At the base layer was a solid pale gold—the original color of his Ten Rounds as One bone tempering.
Wound around those golden bone patterns were threads of pale silver-white lines.
The lines were very thin and faint.
If one did not deliberately focus their senses to investigate, they would be difficult to distinguish.
Yet they spanned his entire body: his spine, shoulder blades, ribs, phalanges...
A thin, silver-white halo shimmered across the surface of every single bone, omnipresent.
This was the power of space-time!
Lin Yuan was more than familiar with this energy.
Back in the Hexagon Building, when he was refining the red crystal, his space-time ability had activated automatically, desperately trying to wrap around that violent external energy.
Even though it had been repelled time and time again, through seven hours of continuous struggle, the space-time power had unconsciously seeped into the depths of his bones, bit by bit.
It wasn't that he had actively cultivated or tempered them; rather, the space-time ability within him had acted on its own to protect his life, silently remodeling his physical body.
However, the third color was completely beyond Lin Yuan’s expectations.
It was blood-red!
Blood-red lines as fine as capillaries were densely distributed at the junctions between the golden and silver-white bone patterns.
They were few in number, yet exceptionally striking and eye-catching.
This was the pure energy left behind after refining the red crystal.
The violent will within the crystal had been completely refined by the silver phantom, leaving only the purest source power.
During the fusion process, it had embedded itself deeply into the bone patterns, becoming a permanent part of his own power.
Three-colored patterns, triple extreme tempering!
At the thought, Lin Yuan slowly clenched his fist.
Instantly, his Ten Rounds as One bones emitted a faint, crisp hum, and the three-colored patterns glowed simultaneously.
His physical strength had surged significantly once again compared to when he had first achieved the Ten Rounds as One breakthrough!
The specific improvement couldn't be quantified, but it was certain that even if he had to withstand the Imperial Prince’s Shadow Burial ultimate again...
He wouldn't even need the stone slab inside him for protection. His bones alone would likely be enough to endure it.
While he was at it, Lin Yuan also noticed his height.
He hadn't realized it back at the hospital in Hangzhou, but as he walked down the carriage aisle earlier, he clearly felt his line of sight was higher than before.
His original height of 182 centimeters had jumped straight to 184.
The reconstruction of the ten rounds of bone tempering, combined with the repeated refinement by the three-colored energies, had actually increased his stature.
“I suppose this is a literal blessing in disguise.”
Lin Yuan leaned back against his seat, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
After a night of life-and-death struggle, his gains had far exceeded his imagination.
A set of three-colored bones that surpassed the limits of Ten Rounds as One, and a dark red light core beating steadily within his chest.
There was also a mass of pure residual energy, wrapped in space-time power, that had yet to be fully refined.
That mass of energy hovered quietly next to the light core, perfectly stable.
Once he reached Magic City and found a quiet cultivation room to fully refine this energy, his strength might even break through once more.
Just then, the train car swayed slightly and began to slow down.
The train’s intercom crackled to life, announcing that they were approaching a small city along the route.
Lin Yuan opened his eyes just as an emergency news report popped up on the public screen at the front of the carriage.
【Early this morning, the Dragon Nation National Security Committee, in conjunction with the Ability User Association Headquarters, held an emergency press conference.】
【The monster tide in Hangzhou was orchestrated by the Blood Eye Cult in collusion with the Shadow Abyss Wolf Clan of the Abyss Magic Cave to sabotage the cave’s seal.】
【A nationwide order has been issued for a total crackdown on the Blood Eye Cult. Over forty cities are conducting joint searches, and ability user legions and city defense armies everywhere have entered Level 3 combat readiness.】
The screen suddenly switched scenes.
At the press conference, Fang Qing stood at the podium dressed in deep green robes, his expression calm and indifferent.
A forest of microphones stood before him, and camera flashes blinked incessantly, their light blinding.
Fang Qing’s voice was steady as he slowly addressed the audience.
“The seal on the Hangzhou Magic Cave was successfully reinforced early this morning. The remaining monsters in the city have been completely purged, and civilian casualties are currently being tallied.”
“The most significant event of this conflict was the successful killing of one Tier 2, Level 6 Shadow Abyss Imperial Prince, along with three Tier 2, Level 5 Shadow Abyss Royals.
This marks the first time in five hundred years that humanity has obtained the intact corpse of a Shadow Abyss Imperial Prince, which is of immense value for future research into the Magic Cave.”
At this point, a reporter in the audience immediately raised their hand and asked loudly:
“Instructor Fang, may I ask which academy the high-level instructor who killed the Imperial Prince belongs to? Or is it...”
Hearing this, Fang Qing simply shook his head slightly, his tone calm.
“It was not an instructor, nor was it a high-level ability user. It was an ordinary candidate participating in the college entrance exam.”
As those words fell, the entire press conference—and the train car Lin Yuan was in—instantly went silent.
A young man in the front row immediately pulled off his headphones. A passenger behind and to the side put down their water bottle. Everyone stared at the screen, their faces filled with shock.
Lin Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively shrank deeper into his seat.
Before he could react, Fang Qing’s voice rang out again.
“This candidate single-handedly slew the Imperial Prince and the three Royals while doing his utmost to protect dozens of citizens. His name is Lin Yuan, and he is from Donghai City.”
“On behalf of Hangzhou, I express my most sincere gratitude to Lin Yuan!”
Soon, Lin Yuan’s personal information began to scroll rapidly across the bottom of the screen.
Lin Yuan, eighteen years old, candidate from Donghai City, F-rank lightning ability, first place in the Hangzhou college entrance exam practical...
Score: 1756, the highest score in the history of the Dragon Nation. Single-handedly killed a Tier 2, Level 6 Shadow Abyss Imperial Prince!
However, to the disappointment of many, no photograph of Lin Yuan was released throughout the broadcast.
...
In the next second, the entire carriage erupted. Everyone was filled with disbelief, and a wave of chatter rose up!
“Did I see that right? An F-rank ability user killed a Tier 2 Imperial Prince? Is he using cheats?!”
“Lin Yuan! That’s the monster from the forums who went one-vs-nine and dominated the rankings by a landslide!”
“My friend took the exam in Hangzhou. He said Lin Yuan’s score was twice as high as the second place. It’s terrifying!”
“Damn! Does this kid have a system? He’s definitely cheating.”
Hearing this, Lin Yuan’s expression stiffened. He immediately pulled up his jacket hood to hide his face and curled up in the window seat.
He cursed Fang Qing in his mind. The man looked so steady and reliable; who knew he couldn't keep his mouth shut!
Now it was great—everyone on this train knew Lin Yuan’s name and knew he had killed a Shadow Abyss Imperial Prince.
It wouldn't be long before the entire ability user world heard the news.
Lin Yuan was secretly relieved that Shen Man and Su Qingyue weren't in this carriage.
Otherwise, Su Qingyue would surely have cried out in alarm, and Shen Man would have looked at him with a face full of schadenfreude, enjoying the show.
The train sped northward.
In the distance outside the window, the once blurry gray-blue silhouettes gradually became clear. A magnificent and grand megacity finally came into view.
Magic City had arrived!
...
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