When Lin Hao and Lu Yuan saw each other, the corners of Lu Yuan's mouth curved into a smile.
"Two Children of Destiny. Lin Hao, oh Lin Hao, you really are my lucky baby. What a pity—I can't kill you for now."
"But as for the other one, I can't let him go."
The moment Lin Hao saw Lu Yuan, he was terrified to the extreme. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and an overwhelming sense of dread surged through his heart.
The scene of Lu Yuan crushing him to death like an ant kept flashing before his eyes.
"Run!"
Without another thought, Lin Hao shouted and turned around, fleeing desperately toward the horizon.
Before Zhang Ruoxu could react, Lin Hao had already fled a thousand miles away.
By the time Zhang Ruoxu reacted, Lu Yuan had somehow appeared in front of him. He wore a smile and quietly watched him.
"You're Lu Yuan."
Zhang Ruoxu asked in a deep voice. He wasn't stupid. Seeing Lin Hao react like that, he had already guessed Lu Yuan's identity.
"Lin Hao mentioned me to you?" Lu Yuan tilted his head and smiled. "But it doesn't matter. Since he mentioned me to you, will you surrender, or do I have to make a move?"
Zhang Ruoxu's expression turned ugly. "Lu Yuan, I may not be your match, but wanting me to surrender is nothing more than a fool's dream!"
"Spatial Cutting Technique!"
Zhang Ruoxu shouted and swept his hand through the air. A section of space seemed to be sliced off by him, turning mirror-like as it slashed toward Lu Yuan.
A glimmer of hope shone in Zhang Ruoxu's eyes. Although he had said that he was no match for Lu Yuan, he was not convinced in his heart. This Spatial Cutting Technique was a spatial battle skill he had comprehended only recently, and it was currently his strongest offensive method.
He hoped that the Spatial Cutting Technique could defeat Lu Yuan.
However, Lu Yuan merely raised his hand and waved it casually, annihilating his attack. He said indifferently, "This can also be called the Spatial Cutting Technique? What an utter joke."
"No, this is impossible?!"
Zhang Ruoxu's eyes widened as if he had suffered a devastating blow.
Lu Yuan, however, had no intention of wasting time. He clenched his hand from afar, about to crush Zhang Ruoxu to death at a distance.
But at that moment, a force suddenly erupted from between Zhang Ruoxu's brows. It was a diamond-shaped crystal that distorted the void and contained the power of space and time.
"A Spatial-Temporal Crystal?" Lu Yuan was slightly stunned.
In that instant of distraction, the diamond-shaped crystal hummed as it erupted with power, attempting to transport Zhang Ruoxu out of this world.
Lu Yuan quickly reacted and shouted, "Great Binding Technique!"
Screech!
Zhang Ruoxu's body, which was about to be transported away, was forcibly halted. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yuan clenched his five fingers into a fist and punched!
Bang!
Zhang Ruoxu's head exploded.
His lifeless body fell to the ground.
At that moment, the diamond-shaped crystal seemed to possess a life of its own and tried to escape. However, Lu Yuan reached out and grabbed it, leaving it nowhere to run.
At the same time, several voices rang out in Lu Yuan's mind, but he did not rush to inspect them.
Lu Yuan raised his head, as if sensing something, and looked beyond Tianxiao Continent.
Just now, at the instant he killed Zhang Ruoxu.
Outside Tianxiao Continent, an inexplicable existence had cast its gaze toward him.
However, perhaps out of apprehension about something, it had not attacked.
But Lu Yuan could be certain that the inexplicable existence was definitely not apprehensive of him.
Lu Yuan provocatively raised his middle finger toward the sky, a hint of mockery appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Beyond the heavens, that unknown existence was probably the powerful figure behind Zhang Ruoxu.
It might be one of them, or it might be the only one.
But it didn't matter. Lu Yuan was not afraid.
The sky once again underwent a drastic change. Tribulation Clouds gathered, and this time, they were several times larger than before, covering an area almost several times the size of the First Central Empire.
However, this time, Lu Yuan did not test the power of the Tribulation Clouds again.
"Elder You, make your move."
Lu Yuan called out softly.
"Yes, Young Master."
The next moment, a streak of sword light cleaved through the sky, slicing through the terrifying Tribulation Clouds that covered an area of nearly ten million miles.
Lu Yuan took one look before lowering his head to examine the diamond-shaped crystal in his palm.
Lu Yuan did not yet know what this diamond-shaped crystal was, but it was probably one of Zhang Ruoxu's cheat abilities.
The power erupted by the diamond-shaped crystal just now had already reached the limit of the Emperor Realm. However, restrained by the world's laws, it had not exceeded that limit.
From this, it could be judged that behind this diamond-shaped crystal was most likely a powerhouse who had surpassed the Emperor-Sealing Immortal Realm.
However, Lu Yuan was not afraid.
Looking across the entire Tianxiao Continent, only three people currently possessed power beyond the laws.
Moreover, all three were existences known to Lu Yuan.
Two of them were Elder You and Elder Ming.
The final one was the most ancient powerhouse on Tianxiao Continent, who was now hiding somewhere unknown.
Lu Yuan casually stored the diamond-shaped crystal in his Storage Space and turned around.
At this moment, Dongfang Baitian and the group of Dongfang Family elders behind him were dumbfounded.
Dongfang Baitian was so excited that he could hardly contain himself. He hurried to Lu Yuan and said worshipfully, "Young Master, you're incredible! Lin Hao actually ran the moment he saw you, as if he'd seen his natural enemy."
Dongfang Baitian simply couldn't describe what he was feeling inside. Who knew how miserable he had been these past few days? He had holed up in the Dongfang Family, not daring to go outside at all.
Lu Yuan smiled. A natural enemy? That seemed rather accurate.
After all, Lin Hao seemed to have died at his hands more than once. Wasn't he indeed his natural enemy?
"Young Master, is Zhang Ruoxu also a Child of Destiny?"
Dongfang Baitian was very curious. Zhang Ruoxu was a prodigy as famous as him in the First Central Empire, but he had never imagined that Zhang Ruoxu was a Child of Destiny.
Lu Yuan nodded. "That's right. He was also a Child of Destiny."
"You did well this time. I've credited you with twenty thousand Merits. If there's anything you like on the Merit Monument, you can exchange for it."
Dongfang Baitian instantly became excited and hurriedly nodded. "Thank you, Young Master."
"Mm."
Lu Yuan nodded lightly. "Go handle your own affairs. I'll take a walk around."
"Young Master, why don't I accompany you?" Dongfang Baitian asked expectantly.
Lu Yuan glanced at him and smiled. "No need. With the time you have, you might as well help me investigate where the headquarters of the Nine Killers Palace is."
The Nine Killers Palace?
Dongfang Baitian's expression changed. He immediately understood something and gritted his teeth. "Young Master, I understand. I'll mobilize every connection and resource the Dongfang Family can use to find the headquarters of the Nine Killers Palace!"
"Mm."
Lu Yuan gave a soft acknowledgment, took one step forward, and vanished without a trace.
A million miles outside the First Imperial City, inside a lush mountain ravine, a stream trickled softly. The place was incredibly secluded.
Lin Hao hid inside a mountain cave in terror, his chest still heaving continuously. The pallor on his face had yet to fade.
"Lu Yuan. How could he possibly appear in the First Imperial City? In the memories of my several lives, Lu Yuan had never come here. What exactly happened?"
Lin Hao's expression was extremely ugly.
He had calculated everything, yet had never expected Lu Yuan to come.
Listening to the thunder outside, Lin Hao felt guilty. He understood that Zhang Ruoxu had fallen because of him.
"Brother Ruoxu, I'm sorry."
Lin Hao slammed his fist into the mountain wall, filled with unwillingness.
"The plan must be moved forward. Lu Yuan, you forced me into this!"
Lin Hao's eyes were sinister.
Having been reborn nine times, he knew that the Chaos Sacred Land would soon launch a holy war and declare war on all the forces of Tianxiao Continent.
And what he had to do was strike first.
"I refuse to believe that, by gathering the strength of the entire Tianxiao Continent, I still can't deal with you, Lu Yuan."