Ghost Face Martial Artist

Lu Xuan did not hurry to seize the Earth Dragon Egg.

He plucked the meat from the flames and chewed it as he pondered the other information in the mail.

The Bronze Gourd had other effects.

The various opportunities in Ruins City.

And Xu Xin's identity was not simple. Revealing her identity at a critical moment could save his life.

As for the last lottery number...

Could this thing really win the jackpot?

Lu Xuan was somewhat doubtful. Last time, he had bought five extra tickets, but had only won a little over ten thousand yuan.

That was far too little to make a difference.

"Bronze Gourd..." Lu Xuan gathered his thoughts and took the Bronze Gourd from his Storage Ring.

It was dark bronze-green, with golden patterns flowing across it. The stopper was shaped like a dragon's head.

Since obtaining it, he had not studied it carefully.

"An object capable of nurturing a spiritual item that lets someone break through to become a Martial Artist must be extraordinary. If the information in the mail is accurate, the Bronze Gourd is very likely the target that Beast Lord level monster was searching for."

Lu Xuan brought the gourd beside the fire and examined it carefully.

There was nothing unusual about it.

When he opened the stopper, however, a faint, refreshing aura drifted out, like the crisp sensation of suddenly drawing in a breath of fresh air after holding one's breath for a long time.

"Could there be something inside?"

Lu Xuan pondered. "Don't novels always say that when an object is used to contain something, there's most likely something inside? Besides, that Heaven and Earth Spiritual Item grew out of this..."

As he mulled it over,

he took out a piece of monster meat and tossed it into the Bronze Gourd.

Strangely, golden light surged from the mouth of the gourd, and the piece of meat vanished instantly.

"Hm?"

Lu Xuan brought his eye close to the mouth. There was nothing inside.

Under the perception of his Mental Power, it seemed that a drop of liquid was sloshing around.

"There's something?"

He stood the gourd upright and knocked it hard a few times.

A drop of spiritual liquid appeared at the mouth of the gourd, reflecting the firelight with a jade-green glow.

Lu Xuan did not know what it was, but he could sense the extremely dense Spiritual Energy contained within the drop. Just drawing near it made his mind and spirit feel refreshed.

A good thing!

Without a second thought, Lu Xuan swallowed it in one gulp.

Buzz!

As the liquid entered his throat, the power of the Spiritual Energy erupted. His limbs and bones trembled, and his blood surged.

Under the force, his injured areas gradually recovered.

A moment later,

the power was completely digested. Lu Xuan clenched his fist, feeling that the Spiritual Energy and qi and blood within his body had grown even more vigorous.

"What powerful effects!"

Lu Xuan carefully sensed the changes in his body.

Not only had his injuries recovered, but his strength had also risen by a notch.

Lu Xuan snatched up the Bronze Gourd and threw his head back with a grin. "Hahaha, treasure!"

"It truly is a treasure hard to come by!"

In his excitement, he took out some more flesh and tossed it into the gourd.

Unlike before,

after the flesh vanished this time, no spiritual liquid was produced.

"Could it be that this spiritual liquid isn't produced by converting swallowed spiritual items? Could it instead produce one drop at regular intervals?"

That was possible.

Lu Xuan was not discouraged. He consoled himself, "That's true. If it could convert spiritual items directly, that would be too heaven-defying. Producing one drop of spiritual liquid at regular intervals is enough."

In any case, the treasure was in his hands.

He could use it whenever he wanted.

"Now that my injuries have recovered, I should start planning how to find Xu Long and the others."

He was determined to obtain the Earth Dragon Egg.

But before that, he had to plan carefully.

The version of himself from the Future Mail had been too hasty, leaving behind far too many traces.

Taking that warning to heart, Lu Xuan absolutely would not walk the same path again.

He put away the Bronze Gourd.

As he watched the flames burn brightly, his thoughts raced. "Now that I have information from the future, especially knowledge of where some of the opportunities in Ruins City are, I can first find those things to improve my strength. At the same time, I can deal with the traces I left behind earlier. After killing Xu Long, I can meet up directly with Jiangnan Martial University and leave the Wilderness."

Find the opportunities.

Kill Xu Long and seize the Earth Dragon Egg.

Then disguise himself as a logistics worker.

Return to Jinling City.

The plan took shape in his mind. Lu Xuan swallowed the last piece of monster meat, stamped out the fire, gripped his long saber, and vanished into the night.

The Wilderness was always lively at night.

There was a lake in Ruins City, and lotus flowers swayed beneath the moonlight.

After the Great Cataclysm, the vegetation in this place had mutated and begun to eat meat.

"Boss, it's this place!"

By the lakeside, a middle-aged man in combat gear pointed at the lake and said to the team of four or five people behind him,

"I've already scouted it with a drone. The mutated lotuses have nurtured a Moon-Gazing Nether Lotus. That's a spiritual herb worth tens of thousands. As long as we can dig it up, we'll be able to take a year off!"

This was an adventure team.

They specialized in accepting missions from companies and official organizations.

Whenever they encountered something good, they would also find a way to get their hands on it.

"Since ancient times, every heavenly treasure has had a guardian beast."

The leading middle-aged man looked solemn. "The Moon-Gazing Nether Lotus is an Intermediate spiritual herb. There is probably an Intermediate Monster guarding it. If we want to dig it up, we must think this through carefully."

Bang!

Without the slightest warning, the instant the middle-aged man's words fell,

a dazzling burst of fire exploded in the middle of the lake.

The lake water splashed into the air, spreading in layers like flower petals and waves. The commotion was enormous, shaking the entire lake until fish and shrimp floated belly-up.

Everyone on the bank froze and turned to look.

"Boss, someone!"

In their field of vision,

a tall, burly figure wielding a long saber slashed down on the head of a Mutant Crocodile Turtle.

Apparently noticing the gazes from the bank, he glanced over.

A face wearing a ghost mask appeared.

Beneath the ghost mask radiated a chilling killing intent that made their blood run cold.

"A ghost, a ghost!"

Someone was so frightened that he staggered and fell to the ground.

"Shut up!"

The leading middle-aged man sank his qi into his dantian, kicked off the ground, and shot forward. Pouncing toward the masked man, he shouted,

"Sir, we were the ones who discovered the Moon-Gazing Nether Lotus first!"

The Ghost Face Martial Artist sneered and waved a hand. The Moon-Gazing Nether Lotus was immediately collected into his Storage Ring.

Looking back at the middle-aged man charging to kill him, he said calmly, "Heavenly treasures belong to the capable!"

"How dare you!"

The middle-aged man flew into a rage.

He was a Sixth-order Intermediate Martial Artist, only one step away from entering the ranks of Advanced Martial Artists. In this Wilderness, there were hardly any people who dared to shout at him.

Humiliation.

Barefaced humiliation!

He no longer held back. His qi and blood churned within him as his strength transformed into a long dragon that struck toward Lu Xuan.

Facing the punch that could shake mountains and shatter the earth, Lu Xuan remained utterly motionless.

When the distance between them had narrowed to five meters—

"You should be grateful that I haven't taken it by force!"

The Ghost Face Martial Artist raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

The next second,

Boom—!

The lake water boiled. Water droplets filling the sky transformed into arrowheads and shot toward the middle-aged man.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The rain of arrows pierced through his body. The middle-aged man screamed several times and was sent flying several yards.

"Boss!?"

"Dammit, what are you waiting for? Attack together!"

"Boss, he's gone!"

When they looked toward the lake again,

the Ghost Face Martial Artist had long since vanished.

"What Martial Skill was that just now? How could it launch a wide-area attack?"

"No, that didn't look like a Martial Skill. He directly controlled the water. What kind of monster is he?"

"I don't know, but his strength definitely isn't weak. He sent the boss flying without even touching him. He must be an Advanced Martial Artist."

One Martial Artist team had been robbed.

But it certainly would not be the last.

The same thing was happening elsewhere.

One Martial Artist team had just finished eliminating a monster when the spiritual item was snatched away by the Ghost Face Martial Artist.

One Martial Artist team was celebrating with singing, dancing, and rap when the Ghost Face Martial Artist appeared and instantly took away their spoils.

For a time,

the Ghost Face Martial Artist's name spread throughout the Martial Artist circles of Ruins City.

Someone uploaded a picture of his back to the forum, drawing countless people into condemning him.

Condemn him?

Lu Xuan did not care in the slightest.

He had not registered as a Martial Artist, nor did he have a Martial Artist Forum account.

He stood atop a deserted, damaged Ferris Wheel, gazing at the teams active in the distance at night. A thoughtful look flashed through his eyes.

"Monster Potion Company."

Lu Xuan murmured, "The first and second times, I failed to save my parents. It was all because of you."

Selling inferior medicine.

Using empty promises to swindle people out of Qi and Blood Golden Elixirs.

Those were not fabricated events. They had truly happened in another future.

The grudge between Lu Xuan and them

had long since become one that could end only in death!

"An Advanced spiritual herb, worth a million..."

A greedy smile hung at the corners of Lu Xuan's mouth as he swept his Mental Power toward the Martial Artist team.

One Seventh-order Advanced Martial Artist.

Three Fourth-order Intermediate Martial Artists.

Ten low-level Martial Artists.

That was the standard configuration for exploring the Wilderness around Ruins City.

"Three Fifth-order Martial Artists. With my Psychic Power, I can kill them by catching them off guard."

"But I can't rush it. There will definitely be an even more dangerous monster near an Advanced spiritual herb."

Lu Xuan leaped up and vanished into the buildings.