Vampire With A System

Chapter 29: Julian vs Tim ( 2 )

The light radiating from Julian’s palm cast long, distorted shadows across the massive white sand ring of the arena.

The sudden spike in atmospheric pressure was so immense that the air grew heavy, forcing the students sitting in the front rows of the bleachers to clutch their chests as their breath hitched.

Tim’s high-speed sprint ground to a sudden, violent halt. The absolute arrogance on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a wave of pure, unadulterated shock that made his knees tremble.

’Interesting.’

His instincts, honed by a brutal survival in the lower commoner rings, screamed at him to run.

He dug his heels into the dirt, attempting to reverse his forward momentum and retreat using the full, frantic speed of his Horse Strength worm.

But it was already too late. The gap between a basic worm and an Awakened treasure was a chasm that raw effort could not cross.

In this world, without Blood Worms, even an immortal can not survive... This is the importance and the power of them. frёeωebɳovel.com

’Retreating? How pathetically predictable,’ Julian’s mocking voice echoed right in Tim’s ear, cold and whisper-close

The sand and stone beneath Julian’s polished boots violently exploded outward in a massive shockwave, clearing a three-meter circle of dust and debris.

Before Tim could even take a single full step backward, Julian appeared directly in front of his face, moving at a velocity that completely bypassed the visual tracking of a regular fledgling.

Julian’s right fist was enveloped in a terrifying, vibrating translucent aura that seemed to warp and warp the very air around his knuckles, creating a low, humming frequency that vibrated through the stadium stones.

’Meet the Three-Times Impact Blood Worm,’ Julian sneered, his cold eyes locked onto Tim’s wide, trembling pupils.

Up in the announcer’s box, the commentator gasped loudly into his sound worm, his voice shaking the rafters.

’Heavens! It’s an Impact-series worm! A true Awakened Blood Worm --- brought out in the very first match!’ ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

The Impact Blood Worm was legendary within the cultivation world for its sheer, devastating simplicity.

Just as Julian had stated, when the user lands a strike, the kinetic force of the punch is contractually and instantaneously tripled upon contact.

But the true terror of the Impact-series worms lay in their insidious versatility. They were not limited to raw physical damage or breaking bones.

If a cultivator paired an Impact worm with a soul-based or mental attack like methods primarily utilized by the deceptive, psychological Nightmare and Wisdom path cultivators. The psychological trauma and mental illusions inflicted on the victim’s mind would also be multiplied.

A minor headache would become a brain-shattering aneurysm; a simple illusion of fear would become a paralyzing waking nightmare that could break a man’s sanity.

The Impact-series had a hierarchy, by upgrading them, they would power up. The Awakened Level had a 3x Impact, Prayer Level had 5x Impact, Ancient Level had 8x Impact, Saint Level had 15x Impact.

The progression strictly stopped at the Saint Level. Beyond that, even the legendary, reality-defying Immortal Worms could not upgrade the fundamental concept of the Impact series.

The heavens themselves capped the multiplying law at fifteen, the tearing of of space apart with a single touch.

But against a mere fledgling like Tim, who possessed nothing but a Basic Strength Blood Worm, a 3x Impact Blood Worm was already an absolute death warrant.

’Down, stray,"’Julian hissed, his eyes flashing with malicious delight.

Julian drove his vibrating fist straight into the side of Tim’s head.

A millisecond later, while the skull was still cracking, the impacts detonated simultaneously inside his skull.

The sheer, multiplied force rattled Tim’s brain violently against his bone structure, completely bypassing his physical muscles and outer skin.

Tim didn’t even have the chance to scream or voice a surrender. His eyes immediately rolled back into his head, his consciousness forcibly and violently ripped from his body.

His limbs went entirely limp, and he crashed heavily into the sand like a puppet whose thick ropes had been cleanly sliced by a razor, unconscious before his torso even hit the ground.

A small trail of blood leaked from his ear, staining the white sand.

The brutal reality of the sect was laid bare as the commoner student crumbled into the dirt.

The arena went dead silent for a single, breathless second as the dust settled around Julian, who stood calmly, adjusting his silken cuffs.

Then, the noble sections erupted into a deafening, arrogant cheer, silver and gold coins raining down onto the stage like a glittering metal storm.

The scarred referee leaped into the center of the ring, glancing down at Tim’s completely unmoving body before raising Julian’s hand high into the freezing air.

’Winner: Julian!’ the referee bellowed, his voice carrying no pity.

’And it’s over!’ the commentator shrieked through the stadium speakers, his voice filled with practiced hype to rile up the gambling crowd.

’In an absolute display of high-tier dominance, Julian reveals his Three-Times Impact Blood Worm and finishes the match with a single, devastating blow to the head! Tim is completely fainted!’

High above, the Ascendant Elders on the floating platform nodded in mild approval, whispering among themselves about the financial backing of Julian’s family, while down in the front rows of the student section, Hannah swallowed hard, her hand instinctively touching her own chest as she felt a chill run down her spine.

Santiago crossed his arms, his face grim and tight.

’That’s the difference a single Awakened-level worm makes. It doesn’t matter how hard you train your basic worms; if you don’t have the cards and the resources, you’re just prey to these monsters.’

Evan, however, just stared at the unconscious Tim being dragged away by the white-robed medics.

His deep black eyes remained completely unblinking, his fingers quietly and rhythmically tapping against the smooth bone dagger hidden deep within his robe.

Evan’s lips twitched slightly. The tournament was just getting started, and the prey was proving to be arrogant indeed.