"Bastard!!"
The Cat Person Swordsman had already charged in front of Lu Yuan.
With a strange breathing rhythm, airflow emerged around his longsword as he slashed at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan used the Military Killing Sword technique as well, meeting the Cat Person Swordsman's strike with his own.
Clang!!
Sparks flew from the colliding longswords, and both of them took a step back.
Lu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.
This guy was quite strong.
He had an Elite Gene engraved, after all!
He had not expected to be unable to overpower this cat person in terms of strength.
Of course, that was also because Lu Yuan's own Gene Tempering Level was insufficient.
If his Gene Tempering Level had reached 50% or even higher, why would this be so troublesome?
Unfortunately, Tempering Level was something that required time to accumulate. There was nothing else he could do.
His tempering speed was already considered extremely fast.
After their swords clashed, the Cat Person Swordsman immediately shifted his footing and moved sideways.
A fireball flew out from behind the Cat Person Swordsman and shot toward Lu Yuan.
The scorching heat made Lu Yuan's pupils shrink sharply.
Without thinking, he instinctively stomped the ground and dashed to the left.
The fireball passed by Lu Yuan, and the heat left a scorched smell in his hair.
Even with the defenses of the Black Iron Body, taking an attack like that head-on would leave him seriously injured.
While Lu Yuan dodged, the Cat Person Swordsman closed in again and swung his longsword.
With his footing unsteady, Lu Yuan could only hastily raise his sword to block.
Clang!!
His body was forced back several steps.
The moment he retreated, another fireball came flying at him.
Lu Yuan could only dodge again.
The Cat Person Swordsman and the elemental warrior worked together incredibly smoothly, their attacks linking seamlessly as they suppressed Lu Yuan for a time.
Just then, the human guardian warrior recovered a little strength.
He strode toward the distant elemental Cat Person warrior.
Seeing the guardian warrior rush over, the elemental Cat Person warrior's expression changed, and he fired a fireball at him.
The guardian warrior raised his greatshield, blocking the fireball.
Boom!!
The fireball exploded against the greatshield.
The guardian warrior grunted and took a step back.
He roared, "What are you guys waiting for?! Surround that elemental type together!"
The other three snapped out of their earlier disarray and charged at the elemental Cat Person warrior.
Seeing this, the elemental warrior frowned.
"Xi Ye!"
The Cat Person Swordsman Xi Ye, who had been attacking Lu Yuan, flashed his eyes at those words.
"Ha!!"
He let out a roar. His arms bulged, the skin across his body turned even redder, and he gripped his longsword with both hands before bringing it down heavily.
A fierce sword wind howled out, whipping Lu Yuan's hair about.
Lu Yuan's eyes flashed. He gripped his sword with both hands as well, fully activating the Black Iron Body. Spiritual energy surged as he held his longsword before him.
Clang!!
The even greater force sent Lu Yuan back several steps.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Cat Person Swordsman retreated to the fallen cat person woman, Molly.
He scooped Molly up and immediately fell back.
Spiritual energy surged around the elemental warrior as fireballs flew out one after another. He completely ignored the consumption of spiritual energy and rapidly suppressed everyone.
At the same time, he retreated swiftly alongside the Cat Person Swordsman.
The three of them soon vanished into the depths of the passage.
Lu Yuan was slower than the Cat Person Swordsman, and with the cat person element warrior's fireballs suppressing him, he did not dare to charge through them. He could only frown and watch them escape.
As for the other four human Gene Warriors, seeing the three Hunters leave made them sigh in relief. Their entire bodies seemed to go limp.
The guardian warrior in particular leaned on his greatshield and panted continuously.
Lu Yuan glanced at him and saw that he was covered in blood, his face deathly pale.
After catching his breath, the guardian warrior flipped his hand, and a crystal bottle filled with red liquid appeared in it.
He bit off the cap with his teeth and drank the liquid inside.
Lu Yuan then noticed that the guardian warrior's complexion improved slightly, and his breathing was no longer as labored.
The wounds that had been bleeding on his body stopped within a short time.
Lu Yuan knew what that was: a Healing Potion.
It was a type of Gene Potion that accelerated recovery from injuries.
He had wanted to buy one before, but even a Healing Potion meant for apprentice warriors cost 8,000 per bottle.
He simply could not afford it.
After drinking the Healing Potion, the guardian warrior looked at Lu Yuan with a faint smile.
"Friend, we really have you to thank this time. Otherwise, the four of us probably wouldn't have escaped either."
Lu Yuan shook his head. "Even without you, if I ran into Hunters, they wouldn't have let me go."
Honestly, if Lu Yuan had encountered those three cat people alone, without these people holding them back, he would probably have had to pay a considerable price just to escape.
From the coordination between the Cat Person Swordsman and the elemental warrior earlier, it was clear that they worked well together.
Moreover, each of the three was probably no weaker than him.
One against three was too difficult.
He was still a little too weak.
Lu Yuan felt that he needed to keep working harder.
As for what happened today, he could only consider himself unlucky.
Lu Yuan glanced at the arrow in his shoulder and yanked it out with force.
The pain made him frown.
Looking at the blood slowly flowing out, Lu Yuan felt that he needed to prepare some potions as well.
Not only Healing Potions, but also speed-bursting and strength-bursting potions.
They could serve as trump cards for dealing with different situations.
All of that required money.
Lu Yuan suddenly realized a fact.
He was dirt poor.
Just then, a somewhat uncertain voice rang out.
"Are you... Lu Yuan?"
Lu Yuan and the guardian warrior were both stunned and looked toward the source of the voice.
It was a young assault warrior holding a longsword. He had a youthful face and delicate features.
The young man was looking at Lu Yuan now, uncertainty in his eyes.
Lu Yuan looked at the young man. He found him somewhat familiar, yet could not remember who he was.
"You are?"
The young man's eyes widened slightly, and he cried out in disbelief.
"You really are Lu Yuan?! I'm Zhuo Ming! Zhuo Ming! We were in the same class! Zhuo Ming, the one who awakened in our second year!"
Hearing that, Lu Yuan suddenly remembered something.
"Zhuo Ming? So it was you."
Gene Warrior awakening ceremonies were held once every year. Over three years of high school, there were naturally three awakenings.
Zhuo Ming was the Gene Warrior who had awakened in Lu Yuan's class during their second year of high school.
Because Gene Warriors needed to train and enter Origin Land, they rarely came to school for classes.
The last time Zhuo Ming had attended class was four months ago.
Moreover, Lu Yuan's former self had been an outsider to begin with. He and Zhuo Ming had belonged to completely different worlds, so he had not remembered Zhuo Ming's appearance very clearly.
For a moment, he had actually failed to recognize his classmate.
The guardian warrior could not help asking, "Little Zhuo, you know each other?"
Zhuo Ming nodded. "Yes, Captain. He's our classmate."
As he spoke, he looked at Lu Yuan with shock in his eyes.
"I heard in the class group that you awakened this time, but you've only been awakened for a few days. How can you already be this strong?"
"What?!"
The others all cried out in surprise upon hearing that.
They all stared at Lu Yuan in shock.
The guardian warrior looked dumbfounded.
"Friend, you only just awakened?!"
A lean young man wielding two daggers looked full of envy.
"I've been awakened for three years, and I still haven't broken through to the first rank. You're way too strong, aren't you?"
Another woman with delicate features, holding a longbow, stared at Lu Yuan and smiled.
"Lu Yuan, you're amazing. Can you teach me how you improved so quickly?"
Lu Yuan understood that the strength he had displayed was indeed a little excessive.
He smiled. "I got lucky. I opened a treasure chest and got a few gains, so I guess my strength is decent."
Hearing that, the group fell silent.
Treasure chests were entirely dependent on luck.
All they could say was that Lu Yuan's luck was enough to make people jealous.
Lu Yuan did not intend to chat much with them about such matters.
He smiled.
"You all seem to be in pretty bad shape right now. Are you heading back?"
The group came to their senses. The guardian warrior nodded and gave a bitter smile.
"This trip to the underground palace was a huge loss. Not only did we gain nothing, but we've nearly used up all our potions, and we lost three teammates. We're planning to head back and regroup first."
Zhuo Ming looked at Lu Yuan.
"Lu Yuan, what about you?"
"I just got here. I plan to keep exploring."
Hearing that, the guardian warrior thought for a moment before speaking.
"Then you need to be careful. Those two cat person Hunters got away. If they encounter you alone, they'll probably attack you. And... that cat person archer doesn't seem to be dead yet. They should have potions, so she might recover by then."
Lu Yuan nodded. "I know."
When he saw the guardian warrior take out the Healing Potion, he had thought of that problem.
He should have delivered another blow earlier.
Unfortunately, he had not considered Healing Potions at the time, and the Cat Person Swordsman had arrived far too quickly.
He suddenly felt a headache coming on.
Hadn't he come to the underground palace to avoid the pursuit of that Vimi Conglomerate?
How had he provoked more people the moment he entered?
Wasn't this too difficult?
I clearly just wanted to develop in peace.
"Since you know, I won't say more. Be careful!"
"Mm."
"Do you have a Communication Crystal? Want to exchange contact information?"
"I haven't bought one yet."
Lu Yuan had not even returned to Sandstone City, and he did not have the spirit crystals to buy one anyway.
The guardian warrior looked regretful.
"Then all right. We'll be leaving first."
Zhuo Ming looked at Lu Yuan and smiled.
"Lu Yuan, I'll be going too. Be careful. Oh, after we get out, I'll add you. We can stay in touch through Light Communication!"
Lu Yuan thought about it and did not refuse. He nodded. "All right."
Before you continue