Merit Points Soar! 11,120 Points!

"Heavens, lightning!"

"Go! Move!"

"Run for your lives!"

Han Wu-bing, Shangguan Xue'er, Zhao Wen-yuan, and the others, who were locked in fierce battle with the crowd, all widened their eyes in horror.

Han Wu-bing was the first to shout, "Fall back!"

He grabbed the junior sister beside him and Zhao Wen-yuan, retreating sharply to the rear.

"Die!"

Rumble!

Lu Chen roared and unleashed both blade and sword, hacking viciously at the scene before him.

Countless dazzling bolts of lightning swept through in an instant like a silver waterfall, their destructive power utterly unimaginable.

The ground shook wildly, and the rainwater evaporated.

Piercing screams rang out.

It was like the end of the world.

You killed a Blood Offering Sect fiend. Merit Points +120
+120
+110...

Rows of numbers rapidly appeared...

The terrifying lightning might tore through the area, continuing for more than ten breaths before finally coming to a stop.

Lu Chen panted heavily, feeling his inner force drain too severely. His body swayed, and he nearly collapsed.

An enormous crater had appeared directly before him.

The ground looked as though it had turned into a spiderweb.

Thick cracks sprawled everywhere, each one exuding threads of terrifying aura.

Within those cracks lay many charred corpses, utterly motionless.

Splash! Splash!

The rain began to pour down again. The gale howled, its wails shrill and piercing.

At that moment, the tens of thousands behind him were all stunned, terror showing on their faces.

What they had just witnessed was destined to remain in their hearts forever.

Like a heavenly god!

"Is Phantom Nighttrace... dead?"

Lu Chen panted harshly as he swept his gaze across the open area ahead.

That attack had not wiped out every last person, because they had been too scattered.

A small number had still managed to escape.

He could not determine what had become of Phantom Nighttrace.

In any case, that intense sense of danger from before had completely vanished.

Lu Chen took a deep breath and circulated the Nine Heavens Art. Soon, threads of pure inner force appeared in his meridians once more.

Only then did he open the panel again to check.

The Merit Points that had just been nearly depleted!

Had surged wildly once again at this moment!

Reaching points in one stroke!

Joy welled up in his heart.

"Young Hero Lu, how are you?"

Han Wu-bing flashed over, his expression concerned as he asked.

Shangguan Xue'er, Zhao Wen-yuan, and the others had also all arrived, utterly shaken.

"It's nothing. I just overexerted myself. The rainstorm is about to stop—we'd best leave as soon as possible!"

Lu Chen glanced at the sky and shook his head.

Once the rain stopped, it meant he would have a much harder time drawing down lightning.

Though he possessed lightning power himself.

The lightning on his body was clearly no match for the vast heavenly might he had drawn down.

"Squad Leader Zhao, organize everyone at once and have them pick up the pace."

Han Wu-bing looked at Zhao Wen-yuan and shouted.

"Good, good!"

Zhao Wen-yuan nodded hurriedly and charged toward the crowd, shouting, "Move! Don't stop, keep moving!"

The crowd erupted into commotion and began rushing forward once more.

Everyone was dazed, unable to compose themselves.

They were still deeply shaken by what they had just witnessed.

Lu Chen circulated his inner force over and over as he followed behind the crowd. In roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he had recovered more than half of it.

His mind swiftly reviewed his battle with Phantom Nighttrace.

The martial art Phantom Nighttrace cultivated was exceedingly strange.

It could actually blind a person's five senses.

Severing one's connection with the outside world.

Trapping one in vast, endless darkness, impossible to break free from.

Even his saber technique and swordplay had proved ineffective.

This martial art is truly bizarre. What kind of ultimate art is this? I'm afraid even ordinary Hidden Realm experts would find it difficult to kill him, yet he's only ranked sixteenth on the Qilin Rankings...

Lu Chen's heart chilled.

The value of the top fifteen on the Qilin Rankings was rising yet again...

They could likely all defeat Hidden Realm experts across realms!

Heart Shatter and the first form of Six Extinction Swordplay alone are already far from enough. I need to master the second form of the God-Slaying Saber Technique and the second form of Six Extinction Swordplay.

Lu Chen murmured inwardly.

As he looked at the Merit Points before him, he weighed his options and decided not to complete the Profound Ice Hell Sutra for now. It would be better to invest in his swordplay and saber technique first.

Because even if he completed the Profound Ice Hell Sutra now, he would still have to spend another batch of Merit Points to convert his inner force. By then, his Merit Points would surely be drained again.

It was far better to invest in saber techniques and swordplay now, which would bring far greater returns.

Merit Points, upgrade the Seven Styles of Divine Extinction and Six Extinction Swordplay!

Lu Chen muttered inwardly.

Ding! 2,800 Merit Points consumed. The second style of the Seven Styles of Divine Extinction has reached mastery!

The next upgrade requires 3,400 Merit Points!

Ding! 2,700 Merit Points consumed. The second style of Six Extinction Swordplay has reached mastery!

The next upgrade requires 3,000 Merit Points!

Boom!

In an instant, some intangible transformation occurred within him once again.

His understanding of the Seven Styles of Divine Extinction and Six Extinction Swordplay rapidly deepened.

It was as though he had entered an independent space and trained there for decades.

Second Style of the Seven Styles of Divine Extinction!

Soul Burial!

This style no longer attacked another's memories, nor did it attack their physical body.

Instead, it struck directly at the soul!

Once the saber was unleashed, it could cut deep into another's soul by an inconceivable angle and method. At best, it would severely wound the soul; at worst, it would cause the soul to collapse in an instant.

The second form of Six Extinction Swordplay was called Sky Imprisonment.

As its name implied, it could imprison even the heavens.

Though that was somewhat exaggerated, it was enough to reveal the profundity of this move.

Once this sword was unleashed, all things withered, laws crumbled, and every existence would be forcibly dragged into a state of "nothingness," struggling and sinking within the 'prison of nothingness' until the sword light swept past and annihilated it.

It was equivalent to opening up an independent space.

It could drag a person's consciousness into that separate space.

They could only watch helplessly as the sword light killed them.

Impressive. The second style of Divine Extinction involves the soul, while the second form of Six Extinction involves a spiritual space...

Lu Chen was secretly astonished. This saber and sword are truly incredible.

His heart swelled with heroic ambition.

Now, both his saber technique and swordplay had surged tremendously!

When the two worked together, their power would increase by an unknown amount.

If he encountered Phantom Nighttrace again, he could defeat him even without borrowing the power of lightning.

Even kill them outright!

He glanced at his Merit Points: 5720.

He could keep these Merit Points for now and use them later to complete his cultivation technique.

As they continued onward into the distance.

In the area behind them.

Upon the empty ground.

A blurred figure suddenly flashed out of the void, his face deathly pale. Blood drenched his chest and back, wisps of green smoke still rising from many places, carrying a scorched smell.

The moment he appeared, he could not help spitting out several mouthfuls of blood. Staggering, he collapsed straight onto the ground.

Heavy rain soaked through his body.

"What terrifying swordsmanship. That Heartless Blade Lu Chen's swordsmanship is even more terrifying than his blade techniques. Swordsmanship alone already puts him on par with me. Coupled with that dreadful lightning technique, this Lu Chen has the strength to threaten the Qilin top fifteen..."

The figure's face was deathly pale, his mouth full of blood.

His features were lean, his chin sharp, and his eyes like those of a wild wolf, making one's heart quiver.

This was Phantom Nighttrace!

Lu Chen's lightning-summoning move had not killed him.

He had sensed it beforehand and fled far away at the first instant.

Yet even after fleeing, he could not avoid being caught in the lightning's might. His internal organs had been damaged, his bones broken, and he had suffered unimaginable grievous injuries. Even a precious inner armor he wore had been reduced to dust.

"Phantom, how did you end up so badly injured?"

Just then, several figures hurried over from nearby, their expressions changing in shock as they spoke.

They took out medicinal pills and swiftly fed them to Nighttrace.

"What severe injuries—his five viscera are all damaged, his meridians completely severed. Who did this?"

One of them asked in shock.

"It was that Lu Chen. He used the power of lightning to grievously wound me."

Phantom Nighttrace said hoarsely, "Take me back quickly. Only my Master can save me!"

Though he had not died, he was barely clinging to life now, little different from a dead man.

"What?"

The others were shocked. They immediately lifted Nighttrace and rapidly left the place.

In a distant region.

Within a mysterious tower.

The Heaven's Secret Mirror, which had changed only recently, now once again revealed lines of mysterious, ancient text.

The several old men guarding this place froze, then hurriedly turned to look.

Once they saw the words upon it clearly, they were dumbfounded again.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

They clutched at their hair and beards, looking as though they were about to collapse.

The news of the change from not long ago had not even fully spread across the world, and now another new change had appeared?

And it was still about this Lu Chen?

If this mirror had not never once malfunctioned, they truly would have suspected it was broken!