Three Consecutive Battles Against Battle Venerables

The Gnolls watched the fight with grave expressions.

Dushan narrowed his eyes, a glint moving through his gaze:

"This human whelp is exceptional in every aspect — he's almost without weakness."

The Gnoll Battle Emperor beside him, Nidam, gave a nod:

"Zhiliang has nearly run through all his tricks, yet this human has only used a single Combat Technique so far. None of Zhiliang's attacks are having any effect — trapped on this arena, he'll eventually be backed into a corner."

"Hmph. I never expected the Red Maple Empire to produce a genius of this caliber. But... fortunately, he hasn't had time to grow. We should eliminate him during this opportunity, before he becomes a future liability."

A cold glint passed through Dushan's eyes.

Some time later, on the arena.

Zhiliang had just transformed into lightning to evade one of Lu Yuan's attacks.

*This guy is really slippery,* Lu Yuan thought, brow furrowing faintly.

*I need to push harder.*

Lu Yuan unleashed Power Burst throughout his body and activated Black Steel Force.

That surge of power translated directly into an explosion of speed.

With a thunderous boom, the arena spiderwebbed with hairline cracks, and Lu Yuan's velocity spiked another notch.

He materialized directly in front of Zhiliang the instant the lightning transformation ended, his heavy sword slashing straight down.

Zhiliang had barely finished taking solid form when he found Lu Yuan right in his face. His pupils shrank sharply. *How is he this fast?!*

He hurriedly swung his Staff. A sliver of white light flashed along it, and in the next instant, a white light shield solidified around him.

**Boom!!**

The heavy sword crashed into the shield. It shuddered once — then shattered like an eggshell.

"What?!"

Zhiliang's face went white.

That was the built-in shield of a Fourth-rank King Grade Staff — and Lu Yuan had destroyed it in a single blow?!

He gritted his teeth, his body beginning to shift back into lightning — he needed distance, now. But at that exact moment, Lu Yuan drove his foot squarely into Zhiliang's gut.

Zhiliang launched off like a cannonball. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and the crack of splintering bones echoed across the platform. His body flew clear off the arena and hit the ground hard, his consciousness swimming.

That single kick had nearly knocked him out cold.

The crowd fell briefly silent. Then the human side broke into smiles, while the Gnolls' expressions darkened considerably.

A Healer Type Gnoll Battle Sovereign stepped forward, hauled Zhiliang upright, and began closing his wounds.

He could feel the severity of the injuries and his eyes tightened slightly, fixing a long, hard stare on Lu Yuan.

Elemental Type or not, Zhiliang was still a Battle Venerable — his physique was no weaker than any talented Battle General who had tempered their body. One kick leaving him this badly injured was enough to rattle this Healer Type Battle Sovereign.

Lu Yuan glanced at Zhiliang on the ground.

That lightning transformation Combat Technique of his was too slippery. With Space Teleportation, he could have caught him instantly.

Without it, pinning down Zhiliang's weakness had taken some doing. Not that he was particularly bothered — he'd treat it as a warm-up.

The Spirit Power he'd spent was so minimal it barely exceeded his natural regeneration rate. Even without Spirit Crystals to restore himself, the combination of his White Jade Spirit Body and the Heavenly Spirit Pill kept his recovery at a solid pace.

He ignored the cold stares from several Gnolls and smiled. "Next?"

A shadow moved through Dushan's eyes. He spoke flatly:

"Wenlin. You're up."

The white-furred Gnoll Wenlin gave a nod and stepped onto the platform.

He wore heavy armor, holding in one hand a massive spiked shield — no other weapon. A Guardian Type warrior.

Wenlin was silent. The moment he was on the arena, pale golden light rippled across his body, and a dense layer of golden battle plating solidified over him.

Simultaneously, he released a low growl. Golden Spirit Power spread across his shield, forming a protective layer that enveloped him entirely.

Lu Yuan took one look and frowned slightly. *A defense-heavy type.*

He'd honestly have preferred a straightforward Assault Type opponent — someone who'd go blow for blow. That was more satisfying.

Still, anything was better than that slippery Zhiliang.

"Begin."

The word hadn't finished falling — Lu Yuan was already in front of Wenlin.

Black Steel Force and White Jade Spirit Body active simultaneously, his strength reaching a terrifying peak.

The heavy sword crashed down with brutal weight and savage force, smashing into Wenlin's golden shield.

A resonating boom rang out. The golden shield shuddered, its brilliance dimming.

But almost immediately, Wenlin poured more Spirit Power in, and the shield blazed back to full radiance.

A continuously maintained, self-sustaining shield.

Lu Yuan's expression stayed neutral. Both hands on the hilt, he brought the heavy sword down again and again — relentless, unceasing.

The arena rang with blow after blow. Every collision between sword and shield detonated a circular shockwave that spread in all directions. In the already frigid ice valley, the wind turned savage.

Every impact shoved Wenlin back a step. The unbroken cascade of sword strikes pressed him steadily toward the platform's edge until he was nearly at the drop.

Wenlin glanced behind him. His expression changed.

With a roar, he expanded. The Wenlin who had stood around six feet tall swelled with muscle, stretching to nearly eight feet, his frame grotesquely massive.

Faint pale-white Spirit Power glinted in his eyes. He planted his legs and arrested his backward slide, then began advancing, measured step by measured step, back into Lu Yuan's assault.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow — the power surge mildly surprised him, but not much.

A Battle Venerable had five Combat Techniques available, plus whatever techniques came attached to their Gene Armament. Seven or eight different abilities wasn't unusual at all for a genius.

With the boost active, fierce intensity entered Wenlin's eyes. He bent his knees, drove off the ground, and charged. The spiked shield swept toward Lu Yuan like a moving wall of iron. The golden defensive layer that had surrounded him shifted, condensing onto the face of the shield — and gained a sharp, dangerous edge.

Lu Yuan's gaze hardened. He planted his feet with a shout and swung the heavy sword to meet it.

**Boom!!**

The collision shook the entire platform. A violent shockwave tore outward. The two locked into a standoff, neither giving ground.

After a brief moment, Lu Yuan's eyes flickered. He shifted his feet — vanished — and reappeared at Wenlin's flank, the heavy sword slashing without mercy at Wenlin's neck.

Wenlin's expression didn't change. Just as Weili had done before him, he raised the shield to block.

Sword met shield again. Another shockwave.

Lu Yuan didn't stop. Exploiting his speed advantage, he kept circling around Wenlin in rapid bursts, the heavy sword trailing terrifying arcs of light, one slash after the next.

Wenlin's expression grew strained. He raised the shield again and again, sometimes twisting aside to dodge.

From the outside, the contrast was striking: Wenlin stood at the center of the platform, golden light pulsing around his massive, muscle-laden frame like a small giant bracing against a storm, while Lu Yuan flickered in and out of existence around him — every appearance punctuated by the crack of sword against shield and a surge of displaced air.

The exchange looked nothing like the fluid, mobile duel with Zhiliang. Every collision here was raw, bone-shaking force.

Time passed. The spectators below began to notice something wrong.

Wenlin's breathing was becoming labored. Lu Yuan's hadn't changed at all.

Dushan and Nidam both frowned.

"This human has a recovery technique... or a Gene Armament with a similar effect. Remarkably durable in sustained combat."

Dushan muttered.

Nidam nodded. "This human, aside from lacking a long-range attack, seems to have no other weakness. Given that he's only Battle General rank... to have come this far, he must have pushed every single aspect to its absolute limit."

Behind the two of them, the Gnoll geniuses wore dark expressions.

Bloodrage Fang stared at Lu Yuan with cold eyes:

"This human is genuinely formidable. Just Battle General rank, and not only is his combat capability this well-rounded — even his physical and Spirit Power recovery is outstanding."

Beside him, Shuiji nodded slowly, his expression grave:

"Feiba's loss wasn't undeserved. Even Wenlin is already starting to crack."

A hidden Gnoll genius nearby let blood-light flash across his eyes and spoke in a flat tone:

"No wonder My Lord Dushan told us to keep our focus on the team battle. To deal with this human... My Lord Dushan's reasoning was sound."

Bloodrage Fang glanced at the speaker, a cold smile forming:

"With Kulu here, this human is dead the moment the team battle starts."

But Shuiji's expression was careful:

"Even so, we need to cut him down fast — decisively, like lightning. If we let him drag things out, their Battle Emperors will come to intervene."

At those words, the others sobered and gave serious nods.

"We need a foolproof plan."

While they were speaking, the outcome on the arena was drawing near.

Wenlin had been sustaining several Combat Techniques simultaneously to weather Lu Yuan's assault — his Spirit Power expenditure was running far higher than normal. Combined with Lu Yuan's relentless, tide-like offense, both his Spirit Power and stamina were draining faster with every exchange.

In barely ten minutes, Wenlin found that more than half his Spirit Power was spent, and keeping his techniques going had become a genuine struggle.

Gradually, against the unbroken onslaught, he began to falter.

**Boom!!**

Another collision — and Wenlin's expression broke. His swollen eight-foot frame shrank back down. The muscles deflated, and with them, the tremendous strength that had surged through him ebbed away like a retreating tide.

The instant his body returned to normal size, danger closed in from behind.

Wenlin barely spun in time to block. The clash of shield and sword sent him stumbling back several steps, his face drawn tight.

*Can't hold.*

That retreat was only the beginning. Lu Yuan didn't ease off for a moment — each successive Heavy Slash came down like a mountain range collapsing, pressing the air from Wenlin's lungs.

After several more exchanges, the golden radiance around Wenlin flickered and slowly faded.

Lu Yuan brought the sword down. Wenlin raised the shield.

**Boom!!**

The heavy sword knocked the shield aside. Wenlin's chest was wide open — his pupils contracted sharply.

*Finished.*

Lu Yuan wasn't about to let the opening go. He drove the heavy sword straight at Wenlin's chest.

At that moment, a flash of golden light interposed itself, deflecting the blade.

Lu Yuan's expression was unchanged. He withdrew his sword, stepped back unhurriedly, and turned toward the Gnoll commanders below.

Dushan's voice came out cold and flat:

"We concede."

He fixed Lu Yuan with a long look, then spoke:

"Shuiji. You're up."

Meng Jiang turned to Lu Yuan, his expression serious:

"Lu Yuan, how are you holding up? If you've burned too much, come down now — no need to force it. We still have three Battle Venerables on our side."

Lu Yuan blinked, then smiled. "I can keep going for a bit."

Meng Jiang studied him for a moment, then gave a nod.

"Say the word if that changes."

"Understood."

Shuiji, blue-white fur and all, stepped onto the platform.

He grinned at Lu Yuan:

"Human — I'm nothing like Wenlin or Zhiliang. Because I'm a mid-level Battle Venerable. And I'm Ice-element!"

Even as he spoke, razor-sharp ice arrows crystallized before him and launched toward Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan felt that powerful aura and his expression shifted slightly.

*The intel was wrong. The report had Shuiji as a low-level Battle Venerable — he's actually mid-level now.*

Several of the Battle Emperors and Battle Sovereigns watching also furrowed their brows.

Meng Jiang and the others had originally counted on Lu Yuan as a Battle Venerable-level combatant, combined with the three other human Battle Venerables for a total of four.

Lu Yuan had been counted as low-level, alongside two other low-level Battle Venerables and one high-level — enough to edge out the Gnolls' original three Battle Venerables.

No one had anticipated the Gnolls to also field four Battle Venerables, including one high-level and one mid-level.

On overall strength, the Gnoll geniuses held a marginal advantage.

But the current situation was different: Lu Yuan alone had already eliminated two low-level Gnoll Battle Venerables. From that angle, the human side now held the edge.

After all, among Battle Venerables with comparable gene quality, the difference between low and mid level came down to degree of tempering. That was a bridgeable gap — one might not be enough, but two could compensate.

Shuiji was genuinely stronger than Wenlin — especially as an Ice-element Elemental Warrior. Without using Space Teleportation or his other trump cards, Lu Yuan found it hard to press any real advantage.

Shuiji possessed frost chain-type binding Combat Techniques. Lu Yuan could break free through raw strength, but not without a moment of stiffness.

That forced him to eat several direct hits.

Fortunately, his Steel Body Body Technique had reached a level of proficiency that boosted his defense by more than threefold. White Jade Spirit Body layered on top meant that even taking a few ice lances only pushed him back slightly — the bone-deep cold was uncomfortable, but the damage itself was manageable.

The one real problem was the accumulating chill seeping into his body. Left unchecked, his movements would grow stiff over time.

For now, he was fine — largely because his physique so far outstripped an ordinary Gene Warrior's. Looking at base attributes alone, Lu Yuan — with four Third-rank Sovereign Grade Armaments, three King Grade genes, and one Lord Grade gene — actually had an edge over a Battle Venerable who had simply engraved a King Grade gene.

Even so, given enough time, the cold would eventually become a problem.

*I need to try something different.*

Threads of blood-red light began flowing along the Crimson Storm Heavy Sword in his hand.

In the next instant, phantoms of blood-red heavy swords materialized around him — one, then another, until twelve floated through the air at his sides.

At King Grade, the Crimson Storm technique produced only four sword shadows.

After Lu Yuan evolved it to Sovereign Grade, the count had risen to twelve.

Twelve heavy swords hovering around him, Lu Yuan bared his teeth and charged toward Shuiji.

The sight of those twelve sword shadows drained the color from Shuiji's face.

He growled and conjured a Frost Giant directly in his path.

The Frost Giant roared and charged at Lu Yuan, its aura formidable — no weaker than a low-level Battle Venerable who had engraved a King Grade gene. Clearly a King Grade-tier Combat Technique.

Terrifying cold radiated from every inch of its body. Before it even reached him, Lu Yuan felt the chill.

His expression stayed level. He didn't need to close in.

From several meters away, he swung the heavy sword toward the Frost Giant.

The blood-red sword shadows orbiting him surged forward in response.

They moved freely across roughly twenty meters in front of him, whipping up a storm of blood-red blade light.

Shadow after shadow slashed into the Frost Giant.

Each hit was somewhat weaker than Lu Yuan's own direct blows — but not by much. And there were twelve of them.

Lu Yuan kept swinging, the shadows hammering without pause, burying the Frost Giant in a relentless torrent of strikes.

In moments, the Frost Giant let out a defiant roar and came apart, reduced to fragments.

Shuiji watched his Frost Giant be dismantled so effortlessly. His eyes went wide.

"That's impossible!!"

The Frost Giant's baseline strength matched a low-level Battle Venerable who had engraved a King Grade gene — and on top of that, it continuously radiated cold, making it far more troublesome than a standard low-level opponent. Seeing that Lu Yuan had no ranged attacks, Shuiji had been banking on the Frost Giant as a hard counter.

He hadn't imagined Lu Yuan had an ace like this.

He simply couldn't believe it.

He wasn't alone. The Gnolls watching from below went pale as sword shadows filled the air.

Dushan's brow creased hard. "This human still had a trick like that hidden — he has ranged attack capability now too?"

Nidam beside him drew a slow breath:

"That said, the sword shadows are somewhat weaker than this human whelp's personal attacks. As long as someone can withstand them, the impact should be limited."

Dushan nodded.

On the human side, Rebecca — who had been clutching Si Tingxue's arm — had grown visibly anxious when the Frost Giant appeared. When she saw Lu Yuan's blood-red sword shadows shred it so effortlessly, she exhaled and broke into a smile.

Beside her, Si Tingxue's clenched fist slowly uncurled.

Stevenson watched the blood-red sword shadows with eyes that kept flickering, a trace of eagerness and excitement rising in them:

"This guy keeps pulling out new tricks — and bizarre ones at that. Honestly, I'm not sure I could beat him anymore."

Bakula had already gone stone-faced, arms folded across his chest.

On the arena, Lu Yuan pressed toward Shuiji.

Ice arrows Shuiji launched never got close — every one was shattered by the sword shadows before reaching him. With blade-light surrounding Lu Yuan on all sides, Shuiji's attacks couldn't break through.

His expression darkened. Spirit Power surging, he summoned another Frost Giant — and simultaneously projected frost chains, trying to bind Lu Yuan in place. He also condensed an ice shield over himself, then raised his Staff as deep blue light coursed through it, his aura spiking sharply.

Pale blue light flashed in his eyes. He swept the Staff, and basketball-sized ice-blue orbs materialized in the air.

Eight of them.

They drifted outward slowly in different directions, spreading away from him. Each orb launched a continuous barrage of ice arrows toward Lu Yuan, and rolling clouds of icy mist seeped from their surfaces.

Lu Yuan took it all in and frowned. He glanced at the Frost Giant charging his way, then at the drifting orbs, shattered the frost chains binding his feet through sheer force, and blurred into motion — appearing before one of the orbs and swinging the heavy sword to destroy it with a volley of shadows.

The shattered orb suddenly blazed pale blue — and detonated.

Lu Yuan's expression shifted sharply. He threw himself backward.

A wave of cold rolled over him. His body stiffened momentarily, and shards of ice pelted him like arrows.

He exhaled in relief. Good thing he'd used the sword shadows and kept his distance — taking that explosion up close would have brought far more cold and concussive force crashing down on him.

He looked at Shuiji with an unpleasant expression. Every one of this guy's techniques was both potent and specifically crafted to shut down close-range fighters.

Insidiously so.

Still — he currently had the Crimson Storm sword shadows, which gave him at least some semblance of ranged capability.

Lu Yuan moved to new positions and began methodically dismantling the orbs one by one. As he worked, the Frost Giant kept crashing in to interfere — he dodged every attempt.

In terms of speed, the Frost Giant wasn't slow in this frozen environment. It just couldn't close the gap with Lu Yuan.

Meanwhile, Shuiji kept busy, launching wave after wave of ice arrows. They kept being destroyed by the sword shadows.

By the time Lu Yuan had shattered five orbs, he frowned — Shuiji was already creating new ones.

He switched tactics. Abandoning the remaining orbs, he went straight for Shuiji.

When Lu Yuan came for him directly, the Frost Giant naturally refused to stand aside — it kept harassing him, tangling him up and wearing on his patience.

Lu Yuan swung the heavy sword and shattered it.

Shuiji immediately summoned another.

*Great,* Lu Yuan thought, a dull ache forming behind his eyes.

What a miserable opponent.

He considered briefly, then decided to play another card.

Dark Harvest.

Wisps of pitch-black mist seeped out of his body.

His aura surged again — another significant jump.

He swung the heavy sword, scattering a wave of ice arrows, then shattered Shuiji's freshly summoned Frost Giant in the span of a few breaths.

Sensing the shift in Lu Yuan's aura, Shuiji's expression cracked — disbelief rippling through him. *Does this guy have no ceiling?!*

As Lu Yuan closed the distance, Shuiji braced himself — and an ice-blue afterimage materialized at his back.

The moment it appeared, the chill emanating from Shuiji's aura deepened noticeably.

He turned his right palm toward Lu Yuan.

A torrent of white cold blasted from his hand, howling at Lu Yuan. The extreme chill made even Dark Harvest-enhanced Lu Yuan feel a stabbing, bone-deep pain.

His expression tightened. He moved fast, throwing himself back repeatedly, pulling clear of the enormous area the torrent was covering.

Lu Yuan's expression had grown serious.

A genius who had reached mid-level Battle Venerable before twenty — they weren't easy to put down.

He still had Space Teleportation and the Battle Disciple Emblem in reserve.

With those, he was confident he could finish Shuiji quickly.

But he was saving them for the team battle.

He thought it through, and decided to grind it out.

So Lu Yuan kept at it — methodically destroying ice orbs, steadily dismantling each Frost Giant Shuiji conjured.

The fight locked into a stalemate once again.

Watching this, the Gnoll commanders frowned. *Doesn't this feel familiar...*

Bloodrage Fang's brow creased, his lip curling slightly:

"Against Zhiliang and Wenlin, this human also dragged things out. And now against Shuiji — still a stalemate."

Kulu beside him nodded:

"True. But when he fought Zhiliang and Wenlin, he barely showed any of his cards. Now, fighting Shuiji, he's already burned through quite a few. I doubt he has much left. He's even being suppressed somewhat now."

Bloodrage Fang gave a small nod.

It wasn't just Bloodrage Fang — Dushan and the others shared the same assessment.

They had investigated Lu Yuan carefully. His earlier techniques and the current white jade physique technique were all broadly self-enhancing Guardian Type skills. Having spent the white jade technique, his remaining skills were likely exhausted — what he was deploying now was mostly what his Gene Armaments provided.

Viewed that way, his Gene Armaments were clearly exceptional — otherwise their attached Combat Techniques wouldn't be this formidable.

Even so, if Lu Yuan was running dry on trump cards, that was reassuring.

Nidam's face was impassive, his tone flat:

"At only Battle General rank, to fight a mid-level Battle Venerable like Shuiji to this degree — it's extraordinary. Almost inconceivable."

At those words, whatever satisfaction had formed on the others' faces faded.

They all felt an uneasy chill. Shuiji as a mid-level Battle Venerable genius was among the absolute top tier of the young generation across all of Blood Bone Star. Even Bloodrage Fang — the single strongest Gnoll genius under twenty on the entire planet — would find dealing with Shuiji in this icy environment a challenge.

Lu Yuan holding his own against Shuiji to this degree was, objectively, something that defied reason.

That thought settled heavily over all of them.

Especially Bloodrage Fang and the others. They exchanged glances, killing intent rising quietly in their eyes.

They had to kill Lu Yuan. There was no other way.

The fight stretched on — nearly half an hour in total.

Shuiji was mid-level Battle Venerable with deep Spirit Power reserves, and in this environment, his technique expenditure was far lower than it would have been elsewhere.

And yet — once again, Lu Yuan stunned everyone with his terrifying reserves of stamina and Spirit Power. He had maintained that level of output for a full thirty minutes.

At the thirty-minute mark, the pace at which Shuiji was manifesting ice orbs had slowed dramatically — and he stopped summoning Frost Giants entirely. He simply no longer had the Spirit Power for it.

At the same time, the blood-red sword shadows around Lu Yuan and the black mist on his body dissolved.

Crimson Storm and Dark Harvest had run their course.

They weren't techniques attached to a Transcendent Gene — as Gene Armament skills, they naturally came with durations. Running for thirty minutes was a product of his armaments' Sovereign Grade quality.

The intensity of the fight dropped considerably from what it had been.

Lu Yuan kept White Jade Spirit Body, Black Steel Force, and Steel Body active, evading orbs and ice arrows while gradually probing forward toward Shuiji.

And again the white cold torrent drove him back.

This kept happening.

But Lu Yuan noticed something encouraging: the cold in that torrent was noticeably weaker than before.

His own expenditure was heavy — but clearly, so was Shuiji's.

About even. Then he'd keep grinding.

Lu Yuan continued weaving through attacks and dismantling orbs one by one.

The orb blasts hurt, but with Steel Body and his Sovereign Grade armor, his defense held firm. He wasn't taking serious damage — the persistent cold accumulating in his body was the more bothersome issue.

For now, though, he could manage. During the window when Dark Harvest had been active, his physique had been significantly boosted — minimal cold had built up in that phase.

As long as he kept the orbs from spreading their chill unimpeded, it was still within acceptable limits.

Another half hour passed. The total length of their fight had reached roughly one hour.

Shuiji had no Spirit Power left to generate ice orbs. Even ice arrows he could manage only in trickles.

Lu Yuan's White Jade Spirit Body had long since faded.

His Spirit Power was genuinely empty — not a drop remained.

Both of them had burned through virtually everything.

Lu Yuan looked at Shuiji across the distance, and a cold smile spread across his face.

No Spirit Power for either of them. But his physique simply wasn't something an Elemental Type's lean frame could compete with.

On raw physical ability alone, he still had tremendous speed, exceptional defense, and crushing attack power.

He moved — easily sidestepping the last few ice arrows — and with no Frost Giant left to block him, closed the distance to Shuiji in moments. Shuiji's expression changed; he tried to gather the white cold torrent, but only a thin wisp of mist materialized in his palm.

Shuiji stared at that pitiful wisp, utterly blank.

The next instant, Lu Yuan's heavy sword was already coming down at his head.

As the blade was about to connect, a flash of golden light appeared, catching the sword.

Dushan's cold voice followed:

"We concede."

Lu Yuan exhaled quietly.

At the same moment, Meng Jiang's voice came in sharp and clear:

"Lu Yuan — come down. Swap out."