Chapter 17: Mutual Destruction, Decision by Vote!

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Second Update Today: Chapter 017!
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Han Yuesu glanced at the watch on her wrist and said calmly, “Turn up the heat.”
Ling Xiao and Meng Huai’s bodies shuddered, while Geng Xiao grinned, “Alright.”
Truly turning up the heat!
Geng Xiao reached out and clenched his fist, flames bursting forth and tossed onto the arena, instantly forming a fiery ring surrounding the two combatants.
The intense heat emanating from behind made the atmosphere on the stage grow tense.
“Yu Le, Su Rui, this ring of fire will continue to contract. In five minutes, there will be no place left to stand. During this time, whoever is forced out of the ring loses. If no winner is decided when the ring finishes contracting, then neither of you will have a place in my Flame Squad.”
This...
The two, who had been cautiously feeling each other out and hesitant to strike, both changed expressions slightly.
Yu Le looked at Su Rui and said, “Your steps don’t seem as smooth as before.”
“Obviously, using fighting skills consumes more energy. Don’t you even know that much?”
How could someone barely hanging on to survival know how to eat caviar?
But such common sense can be learned. The appearance of the fire ring gave Yu Le a way to defeat this formidable opponent.
“Have you ever heard, ‘the longer the inch, the stronger the inch’?”
Standing in the center of the ring, Yu Le swung his Dragonhook Rod in a wide arc, its length exactly half the radius of the fiery circle.
“Damn!”
Seeing Yu Le straighten the rod and start sweeping mercilessly, Su Rui’s face fell.
This was playing dirty!
Yu Le was treating Su Rui like trash, forcing him to leap and dodge the Dragonhook Rod that moved like the ticking of a second hand!
The two began their final test of stamina!
Seizing a momentary opening, Su Rui’s eyes hardened. “You say the longer the inch the stronger, huh? But the shorter the inch, the more perilous!”
Taking advantage of the gap, Su Rui clenched his fist and rushed forward, but halfway there, his clothes tightened suddenly and his movement froze.
What the hell?
Su Rui looked down to see a hook caught on his clothing, attached to a nearly invisible fishing line!
“Forgot to tell you, my Life Weapon is a fishing rod!”
With that, Yu Le gripped the rod with both hands and pulled back!
Tear~
Su Rui’s clothing tore slightly where the hook caught, but the fabric was too strong to rip through completely. Instead, his body loosened and was yanked backward, stumbling awkwardly.
In a comical way, his chubby face made an intimate acquaintance with the ground as he was dragged like a fat fish.
Seeing himself being pulled toward the edge of the fire ring, Su Rui reacted quickly, flailing to stop his backward motion while trying to untangle the hook from his clothes.
But besides the hook, there was also the fishing line!
Yu Le saw through his plan, and instead of keeping the rod taut, began pulling it up and down like reeling in a fish, leading to the result that...
Su Rui was bound tightly by the thin fishing line, hopping on the ground like a caught fish.
“It’s over!”
Su Rui’s struggling almost caused Yu Le to lose grip of the rod, but he steadied it and lifted the “fat fish” into the air. One flick and he could send him flying out!

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Just as Yu Le thought he could toss Su Rui into the fish trap, Su Rui made one last desperate move!
Despite his hands being tied, he managed to hook the fishing line with his Golden Claw Knuckle.
Yu Le’s Life Weapon was just the Dragonhook Rod, not including the line or hooks!
With a roar, Su Rui snapped the thick fishing line, breaking free.
These lines, designed to hold first or second-tier spirit fish, could not withstand the sharp edge of a Rock Realm eighth-tier Favored One!
Yu Le’s single-handed grip on the rod weakened as he leaned back.
“It’s over!”
Su Rui descended like a thunderbolt, roaring, the Golden Claw Knuckle on his palm reflecting glimmers of light, aimed straight at Yu Le’s chest.
The fist gradually enlarged in Yu Le’s vision, forcing him back step by step until he was pushed to the cliff’s edge, the fire ring scorching his back.
Yu Le abandoned the rod decisively, and a low rumble rose from his intact right arm as he punched upward!
When the fists collided, surprisingly, the first to suffer was Su Rui, who wore the Golden Claw Knuckle and used his fighting skill!
His arm burst open, flesh torn, bone visible, then with cracking sounds, his bones splintered. In agony, Su Rui screamed and was flung backward.
But Yu Le wasn’t in much better shape; his fist was a bloodied mess, his wrist twisted and deformed.
Both were thrown back; Su Rui collapsed like a dead dog, motionless on the ground, while Yu Le slid backward, breaking through the fire ring and falling off the stage!
A mutual defeat!
And both fell outside the fire ring.
“Xiao Yuan, come heal them!”
The computer monitor’s antenna-like hair seemed to receive the signal and stood straight up.
“Coming~”
The little girl with a childlike appearance, Xiao Yuan, bounced over.
“Who first?”
“Su Rui, his injuries are worse.” Geng Xiao frowned.
“Okay~”
Xiao Yuan waved her small hands, green lights like fireflies flickering and merging into Su Rui’s shattered arm.
His arm healed visibly, the broken bones clicking and knitting back together.
Han Yuesu crouched down, suspicious, “That looks like the dark energy only a Bone Realm practitioner can release.”
Although Su Rui’s fist was injured, not just his palm but his arm’s flesh and bone were shattered.
At that moment, Ling Xiao and Meng Huai carried the pale-faced Yu Le over.
Compared to Su Rui’s strange wounds, Yu Le’s injuries were much more straightforward.
His fist was a bloody mess, the Golden Claw Knuckle causing comminuted fractures of all the hand bones, his wrist twisted and deformed, but his arm showed no external trauma, at most some bone displacement. Much better than Su Rui.
“Okay, one down.” Xiao Yuan clapped and began treating Yu Le.
After more than ten minutes, both woke up, one after the other.
Compared to Su Rui’s dazed state, Yu Le’s first words were: “Who won?”
Uh...
They all looked at each other, unable to answer immediately.
Geng Xiao finally spoke, “Let us discuss.”

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Yu Le nodded, Su Rui still seemed distracted.
During their private meeting, Yu Le checked his body and found that aside from some dried blood and sore muscles, the injuries on both arms had healed.
“So miraculous? What kind of healing medicine did I take?”
Ordinary medicine would never have such an effect.
But Xiao Yuan, the genius girl’s Life Weapon of the mysterious and rare type, was called Healing Sprite.
The five members of the Flame Squad sat down. Geng Xiao began, “Speak your thoughts. The two of you are evenly matched this time, and both fell outside the fire circle, so by the rules, it’s a draw.”
Han Yuesu said frankly, “There’s something strange about Yu Le.”
“Oh? You mean his Life Weapon or the last punch that injured Su Rui?”
Han Yuesu nodded.
“So, do you favor Yu Le?”
Han Yuesu shook her head and looked at Geng Xiao, “He definitely has something else hidden, but that’s his personal secret. We shouldn’t pry. However, as team members, we need to understand each other to cooperate well.”
“I can’t see through his situation or understand it, so I can’t say whether it’s good or bad.”
“Compared to him, I think Su Rui is more suitable for joining the Flame Squad.”
“The pain of recruiting someone with a mysterious background—I think you all understand that.”
Hearing this, the other four’s faces darkened.
Meng Huai’s playful smile disappeared as he unconsciously touched a jagged scar on his wrist.
His eyes grew firm, “I agree with Han. Su Rui is more reliable.”
That made two votes for Su Rui!
“Xiao Ling, what about you?” Geng Xiao asked Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao looked up, conflicted, “Boss, I still lean toward Yu Le. Having secrets isn’t a big deal. Didn’t we suspect Han when she first wanted to join the Flame Squad?”
“Brotherhood is forged through fighting side by side. I don’t think having secrets is a bad thing.”
“On the contrary, Yu Le clearly hasn’t had professional training, yet he held his own against Su Rui, who is a rank higher. Whatever his secret is, to me, that’s a good sign.”
“So, I’m for Yu Le!”
“My view is the same as Xiao Ling’s.” Geng Xiao nodded and expressed his opinion too.
Then he looked at Han Yuesu. “More importantly, I know you’ve struggled to get past this, but life moves forward. We can’t be held back by fear.”
Han Yuesu’s expression remained cold, “I reserve my opinion.”
Geng Xiao didn’t press.
That left the vote split two to two.
Their gazes finally settled on Xiao Yuan, who was playing with her fingers.
“Xiao Yuan, your thoughts?”
“What’s for night snack tonight?”
The four stared at her speechlessly...