Chapter 178: Chapter 157: Just Kill Him_1
After lighting the Phoenix Scent, Lu Yan flashed and hid on a nearby large tree, hiding himself in the leaves, while watching the Phoenix Scent with unblinking eyes.
The Phoenix Scent was gradually burning down.
Lu Yan was also becoming more and more tense.
The Phoenix Scent was a one-time use item, once it was burned out, it would be gone.
He hoped that something could be gained before it was completely burned out.
Thankfully, the Phoenix Scent was very durable and burnt much slower than incense typically used for ordinary human worship.
A stick of Phoenix Scent could burn for half a day, up to over ten hours.
In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.
"Huh, that is...."
Lu Yan’s eyes lit up.
He saw a spot in the blood-red soil beginning to wriggle, then a bug the size of a child’s palm crawled out from the ground.
The bug was covered in a layer of blood-red shell, and on its shell was a beautiful pattern that looked like the legendary Phoenix.
Phoenix Blood Worm.
This was the Phoenix Blood Worm.
It was recorded in books that the legendary Phoenix Blood Worm carried a hint of the Phoenix’s bloodline and therefore contained a powerful effect.
The Phoenix was only a creature of legends, no one knew if it truly existed. Regardless, there was no doubt about the effectiveness of the Phoenix Blood Worm.
Lu Yan was overjoyed.
Just a short while after entering the mountain, he had already drawn out a Phoenix Blood Worm, it couldn’t have been smoother.
Whoosh!
Lu Yan quickly moved forward using the Cloud Walk technique and reached out his palm to grab the Phoenix Blood Worm as quickly as a lightning bolt.
The Phoenix Blood Worm was startled and dove into the blood-red soil.
However, Lu Yan’s hand pierced into the soil and he pulled it back to reveal a fat worm struggling in his palm.
"Phoenix Blood Worm, got it."
A smile appeared on Lu Yan’s face. He took out a cloth strip from his bag, firmly wrapped the Phoenix Blood Worm with it and put it into a metal box. He then put the box in his bag and carried it on his back.
Just then, Lu Yan felt a sound of breaking air coming from behind him.
He quickly turned and saw a figure rushing towards him at a remarkable speed.
"A person from the Zhao Clan."
Lu Yan’s eyes narrowed.
This man was one of the fifteen members of the Zhao Clan who had entered Kunwu Mountain.
It was Zhao Yongan.
Zhao Yongan’s speed was incredibly fast. His leg muscles bulged, stepping fifty meters in one stride, then leaping into the air, he punched at Lu Yan from above.
Lu Yan didn’t dodge or hide. He, too, threw a punch.
Boom!
The two fists collided, producing a dull sound of impact. Zhao Yongan retreated more than ten meters, a look of shock and disbelief on his face.
"Sir, what is the meaning of this?"
Lu Yan asked with a cold face.
"Hand over the Phoenix Blood Worm and Phoenix Scent to me, then you may leave freely, and I will not stop you."
Zhao Yongan said.
Lu Yan laughed and said, "Have you lost your mind?"
Zhao Yongan didn’t get angry, but instead introduced himself, "I am Zhao Yongan, perhaps you’ve heard of me."
Indeed, Lu Yan had heard of him, and the name was well-known.
He was ranked 15th on the Martial Marquis List, one rank above Gao Wanping.
"I’ve heard, now please leave, no need to see you off."
Lu Yan spoke indifferently.
Zhao Yongan’s face turned cold as he spoke, "It seems that you are very confident in your abilities. Others say that you possess the skills comparable to those on the Martial Marquis List. Today, I shall test just how capable you really are."
With a step, Zhao Yongan rushed toward Lu Yan again.
His arms and fists turned pitch-black, as if they were made of black iron, violently pounding at Lu Yan.
This was the Zhao family’s top-tier martial arts technique, the Mountain Suppressing Fist, for the fist was as heavy as a mountain.
At the same time, the three layers of bone strength in him exploded. Backed by such dense bone strength, the potency of the Mountain Suppressing Fist was even more terrifying.
However, Lu Yan remained calm, countering with his Vajra Indestructible Skill.
Boom, boom, boom...
The two exchanged dozens of moves in an instant, their powerful energy spreading outwards like two iron hammers colliding continuously.
No matter how hard Zhao Yongan tried, Lu Yan calmly handled his attacks.
If Lu Yan, being at Level Three Martial Marquis, were to encounter Zhao Yongan, Lu Yan would certainly be inferior in terms of power and just like when he faced Gao Wanping, he could only rely on his agility to duel.
However, after breaking through to Level Four Martial Marquis, his bone strength greatly increased and he was now able to crush his opponent in terms of power.
After dozens of moves, Zhao Yongan felt a numbness in his arms and had to keep retreating.
"Zhao Yongan, leave now and I can pretend that this incident never happened. If you don’t stop harassing me, I won’t be so polite."
Lu Yan said coldly.
To be honest, he had no ill will towards the Zhao Clan.
In fact, his impression of the Zhao Clan was quite good. They were trustworthy, honored their commitments, and had the air of a big feudal family.
Even though bad apples like Zhao Hao, and Zhao Yi existed in the clan, the majority were respectable.
Zhao Sirong in particular had helped him a lot.
Therefore, he didn’t want to make enemies with the Zhao Clan unless it became inevitable. In fact, he had held back slightly during their earlier encounter.
"Big talk, let’s see how you’ll stop being polite. Divine Jiao Body."
Zhao Yongan shouted. His body swelled up and his arms, neck, and hands, were covered in black scales.
Both his hands and feet transformed and became sharp like the claws of a Flood Dragon.
"Yet another Divine Jiao Body. It seems that this martial art is indeed powerful, and greatly favored by the younger generation of the Zhao Clan."
A thought occurred to Lu Yan.
Whoosh!
Zhao Yongan pushed with both feet, scattering dirt around him, like a wild beast, pouncing towards Lu Yan.
His claws shaped like a hook reached out for Lu Yan’s neck. His intent to kill was overwhelming, desiring to send Lu Yan to his death.
"Endless entanglement, didn’t take my offer, then let me send you off."
Lu Yan’s eyes grew cold. He unleashed nine streams of bone strength within him and drew the Red Blood Blade, ready to strike Zhao Yongan dead.
But at that moment, a figure suddenly sprang out from behind a large stone at Lu Yan’s rear.
Someone was hiding in the darkness.
This person’s movements were as fast as lightning. With a single leap, he covered a hundred meters, his palm clutching a hand axe, which he then threw out.
The spinning hand axe hurtled rapidly, like a white light, aimed at Lu Yan’s neck.
Fast, unimaginably fast.
A top-tier martial arts technique, Chonglou Flying Snow.
Unable to continue his attack on Zhao Yongan, Lu Yan hastily redirected his Red Blood Blade to clash against the hand axe.
With a ’clang’, the hand axe flew backward, held by a frail figure.
Without stopping, this person shifted his footing with a tap, changed his position, and once again let the hand axe fly. It spun towards Lu Yan while he aimed a kick at Lu Yan.
His leg swished through the air like a steel whip.
That man, like Zhao Yongan, had also cultivated two top-tier martial arts techniques.
One was Chonglou Flying Snow, the other was a kicking method, hence his astonishing speed.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yongan’s claws were also shooting toward Lu Yan’s neck.
Coordinated attacks from two top-ranked Martial Marquis, few among the Martial Marquis ranks could evade such an onslaught.
Of course, this did not include Lu Yan.
He executed the Cloud Walk, his movements graceful and swift. A few flickers enabled him to evade the two attacks. He slipped through the gap between their strikes, landing ten meters away.
"Zhao Kuo, you arrived just in time, let’s kill this man together."
Zhao Yongan shouted before leaping towards Lu Yan once more.
Zhao Kuo made a light tap with his toes and charged towards Lu Yan like a weightless entity, his hand axe flying out again. Under the guidance of three streams of bone strength, its killing power was astonishing.
Lu Yan stood still with his blade in one hand, nine streams of bone strength erupting, coursing through his arm and into the Red Blood Blade.
When the hand axe got close, Lu Yan’s blade clashed with the axe.
That strike showcased Lu Yan’s mastery of the blade technique. It wasn’t a wild slash, but aimed with perfect timing and precision.
With a ’clang’, the hand axe didn’t stop, it continued spinning, but under the influence of the Red Blood Blade, it changed direction towards Zhao Kuo.
Shocked, Zhao Kuo abruptly stopped, and, using the technique Chonglou Flying Snow, correctly grabbed the handle of the flying hand axe. But the great force of the hand axe, carrying Zhao Kuo with it, caused him to stumble.
"Kill!"
Lu Yan stepped forward, grasping his blade with both hands and swung it down at Zhao Yongan.
Zhao Yongan responded with a claw swipe, full of black scales.
He intended to catch the Red Blood Blade with his right claw and strangle Lu Yan’s neck with his left.
However, in the instant when his claw clashed with the Red Blood Blade, Zhao Yongan’s face changed dramatically— he felt an overwhelming force emanating from the Red Blood Blade.
That force, when supplemented by the Red Blood Blade, made the sword indomitable.
Squirt!
Zhao Yongan’s claws, which he believed were on par with a divine weapon, were severed in two by the Red Blood Blade.
The Red Blood Blade did not halt and continued to slice onto Zhao Yongan’s neck.
The scales on his neck couldn’t stop Lu Yan’s blade.
A flash of the blade passed, and Zhao Yongan’s head flew far away, with blood spraying out of his neck like a fountain.
"Lack of talent, yet cultivating two top-tier martial arts techniques, neither is exquisite, thinking everyone has my talent, huh."
Lu Yan muttered to himself in his heart.
Zhao Yongan was cultivating two top-tier martial arts techniques, but was not very advanced in either.
Take the Divine Jiao Body, for instance. Zhao Yongan had three streams of bone strength, theoretically his defensive power should surpass that of Zhao Yi. Yet, it didn’t. His defense was similar to Zhao Yi’s, naturally, it couldn’t withstand a full-powered blow from Lu Yan.
This was actually a dilemma for most martial cultivators.
Limited talent, limited energy, the main cultivation of a top-tier martial art, which is difficult to cultivate to a profound level, let alone two.
But cultivating only one technique sometimes results in a lack of versatility.
For example, Zhao Yongan, if he focused on cultivating the Divine Jiao Body, had enough defense and strength, but he lacked the means to attack, often unable to bring out his full strength.
Cultivating a fist technique in addition to his main one would allow him to utilize his strength perfectly.
For instance, if one primarily cultivates a speed-based martial art, yes, they would have speed, but their attack power would be insufficient.
It’s difficult to have it both ways.
Of course, this has nothing to do with Lu Yan.
A short distance away, Zhao Kuo turned pale with fright.
He was very aware of Zhao Yongan’s strength.
Like Zhao Yongan, he had cultivated three streams of bone strength. His ranking on the Martial Marquis List was two places higher than Zhao Yongan’s.
But he knew that he couldn’t kill Zhao Yongan, let alone injure him.
At best, he could only gain an advantage by utilizing his superior body technique.
However, Lu Yan was able to kill Zhao Yongan using one strike, he could also do so to him.
Without hesitation, Zhao Kuo turned around and ran, pushing his speed to its limit.
But as fast as he was, Lu Yan was faster.
Like a phantom, he pursued Zhao Kuo, quickly closing the distance between them.
The chill in Zhao Kuo’s heart grew, he shouted, "Lu Ren, do you intend to completely wipe out and sever ties with our Zhao Clan? If you release me, I’ll keep mum about you killing Zhao Yongan."
Lu Yan remained undeterred, making a big stride to catch up, and swung down the Red Blood Blade.
His attitude was such—once he made enemies, he would decisively kill the enemy.
Only a dead man could keep a secret.
He only believed in the dead.
