I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

Dark blue liquid gushed through transparent tubing, producing a sickening pumping sound.

Xiao Yan's deep blue eyes swept across the entire arena, and the temperature atop the Forbidden City plummeted. The faces of the powerful families in the stands turned deathly pale, and some even began to shiver uncontrollably.

That was an instinctive fear of unknown monsters.

The number one on the Dragon List, a living fossil who has ruled the martial arts world of Yanjing for twenty years, turns out to be a modified body that is half mechanical and half biochemical after taking off his long robe!

After a brief silence, a jarring chuckle echoed from the ruins of the arena.

Lin Yang reached out and wiped the blood from his chin, his eyes filled with mockery.

"So that's why no one has been able to beat you for twenty years." Lin Yang curled his lip, his voice carrying throughout the entire venue through the remaining amplification equipment, "If you can't beat them, you join the bio-labs on the dark web? Stuffing a bunch of junk into your body, and you call that evolution? No wonder no one has been able to beat you for twenty years, you're a Frankenstein's monster."

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Lin Tong, the patriarch of the Lin family in Yanjing, covered his mangled face, staring wide-eyed at the arena, his worldview completely shattered. The powerful backer their Lin family had painstakingly tried to win over, the spiritual leader of the martial arts world, had actually colluded with overseas forces and become this inhuman monster!

"You ignorant brat, what do you know about immortality or the ultimate martial arts?"

Xiao Yan's voice had completely transformed into a metallic, synthesized tone, devoid of any human emotion. "The mortal body has its limits. Lin Beixuan couldn't see through this back then, and ultimately became scrap on the experimental table. But I, having accepted the technology of the Supreme God, am the living god of this world!"

"God?" Lin Yang sneered, his 200% limit physical strength roaring wildly within him, his bones cracking like popping beans. "You're just a giant power bank."

"court death!"

Xiao Yan suddenly exerted force with his feet.

There was no shockwave, no dust. Because the hard granite he was standing on was instantly vaporized by the terrifying kinetic energy.

too fast.

It surpasses the limits of human retinal capture.

Even Ye Fan, the martial arts fanatic in the audience, could only see a dark blue afterimage cutting through the air, accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, heading straight for Lin Yang's face.

"Beep beep beep beep!"

The five-star crisis warning on Lin Yang's retina was flashing wildly, the red light almost dripping blood.

[WARNING: The host has suffered a physical attack exceeding their current physical limits! Survival rate: 0.1%!]

In a fraction of a second, Xiao Yan's alloy right fist had already reached within one centimeter of Lin Yang's brow. Before the fist even arrived, the high-frequency vibrations of the fist wind had already sliced ​​the skin on Lin Yang's forehead, and blood flowed down his nose.

Lin Yang did not back down.

Faced with such absolute speed, retreat means death.

He closed his eyes.

Aura at its peak! Hidden strength at its peak!

All the violent power within him was forcibly compressed at this moment, and then compressed again, finally converging between his right index and middle fingers.

The world seemed to slow down dramatically in Lin Yang's perception. The engagement of Xiao Yan's alloy bone joints, the flow rate of the liquid in the biochemical pipelines, and even the slight fluctuations in the energy pump pressure were all clearly visible.

"System, Master Thief's Hand, go to maximum power."

The instruction has been issued.

The master thief's hand no longer stole life, but transformed into the sharpest scalpel in the world, piercing directly into Xiao Yan's defenses along an extremely faint red energy line marked by the five-star warning.

found it.

The energy valve. It's located just below Xiao Yan's third mechanical rib.

Lin Yang suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming.

He tilted his head slightly, at an angle completely defying the principles of human biomechanics, narrowly avoiding Xiao Yan's skull-crushing punch. The alloy fist grazed his earlobe and blasted the remaining stone pillar ten meters behind Lin Yang into dust.

Taking advantage of this momentary opening, Lin Yang made his move.

Tai Chi, the power of a single inch.

There were no fancy moves, only a fatal strike that combined 200% of the body's maximum strength with perfect internal energy.

Lin Yang's right hand moved like a blur, his fingers like a heavy hammer, precisely chiseling into the gap of Xiao Yan's third mechanical rib.

"Break it off!" Lin Yang roared.

Guided by the master thief's hand, the violent internal energy instantly surged into the energy valve within Xiao Yan's body.

"Click—"

A sickeningly loud cracking sound echoed across the Forbidden City.

Xiao Yanqian's body suddenly froze.

His pair of dark blue mechanical eyes flickered violently a few times, and for the first time, an emotion called "fear" surfaced deep within them.

"No...this is impossible..." Xiao Yan looked down, staring at his chest in disbelief.

A terrifying crack began to spread from the spot where Lin Yang had struck him, instantly piercing through his entire cyborg torso.

The dark blue biochemical liquid lost pressure control and gushed out like a fountain from the ruptured pipe, splashing onto the gravel and making a hissing, corrosive sound.

Lin Yang withdrew his hand, took a half step back, and coldly looked at the remnants of the old era in front of him.

"boom!"

A muffled thud came from Xiao Yan's body as the entire power core overloaded and exploded. His burly body seemed to have all its strength drained away, and he knelt stiffly in front of Lin Yang, his head slamming heavily onto the shattered white marble floor.

One hit, instant kill.

Xiao Yan, who had maintained an undefeated myth for twenty years and represented the highest peak of the martial arts world in Yanjing, was reduced to a leaky piece of scrap metal and fell at the feet of a twenty-two-year-old young man.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

The wind stopped. The thunder faded away. Even the breathing of the bigwigs in the stands stopped.

After an unknown amount of time, a "gulp" sound of swallowing saliva stood out conspicuously in the crowd.

Long Yang, the representative of the Yanjing Military Region and the official representative of Huahai, stood up abruptly, his hands gripping the armrests of his chair, trembling with excitement.

Next came Fu Qingquan, Ye Fan, and the leaders of various neutral sects.

Everyone looked at Lin Yang, who stood in the center of the ruins, covered in blood yet as swift as a javelin, with nothing but pure awe in their eyes.

Lin Tong, the patriarch of the Lin family, collapsed to the ground, his face ashen. He knew the Lin family was finished. Having provoked such a monster, the Lin family had no place in Yanjing anymore.

The referee, a renowned martial arts master in his sixties, shakily raised the microphone, his voice faltering: "In this battle... Lin Yang of the Huahai Hongmen wins!"

"Whoosh—"

A tsunami of cheers and exclamations completely ignited the summit of the Forbidden City.

The heads of the aristocratic families exchanged glances, each forcing an extremely obsequious smile, straightening their expensive suits, and vying to walk towards the arena.

"Mr. Lin's divine power is unparalleled!"

"Mr. Lin should be the new top scholar on the Dragon List!"

"Our Zhao family is willing to respect Mr. Lin as our master..."

A deluge of flattery poured in.

This is a transfer of power. As long as Lin Yang nods now, he can rightfully take over all the resources of the ten great families of Yanjing and become the true master of the country's underworld.

Emily, standing below the stage, whistled, while Liu Shanshan clenched her hands tightly, her beautiful face filled with barely suppressed pride. Her man was invincible.

However, Lin Yang, standing in the center of the ruins, did not show the ecstatic joy of a victor.

He casually picked up a clean rag from the ground, wiped the biochemical fluid and blood off his hands, and shook them off in disgust.

Looking at the powerful figures from various families swarming forward like lapdogs, a deep sense of disgust flashed in Lin Yang's eyes.

He walked step by step to the referee and snatched the microphone from him.

A sharp beep came from the loudspeaker, and the entire venue fell silent instantly. Everyone stared expectantly at the newly crowned uncrowned king, waiting for him to announce new rules.

Lin Yang spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"Number one in the world?"

He chuckled softly, his tone laced with undisguised mockery.

"This empty title of being the best in the world is as meaningless as dog shit."

Everyone in the room was stunned. The smiles on the faces of the powerful families froze on the spot.

Ignoring the astonished expressions of the group, Lin Yang turned his head to look at the two stunning women standing below the stage, a familiar, slightly flamboyant smile curving his lips.

He leaped off the stage and walked straight between Emily and Liu Shanshan. Ignoring their haute couture gowns and cheongsams, he opened his arms and embraced the two stunning women.

"Don't touch me, you're covered in blood!" Emily said with disgust, but her body betrayed her by pressing closer to him.

Liu Shanshan leaned obediently against his left shoulder, her eyes sparkling.

Lin Yang raised an eyebrow and casually dropped a bombshell into the microphone he hadn't put down:

"Listen up, I have absolutely no interest in this mess in Yanjing."

"From today onwards, I, Lin Yang, am retiring from the martial world. As for the top spot on the Dragon Ranking, let whoever wants it take it."

"If anyone dares to pin their dirty laundry on me, or disturb my retirement..."

Lin Yang paused, his gaze sweeping over the pale-faced members of the Lin family, his voice suddenly turning cold: "That lump of scrap metal lying on the arena, that's his fate!"

After saying that, he casually tossed the microphone on the ground.

"Let's go, you two rich ladies." Lin Yang pinched Emily and Liu Shanshan's waists, his tone becoming nonchalant again. "Fighting and killing is too tiring. It's better to live off your money."

Under the horrified, astonished, and incredulous gazes of thousands of dignitaries and martial arts masters from Yanjing, Lin Yang, accompanied by two stunning beauties, strode down the mountain, stepping over the mess on the ground.

The dark clouds dispersed, and the sunlight broke through them, shining on the dilapidated white marble ruins.

Lin Yang's departing figure stretched endlessly in the sunlight.