Death Train: SSS-level talent right from the start!

Chen Ye changed his tactics.

After being knocked back by Zheng Xiao's gun for the third time, he did not immediately press forward again, but instead used the momentum of his retreat to move half a step to the left.

He exerted force a second time the moment his right foot landed, and his whole body shot out along the ring floor.

After fighting for so long, he discovered his only advantage: in Extreme Shadow state, his speed was still higher than Zheng Xiao's.

Zheng Xiao reacted quickly, his black spear swiftly pressing down, the butt of the spear sweeping towards Chen Ye's spear shaft.

However, this strike was noticeably less powerful than before, because his center of gravity had just shifted from the head-on confrontation and he hadn't fully settled down yet, and his toes turned half a beat slower than normal.

Just as the tip of the Dragon Scale Halberd was about to be parried, it suddenly retracted, the shaft changing direction laterally to bypass Zheng Xiao's downward thrusting spear tail and continue to stab from another direction.

Zheng Xiao's protective dragon-shaped phantom reappeared.

The spear tip struck the surface of the dragon-shaped phantom with a dull thud.

Chen Ye changed direction again.

The gun barrel retracts half an inch, the thrust is changed to a sweep, and it slashes at the same position from another angle.

The blade of the Dragon Scale Halberd emitted a piercing hiss as it sliced ​​across the surface of the dragon-shaped phantom, yet it still failed to harm Zheng Xiao.

Zheng Xiao's brow twitched slightly.

He noticed the change. Chen Ye's attacks no longer aimed to clash head-on with his power, but instead bypassed his frontal defenses like a snake.

While those attacks, when viewed individually, were far less powerful than the burst damage of skills, their frequency far exceeded that of previous attacks.

Chen Ye was faster than he had expected. His figure spun repeatedly in the white light of the arena, each pause accompanied by a precise entry before immediately withdrawing.

"You can't break through my defenses unless you have an SS-rank skill."

Zheng Xiao's voice came from the middle of the arena. A black spear was held horizontally in front of him, once again blocking Chen Ye's spear tip that cut in from the right. Sparks flew when the spears collided.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Ye took three steps back, creating distance, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

A fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. Zheng Xiao was right; he really couldn't break through Zheng Xiao's skill defense.

"When your item status expires, that's your death sentence. Of course, you can also surrender and watch me kill your teammates one by one, whether they participated in the death gamble or not, they all have to die!"

As Zheng Xiao finished speaking, he pushed off the ground with his right foot, and the black spear, wrapped in blue and white arcs of electricity, tore through the air once again. Wherever the spear tip passed, the fine arcs of electricity exploded into a series of short sparks on the ground.

His attacks were noticeably faster and more powerful than before, each strike carrying a heavy and oppressive force.

Chen Ye's body was once again struck by Zheng Xiao's black spear. The spear, crackled with blue and white electric arcs, grazed the edge of the shield on his left side, completely tearing apart the already cracked Xuanwu shield.

The four pale blue light shields shattered into countless tiny specks of light at the same moment, scattering in all directions.

Chen Ye's body flew out like he'd been hit by a car, his back slamming heavily against the transparent barrier at the edge of the ring with a dull thud.

The barrier caved in for a moment the instant he hit it, then bounced him back to the ground, where he rolled twice on the dark gray stone bricks before coming to a stop.

"puff--!"

A mouthful of blood gushed from his throat and sprayed onto the stone floor in front of him. He tried to stand up, supporting himself with his arms, but the muscles in his right arm were trembling violently.

Zheng Xiao didn't give him any extra time to react. The black spear twirled in his hand, and blue and white arcs of electricity lit up the spear again.

The black spear tore through the air, accompanied by a sharp, piercing sound, and once again thrust towards Chen Ye.

The tip of the gun, crackling with electricity, trailed a straight arc of light across the ground, moving so fast that it gave Chen Ye almost no time to readjust his posture.

Chen Ye's right leg slammed off the ground, shattering the Xuanwu protective barrier. However, the Extreme Shadow state was not yet over, and the burst of power still lifted his body half a meter off the ground.

His body tilted sharply to the right, rolling away at an angle almost touching the ground.

The tip of the gun grazed his left shoulder, tearing the fabric of his coat and leaving a burning white mark on his shoulder skin.

The electric arc exploded into a small cluster of sparks the instant it passed over him, splashing onto his exposed skin and leaving a fine red mark.

"You can still hide?"

Zheng Xiao's voice came from ahead, carrying a hint of unsurprising coldness.

He swept his black spear horizontally, the shaft crackling with electricity, drawing an arc in the air as it chased after Chen Ye's tumbling figure.

Chen Ye's body was not yet fully steady, so he could only hold the Dragon Scale Halberd horizontally to his side to barely block the attack.

"clang--!"

The gun slammed into the other gun, and the immense force sent Chen Ye flying again.

His back slammed into the barrier at the edge of the ring again, this time with even greater force, causing the entire barrier to tremble violently upon impact.

A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of Chen Ye's mouth, dripping down his chin onto his collar and spreading into a small dark red stain.

Below the arena.

"Brother Ye can't hold on much longer, this can't go on."

As soon as Qin Zhaoyang finished speaking, he ran to the front of the arena's light screen. He wanted to go in because he had the seed of the tree-skin man inside him. He believed that as long as he stood in front of Chen Ye, the tree-skin man would come out.

But he couldn't get into the ring; the transparent light curtain at the edge of the ring had already separated it from the outside world.

He clenched his fists tightly, and through the semi-transparent barrier, he saw the bloodstains at the corner of Chen Ye's mouth and the torn hem of his clothes, and he saw him get up again every time he was knocked back.

Qin Zhaoyang pounded on the light screen and shouted into it, "Brother Ye, you still have two betting coins. You should concede this round. We outnumber him and can wear him down."

Zhao Hai also moved. He and Qin Zhaoyang stood side by side at the edge of the arena. He could only stand still, looking at the figure inside the barrier, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Yang Minghui was still seated. He adjusted his frameless glasses, turned his gaze from the ring to Gu Qinghuan, and asked, "The situation isn't looking good right now. How confident are you if you face Zheng Xiao?"

"I'm not confident. Even Chen Ye couldn't break through his defenses, so I can't either."

Gu Qinghuan didn't look at Yang Minghui; her gaze remained fixed on Chen Ye's figure on the arena.

Yang Minghui gave a wry smile: "That's it. My Nightmare Beast probably won't even have a chance to climb onto his back before he kills it. He really did manage to turn the tide against us all by himself."

Gu Qinghuan did not respond immediately; his gaze remained fixed on Chen Ye's figure on the arena.

At this moment, the white aura covering Chen Ye's body had dissipated, but Chen Ye still did not utter a word of surrender.

"Perhaps... there's still a sliver of a chance."

Gu Qinghuan muttered to herself.