Reality, Low-rent Apartment.
Lin Zhiran sat cross-legged on his narrow bed, dozens of empty potion bottles scattered around him.
Those were top-tier Vitality Potions worth three million Alliance Dollars.
If an experienced martial arts instructor saw this scene, they would be scared out of their wits. Ordinary people had to refine a single bottle carefully for half a day, fearing that their bodies couldn't handle the nourishment and would explode. Who drank dozens of bottles in one breath like water?
But Lin Zhiran dared.
Because inside his body, the SSS-Rank Talent [Heart of the Spear God] was running frantically like a precise centrifuge, instantly crushing and purifying all the violent medicinal power, then accurately transporting it to every muscle and every bone.
Crack! Crack!
Sounds like popping beans came from within his body.
This was "Blood Exchange"!
The original blood containing impurities was expelled, and the new blood was as heavy and powerful as mercury, making a roaring sound like a great river rushing through his veins.
Boom!
An invisible airwave spread out from Lin Zhiran as the center, causing the curtains to flap violently.
Lin Zhiran opened his eyes abruptly, and a gleam of light shot out like a tangible substance for an inch!
"Vitality... 1.9!"
He clenched his fist, feeling the terrifying power in his palm that was enough to crush steel.
Just 0.1 away from breaking through the 2.0 barrier and becoming a true "Formal Warrior"! And now, even without cultivating Inner Force, just this body transformed by both drugs and talent was enough to crush any Prospective Warrior.
"This feeling of being full of power... is wonderful."
The corner of Lin Zhiran's mouth curled up.
The foundation in reality had been laid solid. Next, it was time to go to the virtual world and harvest those prey who didn't know the meaning of death.
...
Ladder System, Custom Room [Seeking Defeat].
At this moment, the number of spectators in this room had skyrocketed to 100,000!
The reason was none other than the boundless arrogant room name:
[Anyone below S-Rank is welcome. Within three meters, killing you is like killing a chicken.]
This was practically pointing at the noses of all players in the server and cursing their mothers.
In the center of the room was a flat circular arena. Lin Zhiran (Cold Light), holding his iconic white-board long spear, stood quietly at the center.
At his feet lay a dozen corpses.
There were Berserkers wielding greatswords, Assassins with erratic movements, and even two pairs of duos with tacit cooperation.
Without exception, all had their throats sealed by one spear thrust.
And, the positions where the corpses fell were all... within three meters of Lin Zhiran!
"Too arrogant! Simply too arrogant!"
"Who the hell is this guy? Is he hacking? That 'Ghost Shadow' just now was a Silver Tier 1 Assassin, and he was poked out of stealth by one spear?"
"He says three meters, and it's three meters? I don't believe in this evil!"
Curses filled the spectator channel, but there were even more challengers who refused to believe it.
Just then, a golden light flashed.
A burly man wearing dark red heavy armor and holding two massive wheel axes appeared at the edge of the arena.
Seeing this ID, the whole venue boiled over.
"Holy shit! It's 'Blood Axe'?!" "God Blood Axe is here! He's a Gold Tier 3 powerhouse! And he's famous for his brute force style. It's said he once split an armored vehicle with one axe!" "Cold Light is going to capsize this time. Blood Axe specializes in close-quarters combat. This three-meter restricted zone is a joke to him!"
Blood Axe twisted his neck and stared fiercely at Lin Zhiran. "Kid, pretty wild, huh? Daring to set such rules? Today I'll let you know that there's always someone stronger!"
Lin Zhiran maintained his posture of standing with the spear, not even lifting his eyelids.
"Too much talk."
"Enter the circle if you want to fight, get lost if you don't."
"You're asking for death!"
Blood Axe was furious. As a dignified Gold Rank powerhouse, when had he ever suffered such insults?
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet exploded instantly. He rushed toward Lin Zhiran like a cannonball fired from a chamber, carrying an indomitable momentum. The two giant axes in his hands danced into a red storm, as if to shred everything in front of him into pieces!
Twenty meters! Ten meters! Five meters!
Blood Axe's speed was extremely fast, rushing in front of Lin Zhiran in the blink of an eye.
"Die!!!"
Blood Axe roared, raising both axes high, and chopped down ruthlessly at the top of Lin Zhiran's head!
Four meters... Three meters!
The instant Blood Axe stepped into that invisible boundary.
Lin Zhiran moved.
No, accurately speaking, the spear in his hand moved.
Because the speed was too fast, in the eyes of the onlookers, Lin Zhiran seemed not to have moved at all; only a thin black line suddenly appeared in the air.
[Spear Domain · Absolute Territory] — Triggered!
Attack Speed +300%!
Sure-Hit!
Blood Axe, who was originally menacing, suddenly felt his vision blur.
Immediately after, he saw the most terrifying scene of his life.
The originally ordinary long spear seemed to instantly turn into thousands of black venomous snakes, biting at him from all directions and every inconceivable angle simultaneously!
This was simply not a speed a human could thrust at!
This was... a miracle!
"No—!"
Blood Axe wanted to retract his axes to defend in horror, but his movements were as slow as slow motion in front of the sky-filled spear shadows.
Puff puff puff puff puff!
A dense series of sounds of flesh being penetrated rang out.
That wasn't one sound, but dozens of sounds overlapping together!
In that short instant, Lin Zhiran thrust thirty-six times!
Every spear thrust precisely avoided Blood Axe's heavy armor, piercing into the gaps of his armor joints, eye sockets, throat, wrists, knees...
All weaknesses were exposed in the [Absolute Territory].
All defenses were useless in front of [Absolute Armor Break].
Bang!
The sky-filled spear shadows vanished abruptly.
Lin Zhiran still maintained the posture of holding the spear with one hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, a drop of blood slowly dripping.
Opposite him, Blood Axe still maintained the posture of raising his axes to chop.
One second later.
Clatter!
The two giant axes in Blood Axe's hands broke into several pieces and fell to the ground. Immediately after, his body collapsed like soft mud with its bones removed, turning into a sky full of white light and exploding!
Insta-kill!
And it was a slaughter!
In the entire live stream room, 100,000 viewers were silent.
Even Ye Hongyu, who was watching through the big screen in her office, froze with her coffee cup in mid-air, her beautiful eyes full of shock.
"This... What spear technique is this?"
"The speed exploded in that instant reached at least fifty thrusts per second! And every thrust accurately hit a weakness..."
"How is this spearmanship? This is clearly... absolute control!"
Ye Hongyu took a deep breath, feeling her scalp go numb.
She originally thought Lin Zhiran was "Spear Intent Connection," with his talent lying in artistic conception.
But now it seemed that this "Cold Light" was walking a more extreme, more terrifying path—
That was an absolute restricted zone where even gods were forbidden to pass!
"Investigate! Find out who this 'Cold Light' is at all costs!"
Ye Hongyu stood up abruptly, her voice cracking with excitement. "If he is from our Jiangnan City, no matter how much money it costs, we must pull him into the Training Camp!"
...
Inside the Virtual Battlefield.
Lin Zhiran shook off the non-existent blood on the spear tip and looked up at the empty arena entrance.
Although that battle just now only lasted for an instant, the hot blood in his body was completely boiling.
This was the power of the SSS-Rank Stage 2!
Within these three meters, he was the King of Hell governing life and death!
"Next."
Lin Zhiran's voice was flat, but through the live stream room, it spread throughout the entire Ladder Network.
"Still the same sentence."
"Within three meters, Gods are forbidden."
Boom!
The live stream room exploded completely.
Countless gifts and bullet screens scrolled frantically. The name "Cold Light" became a nightmare in the hearts of all melee warriors overnight.
At this moment, Lin Zhiran didn't know how big a storm he had caused.
He only knew one thing.
Tonight, kill to his heart's content!