Chapter 155: Chapter 140: Achievement in Hand_1
Poison gas!
Lethal poison.
Though Lu Yan’s vigilance was at its peak, he did not expect his opponent to resort to this method.
In the critical moment, Lu Yan hastily retreated with his sword, but still inhaled a bit of the black smoke.
"You..."
Lu Yan’s face was grim as he staggered back.
"Heh heh heh, no matter how powerful you are, you’re still going to die by my hands."
The old man sneered, swinging his sword to attack.
Lu Yan parried with his sword, but his strength was significantly lesser than before, and after parrying a few strikes, his power continued to weaken.
"Die."
With all his might, the thin old man lunged his sword towards Lu Yan’s throat.
Lu Yan had been waiting for this strike.
The moment one mounts a full-force attack is also when one’s defenses are at their weakest.
Lu Yan’s eyes lit up, and he unleashed the full power of his eight bone strength.
Whoosh!
The glint of the blade flashed in the night sky as Lu Yan and the thin old man passed by each other.
Then, Lu Yan turned around, sheathed his sword, and watched the thin old man.
"You... you’re not poisoned?"
The thin old man asked incredulously.
"I did inhale a bit, but, sadly, your poison is not Peach Blossom Bloom. It doesn’t attack the internal organs, so it’s ineffective against me," Lu Yan said.
That kind of poison, potent as it was by manipulating the blood to attack the nerves, was ineffective against Lu Yan who could withstand toxins using his Vajra Indestructible Skill.
His staggering appearance just now was merely pretense.
Truth be told, this thin old man was tough to deal with. His maneuvers were as elusive as a ghost, and with such diverse methods, if he wanted to escape, Lu Yan might not be able to kill him.
Only by feigning weakness could there be a chance to catch him off guard.
"I..."
The old man, unable to take the truth, tried to speak again. But suddenly, a thud was heard as his upper body fell to the ground, his lower body still standing erect.
Lu Yan walked over and unsheathed his Red Blood Blade to check the old man’s clothes, hoping for some spoils.
Regrettably, there were only a few pieces of broken silver.
However, a metal cylinder tucked inside the old man’s sleeve caught Lu Yan’s attention.
The black needles must have come out of that metal cylinder.
But upon inspection, Lu Yan found that the cylinder had run out of black needles.
It was used up.
Just a piece of junk.
Lu Yan didn’t linger, he had to continue hunting monsters to earn merit.
After some contemplation, instead of returning to the east, Lu Yan continued north.
He had no idea how many assassins the Dark Moon organization had sent. What if there were assassins to the east.
Soon, Lu Yan arrived at the city wall of Bei City.
The slaughter in Bei City was even more gruesome than the eastern city.
The number of monsters gathering here was larger, and so was the number of human martial arts experts.
Everywhere one looked, there was carnage, and corpses lay all around.
There were monsters’ corpses, and human casualties too.
Lu Yan glanced past the city wall to the great land beyond, a gigantic figure stood staring from a distance.
The Monster King still hadn’t made a move.
Roar!
A gust of foul wind hit him as a massive monster lunged at Lu Yan. Lu Yan swung his sword, splitting it in half, and managed to extract a Demon Evils Crystal.
Several other monsters then fell under his blade.
Of course, most of them were in the limit-breaking stage, while the Marquis Level monsters were only a few.
Not long after, Lu Yan came across an acquaintance.
Liu Yuansong.
The Martial Marquis of the Liu family from Changfeng city.
There were two other Marquis with Liu Yuansong, who Lu Yan had never seen before. They were likely the ones from other feudal lords serving under the Liu Family.
Apparently, the Liu family had also sent their experts to support Lingwang City.
However, the Liu family only had one Grandmaster. The Ancestor of Liu family couldn’t possibly come in person, having dispatched these Marquis as a token gesture.
The three of them formed a circle, seeking not to make merits, but to avoid making mistakes.
Lu Yan dashed past them, killing a monster.
When Liu Yuansong and his companions looked at Lu Yan, they felt a mixture of awe and fear.
He greatly surpassed them.
After slaying several monsters, Lu Yan saw two more familiar faces.
Li Wenxuan and Li Wenxin.
Both of them had several high-level fighters by their side.
Upon seeing Li Wenxuan, a potential enemy, Lu Yan gave him considerable attention.
Undeniably, Li Wenxuan was formidable in battle. With a Divine Weapon in his hand, his skills were transcendent. His Sword Light flashed, often piercing through a monster’s heart, and with a twist of the Sword Light, the monster’s heart would be ground to pieces.
He only focused on killing the monsters, while another person by his side was responsible for extracting the Demon Evils Crystals.
"He deserved to be ranked thirty-sixth in the Martial Marquis List," Lu Yan thought to himself.
Some time ago, he had asked Zhao Sirong for detailed information about the powerful fighters on the Martial Marquis List.
Li Wenxuan and Li Wenxin, both were on this list, though just around the bottom.
Li Wenxin, ranked thirty-fifth.
Li Wenxuan, ranked thirty-sixth.
Neither of them had an Innate Martial Body or Acquired Martial Body, it was purely their transcendental first-grade martial arts that got them listed.
Lu Yan felt that, with their talent, it wouldn’t be hard to practice second-grade martial arts till they achieved Unity of Man and Martial Arts.
But they didn’t do so, probably for fear of affecting their chances of becoming a Grandmaster.
Once they advance to become a Grandmaster, and then practice an Acquired Martial Body, their combat power would definitely surge.
On the other side, Li Wenxin wielded a short spear, and was also quite lethal. One by one, monsters fell under his spear.
Of course, not everyone has such skills and can easily kill a monster.
The tenacity of a monster far surpasses that of a human martial artist. In reality, it is challenging for martial artists of the same level to kill a monster. If not careful, they may fall victim to the monster instead.
Moreover, the number of demon evils is much greater than that of human martial artists, to the extent that it far exceeds the count of human Martial Marquis Level.
Fortunately, the human martial artists have the home field advantage and the presence of a Grandmaster, so they managed to fend off the demon evils, blocking them on the city walls.
Even so, many human martial artists were killed by demon evils.
Lu Yan kept waving his blade and used every spare moment to dig out the Demon Evils Crystal, but he lost track about how many demon evils he had killed in the end.
Roar...
Suddenly, a howl came from a demon evil king outside the city, causing the demon evils on the city’s walls to retreat hastily, like a receding tide.
It wasn’t until after all the demon evils retreated to the rugged mountains, the demon evil king slowly turned around and left.
Sigh...
Many people heaved a sigh of relief.
They had successfully thwarted another wave of demon evil attacks.
"The injured should go back and recover, those who want to exchange for Meritorious Service can head to the Zhao Clan’s Legitimate Office tomorrow, and the Zhao Clan’s military, if able, should clean up the battlefield," came a deep voice.
Lu Yan jumped off the city wall and returned to his residence. He took out a pile of Demon Evils Crystals he had obtained, totaling thirty-two.
This meant that thirty-two Martial Marquis Level demon evils had fallen by his hand, equivalent to destroying five to six Feudal Lords of Martial Marquis Level.
Unknowingly, he had grown significantly in strength.
The size of the Demon Evils Crystal varied, so he could only roughly estimate the level of cultivation of the demon evils based on their size.
The biggest one was as big as a dragon’s eye, amounting to seven.
It was likely left by a demon evil of Martial Marquis Level Five.
The next size of Demon Evils Crystal had five pieces.
They were probably left by a demon evil of Martial Marquis Level Four.
Just these alone equaled nine hundred Meritorious Service Points.
Adding all the miscellaneous ones, Lu Yan estimated that he had earned over twelve hundred Meritorious Service Points.
It was more than enough to exchange for the Heart Tempering Decision twice.
Lu Yan took out a wooden box to store the Demon Evils Crystals. After that, he fetched some well water to wash off the blood stains from his body, changed into fresh clothes, and went to sleep.
The following day, early in the morning.
Lu Yan brought the Demon Evils Crystals to the Zhao Clan’s Legitimate Office to exchange for Meritorious Service.
When he opened the wooden box, the two senior members of the Zhao Clan inspecting the Demon Evils Crystals were visibly startled.
"You’re truly impressive. I imagine you must be famous on the Martial Marquis List," one of the elders exclaimed.
"Elders, you are mistaken. These were not hunted by me alone, but rather the collective effort of over a dozen of my peers," Lu Yan modestly replied.
The two elders nodded and didn’t say much. Instead, they picked up the Demon Evils Crystals to inspect them.
"Seven crystal pieces from a level five Martial Marquis demon evil, four pieces from level four, five pieces from level three..."
"The total amounts to one thousand two hundred and sixty Meritorious Service Points."
"Where’s your Meritorious Service Token? Hand it over so I can register it for you," requested one elder after completing the inspection.
Lu Yan hesitated slightly before presenting the Meritorious Service Token which Zhao Sirong had given him previously.
The token already had ninety meritorious service points on it.
One of the elders used a special paint to cross out the original ninety points and replaced it with the number one thousand three hundred and fifty.
"If you need to exchange for something now, you may mention it. I’ll record it and you can redeem it in a few days," the elder said.
"I would like to enter the Weapon Collection Pavilion and borrow a first-class Martial Art," Lu Yan said. Of course, he didn’t mention his real intentions.
"Borrowing a first-class Martial Art? That’s fine. I’ll record it, but the arrangement will take some time, probably three days. After three days, you may come here and someone will guide you to the Weapon Collection Pavilion."
"Moreover, borrowing a first-class Martial Art requires five hundred Meritorious Service Points and you can only borrow it for half a year. After half a year, you must return the Divine Intent Diagram and the secret book. Is that clear?" said one of the elders.
"Clear."
Lu Yan nodded.
"That’s good to know," the elder nodded, then noted on his books: Lu Ren, wants to enter Weapon Collection Pavilion to borrow a first-class Martial Art, please arrange promptly.
"Thank you, elder."
Lu Yan saluted, took his leave, and on his way back he bought some Grade Two Martial Food and returned home to cultivate, waiting for the three days to pass.
One day later.
The Zhao Yi Mansion.
Zhao Yi’s steward stood behind him, bowing.
"How did the investigation turn out?" Zhao Yi asked.
"We’ve investigated it. That Lu Ren wants to go to the Weapon Collection Pavilion to borrow a first-class Martial Art, but he didn’t tell which first-class Martial Art." The steward answered with a bow.
"He didn’t specify which Martial Art?" Zhao Yi frowned.
If that was the case, then it will be harder for him to interfere.
"Sie Rong, that girl, has been close to that Lu Ren. She probably knows which Martial Art the kid wants to exchange. Arrange them to meet. I want to see Sirong," Zhao Yi ordered.
Half a day later, at the Zhao Yi Mansion.
"My dear niece, please have a seat," Zhao Yi beckoned, inviting Zhao Sirong to sit down.
"Uncle, what business do you have with me today?" Zhao Sirong asked.
"Sirong, since you were young, Hao’er who is a few years older than you, always cared for you as if you were his younger sister. Now, he is..." Zhao Yi choked up as he spoke, tears trickling down his cheeks.
Zhao Sirong looked solemn, and said: "Uncle, mourn for him. Let nature take its course."
"Hao’er was indeed a loyal and righteous person. I’m sure you know this. He was simply deceived by this trickster. His wrongdoing did not warrant death. But, that Lu Ren killed him in a very brutal fashion. Hao’er was badly mutilated when he died. Your aunt fell sick because of this and she has been losing strength day by day."
Zhao Yi sighed.
Zhao Sirong remained silent for a while before asking: "Uncle, do you want to avenge Hao’er?"
"Indeed Hao’er made a mistake and received an appropriate punishment for it hence, I will not seek revenge on Lu Ren. I just want to teach Lu Ren a lesson to give her some sort of relief."
"Sirong, I heard that Lu Ren wants to exchange for a first-class martial art in the Weapon Collection Pavilion. Do you know what type of first-class martial art he wants to exchange?" Zhao Yi asked.
