Mysterious Farmhouse takes on a Venerable!

Fuck, Fuyuki City actually had an expert like this?

How could Fuyuki City allow someone this badass to exist?!

What kind of realm was the third tier? In a martial arts world, that was a Grandmaster; in a fantasy world, that was a Sect Venerable; in Japanese anime, that was the big boss!

Lu You pushed his Spiritual Sense to its limit, wrapping every inch of his body in it and doing his utmost to conceal his presence.

He was fast, running for his life, and before long, he was back in the urban area.

The towering golden phantom that reached into the clouds silently watched the east. In an instant, all the dust Lu You had stirred up across the Industrial Zone was pressed back to the ground.

Countless particles fell in an instant.

It was quite a spectacular sight.

Yet for some unknown reason, this third-tier expert did not attack Lu You immediately, as though he were pondering something.

Lu You did not flee out of the city.

He decisively headed back to school, because he knew that leaving Fuyuki City meant certain death. Could he possibly outrun a third-tier expert hunting him down?

Only by returning to school, to the area under the Old Principal's protection, would he be safe.

The school even had a powerful barrier. No matter what, that offered more hope than fleeing on his own.

Secretly unfurling Blood Manipulation's domain, Lu You buried his presence beneath layer upon layer of blood seas and kept sprinting, weaving between buildings and streets.

At the maximum speed of the second tier, a dozen or so kilometers took only half a minute.

Soon, he saw the school gates.

However.

A man wreathed entirely in golden radiance was already standing in front of the gates, his fingers poised as if holding a flower, his expression peaceful and serene.

"It seems Her Excellency Kaguya ultimately failed to keep watch over you, young friend Lu You."

Lu You narrowed his eyes.

"Who can say whether she did or not? But I do wonder whose dog got off its leash and came to block someone else's doorway."

"What a stubborn little fellow."

The man opposite him took no offense, a smile remaining on his lips.

Extremely troublesome!

Lu You made his assessment of the man at their very first meeting. By now, he was already prepared to fight for his life.

It was true that Fuyuki City had a third-tier expert, but surely this man couldn't have a grudge against him too?

Just what had his parents done to provoke someone of this caliber...

Had they robbed the huge tomb next door while digging up the Four Great Families' ancestral graves?

Inside the security booth by the school gates, Nobuta watched the golden man with a deep gaze, his right fist clenched, old sinews bulging along his arm.

Amid that oppressive silence, a clear rebuke rang out from nearby.

An exquisitely beautiful girl shot out of the school and landed firmly in front of the gates, her delicate brows tightly knitted in displeasure.

"Didn't I tell you not to go out? Why didn't you listen?"

Lu You shook his head helplessly and signaled with his eyes for her to leave.

"Forget it. I'll handle this one."

Kaguya Ruri spoke irritably through gritted teeth, then walked up to the fellow covered in special effects, her expression composed.

"This man is under my protection. Go back and tell your family that Kaguya Ruri stopped you."

Lu You's eyes widened. Was this girl really that fierce?

She actually dared to speak to a third-tier expert like that. Did she really have some hidden tricks?

He couldn't help feeling a surge of anticipation.

Old Nobuta gave Ruri an odd look.

The golden man seemed unconcerned. He gently pressed his palms together and said with a smile, "I am Huayama Seishū. I have neither family nor clan. I am merely an ordinary monk."

"Never heard of you. You can leave."

Kaguya Ruri tilted her head, a question mark popping up over her jade-like forehead. She knew practically everyone of any standing in Fuyuki City, and she knew which second-tier experts there were.

But she truly did not know this man.

Which meant... she felt she could do this again!

"Young friend Kaguya, this humble monk has come to apprehend someone. I fear your name alone is not enough to make me withdraw."

"In that case, it looks like we'll definitely have to fight. Come on, then!"

At the first tier, Kaguya Ruri feared no one!

Below the second tier, I'm invincible. Against a second-tier opponent, I'll trade my life for theirs!

She took her stance, light shimmering in her gemstone eyes.

This time, I have to win big!

She would show Lu You that she, Kaguya Ruri, could absolutely protect someone. She would make Lu You swallow those words, "You can't protect me."

She held her little head high, exposing her snow-white neck, like a proud, aloof white swan.

Bang!

With a crisp crack, something seemed to shatter around her body. Layers of crystalline glass emerged from thin air, now covered in dense networks of cracks.

Cracked, but not shattered.

"Oh?"

Huayama Seishū murmured in surprise. At some point, he had extended a finger in a motion as light as a dragonfly touching water.

"Ah! My Heavenly Crystal Mirror! Grandpa spent a hundred million in Sakura Currency buying that for me!"

Kaguya Ruri's face fell instantly.

The silly girl did not even consider why the treasure had suddenly broken. She pulled a cracked mirror from inside her clothes and turned it over and over, examining it.

Bang! A faint phantom of an exquisite, enormous gate suddenly appeared in front of Kaguya Ruri. It abruptly exploded, and immense waves seemed to sweep through the surrounding space.

What the hell?

"My Void Stone Gate! My aunt gave me that..."

Her exquisite little face crumpled, Kaguya Ruri felt her shattered bracelet in bewilderment.

Old Nobuta was silent.

The corner of Lu You's mouth twitched.

Huayama Seishū's eyelid twitched, and he thrust out another palm.

Boom!!!

The earth-shattering explosion nearly pierced their eardrums. Lu You's expression shifted slightly as he saw Huayama Seishū's palm strike collide with an illusory wall.

The man even retreated two steps, his expression grave.

Of course, the granite wall carved with sculpted human heads also collapsed with a rumble.

"My Wall of Sighs... why?"

Kaguya Ruri pouted pitifully. She was a little scared now. Why had all these treasures suddenly gone wrong?!

This was perfectly normal. Lu You and Old Nobuta were both outstanding second-tier experts and could clearly see Huayama Seishū's attacks.

But as a first-tier fighter, Kaguya Ruri's eyesight was not that sharp. She could not make out this expert's movements.

Lu You suddenly stepped forward, appearing beside Kaguya Ruri in an instant. Wrapping an arm around her slender waist, he moved to carry her through the school gates.

Huayama Seishū shook his head slightly.

"Too slow."

He did not even need to deliberately stop the two from joining up. Given their distance from the school gates, he had enough time to kill them both ten times over.

Of course, he could not kill Kaguya Ruri.

He raised his hand again, but this time, it was no longer a probing attack. Instead, he smiled as he held his fingers in a flower-pinching gesture. A terrifying sense of danger instantly rose within Lu You's heart, and the entire world was about to be swept into that vast golden tide.

Lu You decisively twisted around, forming Hand Seals with one hand.

He shouted in a deep voice, "Domain Expansion!!!"

Domain Expansion! This was currently Lu You's strongest technique, and he was going all out with full respect for the third tier.

Among his Domain Expansions, Mysterious Farmhouse was the most terrifying, because it touched upon the mysteries of the soul.

If Lu You had any means of dealing with the third tier, it could only be Mysterious Farmhouse.

A pitch-black curtain swiftly descended, enveloping all three of them in a black sphere.

Huayama Seishū blinked, changing his hand seal as he raised an eyebrow at the peaceful farmhouse scene around him.

"A small world constructed with a Barrier Technique, and it even comes with some sort of rule."

Lu You's gaze sharpened.

Countless invisible ripples swept viciously toward their target! That primal call seemed to tug Huayama Seishū into the depths.

"Hmm? An attack involving the soul as well? Truly remarkable."

Mysterious Farmhouse faced a third-tier Venerable!