Gao Wu: If this BOSS isn't nerfed, is it even playable?

Chapter 56 School-wide Competition
Lin Ye suppressed the joy in his heart.

Something is not right.

He forced himself to calm down, and a new question arose in his mind: If the blue crystal descended when the abyss descended, then why had he never seen a trace of it in the city area?

If this thing is truly a divinely bestowed treasure for cultivation, why can't even a trace of powder be found in major urban areas with human activity?
It's impossible for the authorities not to have discovered such a strategic resource.

unless……

They discovered it and proactively cleaned up, blocked, and covered it up.

So this effect of helping people cultivate themselves might come at a price.

Lin Ye was not a reckless man blinded by power.

The greater the opportunity, the more terrifying the risks often lie hidden behind it.

Before figuring out the true nature of these blue crystals, he dared not place his entire cultivation path on them.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Ye did not continue cultivating.

He took one last deep look at the area radiating an eerie blue light, then turned and resolutely disappeared into the darkness outside the factory.

You have to eat your food one bite at a time.

The road must be walked one step at a time.

He'd rather keep killing monsters.

We'll just have to find a way to look up the information later.

……

Five days slipped by quietly, like a tightly wound string.

Good news kept coming over these five days.

First, let's talk about the father's situation.

With the full support of the military and the hospital, my father has basically recovered, and his right leg has been temporarily fitted with a prosthetic limb.

These past few days, he even took the initiative to video call home, and his father's complexion and smile returned.

When Li Wan, the mother, heard the news, some of the gloom in her heart was dispelled.

Although my father is not able to return from the front lines for the time being.

But everything is moving in a positive direction.

The heaviest gloom in this home has temporarily dissipated, and a ray of sunshine has temporarily pierced through.

Secondly, there is Lin Ye's own cultivation.

His marksmanship improved by leaps and bounds, and under Chen Meng's personal guidance, he soon broke through to the realm of perfect harmony.

But he still didn't meet Chen Meng's requirements; in Chen Meng's words, he was still only a "jack of all trades, master of none."

He has only just reached the threshold; using a gun at this stage would actually weaken his combat power, far less effective than his staff technique, which has already reached the realm of "killing and slaughtering."

Therefore, Lin Ye is still using a staff as his weapon.

Finally, there's the mystery surrounding the abandoned city.

In those five days, he thoroughly understood the ecosystem of the third ring.

The closer you get to the core area, the more concentrated the free energy in the air becomes.

Even during certain specific periods, a brief "energy tide" phenomenon may occur.

In those few short minutes, Lin Ye could feel waves of energy pulses.

It spread out from the core area of ​​the abandoned city.

Lin Ye guessed that there must be a large and numerous blue crystal gathering place in the core area of ​​this abandoned city, which was larger than the chemical plant.

The concentration of source energy within the Third Ring would increase several times over. Lin Ye personally witnessed many mutated beasts within the Third Ring undergoing changes in these waves of source energy.

Those who couldn't withstand it died instantly from their bodies exploding.

Those who can withstand it will see their strength rise to a new level.

It was precisely because of this that he discovered that special individuals of the mutated beasts within the third ring began to appear frequently.

Just last night, he encountered a Level 11 mutated mantis.

The monster was incredibly fast; its two forelimb blades were like high-speed cutting machines, even capable of slicing deep gashes into his alloy staff.

What's most terrifying is that it also has the ability to mimic, allowing it to blend perfectly into its environment.

Lin Ye fought it for more than half an hour, using the [Disengage and Recover Health] ability to kite it multiple times before finally seizing an opportunity to deliver a [Charged Strike] that severely injured it, ultimately securing a hard-fought victory.

These special variants cannot be simply measured by grades.

Their combat strength and intelligence are far superior to those of ordinary mutated beasts.

Of course, risks and rewards go hand in hand.

He gains far more experience points from killing these evolved mutated beasts than from other mutated beasts of the same level.

As a result, Lin Ye gained more and more practical experience.

……

As your level increases, the experience points required to level up also increase.

Five days of non-stop cultivation and leveling up only allowed Lin Ye to reach LV12.

Lin Ye opened his personal panel:
[Host: Lin Ye]

Race: Goblin (Warrior)

[Level: LV12 (1024/6400)]

[HP: 2119/2119]

[Energy: 391/391]

Stamina: 720/720

[BOSS Mechanics: Out-of-Combat Healing (White), Soul Forge (Green), Crushing Blow (Green)]

[Current stage: P1, other stages are not yet unlocked]

【Strength: 59.7】

[Agility: 58.2]

[Endurance: 71.3]

【Spirit: 49.5】

[Free attribute points: 0]

Skill Points: 0

[Skills: Normal Attack (LV6), Thick Skin (LV5), Staff Stance (LV6), Charged Strike (LV5)]

【Charged Strike (LV5): Unleashes a devastating blow by channeling all your strength. The charge time can be up to 2 seconds, dealing 150% damage.】

He invested all the skill points he had recently acquired into [Charged Strike].

He discovered that after upgrading this skill, although the damage multiplier remained the same, the charging time decreased with each upgrade.

From the initial 3 seconds to 2 seconds at LV5.

In that brief one second, on the ever-changing battlefield, lies the difference between life and death!

This kind of functional enhancement is far more valuable than a simple increase in numerical value, and it also makes the application of this powerful skill more flexible in actual combat.

This is definitely a more valuable form of growth than simply increasing numbers!

Lin Ye walked into the school gate.

I went upstairs and returned to the classroom of Class 7, Grade 12, which I hadn't seen for a long time.

The classroom was bustling with noise.

Before their homeroom teacher, Chen Meng, arrived, these underachieving students naturally wouldn't choose to study on their own.

The girls gossiped about which class's student had confessed their feelings to whom.

This was followed by a chorus of "Wow!"

The boys were discussing which new hero had been released in Throne of Heroes recently, and whether he was a Tier 1 or a bottom-tier hero.

Then they argued endlessly about item builds and skill point allocation strategies.

Lin Ye felt somewhat out of place amidst the noisy crowd.

He missed this atmosphere.

Because he, too, was once a part of this clamor.

But despite the nostalgia, Lin Ye will never go back.

He had not forgotten his promise to Chen Meng.

Today was the day of the grand competition for all senior students. The classroom was buzzing with excitement, but when that burly figure appeared at the door, all the noise seemed to be instantly silenced by an invisible hand.

The entire Class 7 was instantly brought to a standstill.

No one dared to speak again.

Chen Meng has arrived.

The nickname "Tiger Chen" was no longer just an internal name for Class 7, but had spread throughout the entire senior year.

In front of this iron-fisted homeroom teacher, not a single student in Class 7 dared to misbehave.

Chen Meng's gaze, like a searchlight, slowly swept over everyone in the classroom, finally lingering for a second longer on Lin Ye in the corner.

"This morning, the entire senior class held a competition."

"Afternoon is a holiday."

Chen Meng's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

The quiet classroom was instantly ignited, with everyone cheering for the afternoon's holiday.

Whistles and table-banging echoed throughout the room.

However, the jubilation lasted for less than two seconds.

Chen Meng swept a cold glance over them, and the students, who had just been excitedly waving their arms, immediately fell silent as if doused with a bucket of ice water, and sat obediently.

"Look at your potential."

A disdainful sneer curled at the corner of Chen Meng's mouth.

All I can think about is that half-day off this afternoon.

"but."

He abruptly changed the subject, his voice rising abruptly.

“One of you has been looking forward to this stage for a long time.”

"He wants to use this stage to tell everyone that he has changed!"

Swish-!
Almost instinctively, all eyes in the class turned to Lin Ye.

Since Chen Meng brought Lin Ye into the practical training class of Class 1 and Class 2 a week ago, all sorts of rumors about Lin Ye have completely exploded on the campus intranet forum.

This week, the number of posts discussing Lin Ye even surpassed those discussing the school beauty and the top student in the grade.

Someone published the details of how Lin Ye single-handedly defeated five geniuses from Class One, including three rounds of seamless tag-team battles.

This post instantly ignited a frenzy among the entire senior year of high school.

Then, with countless people adding their own embellishments and artistic interpretations, the version of the rumor began to become increasingly outrageous.

"Have you heard? Lin Ye from Class 7 has unlimited stamina. He beat five geniuses without even breaking a sweat!"

"My friend from Class 2 said that guy is a monster! Just one look from him is enough to scare you to death!"

"The version I heard was even more exaggerated. It said that Lin Ye's actions were no longer a friendly spar, but a death trap. None of the five geniuses were unharmed; some had broken arms or legs, and they're still lying in the infirmary!"

Gradually, through these embellished legends, Lin Ye acquired an extremely domineering yet slightly terrifying nickname.

"Demon King!"
Although he is currently ranked only tenth in his grade.

But now, his image in the hearts of hundreds of students in the entire senior year is even more mysterious and terrifying than that of Jiang Feng, who is ranked first in the grade.

Even more remarkably, he gained a huge following.

Because the vast majority of students at Dongjiang No. 1 High School are ordinary people, they are more able to empathize with Lin Ye's background of rising from the bottom.

They are happy, even eager, to see a dark horse emerge and crush those so-called "geniuses" who are usually arrogant and haughty underfoot!
Lin Ye, on the other hand, gained a massive amount of negative emotional value thanks to this wave of strange legends sweeping the campus.

The jealousy, resentment, and bitterness from the geniuses, and the awe and fear from the ordinary students.

All of these turned into the most tangible rewards on his system panel.

He didn't even have to cause any trouble this week, and he easily completed the weekly task of "becoming infamous".

"Today, I don't expect you to have any amazing performances."

Chen Meng's voice rang out again.

His gaze swept across the entire class, carrying an unquestionable, commanding tone.

"but!"

"When Lin Ye comes on stage, the atmosphere has to get electric!"

"You are his mouthpieces!"

"Those who need to provoke, those who need to stir up trouble, those who need to hurl the most offensive insults, you'd better do it all properly!"

"Bring out all the energy you usually have to criticize me!"

"Give those arrogant brats in Class 1 and Class 2, and their cheerleaders, a little more intensity!"

"Can it be done?!"

Chen Meng practically shouted his last sentence.

"able!!!"

The whole class shouted at the top of their lungs, giving a deafening response.

The long-suppressed sense of class honor was completely ignited at this moment!

"Lin Ye is awesome! I guarantee I'll be the first to scream for you the moment you step on stage!"

"My brother Ye has to be the star! Our Class 7 can't lose when it comes to showing off!"

"Yezi, keep it up! Take down those stinking idiots who look down on us!"

On ordinary days, there are quite a few minor frictions and conflicts among the students in Class 7.

But when it comes to this kind of collective struggle against a common enemy, they are absolutely the most united and cohesive team in the entire grade!

Looking at the faces flushed with excitement and listening to the heartfelt words of encouragement, Lin Ye felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

He simply raised his right hand slowly, clenched his fist, and then extended one index finger.

1!

Everyone understood Lin Ye's purpose.

the first!

……

Soon, all the students in the senior year, hundreds of them, gathered in the large gymnasium that had been used for the last mock exam.

Although no students from other schools participated this time, the gymnasium was still packed with people, and the atmosphere was extremely enthusiastic.

On the podium, Principal Wang Zhengguo cleared his throat and gave a kind smile.

"Class, please be quiet. Before the competition begins, I'd like to say a few words..."

After half an hour.

Amidst the sparse and listless applause from the students below the stage, Principal Wang finally concluded his speech.

The school-wide competition has officially begun.

The rules for this competition are much simpler and more straightforward than those for the previous joint entrance examination.

It consists of two parts.

The first part is a test of martial arts foundation.

It's still the same three tests: punching power test, blood and qi index test, and life index test.

These are hard metrics used to assess each student's growth over the past period.

Then comes the highly anticipated, real highlight – the practical assessment!

The rules are extremely straightforward.

The top fifty students in the grade were divided into groups of ten.

For example, the first to tenth place is the first tier, the eleventh to twentieth place is the second tier, and so on.

Within each group, opponents are randomly selected for one-on-one battles.

The winner retains their original ranking.

The loser drops directly to the bottom of the group and faces a challenge from the winner of the next tier.

What gets people most excited is a rule that only top students can enjoy.

An endless battle of shifting positions!
For one day only, anyone ranked above 20 can challenge anyone on the leaderboard as many times as they want!

As long as you believe you are strong enough!
As long as you still have the strength to hold on!

You can challenge yourself all the way up until you reach the top of your grade!

(End of this chapter)