Chapter 55: Chapter 52: Is There Someone Nearby? (Please Follow)_1
Lu Yan was considering the possibility of entering the forbidden area again and whether it would be too risky.
Compared to his previous attempt, Lu Yan’s overall strength has considerably increased.
He had just attained the Fourth Breakthrough last time. Now, half a year later, bolstered by his Martial Body, his Qi-blood is much more robust than it was then.
Moreover, he’s achieved the Unity of Man and Martial Arts in both his Vajra Body and Antelope Kick, significantly enhancing his survival skills.
Most importantly, he’s mastered the Shape-shifting Technique, which allows him to alter his appearance. Even if his whereabouts were exposed, his true identity would remain hidden.
It was doable.
But he had to pick the right time.
Now wasn’t that time.
Lu Yan patiently waited.
One night, the sky was densely covered with dark clouds, creating a pitch-black environment.
Rumble!
Suddenly, there were flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, and a heavy rain started to pour, making the already dark night even darker. Despite Lu Yan’s keen eyes, he couldn’t see far.
The Red-clad Guards couldn’t patrol under such conditions and each of them found a place to shelter from the rain.
Some found refuge in caves, others chose depressions in the mountains to dodge the rain. They grouped in twos and threes, scattering in various places.
"It’s time."
Lu Yan looked towards the forbidden area, made his decision, then found a secluded place to remove his Red-clad Guard clothes. He hid them in a rock crack and changed into a regular Martial Artist robe.
Activating his Shape-shifting Technique, slight shifts occurred in the bones in his face, and his facial muscles started to move. His appearance began to change rapidly.
Soon, he transformed into a tough-looking man in his thirties with a square face.
Subduing his breath and focusing his spirit, he slipped into the forbidden area like a ghost in the rainy night.
The Feudal Lord’s martial army wasn’t as lax as the Red-clad Guards. Even in the pouring rain, they continued to patrol.
However, the sheets of rain on this dark night severely hampered their vision and hearing, making it much more difficult to spot Lu Yan.
Lu Yan moved swiftly, passing by several patrols of martial soldiers and ventured deeper into the forbidden area.
He was lying on a massive stone, observing the view ahead.
Crackle!
A bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky. By its light, Lu Yan saw several collapsed peaks in the distance and a few barely-visible tents.
Last time, he stopped there. This time, he planned to go further in.
He moved on quietly, advancing another two miles.
With the flashes of lightning helping to illuminate the scene, he could see more clearly.
There were at least seven to eight collapsed peaks. The fallen parts revealed some ancient ruins.
Moreover, massive cracks spread across the ground like giant gaping mouths ready to swallow anything.
The tents were actually divided into two distinct groups, separated by a fair distance.
Lu Yan guessed that they probably belonged to the Liu Family and the Wu Family.
Despite the rainy night, he could hazily see the martial soldiers patrolling, particularly around the cracks where the guards were most vigilant.
Ordinary people could fall sick from long exposure to rain, but the Limit Breaking Warrior had superior physical stamina. As long as they did not soak in water for days and nights on end, it wouldn’t be a problem.
"It seems that it’s unlikely to get in here," thought Lu Yan with a slight shake of his head. He then turned his gaze deeper into the restricted area.
Further into the forbidden area, he saw more proud peaks, all of which were intact and hadn’t collapsed.
However, through sense generated by the Dao Book, he could tell that there were Dao Foods there as well.
Lu Yan decided to go around and check the deeper part of the restricted area.
He slowly retreated, bypassed the area with the tents, and headed toward the depths of the forbidden area.
After bypassing the tents and the area with the collapsed peaks, there were no more patrolling martial soldiers.
Lu Yan couldn’t help but guess whether the two Feudal Lords had failed to notice the abnormalities in this spot deeper within the forbidden territory.
At this moment, the lightning gradually weakened, but the rain showed no signs of stopping. It continued to pour down, as if there was a hole in the sky.
Suddenly, Lu Yan heard the sound of fighting, and it was quickly closing in on him.
Lu Yan leapt onto a tree as thick as two men hugging, hiding himself among its branches and leaves.
Not long after he concealed himself, several figures rushed towards his location at high speed.
Judging from their direction, it seemed that they came running from the area with the tents.
One man was running, with five men chasing him from behind.
"It’s him."
When he clearly saw the man in the front, Lu Yan was taken aback.
The man in front was dressed in the Red-clad Guard’s attire, burly, close to two meters in height, with a hooked nose and a cold expression. Lu Yan recognized him; wasn’t this Wang Shun, the new vice captain of the seventh team?
Seems like he was not the only one who sneaked into the forbidden area tonight.
The five men chasing him were all martial soldiers.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three of them fired crossbow bolts. The arrows tore through the rainy curtain, aiming at Wang Shun’s heart with remarkable speed.
No doubt, they were using an Armor-piercing Crossbow, specially designed to penetrate the Qi-Blood.
Wang Shun somersaulted in midair, dodging two arrows, and forcefully threw the third one back at a martial soldier.
With a clang, a soldier deflected the arrow with a swing of his blade.
Although Wang Shun was able to avoid the three crossbow attacks, his motion was hampered. One of the soldiers closed in rapidly, propelling his long spear forcefully outwards.
Swish!
The long spear pierced through the rain, forming a visible white line from afar.
Wang Shun threw himself forward to dodge the spear, which pierced through a large tree with a thud.
Show up to, the soldier leapt forward with a series of swift kicks towards Wang Shun.
Wang Shun sprung up, drawing his knife to slash twice at the opponent’s feet.
The soldier dared not take the blow from the war knife with his bare flesh, so he changed his strategy by kicking at Wang Shun’s blade edge, flipping backward and landing next to the long spear. He pulled out the spear, prepared to charge at Wang Shun.
Meanwhile, four other soldiers had rushed towards Wang Shun, encircling him.
"Fifth limit breaking."
Lu Yan thought internally.
From the short exchange, Lu Yan discerned that Wang Shun was at the fifth stage of limit breaking.
However, Wang Shun’s record with the Red-clad Guard stated that he was at the fourth breakthrough.
If it were truly the fifth breakthrough, he wouldn’t just be a vice-captain.
This Wang Shun had concealed his cultivation level to infiltrate the Red-clad Guard. There was definitely a purpose behind his actions.
And this purpose was likely related to the forbidden land.
"Wait, we are allies. I’m the vice captain of the Red-clad Guard. I entered while in pursuit of thieves!"
Wang Shun shouted.
"Thieves? Heh, we’ve been patrolling constantly and haven’t seen a single one. The way I see it, the only thief here is you."
The spear-wielding soldier spoke coldly.
He held his spear with one hand, its tip pointed at Wang Shun, radiating an aura of grave threat.
"Plus, even if you really are a Red-clad Guard, if you know or have seen things that you shouldn’t, you must die."
Another soldier coldly interjected.
Wang Shun’s expression hardened. He responded, "Since you gentlemen are so unreasonable, we must resort to fighting. You two, won’t you lend a hand?"
Wang Shun’s gaze suddenly shifted towards Lu Yan.
"Did he discover us?"
Lu Yan furrowed his brows.
With the pouring rain and held breath, he shouldn’t be easily discovered.
And also, two people?
Could there be someone else besides him?
Could Wang Shun be deliberately spouting nonsense in order to mislead the martial soldiers?
"You two, don’t you think it’s time to show yourself? Only by allying can we handle the enemy."
Wang Shun continued to speak, his gaze alternating between Lu Yan and another large tree.
The five soldiers grew solemn.
Three soldiers armed with armor-piercing crossbows aimed at Lu Yan and the other tree.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
They shot arrows at Lu Yan.
Lu Yan knew he was exposed. He dodged, landing on the ground.
Surprisingly, a figure really did appear from the other big tree, gently landing on the ground.
A person was actually hiding near them without him realizing it, which made Lu Yan shudder.
"It’s her again, the scapegoat girl."
Lu Yan was surprised when he recognized her.
A slender young girl carrying a black pot on her back, with a nonplussed look on her face, as though she was annoyed about being discovered.
Lu Yan understood then why he hadn’t noticed her. With her nimble skills, it was normal for her to hide herself in the tree ahead of time.
"So there are accomplices. Blow the whistle. Notify the main force."
A martial soldier who was at the fifth limit breaking stage ordered.
Coo, coo, coo!
Immediately, one of the soldiers blew a sharp whistle piercing the curtain of rain, signaling the rest of the force. A whistle response echoed from afar.
"This isn’t good. The whistle signals them. Their main force will arrive soon. As soon as their main force surrounds us, we’re dead. We need to take them down, now!"
Wang Shun’s face changed and he shouted, charging at the spear-wielding soldier with his knife.
Lu Yan and the pot-carrying girl were both disgruntled, finding themselves inexplicably dragged into the battlefield by Wang Shun without intending to get involved.
Yet they knew that Wang Shun was right. Once the main force of the soldiers arrived, they would not grant opportunities but would probably shoot them dead on the spot.
"Attack!"
Lu Yan and the pot-carrying girl acted almost simultaneously.
