Chapter 130: Impossible-grade Mission (3)

Lu Zhen's eyes narrowed as he felt a sharp sensation on his neck. Instinctively, he raised his hand to block the katana. The blade slashed at his hand, and the middle-aged man smirked, thinking he could cleanly slice through Lu Zhen's arms and behead him.

However, as the katana met Lu Zhen's hand, it cleanly sliced through a portion of it, about an inch deep. The middle-aged man's confidence grew, thinking he had struck a decisive blow. But to his disbelief, his katana became stuck. He tugged and pulled, but it wouldn't budge from Lu Zhen's thick, muscular arms.

Frowning in frustration, the middle-aged man couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"Got you."

Suddenly, Lu Zhen's voice, cold and determined, echoed in his ears. Two extra arms sprouted from Lu Zhen's back, and they delivered powerful punches to the middle-aged man's right in the face.

The impact sent him hurtling through the air, and he crashed into a tree. The force of the blow was so powerful that he knocked down not one but two massive trees before finally coming to a halt but he had a smirk in his face as at least he was able to withdraw his katana.

Lu Zhen rapidly moved from his initial position, reappearing next to the coughing middle-aged man and launching another attack. The middle-aged man quickly raised his katana to block, but he grunted in pain from the immense force behind Lu Zhen's punch.

A crack appeared on the surface of his katana, and he was about to utter a curse and was about to use a combat art when Lu Zhen suddenly vanished before his eyes. The middle-aged man was left bewildered, scanning the surroundings for any trace of Lu Zhen.

"He escaped?" He muttered in confusion, his face a mix of surprise and uncertainty. A cold wind swept through the area, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.

The middle-aged man clenched his teeth and quickly contacted his two fellow grand elders as he dashed in the direction where Lu Zhen had fled.

Lu Zhen, still in his hulking form, was running at full speed. Before, when he first went berserk, he couldn't control his body well, but now, thanks to his "adaptability" skill, he had learned to harness his newfound strength and aggression without the uncontrollable urge to kill.

"Did you really think I'd stick around for a losing battle?" Lu Zhen sneered to himself as he continued to sprint towards the city. His hands trembled slightly from the overwhelming aura he had sensed when the middle-aged man became serious.

"At least now I have a better understanding of my own power. I could, at best, have a light sparring match with a true second-stage martial artist." Lu Zhen's instincts had strongly urged him to flee as quickly as possible to avoid a life-threatening situation or severe injuries, something he was definitely not keen on experiencing.

"My realm is still too small even with this many skills," Lu Zhen summoned his status with a thought as he looked at it while still running.

[LEVEL UP]

—-----

[Name: Lu Zhen]

—-----

[Quest]

[Mission: Either escape or eliminate the three hostile creatures approaching the host.]

[Difficulty: Impossible]

[Reward: Unknown]

Lu Zhen had enough experience to recognize that he couldn't prevail against the middle-aged man, even when striking with his full power he had barely cracked the katana of the man while the man hadn't even used half of his strength.

Despite his remarkable skills and adaptability, he was only able to condense and purify his Qi by 5% after reaching the third-stage martial realm, which meant he was still in the early stage of the third-stage martial realm.

In essence, Lu Zhen understood that his current abilities were inadequate to overpower an opponent of a higher realm even with his cheat.

Lu Zhen wasn't being a coward; instead, he was being logical. As the old saying went, "One can't be defeated if one can run away from thy enemy."-Aurelius_Imperotor.

This was a tactical retreat for Lu Zhen, a strategic decision to ensure his own safety and avoid a potentially life-threatening battle that he wasn't prepared for.

"Whispering Shadow Step," Lu Zhen muttered in his head. Instantly, Lu Zhen's speed increased as countless images of him were created, all appearing to walk on the ground as if there were multiple Lu Zhens. However, these images disappeared after a short span.

After-images were created as Lu Zhen's speed reached a limit that seemed to almost break the sound barrier. A tearing sound, as if the very fabric of the air, reverberated in the surroundings.

The ground cracked due to the sheer power of Lu Zhen's running, creating at least a 1-metre hole wherever he passed. Although it might be a way to track Lu Zhen, he couldn't care less as long as he could reach the city.

Soon, the giant walls of the city in the distance prompted excitement in Lu Zhen. Even the middle-aged man was stunned by Lu Zhen's speed, unable to keep up. He could easily track Lu Zhen, but the speed at which Lu Zhen moved was terrifying, to say the least.

"Do I have to let a brat go?" he thought with a bitter expression on his face.

"If I let him go, not only will I lose face, but I might also end up dead, and even the Xia family might be slaughtered by that kid." He hadn't forgotten Lu Zhen's age; he was an eighteen-year-old kid who had reached terrifying strength and become a literal monster. One could only imagine what the kid could do in the future after becoming a first-stage martial artist.

He regretted not having the ancestor's bracelet, as Xia Ku had it. A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.