How Do We Play If This Boss Isn't Nerfed?-Chapter 43: The Staff Falls Short

The moment Lin Ye said this.

The surrounding students all gasped in unison.

"That kid is finished!"

"Holy shit, he dared to make fun of our Xiong’s head? Does he have a death wish?!"

"Bro, you’re courting death!"

Bloodshot veins instantly erupted in Xiong Qihong’s already small eyes.

His pupils constricted to pinpricks, then rapidly dilated until the whites of his eyes were completely blood-red.

His massive body trembled violently with absolute rage.

Hoarse words grated from his throat.

"You..."

"Are..."

"So..."

"Dead!!!!"

Beneath his skin, dark, purplish veins bulged like writhing earthworms.

A roar that sounded less than human suddenly exploded from Xiong Qihong’s chest, turning into a visible sound wave that swept through the entire training hall!

A brutally violent aura erupted, soaring to the heavens!

Lin Ye clearly saw Xiong Qihong’s already over 2.2-meter frame seem to stretch even taller.

The contours of his muscles swelled once more, making him look like a demonic god straight out of hell.

To Lin Ye’s astonishment, the level indicator above Xiong Qihong’s head flickered without warning.

The [LV8] tag jumped straight to [LV9]!

’His level is higher than mine now!’

Lin Ye was shocked.

’Seriously, dude? You can level up in the middle of a fight?’

Below the ring, Chen Meng, who had maintained a calm expression until now, suddenly raised an eyebrow. He turned to Sun Qian beside him and spoke with keen interest.

"Martial Arts Spirituality?"

Hearing those words, a trace of pride flashed across Sun Qian’s face, as if he had regained some lost ground.

"That’s right!"

"Xiong Qihong is in our Class One, and he’s also the only genius among all the third-year students in Dongjiang First Middle School to have awakened Martial Arts Spirituality!"

"He was born with some developmental disabilities, but his constitution is extraordinary. He’s had a huge appetite since he was a child, with a digestive efficiency several times that of a normal person. By the age of eight, he was already a 1.6-meter-tall freak of sinewy muscle."

"His family also saw his top-tier talent, and from the age of eight, they gave him injections of Genetic Optimization Liquid almost every day without interruption."

"Then, in his second year of high school, he awakened the extremely rare Martial Arts Spirituality!"

"Although it’s only the lowest-level enhancement type, once provoked, his strength, Qi and Blood, and durability will all receive a terrifying boost in a short period of time!"

"He can’t even feel pain."

"I guess it’s true what they say: when God closes a door, he opens a window."

"Chen Meng, your student is strong, but he never, ever should have touched Xiong Qihong’s reverse scale!"

Chen Meng simply nodded at his words, his expression unchanging.

His gaze fell back upon Lin Ye in the ring.

’Kid, sooner or later you’re going to run into true geniuses who’ve awakened all sorts of bizarre abilities.’

’This Xiong Qihong will be a good lesson. A chance for you to see firsthand just how diverse the Martial Artists of this world can be.’

The now-frenzied Xiong Qihong violently pushed off with both legs.

BOOM!

A shallow crater blasted open on the solid surface of the ring. His massive body, radiating an unstoppable aura, charged straight for Lin Ye!

His speed wasn’t high, but the sight was absolutely terrifying.

He swung the two Mountain-opening Giant Axes in his hands into a deadly whirlwind, bringing them crashing down!

The blades hadn’t even reached him, but the shriek of displaced air was already sharp enough to make Lin Ye’s face sting!

Lin Ye didn’t try to block it head-on.

With a quick shift of his feet, he glided to the side like a phantom, narrowly avoiding the ferocious strike.

BOOM!

The two giant axes slammed into the spot where Lin Ye had just been standing. The entire ring trembled violently as two deep craters were gouged into the hard composite flooring!

’Such ridiculous power!’

Slightly startled, Lin Ye didn’t hesitate. Seizing the opening in his opponent’s attack, his wooden staff shot out like a striking viper, jabbing like lightning at the area just below Xiong Qihong’s ribs.

THUD!

The impact was a dull thud.

The staff struck true.

However, Lin Ye’s expression changed slightly.

He felt as though his staff hadn’t struck flesh and blood, but rather a steel plate wrapped in thick leather!

But Xiong Qihong didn’t even sway. He turned his head, his crimson eyes locking onto Lin Ye, his lips twisting into a cruel grin.

"Useless!"

He swung his arm, and a giant axe swept out, covering a radius of several meters!

Lin Ye’s pupils constricted as he retreated once more.

For the next several dozen seconds, Lin Ye continued to test his opponent.

He circled Xiong Qihong at high speed, his staff striking from all sorts of difficult angles, aiming for vital points like joints, the neck, and the spot over his heart.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The dull thuds were incessant.

But it was useless!

Or rather, the effect was minimal.

Lin Ye’s attacks failed to slow Xiong Qihong’s movements in the slightest.

After one more dodge, Lin Ye created a gap of over ten meters between them. Panting, he had already reached a conclusion.

’This guy is completely lopsided in his abilities.’

’His strength is ridiculous.’

’His defense is even more so, to the point of being absurd.’

’My previous attacks... forget injuring him, I doubt he even felt any pain.’

’I’m afraid only [Heavy Staff Style] has any chance of dealing real damage to him.’

’But his weaknesses are just as obvious.’

’He’s almost completely sacrificed speed and agility.’

’It’s not that his axe swings are slow—quite the opposite, actually. Each strike is lightning-fast and immensely powerful.’

’But his movement relies entirely on primitive bursts of power. He has no footwork or Body Technique to speak of.’

’He just uses his massive size and the reach of his weapons, relying on his terrifying attack range to make up for his fatal lack of mobility.’

For a moment, the fight in the ring devolved into a strange war of attrition.

A massive iron tower of a man brandished his giant axes wildly in the center of the ring, each earth-shaking strike kicking up fierce gales.

Meanwhile, a black-clad figure moved like a lone boat on a stormy sea, weaving along the edge of the whirlwind of axe-shadows, dodging and searching for the faintest glimmer of an opportunity.

The scene looked incredibly perilous, but any sharp-eyed observer on the sidelines could tell that if this kept up, Lin Ye was bound to lose.

"This isn’t looking good. That kid from Class Seven is burning through his stamina."

"This is his third match, and he had that long entanglement with Zhao Jin before this. Even a man made of iron would be exhausted."

"The biggest issue is his weapon. He’s using a wooden staff!"

A few of the top students, who had been somewhat won over by Lin Ye’s earlier performance, began discussing the situation.

"For safety, the weapons used in practical combat are all unsharpened, or just made of wood."

"A weapon like a staff relies on blunt-force trauma, so it lacks lethal power. Against a monster like Xiong, that weakness is magnified immensely."

"If this drags on, one mistake is all it will take. If one of those axes so much as grazes him, the fight will be over."

They watched the figure in the ring, constantly dodging, his face growing paler and his breathing more ragged. In their minds, they had already accepted the inevitable outcome.

Chen Meng stood silently on the sidelines, arms crossed, his expression as placid as still water.

’Sparring on the virtual platform is still just virtual, after all.’

’Only by facing this motley crew of opponents in the flesh and realizing your own shortcomings can you truly grow.’

’The staff has its limits.’

’Lin Ye, how will you break this stalemate?’