Chapter Thirty-Six: Everyone Is Stunned! The Opportunity to Reap Rewards Has Arrived!

When he bent low to dodge, the robot’s massive palm crashed down with a resounding slap, landing squarely on Xu Lianyou’s back! At that blow, a sharp crack rang out—Xu Lianyou’s bones groaned under the force.

Staggering forward, Xu Lianyou tumbled headlong, landing in a most undignified heap. Furious, he spun around to glare at the man behind him.

That man was none other than Tu Honglie.

Tu Honglie said nothing. Wearing a mask, he seized the moment and, with a nimble leap, landed behind the robot. Then, with a swift motion, he pressed the switch atop the robot’s head.

“How can this be? Isn’t Lin Yi just an F-class talent? Didn’t they say he was a second-rate, B-class martial artist? How can he be so strong?”

“Damn it… Xu Lianyou, you fool, you made a bet with him—didn’t you know his true strength? That punch dented the robot’s alloy shell—he’s practically a master already!”

“I… I truly never imagined it. Turns out the strongest among us is this Lin Yi. An F-class talent, yet cultivated to this level by the expert behind him—just how powerful must that mentor be, what kind of nourishment must he have consumed… I almost wish I could drain Lin Yi’s blood dry, maybe then I’d become this strong!”

…

The crowd trembled, grinding their teeth in frustration. They all blamed Xu Lianyou for the current predicament.

Lin Yi was indeed formidable, but if they had joined forces earlier to stop him, who knows what might have happened? Now, Lin Yi was already in first place.

While their mouths grumbled, those who had managed to deal with their robot adversaries pressed on, resigned, while the rest could only keep searching for solutions.

In the surveillance room, An Miaoyi, Mu Yuqing, and the other members of the Paranormal Investigation Bureau were all gathered together.

Standing before them were three leaders.

One was the military officer who had accompanied An Miaoyi’s grandfather during the earlier request by the weasel spirit.

Alongside him stood An Miaoyi’s grandfather—the venerable An Yingxiong.

The third, who had just been whispering with Mu Yuqing, was well known among the Bureau as An Yingxiong’s rival, Master Mu.

At this moment, every face was marked with shock.

No one had expected Lin Yi to take the lead in the blink of an eye.

He had been winning since the starting line!

Fighting the intelligent robot was like child’s play for him; that metallic alloy, which would not even dent under the blows of an A-class expert unless their strength was extraordinary, was effortlessly crushed by Lin Yi!

An Miaoyi burst into laughter.

Her laughter echoed throughout the monitoring room, while Mu Yuqing’s expression turned icy, shooting her a fierce glare.

Just minutes ago, Mu Yuqing had been able to casually belittle Lin Yi’s F-class talent, but now she could say nothing. Lin Yi’s performance had surpassed her own; his strength exceeded hers—what did an F-class talent matter, when he possessed such power? Did she have any right to speak?

Yet, with a swift shift of her gaze, Mu Yuqing’s expression brightened.

“Heh… It seems our Paranormal Investigation Bureau has gained a formidable new champion. I’d like to recruit him into my team…”

Her words struck a nerve in An Miaoyi.

An Miaoyi’s brows drew together. “What are you saying? Lin Yi was my recommendation; of course he’ll join my team.”

“Your team, my team—let’s see which group can offer him the best terms, and let Lin Yi choose where he wishes to go. Grandfather, you must help me later.”

…

Before anything else, the contest for Lin Yi had already begun.

An Yingxiong glanced at Master Mu but said nothing, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen.

On the screen, Lin Yi was already charging ahead, reaching the fourth floor.

As soon as his feet touched the fourth floor, Lin Yi sensed a series of red dots from infrared beams targeting his body.

The broadcast began to play.

“Second stage test: Dodge rubber bullets. The entrance to the third stage, on the fifth floor, is at the center. Entering the entrance counts as passing. There’s no time limit, but if more than fifty bullets hit you, the attempt is invalid and you fail.”

Lin Yi pressed forward.

A rapid staccato of gunfire echoed as the light beams trained on Lin Yi’s body, revealing themselves as targeting lasers from all the guns.

As Lin Yi sped onward, all those guns began firing.

These bullets were specially crafted rubber rounds, almost identical in weight and force to real bullets. They wouldn’t cause wounds, but pain was inevitable.

Amidst the hail of bullets, Lin Yi’s body moved like a small boat drifting on the ocean, swaying with the wind.

The bullets alternated between dense and sparse clusters.

Time and again, Lin Yi managed to dash into the sparsest patches at precisely the right moments.

Even when those sparse bullets seemed about to strike him, Lin Yi slipped past them like a fish gliding through water, effortlessly dodging every shot.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Yi had reached the center of the fourth floor, where the guns fired from.

Just as he arrived, Xu Lianyou, Song Ziyang, and a handful of others finally caught up.

When they saw Lin Yi’s untouched body amidst the barrage of bullets, his agility reminiscent of an acrobat, they were utterly dumbfounded.

Xu Lianyou, refusing to accept defeat, charged out first.

Tu Honglie followed close behind.

Yet, halfway through, both had already been struck by at least a dozen bullets. And that was with weapons in hand, allowing them to block some shots.

It was then that Lin Yi realized why the Bureau staff who had guided them to the third floor had warned him—without a weapon, he’d be at a disadvantage.

Having a weapon was indeed advantageous in the second stage, as it could deflect bullets.

Shots hitting the weapon didn’t count as hits to the body.

But Lin Yi, empty-handed, still managed to clear the stage with ease.

Not a single bullet struck him!

Stunned, Xu Lianyou and Tu Honglie narrowly avoided being hit by even more bullets.

In the blink of an eye, while Tu Honglie and the others struggled to push forward, Lin Yi had already arrived at the fifth floor.

In the surveillance room, the middle-aged man who had earlier reported to An Miaoyi was speechless, his jaw nearly dropping.

He recalled Lin Yi’s confident gaze when they first spoke—no wonder Lin Yi hadn’t bothered carrying a weapon. He had the strength to back it up; no matter how many bullets there were, none could touch him.

“This Lin Yi… is simply too strong!”

A bitter smile appeared on one of the monitors.

Some had previously mocked Lin Yi’s suit, saying he looked like a job applicant, but now everyone understood—he had every right to act as he pleased, for he possessed such power.

By now, most believed Lin Yi had at least the strength of a first-rate A-class martial artist, if not more. There seemed to be no limit to his abilities.

Soon, silence fell; everyone was tense, eagerly awaiting Lin Yi’s next move.

Lin Yi had reached the fifth floor.

No sooner had he arrived than the broadcast sounded again.

The voice trembled with excitement.

The young man in the surveillance room, responsible for the broadcast, was utterly astonished.

Seeing Lin Yi arrive at the fifth floor, he immediately announced:

“Third stage test: Each of two rooms contains a water ghost or a fire ghost of equal grade, both A-class, but restricted to using illusions only. Please choose a room, pass through it, and you will clear the test.”

The third stage involved confronting ghosts.

The first two stages had been robots and bullet-dodging; now, it was exorcism.

Lin Yi’s eyes lit up with delight.

He had arrived! His chance to gain experience had come!

An A-class ghost’s illusion was no trivial matter; to see through it would require considerable time and effort.

If an ordinary martial artist came here—not to mention A-class ones, even masters would need time to break through. Second-rate B-class martial artists would take even longer.

But for Lin Yi, this was no real challenge!

Excited, Lin Yi resolved not to let this golden opportunity go to waste.

Knowing full well there were surely surveillance cameras recording everything, Lin Yi decided to put on a bit of a show.

Without hesitation, Lin Yi headed for the right-hand room.

Inside was a fire ghost.

The moment Lin Yi entered, he sensed a tremor from the mysterious space within him, as the Divine Severance Sutra vibrated.

And then… “clack, clack, clack, clack, clack—”

Turning the pages.

Finally, the Divine Severance Sutra settled on a particular page.

On it was depicted a hideous male fire ghost, his entire body festering and oozing pus, half his head burned away, an eyeball dangling by threads of blood, nearly melting—a truly repulsive sight.

“Fierce Fire Ghost. Eleven victims. Skilled in fire-breathing, fire-control, and illusion. Low-level ghost.”

Seeing this, Lin Yi was immensely pleased.

Upon entering the room, he first felt that the temperature was perfectly normal.

Then, suddenly, like a pot heating on a stove, the air began to crackle and pop, as if sizzling in oil, the temperature rising sharply.

Lin Yi’s gaze focused on a small box.

That box resembled the one An Miaoyi had used during her own test, the very box held by Xu Liuxiang.

Its lid was open, and a flame seemed to be rising from within.

Suddenly, a plume of black smoke appeared, flickering with sparks.

The ghost manifested.

Just as depicted in the Divine Severance Sutra, it was grotesque beyond measure.

The ghost, upon appearing, gurgled and muttered unintelligibly, all the while clawing at Lin Yi, trying to seize him.

Yet the small box restrained it, preventing its body from moving even a fraction further.

Enraged, it unleashed a torrent of flames from its body.

No longer muttering, it began repeating a single phrase:

“I’ll burn you, I’ll burn you…”

Countless flames surged forth, weaving into fiery nets that swept toward Lin Yi.

The broadcast had clearly stated: only by seeing through the illusion could one exit.

Thus, Lin Yi knew something was amiss.

He resolved to pierce the deception and unveil the truth.

Within him, his energy and power surged rapidly.

In a flash, the Great Void Sutra’s energy flooded forth.

All the fiery nets, the rising temperature, every illusion conjured within the room—under the golden radiance of the Great Void Sutra—vanished utterly.