The Gentleman at the End
Chapter 373 - Chapter 373 Chapter 372 Final Promotion

Chapter 373: Chapter 372 Final Promotion Chapter 373: Chapter 372 Final Promotion While the other candidates successively broke free from “Skin Limbo,” Yi Chen remained suspended between the walls of this abyss-like skin chamber, lost in thought amidst his Madness Brain.

“The First Gentleman, as the ‘Connector’,

is permanently fixed deep within the mansion, linking the organization to the Old World Skin Factory, accepting the Original Skin processed by the factory, then using his own physical body to ‘purify’ it, turning it into ‘Gentleman’s Skin’ better suited for human use and wear.

If there is such a vast space of skin within the body, there are two possibilities.

1. This is the ‘Physical Purification Factory’ that the First Gentleman, Claude, has painstakingly created. Original Skin from the Old World is accumulated here, slowly transformed before being handed over to the organization for use.

2. This place is a ‘gap’ between the Skin Factory and reality, possibly even a direct transport channel connected to the Skin Factory.

Before the assessment, Mr. Claude made it very clear that the Original Skin supplied by the Skin Factory was diminishing, and the skin available for the organization’s use had significantly decreased. If this were a physical factory, with so many abyss-like Original Skins present here, there would certainly not be an issue with a shortage of Original Skin.

Therefore, the second possibility is more likely,

this abyss must be the ‘special channel’ linking the First Gentleman with the Skin Factory.

Once one of us becomes the First Gentleman, we too will connect our bodies here, using the promotion assessment as an opportunity to adapt in advance, and this is what First Gentleman Claude has in mind.

In that case, climbing up likely means we could climb out,

regrettably, due to my mistake, I did not use the relevant skin ability to stop the fall in time and have missed the best opportunity.

Without wearing gentleman’s clothes, I cannot perform Restriction Removal, and relying on my current state to climb out from the deep is definitely too late in terms of time.

Perhaps… I should take a look below.

If the place below is the Skin Factory, by leveraging my study of the Skin Sack Bible, I might even negotiate terms with them and have them send me directly back to Zion.

Apart from the Skin Sack Bible, I also have connections with the Duke and the Original Tomb, so negotiations should pose no problem.”

After spending five minutes in thought, Yi Chen chose a method entirely different from the other candidates–Falling.

Severing the fine thread connected to his head,

he continued to fall within the skin-like abyss, keeping his Skin Sensitivity expanded, and once he confirmed he had left the abyss and arrived in the Old World, Yi Chen would forcibly restore his sealed senses.

Five minutes… ten minutes…

He remained in a state of falling,

but Yi Chen was not anxious, for this was the method he chose. If he ran out of time and failed, it would mean he did not have the qualifications to become the First Gentleman, and upon returning, he would apologize to Yellow Skin and choose another path to reach the Skin Factory.

After a full twenty minutes,

Yi Chen began to feel a change,

the skin-like abyss he was in, more precisely, the skin-like channel that connected to the Old World, was beginning to constrict and narrow.

Strangely enough, even as he was nearing the bottom, the density of the skin he perceived had only slightly increased; in addition, he sensed an unusual kind of blood within the skin.

“Am I approaching the bottom? What’s with this bloody scent mixed in with the skin… Could it be the blood extricated during the processing stage at the Skin Factory?”

Just as Yi Chen was ready to head to the Skin Factory,

Buzz!

His body seemed to hit something extremely soft, similar to the bottom of a trampoline,

a force unimaginable struck, preventing Yi Chen, the outsider, from proceeding to the Skin Factory while also generating a powerful thrust.

Like a surge of blood, it carried Yi Chen back the way he had come.

‘Bottom Bounce’

The speed of shooting upward was even faster than the falling…

Deep in the Mansion

The iron chains that bound and connected to the First Gentleman’s body began to tremble slightly; he suddenly opened his mouth wide, and a gush of blood, which should not have existed, poured out from his mummified body.

Bleh!

The candidates standing atop the altar immediately stepped back,

a thick, skin-scented flow of blood surged out, and with it, a blood-drenched Yi Chen, landing perfectly on top of the altar–it would be understandable if anyone thought some sort of evil ceremony was taking place here.

On the observation platform,

when Principal Desline finally saw Yi Chen return in such a manner, she, too, relaxed her tightly clenched thighs, letting out a breath that had been trapped in her chest and casually wiping away the sweat between her legs with a tissue.

It wasn’t just Principal Desline,

including Jin, Spacy, and Professor Qian Bosen, who all breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Yi Chen, who was lying on the Altar, turned over and spat out some remnants of blood from his mouth.

“Wow! Did I make it back in time?”

When Yi Chen asked this, the First Gentleman above suddenly fell silent… In that instant, everyone began to feel an unsettling sense of anxiety or even fear within themselves.

Buzz!

Wrinkle-faced Spacy leapt up and went straight to the First Gentleman, placing his palm on the other’s abdomen and transferring strands of Skin essence into him.

About ten minutes passed,

Whoosh!

With a dry intake of breath, the First Gentleman’s consciousness was pulled back.

Spacy, completely exhausted, slumped down, his body visibly relaxed, with liquid wrinkles seeping from between the layers of his Skin clothes, in poor condition.

Jessica, as his student, immediately went up to support her teacher,

At this moment, the First Gentleman’s voice came from above: “Thanks, Spacy, indeed I cannot afford to die now… I still have one final event to attend to.”

“Hang in there, Claude! It’s almost over.”

After giving his friend a light pat, Spacy slid back to his seat on his Skin essence to rest and recover.

The entire venue’s focus then returned to Yi Chen, as everyone was puzzled by why he was expelling so much blood from the First Gentleman’s mouth.

However, the First Gentleman didn’t seem to blame Yi Chen, and though he had much to say about Yi Chen’s choice of Falling, there was not much time left for him, and he needed to proceed to the third round quickly.

“Since all five have passed the ‘Skin Sensitivity’ test, the next one is the ‘Skin’ test, which is also the final promotion.

It’s largely the same as before; you’ll need to display the most perfect ‘Restriction Removal’ stance and engage in combat on the spot.

The difference is there will be no restrictions on the combat,

you may use any ability that is completely unrelated to Skin, as long as it maximizes your level of performance and highlights the role of [Skin] as a connector in your personal system.”

“I aim to select a gentleman whose strength is not only strong but also whose Talent far exceeds my own, so that we are qualified to reconnect with the Skin Factory, and possibly negotiate more terms with them.

Given the number of participants, we will have two rounds of ‘Skin’ tests,

the first round will be a one-on-one test based on drawing lots,

since there are still five of you, one will be exempt from the first round and advance directly to the final round–after all, [Luck] is a hidden Attribute defined by the ancient ways, part of an individual’s strength.”

“The second round, which is the final promotion, will be a three-way melee among the two winners and the one who bypasses the first round, to determine the ‘First Gentleman’.”

“There will be no restrictions on the combat,

but if you show a strong Killing Intent during the fight and there’s a possibility of killing your opponent, I and the Audience here will intervene immediately.”

“Come and draw your lots quickly; I don’t have much time left.”

The First Gentleman extended his withered right arm towards everyone, and to draw a lot meant to select one of his fingernails.

Yi Chen was still cleaning the blood off his body, and by the time he was the last to step forward, only the unnamed nail had not been taken.

He easily pulled the entire nail out, which had the number [3] engraved inside.

As the others revealed the numbers from beneath their nails, the combat pairings were laid out.

Yodesapen Galoner vs. Jessica Lores

Mandy Lussen vs. Peeler Alex

William (bye)