Duel with the Beast King, a Punch-Kill

"Where is this person now?"

The woman asked, her eyes full of indifference.

"He should still be in Shanghai City. We've already confirmed his exact location."

The suited man leading the group answered. They had determined it based on where the Ninth Elite Squad had last appeared.

"If the first time was an accident, the second time was completely different."

As she spoke, she toyed with the bracelet on her wrist. After a moment's thought, she continued, "Send out three elite squads, and transfer an ace squad as well. Bring this person back at all costs. Dead or alive doesn't matter. Remember, I want this person."

The woman seemed to think highly of Lu Yuan. She was actually sending four squads after him.

One had to know that these were all Awakened trained by Chang Sheng Gene.

Especially the ace squad.

They were the best of the best, with extraordinary abilities.

"This..." The suited man hesitated, then said, "But the company's attention is mostly focused on the Mount Li Imperial Tomb right now."

"Second Madam, shouldn't you discuss transferring the ace squad with First Madam first?"

The mutations had only begun recently, and Chang Sheng Gene didn't have many Awakened under its command.

Most of them had already been sent to the Mount Li Imperial Tomb.

They were carrying out more important missions.

Now, he was worried First Madam would object to sending out four squads just for someone unimportant.

"What? Are you planning to use First Madam to put me in my place?"

At the mention of First Madam, the woman's eyes sharpened. "I married into the Wang family, so Chang Sheng Gene belongs partly to Tao and me. You have no right to lecture me."

Her emotions were unsteady now, and she was no longer as graceful as before.

After all, First Madam was the Wang family's legitimate wife.

As for her, Second Madam, she was really only a mistress. She had been allowed into the family only because of her son.

"Yes. I'll take care of it right away."

The suited man quickly nodded, not daring to defy her.

If word reached the family head, everyone present would be severely punished.

Besides, he was only a subordinate. Obeying orders was what mattered most, so he immediately led the others away.

"Hmph!"

Second Madam watched them leave and snorted. "All they know is how to use that Main Branch to pressure me. Who knows who Chang Sheng Gene will belong to in the future!"

"Mom, don't let these fools upset you. It's not worth it."

Just then,

a young man stepped out of the adjoining room and spoke calmly.

He looked about seventeen or eighteen.

His build was well-proportioned, and he had a distinctive air about him. He wore a martial arts uniform.

As soon as he appeared, a weighty aura seemed to fill the entire room, as though it were radiating from within him.

"Tao." The woman's anger vanished at the sight of her son. She rose and walked over to him.

"How has your training been lately? What stage have you reached?"

"Initial Realm, sixth tier!" Wang Tao declared proudly.

"Good, good, good!"

Second Madam seemed very pleased with her son's progress. "Keep it up. You must surpass that woman's son."

"It's only a matter of time!"

Wang Tao smiled confidently. "But, Mom, why are you so concerned about that guy surnamed Lu?"

"You're even sending an ace squad after him. Father might be unhappy if he finds out."

To him, this was a trivial matter. There was no need to make such a big fuss.

"You don't understand."

Second Madam shook her head. "We've failed twice in a row, and one of those times involved an Awakened squad. I'm sure that Lu fellow is no ordinary person. He may have gained something from the Extraterrestrial Meteorite. You know, things from beyond the heavens are never ordinary; they contain mysterious, special substances."

"But Tao, although you have excellent talent, your gene strength is inferior to that woman's son. You need to improve."

"If we can extract the genes from that Lu fellow and transplant them into you, your talent will surely grow even stronger. You'll evolve again and win the recognition of your father and the entire Wang family!"

She looked at her son and spoke earnestly.

She had no choice.

Although she and her son had earned the Wang family's recognition, they were still in a difficult position, suppressed at every turn.

They couldn't get involved in many of the Wang family's most closely guarded affairs.

They didn't even know about them.

If they wanted to change things and turn their situation around completely,

the only way was to strengthen her son's genes once more.

"I see."

Wang Tao understood at once. He said, "If that Lu fellow is so important, why not let me handle him personally?"

"I'm at the sixth tier of the Initial Realm now, and I've also cultivated one of the Wang family's powerful Breathing Methods."

"Dealing with him would be a piece of cake."

He had great confidence in his own strength. He was sure he could make the Top 100 List.

"No."

Second Madam rejected him outright. "If you make a move, the Main Branch will definitely notice."

Compared with her son, she clearly considered things more thoroughly. The fewer people who knew, the greater the benefit.

Once her son had transplanted and fused with the other man's genes, he could make a stunning debut and completely suppress the Main Branch.

"Fine."

Wang Tao nodded, disappointed. Then he asked, "Am I still going to the Mount Li Imperial Tomb?"

"Of course. That place is extremely important too. Mom has already lined up plenty of helpers for you. Maybe we can claim a share of the spoils. Otherwise, won't everyone else take all the benefits?" Second Madam said. She had also contacted some people in the family and promised to support them.

Everyone knew that the Mount Li Imperial Tomb held a great fortune. Whoever obtained it would surely lead the way in the days to come.

The Main Branch had already gone, so she couldn't possibly let this great opportunity pass her by.

With the Lu fellow as well, they would have two plans in motion.

Surely one of them would work?

"Yes!"

Wang Tao's face lit up with excitement. He had been training all this time and had been itching to go out and make a name for himself.

That elder brother of his had already earned the title of Southern Emperor. He couldn't afford to fall behind.

Half a month later.

Deep in a mountain range in the central region,

the area was rarely visited by people, and the vegetation grew thick and lush.

Towering trees stood hundreds of meters tall, their crowns blotting out the sky.

Even the noonday sun couldn't shine through.

From within the forest,

enormous roars could be heard from time to time, full of wild savagery and enough to make one's blood run cold. It was like an ancient era, dark and terrifying.

At that moment, in a broad clearing,

a giant wolf more than twenty meters tall, its body covered in red fur, was racing through the area.

Its aura was heavy, and a red horn jutted from its forehead, glowing crimson.

It was a mighty beast. Each ripple of its powerful muscles

made the air tremble.

Its enormous claws were as sharp as heavenly blades, tearing through giant trees with ease as it passed.

The Unicorn Giant Wolf seemed to be the ruler of this region. Whenever it appeared, the Mutant Beasts nearby retreated of their own accord, not daring to approach.

But on closer inspection, one could see terror in the Unicorn Giant Wolf's eyes. It ran as though fleeing from something, and great streams of blood kept spilling from its body, staining the earth red.

"I told you there was no point running. You might as well stay here and be my dinner."

Just then, a lazy, carefree voice

suddenly rang through the area.

The Unicorn Giant Wolf stopped at once. Terror filled its eyes even more deeply.

It scanned every direction, taking up a defensive stance.

It looked as though it would spring into action the instant it found its target.

The next moment,

a tall, slender figure dropped from the sky and landed squarely on the ground.

Boom!

The immense force shook the earth, splitting it open and raising clouds of dust.

The surrounding trees and plants snapped apart, unable to withstand the impact.

"Roar!"

The Unicorn Giant Wolf howled, its voice exploding like muffled thunder.

Then it raised its razor-sharp foreclaws and lunged toward the figure.

It gave everything it had. It could feel its life in danger and knew that one moment of carelessness would get it killed.

"You really don't know how to behave."

Lu Yuan strolled out of the dust, a smile on his face.

He had completely suppressed his aura, giving off no sign of anything unusual.

Faced with the wolf's claws, which were like heavenly blades, he showed no intention of dodging. He formed a fist seal and struck without warning.

Rumble!

A sonic boom erupted instantly.

The surrounding air was torn apart, forming a massive turbulence.

The Unicorn Giant Wolf hadn't even managed to get close. Under the power of that punch, its claws shattered, and its leg split apart inch by inch. Even bones harder than steel snapped in two.

Its massive body soared through the air and smashed through hundreds of trees, each so wide that several people would have been needed to wrap their arms around it, before finally coming to a stop.

It crashed to the ground and could no longer rise, barely clinging to life.

"I thought you'd be much stronger."

Lu Yuan lowered his fist.

Then he glanced at the enormous trench his punch had carved into the ground and sighed helplessly.

He really was too strong now. Even without using any trump cards, his physical strength alone was enough to let him run rampant.

Take the giant wolf before him. It was probably as strong as an Awakened at the eighth tier of the Initial Realm.

Yet it hadn't even touched his fist before he beat it half to death.

And this was supposed to be the Beast King of the region.

Lu Yuan shook his head.

He didn't dwell on it. He walked up to the Unicorn Giant Wolf and raised his right hand.

Streams of light appeared, edged with a sharp gleam.

The Great Luo Sword Embryo materialized out of thin air.

He gripped it in his hand.

After taking a look, he cut off one of the giant wolf's legs and carved out the most nourishing part. Then he set off again.

Nearby, the powerful Mutant Beasts that had witnessed what happened trembled, heads bowed, not daring to approach.

But Lu Yuan had no interest in them. As he walked along with the wolf leg in tow, he pulled out his phone.

"I'm still more than five hundred li from Chang'an."

"I'll eat my fill, replenish my energy, then set off again."

Lu Yuan muttered to himself. He found an open spot, squatted down, and started a fire.

He was actually roasting the most nourishing part of the giant wolf's leg.

In fact,

ever since leaving Shanghai City,

he had traveled this way almost the entire time.

With the global mutations, all creatures were advancing along the path of evolution, and countless vast forests and mountains that had never existed before had appeared across the land.

Air routes, highways, and railways were all almost completely out of commission. There was no way he could drive.

So Lu Yuan had made most of the journey from Shanghai City on foot.

Of course, that took a great deal of energy.

Even someone in the Shackled Realm couldn't keep it up without replenishing their strength.

So the Mutant Beasts that had appeared alongside the changes naturally became his food.

There was another reason, too. Mutant Beasts that had embarked on the path of evolution possessed a special energy in their flesh. Eating it replenished what an Awakened needed and brought many benefits. The stronger the Mutant Beast, the greater the energy it contained.

That was how Lu Yuan had made it this far, eating his way across the land.

Along the way,

countless Mutant Beasts had become his meals, even those known as Beast Kings.

After all, at his current level of strength, the energy in ordinary Mutant Beasts simply wasn't enough.

"The mutations are still in their early stages. I can cross the whole country on foot for now, but that won't work later."

Watching the wolf leg turn golden brown over the flames, Lu Yuan thought it over.

He knew that as time went on,

the land would keep expanding.

Mountains tens of thousands of meters tall would become common, and the world would grow astonishingly vast.

If you could look down from space, you would see that this planet—and even the entire solar system—was expanding proportionally. The mutation affected not only this planet, but the whole starry universe.

But that was nothing to worry about. As humanity continued to evolve and reached a certain level, Awakened would gain the ability to fly through the air.

The truly powerful could even roam freely through the stars and survive in the universe.

"Given the current situation, it'll still take me some time to break the Fourth Shackle."

At that moment, Lu Yuan checked his own status.

In just three months, he had crossed two realms and reached the third stage of evolution.

That was because he had fused with several supreme divine treasures, which had naturally created a problem: his foundations were simply too good.

To continue evolving and growing stronger, he needed far more energy than ordinary Awakened.

There were roughly two ways to obtain this energy.

One was through visualization and the Breathing Method.

The other was by consuming natural treasures such as Spiritual Fruits and Exotic Grass.

These had always been the mediums of the evolutionary path, but after someone became Awakened, they also became a source of energy for cultivation.

So.

Lu Yuan now had two goals: the Breathing Method in the Mount Li Imperial Tomb, and finding Spiritual Fruits and Exotic Grass.

He vaguely remembered that several decent Spiritual Fruits had appeared near Chang'an City.

Though they weren't particularly useful, they'd do.

As it happened.

He could use this as a chance to check things out. There was still some time before the imperial tomb fully opened, so he could gather a few in the meantime.

Before long, as the flames roasted the meat,

the wolf leg began to give off an enticing aroma.

"Not bad."

Lu Yuan took a sniff. It smelled excellent.

Mutant Beasts were different from ordinary wild animals. Their meat needed no seasoning at all to have an excellent texture and flavor.

Soon,

he began to wolf down the meat.

As the wolf meat filled his stomach, every pore on his body began to open. His flesh and blood were replenishing their vital essence.

Rustle, rustle~

But soon, Lu Yuan suddenly heard a sound.

It seemed the aroma had drawn a Mutant Beast.

But he paid it no mind.

He could tell the Mutant Beast wasn't strong. It was weak—he could crush it with one hand.

And there seemed to be a few Awakened, too.

Whoosh~

Just then, the Mutant Beast attacked.

It was a hedgehog, but as big as a car, its entire body covered in spikes, each one as sharp as a sword.

At the same time, dozens of sharp throwing knives shot out from deep in the woods, gleaming with a cold light.

In the blink of an eye,

they were right in front of Lu Yuan.