The entire city was thrown into an uproar!
Everyone was utterly shocked.
The County Magistrate's son, Lin Yun, had been killed?
And Lu Chen had released all thousand-plus poor people the yamen had arrested last night?
Lin Yun had even been an elite of the Blood Sacrifice Cult, secretly drinking human blood all along and framing Lu Chen?
News after news spread at lightning speed.
Every faction was shaken!
And amidst this flood of news, Lu Chen's name undoubtedly spread once more, stirring up a commotion and filling everyone with excitement.
If people had previously feared Lu Chen and believed the yamen's claims that he had been possessed by some demon...
Then now, with the Blood Sacrifice Cult affair exposed, all suspicion surrounding Lu Chen had undoubtedly been washed completely clean.
Not only had it been washed clean.
His every deed had won the hearts of the people!
He had eradicated the Beggar's Den!
He had killed Wu the Skinflint from the porcelain shop!
He had wiped out the Iron Scale Gang, which trafficked people!
He had eliminated the Giant Shark Gang, whose evil deeds knew no bounds...
He had killed Lin Yun...
Every single deed was worthy of songs of praise.
"Lu Chen isn't possessed by some demon at all—he's a savior descended from heaven!" "Too bold, truly too bold! He single-handedly challenged the whole city. He'll definitely alert the Town Suppression Bureau, and even County Magistrate Lin Mingyuan must have received the news already. Lu Chen is finished!"
"Bullshit! County Magistrate Lin Mingyuan has committed every evil under heaven and scraped the land three feet deep. He deserves retribution! I only hope Young Hero Lu Chen leaves Panshi City quickly!"
"That's right, Young Hero Lu Chen, hurry and flee for your life! Don't let Lin Mingyuan block your path!"
"Run, Young Hero Lu Chen!"
Countless voices rose throughout the city.
Most of them were urging Lu Chen to flee for his life.
Because the crimes Lu Chen had committed were simply too enormous.
He had eradicated so many factions at once, and he had even killed the County Magistrate's son.
This was destined to make him an enemy of the entire Imperial Court!
Even if the County Magistrate's son had colluded with the Blood Sacrifice Cult, officials within the Imperial Court protected one another. They might soon clear his name, while someone like Lu Chen would instead be wanted by the court.
Especially County Magistrate Lin Mingyuan!
His cultivation was at Fourth-Rank Great Accomplishment.
He had only one son, Lin Yun!
Now that his only son was dead, Lin Mingyuan would surely go completely mad!
Shortly after Lu Chen returned to Canglang Martial Hall, he heard a clear metallic notification.
[Ding! Detected that your good name has once again risen rapidly, reaching the second stage: Rising to Fame. Reward obtained: Lightning Law King!] [Lightning Law King: You have mastered the ability to control lightning. All your attacks contain the might of thunder; wherever thunder goes, all evil retreats!]
"Hm?" Lu Chen's eyes flickered as surprise appeared on his face.
His third talent had been unlocked!
It was actually a lightning talent?
The next moment, he felt a surging force emerge within his body. It crackled from the inside out, and as he circulated his inner force, bolts of lightning even seeped from his pores.
He raised his palm.
A great deal of lightning gathered spontaneously in his palm, like a small fireball.
"With lightning empowering me, my strength will become even greater now!"
He secretly rejoiced.
This time, he had truly made the right gamble!
If he had not been so reckless before and had instead hidden away to develop slowly, he could never have grown powerful this quickly.
Only by giving could one receive!
The greater the risk, the greater the harvest.
Especially after he had released those poor people captured by the yamen, his Merit Points had surged again, reaching 504 in one leap.
Name: Lu Chen Cultivation: Fourth Rank (28%) Cultivation Art: Azure Wave Art (Minor Accomplishment) Martial Arts: Four Absolute Martial Arts (Perfect), Grass on Flying (Great Accomplishment), Tidal Wave Saber Technique (Perfect · Lone Boat Slashes the Moon) Talents: Lightning Law King, Convince with Virtue, Bronze Skin Iron Bones Merit Points: 504
"Merit Points, add points to the Azure Wave Art!" Lu Chen withdrew the lightning from his hand and stared at the panel.
[You consumed 300 Merit Points. Azure Wave Art has risen to Great Accomplishment!]
Boom!
A powerful wave of inner force instantly arose within him, surging and roiling. All his meridians were rapidly broadened and enlarged, while his original inner force directly became thicker and denser.
Even his cultivation rose all the way from Fourth Rank (28%) to Fourth Rank (80%).
[To raise Azure Wave Art to Perfect next time, 350 Merit Points are required!]
"No breakthrough? I only rose from early Fourth Rank to late Fourth Rank?"
Lu Chen frowned slightly.
It seemed that as he continuously grew stronger, the enhancement brought by the Azure Wave Art was gradually shrinking as well. At the root of it all, this was still caused by the limitations of the cultivation art.
The Azure Wave Art was merely a fine-grade cultivation art.
For it to carry him all the way to late Fourth Rank was already quite good.
If he wished to maintain such rapid improvements in strength, a fine-grade cultivation art clearly could no longer meet that requirement.
At this thought.
Lu Chen suddenly took two secret manuals from his robe and began leafing through them.
[Blood Shadow Sword!] [Blood Fiend Art!]
These were the martial arts he had found earlier in Lin Yun's room.
Lin Yun truly deserved to be called an elite of the Blood Sacrifice Cult.
Both martial arts were third-rate martial arts!
The Blood Shadow Sword was a flexible sword technique with a total of one hundred and eight moves. It could specifically be used together with that blood-red flexible sword to unleash its power.
The Blood Fiend Art, meanwhile, was a martial art for short bursts of explosive power.
This martial art could draw upon the blood energy within one's body, allowing someone to erupt with more than twice their usual strength in an instant.
It was absolutely a rare and precious combat technique.
[You have comprehended the Blood Shadow Sword. Blood Shadow Sword: Beginner!] [You have comprehended the Blood Fiend Art. Blood Fiend Art: Beginner!]
The names of these two martial arts soon appeared on the panel.
Looking at the 204 Merit Points he still had, Lu Chen pondered briefly before adding points to the Blood Shadow Sword first.
[You consumed 140 Merit Points. Blood Shadow Sword Technique has reached Perfect, deriving the secret skill: Blood Illusion!] [Blood Illusion: Your sword body is wreathed in blood-colored Killing Intent, allowing people to sink deep into illusions and struggle to free themselves. You may slay enemies by catching them off guard!]
A vast amount of swordsmanship knowledge instantly flooded into Lu Chen's mind.
It was as though Lu Chen had suddenly trained for several years.
The aura around his entire body began changing rapidly as well.
His hand gripped the flexible sword at his waist, and he abruptly drew it from its sheath.
Clang!
In an instant, blood-red light flashed and afterimages blurred.
The sword tip moved like a venomous snake—obedient to his will, crafty and strange—carrying a dense scent of blood as it stabbed out dozens of times in an instant.
"What fine swordsmanship!"
Lu Chen murmured inwardly.
With this Blood Shadow Sword, his overall strength would rise again.
Seeing that he had sixty-four Merit Points left, Lu Chen did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately put them all into the Blood Fiend Art.
[You consumed 60 Merit Points. Blood Fiend Art has reached Minor Accomplishment!]
Boom!
The surface of his body seemed to inflate as thick blood vessels emerged one after another. A layer of blood-red light faintly covered his limbs and bones, brimming with powerful strength.
The entire panel changed once more.
Name: Lu Chen Cultivation: Fourth Rank (84%) Cultivation Art: Azure Wave Art (Great Accomplishment) Martial Arts: Four Absolute Martial Arts (Perfect), Grass on Flying (Great Accomplishment), Tidal Wave Saber Technique (Perfect · Lone Boat Slashes the Moon), Blood Shadow Sword (Perfect · Blood Fiend), Blood Fiend Art (Minor Accomplishment) Talents: Convince with Virtue, Bronze Skin Iron Bones, Lightning Law King Merit Points: 4
"Only one step remains before Fifth Rank. Powerful—truly powerful." Lu Chen thought to himself.
Just then.
Su Yingxue swiftly swept in from outside again, like a nimble leopard. "Junior Brother Lu, quickly pack your things. News of you is spreading everywhere outside. Someone already escaped the city earlier and went to inform Lin Mingyuan.
"Lin Mingyuan will very likely return soon. And you've committed such an enormous crime that the Imperial Court's Town Suppression Bureau will certainly be alerted as well. While they have yet to react, leave Panshi City's territory at once. Don't let them block your path!"
"Leave? Of course I'll leave."
Lu Chen said calmly, "But even if I leave, I cannot leave so easily. If I leave alone, it will naturally be effortless, but I'll definitely implicate you—and perhaps even most of the people in this city. I said it before: either do not do it at all, or do it to the bitter end."
"Junior Brother Lu, what else are you going to do?" Su Yingxue asked in shock.
Lu Chen's gaze was profound as he said, "Naturally, I will root out evil completely!"
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