Chapter 73

Some of the audience were already planning to place bets.

"Ace!"

"How about it? Do you want to join us?"

To everyone's surprise, this was actually Ma Ma Diqi's first sentence.

Facing the man who was hunting him down, his first words were actually an invitation.

However, this also showed that he was confident and fearless.

Wang Ace didn't even lift his head.

Faint flames emerged around his body, exuding an aura of pure badassery.

One has to admit, looking back at Wang Luffy's "Self-Freedom Technique" now, it seems a bit too one-dimensional.

Rumble!

The sound of something massive shaking rang out.

It turned out that while the two were talking, Ma Ma Diqi's subordinates had launched a sneak attack from behind.

Wang Ace didn't even flinch.

With a single "Heavenly Phenomenon," he stylishly dodged the attack.

"Everyone, stand down."

"You are no match for him."

It was clear that the subordinates Ma Ma Diqi had recruited were not weak.

But facing Wang Ace, he still didn't dare to be arrogant.

In front of this man, numbers couldn't make up for anything.

But the audience didn't quite understand; they felt a group brawl might have been better.

Could it be that Ma Ma Diqi still wanted a one-on-one? Is he an idiot?

"Flame Fist!"

Powerful internal energy gathered in his right hand.

The internal force surged, erupting outward and sparking in the air.

The buildings in front and Ma Ma Diqi himself were all swallowed by a sea of fire.

At the same time, Ma Ma Diqi's screams could be heard.

The audience was confused—is that it? Just that?

Ma Ma Diqi's screams were extremely miserable. It was clear he was very afraid of pain.

Someone who Wang Ace considered so important was actually rolling on the ground.

It really went against the demeanor of a powerhouse.

Fortunately, Lin Yi immediately explained it all.

[Side Effect of the Great Dark Heaven]

The pain one receives is doubled.

The audience was instantly speechless.

This side effect is just too huge; why would anyone waste such a high price to snatch this broken thing?

However, some sharper viewers realized it immediately.

Ma Ma Diqi is no fool.

The stronger the side effect, the more powerful the technique must be.

Sure enough, Ma Ma Diqi's screaming suddenly stopped abruptly.

The internal energy around his body exploded, wrapped in a black mist.

Ace's remaining flame energy was instantly devoured.

The air seemed to be enveloped in a cold, sinister aura.

A flash of confidence crossed Ma Ma Diqi's eyes.

And Wang Ace became a bit more serious.

He realized he seemed to have underestimated his former subordinate, or rather, underestimated this ancient secret manual.

"Star-Sucking Great Art!"

The black energy spread crazily, and the surrounding buildings began to shake violently.

Just looking at Ma Ma Diqi's internal energy, he was definitely a hidden master who had been lying low for years.

And this "Star-Sucking Great Art" was one of the strongest moves in the Great Dark Heaven.

Countless buildings were sucked in and then violently flung toward Wang Ace.

The sky seemed to turn dark; that darkness seemed capable of swallowing everything.

Just seeing this move, the audience understood.

It can only be said that the high price Ma Ma Diqi paid was worth it.

"Do you understand now, Ace!"

"This is the new divine art I've obtained!"

Ma Ma Diqi actually still had time to show off. However, Wang Ace's expression did indeed become more serious.

"Burning Fire!"

No extra nonsense.

Wang Ace unleashed his divine art, setting the opponent on fire.

The side effect of the Great Dark Heaven immediately manifested.

Double the pain—even a powerhouse with Ma Ma Diqi's extreme tolerance couldn't bear it.

The audience was completely enthralled.

This kind of martial arts struggle was even more satisfying than Wang Luffy's previous ones.

It also gave them a glimpse of the upper limits of the future martial arts world.

No, this isn't the limit yet.

"Great Dark Heaven!"

Darkness appeared again, completely swallowing the flames.

The darkness would torture Ma Ma Diqi, but it would also help him swallow everything around him.

Wang Ace finally felt things were getting tricky.

He had underestimated the Great Dark Heaven; it was simply the bane of ancient secret manuals.

"Star-Sucking Great Art!"

Ma Ma Diqi's ability was indeed somewhat perverse.

Wang Ace was fiercely sucked toward him.

Sharp-eyed viewers noticed he seemed to want to activate his "Heavenly Phenomenon," but failed.

Aside from the previous Holy Water, this was the first time the Heavenly Phenomenon had failed.

But clearly, Ma Ma Diqi hadn't found the opponent's weakness.

Could it be...

The audience had a bold guess, but if that were the case, this ancient secret manual would be too heaven-defying.

"Bang!"

Since his debut, Wang Ace, who had been like a fire god descending to earth, was now slammed into the ruins with a single palm.

Practitioners of the Heavenly Phenomenon divine art all share a common weakness.

That is, they are overly dependent on their own divine art.

Now that he was clearly being countered, he appeared at a great disadvantage.

From this, everyone could see that ancient secret manuals aren't necessarily good things.

For example, someone like Liu Zoro, who cultivated entirely through his own strength, should be stronger.

Wang Luffy is actually about the same; even if he lost his Self-Freedom Technique, his own martial arts cultivation is very strong and wouldn't drop too much.

But for those like Wang Ace and Sha Zhen'e who are used to the Heavenly Phenomenon...

Once countered, they appear very disadvantaged.

And at this moment, the most terrifying ability of the Great Dark Heaven finally manifested.

It could actually seal the internal energy of ancient secret manual practitioners.

The audience finally began to worry.

Wang Ace, unable to use fire, probably had his strength drop by more than one level.

"Star-Sucking Great Art!"

"Flame Spear!"

The two stopped hiding and began to blast each other!

Ma Ma Diqi was beaten until he was crying out in misery.

But as time passed, the audience keenly noticed something.

Wang Ace couldn't hold on anymore.

Ma Ma Diqi kept screaming, but he was surprisingly tanky.

[Why is this kid only screaming but not getting injured!]

[Exactly, Wang Ace's hits on him are solid Flame Fists, while his counterattacks are just ordinary palm techniques.]

[Doesn't this kid take double damage? How is he still standing!]

[Is there a possibility he's just naturally tanky?]

[If that's the case, that's too terrifying.]

The audience realized they had fallen into a misconception.

They thought Ma Ma Diqi had obtained the Great Dark Heaven and was only gaining the upper hand due to the technique's suppression.

But as the battle continued, they found that Ma Ma Diqi's own internal energy foundation was quite profound.

In short, it was definitely no weaker than Wang Ace's.

The audience felt a sudden chill on their scalps.

A character with this much popularity couldn't just be killed off after one appearance, right?

They believed Lin Yi wouldn't write such a brain-dead plot.

But what was certain now was that the character Ma Ma Diqi must be very important.

This was already the most intense battle in the plot so far.

At this moment, Ma Ma Diqi had the complete upper hand.

"Ace, join us!"

It was clear he still had a bit of a hero's demeanor.

Even though he had the complete upper hand, he still extended an invitation to Wang Ace.

But Wang Ace was full of disdain.

Yet he also knew clearly that he was definitely no match for his opponent anymore.

"You want me to bow to power?"

"Then there is no meaning to me as a man!"

"I will never leave regrets in my life!"

"Do you understand, idiot!"

Ma Ma Diqi shook his head with great regret.

"That is truly a pity, Chief!"

Twice was his limit; he gave up on recruiting him.

The sky seemed to turn even darker.

It was time to end all of this.

One black, one red—two rays of light flashed around the two men.

All the viewers perked up; everyone knew this was the final episode.

"Flame Emperor!"

"Great Dark Heaven!"

"Boom!"

The two rays of light collided violently.

But just at this moment, the screen cut to black.

The big plaza was instantly in an uproar—what is this, stopping halfway through the fight?

Just then, Lin Yi finally threw down his pen comfortably.

He stood up and stretched lazily.

Then he pressed the bell to end the competition early.

And on the screen, only four words remained.

Please look forward to it.

At this moment, all the viewers had ten thousand curses in their hearts, not sure if they should say them.

It's too damn frustrating; they didn't even finish the last episode.

And this time it was really over; this kid had already handed in his paper.

[Damn it, is there anyone who wants to send blades with me!]

[What is the ending? At least announce it!]

[It must be Ma Ma Diqi who won; Wang Ace was already at the end of his rope.]

[You can't say it like that; he's still the Chief, after all.]

[What's the use of being the Chief? Ma Ma Diqi clearly hid too deep. And that ancient secret manual of his is too bugged!]

[I don't care who won, why didn't he finish writing it?]

[Is it possible the author doesn't even know who will win because he hasn't thought of it yet!]

[Don't even say it, it's damn well possible. You're really dead, Lin Yi.]

Fortunately, Lin Yi had his own dedicated channel for ending the competition.

Otherwise, just for this stunt, he would have been torn apart by the angry audience.

Lin Yi's departure caused the lively plaza to instantly quiet down.

The audience began to cast their eyes on other contestants, but no matter how they looked, it was dull.

Finally, they unconsciously moved their eyes back to the frozen screen.

One black, one red—two rays of light collided.

Leaving behind endless suspense.

Lin Yi, who ended the competition early, didn't have much time to rest.

There were simply too many people eyeing his work.

If the first round was just being optimistic, then by the end of the second round, this work was already being fought over crazily.

Whether it was the copyright for the manga or the anime.

It had become something the market was scrambling for.

Lin Yi had already found specialized people to handle these things for him.

The orthodox martial arts anime and manga were already being prepared for release.

They would add many detailed plot points and stories to his original framework from the first and second rounds.

But the overall structure would not change.

This might be what's called "original animation team plot."

During his break, he received countless interview requests.

But he turned them all down.

Nothing else, they were all asking nonsense.

And he had also hit a bottleneck.

The stuff below is very hard to write, extremely hard to write, and very unreasonable.

He needs to think about it carefully.

After this kid handed in his paper early, he clearly felt the heat of the entire program drop by several levels.

Even several judges were a bit uninterested.

When the competition officially ended.

The rest of the contestants went to observe Lin Yi's work first thing.

Then they all put on "pain masks."