Chapter 124 – Qi Energy, Position

Upon entering the Consciousness Space once again, Lu Yuan found himself back at the location where he had first stepped in.

He stood at the corner of a quartz rockery, with a lotus pond beside him.

Ahead was a winding corridor, and at the end of the corridor, thirty meters away, stood his imaginary enemy, a man with the Surname Tang, hands behind his back, quietly watching him.

“Crack, crack—”

Lu Yuan slightly twisted his neck, producing a series of bone-crackling sounds.

To be honest, since his constitution and agility had broken through, he hadn’t had a proper fight in the Consciousness Space.

This man with the surname Tang was a direct disciple of the crane style, possibly even stronger than Lin Zhiqin and Qin Feng.

A perfect opponent to test his skills.

Lu Yuan looked around and locked his gaze onto the quartz rockery beside him.

There was one thing about these battles in the Consciousness Space that was both a blessing and a curse.

Or perhaps just a blessing.

Before each fight began, Lu Yuan himself had to trigger it.

This gave him ample time to prepare.

However, in situations like this, he found the distance between him and his opponent to be quite inconvenient.

He couldn’t very well ask the opponent to come closer.

“Hmph!”

Lu Yuan grabbed the quartz rockery in front of him, his fingers like knives, deeply pressing into the rockery’s body, causing a shower of stone chips to fall between his fingers.

The rockery was made of quartz, harder than concrete.

But under Lu Yuan’s terrifying finger strength, it was easily punctured as if it were tofu.

“Crack, crack, crack—”

The approximately four-square-meter rockery wobbled slightly, emitting an ominous creaking sound.

The quartz rockery weighed over half a ton. While Lu Yuan’s boxing power approached one ton, his pure arm strength wasn’t quite at that level.

Lifting the rockery was a bit beyond his capacity.

“lv2 [special exertion]!”

With the skill activation, the muscles in Lu Yuan’s arms tightened like steel cables, rapidly swelling and thickening.

A flash of brilliance appeared in his eyes as he exerted force with his hands.

The cement sealing the base of the quartz rockery cracked, and the over half-ton stone was forcibly lifted by Lu Yuan.

A large amount of soil and gravel fell away.

“Boom!”

Lu Yuan took a step forward.

The bluestone floor beneath his feet shattered instantly.

He stomped hard, causing the ground beneath him to explode into a deep pit.

At the same time, the veins on his arms bulged dramatically as he used all his strength to hurl the over half-ton rockery towards the slicked-back haired man under the corridor!

“Rumble—”

The rockery left his hands, creating a fierce wind noise like a meteor tearing through the sky.

In the blink of an eye, it crashed into the spot where the slicked-back haired man was standing, shattering that section of the corridor with a thunderous “boom.”

“Swish—”

As soon as Lu Yuan released the rockery, the slicked-back haired man appeared in front of him like a ghost.

The main skill of the Crane Sect is speed.

Lu Yuan wasn’t surprised by this. His eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he took a quick, deep breath.

His partially swollen body instantly completed its full expansion, and without hesitation, he threw a punch at the slicked-back haired man.

lv3 [absolute concentration]!

lv1 [Spirit Crane Technique: Crane Shadow Float]!

lv2 [special exertion], triple Phased Power Exertion!

His thick, greenish-black arm, covered in bulging veins, shot out like a giant python striking through the air.

The force of his punch created a powerful wind, causing the stones on the ground to roll and the surrounding flowers, grasses, and bamboo to bend violently in one direction.

A sharp, piercing whistle filled the air.

Layer upon layer of white airwaves rippled out from Lu Yuan’s fist.

This punch… was Lu Yuan’s strongest punch without using his [Death Messenger (extraordinary)] panel skills.

Facing this punch, a flicker of emotionless light flashed in the slicked-back haired man’s eyes.

His figure suddenly rose, and he lightly kicked Lu Yuan’s fist.

“Pop—”

As their limbs collided, Lu Yuan felt as if the momentum behind his punch had been punctured by something.

Before he could transfer the power of his punch, the slicked-back haired man had already retreated, disappearing from Lu Yuan’s sight.

“Bang!”

Lu Yuan felt a kick to his left rib, causing him to stagger to the side.

He quickly swung his arm in a horizontal sweep, but his right shoulder was struck by another kick.

“Bang—bang bang—bang!”

Blow after blow landed on Lu Yuan, making him stumble like a small boat tossed about by giant waves.

“Damn it! He’s too fast!”

In the state of absolute concentration, Lu Yuan’s mind was as calm as a lake.

But now, ripples began to spread across the surface of that lake.

The terror of the crane style martial arts was fully displayed in the hands—or more accurately, the feet—of the slicked-back haired man.

Elusive, swift, like a ghost that was everywhere at once.

“His raw strength is far inferior to mine, but his leg techniques must be a form of true skill!”

“Moreover, his legs are imbued with mysterious qi energy, which can easily penetrate my body training defense!”

Lu Yuan had experienced this mysterious qi energy before with Lin Zhiqin and Qin Feng, but he had always “died” quickly, never feeling its full impact like now.

This qi energy was like an awl, with incredible penetrating power.

It bypassed Lu Yuan’s partially-trained flesh and struck directly at his internal organs.

Lu Yuan could feel his internal organs rupturing and bleeding.

“Enough.”

Lu Yuan took a deep breath and quickly closed his eyes.

“Time to end this fight!”

Invisible Mental Power surged outward.

It spread delicately around Lu Yuan.

The slicked-back haired man’s speed was too fast for his eyes to follow.

So he decided to abandon vision and rely entirely on Mental Power to sense his opponent.

His tightly wound muscles subtly relaxed, gently undulating like waves in the wind.

Lu Yuan’s entire body became loose, as if he had completely given up resistance.

“Whoosh—”

A sound of something cutting through the air reached his ears, and Lu Yuan slightly moved, intending to strike. But his chest was already hit.

“Ugh!”

He grunted, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, feeling pieces of his internal organs flooding into his mouth.

“Sounds can deceive too, hearing is unreliable!”

“Bang!”

Another kick.

This kick sent Lu Yuan flying sideways, his strong body smashing into a nearby rockery, scattering stones everywhere.

Expressionless, Lu Yuan crawled out of the rubble, casually spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his organs, and stood still again.

Almost there, but not quite the right moment.

“Thump!”

This kick landed on Lu Yuan’s left arm, which he slightly blocked.

Having abandoned the use of [special exertion] to tighten and entwine his muscles for defense power, his left arm was completely penetrated by the force and mysterious qi energy of the kick.

Lu Yuan heard the sound of his left arm bone breaking.

Just a bit more, wait a bit longer…

“Thump!”

“Bang—”

The slicked-back haired man kept kicking, and Lu Yuan kept getting hit.

His injuries worsened, and he stood there, swaying as if he could collapse at any moment.

Finally.

As another kick from the slicked-back haired man came flying at him.

Now!

Lu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.

It was as if a switch had been flipped in his mind, and countless ideas surged forth.

[A Moment of Inspiration], triggered!

This time, before the slicked-back haired man’s kick could land, Lu Yuan seemed to predict it.

His arms suddenly spread wide, and his muscles swelled with blood.

A dense black aura rose from his body like flames.

His eyes turned pure black, and his hands tightly gripped the opponent’s right leg.

“It’s my turn now.”

His low voice sounded like the wail of a fierce wind.

Lu Yuan’s hands tightened, pulling the slicked-back haired man forcefully towards him.

His right hand’s five fingers spread wide, grabbing the man’s head and slamming it into the ground.

“Boom!”

The ground shook violently, but it was just the beginning.

Lu Yuan’s large fist, wrapped in death energy, was already descending, aimed at the pit below…

…

“Whoosh—”

Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, habitually exhaling a long breath of stale air.

He instinctively touched his chest, as if to genuinely feel his heart’s vigorous beating.

Even though he had “died” countless times in the Consciousness Space.

Such a grueling and brutal fight still left a deep impression on him.

“Well, at least I won in the end…”

Lu Yuan felt a bit gratified.

This slicked-back haired man with the Surname Tang seemed to be on par with Lin Zhiqin and Qin Feng in terms of strength.

Being able to defeat him meant that Lu Yuan was also qualified to formally challenge the latter two.

It wasn’t a necessary prerequisite, just something Lu Yuan had been attempting since he started practicing martial arts.

Attempting until now, he had died countless times at the hands of Lin Zhiqin and Qin Feng.

Though they were [imaginary enemies] in the consciousness battle, they left some shadows in Lu Yuan’s mind.

In his heart, these two had long transformed into insurmountable mountains that he couldn’t overcome in a short time.

But now… he finally had the confidence to shatter these mountains, ready to try it himself.

“Yet Lin Zhiqin’s strength is similar to the other two, so why are Qin Feng and the Surname Tang both direct disciple, but Lin Zhiqin is not?”

Lu Yuan pondered.

Combining Lin Zhiqin’s current downfall and the personality traits that led to it, Lu Yuan had some vague guesses.

But he soon put these guesses aside.

He wasn’t too interested in such secrets. Instead, he was more curious about the source of the mysterious qi energy that all three of them displayed during their attacks.

“Is it the crane style’s core legacy secret technique?”

“Can I figure it out?”

Lu Yuan had a strong premonition.

If he could grasp the power of this mysterious qi energy, his combat strength could definitely soar to a new level.

With nothing else to do, he decided to focus on this.

Lu Yuan repeatedly entered the Consciousness Space, alternately setting the three as [imaginary enemies], and then attempting to inhabit their bodies with his consciousness.

He tried to feel how their organs and muscles worked when they used that mysterious qi energy.

Gradually.

He seemed to figure out something.

Dreams and reality continually verified each other. With 17 constitution points, his body, trained to the Skin Training and Muscle Training levels, felt as if something was about to break through!

…

“Apart from this, this, and this… I’ll take three of everything else.”

Lu Yuan lightly tapped a few items on the pale green, elegantly designed menu, then handed it back to the “waiter” beside him.

Calling them a waiter wasn’t quite accurate.

The person holding the menu and nodding in agreement felt more like a servant recruited by Linghexuan.

This was Lu Yuan’s third day at Linghexuan.

He had almost completely adapted to life here.

Eating, sleeping, fighting in the Consciousness Space.

That was his entire daily routine.

Simple.

But not boring.

First of all, Lu Yuan’s recent research into the mysterious qi energy was becoming more and more promising. The increase in his strength made him feel fulfilled and delighted.

Secondly…

The food in the Linghexuan dining room was incredibly delicious!

In both of his lifetimes, Lu Yuan had never tasted such delectable dishes, to the point where he felt a deep sense of envy towards the crane style’s sect leader, whom he had yet to meet.

Being able to eat such delicious food every day, with so many people to serve…

He wondered if he could enjoy this daily if he became a direct disciple?

Probably not, since he would eventually have to return to his home in Jiaoyan.

Sigh.

Lu Yuan sighed lightly, feeling a slight twinge of regret.

It was mealtime.

While waiting for his food, Lu Yuan saw several people walking into the dining room.

Among them was the young man named Wang Xu, who had been following the Surname Tang man.

This guy seemed to remember him, smiling at him as he entered.

Lu Yuan nodded slightly at him, but Wang Xu had already turned his head, sitting with a few others, chatting and laughing.

Lu Yuan didn’t mind.

Those with Wang Xu were also here for the direct disciple assessment.

Perhaps they all knew each other beforehand, or maybe they were “like-minded” and had already formed a small circle.

Lu Yuan neither fit in nor wanted to fit in.

Over the past two days, he had met all the candidates for the assessment.

He had “tested their mettle” in the Consciousness Space one by one.

Aside from a person named Xiao Mubai, who was somewhat competent, the others were basically nothing more than rabble, unable to pique Lu Yuan’s interest.

His current goals were long set on the older generation of direct disciples like Lin Zhiqin, Qin Feng, and the Surname Tang man.

“Once I can easily crush Qin Feng and the others… then I’ll truly have some confidence.”

Lu Yuan thought to himself.

At this time, the dishes he had ordered… were served.

…

“Should we invite him to join us?”

At a small round table, a young man with short hair and a bit of stubble on his chin casually played with a pair of bamboo chopsticks. He glanced at a young man devouring his meal in the distance and suggested.

The other four people at the table turned to look in the direction the young man indicated, then quickly looked away.

A girl with a ponytail, an oval face, and a slightly cold demeanor replied coolly, “Do you see any empty seats at our table?”