"What is this?!"
The scene that unfolded left everyone dumbfounded.
When they saw the clanging and crashing sounds from within the smoke, they initially thought the two were engaged in an intense close-quarters combat!
Who would have thought that once the smoke cleared, it was merely a one-sided beatdown...
Lin Ran, wielding dual swords, was completely unharmed, not even breaking a sweat.
Meanwhile, Vasili was already a bloody mess!
"This Lin Ran... actually managed to crush a berserker like Vasili with the clash of his dual blades?!"
"This is absolutely divine!"
Many of the other contestants, witnessing this, involuntarily stood up from their seats, deeply moved.
Their eyes were wide with astonishment, their faces tense, clearly finding it hard to accept.
This was especially true for those who considered Lin Ran their biggest threat.
For instance, the Shimada brothers, who had been quietly biding their time, and Adam Hammer, who always regarded everyone with arrogant disdain.
Gen clenched his fists so hard his knuckles audibly cracked:
"Brother! This..."
"Lin Ran's strength, it seems..."
"Seems to have, once again... once again severely exceeded our estimations!"
Hanzō's old face was grim, and he remained silent.
Under normal circumstances, he would have immediately jumped out to scold his younger brother for disturbing their peace of mind, damaging their dao heart, and boosting the enemy's morale.
But the shock Lin Ran's performance had delivered was too immense for him to utter such words.
After gritting his teeth countless times, Hanzō finally managed to squeeze out:
"Stay calm... no matter what, there are two of us, we cooperate well, and we have the power of the divine dragon on our side."
"No matter how monstrous this Dragon Countryman Lin Ran is, the advantage is still ours!"
Hanzō spoke with great difficulty, his voice lacking the usual conviction.
As for Adam Hammer...
With his fully mechanized state, his expression couldn't be seen.
But the way he instantly stood up indicated he was considerably shaken.
Especially the way his eyes flickered with constantly changing colors looked quite comical.
"Acceptable!"
"In terms of raw power, he's up to par..."
"Finally, I've found someone worthy of being my opponent!"
Adam Hammer nodded almost imperceptibly and then returned to his seat.
Those around him glanced at Adam Hammer with surprise.
Good heavens, if they remembered correctly, this was probably the first time Adam Hammer had ever praised someone, and the first time he had shown such excitement.
Previously, no matter the situation, it was difficult to get the almost completely mechanized Adam Hammer, who had lost most of his human emotions, to utter a single positive word, let alone this.
Of course, besides these three, almost no other contestant was not inwardly shaken.
This was not just an acknowledgment of Lin Ran's strength, but also a sense of powerlessness and helplessness against his overwhelming pressure as an all-rounder.
Crushing Turing with summoning spells, beating Jin Taekwang with martial arts, and now piercing Vasili with dual-blade combat...
No matter who it was, it would be impossible to feel good when their strongest aspect was defeated by another.
Not to mention that these chosen ones were all individuals with high aspirations.
Seeing the tragic fates of these three, they couldn't help but wonder.
If they were to face Lin Ran, would they also be so easily broken?
Compared to others, if you were inferior to him in one aspect, you could always regain some confidence in your most proficient area.
But Lin Ran's existence was a bug!
Not only did he completely surpass them in other areas, but he could also ruthlessly crush them in their strongest aspects, which was truly infuriating.
This was akin to having a close friend in school who always skipped class with you to play games, stay up all night, eat and drink, and have fun.
Not only was he better than you at playing games, taller and more handsome, and crushed you in game skills, but he even excelled in his studies, leaving you, the slacker, far behind...
Truly, comparing oneself to others could lead to death!
...
Turning back to the arena.
After being relentlessly attacked and wounded by Lin Ran's continuous assaults, Vasili's condition was already quite poor.
Especially the wounds inflicted by the cursed swords, which contained a large amount of curse energy. Every second, it relentlessly eroded his body and consciousness, exacerbating his already unhealthy physique.
And after the Ice Fire Divine Phoenix had overdrawn its power to save Vasili, its spectral form had dimmed to a dangerous level.
It seemed Lin Ran needed only a gentle sword strike to shatter it completely.
The gap was indeed too vast!
However, even with the entire arena betting against him, Vasili still did not give up.
He slowly raised his dual blades, revealing a twisted, crazed grin.
Then, he abruptly reversed the direction of the blades, slashing them into his own left and right ribs with a swish-swish.
Gurgle!
Gurgle!
The spurting blood instantly dyed the ground within a five-meter radius red, and it continued to drip, gradually forming an indecipherable magic circle on the ground.
Some people in the stands were dumbfounded:
"What is he doing, has this guy gone mad?"
"Who knows, why is he stabbing himself..."
"Could it be that he was hit so hard by Lin Ran that he doesn't know who he is? And then he thought Lin Ran standing opposite him was his true self?"
"Uh... if you say he's furiously raging and unhappy because he can't hit anyone, so he stabbed himself twice, that sounds a bit more plausible..."
"Nonsense! Your imagined scenario is even less reliable!"
"Alright, alright, stop arguing, you bunch of ignorant bumpkins..."
"Vasili is a berserker, and among berserkers, he's the most bloodthirsty and ferocious dual-blade berserker! He also worships the Blood God of their Red Leaf country!"
"So he's now performing self-mutilation as a sacrifice to his Blood God, in order to gain the Blood God's blessing!"
"In this state, his combat power will temporarily surge dramatically, but it will also severely damage his foundation and flesh and blood..."
"If he stays in this state for too long, he could even die suddenly."
"So Vasili is truly disregarding everything and is going to fight Lin Ran to the death!"
"Is that so... speaking of which, it does have some similarities to the power-boosting secret technique Lin Ran used before, doesn't it?"
"Of course, the effect probably isn't as monstrous as that."
"Doesn't that mean Vasili is still completely outmatched in terms of power-boosting secret techniques?"
"That's too tragic, isn't it? He finally made up his mind to risk his life, only to still be unable to escape Lin Ran's shadow..."
"Can't be helped, that's what happens when you lack strength!"