Chapter 82: Unable to Remain Calm

Hearing the crisp sound of the system notification, Ke Bei froze abruptly, his raised foot suspended mid-air, a look of undisguised delight spreading across his face.

Ever since he had taken on the serial quest of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, Ke Bei had not heard the system’s lottery prompt for a long time. The sudden alert left him standing there, dumbfounded for a moment.

“Do you wish to draw the lottery now?”

The system’s clear voice sounded again, finally snapping Ke Bei back to his senses.

“Hahaha, I’ve struck it rich this time!” Ke Bei shouted, leaping up in excitement, his face alight with wild joy.

He had completed the second stage of the Nine Yang Divine Skill task with ease, gained the recognition of the Tower of Enlightenment, and received the system reward of the middle volume of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, boosting his internal strength nearly tenfold!

Ke Bei’s power had undergone a qualitative leap—how could he not be thrilled? Moreover, this task had proceeded with surprising smoothness, almost effortless to accomplish; it was the most relaxed quest he had ever experienced, and naturally, he was overjoyed.

But compared to the system’s reward, what truly exhilarated Ke Bei was gaining mastery over the Tower of Enlightenment!

What was the Tower of Enlightenment? It was a legendary artifact, not just any ordinary relic, its terrifying power among the very pinnacle of all artifacts!

To obtain such a fearsome relic, Ke Bei was understandably beside himself with joy!

Looking across the entire Earth, whether artifacts existed or not, Ke Bei was confident that none could compare to his Tower of Enlightenment.

Now that he had become its master, Ke Bei knew well the tower’s might. Although his current strength limited its use, he believed that once he was capable of fully wielding it, he would not fear even the strongest human alive!

Not only had he completed the second stage of the Nine Yang Divine Skill quest and gained mastery over the Tower of Enlightenment, but the system had also granted another opportunity to draw a lottery prize. The successive surprises left Ke Bei feeling as though he had been struck by fortune itself.

“Draw the reward!”

Taking a deep breath to steady his racing heart, Ke Bei slowly closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the system disk within his consciousness.

The system disk contained eighteen slots; as before, only six glowed with hazy golden light, while the other twelve remained shrouded in gray.

When Ke Bei saw the middle volume of the Dragon Elephant Power Skill, he drew a sharp breath, his gaze fixed tightly upon its golden slot, unable to look away.

“Dragon Elephant Power Skill! There’s actually the Dragon Elephant Power Skill!”

Ke Bei’s breathing grew heavier. His physical strength was already equivalent to that of two hundred men; if he could obtain the middle volume of the Dragon Elephant Power Skill and refine his body further, his power would leap again—perhaps reaching five hundred men’s strength! Five hundred, multiplied by the eightfold boost of the Ninefold Thunder Slash, would be four thousand men’s strength!

Such terrifying power—who beneath the God of War realm could stand against him?

The raw might of his body alone would be formidable, and if combined with the internal power of the Nine Yang Divine Skill?

Thinking thus, Ke Bei’s heart burned ever hotter, excitement making his body tremble slightly. He could hardly bring himself to look at the next golden slot’s martial art.

“Hoo~~”

Exhaling deeply, Ke Bei suddenly shut his eyes, waited in silence until his fervor abated, then slowly opened them again and shifted his gaze to the next golden slot.

“Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms!”

Seeing the flashing golden characters inside the slot, Ke Bei, though slightly calmer, was stirred anew!

Now, having obtained the first six layers of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, his internal power was already abundant. What he lacked was a powerful offensive martial art.

Without a formidable attack skill, Ke Bei felt as though he had strength he could not unleash, the surging power in his dantian with nowhere to vent—a most frustrating sensation!

Now, the system had presented the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, a martial art of extreme dominance!

If Ke Bei could draw this skill, his power would multiply several times over!

The thick internal strength of the Nine Yang Divine Skill paired with the fierce might of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms—such a combination would leave not only Hei Qin, ranked twenty-ninth on the Azure Dragon List, but even Luo Ling’s elder brother Luo Han, no match for him!

Luo Han was in the top ten of the Azure Dragon List, his real combat ability possibly among the top five—his strength far beyond characters like Hei Qin.

In other words, if Ke Bei drew the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, he could stand against the top five experts of the Azure Dragon List!

“Damn it, aren’t you just making things difficult for me?” Ke Bei widened his eyes, his gaze darting between the middle volume of the Dragon Elephant Power Skill and the upper volume of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. He wanted both—unable to part with either.

His eyes were tinged with bloodshot veins as he reluctantly shifted his gaze to the third slot. Seeing the ancient characters for “Upper Volume of the Indestructible Vajra Body,” Ke Bei was utterly stunned.

His bloodshot eyes nearly bulged out; his lips, still parted from his earlier curse, remained slightly open as his entire being froze in place.

“Middle Dragon Elephant Power Skill, Upper Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Upper Indestructible Vajra Body, Arhat Fist, Serene Finger, Seven Stars Fist.”

After a moment of silence, Ke Bei blinked, a hint of madness in his eyes, his burning gaze sweeping over the six golden slots one by one.

“System… you… damn it, are you teasing me…”

Ke Bei could no longer remain calm. No matter how deeply he breathed, he could not steady his heart.

The middle volume of the Dragon Elephant Power Skill, the upper volume of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the upper volume of the Indestructible Vajra Body—he desired all three passionately. To give up any of them felt like having a piece of his heart ripped away.

He simply couldn’t bear it, truly couldn’t! Yet he had to abandon two, for even with luck, he could only receive one of the three martial arts.

If his luck failed and he drew the Arhat Fist, Serene Finger, or Seven Stars Fist, he would be left speechless, watching his dream skills slip away—who could endure that?

But this lottery was pure chance, without any skill involved; Ke Bei dared not hope he could rely on luck to get what he wished.

Although there was a fifty percent chance of drawing one of the three martial arts he wanted, who could predict the whims of fortune?

Thus, Ke Bei was more nervous than ever before, even more so than in any previous lottery. He stood stock-still for a long time, unable to begin the draw.

“Damn, since I’ve already gained the Tower of Enlightenment, my luck can’t possibly be bad today!”

“Begin the draw!”

Ke Bei consoled himself, his eyes locked onto the silver light moving across the golden disk. Taking a deep breath, he shouted, a tragic resolve surging within him.

ps: Damn it, now I finally understand what it means to fall behind by a step—not slow, but not fast enough! Yesterday I stayed up till four to finish three chapters, and with no morning classes, naturally I slept in. This afternoon was full of classes; I’d planned to skip, but unexpectedly they called roll, so I couldn’t escape and had to sit through it all. Now it’s past three in the morning again, and I have class tomorrow morning—damn, this is just messing with me!

Brothers, my update volume is much less than others, but I’ve done my best to catch up. Sigh, I’m embarrassed to ask for votes, but if you feel for this humble scribe, please give a recommendation as consolation… I really don’t dare to ask anymore, so just follow your heart. Also, thanks to Demon God brother for the generous reward, and thanks to Book Friend 100328157 and Next Stop Waiting for your tips.

Your support means a lot—I promise I won’t keep letting you down. This feeling of wanting votes but not daring to ask is really suffocating… I can’t take it, I’m off to sleep. Good night—or rather, good morning. Saying good night seems a bit late…