Night Battle (1st Update)

With the Guanchong Acupoint open, Lu Chenzhou was another step closer to Disease Immunity.

The following evening, he went to Flying Swallow Martial Hall to test his vitality and blood.

His vitality and blood value was 1.67, only 0.06 away from the Third Stage.

He only needed to open another acupoint or bring Black Tiger Fist to Minor Accomplishment to break through.

Lu Chenzhou savored the joy of his gains, as though he were dreaming.

Without realizing it, he was already nearing the late Mingli Realm.

To break through to the Fourth Stage, one needed to grasp the techniques of Hidden Force, known in the old days as dark strength. This was a major hurdle that trapped countless people.

Generally speaking, those with inferior bone talent could still hope to reach the Third Stage in this lifetime if they worked hard and spent more money and time. In the old days, this was called the peak of Bright Force.

In the martial world, that barely counted as a low-ranking expert.

It did not require much talent.

But advancing from Bright Force to Hidden Force was the real hurdle.

Under ordinary conditions, there was little hope.

As for the even more difficult Transformation Force, it had once been called the "Transformation Realm Master."

That title alone was enough to prove its weight. Forget inferior bone talent—even those with average bone talent had to put in considerable effort before they could break through. Before the First Shackles, only the one-in-ten-thousand superior bone talents encountered almost no stagnation.

Training ground.

"Lu Chenzhou, come up and demonstrate Skimming Step with me."

Shi Ruyu called on him.

Lu Chenzhou answered and leaped onto the posts.

The other trainees were all envious. They had the same inferior bone talent, the same instructor, and the same amount of training time, yet Lu Chenzhou's Sea-Skimming Body was clearly more proficient.

This was what teachers called a top student.

That was why Lu Chenzhou was called up for every demonstration.

After nearly a month of special training, Lu Chenzhou could clearly hold out longer on the wooden posts this time. Several times, he nearly touched Shi Ruyu, and his Movement Skill had grown stronger.

Of course, he still failed in the end.

Shi Ruyu's vitality and blood stage was higher. At the same Sea-Skimming Body realm, she achieved far better results than Lu Chenzhou. That was why vitality and blood were the foundation!

Practicing boxing and stance training were the utmost priorities!

"Not bad. Lu Chenzhou has improved quickly."

As Shi Ruyu recalled the demonstration, she was nowhere near as calm inside as she looked. She had started learning several months before Lu Chenzhou, yet their realms were now almost the same.

She estimated that Lu Chenzhou's Sea-Skimming Body was also at the Proficiency level.

This guy was somewhat terrifying.

After all, she herself had gained some insights, and her cultivation speed was not slow.

"Everyone, keep practicing."

Shi Ruyu turned and left, heading for Ji Xuantong's martial arts room. She planned to tell her teacher what she had discovered and have Lu Chenzhou accepted as a personal disciple as soon as possible.

This junior brother was no ordinary person!

Lu Chenzhou knew nothing of his senior sister's thoughts.

He looked at the Martial Dao Tree. Three leaves swayed on its lowest branches.

Basic Fist Art

Martial Skills

Black Tiger Fist: Mastery (84%)

Sea-Skimming Body: Proficiency (24%)

"Black Tiger Fist will reach Minor Accomplishment before the end of the month, and Sea-Skimming Body should reach Mastery too. Having a proficiency panel is great. My cultivation progress is crystal clear, and I know exactly where I stand."

As he was leaving.

Du Men called out to Lu Chenzhou.

"Junior Brother, come spar with me."

It was already late at night, and the other trainees had all left.

"Sure, but only for a few minutes. My mom is still waiting for me."

"Thanks. Let's spar on the posts again."

Du Men had also reached Initiation in Sea-Skimming Body some time ago. He wanted to see how large the gap between himself and Lu Chenzhou was. As a Third Stage Martial Warrior, he was still unwilling to accept being defeated by someone in the Second Stage.

On the wooden posts, the two figures struck one moment and pursued the next.

"Head home early. Don't spar too late."

Shi Ruyu passed by with her crossbody bag slung over her shoulder and reminded them.

"Got it, Senior Sister."

Lu Chenzhou responded to her while fending off Du Men.

Shi Ruyu watched the two sweat-drenched youths seriously practicing their fists and felt a little emotional... If Du Men did not encounter some opportunity, Lu Chenzhou would soon surpass him.

She believed in Lu Chenzhou more and more. The two had known each other for over half a year, and as a witness to Lu Chenzhou's changes, no one understood this child better than she did.

Bang!

A dull impact of flesh colliding rang out.

Less than three minutes had passed. Du Men was kicked off the posts by Lu Chenzhou's Black Tiger Howling Wind Kick. He got up from the ground, his spirits low and his eyes reddened.

"I lost. Thank you, Junior Brother."

He changed out of his training uniform, looking as though he were about to cry.

"Senior Brother, are you okay?"

Lu Chenzhou looked at this normally cheerful boy. Feeling Lu Chenzhou's concern, Du Men seemed unable to hold back any longer and actually began to sob.

"I worked hard at cultivation too. Why am I still this pathetic?"

Lu Chenzhou froze, clearly not expecting this.

Senior Brother Du's heart was more fragile than he had imagined.

Then again, Du Men was only a sixteen-year-old kid!

He had once been so much stronger than Lu Chenzhou, yet he had watched helplessly as Lu Chenzhou overtook him. No matter how hard he cultivated, he could do nothing about it. His heart had collapsed.

Lu Chenzhou did not know how to comfort him.

He could hardly tell his senior brother that he had a Martial Dao Tree, could he? He handed Du Men a tissue to wipe his tears. After releasing his emotions, Du Men felt much better and said softly,

"Sorry. I couldn't hold it in. I made a fool of myself."

They said men did not shed tears easily.

"It's fine. There's no need to compare yourself to others. Just stick to your own goals. With your level, Senior Brother, getting into Pingjiang Martial University won't be a problem."

Though Lu Chenzhou's stage was lower, he was the one comforting Du Men instead.

"Yeah. It's late. Let's go."

"See you."

The two vanished into the curtain of night.

After closing the martial arts room door, Ji Xuantong was the last to leave the martial hall. He could understand Du Men's emotional breakdown as well. All he could say was that this world was cruel.

After leaving the martial hall.

Du Men arrived at a street corner.

At that moment, a self-driving taxi happened to pass by. Self-driving technology was highly mature now, and its accident rate was even lower than that of ordinary taxis.

The dim lighting inside was perfect for resting.

He sat in the back seat and dozed off.

March in Su City had already brought warm spring weather and blooming flowers, yet he did not know why he felt somewhat cold. An unknown chill seemed to be blowing hard against his back.

It was as if someone were blowing cold air on him.

"Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh."

It made it difficult for him to fall asleep.

He touched his forehead. He did not have a fever.

"I've opened five acupoints, and I'm a Third Stage Martial Warrior. This shouldn't be happening, right?"

Du Men tried to sleep again, but in the next instant, he jolted awake.

"Something's wrong!"

He immediately reached for the door handle to get out.

He remembered some unpleasant things.

But the door seemed welded shut. It would not open.

He turned around and saw nothing.

"Could the car have malfunctioned?"

He turned back, only to see an ashen hand on the steering wheel. Drops of murky, foul-smelling liquid like corpse water dripped down.

Drip. Drip...

"Void Entity!"

Du Men's face changed drastically.

A Void Entity was actually hiding inside this self-driving car!

Without bothering to think, he immediately kicked at the door. According to Great Xia law, encountering a Void Calamity qualified as emergency avoidance and did not constitute intentional destruction of property.

The insurance company would compensate for it afterward.

The car continued driving silently, that pale hand resting on the steering wheel.

The car window vaguely reflected an indistinct white shadow. Du Men could faintly sense that someone seemed to be sitting in the seat, smiling eerily without a sound. It made his hair stand on end.

Bang!

The door was kicked open. Before Du Men could celebrate surviving the disaster, what met his eyes was already a remote, deserted street, with cold winds whistling through it.

The lights inside the car flickered, then went out.

Rustle, rustle, rustle... Something seemed to have gotten out of the car.

Du Men's vitality and blood erupted as he roared,

"What the hell are you? Come on! Laozi isn't afraid of you!"

"Hee hee hee..."

The laughter drew nearer, but Du Men saw no figure. Rumor had it that Void Entities loved tormenting their victims with fear before killing them. Du Men could now prove that it was true.

That thing could clearly have killed him while still in the car.

Yet it insisted on toying with him!

Du Men wildly swung his fists in every direction, utterly without form. Intense fear made this young Martial Warrior, who had never seen actual combat, struggle just like an ordinary person.

A savage wind struck his face. The Death God was at hand.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

In that terrifying world, the roar of a motorcycle seemed to rise. A helmeted figure rode in on a modified motorcycle spouting blue flames, racing toward him! In his right hand, he held an ancient horizontal saber of unknown material, dragging it across the ground and sending sparks flying in all directions.

"Ha!"

Using the motorcycle's momentum, the man leaped into the air and actually skimmed across a distance of ten zhang to arrive before Du Men. Swish, swish, swish! Blade light crisscrossed, cold and razor-sharp!

A faint scream abruptly surfaced in the dark night.

Du Men felt the chill beginning to recede.

That thing had been struck by the newcomer and began to flee. Then, a pale handprint appeared on a streetlamp pole, and a wavering white shadow flashed past.

"Trying to run?"

The next instant, a large hand covered in a kind of deep azure glow slammed out, planting the white shadow against the pole with a bang, clean and decisive.

The white shadow struggled continuously, waving illusory claws. Invisible force tore open the man's leather jacket, revealing his muscular chest. Deep azure fluorescence flickered over his chest as well; no matter how the white shadow attacked, it could not break through his defense.

"Dark Swallow: Reverse Sea!"

The man pressed down toward the ground. The white shadow was smashed into the pavement, cracking the road open. Blue light splashed out like fluorescent ocean waves exploding in the night, then faded into nothingness.

The white shadow dispersed.

The man removed his helmet.

Du Men's face filled with shock as he blurted out,

"Hall Master?"

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