Chapter 253: Drown in the Illusion Technique of the Thousand Illusions of Fleeting Life!

"Alright, stop," the examiner called out, halting the match. "The winner is Li Yuan."

Liu Ming bristled. "Why does he win? I clearly haven't lost yet! Give me a little more time and I can break free!"

The examiner looked at him coldly. "Look at your feet."

Liu Ming looked down and froze. At some point, the surrounding dirt and rocks had completely converged around him, poised to bury him alive.

He finally understood Li Yuan's plan. The stone spikes had merely been a restraint; his opponent's true killing stroke was to bury him alive!

Yet he still refused to accept it. "With my strength, I could break free even if I were buried."

"And while you break free, do you think Li Yuan would just stand by and do nothing?" the examiner said coldly. "How much strength could you muster when starved of oxygen? Off the stage. You are eliminated."

Liu Ming paled. A flash of anger flickered in his eyes, but he didn't dare argue further. He slunk away in defeat.

Su Mu had watched the entire battle. There was a reason the Follower of Strength Law was constantly looked down upon. Against a wide array of flashy abilities, a Follower of Strength possessing nothing but brute force was incredibly easy to counter.

Just like in this fight. Even though Li Yuan couldn't breach Liu Ming's defenses, he could still slowly grind him to death by burying him alive.

Shortly after, a staff member stepped onto the stage to repair the arena. He slapped both hands against the floor, causing the ground to ripple. Dirt and rocks churned, and in no time, a brand-new arena was formed.

Li Yuan paused, taking a second look at the unremarkable staff member. He hadn't expected the man to also possess the Earth Stomp Law, much less wield it with far more proficiency than he did.

After all, destruction was always easier than restoration.

His reverence for the Law Enforcement Bureau deepened. It truly lived up to its reputation as the headquarters managing Transcendent Tier incidents across the nation; even a random worker possessed strength that could not be underestimated.

He was far from the only one thinking this.

Right then, a hushed, mocking voice drifted over from beside Su Mu. "You'd better pray you don't get matched against me."

The speaker was the incessantly lingering Yan Wu. Some people were just like that—unless they were taught a bloody lesson, they would nip at your heels forever.

An enigmatic smile tugged at the corners of Su Mu's mouth. He pushed up his glasses, a hidden crystalline blue light glinting in his eyes.

The examiner accepted the randomized roster for the second group of matches from the staff and announced loudly, "Su Mu... versus Yan Wu!"

Hearing the names, Yan Wu erupted with wild joy. He could hardly believe his ears. Had his wish actually come true?

"Hahaha... I didn't expect my luck to be this good."

He shot Su Mu a provocative glare before striding boldly toward the arena. Ten meters away from the stage, he bent his knees slightly and vaulted high into the air, landing perfectly on the platform.

Such a crisp display of agility drew glances from the crowd.

"This guy has an incredibly strong physique. Could he be a Follower of Strength too?"

"No, it doesn't look like it. A Follower of Strength primarily excels in defense, raw power, and regeneration; they don't specialize in speed. This man is light on his feet and highly agile, completely lacking the bulkiness of a Follower of Strength. He must possess a different physique-based Law."

Up on the arena, Yan Wu looked down at Su Mu with a sinister smirk. He crooked a finger in blatant provocation. "Come on up. I'll take it easy on you. We're both from Star City, after all; consider it a favor for a fellow townsman."

Down below, Su Mu remained the picture of elegant composure, making no move to step onto the stage.

Yan Wu sneered. "What's wrong? Too scared of losing to come up?"

Su Mu smiled faintly. "Have you still not realized? The moment you laid eyes on me, you had already lost."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Yan Wu frowned, turning to the examiner. "Mr. Examiner, Su Mu refuses to come up. Can you just declare him eliminated?"

Unexpectedly, the examiner shook his head, his expression icy. "Mr. Su is right. You have already lost."

Yan Wu froze on the spot, utterly dumbfounded. He half-wondered if he had misheard. Pointing a finger at his own chest, he stammered, "I... I lost?"

The examiner gave a frigid nod. "Correct. You lost."

"Hah... what kind of joke is this!?" Yan Wu's expression contorted wildly, absolute disbelief etched across his face. "He hasn't even stepped onto the arena! I haven't even attacked! How the hell could I lose?!"

"Yan Wu, stop being unreasonable. Since you've lost, get down immediately. Do not delay the next match."

"I didn't lose!" Yan Wu's face twisted in sudden, violent rage. He had never experienced anything so absurd in his entire life. Losing before the fight even began? How the fuck was that a loss?!

"I'm the only one standing on this stage! How the fuck did I lose? Did the air defeat me?! It's rigged! This whole thing is rigged!"

He whipped his head around to glare at the audience. "Judge for yourselves, everyone! It's rigged! They rigged it! Su Mu didn't even step onto the arena and the examiner already declared me the loser! This isn't fair at all!"

He roared hysterically, but the crowd below only returned his outbursts with disdain and contempt.

"Hurry up and get off the stage. Stop making a fool of yourself."

"If you're such a sore loser, just get lost. It's obvious Mr. Su won, yet you're still whining?"

"How embarrassing. It's one thing to be weak, but to be a sore loser on top of it?"

Yan Wu froze, standing petrified on the arena. Trembling, he pointed a finger at the crowd. "What... what kind of nonsense are you people spouting?! I didn't lose! How did I lose?!"

"Mr. Su already told you! The moment you laid eyes on him, you had already lost. Why are you still asking how you lost?" someone shouted in annoyance.

Yan Wu looked as if he had just swallowed a fly, his expression twisting into a spectacular knot. "I looked at him once and lost?"

"Yeah!"

Yan Wu instantly snapped. "You're all full of shit! You bastards, you're lying through your fucking teeth! Su Mu! Get up here and fight me if you have the balls!"

The examiner slowly stood up, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Yan Wu, you have severely disrupted the examination's discipline. I am now placing you under formal arrest. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Fuck you!! You colluding bastards!" Yan Wu completely lost his mind. His face twisted in berserk fury, and he vaulted off the arena, lunging at the examiner like a starving tiger pouncing on its prey.

Watching the scene unfold, Su Mu's lips curled into a mysterious smirk. "Foolish man. Drown in the Illusion Technique of the Thousand Illusions of Fleeting Life."

Back in the real world, the entire audience—the examiner included—stared in stunned disbelief. They had absolutely no idea what kind of madness had possessed Yan Wu. From their perspective, the moment Su Mu and Yan Wu had stepped onto the stage, Yan Wu seemed to become a completely different person.

He had suddenly gone hysterical, whirling around to hurl a torrent of profanities at the examiner, cursing him so viciously that the man was left utterly bewildered.

Having tested so many Nightmare Apostles over the last two days, the examiner had seen his fair share of arrogant braggarts. But this was the first time someone had ever outright cursed at him.

And that wasn't all. After cursing out the examiner, he began shouting insults at the other contestants, before finally turning around to physically assault the examiner.

Completely abandoning the match, Yan Wu flew into a violent rage, charging off the stage and lunging straight for the examiner.