Hearing this, Xia Ling and the others darkened their expressions, visibly angered.
Lin Muxue smirked triumphantly. "Hahaha, you've figured it out too. So, Ye Yu's situation isn't looking good."
Zhang Tian said firmly, "We believe the Captain will come out alive."
Xia Ling nodded. "We believe so too."
Zhao Yan'er sneered. "Worry about yourself first, Xia Ling. Should we have some fun with her?"
"Sure."
Xia Ling and Zhao Yan'er exchanged a knowing smile, their thoughts aligned. One summoned flames in her palm, the other conjured Cold Energy.
Lin Muxue's face paled with panic. "W-what are you planning?"
Xia Ling first brought her hand close to the seawater in the wooden barrel. Instantly, the water turned bone-chillingly cold. The already weakened Lin Muxue inside felt an unbearable cold—worse than an ordinary person falling naked into an icy river at minus thirty degrees.
"So cold! Stop it now!"
Lin Muxue's face turned deathly pale, her lips purple, shivering uncontrollably. Frost even formed on her eyelashes. She wanted to resist but was utterly powerless in the barrel.
Just as the water was about to freeze, Xia Ling stopped.
Zhao Yan'er stepped forward. "Too cold? Let me warm you up."
Lin Muxue's expression twisted in horror.
Zhao Yan'er's hands surged with flames as she touched the water in the barrel. The temperature skyrocketed, steam rising as the water quickly boiled.
Bubbles gurgled violently, and Lin Muxue screamed.
"Ah! It's burning! Stop!"
The transition from extreme cold to extreme heat was torturous. Lin Muxue writhed in agony.
Just as she was about to collapse, Xia Ling stepped in again, ordering the crew to refill the water—much of it had evaporated.
Lin Muxue broke down, terrified. "I was wrong! I shouldn't have cheered! Please stop!"
But it was useless. Soon, the water wasn't boiling but instead emitted Cold Energy, plunging Lin Muxue back into freezing torment.
Alternating between ice and fire, they tortured her relentlessly.
Lin Muxue finally begged, broken. "I was wrong! I won't do it again! Ye Yu will win! The Giant is badly injured—who knows who'll win? Ye Yu has a real chance! He won't die! He might even get the reward! Ye Yu is amazing, he'll pull off another miracle!"
Forced to spew insincere praise under duress, Lin Muxue's words were hollow.
Xia Ling and Zhao Yan'er didn't stop until Lin Muxue passed out. Satisfied, they finally relented, much to the crew's relief.
Li Cang and the others felt a pang of gratitude—had they cheered thoughtlessly, they'd have suffered the same fate.
Lin Muxue was dumped back, and Li Cang hurriedly covered her with clothes.
Weakly opening her eyes, Lin Muxue seethed with rage, vowing inwardly, "I'll have my revenge!"
She turned to the live broadcast, her fury redirected at Ye Yu, hoping the Giant would brutalize him.
Meanwhile, the Giant glared at the sea, mocking, "Too scared to come up? You know I'm furious now? Hmph, I won't stay by the shore. If you don't show yourself, I'll go destroy the city."
Just as the Giant took a step forward—splash! Ye Yu burst from the depths, leaping onto the shore by stepping on air.
The Giant instinctively leaped back, putting a thousand meters between them, terrified of being knocked into the sea again.
Relieved, the Giant glared at Ye Yu, his face dark with rage, fists clenched so tightly they cracked. His fury erupted.
"He's up here now. Then, bear the brunt of my wrath! I'll tear you to pieces!"
Thinking of his miserable state in the sea, the Giant was furious and finally had a chance to vent his anger.
Ye Yu said calmly, "Defeating me won't be easy for you now."
"Even so, it's enough!"
The Giant stomped the ground, charging into the air above Ye Yu, then rained down furious punches filled with endless rage.
"Die!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Dense, massive black fists descended like small black meteors, bombarding the area where Ye Yu stood.
The ground trembled continuously, debris flew, and dust swirled. Even if Ye Yu dodged, it seemed impossible to evade them all.
Ye Yu swiftly weaved and dodged. The Giant, in his rage, attacked with insane speed and frequency. Ye Yu pushed his Observation Haki to its limit—though he couldn't yet foresee the immediate future, his skill was formidable. He continuously evaded the barrage of fists, sometimes narrowly avoiding them, though the shockwaves still grazed him. He defended with everything he had.
The Giant pounded the ground relentlessly for a full ten minutes before stopping. His fists were numb, his arms sore, and he panted heavily as he glared at the billowing dust below, sneering, "You must be pulverized by now."
The people in the safe zone watched intently, worried. The attack had been too brutal—they feared the worst.
All eyes were fixed, most praying, a few cursing.
Yet...
Whoosh!
A figure shot out from the dust, appearing instantly beneath the Giant's chin—too fast for the exhausted Giant to react.
Ye Yu's pitch-black fist crackled with dark red lightning, his Armament and Conqueror's Haki erupting at full power. The punch landed squarely on the Giant's chin.
Instantly, the hundred-meter-tall Giant was sent flying straight up, soaring a thousand meters into the air. The sound of cracking bones echoed as rows of teeth shattered. The Giant's body hurtled backward.
His chin in agony, the Giant saw himself flying toward the shore. He abruptly expanded his body to four hundred meters, increasing his weight, then punched the air above him to counter the momentum and land. Seizing the chance, Ye Yu descended from above with another God Fear punch, striking the Giant's head. The pain was excruciating, causing momentary dizziness.
Ye Yu followed up with a relentless barrage of punches midair, raining them down like Luffy's Gatling technique in One Piece.
Ye Yu snorted. "Now it's my turn."
The Giant's body ached, blood splattering everywhere. His defenses had weakened—every punch from Ye Yu left a dent in his flesh, and soon his body was covered in fist-shaped craters.
"Damn it!"
The Giant was livid. Even on land, Ye Yu was beating him down.
Shrinking back to a hundred meters, the Giant clashed fiercely with Ye Yu.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Each collision sent shockwaves exploding through the air.
The battle raged on for half an hour. Only an hour remained before the Mystic Realm closed.
The Giant grew grim, realizing his energy was draining fast and his injuries were severe. On land, he no longer held the advantage.
"Damn it, I was too weakened in the sea. My strength and defense have dropped without me noticing. I need to calm down. My rage made me fight recklessly, barely hurting him while my wounds worsened. This can't continue—I must fight carefully."
The Giant distanced himself and attacked again, this time avoiding direct clashes, weaving and dodging before countering.
Ye Yu knew the Giant had quieted down and realized things weren't looking good.
With sarcasm, Ye Yu said, "Starting to dodge now? Useless. It's already succeeded."
"Succeeded?" The Giant was puzzled.
"The best outcome I envisioned before the battle has already succeeded. Now, I'll begin killing you within an hour!"
Hearing this, the Giant sneered.
"Haha, don't think just because I'm exhausted and heavily injured that you can kill me. The best outcome for you in this fight is lasting three hours—no clearance, no rewards. The worst outcome? You die by my hand. Now that I'm being cautious, there's no way you can kill me in an hour."
The Giant was confident. After all, he wasn't at much of a disadvantage yet—there was no way he'd die in an hour.
Lin Muxue cursed inwardly: What best outcome? Only the worst outcome! Tear Ye Yu apart!
Meanwhile, Wang Quanshi didn't care either way.
"As long as Ye Yu doesn't clear it, even if he survives without rewards, that's fine. I'll take care of defeating him later."
...
At this moment, everyone agreed with the Giant—Ye Yu truly still had a tough fight ahead if he wanted to finish him off.
But then, Ye Yu's next words shocked and shook the world!
With a cold smile, Ye Yu asked, "Have you ever heard of... Observation Kill?"