Chapter 141: Magic Potion

At Rachel Academy, in a spacious and bright fitness room, James Lanster, clad in a set of armor, was doing push-ups on the floor.

This kind of exercise had minimal effect on magic energy professionals; even ten thousand consecutive reps might not be enough to train themselves.

But with the special magic energy armor he wore, it was different—it could increase his load by nearly eight tons, protect his joints, distribute force evenly across his body, and leave no damage.

James Lanster had only completed one set of forty movements, yet his forehead was already slightly sweaty.

"That's enough for now. You have a match today, don't overdo it. Just one set for warm-up is fine."

At that moment, a middle-aged man in sportswear walked in and drew all the curtains one by one, leaving the fitness room dim and stuffy.

James Lanster frowned, keenly noticing a freezer box in the middle-aged man's hand: "Vincent, are you starting the injection now? Is it earlier than planned?"

"Earlier."

Coach Vincent had already opened the cryo-box: "The opponent you're facing this time might be very strong, although the public generally believes that guy just got lucky to make it this far. Arcadis Sporting Goods has traced the media storm of the past two weeks to Penguin Gambling Company, who are using Andre's luck as a topic and offering extremely high odds to attract bets. But they wouldn't run a losing business, and Arcadis Sporting Goods happens to know that Penguin Gambling's current CEO is closely tied to Dwight Payton. From this, it can be inferred that both Nathan Sports Group and Penguin Gambling believe Andre Lee Wiltonstein has a very high chance of winning, and that he must be Nathan Group's promoted player this year—"

"They must not know that I've recently broken through to Level Seven?"

"That's exactly why Arcadis Sporting Goods still has confidence in you."

Coach Vincent explained: "But to be thorough and ensure a 100% win rate, we still need to up the ante?"

James Lanster snorted, displeased: "So Arcadis wants me to inject this potion in advance?"

"How could they say it outright? They just hinted, but the attitude was very strong."

Coach Vincent had already drawn the agent from the cryo-box into a syringe: "You can take off that shell. You don't want to lose, do you, James? If you decide to enter the draft after high school, then this Atlanta City Fighting Championship is extremely important. NMOSA (National Mixed Cold Weapon Fighting Alliance) only has seventy-two draft spots each year, unless you plan to start from the minor league and accept a salary gap of at least a hundred times. I'm not joking, James. I estimate that guy is at least 8S level; to beat him for sure, you need at least 9A."

James thought for a moment, then complied and took off his armor piece by piece: "I can inject, but is this needle really safe? It won't be detected?"

"Of course not. This is the latest development from Shadow Lab. Its composition factors are largely similar to intermediate Titan potions. Current technical methods cannot detect it. Even if some abnormality is found, it can be explained as recent excessive use of intermediate Titan potions. By the time the competition committee updates detection methods six months or even a year later, this injection will have no residue left in your body."

Coach Vincent's eyes showed a hint of pride: "You should thank me, James. In Atlanta, few people besides me can get the latest products from Shadow Lab; even money won't help. This drug's effect lasts about half a year. Besides increasing your stamina, strength, and agility, it also greatly enhances your coordination and balance—that's the key. Your fighting technique has never been perfect; it's always been 6A, 7A, 8A, never reaching an S-level in any stage. That's because your coordination and balance are lacking. You've used too many drugs; they help you improve quickly, but mastering your body becomes the problem."

But just as Vincent was about to insert the needle into James's arm, the latter hesitated.

"Come on, James, even if you don't trust me, you have to trust Arcadis Sporting Goods. They would never want their sponsored athlete to be caught up in an illegal potion scandal."

Then, without waiting for the other to react, he directly inserted the needle and, within a few seconds, pushed all the药剂 in.

"Alright, kid, don't worry too much. The risks of potions are much smaller than those of stimulants. Besides, three NMOSA competitors have come out of my shop. Do you think those NMOSA stars are all clean? Potions are widespread in NMOSA; it's just that the league's赛事委员会's technology is limited, and many go undetected. You're just one of them now. So from now on, just focus on preparing for the competition. This Andre Lee Wittenstein is just a small stumbling block on your path to stardom. Step over it easily, and then get ready to face that monster from the West Coast—that's the real mountain you'll have to climb."

"I'll crush him! No matter what kind of strength this guy really has."

James Lanster took a deep breath, clenched his fists tightly, causing a series of cracking sounds from his entire body.

A fiery gleam appeared in his eyes: "He's tarnished my championship journey, hasn't he?"

……

When the Linden Academy bus arrived again at Storm Stadium, everyone on board was stunned by the sea of people outside.

Looking out the window, they saw crowds lining both sides of the road, packed in layers, with people holding various signs. As their bus passed, some even slapped the windows.

If this bus weren't up to school bus standards, the windows might have been shattered by the people outside.

"Wow, this feels like a superstar's arrival."

After a moment of shock, William Jacques enthusiastically read the signs: "James Lanster must win!"

"Mr. Lanster will break your dog legs!"

"Lanster is invincible, he is my prince. I don't understand why Lanster's supporters are surrounding our bus. Are they trying to intimidate you?"

"Lucky Andre, we support you! Ha, finally someone supporting you."

"Andre, let's XXOO, my number is 4048456—damn, this woman is actually pretty, look at her big ass."

"Today's winner is definitely not you, you lucky bastard. This is another Lanster supporter. Isn't this a personal attack?"

"Hope you get your legs broken by the prince today—they have so many people. Especially women, are they this crazy for James Lanster?"

Li Mochen sat silently in his seat, holding his sword bag. But beside him, a young man in a suit smiled slightly and said, "Lanster is quite handsome, which is rare among Atlanta's rising fighting stars, so he has many female fans. But all that will be in the past tonight. In terms of looks alone, A-Mo here is a complete victory. The two are like pottery versus porcelain."