Chapter 866

Just as Lu Ka stepped forward, his vision went black, and only six clear gunshots remained in his ears.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang——!"

The bullet instantly destroyed the mechanical arm he was using to block, and before he could even see what Bo Ti Ou did next, his legs gave out and he crashed hard onto the cold, hard stage.

"(What happened… am I… dead?)"

"The… winner is… 【Sea Patrol Wanderer】 Bo Ti Ou!"

"……"

"Press conference scene."

"It's a pity that Lu Ka lost to Sea Patrol Wanderer Bo Ti Ou in this match. The upcoming press conference will be fielded by Lu Ka's coach, Xing."

"Only see Hu Ke standing below the stage, raising his right hand high: "I, I represent Bei Luobo Ge's Crystal Daily and ask you a question!""

"Does the Crystal Daily hire child reporters?"

"No one hired me; this is just my holiday homework, submitting to the Crystal Daily." Hu Ke shook his head and said, "Online they say the Martial Arts Ceremony is almost becoming an arms expo, and if this continues, annihilation cannons will be used." Coach Xing, how do you evaluate this online view?"

——

One-Punch Man

"Exactly! The tech level in this is way too high!"

Child Emperor had said earlier that at first Lu Ka's use of an iron arm to compensate for his disability was fine; although technology strengthened his punching power, without the iron arm he couldn't even step onto the stage to compete. But Bo Ti Ou's use of thermal weapons on stage is excessive—this has completely left the realm of "martial arts"!

"If that counts, then piloting a giant mech to fight people could also earn a good placement in the Martial Arts Ceremony, right?"

"If we don't use technological weapons, how many would be willing to fight with cold weapons?" The Metal Knight said lightly, "Besides, even the swordsmen of Immortal Vessel have already mounted thermal weapons on their swords, even developing techniques like the 'Flying Sword'; judging competition fairness solely by technological level would be too narrow."

"The Martial Arts Ceremony is a commercial event; as long as the audience loves it, the rules aren't a problem." Shining Flayss crossed his arms, shifting his gaze to the boy ahead, and said, "Child Emperor, ask yourself: do you want to see two Immortal Vessel fighters bare‑fisted on the stage, or two people slashing passionately with neutron swords and white‑dwarf blades? Slash out a black hole?"

"Do you want to see cloud riders clashing with cold weapons, or see cultivators training until they shed their forms and ascend to immortality?"

"Ugh…" Child Emperor finally sighed, "…Well, I still want to see a black hole."

Although it seems unfair that tech battles disadvantage ordinary martial artists, upon reflection, beings like Flying Sky—who have trained their bodies to the point of launching nuclear bombs bare‑handed—show that the upper limit of physical strength in the universe, bolstered by fate, is extremely high. Conversely, the thermal weapons allowed in the Martial Arts Ceremony usually have their power capped, making nuclear‑level blasts impossible.

Thus, it seems the ceiling of forging one's own flesh is higher after all—no wonder Super Alloy Black Light is so obsessed with training his muscles… Child Emperor finally came up with a reasonable explanation.

——

"The Martial Arts Ceremony also needs to keep up with the times—no matter what weapon is used, what matters most is that the match be exciting. If we strictly followed purism, over half the competitors would be screened out."

"Although Lu Ka lost this match, she will urge him to prepare intensely for the revival match. As for why Lu Ka lost so quickly, the only answer Coach Xing could give was "Lu Ka was careless, didn't dodge…""

"After the press conference ended, Xing immediately went to the newsstand; Lu Ka's loss this time was not only his first personal defeat, but also the record for the quickest victory over an opponent in this Martial Arts Ceremony."

"Returning to the lounge, Lu Ka sat pale‑faced and listless in a chair, with no trace of vigor left on his face."

"His mechanical arm was completely destroyed, sputtering sparks outward."

""…Our levels are worlds apart. Do you know? When I got close to him, I… seemed to see death!""

""What are we going to do about your iron arm?""

""That's not something we should worry about, is it?""

"Lu Ka clutched his severed arm, head bowed, and said weakly, "Klara prepared a few spare gloves for me… but what good are they? I'm still getting shot one by one by Bo Ti Ou. I'm just a country bumpkin who's never seen the world—I shouldn't even be in this competition. The gap is just too wide…""

Ka Mei Li: "Don't be discouraged! Remember?! The martial arts ceremony has a 'popularity revival' mechanism! Now all the galaxy's audience loves you; they'll let you popularity revive!"

"Popularity revival? Maybe everyone just wants to see my jokes… wants to see how I get lectured again and slink away in defeat." Lu Ka had already completely sunk into self-abandonment, "Sorry, Mr. Jiepade, Miss Buluoniya… I, I am just a useless good-for-nothing."

"But..."

"Sorry… I… I want to be alone for a while…"

——

Re: Starting Life in Another World from Zero.

"No matter whether Lu Ka revives or not, he can't beat Botuei." Bicuisi lifted her teacup, took a light sip, "... meaningless."

"Not necessarily?" Subaru pursed his lips, slowly extended three fingers, "In my opinion, Lu Ka currently wants to beat Botuei, there are three ways."

Bicuisi's water-blue eyes glanced at Subaru: "I'd like to hear the details."

"The first way is to quickly increase one's own strength—but as a human, if you haven't cultivated some weird technique or magic, wanting to achieve it through proper cultivation in a short time is practically impossible. Using this method to defeat Botuei… well, the chances are probably less than ten percent."

Subaru extended a second finger: "The second way is much simpler, using the relationship between Star and the Stone Heart Ten to help him repair his damaged arm, giving Lu Ka a weapon like a pulse laser cannon… in short, as long as the firepower can surpass Botuei. Using this method I think the success rate could be thirty percent."

"Only thirty percent?" Pak floated onto Subaru's head, curiously hands on hips sizing him up, "If even with absolute weapon superiority you don't have full confidence, then tell me, what other method has the highest chance of success?"

"Hmph…" Subaru extended a third finger: "The third method, since we can't solve the problem, we solve the person who created the problem. Since Botuei is a wanted criminal of the Star Peace Company, we just need to have the Star Peace Company act quickly. Of course, the goal isn't to help the company catch him; we just need to drive Botuei away."