Ironclad, Fierce Battle of Hua Jin

"Find a way to locate the Second Master, Zhou Wu, first!"

Huang Hui, locked in a stalemate with the Black Cloud Stronghold's Great Chieftain Zuo Kui, glanced at Cao Yang, who was gradually losing ground, and shouted to Lu Yuan, Wang Chao, Chen Zheng, and the others behind him.

As long as they could pinpoint Zhou Wu's location, they would no longer need to linger in this battle; they could simply pour all their efforts into rescuing him.

After all, they were here to save a man, not to suppress bandits.

"Understood!"

The group responded in unison before scattering in different directions.

They continued to hack and slash their way deeper into the stronghold while searching for the place where Zhou Wu was being held.

Lu Yuan did not hesitate, gripping his long saber and charging forward.

To find Zhou Wu faster, he even activated his Gale Steps.

In an instant, his speed more than doubled.

The bandits he encountered couldn't even catch a glimpse of his figure before their throats were slit.

Even the bandit leaders with Ming Jin or An Jin cultivation could barely perceive a lingering shadow before realizing a cold blade was already upon them.

Without time to react, they collapsed limply to the ground.

Yet, after searching almost the entire area, Lu Yuan still could not find the place where Zhou Wu was imprisoned.

Could they have already killed the hostage?

Lu Yuan's brows furrowed.

If that were the case, this entire trip would have been in vain.

Just then, a squad of dozens of bandits suddenly rushed out from a hidden corner.

The man leading them was an exceptionally burly, hulking brute.

His entire body was covered in a layer of thick iron armor.

Even his head was encased in an iron helmet, with only his eyes and mouth exposed.

He looked like a man made of iron.

"Kill him!"

A thick, low voice rumbled from the armored man's mouth.

Immediately, more than a dozen bandits charged toward Lu Yuan.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft..."

Lu Yuan flicked his fingers repeatedly, and iron beads pierced the bandits' foreheads like bullets.

"All together now! Cut off his head, and there will be a heavy reward!"

The armored man let out a low roar.

"Kill!"

The remaining dozens of bandits felt no fear; instead, they charged at Lu Yuan even more ferociously.

No matter how skilled this guy was, he was ultimately only at the An Jin level with limited vitality. Once his energy was exhausted, he would be theirs to slaughter.

In the martial arts world, the saying that a swarm of ants could kill an elephant was no mere legend.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft..."

More iron beads, wrapped in terrifying force, either pierced the bandits' glabella or their throats, killing them instantly.

Even the few who managed to slip through and reach Lu Yuan were easily dispatched by his blade, one by one.

Blood flowed freely, and corpses littered the ground.

Lu Yuan raised his eyes to look at the armored man, then flicked another iron bead toward him.

"Clang!"

The armored man merely waved his hand, knocking the iron bead aside.

As expected, he is the third Hua Jin expert of Black Cloud Stronghold, the Third Chieftain, Liu Chao.

Lu Yuan's gaze tightened. This was his first time facing a true Hua Jin martial artist head-on.

Although he possessed many trump cards, confronting a Hua Jin expert directly would likely not be easy.

"Petty tricks, daring to show off before an expert!"

Liu Chao snorted coldly and charged straight at Lu Yuan.

He was already massive, and clad in iron armor, he looked like a moving mountain crashing toward Lu Yuan.

With every step he took, the ground seemed to tremble.

Lu Yuan had no intention of clashing with him head-on. Although the man held no weapon, those iron-gloved fists, combined with his Hua Jin cultivation, were likely more terrifying than any blade.

Just as Liu Chao was about to reach him, Lu Yuan activated his Gale Steps, putting distance between them in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, his fingers flicked in rapid succession, sending three iron beads streaking toward his opponent once more.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Yet, as expected, all three iron beads were easily swatted away by Liu Chao with a wave of his hand.

"Trash! If you have the guts, stop and fight me!"

Unable to catch up to Lu Yuan, Liu Chao could only let out a roar of frustration.

Lu Yuan turned a deaf ear, continuing to tread with Gale Steps as he dodged incessantly.

"I want to see how long you can keep running!"

Liu Chao snorted coldly.

Movement techniques consumed blood-qi far more heavily than ordinary skills; it wouldn't be long before this brat exhausted his blood-qi and was left at his mercy.

Lu Yuan remained silent, flicking out another iron bead.

However, this iron bead appeared to be a size larger than the others.

"Foolish!"

Liu Chao sneered, thinking that a larger iron bead could actually hurt him?

He raised his hand again, colliding directly with the iron bead.

"Boom!"

Yet, the moment they collided, the iron bead suddenly exploded.

Red and white powder, mixed with jagged iron shards, covered Liu Chao's eyes and mouth.

"Ah... my eyes... despicable..."

Liu Chao shrieked incessantly, then charged toward Lu Yuan like a madman.

Although he was completely blinded, he could still roughly determine Lu Yuan's position through his keen sense of hearing.

"Boom... rumble..."

Liu Chao acted like a savage beast, crashing through everything in his path with brutal force.

His iron fists swept out wildly, smashing everything to pieces.

Even brick walls were smashed into large holes by his impact.

Lu Yuan could only continue to use Gale Steps, dodging left and right.

This was the terror of the Transformation Realm; even without eyes, one could still cause terrifying destruction.

From this point alone, this guy was even better suited for a demolition crew than Master Huang.

If he had been too reckless earlier and chosen to clash head-on, he would likely have been severely injured, if not killed, by a single punch.

Fortunately, before coming to Black Cloud Stronghold, he had gone to a blacksmith shop to commission some special iron pellets for emergencies.

The result did not disappoint; the effect of these iron pellets seemed even better than he had imagined.

A single pellet had nearly crippled a true master of the Transformation Realm.

"Thud!"

At this moment, a dull sound suddenly rang out.

Liu Chao had seemingly collided with a stone pillar, leaving him momentarily stunned.

"Good chance!"

A cold glint flashed in Lu Yuan's eyes, and he pushed his Gale Steps to the limit.

In a breath, he arrived behind Liu Chao, his long blade slashing out in an instant.

The first form of the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique, Wind-Slaying!

The blade light, like a streak of silk, headed straight for the back of Liu Chao's neck.

This could be considered one of the most fragile and lethal spots on the human body.

Although it was covered by iron armor, the inch-long blade aura sank into it as easily as cutting through tofu.

"Thump!"

The head, still encased in the iron helmet, hit the ground with a heavy thud.

The mountain-like body collapsed with a thunderous crash.

"Hoo..."

Lu Yuan exhaled a long breath.

This was likely the most strenuous and dangerous battle he had faced since embarking on the path of martial arts.

If he hadn't mastered Gale Steps, commissioned the special iron pellets, or cultivated his blade aura, he would have had no path to survival against such a Transformation Realm master clad in iron armor.

Fortunately, he had achieved all of it.

Therefore, he had won!

Not only was he completely unscathed, but he had also successfully defied the odds to defeat a master of the Transformation Realm while only at the level of Hidden Energy!

Wasting no time, Lu Yuan walked toward the corner where the group of mountain bandits had just emerged, only to find a rather concealed small door there, leading into a pitch-black void.

"Click... crackle... crackle-crackle..."

At this moment, a teeth-grinding friction sound could be heard faintly from within the doorway.

Before long, a hand covered in blood and filth suddenly reached out from the darkness.