Rank: Drift (2nd update)

Chapter 26: Rank: Drift (2nd update)

The figure who arrived on a motorcycle was none other than the master of Flying Swallow Martial Hall.

Bright-Winged Swallow—Ji Xuantong.

His expression was far from pleasant.

The Void Entity was not strong, but its appearance at this moment was worrying. Perhaps, before the Tai Lake Void Realm convergence point had been discovered, quite a few Voids had already slipped into Su City, lying in wait to devour people.

Or perhaps Su City had other convergence points.

Ji Xuantong said gravely,

"I saw that self-driving car suddenly head into a secluded street and felt something was wrong, so I followed it. These ghostly things love killing people this way. Come on, get in first. Where do you live? I'll take you home."

The motorcycle had already fallen to one side. Ji Xuantong hauled it upright with one hand.

He dialed a number on his phone.

"Master, what is it?"

Lu Chenzhou's voice came from the other end.

"Have you gotten home?"

"I'm back. I'm already practicing the Heaven Stance."

"Be careful. It'd be best to sleep with the Sunfire Lamp on. Don't worry about wasting electricity."

"Master, has a Void Entity appeared?"

"Yes."

"Thank you for the warning, Master. I'll be careful."

Next, Ji Xuantong called his family and Ji Feiyan as well. He also sent a message in the martial hall's small group chat, telling everyone to stay alert.

He was not particularly worried about his daughter's safety. A ghostly thing like the one just now might be impossible for Ji Feiyan to kill, but it could do nothing to her either.

Besides, his daughter lived at Dragon City University of Martial Arts. That place was forbidden ground to Void Entities. The surging smoke of blood and qi from Martial Artists was enough to make most Void Entities turn away at the sight.

Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

The motorcycle started. Holding tightly around the master's waist, Du Men finally felt safe. After more than ten years of peaceful living, this was his first encounter with a Void Calamity. Having witnessed the master's heroic bearing as he slew the Void Entity, he felt an incomparably fierce longing to become a Martial Artist!

He would never forget this night.

He had been tormented by a Void Entity, humiliated, and stripped of his dignity!

Thinking of Junior Brother Lu, who was already about to surpass him, Du Men made up his mind. He would devote even greater effort to pursuing the martial path, at any cost!

As Ji Xuantong drove, he dialed another number.

"Officer Lu, sorry to disturb you."

"What is it?"

"A Void Entity hid inside a self-driving car and attacked one of my students. I noticed something was wrong and followed it here, then dealt with it. I'm worried there may be more..."

There was silence on the other end for a while.

"What grade was the Void Entity?"

"Drift Grade."

"I understand. Thank you for the warning."

The motorcycle roared through the midnight streets and vanished without a trace.

Building 3, Shihu Garden, 2802.

"What? Another Void Calamity?"

Li Xianghua and Lu Guoping came out of the bedroom, panic written across their faces.

Lu Chenzhou did not intend to hide it from his parents. Although ordinary people had no power to change anything, it was still better for them to know than to face death in muddled ignorance.

"Du Men was attacked. Our master saved him."

Before, Lu Chenzhou had felt that Void Calamities were quite distant from him. Perhaps because such misfortunes had never happened around him and had only appeared in news reports.

Du Men's attack made him realize... danger had never been far away.

Li Xianghua clutched Lu Guoping's hand and asked,

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know... keep the lights on?"

Though the old couple had witnessed plenty of Void Calamity news over the past forty-odd years, this was the first time it had come so close. They had no experience with it at all.

A dazzling radiance lit up, illuminating the house as brightly as day.

Lu Chenzhou had already switched on the Sunfire Lamp.

"Let's keep it on from now on. Don't worry about whether it wastes electricity."

The Sunfire Lamp was a high-tech specialized device developed by the Void Suppression Department. It could effectively ward off most low-grade Void Entities. Property developers were required to install them when constructing residential buildings, and the fire department conducted regular inspections. Anyone falsifying compliance would be thrown in prison.

Its drawback was that it consumed a lot of electricity.

Of course, if they encountered a Void Entity on the level of the 11.3 Void Calamity case, the lamp would be completely useless. They could only pray that the Void Entity did not randomly choose their home.

Li Xianghua truly could not bear to let Lu Chenzhou go out.

"Chenzhou, how about you practice at home starting tomorrow?"

"Mom, let's see what happens tomorrow."

Lu Guoping said,

"You two go sleep. I'll stand watch tonight."

Lu Chenzhou said,

"Go sleep, both of you. Standing watch is useless. If the Sunfire Lamp can't ward it off, staying awake won't help. I just need to strive to reach Fourth Stage as soon as possible. Things will be better then."

Lu Chenzhou had read Void Suppression Department educational materials. If a human's blood and qi broke through 2, it could effectively lower the chance of encountering an ordinary Void Calamity.

To Voids, a Martial Warrior's blood and qi blazed as fiercely as the sun.

After his persuasion, the old couple both went to sleep.

In his bedroom, Lu Chenzhou continued practicing the Heaven Stance.

Until a notification came from the Martial Dao Tree.

Dragon-Tiger Heaven Stance: Fourth Acupoint (2%)

During the day, he had only just learned the stance method for condensing the Shaochong Acupoint. He could clearly feel that the difficulty of raising Proficiency had increased by a whole level.

It would only get harder from here, but with the Martial Dao Tree, he felt that as long as he carved out a little more time, condensing the fourth acupoint within a month would not be a problem.

At most, he would just have to grind harder.

Back when he had no Martial Dao Tree, he had persisted even when he could not see the road ahead. Now that he had a real-time Proficiency panel giving him feedback, he could work harder than anyone!

"Sleep!"

Lu Chenzhou maintained his regular routine as always and lay down, preparing to sleep.

A text message arrived with a notice from Su City Police, instructing all residents to turn on their Sunfire Lamps, not go out at night, and not ride in self-driving cars.

Starting tomorrow, all schools would be temporarily closed. Employers were urged to have staff work from home whenever possible, while the police would inspect the entire city for places where Void Entities might be hiding.

Tonight was destined to be another sleepless night.

Many people thought of the huge disturbance at Tai Lake. They all felt that Su City was truly about to see the sky change, and it was likely that even more people would leave tomorrow.

On the internet, some people took the opportunity to spread rumors and stir up panic, afraid that the world would not be chaotic enough. The police quickly traced their IP addresses and brought them to justice.

In the Flying Swallow Martial Hall group chat, many people expressed concern for Du Men and marveled at how lucky he was to be alive. At the same time, they gained a profound understanding of Ji Xuantong's strength.

After this incident, everyone would probably practice martial arts with even greater diligence.

Lu Chenzhou watched for a while, then found it uninteresting and soon fell asleep.

All he could do now was accumulate strength and grow stronger bit by bit.

The next day.

Lu Chenzhou got up early to practice his punches.

The old couple had slept poorly all night from worry.

"Thank goodness, everyone's alright."

Li Xianghua called relatives and friends close to the family. No one had been harmed, but the news reported victims besides Du Men.

The deceased was a woman. She had left a nightclub drunk out of her mind and fallen asleep by the roadside. When she was found, her entire body was swollen, and her skin burst at the slightest poke as yellow fluid gushed from within her. Then, she became nothing more than a sheet of human skin.

She had been hollowed out. Her bones and organs had all melted away.

Void Entities used methods of extreme cruelty.

This was the second case this year of someone being killed by a Void Entity.

Li Xianghua felt sick as she watched.

"Ah, how pitiful. I wonder whose parents will have their hearts shattered."

Meanwhile, Lu Guoping was on the phone with his workplace, his expression dark.

"Trash company! Do you think I'm not working because I don't want to go?"

"What happened?"

"During the work stoppage, they're only paying the minimum wage."

"Forget it, let it be. It's better than getting fired."

"Our child is at the age when he needs money."

"It's fine. We'll hold on for a while. Our savings will last us some time. I'll weave more little handicrafts and earn a bit more... Once our child gets into Wuda, things will be better. I remember the state has scholarships, meant to reward children like Chenzhou."

"It's fine. I can use this time to get some rest."

"Right, let Chenzhou teach us to throw a few punches too."

For the old couple now, however much misfortune their bleak lives suffered, it was all washed away by Lu Chenzhou's outstanding performance. He was their faith.

Everything would get better!

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