Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Time flew by in the oppressive atmosphere.

In the rest area of ​​the Iron Cross Club, Siren was sitting cross-legged on a flat bluestone slab.

His eyes were slightly closed, his breathing was long and rhythmic, and he was quietly adjusting his physical state.

His intense training in the gravity chamber these past few days has improved his strength and physique somewhat. Although not much, every bit of power has settled into the muscle fibers, like a volcano waiting to erupt.

As the referee's deep voice echoed under the dome, Xilun slowly opened his eyes.

There was no fear, no excitement, only a chilling calm in those dark eyes.

He stood up and picked up the black umbrella he had been holding.

Mentor Lund walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said solemnly, "Go up and get ready."

Xilun nodded slightly.

The next moment, under the curious gazes of the Iron Cross players and other club players around him, Xiren suddenly bent down and rolled up the sleeves of his arms high.

When the crowd scanned his forearm, many people were taken aback.

Two heavy, dark iron rings were tightly bound to Xilun's wrists, which were not particularly thick but were covered with streamlined muscles.

The iron ring had no luster, yet it exuded a sense of oppressive heaviness.

Lund was also taken aback for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, before he reacted and said in a deep voice:

"You... you haven't taken those iron rings off at all during the past few days of competition?"

While cracking his wrists, Xilen calmly replied:

"I've barely gotten used to that weight, and I don't think it's necessary, so I haven't taken it off."

Upon hearing this, the rest area fell into an instant silence.

Lund, Raine, Finn, and all the other Iron Cross members, including Daisy, who was sitting in a privileged rest seat not far away, all watched Siren's movements without moving.

Xilun unfastened the clasp on his wrist and removed the two dark iron rings.

He didn't deliberately use any force; he simply tossed them onto the stone slab at his feet.

"Thump!"

With a dull, muffled thud, everyone clearly felt the ground beneath their feet tremble violently.

Several fine cracks were actually smashed into the surface of that hard bluestone slab.

It is clear that this iron ring is no ordinary object, but a specially made high-density alloy, and is extremely heavy!

Renn stared blankly, his lips trembling, and he murmured in disbelief:

"Could it be... that you fought with these heavy weights strapped to you during the battles against Marshall and Coens, and yesterday's grueling fight against Xiu Kuo?"

Just by looking at the sound of such an object hitting the ground, one can imagine how terrifying the burden would be to wear it.

What's more, it's actually tied to the wrist, a core position for generating power.

It's important to know that Xilun primarily uses heavy spears as his weapon, so the weight on his wrists has a significant impact on the accuracy and speed of his spear techniques.

Even so, when everyone recalled his marksmanship in yesterday's battle against Xiu Kuoshi, not a single person felt that there was any problem with sluggishness or clumsiness.

On the contrary, they felt that his marksmanship was incredibly solid, with each move fierce and domineering, as if the heavy spear was as light as nothing in his hands.

Ignoring the shock of the crowd, Xilun continued to bend over and roll up his trouser legs.

Sure enough, two identical black iron rings were tightly bound around both of his ankles.

He skillfully removed the iron rings from his legs and casually tossed them aside.

"Thump! Thump!" Two more dull thuds.

Xilun stood still, gently twisting his wrists and ankles to loosen up his hands and feet.

After shedding these terrifying shackles, he felt as light as if he were about to float away, and the speed at which his blood flowed through his veins increased.

He exhaled a long breath of white air and pressed the mechanism on the umbrella handle with his right hand.

With a crisp mechanical click, the black umbrella instantly transformed into a two-and-a-half-meter-long heavy alloy gun.

He gripped the spear with one hand and gave it a slight shake. The pale silver blade traced a perfect afterimage in mid-air.

Now that he had unloaded the heavy burden and was holding the spear again, he felt that the spear had become more agile and unpredictable, as if it had become an extension of his body.

Xiren turned to look at Lund: "I'm going."

Lund took a deep breath, his eyes blazing with intense fervor: "Victory is certain!"

The Iron Cross members around them roared in unison, "Victory is certain!"

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Xilun, carrying his spear, walked step by step onto the wide training platform.

The two were already standing on the stage.

Referee Belang swept his hand over both players.

His gaze lingered on Xiren for two extra seconds.

As an experienced Tier 3 powerhouse, Berlang seemed to sense a slight abnormality in Xilun's physical condition after shedding his burden. The restrained yet extremely dangerous explosive power made him tremble slightly.

But Bérard quickly looked away, raised his right hand, and announced loudly:

"The first semi-final match: Iron Cross Fighting Club, Siren! vs. Silver Hand Club, Li An!"

On the martial arts stage, Xi Lun and Li An stood twenty meters apart, gazing at each other from afar.

Xilun looked at Li An opposite him. The noble young master, dressed in luxurious combat gear, had undisguised contempt, mockery, and violent rage in his eyes.

That emotion was almost identical to when Li Lei came to the room to recruit people yesterday, filled with an arrogant and condescending attitude.

Xilun's lips twitched, and he let out a chilling laugh.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of spectators in the outer stands began to whisper among themselves, bursting into discussions.

"Do you think Siren has a chance of winning?"

"If someone asked me this question on the first day of the competition, I would definitely call him an idiot."

A bottom-tier player with an overall rating of only 15 is supposed to compete against a championship favorite with an overall rating of 19, a full four levels higher? That's utterly absurd!

"But... this kid has already won all three of his battles! He even crushed Koens, whose armor was insane, and Xiu Kuo, who was at the peak of the double nine realm. He's practically here to slap us in the face."

The audience stared in disbelief at the gaunt figure on stage. Would this young man from the downtown area continue to break down class barriers, create miracles, and triumph against all odds? Or would he ultimately fall before the truly top-tier geniuses, nurtured by resources, and be eliminated in the final four?

Of course, even if he only made it to the semi-finals, it would still be considered legendary for an ordinary person with an overall score of 15.

"Look! Li Anliang has revealed his weapon!" someone exclaimed.

Li An slowly drew out the famous battle sword—Pale Ghost Howl.

Yesterday, when facing the formidable Luo Yu, he only used the scabbard from beginning to end.

Only at the last moment did he draw his sword and unleash his full power.

Today, facing the weakest opponent on paper, Xilun, he drew this extraordinary weapon filled with murderous aura right from the start.

"It seems he takes this match very seriously."

One expert commented, "Of course, it's the semi-finals after all. Even if the opponent is a complete idiot, we can't afford to lose in an upset. Giving it our all is the right thing to do."

On the arena, Li An, from a distance, twirled the Pale Ghost Howl in his hand, chuckled, and his sinister voice drifted over:

"More than winning against you, I'm worried that you'll admit defeat and surrender right away."

If that were the case, the game would be too boring.

He gripped the knife, his gaze sweeping over Xilun's features like a venomous snake:

"Don't worry, I'll control my strength and won't let you die too easily."

I will make you remember this day forever, and remember the consequences of refusing the Silver Hand.

Xilun, holding the spear in one hand, was not provoked at all; instead, he chuckled softly.

"Not only are you ugly, but you also talk a lot."

Xiren's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire arena: "It's all just meaningless trash talk."

It seems I was right to refuse you yesterday. The thought of cultivating alongside someone like you is truly a disaster.

Upon hearing this, the playful expression on Ang Lee's face instantly froze, replaced by extreme rage.

"court death!!"

Ang Lee roared through gritted teeth.

With a loud boom, the terrifying power of his extreme realm surged forth, pouring onto the pale blade in front of him like a flood bursting its banks.

An astonishingly high temperature instantly rose in the air, and the pale, howling blade began to burn with a layer of dark red flames.

With a sudden forward lean, Li An charged forward at incredible speed, like an enraged beast baring its sharp fangs.

As he moved, the bluestone pavement beneath his feet was scorched, leaving a trail of charred flames.

The power of this strike caused countless people in the stands to turn pale and look on in dismay, with many breaking out in a cold sweat for Xilun.

However, Xilun's eyes remained calm and unmoved.

Although he wasn't sure he could beat his opponent before running out of cards before stepping into the ring, he put all his worries behind him once he was actually on the stage.

He threw himself into the battle with all his heart and soul, had unwavering faith in the gun in his hand, and never doubted it!

Faced with the scorching blade rushing towards him, Xilun's figure slid backward to the side like a ghost.

In the instant he dodged, his spear suddenly swept out.

Without the iron rings binding him, the speed and power of this shot were three times more explosive than when he fought Xiu Kuo yesterday!

The powerful force stirred up a visible spiral vortex at the tip of the spear, and with a loud "clang," the alloy spear and the white blade burning with flames collided precisely.

In an instant, the dark red flames on the blade, like maggots clinging to bones, frantically coiled up the spear shaft, attempting to burn Xilun's hands.

Xilun gave a low shout, and a faint mist of water vapor quickly rose from the blade of his spear.

At the same time, the "Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique" within his body began to circulate wildly, its cold and profound power suppressing the high temperature and protecting the spear blade from melting.

Moreover, his internal "adaptive organs" also played a significant role at this moment.

As the scorching heat attempted to penetrate his body and dry out his moisture, his internal organs, as resilient as deep-sea monsters, withstood the erosion of the high temperature and functioned very smoothly.

"boom!"

A violent blast of air exploded, and the two separated instantly, each sliding backward.

But after only a half-second pause, the two transformed into afterimages again and collided fiercely.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three consecutive, straightforward clashes of raw power. Sparks and shockwaves exploded repeatedly in the center of the arena.

After three rounds, Li An suddenly stopped and uncontrollably took two steps back, each step leaving deep cracks on the stone slab.

He steadied himself, his expression becoming more solemn than ever before, his eyes revealing an extremely dangerous glint.

Ang Lee felt a tingling sensation in the web of his hand gripping the knife.

The power of Xilun's shots was even a level higher than when I watched it yesterday!

That terrifying power shouldn't be something someone with a combined score of 15 should possess.

He suppressed his shock, arrogantly raised his head, and coldly snorted:

"It seems you were indeed holding back your strength yesterday and didn't unleash your full power."

However, that's all for now. Brute force is no match for me!

On the other side, Xiren stood still, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath.

Even though he removed the iron rings and unleashed his physical strength to the fullest after those three hard-fought moves, he still suffered a slight loss.

The vibrations and high temperatures transmitted from the blade caused his arm to ache slightly.

"It seems that a pure head-on clash of energies is still lacking in depth compared to Li An's peak of energies," Xilun thought to himself.

He took a few deep breaths and quickly adjusted his breathing rhythm.

At this moment, Li An on the opposite side had changed his tactics.

He changed from using one hand to gripping the hilt of the knife tightly with both hands, pouring all his strength into the pale ghostly howl.

The flames on the blade suddenly surged, turning a deep, vibrant red, and flickered incessantly, creating a series of breathtaking blade shadows.

Even his shadow, which streaked through the air, was rendered a fiery, intense red by this force.

On the training platform, sparks began to twinkle and fall in all directions.

As a first-order baptized being, Ang Lee's portrayal of this scene is quite exaggerated.

Because directly interfering with the surrounding environment with one's energy and causing substantial attribute damage is generally a method that can only be achieved by advancing to the second-tier extraordinary level.

Just like when Ryan demonstrated in the first lesson, he used his strength to break off tree branches from several meters away.

Li An achieved this at the first level by relying on top-notch breathing techniques and extraordinary weapons.

"laugh--"

The long sword in Ang Lee's hand began to exude a destructive aura, as if it would incinerate all the surrounding air.

The blade's edge, like materialized wild beast fangs, slowly opened.

He stared intently at Xilun, took a heavy step forward, and swept his sword horizontally with both hands! A huge crescent-shaped blade of flame tore through the air and roared as it slashed towards Xilun's waist and abdomen!

Faced with this fierce and incomparably powerful flaming blade that blocked all escape routes, Xilun had no choice but to dodge, nor was there anywhere to hide.

He gripped the scorching hot gun barrel tightly with both hands, and the "Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique" was circulated to its limit within his body, with low roars and explosions like muffled thunder emanating from his meridians.

He used his 2.4-meter-long heavy alloy spear as a shield, unleashing the most ferocious defensive stance in the "Natan Heavy Armored Spear Technique," fiercely sweeping it out to meet the blade's edge, constantly resisting the force in front of him that was trying to incinerate everything.

"boom!"

Two extremely powerful forces collided violently in mid-air.

The massive shockwave distorted the surrounding air so visibly that it was compressed.

With each of these unpretentious head-on collisions, Xiren's body would uncontrollably take a step back.

Even though he had removed the iron rings and was giving it his all, he still couldn't gain the upper hand in a pure contest of strength against Ang Lee.

The crimson blade light was like a violent meat grinder, constantly tearing apart his defenses.

Xilun's clothes were charred and torn in the high temperature, and on his exposed skin, dark blue muscle lines like writhing dragons began to flash and bulge wildly, as if his alien talent was being passively activated.

With his terrifying physical resilience, he withstood the aftershocks of the blade's edge, leaving only horrifying white marks on his skin, but without damaging his flesh.

Below the stage, Luo Yu, who had just been defeated by Li An the day before, stared wide-eyed and gasped:

"This Li An... is he really that strong? Yesterday when we fought, he didn't even use half his strength!"

Meanwhile, in the Platinum Club's lounge area, Marshall's expression became incredibly strange.

"This kid, Xilun, is actually this strong?"

Marshall looked at Siron on the stage, who was struggling to hold on but never collapsed, and muttered to himself, "Faced with Ang Lee at full power, he can actually barely resist and contend with him..."

Looking at it this way, my ability to last three moves against Xilun before losing doesn't seem like such a bad result, does it?

Thinking of this, Marshall slightly raised his head, which was wrapped in bandages, and his confidence, which had been shattered by Xilun, strangely recovered a little.