Chapter 371: Phase Three Activated, the Terrifying Beastified William

Newark International Youth Martial Arts Center.

「One minute earlier.」

Backstage, inside a private room.

In front of a massive one-way mirror, two high-ranking officials from the White Eagle Country stared intently at the fallen figure in the arena.

Just a few seconds ago,

the "Chosen One" in their eyes, the ultimate weapon forged by the White Eagle Empire with hundreds of billions of US dollars and countless top-notch technologies—

William, had been sliced open like a block of tofu by a woman from Great Xia with a sword.

"Fuck!!!"

A furious roar shattered the dead silence backstage.

One of them, an old man with an aquiline nose, violently smashed his wine glass on the floor.

His face was contorted, and the veins on his neck bulged like writhing earthworms. He was clearly furious to the extreme.

"We lost? We lost even like this?!"

"Is this what you called foolproof? Is this the guaranteed victory you promised the president?!"

Beside him, the other middle-aged man’s expression was just as ugly, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Dammit, how is this possible!"

"How could this damn Great Xia contestant be so strong! She’s only Sixth-Grade! How could she take down a Stage Two William!"

"I don’t want to hear any explanations!"

The aquiline-nosed old man whipped his head around, his murky eyes revealing a hint of madness.

"All I know is that we cannot lose! The White Eagle Empire absolutely cannot fall here!"

"Initiate Stage Three! Now!"

Hearing the words "Stage Three," the middle-aged man froze for a moment.

"N-No... We can’t, sir!"

He hurriedly tried to stop him, his voice cracking.

"Stage Three... that’s a completely uncontrollable destruction mode!"

"Once it’s activated, the energy restriction valve on the Emperor Realm Crystal Core inside William’s body will be completely destroyed, and the energy will instantly run rampant!"

"At that point... William will no longer be a ’Super Soldier.’ He’ll become a beast that only knows how to slaughter! And under the torrent of that berserk energy, his body and soul will be completely incinerated! He’s sure to die!"

The middle-aged man pointed at the fallen William on the screen and said urgently:

"William may be down now, but his vital signs are still there. With our medical technology, it’s not impossible to save him. But if we activate Stage Three..."

"Save him?"

The aquiline-nosed old man let out a cold laugh, a smile so chilling it sent a shiver down one’s spine.

"A failure who lost the match, what value is there in saving him?"

"The White Eagle Empire has no need for failures."

The old man grabbed the middle-aged man by the collar, his eyes savage.

"Listen, the situation is clear. We either win, or we die!"

"Activate it! Now! Immediately! That’s an order!"

The middle-aged man looked into the old man’s bloodshot eyes and finally gritted his teeth.

"Yes..."

With trembling hands, the middle-aged man pulled a black metal device from his pocket.

He flipped open the cover, revealing a red button inside.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slammed his finger down on it!

BEEP—!

...

In the arena.

The instant the button on the black device was pressed,

William, who had been lying on the ground like a dead dog, suddenly convulsed violently.

And then,

SQUELCH—!!!

A bloodcurdling sound of tearing flesh and blood rang out.

At William’s chest, the Emperor Realm Crystal Core, which had already dimmed, suddenly erupted with an incredibly dazzling, blood-red light!

It wasn’t a stable glow of energy.

It was... an explosion!

It was the sign of the energy restriction lock inside the Crystal Core being forcibly broken!

RUMBLE—!!!

An indescribably berserk energy instantly surged through William’s entire body like a burst dam.

His skin began to crack and split apart, inch by inch. The blood that flowed out was instantly vaporized by the high temperature, turning into a thick, bloody mist.

Immediately after, new flesh and blood, stimulated by the berserk energy, began to grow at a sickeningly twisted and frantic pace!

Destruction, reforging.

THUMP.

A single, muffled heartbeat suddenly exploded in everyone’s ears.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The sound of the heartbeat grew faster and louder, until it was so powerful that even the rubble on the ground began to vibrate in time with it!

An unbelievably terrifying aura began to awaken from the mutating body.

The next second, William woke up. He slowly stood up...

No.

He could no longer be called "William" now.

At this moment, his height had shot up to nearly three meters, and his muscles had taken on the blackish-red color of cooled lava.

The most terrifying part was his eyes.

In those eyes, there was not even the slightest trace of human emotion.

The previous arrogance was gone, the anger was gone, and even reason was gone.

All that remained was...

the most primitive, purest bestiality!

It was the kind of greed and savagery that only an apex predator would reveal when facing its prey.

BOOM—!!!

As he stood up completely straight, a visible shockwave of red energy erupted from him, sweeping wildly in all directions!

The temperature inside the entire Beast Fighting Arena instantly skyrocketed by dozens of degrees!

Ninth Grade!

And not just entry-level Ninth Grade.

This aura broke straight through the threshold of Ninth Grade, soaring upward until it finally settled at a despair-inducing level—

Peak of Ninth-Grade!

Just one step away from the legendary King Realm!

"Hiss..."

The entire arena fell deathly silent.

Whether it was the contestants in the arena, the audience outside, or the leaders of the major nations, everyone was frozen stiff.

’Peak of Ninth-Grade?’

’What kind of international joke is this?!’

This is a youth martial arts tournament! How could a terrifying existence like a Peak of Ninth-Grade martial artist appear!

’How are we supposed to fight this?’

"They’re insane... The people from the White Eagle Country have gone insane..."

Chen Shanhe’s face was deathly pale. He gripped the railing so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He could tell that this state was definitely not a normal breakthrough.

This was burning through one’s life force! This was overdrafting one’s soul!

They were using a person like a disposable nuclear bomb!

On another side.

"Quick! Forfeit! Tell them to forfeit!"

The leader of the Rose Country team was the first to react, yelling frantically toward the inside of the protective barrier!

"Ivan! Forfeit now! This isn’t a competition anymore! Surrender immediately if you don’t want to die!"

Since they were going to lose anyway, it was better to surrender and ensure the safety of these prodigies!

Inside the arena.

The contestants from the other countries had already been scared out of their wits.

Facing a monster of this level, the suppression from a higher life form made it impossible for them to even think of resisting.

"I... I forfeit! Referee! The European Union forfeits!"

"The Ancient Aie Empire forfeits!"

"The Rose Kingdom forfeits!"

One panicked shout followed another.

At the end of the day, these people were just students from Martial Arts Universities in their early twenties.

Facing the monster-like William, they were truly terrified!

The chief referee, Pierce, who was hovering in mid-air, was also covered in a cold sweat, his expression extremely grim.

He glanced at the directive sent from backstage, and announced through gritted teeth:

"Forfeiture... is invalid."

"According to the newly amended ’Great Xia Annihilation Battle’ rules..."

"The six-nation alliance is considered a single entity. Forfeiture or surrender requires the consent of the captains from all six allied teams!"

The moment this ruling was announced, the entire arena was in an uproar.

"FUCK! What kind of bullshit rule is that!"

"That monster from the White Eagle Country is in that state! How could he possibly forfeit? He’s just a wild beast now!"

"So they want us to die with them?!"

The contestants from the other countries despaired.

Since their "teammate" on this side wouldn’t forfeit, the only option was...

Everyone’s gaze instantly focused on the Great Xia Team.

That’s right, if the six-nation alliance couldn’t forfeit, then they just needed Great Xia to forfeit!

"Hey! You from Great Xia! Hurry up and surrender!"

A contestant from Europe yelled at Shen Yixuan and the others:

"Stop hesitating! Are you crazy? In this situation, do you really still think you can win?"

"Yeah, hurry up and forfeit. Don’t get us all killed."

Fear is contagious.

Faced with the threat of death, these people couldn’t care less about face or dignity.

They just wanted to live now.

And the only way to live was to make the Great Xia Team surrender and end this damn match.

Outside the arena.

The leaders of the major nations also began to pressure Chen Shanhe.

"Chen! Have your people surrender now! If my team members die in there, our Ancient Aie Empire will not let you off!"

"Mr. Chen, think about the big picture! This isn’t a competition anymore!"

"As long as you surrender, we can even declare you co-champions this time!"

Chen Shanhe clenched his jaw, not saying a word.

’Surrender?’

’Easy for them to say.’

’If Great Xia surrenders now, wouldn’t all our previous efforts, all our sacrifices, and the life-risking strike that Gu Yuexi delivered all become a joke?’

’Besides, this is about the "spot for godhood"!’

’But... if they don’t surrender...’

Looking at the Demon God-like William in the arena, Chen Shanhe’s heart was bleeding.

’This is a situation with no escape from death!’

Online, in Great Xia’s livestream chat, the bullet comments were in an uproar.

"Just surrender... Please, Goddess Gu has already done her best, there’s no need to throw her life away!"

"Yeah, this is just cheating. The White Eagle Country straight-up created a monster. Who can possibly stand up to that?"

"Where there’s life, there’s hope!"

But countless others were unwilling to accept it:

"We can’t surrender! Absolutely not!"

"This is the path Gu Yuexi chose for herself. Even if she has to crawl, she has to see it through to the end!"

"The backbone of us Great Xia People cannot be broken! We can die in battle, but we can’t be scared to death!"

"But... there’s really no way to win this..."

...

Inside the arena.

William’s aura finally stabilized.

He lowered his head slightly, his bestial eyes burning with fire as they slowly swept across his surroundings.

His former "teammates" collapsed to the ground, trembling in fear, wherever his gaze fell.

Finally, his gaze locked onto the white-robed young woman.

The woman who had just brought him the fear of death.

"Roar..."

A low growl rumbled from William’s throat.

The hatred and lust for slaughter etched into his very bones instantly consumed his mind.

’Kill!’

’Kill her!’

’Tear her to shreds!’