The Samsara Jade

Chapter 38

"Your strong skin cannot stop the heat of the fire, Li Chen!" Senior Sister Lin said confidently, cracking her bright red fire whips in the air. The heat from her weapons made the air around her ripple and wave. "I will melt your 'treasure' away!"

The match began. 

Lin swung her arms. The two burning whips flew through the air like angry fire snakes. They wrapped tightly around Li Chen’s left and right arms. 

"Got you!" Lin cheered, pulling the whips tight. The red fire burned brightly against Li Chen’s black coat and grey skin. 

The crowd held their breath, waiting for Li Chen to scream from the burning pain. 

But Li Chen did not scream. He did not even frown. 

In the Beast Chasm, Li Chen had bathed in acid fog that could melt bone in three seconds. He had eaten the deadly neurotoxin of a Rank-1 demonic beast. A 4th Level fire whip felt like a warm, gentle breeze on a spring day. His Void-Iron skin absorbed the heat instantly. 

Li Chen looked at the fire wrapped around his arms. Then, he looked at Senior Sister Lin. 

He smiled. It was a cold, terrifying smile that did not reach his pitch-black eyes. 

He grabbed the burning fire whips with his bare hands. 

"Come here," Li Chen said. 

He pulled the whips backward with a massive, violent tug. 

Lin let out a scream of surprise. The physical force was overwhelming. She was yanked right off her feet. She flew through the air, pulled directly toward Li Chen. 

As she flew toward him, Li Chen pulled his right fist back. 

He did not hit her face. He was not a monster who killed for fun. He aimed carefully. He punched her squarely in the center of her chest armor, just hard enough to knock the air out of her lungs without breaking her ribs. 

Lin gasped, all the magic leaving her body. The fire whips vanished into thin air. She bounced off Li Chen's fist and rolled gently off the stage, landing in the soft grass. She was completely conscious, but she could not breathe or fight anymore. 

"Winner, Li Chen!" 

One punch. Again. 

The arena was in a state of total madness. Li Chen had defeated three of the best fighters in the Outer Sect without ever using a single drop of magic, and without ever needing a second punch. 

The legend of the "Broken Root who found a treasure" was firmly cemented in everyone's mind. They thought he was a magical physical freak. No one knew the truth. No one knew about the dark, bottomless ocean of Qi sitting perfectly calm inside his stomach. 

The sun began to lower in the sky, turning the clouds orange and red. 

The tournament had reached the Quarter-Finals. Only the top eight fighters remained. 

Li Chen stepped onto the stage for his fourth match. 

His opponent was a young man named Venomous Ma. 

Ma was a 5th Level cultivator. He was thin, pale, and had a nasty, wicked smile. He wore dark green robes and carried two short, curved daggers. Ma was infamous in the Outer Sect. He was extremely cruel. He loved to torture his opponents. It was an open secret that Ma was secretly paid by Elder Zhao to permanently cripple anyone who might threaten Zhao Feng's victory. 

Ma stood on the stage, spinning the curved daggers in his hands. 

"You have had a very good run, dirty boy," Ma sneered. He licked his lips. "You beat the brutes and the fools. But pure strength means nothing to me. Do you see the green liquid dripping from my blades?"

Li Chen looked. The sharp edges of the daggers were coated in a thick, glowing green slime. 

"This is the poison of the Emerald Swamp Toad," Ma laughed proudly. "It is incredibly rare and expensive. Even a tiny scratch will send the poison into your blood. Your muscles will freeze. Your lungs will stop working. You will fall to the ground like a broken puppet. And then, I will slowly cut off your fingers, one by one, until you beg me to let you yield."

Li Chen looked at the glowing green poison. 

He almost laughed out loud. 

This fool was trying to threaten the Devourer with poison? Li Chen had lived for a month by eating the most toxic, deadly miasma in the world. His Primordial Chaos Root craved poison. To Li Chen, that green slime looked like a delicious, sweet dessert. 

"Begin!" the referee shouted nervously. He knew how dangerous Ma’s poison was. 

Ma moved instantly. He was a 5th Level cultivator, so he was much faster than the others. He crossed the stage in two steps. He slashed both of his glowing green daggers wildly at Li Chen’s face and chest. 

Li Chen did not try to block with his iron skin this time. He knew the daggers might not cut his skin, but he wanted to prove a point. He wanted to break Ma’s spirit completely. 

Li Chen stepped back slightly, letting the daggers miss his flesh. But he intentionally let one of the sharp blades cut across the front of his black leather coat. 

Riiiip. 

The dagger tore the fabric. The thick, glowing green poison smeared heavily across Li Chen’s black shirt, right over his chest. 

"Ha! I got it on your clothes!" Ma cheered, jumping backward to a safe distance. "The toad poison can soak right through fabric! It will enter your pores! You are already dead!"

The crowd gasped. The Outer Sect Leader, sitting in the VIP stands, frowned deeply. Toad poison was notoriously painful. 

Ma stood proudly, holding his daggers, waiting for Li Chen to fall to his knees and start choking.