Chapter 257: A Real Man's Fight

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

On the Arena, Ji Fan's eyes were bloodshot, and like an enraged bull, he stared fixedly at Lu Yu.

He truly could not accept that a Speed-type Awakened could have strength greater than his own, and he could accept even less that the other party could shatter the Full-body Petrification he took such pride in.

"There is nothing impossible about it." Lu Yu looked at him with a calm expression, his gaze revealing a hint of indifference.

Ji Fan was slightly stunned, then his eyes widened, and he glared viciously at Lu Yu, shouting, "Kid, if you're a man with guts, do you dare trade another punch with me?"

"Huh?"

Hearing him say this, the people around were so shocked their jaws nearly hit the floor.

"This..."

Someone had just started to say something, but then hesitated and stopped.

Ji Fan's use of this goading tactic was just too blunt and too clumsy, wasn't it?

"I don't think there's anything wrong with what Ji Fan said?" someone immediately stood up and said.

"That's right, this is what a real fight between men should be like—fist to flesh! What kind of skill is it to hit and run?" another person chimed in to stir up trouble.

"Brother, don't you fall for it!" those who had placed bets on Lu Yu were suddenly thrown into a panic.

"Brother, you're a Speed-type Awakened; going head-to-head with him is too disadvantageous, there's no need for it, right?"

"Yeah, brother, this guy definitely wasn't using his full strength just now, don't be impulsive."

"Fine."

However, Lu Yu acted as if he hadn't heard the crowd's advice at all, and he nodded in agreement without the slightest hesitation.

"Oh, this..."

Those who had been earnestly advising Lu Yu earlier were all stunned, their faces full of disbelief.

And those standing on Ji Fan's side were all beaming with joy, secretly delighted in their hearts.

He really is a newcomer; falling for a goading tactic so easily, he's just too naive.

"Good, you've got guts! You're a real man!"

Ji Fan feigned praise, and immediately after, countless stones emerged crazily from all over his body like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and they continued to grow and expand at an extremely fast speed.

In the blink of an eye, his physique had grown to more than three times that of an ordinary person, and his height approached two and a half meters.

At this moment, his fist remained the size of a washbasin, but unlike before, the surface was no longer uneven; it was seamless, with five fingers clearly defined, looking even harder and more powerful.

"This time, if you can still break the stones on my arm, I'll admit defeat!" Ji Fan said in a muffled voice, his tone carrying a hint of unwillingness and Ruthless intent.

The next moment, the stone-man incarnation Jifangu raised his massive fist high, twisted his body backward to build up power, and then kicked off the ground violently; his entire body became like an arrow released from a bow, and he slammed a punch toward Lu Yu with all his might.

This punch was not only powerful and heavy, but its speed was also significantly faster than before, and the air was squeezed by this punch, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

In the Control Room, the man in sunglasses watched this thrilling scene and couldn't help but say worriedly, "If this punch lands, I'm afraid it will really cost someone their life, right?"

"I'm afraid it's very likely; I wonder if it's still in time for this newcomer to dodge?"

"Probably too late, right?"

"He, it seems he really intends to take it head-on?"

"Is he throwing his life away?"

Under the nervous gaze of everyone, Lu Yu raised his right arm high again, and then, without a shred of fear, threw a punch.

"Boom!"

A deafening sound that made people's eardrums ache rang out, as if the entire Arena were shaking violently under this impact.

On the Arena, the two fists—one large and one small—collided heavily, erupting with astonishing power.

Everyone widened their eyes, staring fixedly at the stage, not daring to even breathe.

Just as they were shocked that Lu Yu's arm had not shattered under this powerful impact.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound came again.

This familiar scene caused them to focus their gazes on Ji Fan in unison.

And then, they saw a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

"Crack! Crack!"

Accompanied by a continuous series of crisp sounds, a huge crack, like a winding Poisonous snake, started from Ji Fan's fist and spread crazily upward—first the forearm, then the upper arm, and then the entire arm split into three.

Among them, one path of cracks spread toward his head.

The other two paths, one went down along his chest, and the other went down along his back, eventually extending to his thighs, calves, and all the way to his feet.

"Crack!"

With the final sound, the stones covering Ji Fan's entire body collapsed instantly as if they had encountered a landslide, scattering onto the ground; they piled up more than a meter high, completely burying most of his body, leaving only his shoulders and a face frozen in shock exposed.

"Now, you can admit defeat, right?" Lu Yu asked calmly, looking at the stone-buried Ji Fan.

Lu Yu's calm words seemed to carry some kind of magic, clearly echoing in the ears of everyone present.

The crowd's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the stone-buried Ji Fan.

Everyone knew clearly that Ji Fan had previously sworn to Lu Yu, "If you can still break the stones on my arm, I'll count it as your win."

However, reality had slapped his face hard; Lu Yu not only broke the stones on his arm but directly shattered the stones covering his entire body.

Could this strength be something an E-rank Awakened possesses? Absolutely impossible!

One must know that among the dozens of E-rank Awakened present, Ji Fan's strength might not be the strongest, but when he activated his Full-body Petrification state, his defensive power was definitely in the top three among E-rank Awakened.

It was just that this Full-body Petrification state consumed a massive amount of Mental Power and could not be maintained for very long.

Therefore, in previous sparring matches, opponents would often avoid his edge first and wait for him to exit the petrification state before attacking, thereby winning the victory.

But like today, having an opponent directly Explode his petrified armor with a single punch was a first.

"No wonder,"

In the Control Room, Du Hu seemed to suddenly understand something, and he said with a sudden realization:

"No wonder he had such confidence to participate in the Arena match, and even dared to bet all his points on himself; it turns out he is actually a D-rank Awakened."

"Brother Hu, this kid is too cunning," a man nearby said with a face full of resentment, "He took advantage of everyone not knowing his strength to catch them off guard, raising his points from one hundred to over four hundred in one go, and this time it has even jumped directly to over one thousand."

"Yeah, it's too insidious!" the others said, feeling both envious and jealous.

After all, one thousand points is not a small amount; even if half of them were D-rank Awakened, they would still need to form a team and complete several D-rank missions to obtain that many points.