The scorching sun hung high in the sky.
In the mountain forest, terrifying currents of Qi surged wildly, shattering large areas of trees and bushes.
Two figures, vastly different in size, collided rapidly.
Lu Qing’s Divine Form was as agile as a ghost; the moment before impact, he shot up, his folding fan cutting through the air like lightning, striking a thick, heavy wall.
To be precise, it was a person.
A crimson-black giant, over six meters tall, with a physique as robust as an ancient Vicious Beast.
Golden-yellow flames flickered rapidly in the crimson-black giant’s gilded vertical pupils; crimson-black scales rippled around his body, and his two large hands, like heavy hammers, smashed towards Lu Qing.
Lu Qing’s figure flickered, ghost-like, dodging the two massive hands.
His folding fan, like raindrops, rapidly struck Lin Sheng’s body.
Each time the folding fan landed, a deep indentation appeared on the massive figure.
However, it would recover instantly, as if it had never existed.
In just a few breaths, Lu Qing had launched dozens of attacks, all precisely hitting his opponent.
Yet, the opponent seemed unfazed, merely wildly swinging his fists at him.
Such terrifying defense and recovery greatly astonished Lu Qing.
He hadn’t expected the opponent to actually be able to withstand his attacks.
Although he had only entered the Grandmaster Realm a few years ago, his cultivation had reached Transcendent, creating a chasm of difference compared to a Peak Divine Form Martial Artist.
But the young man before him, who hadn’t even stepped into Divine Form, could achieve this much.
Such a feat was not only shocking to hear, but even he, who prided himself on extensive experience, had never witnessed such a situation before.
Even the Prince of Northern Yan, that rising star of the imperial court, could only barely contend with a first-tier Grandmaster after entering the Divine Form Realm.
This young man’s talent was truly terrifying; he absolutely could not be allowed to live.
While startled, at this moment, he had only one thought: he absolutely could not let this young man go; he must be stopped.
Thinking this, his body trembled, and his white robe instantly puffed up as if inflated, making his already ghost-like agile figure even swifter.
A tangible, spiral-like azure Qi surged from his body as the paper fan struck out once more.
With a loud bang, Lin Sheng’s figure flew backward like a meteorite.
After breaking countless ancient trees, Lin Sheng slowly stood up.
On his left shoulder, a human-head-sized penetrating blood hole had appeared.
Trickles of sticky, bright red blood flowed out.
“As expected of a Grandmaster.”
Lin Sheng stretched his body, glanced at the wound on his shoulder, and smiled instead of showing anger.
He didn’t know how long it had been since he had been injured.
“It’s just a pity it’s still not enough!”
The smile on his face gradually turned ferocious, and at the same time, numerous dense flesh buds appeared on the wound on his shoulder, recovering completely in just a breath.
“Good kid, I didn’t expect Dark Star to hide someone like you.”
Seeing the opponent’s wound recover instantly, Lu Qing’s eyes narrowed slightly, feeling even more shaken.
He hadn’t expected his concentrated strike to still be withstood by the opponent. One had to know that even a fellow Grandmaster would not necessarily handle his previous strike so easily.
For him to achieve this, his physical strength was probably already on par with a Grandmaster Martial Artist.
Thinking this, he floated in mid-air and slowly spoke.
“But whether it’s Dark Star or that old fellow Li Shenjun, they are all fools. To dare to release a Genius like you, since that’s the case, I naturally cannot let you live.”
As he spoke, a sneer appeared on his face, along with a hint of regret.
“If you were to step into Divine Form, I might not be able to stop you, but it’s a pity that you now… are not yet qualified.”
As his voice fell, behind him, azure Qi condensed, forming two giant wings.
“Myriad Azure Mystic Wings: Open!”
He let out a low roar, and the giant wings glowed brightly, while his body was enveloped in a large expanse of azure Qi. He looked like an azure Divine Lord, exuding an unapproachable and awe-inspiring aura that made people dare not look directly at him.
His eyes had now turned azure, and his face was covered in patches of azure fuzz.
“I want to see how long you can last.”
The moment the last word fell, the azure giant wings shattered with a thunderous roar, transforming into countless azure sharp swords that shot down like rain towards the massive figure below.
These azure sharp swords, condensed from Grandmaster Qi, were extremely fast, arriving before one could react.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—
The sound of blades piercing flesh rang out continuously. Although each of these sharp swords was not as powerful as the previous single strike, they were not to be underestimated, especially with the terrifying number, their destructive power was far beyond what it was before.
Each sharp sword penetrated three-tenths of an inch into the flesh, and under the rain-like dense assault, countless blood blossoms bloomed on Lin Sheng’s body.
Lin Sheng frowned slightly, raised his hands to protect his face, and strode towards Lu Qing.
“Good physique, but too slow…”
Looking at his opponent’s movements, Lu Qing wore a mocking smile.
Floating in mid-air, he retreated, giving no chance for the opponent to approach, while simultaneously unleashing a sky full of azure sharp blades from his open palm, continuously falling upon Lin Sheng.
After a dozen breaths, Lu Qing looked at the massive figure below, still standing firm amidst the sharp blades, and became increasingly moved.
He hadn’t expected the opponent to still be able to persevere.
“He truly is a monster. Is such a physique truly possible with Bones Transformation? I wonder what kind of Bloodline this kid possesses.”
Lu Qing was startled, but soon a look of mockery appeared on his face again.
“It’s just a pity that even though he possesses a powerful physique comparable to a Grandmaster due to his Bloodline, his speed is too slow.”
He shook his head slightly, continuing to intensify his attacks.
Soon, a cup of tea’s time passed, and Lu Qing’s expression grew increasingly solemn.
Because after such a long time, the massive figure was still holding on.
“Even a Grandmaster known for physique recovery wouldn’t be able to last this long, would they!?”
This question flashed through his mind.
And at this moment, the massive figure below, as thick as a city wall,
finally stopped, kneeling on one knee, seemingly having reached his limit.
Seeing this, Lu Qing’s face broke into a smile.
“Reached your limit? To be able to last this long below the Grandmaster Realm, you have every right to be proud. Give up, surrender obediently, and perhaps I can spare your life for now.”
As he spoke, he descended, hovering above Lin Sheng’s head.
“Body Integration, Dragon Beard Teng Snake.”
“Level Three Divine Speed…”
The only reply he received was Lin Sheng’s soft murmur.
Falling into Lu Qing’s ears, it left him somewhat confused.
But the next moment, he saw the massive giant’s lowered head lift.
Then the ground shattered, and the figure had vanished.
Seeing this, Lu Qing was startled, because the speed the opponent displayed now was almost double what it was before.
Without any hesitation, he retreated rapidly.
However, a roar full of savagery, like a Dragon’s, had already erupted from beneath him.
Lu Qing felt a blur before his eyes, but as a Grandmaster, with powerful Mental Energy, he recovered in just a brief moment.
Just as he continued to retreat rapidly, a large hand, like a sky-covering demonic claw, reached out from the side.
“Dragon Elephant Power, True Yang Change…”
Looking at the giant palm that almost covered half his body, Lu Qing felt the threat of death upon him.
He unhesitatingly mobilized all his Qi, striking out with his folding fan, intending to block the large hand.
Bang—
With a loud bang, the folding fan flew out.
Immediately following was the crisp sound of bones shattering.
The large hand pressed Lu Qing down, smashing him heavily onto the ground.
Terrifying aftershocks spread out, creating a massive crater hundreds of meters in diameter centered on the impact point.
Amidst the swirling dust, Lin Sheng’s massive figure slowly emerged, clutching a bloody, shapeless mass of flesh.
“He’s dead just like that!?”
Lin Sheng frowned tightly, looking at the mangled remains in his hand, which no longer resembled a human.
At this point, there was no trace of life emanating from it, clearly this impressive Grandmaster expert was utterly dead.
“Just a glass cannon.”
Lin Sheng tightened his grip, directly crushing the remains in his hand.
From the blood and flesh debris, he picked up a black token, briefly toyed with it, then put it into his pocket. Besides that, there was nothing else worth noting; as for the folding fan, he had no interest in it.
After glancing around, he stomped his foot, and the surroundings seemed to experience an earthquake, completely burying all traces.
Having done all this, he wasted no time, his figure quickly returning to normal.
After finding Weiya, who was still unconscious, from the pile of earth, Lin Sheng’s figure, like lightning, vanished from the spot.
At the same time.
Northern Wasteland, Northern Yan Central Army Tent.
Tu Hong sat cross-legged in the large tent, exuding a powerful, profound aura. Before him lay an exquisite jade bottle, emitting wisps of black mist, which Tu Hong slowly inhaled into his body.
After a while, he opened his eyes, and a wisp of black fine line appeared on his forehead, but it quickly vanished.
Tu Hong frowned slightly, looking at the jade bottle before him.
“The purified demonic blood, although it has fewer side effects than before, the interference with the mind has not decreased at all.”
“It indeed has miraculous effects on cultivation, but whether this is good or bad is still unknown.”
He was perfectly clear about how the demonic blood, refined by Tianhong Pavilion with great effort, came to be.
The shock and fear he felt the first time he saw that massive, mutilated corpse were still fresh in his memory.
His body’s instinct made him instinctively want to stay away from that corpse, preferably having no connection with it.
It was just a pity that the Prince of Yan did not agree.
“I wonder if this decision by elder brother is good or bad. I hope nothing goes wrong in the end.”
He murmured, sealing the jade bottle and putting it into his embrace.
And just then, outside the large tent, hurried, even somewhat panicked footsteps sounded.
Tu Hong looked up and saw a tall general, with a panicked expression, quickly burst into the large tent.
“What happened? Wen Chang, I told you, a soldier’s first priority is calm. What kind of decorum is this, rushing in like that?”
“General Tu, something happened, it’s Lord Lu… Lord Lu, he’s in trouble!?”
Wen Chang closed the tent door, kneeling on one knee, speaking with a stutter due to his panic.
“Didn’t Lu Qing go to catch those little rats from Dark Star? What could have happened?”
Hearing this, Tu Hong frowned.
“Lord Lu Qing’s… life token… his life token shattered!!”
Wen Chang spoke tremblingly.
“What did you say!?”
Tu Hong instantly stood up.
A quarter of an hour later, in a heavily guarded military stronghold.
Tu Hong’s gaze fell upon the shattered token on the table, his expression extremely grim.
*
*
Two days later.
Northern Land.
Lin Sheng’s figure appeared in a bamboo forest.
For two whole days, he had not stopped for a moment, finally arriving at the Northern Land.
The Jushi City was at most two hours away.
The reason he dared not stop was because he had killed a Grandmaster expert this time, and he knew without a doubt that Northern Yan would react very quickly.
By then, what he faced might not just be a simple first-tier Grandmaster.
So he had to reach the Northern Land as quickly as possible before the other side reacted, in case of any unforeseen changes.
“Grandmaster expert.”
Lin Sheng murmured, glancing at Weiya, who was still unconscious in his hand.
He knew very well that his ability to kill that Grandmaster expert in the battle two days ago had a large element of luck.
Although he seemed to have killed him with a single palm strike, the prerequisite was being able to hit him.
The speed the Grandmaster displayed was unmatched even after he integrated with the Dragon Beard Teng Snake and various other high-agility exotic beasts.
If he hadn’t suddenly erupted when the opponent briefly relaxed, killing him would have been much more difficult.
“Grandmasters are indeed not comparable to Divine Form, especially their aerial maneuvers are more agile than Divine Form. If they are determined to escape, they are difficult to kill.”
Lin Sheng sighed in his heart.
After this battle, he had a clear understanding of his own strength.
He was capable of dealing with a first-tier Grandmaster, but killing one was very difficult; he could easily be kited.
As thoughts flickered in his mind, his figure shot forward.
Two hours later.
Outside Jushi City, Southern Qi military camp.
Lin Sheng, holding Weiya, walked in.
Because he had been there once before, and he also had a token, he did not encounter any obstruction in the military camp.
Still, he attracted the attention of many people in the army, after all, Lin Sheng was still holding a bloody, unrecognizable figure in his hand.
“What’s going on? Who is this person?”
“I heard he seems to be from a force in Northern Yan, also considered our ally.”
“Who is the person he’s holding? To walk so boldly through the army is a bit too ostentatious.”
From time to time, soldiers whispered to each other, their eyes filled with curiosity, looking at Lin Sheng and the figure in his hand.
Soon, someone with sharp eyes seemed to recognize something, their face showing surprise, and they exclaimed.
“That… that looks like Viya Protector!”
“Nonsense, how could it be Viya Protector!”
“No, it really seems to be Viya Protector.”
“Damn it, what’s going on? What happened to Viya Protector!?”
Someone recognized Weiya’s identity, immediately causing an uproar.
“Stop! I told you to stop.”
Lin Sheng was heading towards the central army tent when he was stopped midway.
This was a strong, burly man, clad in heavy armor, with handsome features, but unfortunately, a long, narrow scar ran across his face.
Lin Sheng recognized this person; it was Hong Feng, the Grand General of the Boulder Battle Formation, whom he had met once before.
“General Hong, I have urgent matters to discuss with General Huyan. Where is the General?”
Seeing the approaching figure, Lin Sheng spoke softly.
However, Hong Feng’s attention was clearly not on him at the moment.
Hong Feng stared intently at the figure in Lin Sheng’s hand, as if confirming something.
Soon, he recognized something and instantly flew into a rage.
“Kid, what did you do to Weiya? You’re courting death!!”
As his voice fell, he had already taken large strides, his long saber unsheathed, tearing through the air with a slash, cutting towards him.