The Shield

Lu Bai's body glowed red as well, and the first stage of the Blood Burning Technique activated.

Following the mental warning, he suddenly dodged to the side. Another arrow buried itself where Lu Bai had been standing.

At the same time, the iron-blue bandit chief let out a roar and charged at Lu Bai, taking advantage of his unsteady footing to launch a fierce assault.

But just then, Lu Bai noticed a bullet lodged in the wooden post beside him.

Beyond seven paces, a gun was fast; within seven paces, it was both accurate and fast.

Dodging bullets was no easy feat, especially when they came from professionally trained shooters.

But the gun's power was far weaker than he had imagined.

In films and games, the power of firearms was greatly diminished most of the time.

In reality, even a small handgun could utterly destroy you if it hit. Its terrifying force would leave you completely incapacitated.

A shot to the torso meant you were as good as dead. Even if it hit a limb, the bone would likely break, and the pain would rob you of any ability to act.

Basically, once you were shot, you were done for.

In real life, there was almost no such thing as someone getting shot and then fighting the enemy for another three hundred rounds like they did in films.

But seeing that bullet stuck in the wooden post made it hard to believe this was a firearm at all.

Some of the hidden weapons thrown by experts in the Martial Forest were more powerful than this.

"So it really is as I thought. There are limits in the dimensions." Lu Bai understood.

Otherwise, with modern weapons and their lopsided technological development, anyone who brought along a few powerful weapons could sweep through the Martial Forest.

Perhaps the Tianwu Company restricted such weapons to prevent this module-producing "factory" from being damaged.

Or perhaps modern weapons simply weren't as useful in this dimension as people imagined.

It could also be both.

Although the firearms were much weaker, they could still slaughter plenty of people if used in sufficient numbers.

There had to be restrictions of all kinds to preserve the Martial Forest Dimension's "original flavor."

These thoughts flashed through Lu Bai's mind, and he turned his attention to the charging bandit chief.

The man was also a Dimensional Traveler, and even Lu Bai's senior.

He threw a punch that cut through the air with a fierce whoosh.

Lu Bai raised an arm to block it and felt as though someone had struck him hard with an iron pipe.

One branch of the Martial Path's development—Hard Body Training!

Internal Force focused on tempering the body's flesh and blood, or forming special defenses on or within the body.

This branch of the Martial Path was known as Hard Body Training.

Martial Path Internal Force was the foundation, from which all sorts of paths could develop.

That was why the Martial Path could still claim a place for itself, even in dimensions where all kinds of extraordinary powers could be acquired.

The bandit chief's body was like a block of iron. He didn't dodge Lu Bai's attacks. Ordinary blows only rebounded against him, leaving Lu Bai's hands aching.

But he carefully defended against attacks aimed at his vulnerable spots.

He was certainly strong, but that was about it. His body was somewhat stiff, and his moves lacked flexibility.

In terms of combat ability alone, he was no match for Lu Bai.

Otherwise, Lu Bai wouldn't have kicked him in the groin during their first fight. If he hadn't accidentally been sucked into the Dimension Gate afterward, Lu Bai might even have killed him.

It was clear that although the man had gained some extraordinary power through a module and was Lu Bai's senior, he hadn't gotten very far.

"You're an Awakened too, right?" Lu Bai stepped back to open some distance and shook out his hand. Taking the opportunity, he tried to draw the man out. "Because Death Compensation can be converted into Special Extraction Points."

"If I'm not mistaken, only Awakened can use that compensation." Otherwise, given how precious Special Extraction Points were, far more people would have come to fight over the Death Compensation back then.

"So what if I am? You're going to die here this time!" the bandit chief roared.

There were many Awakened, but the time when each of them awakened varied according to the circumstances.

Of course, not all of them had Lu Bai's level of fighting ability. They might have been ordinary people before.

That also explained why the bandit chief's combat ability was so poor.

Accompanied by the sound of gunfire, the bandit chief charged at Lu Bai again. But what greeted him was more lime powder laced with something.

Those who practiced Hard Body Training concentrated all their strength in their bodies. Unlike other martial artists, they couldn't use Internal Force to strongly interfere with their surroundings, so against a cloud of powder like this,

all they could do was close their eyes.

"I've been waiting for this!" The bandit chief made up his mind, shut his eyes, and activated his Skill Bar.

"Sound Localization!" He hadn't come away from his unexpected trip to the Martial Forest Dimension empty-handed.

Familiar with the dimension's tricks and eager to get revenge on Lu Bai, he had deliberately put together this set of skills to counter him.

With his eyes shut, the bandit chief passed through the cloud of lime powder. He could hear Lu Bai's position perfectly clearly and even tell what the other man was doing by the sounds of his movements.

He caught the wooden splinter Lu Bai thrust toward his eye. But just then, a fierce shout rang in his ear.

His ear throbbed, and a familiar sense of fear swept over him.

Watching the man emerge from the lime powder with his eyes closed, yet still catch the object thrust at him, Lu Bai knew something was off.

There were only so many sensory organs. Lu Bai immediately figured out what to do. With a furious roar, he broke the man's technique.

That was the difference in their combat instincts.

The bandit chief's Hard Body Training was powerful, but he still had weak points. His seven apertures, groin, and armpits could all be vulnerable spots.

So Lu Bai went with the familiar Dragon-Roaming Groin Kick.

But this time, the feedback was a solid hardness. He even heard a metallic clang.

"Thanks to you, I don't have that weak spot anymore!" The bandit chief clamped his legs together, trapping Lu Bai's kicking leg. Then his hands, hard as iron, reached for Lu Bai.

Lu Bai's body was in poor shape. He had used Volcano Mode during his earlier duel with Lin Haixian, and now he had used the Blood Burning Technique again. His whole body ached.

He struggled, but couldn't break free.

But Lu Bai wasn't panicking.

Because his "backup" had arrived!

An arrow shot over, pierced the bandit chief's body, and stopped right in front of Lu Bai.

Those earlier arrows had already let Lu Bai work out where the archer was positioned.

During the fight that followed, he had adjusted his position relative to the bandit chief.

"You think you've got me pinned, but actually, I've got you pinned. You're the best shield I could ask for!"

Lu Bai smiled as he spoke. To the bandit chief, that smile was the most terrifying thing of all.

"Maybe I chose the wrong target from the start."

Lifeform, Momentum Cultivation, Object Perception, Strange Art, Hard Body Training—the five major branches of the Martial Path.