Chapter 142 – Shock

“Ah! Ahhh—”

The middle-aged man with sunglasses stumbled back like a madman, screaming, as the red light from his mechanical eyes flashed wildly.

At this moment, everything above his right elbow had been twisted into a gruesome mess.

Shattered bone fragments mixed with flesh and blood, along with a few twisted, limp fingers, formed an unsightly lump.

Though Ancient Style martial artists are typically resolute, anyone would find it hard to remain mentally stable in such a situation.

But before the middle-aged man with sunglasses could retreat far, a massive and towering figure burst out from the shadows.

Lu Yuan moved like a ferocious beast, yet his actions were swift and agile like… a crane?

He stomped the ground with a sudden step, creating a shallow crater beneath his foot, and shot forward like an arrow.

In an instant, he was in front of the wailing middle-aged man with sunglasses.

“You… you…”

The middle-aged man with sunglasses was drenched in sweat, his face pale, as he gritted his teeth and swung his remaining left arm.

lv2 Ten Thousand Refined Crane Technique!

lv3 Special Exertion!

Five tons of boxing power, combined with the dense and penetrating properties of the Ten Thousand Refined Crane Technique!

Lu Yuan casually raised his hand and pressed down.

His thick, menacing arm came crashing down like a black pillar.

“Crack, crack—”

The left arm the middle-aged man with sunglasses raised in defense was easily snapped like a twig by Lu Yuan’s punch.

Before he could scream again, Lu Yuan’s downward punch transformed into an upward move…

“Killer Move Skill—Spirit Crane Technique: Mistaken Plucking of Immortal Orchid… Pluck again!”

With a sudden upward motion, Lu Yuan’s five fingers closed in on the middle-aged man’s face…

“Boom!”

The middle-aged man with sunglasses flew high into the air like a broken kite, then fell swiftly to the ground with a “thud”, motionless.

“Hoo—haa—”

Lu Yuan breathed steadily, standing firm.

He looked down, picked up a string of mechanical eye components hanging from his fingertips, and casually examined them.

“Crack, crack—”

Then he crushed them into a heap of scrap and tossed them aside.

“What an antique model of mechanical eyes… No wonder you didn’t dare to face the teacher directly.”

Lu Yuan turned his gaze to the remaining two people in the field.

The two men who had come with the middle-aged man with sunglasses were now standing frozen in place, utterly stunned.

As the strongest among the three, the middle-aged man with sunglasses had trained his inner strength throughout half his body. Even in the martial arts world, he could be considered an expert.

However, in front of this new disciple of the Poison-Handed Crane Demon, he was defeated in just two moves.

Both arms broken, and even his eyes… had been gouged out again!

One of the middle-aged men had a black briefcase under his arm, which now fell to the ground with a thud.

The man, however, seemed oblivious, his face pale as he stared at Lu Yuan, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, and his toes curling nervously in his sandals.

Lu Yuan glanced at the two men and, remembering the time he promised to meet Lu Jing, spoke calmly, “You have… twenty seconds.”

The two middle-aged men shuddered and exchanged glances. In the next second, they simultaneously rushed toward the middle-aged man with sunglasses lying on the ground, trying to drag him away.

Meanwhile, the muscles on Lu Yuan’s body rippled like waves, and he seemed to grow even larger.

The light from the street lamp above dimmed, as if large shadows were rapidly spreading, slowly enveloping the entire area…

…

“Ah—”

Sun Zhihua suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on the distant, quiet path.

“That sound…”

Sun Zhihua’s expression changed as he quickly took out his mobile phone and found his girlfriend Wu Xinlei’s number.

He wanted to call her but eventually put the phone away.

“Forget it, I’d better go take a look.”

“After all, he is the younger brother of Xinlei’s best friend…”

Sun Zhihua took a deep breath, put the mobile phone back in his pocket, tightened his grip on the two crescent-shaped knives in his hands, and walked forward with a determined expression.

He could roughly imagine what kind of scene he would see next.

In the martial arts world, seeking revenge was not uncommon.

But once someone sought revenge on you,

Losing an arm or a leg would be the least of your worries.

The real fear was that they might leave Lu Yuan with a lifelong, incurable injury, such as gouging out eyes, cutting out the tongue, or severing tendons.

Or worse, they might just kill him outright…

Sun Zhihua moved quickly towards the direction from which the scream had come, his heart heavy.

Soon, a figure appeared in his field of vision.

He instinctively tensed up, quickly thinking about what he might say to make the other person wary without losing face if he encountered them.

As he got closer, Sun Zhihua began to sense that something was off.

He could vaguely see that there seemed to be only one person standing under the streetlamp ahead.

Weren’t there supposed to be three people coming for revenge?

Where were the other two?

He moved closer, squinting his eyes, and finally…

He saw the scene clearly.

Under the soft white light of the streetlamp stood a tall, slender figure.

The figure had one foot on the edge of a flower bed, pulling at something while meticulously wiping his hands.

Perhaps he felt Sun Zhihua’s gaze.

The person wiping his hands suddenly turned his head to look at him.

A young, handsome face instantly came into Sun Zhihua’s view.

Lu Yuan?! He’s okay?! Then that scream just now…

Sun Zhihua blinked in surprise.

He stopped in his tracks, his gaze lowered, and quickly caught sight of what Lu Yuan was using as a hand towel…

“Buzz!”

Sun Zhihua’s brain felt as if it had been pierced by a sharp arrow.

His pupils contracted as he saw that the object Lu Yuan was using to wipe his hands…

Was one of the three martial arts experts who had previously made him feel so threatened that he couldn’t even dare to move!

And then…

Sun Zhihua quickly spotted the second one on the ground.

And farther away, the third one…

His brain felt like it was being shot through by arrows repeatedly.

When he saw a certain middle-aged man with a face in a mess, one arm broken, and the other turned into a twisted mass of flesh…

Sun Zhihua finally couldn’t hold back.

His scalp felt like it was being forcefully pulled upwards, sending waves of numbness through his head.

A deep, bone-chilling cold surged from Sun Zhihua’s heart, electrifying his entire body.

His palms, gripping the Moon Blade, were damp with sweat. In a moment of distraction, one of the blades slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a clear, crisp sound.

Lu Yuan, who had just finished wiping the blood from between his fingers under the streetlamp, was drawn by the sound. Expressionless, he began to walk towards Sun Zhihua step by step.

An immense, invisible pressure, like a tidal wave, combined with the surrounding darkness, surged towards Sun Zhihua, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Sun Zhihua stood still, his expression stiff, with large beads of sweat rolling rapidly down his forehead.

“Tap—tap—”

Lu Yuan’s barely audible footsteps sounded so clear to Sun Zhihua’s ears, as if each step was in sync with his heartbeat.

As Lu Yuan got closer and closer…

Finally…

Sun Zhihua took a deep breath and took several steps forward, actively approaching Lu Yuan.

“Sun Zhihua, from the Moon Shadow Sect!”

Sun Zhihua extended a hand, and at some point, the Moon Blade in his hand had been replaced by his mobile phone.

With a serious expression and sincere eyes, he said, “Let’s exchange contacts. From now on… we’re friends.”

“Uh…”

…

“Ah—”

A piercing scream shattered the night.

Under the streetlamp, several figures moving swiftly forward suddenly paused.

In the next second, their speed increased even more.

Two people, running out of breath and planning to return for reinforcements, almost didn’t notice as they brushed past the swiftly moving figures.

Half a minute later, several figures stopped at a chaotic scene.

“I…”

Sun Zhihua, who had been waiting nearby, opened his mouth to say something, but when he saw Zhuang Xiujie’s murderous gaze, he immediately fell silent.

The group quickly dispersed, taking turns to inspect the three figures lying on the ground.

Moments later, they regrouped.

“It’s the three Lin brothers from the North Hawk Sect. They’re not dead, but they are barely alive…”

“Who did this? The wounds look like our Crane Style techniques, but they are incredibly powerful… Could it be our teacher?”

One of the direct disciples hesitantly spoke up.

Zhao Qiancheng remained silent.

Zhuang Xiujie took a deep breath and responded quietly, “Of course, it was Little Senior Brother.”

“What?!”

Several of the direct disciples of the Crane Style had their pupils contract and their bodies trembled slightly as they blurted out in disbelief.

“Don’t joke around. How strong could he be?!”

Zhuang Xiujie glanced coldly at the speaker and retorted, “Joking?

Who else could wield our Crane Style martial arts with such power, other than Little Senior Brother, who possesses the Palace of Flesh… Don’t believe me? Ask him.”

She pointed a finger at Sun Zhihua.

Sun Zhihua, like a student called upon to speak in class, jolted and immediately stood up with a serious expression, saying, “It was Lu Yuan who did it. I am Sun Zhihua from the Moon Shadow Sect… I saw it with my own eyes.”

“…”

The direct disciples fell silent.

Their faces were filled with shock and disbelief, unable to comprehend what they had just heard.

Zhuang Xiujie looked at them with “pity” in her eyes.

Aside from her and Zhao Qiancheng, who were assigned to teach Lu Yuan the Crane Style, the remaining direct disciples had no idea… just what kind of a prodigy their teacher had taken in this time.

But even with her prior understanding of Lu Yuan’s capabilities, Zhuang Xiujie was still deeply shaken.

She had checked the wounds of the eldest Lin brother from the North Hawk Sect, and they clearly bore the marks of the True Claw Technique Skill of the Crane Style.

How long had it been since Lu Yuan learned the Crane Grasp?

Ten days?!

He had already mastered this True Claw Technique.

The sheer talent was so terrifying that Zhuang Xiujie felt a chill run down her spine just thinking about it•

When talent reaches a certain level, it doesn’t just shock people… it frightens them.

No wonder Junior Brother Lin had said that Lu Yuan could grasp the essence of the True Boxing Technique just from practicing stance techniques.

It turns out, this was no exaggeration at all.

“No wonder… he’s a True Disciple. It’s not just because of the Palace of Flesh…”

Zhuang Xiujie murmured under her breath, her fair face now covered with a complex expression.

She instinctively looked up at Zhao Qiancheng.

She saw that Zhao Qiancheng’s face was expressionless, his eyelids lowered in silence.

After a while, he finally spoke in a low voice.

“Take everyone and let’s head back.”

…

“Ah—”

The sudden scream startled Lu Jing.

She quickly took two steps back, nervously looking in the direction of the sound.

A few street lamps softly illuminated a small stretch of road ahead.

But around a certain corner, darkness took over.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with not even the sound of insects or birds.

A night breeze blew, bringing a slight chill.

Lu Jing instinctively wrapped her coat tighter around herself, her mind flooded with memories of the nightmares she experienced in Xixu.

Fear began to creep up her heart.

Her face turned pale, like a panicked deer unsure of where to run.

Anxiety and unease enveloped her.

To make matters worse, her mobile phone wasn’t with her, and she didn’t know who to ask for help.

Just as she was about to explode with fear…

A large hand gently patted her shoulder, and Lu Yuan’s voice came from behind her.

“Let’s go, Lu Jing.”

“Phew—”

Lu Jing quickly turned around and, seeing it was Lu Yuan, finally relaxed.

“You scared me to death. Why did you come from behind?”

“The back way is closer.”

“Did you hear that scream just now? It was so creepy…”

“I heard it. It came from the bathroom. Maybe… someone’s hemorrhoids burst.”

“…”

The two of them chatted idly, their shadows lengthening under the street lamps, gradually disappearing into the distance.