
It aimed straight for a vital point on Yan Shan’s neck, one he had exposed in his panicked attempt to block!
Yan Shan was terrified. He hastily brought his left hand back to defend, but it felt as if his opponent’s fist could see the future. It cleverly bypassed his defense and landed with unerring accuracy just below his vulnerable Adam’s apple!
CRACK!
A sickening crack of breaking bone!
"Ghh... glk..."
Yan Shan’s eyes bulged, the bloodshot orbs filled with excruciating pain and unbelievable regret.
He clutched his throat in vain, trying to breathe, but only managed a wheezing sound like a leak, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose like a fountain!
His towering frame collapsed as if boneless, his limbs twitching violently as the light in his eyes rapidly dimmed.
In his last moments, his unfocused pupils locked onto Lin Yi’s young face, overflowing with endless regret—
’If I had known... If I had known I’d be undone so pathetically, dying in a place like this at the hands of some nameless student... I would’ve rather... I would’ve rather let those teachers outside kill me quickly...’
THUD.
The body went completely limp.
Lin Yi took a long, deep breath and slowly retracted his fist.
He looked at his slightly trembling hands, the feeling of shattering a throat bone and the enemy’s hot blood still lingering on his fingertips.
’A dead man?’
’I’ve seen plenty of death, controlling my Mosquito Avatar to hunt.’
’But what I’m feeling right now... is more of a huge, indescribable excitement—’
’Control Level!’
’I actually broke through during a fight!’
’My Basic Collapsing Fist has reached the legendary Control Level!’
The entire shelter was dead silent.
You could hear a pin drop.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Lin Yi, a mixture of shock, confusion, and the raw disbelief of someone who has just survived a catastrophe.
That vicious madman, the one who broke in like a Demon God, the one even the teachers couldn’t take down... he was... he was actually... beaten to death... by Lin Yi... with his bare fists?!
GULP... GULP...
In the dead silence, the only sound was a series of loud gulps.
Luo Qian’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg. His eyes were bulging as he stared at Lin Yi’s straight back, his mind a complete blank.
’Is... is this the same fucking Lin Yi I know? The guy I shoot the shit and joke around with?’
In a corner, Liu Yang shuddered violently, a chill shooting from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.
He instinctively shrank back, wishing he could bury himself in the crowd and erase his own existence.
A cold tide of delayed fear washed over him.
’I’m so damn glad I made that choice back then.’
’Thank god I had the foresight to pay Lin Yi those three hundred thousand to buy my way out!’
’Lin Yi can beat a vicious Martial Artist like that to death with his bare hands?!’
’If I’d been stupid enough to stick it out and keep being his "sparring partner"...’
’What would’ve happened to me?!’
Liu Yang shuddered, not daring to let the thought finish!
Just then—
BANG!
The shelter door was smashed open once again!
Three figures burst in, their powerful Qi and Blood fluctuations radiating anxiety and rage!
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter