Thriller Paradise

"Such confident words even before the match has even started…"

"Huh? What did the kid just say? Who does he think he is?"

"Where did he get that stool from? What is he going to do to Xu Huai Shang? This is weirdly aggravating, watching this…"

The audience before the main screen had started to get uneasy in their attitude. An atmosphere the reeked of 'Feng Bujue must die' started to spread through the crowd…

"Hahahahahahaha… that does sound like what Brother Feng would say." Seven Kills chuckled and commented through his laugh.

"Hmm… indeed, that is the man's style." Atobe concurred. "It does not matter to him who the competition is… because he has never taken anyone seriously as his opponent before."

"This is not conceit or arrogance, but rather, he is going for broke," Laughing Soul drew out her tone as he corrected them.

"Hmm, what do you mean by that?" Black White Gray asked with obvious curiosity.

Passing Rain, who stood next to her, answered. "It is because from the very beginning he knew that he would be hated by the audience."

Black White Gray gave it some more thought. "Oh… Now that you mention it… that is true… after all his opponent this time is the famous Xu Huai Shang."

Passing Rain added, "Furthermore, Bujue is the only non-celebrity player among the ten VIP players."

Laughing Soul added in detail, "Therefore, our guild leader understood before the game even started that, no matter how this match ends… From the moment he was transported into the battlefield, it was destined that he would earn the ire of the majority of the viewers."

"Yes… If he won, the horde of Xu Huai Shang's fans would definitely come up with some kind of protest," Long Aomin said with a frown on his face. "And if he lost, then the fact that he was made a VIP player would be questioned and interrogated by many players."

"So, either way, the man is screwed, isn't it…" Suddenly, a different voice piped up. The group turned to the source of the voice and saw that it was Xiao Tan who gave that last comment.

"Huh? Shouldn't you be in the middle of a battle?" Laughing Soul asked pointedly.

"It's already over." Xiao Tan's mouth widened into a grin. "And I won."

"What?" The group was rather surprised by this news. The match on the big screen before them had not even officially started, but Xiao Tan had already dealt with his opponent and had teleported out of the scenario already.

"Who was your opponent?" Seven Kills asked on the spot.

"The name was Sad Fruit." Xiao Tan answered. "I believe he hails from the guild Heaven and Earth."

"Oh… it's him." Seven Kills mumbled to himself. Looks like he had met this player in a match in the past. "He is quite a powerful and skilled player… but he only managed to last for several minutes?"

"You are putting too big of a praise on me. You would have cleaned him up faster than I would if you faced him in battle," Xiao Tan commented out of fairness.

"Hmm… You are probably right…" Seven Kills answered. Ever since his loss to Xiao Tan, his confidence was greatly affected, and his personality was more rounded and less sharp. Instead, he became more grounded and cautious.

"Dear viewers!" At that moment, the commentators' loud voice pulled the crowd's attention back to the screen again. "After Feng Bujue's verbal taunt, finally Xu Huai Shang has made the first move!" Pan Feng commented. "Her first move is already so flashy and aggressive! It is quite hard to catch up to her movements!"

Hwa Xiong added, "But it does not look like Feng Bujue is in much trouble. He is slowly retreating as he blocks the onslaught of attacks. He used that stool to practically block all the attacks from Xu Huai Shang!"

"You b*stard! Go to hell!"

"You have no right to even die under the hands of our dear Xu Huai Shang! The only thing you can do now is to kill yourself and give up your spot as an apology to our Shang Shang!"

"Humph! See I told you he was bluffing earlier! Our Shang Shang has the pervert so cornered that he has no chance to fight back at all! Go, Shang Shang!"

"Go, go, Shang Shang! Go, go, Shang Shang! We are cheering for you! Chop that pervert up into pieces! Go, go, Shang Shang! Go, go, Shang Shang!"

The crowd was caught up in another ruckus. Even though they knew their voices would not be heard by the two players in the middle of the match, they threw their heart and soul into the cheers… Looks like Brother Jue was truly an expert at attracting other people's resentment.

…

At the same time, inside the colosseum. The swords glinted like jewels in the night and people moved and slid away like shadows. One of them was moving with the grace of the dance. Armed with both swords, her moves fluttered like that of a fluttering butterfly, while the other… turned the stool over this way, and that way, his action brusque and simple.

Xu Huai Shang's sword style was fast, accurate, and vicious. The swords could sense the wielder's murderous intention, and the wielder could get affected by the swords' taste for blood. Every skill was like the howling of a great tiger, pushing the opponent back further and further.

Feng Bujue though, was armed with a stool that was weirdly sturdy… It was slow, blunt, and stable. The wielder was not hurried, not agitated, and held his defense as best as he could. He used actions that appeared very simple to neutralize his opponent's attack little by little. Feng Bujue never intended to attack, so his focus could be trained fully on neutralizing Xu Huai Shang's assault.

Moments later, after the initial anger in Xu Huai Shang washed away. She started to reassess the situation before her with a renewed mind's eye.

My continuous attacks are unable to find any opening that I can use… The calm and collected response that the man is using… It is as if he has battled me many times in the past before. No matter how difficult or sudden my sword stabs, slashes, or cuts are, he is able to make the perfect and correct blocking reaction…

Her expression shifted slightly.

From the looks of things so far… everything that he has said and done since the start of this match has its own meaning behind it. They have not only created pressure on my mind, they have worked to muddle up my mind. This man… is not as simple as he appears.

With that in mind, Xu Huai Shang faked an offense and then quickly slipped away into the defensive.

The continuous conflict that had lasted for several minutes was temporarily halted just like that.

As a professional player, Xu Huai Shang had naturally studied the video recording of the match between Zen Dream and Long Aomin before so she knew very well the hole that she would have walked into if she kept on attacking without successfully breaking through her opponent's defense. The only thing she would end up doing was wearing herself out. The author did not mean to be sexist toward the female population, but even though Xu Huai Shang was a female, she rarely succumbed to her emotions. She would not be dragged into the other's taunt simply due to raging hormones or blind confidence. In terms of this player acumen, Xu Huai Shang was much better than other male professional players.

Oh? Feng Bujue also thought to himself. The girl is much more astute than I gave her credit for…

He revealed a subconsciously smile. Thankfully my zero-time simulation has almost reached its mature completion rate already.

Seeing the prideful smile on Brother Jue's face, Xu Huai Shang responded with a smile of her own… but hers was dripping with chills. Her fans might be over the moon at the glimpse of their goddess' smile, but Feng Bujue only sensed a dangerous presence behind this smile…

"If my guess is not wrong…" Xu Huai Shang opened her lips to say, "So far, you have retained at least 30 percent of your maximum ability that you have not used."

"Oh? Now why would you say that?" Feng Bujue was asking her back. If the girl was going to give him free information, he was not going to say no. Xu Huai Shang did not mind it. This time it was her turn to play mind tricks on him. "Because earlier, I was only using 50 percent of my overall power."

"Ha! What is there to gloat about for that?" Feng Bujue instantly responded with a laugh and a shrug. "You said I have kept at least 30 percent power unused. You are not wrong there, but… the actual percentage that I have kept unused is far greater than you can imagine." He paused. "If we are just comparing physical strength alone, actually, I have been using only 8 percent of what I am capable of."

"Humph… who does not know how to bluff?" Xu Huai Shang scoffed in reply. She naturally did not trust what Feng Bujue said, but this time… Brother Jue was actually telling the truth. Brother Jue was using half of his power to deal with Xu Huai Shang's attacks earlier, but he had not even activated his skill Body Enhancement Spell and Descent of the War Demon. So theoretically speaking, indeed the ceiling for his maximum power was far higher than predicted by Xu Huai Shang.

"You don't believe me?" Feng Bujue decided to put the stool away. "Then I shall show you my capability at 16 percent…"

…

"Oh! Feng Bujue has come out with yet another startling statement!" Hwa Xiong shouted into the microphone, probably trying to get the hype among the crowd going. "He dares to claim that in the previous heated back and forth, he was only using 8 percent of his total capability! Would you believe it?!" He paused for a second for that information to sink in. Then he turned to his partner. "Brother Pang, what do you think of that?"

Pan Feng answered. "Hmm… I believe he is just bluffing… Because if Feng Bujue was being honest, then he only needed to use 30 percent of his full capability and he would have easily won this match from Xu Huai Shang."

Overall, the majority of the audience also believed Brother Jue was talking nonsense and instantly everyone started to lampoon him again.

"This noob is really just reeling off the first thing that pops into his mind!"

"He is suffering from real Sophomore Syndrome!"

"Our great Shang Shang is going easy on you but give you an inch and you ask for a mile?!"

But… a small group of people held a different opinion.

"Hey… is he really that powerful?" Seven Kills turned around to ask Xiao Tan. Long Aomin, Atobe-sama, and Black White Gray all also turned toward him. They wanted to hear the confirmation from the actual members of Underworld Frontline.

Xiao Tan tapped his chin in contemplation before replying, "If we are just comparing data… I suppose you can say that Brother Jue is only telling the truth."

"No…" Passing Rain spoke then. Her face was as chill as water as she proclaimed in a very confident tone, "He is far stronger than he claims."

…

At the same time, inside the colosseum, Brother Jue had started his counterattack. He was not using any weapons. He merely used his bare fists to fight with Xu Huai Shang. His fist was quick like lightning but more than that, his movement was unpredictable like that of a ghost. Facing an enemy who was armed with two swords, he did not feel disadvantaged at all.

Tsk… he really did manage to summon up twice the power that he was using earlier… This time, Xu Huai Shang was using 90 percent of her power, and it was just barely enough to allow her to keep up with Brother Jue. During the battle between experts, they would not employ their final trump card so easily. That was something that was only usable at the most last and crucial moment or when they were faced with a sudden dangerous situation.

In other words, when one party was pushed to the stage of using all their power to fight their opponent, it would mean that the former was in very deep trouble. Xu Huai Shang was getting closer and closer to that stage. Even though she hated to admit it, but with the truth set before her eyes, she had to admit… Brother Jue was indeed more powerful than she was.

This is not good… Even if he was bluffing earlier and this is already the maximum of his physical strength and ability, I am already in a dangerous situation… Xu Huai Shang thought to herself. He is using his bare fist to fight me, who is armed with weapon… if the condition is made even, then I am afraid I will not be able to hold on much longer.

At this point, a trace of fear sneaked into her heart even though she had been trying to ignore it.

What if… he was not bluffing and this is only 16 percent of his overall capability, then… She hesitated for a second. No, that is impossible. I am a player in the top 20 combat stat ranking. It is impossible for the difference between us to be so big…

"You need to focus, Miss Xu." Feng Bujue's warning interrupted Xu Huai Shang's thoughts. Brother Jue still had the ease to warn his opponent in this intense battle and he sounded easy and light. There was no catch to his breathing… This undeniably brought another layer of mental pressure on his opponent.

"Humph… I do not need you to remind me!" Xu Huai Shang hissed coldly. Then she twisted her waist around and widened her arms in an arc. The short sword in her left hand swiped out dangerously.

Feng Bujue responded with absolute calm. With agility, he leaned his neck back and raised his wrist. Then he turned his palm forward. The man pulled back most of his right fingers and the pointing finger lunged out fast like a rapier toward Xu Huai Shang's shoulder. This kind of surprise attack and counterattack that took advantage of the breathing room after each of Xu Huai Shang's attack had depleted Xu Huai Shang's Life Points little by little many times. She had not met this kind of opponent before. He managed to make the deathliest attack at the hardest to find opening for her to deal with.

Seeing as her attack was being neutralized again, she could only turn on her heels and then twisted her waist around again. Then she let slip the sword that she was holding on her left hand, bent her arm into a V, and used her elbow to try to knock into Feng Bujue's right rib.

Seeing that the girl had fallen for his trick, Brother Jue knew that this was the time he had been waiting for. He took the attack head-on and ignored the drop of 7 percent Life Points and activated Southern Fist Flying Dragon Fist. And Xu Huai Shang was caught in a pickle because she had no chance or space for her to avoid this incoming attack…

However, as a professional player, naturally, she had something that was better than casuals. At this crucial moment, her instincts kicked in and she responded with a skill of her own.

———

Name: Northern Sparrow Cross

Skill Card Property: Active, Permanent

Skill type: Fighting

Effect: Use a sharp blade to unleash a cross-shaped ice slash once (The cooldown timer is 12 minutes and can only be used when the user is wielding a bladed weapon)

Exhaust: 400 Stamina Points

Learning Requirement: Fighting C

Remark: A sword style created by a swordsman from the northern lands. The man was gifted with exceptional talent and when he reached a certain age, there was no competition over the land for him anymore. Therefore, he had too much time on his hand. He decided thus to devote his time to draft a book of exceptional sword style that would dominate the world. However, with each skill that he created, he would come up with another skill to neutralize it the next day. In the end, even though he came up with many different skills and skills, he ended up abandoning all of them because none of them were powerful enough to dominate the world. In the end, he was caught in this loop that he created around himself and died a sorry and unknown death.

———

This kind of professional gamer's instinct helped Xu Huai Shang to lower the damage that would be dealt to her to the lowest. Northern Sparrow Cross not only greatly lowered the damage of Flying Dragon Fist, it successfully inflicted the freezing effect on Feng Bujue's arms. So, in this cross of arms, it was hard to say for sure who came off the victorious party…

The glow of the skill disappeared, and the fighting stopped. Two figures darted away from each other and moved to a safe distance. They stabilized themselves and adjusted their condition…

This whole section took a whole lot of time to write… But in reality, the two skills that Feng Bujue and Xu Huai Shang used to counter each other only took up less than several seconds.

…

Currently, at the market, it was so quiet that cricket could be heard. Even the two commentators took quite a bit of time to collect themselves before they continued with their job.

"Erm… Hmm… Both parties have used their skills and faced each other head-on!" Hwa Xiong concluded, "But… who has the upper hand at the current moment, it is really hard to say."

"From what we can see from the live feed, Feng Bujue's arms clearly have been inflicted with the freezing effect," Pan Feng said, "But with his ultimate, I believe Xu Huai Shang suffered quite a bit of injury as well."

"B*stard! Go to hell! Petition to get him killed!"

"How dare the pervert lay his hands on our dear Shang Shang! I have had it! Boys, we have to chop off the perv's hands!"

"Down with his hands! Down with his hands! Down with his hands!"

It did not take long for Xu Huai Shang's rabid fans to recover themselves and started cheering for their idol again, but this time… the overall cheer sounded weaker than before. This was because there were noticeably less normal players who were going along with their cheers.

The scene that they saw had explained many problems. Even players with average abilities were able to see something worthwhile from that brief contact… This kind of counterattack that was carried out at close distance combat, as unimpressive as it might appear, laid the difference between an average player and a professional player. Everyone had two pairs of hands and legs, but the latter was able to do many things that the former was unable to. Even though Xu Huai Shang's fans had deep resentment toward Brother Jue, with the truth laid before their eyes, they too had nothing to say.

The swiftness of Brother Jue's reaction and the strangeness of his physique was truly one of its kind. With the support from Soul's Eyes, he could come up with the simplest and most accurate response against attacks that might appear confusing and befuddled others. This kind of fighting style was unique and stood out from the others. The players who witnessed this match today had truly been given a great lesson.

"Is this really… 16 percent of what he is capable of?" Even Brother Long's forehead was covered in cold sweat. This time even Xiao Tan and Laughing Soul were hesitant to say anything in reply…

Of everyone there, only one person had the confidence and right to answer this question. Because she was the only person who had fought Feng Bujue at his optimum condition before.

"Yes, he is far more capable than what he is showing now." Passing Rain in her usual calm tone said lightly and airily. "Why don't you keep on watching…" Something crossed her eyes. "After all, Xu Huai Shang is also holding something back."

…

"Tsk! Phew…" After Xu Huai Shang found her breath, she stood up and took a deep breath. Her flushed face and the rising chest made a great scene on the big screen. That pink blush, cherry lips, and perky bounce of her chest, even girls would have a hard time pulling their eyes off her. Feng Bujue's eyes naturally fell on the girl's body but his gaze… was both simultaneously salacious and innocent. It made it impressively difficult to read his thought. Whether he was admiring the view before him or he was taking caution of the enemy. Perhaps only the man himself would be able to tell.

"Hmm… Hehehe…" Feng Bujue suddenly broke into a laugh. And as he did so, he stood up and started some warmup exercise. He raised his left arm upright into the sky, then crossed his chest to reach to the right as far as he could. At the same time, he raised his right arm and then twisted his body to the left-hand side. Then, he stretched his waist by twisting his waist to the right side. After finishing the whole sequence, he swapped for another arm, changed the direction, and repeated the whole sequence again.

"Are you ready?" Feng Bujue asked.

"Ready for what?" Xu Huai Shang asked back. "Ready for you to lead me in an aerobics class?"

"Hahahahaha…" Feng Bujue laughed. "I mean… after you ready for the 32 percent?"

With that said, Xu Huai Shang's expression loosened with fear and she thought to herself, He can go up even further? How is that possible…

The audience in the market had the same reaction. They were all mocking him. "This Feng Bujue is actually the Younger Toguro from Yu Yu Hakusho, isn't he…"

"The skill that you used in that moment earlier was not bad." As Feng Bujue commented, he started to do another series of stretching. It looked like those who would be done by primary school kids every morning during exercise. "Is that 'Harsh Ice Fresh Snapper Mountain' the unique ultimate of Seven Star Knives Li Wei?" Even his statement was hard to understand.

"From the skill name to the name of the weapon, you go it all wrong…" Xu Huai Shang lowered her head to look at the butterfly swords she was holding. "It's one thing to call your opponent's weapon a cooking knife… but what is the concept behind referring to yourself as a fresh snapper?"

…

At the market, Xu Huai Shang's rabid fan's minds had gone into short-circuit because they did not expect such mocking words to come out from their goddess' mouth… but the problem was no one could say she was wrong to say so.

Passing Rain sighed softly. "Looks like our leader has corrupted yet another youth with a previously healthy psyche and mind…"

"Hmm, hmm… This is such a sin…" Both Xiao Tan and Laughing Soul concurred at the same time.

…

"I believe 32 percent should be more than enough." Feng Bujue soon brought the issue back to the match. "You should be mentally prepared for it by now."

"I shall await to see you fulfill your promise…" Xu Huai Shang silently moved her eyes to an exhaustible skill in her skill tab because she sensed that this was the time to use it. The battle was drawing to a close…

"By the way, after this match is over, I will definitely be lambasted and harassed by your diehard fans, won't I?" Feng Bujue was not in a hurry to make his move. He continued to speak in a collected manner like he had already had the win in his bag. "They waited days and nights until finally, they could see their idol on the big screen. But on the first day, their idol is eliminated just like that. A candle snuffed out a bit too early for their taste…"

"You do know that the audience will be able to hear everything that you are saying at this moment," Xu Huai Shang reminded him.

"Of course, I do know that. Why do you think I am making this speech?" Feng Bujue continued as he lifted his head to the sky. "System, do you mind giving me a close-up?" He waited patiently for a few seconds and the system really did give him a special close-up…

"Dear viewers," Feng Bujue began with a maddened smile. The smallest twitch of emotion on his face was broadcasted on the big screen. "If my prediction is not wrong, at this moment, your idol still has one or two ultimates that she has not used. Other than that, I believe she still will be able to increase her power level by another 20 to 30 percent."

Everything that he said was true and that caused Xu Huai Shang's heart to skip a beat.

"But…" Feng Buju paused as he suddenly took out two grenades from his chest. He moved them to his lips and bit off the two safety pins at one go. "She only has 30 seconds left to show them! Hahaha… Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" He started to shake and laugh like a crazed man as a red glow rose to cover his entire body. Then the man shot out like a loosened arrow toward his target, Xu Huai Shang.