Thriller Paradise Chapter 168: The Protagonist's Advance (Thirteen) - Novel Cool

Chapter 168: The Protagonist's Advance (Thirteen)

Chapter 168: The Protagonist's Advance (Thirteen)

This tactic could be described in one word—cheap.

But undeniably, Feng Bu Jue's move was a "Perfect Calibration."

Copernicus and Galileo grasped Feng Bu Jue's plan within three seconds. Their minds aligned perfectly, and almost simultaneously, they began retreating while shouting at Order's trio, "Those without halos fall back with us first!"

Yongzhe Wudi and Ye Zhi hesitated, turning their gazes to Meng Jing Chan. As the leader of Order's three-man squad, he bore the responsibility to decide in this critical moment.

"Follow the two Gms and retreat farther", Meng Jing Chan remained composed. "Feng Bu Jue and I will hold our ground." Seeing his teammates about to protest, he quickly added, "No need for debate. Even if I die, Feng Bu Jue's halo won't disappear. It's insignificant."

By the time he finished, K3—standing over ten meters away—had sensed something. He had no intention of letting the exchange continue. Planting his foot, he surged forward like a storm.

In this world of Cherry Blossom Town, K3's strength couldn't be compared to his power in the Realm of the Dead combat. Yet his current speed and force were still astonishing, surpassing even the previous Gms' techniques in both speed and precision.

But unexpectedly, someone alone managed to halt him.

Meng Jing Chan—the man who'd squandered his game currency on smoking, drinking, and perming his hair, leaving him with only the Novice Default Attire besides his guild-mandated Mantle. In this split second, his eyes flashed a chilling, suffocating coldness.

His figure darted. His sword flicked. His wrist twisted with dexterity. A diagonal slash tore through the air.

Meng Jing Chan's move seemed hasty at first glance but was, in reality, flawless. He not only stopped K3's advance but also launched a strike at a grotesque angle, forcing K3's dominant right arm to raise and block the blade.

In terms of combat, the level of precision and ingenuity a player can achieve in split-second reactions defines the gap between true experts and ordinary players.

Of course, this distinction marked the divide between experts and commoners—not between experts themselves. If you stripped away external factors and luck, in a sport bound by rules, the final measure between top experts would always come down to innate talent.

"Oh? Interesting", K3 shifted his gaze to Meng Jing Chan's face. "Players can actually reach this level?" His words hadn't finished when another shift occurred. Two arms suddenly emerged from behind, wrapping under his armpits. The elbows bent upward, locking his shoulders in a powerful grip.

Feng Bu Jue, the one executing this "Kung Fu Dragon Subduing Pose", had already activated his [spirit sense body technique], allowing him to complete the move before K3 reacted. Feng Bu Jue didn't care about vitality loss now—death wasn't an option while under his halo. His only fear was that without this skill, his physical techniques alone wouldn't suppress K3.

"Run already! Are you trying to get yourselves killed?" Feng Bu Jue choked K3, then roared at the other four.

Yongzhe Wudi and Ye Zhi exchanged a glance before finally dashing away. Seeing them move at last, the two Gms quickly turned, sprinting ahead to lead their retreat.

"You two think this is fun?" K3 sneered. "Or are you trying to play the hero here?" His expression suddenly darkened. "Oh, wait—that’s wrong. Heroes die. You two just get teleported away." His tone dripped with disdain for the latter half.

"We just want to talk", Feng Bu Jue twisted his head toward Meng Jing Chan. "Right, Brother Chan?"

Meng Jing Chan finally realized it with hindsight. He keenly felt Feng Bu Jue's cunning…

Feng Bu Jue's plan, on the surface, was simple: gain the Protagonist's Grace, engage the Derivative Being from an unbeatable position, and assist the Gms in elimination work. But the plan had another benefit—separating the other teammates to isolate this kid and the Derivative Being. Without the Gms around, he could try negotiating first. If talks failed, fighting could wait. With the halo protecting him, he was unconcerned.

Meng Jing Chan wanted intelligence. For him, verbal exchanges were far better than fistfights. So he went along with Feng Bu Jue's lead. "That's right, Mr. Derivative Being. If you're willing to pause briefly and talk with us…"

But K3 cut off their duet, "Our relationship and positions are like the lobster in the restaurant's fish tank and the incoming customer. Is there really a need to say more?" His voice hardened, and suddenly—Boom!—a shocking force erupted around him. Not only did he break Feng Bu Jue's hold, but he also flung Meng Jing Chan's sword aside. "Do I have any obligation to answer your questions?"

Meng Jing Chan fared better, merely pushed back several steps by the martial arts-like energy. Feng Bu Jue, however, was clinging to K3's back when the attack hit. Torn free, he flew backward with immense force, crashing into a torii gate's pillar ten meters away.

Crack! Feng Bu Jue's body snapped the pillar—thick enough to require one person to encircle—instantly dropping his vitality value to 1%, which automatically canceled the [spirit sense body technique]. The torii gate, losing support, tilted and collapsed, heading straight for where Meng Jing Chan and K3 stood.

Moonlight was bright enough to illuminate the surroundings without artificial lighting. Meng Jing Chan clearly saw Feng Bu Jue dramatically spray ten points of blood and wear a painful expression—fainting would’ve been a mercy. With the damaged torii gate as a reference, K3’s combat power was truly despair-inducing.

A cold sweat broke across Meng Jing Chan’s forehead as he inwardly thought, If it weren’t for the Protagonist's Grace, this kid would’ve been instant-killed in one strike.

Of course, he had no time to worry about others—the collapsing torii gate was descending toward him. Meng Jing Chan leaped backward, keeping watch on K3’s movements, reaching a distance he deemed both attack-ready and defensive (or so he believed).

K3, however, remained nonchalant, watching the retreat. Facing the descending wooden arch above him, he made no move to dodge.

K3 probably wanted to show the two players a spectacle, deliberately choosing not to evade. Raising his right hand, he pressed his index finger against his thumb, then flicked it upward—

Boom—

A blast erupted directly overhead where K3 stood, expanding upward in a funnel-shaped explosion. The collapsing upper half of the torii gate disintegrated into countless fragments.

"This combat power… it's basically a normally sized Youroboros now…" Feng Bu Jue leaned against the broken pillar, supporting himself upright. A smile still lingered on his lips. "I’m getting more curious. How can this halo possibly keep me alive against such an enemy?"

K3 stood coldly, slowly turning his head toward Feng Bu Jue. "Hmm? You're not done yet?"

"Heh… I shouldn’t have spoken. I see you thought I died from that last blow." Feng Bu Jue replied.

K3 had indeed thought so. The reasoning was simple: as a Derivative Being, he observed players on a data level, roughly calculating their vitality value range. The move he’d used should’ve been enough to "Over" Feng Bu Jue. So after flicking him away, he hadn’t even glanced back. But this kid had instantly risen again to speak—like casting a full-map targeted ultimate at an enemy in the shadows of a minimap, expecting them to turn into gold, only to see them reappear seconds later at low health.

"Hmph… Actually, I’ve mastered the ultimate martial arts technique—the Indestructible Divine Skill from the martial arts world…" Feng Bu Jue prepared to mimic Duan Fei, the protagonist of Invincible Hero, with some bluffing to stabilize the situation.

But to his surprise, K3 ignored him entirely. Raising his right arm, K3 flicked his fingers, unleashing an air blade like a flying dagger at Feng Bu Jue.

Whirrr—

A sound like a laser sword slicing through air reached Feng Bu Jue's ears. Yet he felt only a breeze along his cheek—no injury at all.

"What…?" K3's face showed confusion. His logic module insisted the previous strike couldn’t have missed. Yet visual data clearly showed this player hadn’t made any rapid or sufficient evasive movements.

"What did you do?" K3 suddenly grew interested in Feng Bu Jue, positing theories. "Twisted space? Or interfered with my vision?"

Feng Bu Jue gave an absurd answer, "Brother simply tilted his head with style, dodging your snail-pace attack."

"Is that so?"

When K3 said "Is", he was still seven or eight meters from Feng Bu Jue. But by the time he uttered "that", he was already in front of Feng Bu Jue. "Speaking of which… the power and speed of your earlier attack actually exceeded the data limit. At least twice my projected strength. Seems you're quite extraordinary after all…"

"No kidding. I was using a skill earlier. Of course, it was more than twice!" Feng Bu Jue thought to himself, but outwardly adopted an enigmatic tone. "Ah… That was nothing. Judging a player’s combat power by data is meaningless. Our Earthlings train differently—we can hide our energy normally and release it fully only in battle."

"He’s shamelessly stealing Dragon Ball’s concept…" Meng Jing Chan was utterly stunned.

Seeing K3’s face showing seven parts confusion and three parts curiosity, Feng Bu Jue pressed on. "Don’t judge me by how I look now. I used to go wild—training like hell on a deserted island for years, climbing a flying-saucer-shaped tower hundreds of thousands of meters high via totems, drinking beverages that unleash human potential but might kill me, and saving Earth from aliens multiple times…"

"Hey… Not only did he steal my catchphrase, he’s now telling weird stories to an AI…" Meng Jing Chan, both amazed and instinctively reaching into his satchel, pulled out a beer and took a large swig to calm his nerves.

(End of Chapter)

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