Mental Power Breakthrough

Lu Xuan sat in the moonlight and swallowed the Dew Star Grass in one gulp.

Dew Star Grass.

It was typically used to develop psychiatric medication, rumored to be a hundred percent cure for any mental illness.

From Lu Xuan's speculation, this thing was most likely meant to enhance Mental Power—it was just that martial artists didn't train Mental Power, so they couldn't generate Psychic Power like he could, and thus couldn't appreciate the true value of Dew Star Grass.

He cycled his Martial Art Manual.

A strange, fluid-like force surged from his abdomen into his mind.

In an instant, Lu Xuan felt as if he were floating in a void, his whole body drifting like a jellyfish. The world was like seawater, gently caressing him with a sense of flow, a sense of emptiness...

"Such a profound feeling."

He tried to merge his consciousness into this empty void. Those strands of flowing power traced across his entire body, sketching the world's outline into his awareness, as if drawing a charcoal portrait, until the surrounding world was fully manifested.

"So that's it," a glimmer of understanding surfaced in Lu Xuan's eyes:

"Mental Power isn't about perceiving the world—it's about letting the world perceive your existence, thereby granting you the most authentic version of the world, allowing you to instantly grasp every detail, find the underlying flaws in anything in a single breath, the openings in a martial artist's combat, the weaknesses in a Martial Skill... so this is the true use of Psychic Power!"

Analyzing the essence of the world.

The clarity in his heart grew sharper, and Lu Xuan's Psychic Power became more solid and expanded.

In mere seconds, his Psychic Power stretched to thirty meters, thirty-five meters, forty meters...

Until it stopped at fifty meters.

A breakthrough!

With a single thought from Lu Xuan, all objects weighing a hundred kilograms around him floated into the air.

His Psychic Power's lifting force, which had barely managed a hundred kilograms before, now rose to the point where he could lift several hundred-kilogram objects at once.

His perception ultimately extended to a fifty-meter radius.

Lu Xuan withdrew his Mental Power, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "If I focus my Psychic Power on a single point, I can fully lift a ton of weight. Now I'm even more confident about intercepting Xu Long and seizing the Earth Dragon Egg."

If Mental Power had levels, he would now count as just having entered the door.

Before this, he had been in the awakening stage.

With that thought, Lu Xuan gripped his long blade: "The training of Psychic Power is no less important than that of a martial artist. I absolutely cannot fall behind. Next, aside from finding spiritual items to heal my parents and the flesh and blood needed for my sister's breakthrough, spiritual items related to the mind will be my top priority."

He only had a cultivation method for Psychic Power.

He had no martial artist cultivation method.

He could only rely on this brief window to improve one of his abilities.

"But it won't be long now."

Lu Xuan gazed at the Ruins City under the moonlit night, released his grip on the long blade, and used his Psychic Power to lift it, suspending it in midair. He stepped onto it.

Then he activated his Psychic Power.

Whoosh—!

Lu Xuan's figure carved a streak of silver light through the void, vanishing into the depths of the Ruins City.

Starlight flashed.

The moment the streak of light cut across the night sky, countless martial artists felt a stir in their hearts and looked up, but immediately lowered their heads in terror.

"A-a Martial Dao Grandmaster?!"

"Why would a Martial Dao Grandmaster be in the Ruins City? Could a Beast Lord level monster have appeared?"

"Maybe it's the Xu Family's Martial Dao Grandmaster. Didn't they say the Xu Family stole the Earth Dragon Egg and got trapped in the Ruins City?"

Martial artists.

Only when one reached the realm of Martial Dao Grandmaster could they perform Imperial Flight.

That streak of light was clearly someone flying through the air—how could this not terrify the martial artists exploring the Ruins City?

A Martial Dao Grandmaster on the move.

Either there was a Beast Lord level monster, or there was a treasure that could tempt such an existence.

Either way, for a team of adventuring martial artists, it was a dangerous signal.

It meant battle was about to break out.

When gods fight, mortals suffer.

In an instant, many people began posting messages on the Martial Artist Forum to ask.

Should they retreat, or keep taking the risk?

None of this...

concerned Lu Xuan in the slightest. He was making such a high-profile move for only two purposes.

One was to make Xu Long mistakenly believe that a Xu Family powerhouse had arrived, which would naturally force him to reveal himself.

Second is to keep most martial artists away from the Core Zone, so even if Xu Long is killed, no one would connect it to some nobody.

In the last death's future, the families of those logistics personnel who were with him were wiped out.

He couldn't escape blame for that.

This time, he couldn't drag them down.

Lu Xuan wasn't a good man, but he wasn't a bad one either.

Landing on the rooftop of a crumbling building, Lu Xuan suppressed his aura and lifted his head to scan his surroundings.

This was the Second Ring of Ruins City, a truly dangerous place.

The weakest monsters here were Intermediate Monsters.

Within the Core Zone of the First Ring, there were even Awakened Level monsters.

Ruins City wasn't zoned by the original city's First, Second, and Third Rings; instead, the rings were redefined based on monster strength.

The closer to the Core Zone, the more numerous and active the monsters.

Roar!

And speaking of that, No sooner had Lu Xuan steadied himself than a roar rang out in the distance.

Just by looking up, he could see two giant beasts, dozens of meters tall and as large as small buildings, locked in combat.

"Two High-level Monsters..."

Lu Xuan chose to avoid their edge.

No matter why those two monsters were fighting, it was definitely not something a mere Third-order Martial Artist like him could exploit. If he actually interfered, they might just turn around and gang up on him.

He wouldn't even know how he died.

If they were Intermediate Monsters, he might still take a gamble.

"Better not stir up trouble. First, find Xu Long's trail."

Lu Xuan concealed his figure, weaving through the various buildings.

The Future Mail didn't specify exactly where to find Xu Long, but it definitely wouldn't be outside the Second Ring.

The Second Ring spanned ten li, or five thousand meters.

With Lu Xuan's mental detection range of fifty meters, it wouldn't take long to locate Xu Long and his group.

Ruins City.

Somewhere.

Xu Long bit off a piece of meat, recovering a bit of his Qi and blood.

On this trip to obtain the Earth Dragon Egg, three High-level Martial Artists had died in battle, along with several classmates lured to their deaths, and quite a few logistics personnel.

The losses were heavy.

But at least the Earth Dragon Egg was in hand.

By the firelight, his gaze fell on a Tech Capsule.

Two Earth Dragon Eggs, each the size of a basketball, were nourished in Nutrient Fluid, kept active at all times while also sealing off any aura leakage to prevent the Earth Dragon from detecting them.

Only four Intermediate Martial Artists, including himself, remained in the team.

If the Earth Dragon discovered their trail, they were as good as dead.

That was a Ninth-order High-level Monster, a giant beast on the verge of breaking through to the Awakened Level. Killing them would be like killing chickens.

An Awakened Level monster was equivalent to a human Qi and Blood Martial Master.

In Jinling City, that was a top-tier expert.

The backbone of any company.

Xu Long's father was only at that level.

As for why they didn't send a Qi and Blood Martial Master to retrieve the Earth Dragon Egg, instead sending a rookie like him—

Xu Long had asked his father that question.

The reason was simple: if a Martial Master or above made a move, it would inevitably expose the fact that the Xu Family's Martial Dao Grandmaster was injured. Then, other families and corporate forces would swarm to attack.

"Young Master, good news!"

Just then, A subordinate beside him walked over holding an Electronic Light Screen, saying excitedly, "A Martial Dao Grandmaster has appeared in Ruins City! It's very likely one of our Xu Family's experts!"

"Impossible!"

Xu Long glanced at it and shook his head.

Others might not know, but he was well aware of the Xu Family's situation.

The Xu Family only has one Martial Dao Grandmaster, and he's injured.

How could he possibly come out looking for me?

"Young master, it's not out of the question that the family put out a bounty and a Martial Dao Grandmaster took the job!"

The subordinate said urgently.

He desperately hoped that would happen.

Now they were living on the edge of death every day, losing one person per day—who knew if tomorrow it would be their turn.

At that reminder, Xu Long hesitated: "...That's possible."

"Then what do we do?"

"Don't expose ourselves!"

Xu Long vetoed decisively. Facing his subordinates' confusion, he was about to explain when a mocking voice came from above, accompanied by the sound of clapping.

Clap, clap, clap—!

"As expected of Young Master Xu..."

Lu Xuan crouched on the reinforced concrete beam, clapping, tilting his Ghost-faced Monkey head, and grinning:

"You really are cautious!"