Chapter 224: The Terror of Twin Flexibility, Soaring Power, and the Crushing of Zhou Yinglin (4K)

Chapter 224: The Terror of Twin Flexibility, Soaring Power, and the Crushing of Zhou Yinglin (4K)



Following Xue Jing, his opponent was the next to be drawn.

Contestant number 2—Yin Mu Hu.

"Yin Mu?" Xue Jing was slightly taken aback.

What a coincidence.

He never expected his first opponent in the grand finals to be this little girl.

"Buzz—"

Xue Jing's phone vibrated with an incoming call, and he pulled it out to take a look.

As expected, it was Yin Mu Hu calling.

Answering the call, Xue Jing said, "Hey?"

Yin Mu Hu's youthful voice came through the receiver, "Brother Xue, did you see the draw?"

Xue Jing nodded, "Yep, I'm watching it now. I never thought our first match would be against each other."

Yin Mu Hu sighed, "My luck is really bad. I've just left the beginner's village and already encountered the final BOSS."

Xue Jing chuckled, "You're exaggerating."

"I'm not exaggerating, that's exactly what I think," Yin Mu Hu insisted.

"However... it's unbecoming of a martial artist to show cowardice before a battle. Since we're fated to cross paths, I will also give it my all."

"Brother Xue, you'd better be careful... I might just give you an unexpected surprise."

Xue Jing replied softly, "Mhm, I'm looking forward to it."

The two chatted for a while longer before Xue Jing hung up the phone.

The draw ceremony continued, and soon, all the results were out.

Among them, three individuals caught Xue Jing's attention.

One was Kaguya Suzuran, who had drawn the sixteenth spot, placing him in a different half of the bracket from Xue Jing.

The second was Zhou Yinglin, who had drawn the eighth position.

According to the rules of the elimination rounds in Maple City, they would have faced each other in the quarterfinals, but the rules had changed for the grand finals. After the quarterfinals, it would be a double-elimination format with a redraw.

Therefore, whether or not he would face Zhou Yinglin depended on the draw for the quarterfinals.

However, Xue Jing had no doubts about this. Zhou Yinglin's participation in the U19 tournament was odd and served no apparent purpose; it was almost certain that his goal was to cause trouble for Xue Jing. Given his opponent's identity, it was unlikely that something as trivial as a draw would hinder him.

Xue Jing estimated that he would likely face this man in the first or second round of the quarterfinals.

The third person who caught Xue Jing's attention was a contestant named Ji Huaiyu.

This person was a familiar face, a disciple of the Four Images Yin Shen style. During the elimination rounds in Maple City, before his first match, Xue Jing had a brief encounter with Ji Huaiyu.

Back then, Xue Jing had taught a lesson to some unruly Four Images dojo members who were pushing people around, and Ji Huaiyu had actually thanked him, leaving a rather deep impression on Xue Jing.

Aside from these three and Yin Mu Hu, Xue Jing didn't recognize any of the other contestants, or at least, he didn't pay any mind to them.

"Good. Since I'll only meet Zhou Yinglin in the quarterfinals... I might as well try something fun."

Xue Jing stroked his chin.

He had already decided to steal his opponent's martial arts style, the so-called 'First Peerless Skill in the World', the 'Flawless Gun'.

Since that was the case, he would be able to observe Zhou Yinglin's performance in the two matches before facing him... That should be enough for him.

With his [Observation·Truth] already at Lv8, as long as Zhou Yinglin displayed his gun techniques under his watchful eye, Xue Jing could imprint them firmly in his consciousness.

Then, through conscious simulation, he could dissect and analyze them in his consciousness space.

Moreover, with the 'Omni-Arms' effect of his [Arms Strike], his understanding of gun techniques had already reached a level comparable to his sword techniques. Mastering 'Flawless' within a few days was not an impossible task.

"Defeating Zhou Yinglin with Flawless... His expression would probably be quite amusing."

...

On the rooftop of the building, Xue Jing grew dragon horns on his head, his body coiled with silver-white dragon lightning. With his legs slightly bent, he practiced the 'Trembling Armor Technique', his body vibrating.

Currently, after several days of cultivation, his gravity endurance limit had increased again, reaching eighteen times the normal gravity.

Training the 'Trembling Armor Technique', a high-intensity physical exercise, under eighteen times the normal gravity was still an extremely challenging task, even for him. Sweat poured down his body like rain, forming a puddle that spread out from beneath his feet.

The Stop War base's building had excellent construction quality. Xue Jing weighed over 120 kilograms, which, under eighteen times the gravity, exceeded two tons. With only the soles of his feet touching the ground, the pressure was immense, and he still had to endure the impact of leaping and landing.

Yet, the floor of this building showed no signs of strain.

"Hu—"

After completing a full set of the Trembling Armor Technique, Xue Jing exhaled and channeled his energy, shaking his body to turn his sweat into mist.

The Yellow Granny Technique coursed through his body, his internal organs moving slowly like fetuses, akin to living beings, absorbing the nutrients within his body and gradually growing stronger.

Xue Jing picked up a transparent glass container from the table beside him, filled with a bright red liquid—a secret medicine he had prepared in advance to complement the Yellow Granny Technique.

He opened the lid and chugged the contents, uncaring of the slightly bitter taste. Wiping the corner of his mouth, he thought:

"My pure martial arts battle power should be sufficient for this tournament... But it's hard to guarantee an absolute victory. I need to find a way to strengthen myself further."

He always remembered what Meow Meow had said—battles between martial artists aren't solely about numbers, and higher stats don't always ensure victory. Countless cases throughout history have proven that the weak can overcome the strong.

Yesterday's battle with Ogasuzuru ended in a slight advantage for Xue Jing, but the gap in their raw strength wasn't significant. He couldn't overpower Ogasuzuru to the point of a crushing victory.

The same was true for Zhou Yinglin... This man's strength might even surpass that of Ogasuzuru.

Although Xue Jing was confident in his abilities... What if they suddenly unleashed their full potential during the match, entering a state of exceptional form and performing at 200% of their usual capacity? With only a 98% chance of victory, it would be akin to seeking death.

Xue Jing pondered this, then opened his panel, his eyes falling on the divine skill column, specifically the first skill.

【Twin Flexibility Lv.4】

This was the first divine skill he had activated, and its passive effect was still cooling down, needing another month before it could be used again.

The skill had served him well in the early days after obtaining his cheat, aiding him countless times in battle and providing a twofold increase in strength.

However, ever since Shadowflame reached Lv.4 and gained the ability to materialize, along with the acquisition of [Bond] and [Dragon Horns], his attention had shifted away from this once-beloved skill, leaving it neglected and underutilized.

This was partly because the primary active effects of Twin Flexibility—doubling his strength, speed, and defense—had already been activated.

The remaining active effects didn't seem as appealing compared to skills like Shadowflame, Bond, and Dragon Horns, which provided noticeable boosts with each upgrade.

But now, the situation was different.

The U19 tournament was a pure martial arts competition, and Ogasuzuru could only be truly convinced of Xue Jing's strength if he was defeated using purely martial arts techniques.

Consequently, skills like Shadowflame, Bond, and Dragon Horns, which produced flashy and conspicuous effects, couldn't be used...

But Twin Flexibility... Using it wouldn't reveal anything unusual.

What does it mean to be 'on'? Is it considered 'on' if it's only slightly activated?

A slight activation doesn't count as being fully 'on'.

However, since the main active effects that noticeably boost his strength have already been activated, what about the remaining ones?

Xue Jing's eyes scanned the panel, his gaze moving across the dozens and hundreds of remaining active effects.

Should he choose 'reaction speed'? ...This seemed like the option that would most obviously enhance his battle prowess.

However, due to the effect of [Aim], his reaction speed was already more than sufficient, and doubling it wouldn't bring about a qualitative change.

Even with faster reactions, it would be useless if his body couldn't keep up with the speed of his thoughts.

Perception, concentration...

Xue Jing's eyes passed over each option that seemed to offer a clear advantage in battle.

Finally, he settled on an option that didn't seem particularly eye-catching.

—Suppleness.

Suppleness refers to the range of motion of the human body's joints, as well as the elasticity and extensibility of tendons, ligaments, muscles, and skin—all the tissues involved in movement.

This didn't seem like an option that would noticeably enhance his battle prowess... Xue Jing already possessed more than enough suppleness, being able to perform any movement that humans were theoretically capable of.

But... this was Twin Flexibility.

The skill that defied logic and physics, ruthlessly doubling the capacity of his body, ignoring all constraints—Twin Flexibility.

Completely disregarding the laws of physics, what would twofold suppleness entail?

Xue Jing checked his current divine power reserve.

【Divine Power: 1193】

"Hmm... It only costs 800 points, so I'll raise it by one level."

Having accumulated a substantial amount of divine power recently, Xue Jing felt a sense of financial freedom, a spendthrift attitude that didn't fret over the cost of an 800-point skill. He made his decision without hesitation.

He selected [Twin Flexibility] on the panel and chose to activate the 'Suppleness' effect.

Xue Jing clicked on the page to upgrade.

【Twin Flexibility Lv.5 (393/1200)】

【Passive: Possess two lives. After death, you can freely choose the time of resurrection within seven days. Cooldown: Fifty days (Current cooldown: 19 days, 22 hours, 41 minutes, and 27 seconds)】

【Active: For each Lv1, specify one ability related to your physical body, and produce a twofold effect when used】

【Currently Activated: Physical Strength, Movement Speed, Physical Defense, Instinctive Intuition】

【Currently Available: ...】

"Oh? The passive effect is enhanced after the upgrade, directly reducing the cooldown by ten days. Not bad."

Xue Jing nodded and looked at the active effect selection.

Without hesitation, he directly selected a new active effect - Suppleness.

【Currently Activated: Physical Strength, Movement Speed, Physical Defense, Instinctive Intuition, Suppleness】

Xue Jing willed it, and immediately activated Twin Flexibility, instinctively operating the [Twin Suppleness].

He started by twisting his neck.

"Ka-ka—"

A few crisp bone cracks sounded, and he twisted his head a full 180 degrees, turning it all the way to his back.

This was not his limit; he could do this even without Twin Suppleness.

So, he continued twisting his neck.

"Ka-kaka—"

And then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Xue Jing's neck twisted a full 360 degrees... before returning to its normal position.

If not for the wrinkled skin on his neck, he would have looked like a completely normal person.

He twisted his neck back with a snap.

"Let's try this..."

Xue Jing clenched his right fist and swung it forward violently.

His arm stretched like rubber, easily doubling in length to nearly two meters, and struck a punching bag, sending it flying dozens of meters away.

"Unreasonable, all-encompassing double suppleness, skin, muscles, bones, meridians... everything can be stretched and extended. Good."

Xue Jing nodded, then lowered his head thoughtfully to look at his crotch.

"In that case, if it were to become engorged... never mind, it's more than enough as it is."

Xue Jing shook his head.

"Now then, on to the main event."

The reason he had upgraded Twin Flexibility and chosen double suppleness was to test if the following effect could be realized.

If it could... then he would be incredibly powerful.

Xue Jing inhaled deeply through his mouth and nose, rapidly drawing in a large amount of oxygen into his lungs.

The excessive intake created a visible airflow disturbance around him, forming a tangible wind pressure.

Oxygen continuously filled his lungs, soon reaching what would normally be his limit... But now, with Twin Suppleness activated, he didn't stop and continued inhaling.

As everyone knows, a martial artist's strength is strongly correlated with their lung capacity.

With double suppleness, Xue Jing's lung capacity had also doubled, allowing him to withstand twice the amount of oxygen.

At the same time, the enormous amount of oxygen being transmitted through his body placed a heavy burden on his internal organs, but due to Twin Suppleness, all his internal organs also had double the expansion capacity, easily withstanding the load.

Therefore...

Xue Jing could now exert twice the amount of power!

"Gu—"

Xue Jing's entire body suddenly swelled, increasing in size by a full circle, proportional to his original size.

His height increased from nearly 1.9 meters to around 2.2 meters.

Because the increase was proportional, he didn't look bulky at all, only exuding a sense of pressure due to his larger stature.

"Canglong Style—"

A spiral indentation appeared on his right arm, spinning as it spread, eventually covering his chest and legs.

"Whirlwind Thunder!"

He threw a straight punch, and a dragon's roar sounded as thunder exploded.

A storm was born at the tip of his fist.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

The violent airflow tornado, with a diameter of more than five meters, started from his fist and swept forward, engulfing everything in its path.

Tiles flew, and punching bags shattered... In the aftermath of the storm, the rooftop was left in disarray.

Looking at the power of this punch, Xue Jing clenched his palm in delight.

"As I thought, it's just as I imagined."

"Twin Suppleness has doubled my body's endurance and the power I can exert!"

"Who cares about Zhou Yinglin or Kaguya Suzuran? They're nothing but chickens and dogs! Is there anyone in this world who can stop me now? Who in this world can stand against me?!

...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end