Xu Long was dead?
The middle-aged man's voice rang across the plaza, stirring up waves like a single stone tossed into a thousand-layered sea.
Only then did Xu Xin and the others react. They all looked toward Class 2's position, only to find that Xu Long was nowhere to be seen.
"Class 2's monitor, Xu Long, is dead? Wasn't he an Intermediate Martial Artist?"
"That's not right. Didn't the school issue a notice yesterday saying Xu Long had overestimated himself and gone to steal an Earth Dragon Egg?"
"Damn, that was a High-level Monster! How did he dare?"
The crowd erupted in chatter.
Lu Xuan's gaze fell on the middle-aged man standing before the many teachers. Simply standing there, he was like a fierce tiger, his blood and qi soaring to the heavens.
A blood-and-qi martial master... Lu Xuan was secretly shocked. As expected of the Xu Family, a martial lineage. Three random members are already blood-and-qi martial masters. It looks like I'll need to develop for a while longer before I can wipe them out.
Seeing him crane his neck to look around, Xu Xin explained in a low voice:
"Martial Artists are divided into nine orders. Above them are blood-and-qi martial masters.
"Martial masters are divided into nine dragons of blood and qi. One dragon grants ten thousand jin of strength. Those with outstanding talent can even unleash a hundred thousand jin of force with a single punch upon becoming a Nine Dragon Martial Master."
"A hundred thousand jin of force?"
"Hiss~" Lu Xuan couldn't help sucking in a cold breath.
To unleash such terrifying energy—was that still a human?
A human-shaped heavy truck!
Anyone who ran into one would truly have run into a stroke of luck.
The gap between Martial Artists and martial masters was actually this huge.
One had to know that Lu Xuan was currently a peak Third-order Martial Artist. The strength he could unleash amounted to only a few thousand jin at most. With weapons, Martial Skills, and the like, he might perhaps reach ten thousand jin.
As for martial masters, they possessed ten thousand jin of force the moment they advanced.
Terrifying. Simply heaven-defying.
He didn't dare imagine how powerful a Martial Dao Grandmaster or a Heaven and Earth Martial Saint would be.
"How dare you!"
As Lu Xuan pondered,
the Jiangnan Martial University teacher on the plaza wore an angry expression. An even more terrifying blood-and-qi pressure descended over the entire area, making everyone feel as if a mountain were pressing down on their heads. Their bodies bent sharply under the weight.
Pointing at Xu Long's father, the Jiangnan Martial University teacher shouted:
"Xu Yaoyang, who gave you the nerve to run wild here?"
"Your son Xu Long treated the school's rules like smoke and mist, privately leading people deep into Ruins City to steal an Earth Dragon Egg. Let alone dying—even if he hadn't, just for causing the deaths of his fellow students, his cultivation would have been crippled and he would have been expelled from the school. How dare you come here and question us?!"
"Others may fear your Xu Family, but Jiangnan Martial University certainly doesn't!"
"Leave now. Otherwise, we won't mind wiping out your Xu Family!"
Boom!
His voice carried his blood and qi, shaking Xu Yaoyang's flesh into ripples.
The three blood-and-qi martial masters of the Xu Family wore faces as dark as water.
They naturally knew that this threat could not intimidate Jiangnan Martial University. Even if a grandmaster from the Xu Family came, he would not gain the slightest advantage.
The purpose of this trip was merely to investigate whether Xu Long's death was related to Jiangnan Martial University—
or to any of its students.
"My Xu Family didn't come here to cause trouble."
Xu Yaoyang's imposing aura weakened a little as he said, "It's just that my son's death is suspicious. We wanted to ask everyone from Jiangnan Martial University for help. After all, my son was still a student of your university before this."
At those words, killing intent flashed from the many Jiangnan Martial University teachers.
"Are you saying that your son's death had something to do with us?"
"That it had something to do with the university?"
Countless auras locked onto Xu Yaoyang, instantly making cold sweat break out across his forehead.
"I wouldn't dare!"
Xu Yaoyang lowered his previously raised head a little and said, "I heard that a Ghost Face Martial Artist appeared in Ruins City, specifically robbing other Martial Artist teams of their opportunities. According to the information I've gathered, several geniuses from your university once joined forces with this Ghost Face Martial Artist and killed a High-level Monster..."
As soon as these words were spoken,
Xu Xin, who had still been explaining things to Lu Xuan, froze.
After all that, they came looking for me!
Lu Xuan was also slightly surprised. He sighed inwardly: A martial lineage truly has extraordinary methods. How long has it been? They've already traced things back to Xu Xin and the others. If I hadn't killed Xu Long, I'm afraid I would've exposed a clue as well.
Strength.
Ultimately, his strength was still insufficient.
Otherwise, once he wiped out the Xu Family, no one would dare utter a word against him.
He raised his head.
Xu Yaoyang and the others also looked over, but their gazes landed on Xu Xin.
Lu Xuan, meanwhile, used his Psychic Power to conceal his cultivation.
Anyone whose Mental Power was weaker than his would be unable to see his true cultivation.
"Patriarch Xu, are you sure you want to question those students?"
A teacher asked with a half-smile.
Xu Yaoyang's heart clenched, but now that things had come this far, he could only grit his teeth and persist:
"I'm sure!"
"Good!"
The teacher in charge of overseeing the trial waved his hand and said, "Those who aren't from Jiangnan Martial University may leave. We will pay you afterward."
Xu Yaoyang didn't stop them.
Those logistics personnel could never have killed his son, no matter what.
Lu Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Xu Xin, then followed the main group away from the plaza and returned to Jinling City.
He no longer had the time to care about anything else.
Returning to the city to treat his parents was what mattered now.
Soon,
before nightfall,
Lu Xuan finally followed the Jiangnan Martial University team from Satellite City No. 3 back to Jinling City.
Along the way, Lu Xuan revealed nothing suspicious.
He was simply an ordinary person who had barely survived.
After getting off the vehicle,
Buzz! Buzz!
The electronic smart communications device he had put back on began ringing. Lu Xuan answered it.
His younger sister Lu Ying's face appeared on the screen. Her expression was filled with anxiety as she asked, "Brother, there was a beast tide around Satellite City No. 3. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine!"
Lu Xuan squeezed out a smile and said with a hint of excitement, "Your big brother has returned safely to Jinling City. I made a fortune this time!"
"I've prepared a huge surprise for you tonight. Want to guess what it is?"
"Satellite City is close to the Wilderness..." Lu Ying pondered, her pretty face thoughtful. She tapped her finger against her lips and said:
"Could it be that you bought a cheap blood-and-qi pill, Big Brother?"
"Hahaha!"
Lu Xuan gave his younger sister a thumbs-up. "As expected of my little sister—you and I really think alike!"
"Wow! Can I eat a blood-and-qi pill too?"
Lu Ying cried out excitedly.
The siblings chatted for a few more moments.
Lu Xuan walked into an alley. When he came back out, he had changed into clean clothes, and the aura around him was no longer restrained. His Third-order Martial Artist blood and qi burst forth as he headed toward the Federation Martial Artist Association.
The Federation Martial Artist Association was an organization built by the authorities.
People could accept missions and post missions here.
They could also register as Martial Artists, purchase and learn Martial Art Manuals and Martial Skills, and so on.
However, Lu Xuan had no intention of registering as a Martial Artist for now. He had only come in to sell some low-level spirit herbs and exchange them for money.
"Sir, that's three intermediate spirit herbs and twenty low-level spirit herbs. Our association's purchase price is 1.19 million Federal Coins, which has already been deposited into your account."
The counter attendant handed him a membership card with a smile and said, "This is the association's bronze membership card. If you want to purchase pills, Martial Art Manuals, Martial Skills, and so on, you can get a ten percent discount."
"Thanks."
Lu Xuan didn't take the membership card. After a moment of silence, he said, "Bring me a few blood-and-qi pills."
Surprises were always preceded by a question.
Because the thing a woman instinctively guessed was usually what she needed most urgently.
This was a little trick Lu Xuan had learned from living two lifetimes.
After obtaining the blood-and-qi pills, he concealed his aura and slipped into the crowd, taking a circuitous route to the hospital.
For now, he couldn't give his parents the Earth Dragon Egg essence liquid.
First, he needed to endure it until he became a blood-and-qi martial master—or until the Xu Family collapsed.
Second, the two of them had been bedridden for five years, and their bodily functions had yet to recover. Taking it rashly would only have the opposite effect.
He could only give the elderly couple one drop each day, slowly improving their bodies and allowing their bodily functions to recover as before.
That way, he wouldn't attract anyone else's attention.
4:00 p.m.
Lu Xuan returned home. After releasing his Mental Power to confirm that there was no danger nearby, he finally relaxed and took out what he had obtained from Ruins City.
"One high-level spirit herb, three intermediate spirit herbs, and five low-level spirit herbs... They should be enough to help my little sister safely pass the bottleneck before the Sixth-order Martial Artist level."
Lu Xuan set the spirit herbs aside.
Then he took out two pieces of flesh.
They were both High-level Monster flesh—the Blazing Horned Lion and the Jade Scale Snake.
Then there was the rest of the spoils.
"The Storage Rings of the Monster Potion Company, as well as Xu Long and the others."
There were eight Storage Rings in total.
"There should be some good stuff, right?"
He first opened the Storage Rings of the people from the Monster Potion Company. His face immediately fell:
"It's all low-grade junk!"
He then opened the Storage Ring of the Leather-clad Woman.
This time, he did get some good things: a Martial Art Manual, a Pulse Cannon, a Martial Skill manual, and several restorative pills.
"There was even a Martial Art Manual?"
Lu Xuan hurriedly brought it closer and began flipping through it. "Mysterious Water Vitality Cultivation Method. Limited to female cultivators... Seriously?"
"Wait, what's this?"
Suddenly,
Lu Xuan discovered that among the objects was something flashing with a red dot. He brought it closer for a look, and his expression changed drastically.
"A tracker!?"
"Not good!"
He immediately released his Mental Power, weakening the tracking signal.
At the same time, he clenched all five fingers.
Bang!
The tracker shattered into powder on the spot.
Before you continue