Chapter 147 – Then Let’s… Have a Go

Under the dim streetlight.

Lu Yuan walked quickly, almost like a ghost.

After mastering the True Leg Technique Skill of the crane style, he could clearly feel that his Movement Techniques had reached a new level.

His steps were lighter when he walked, and his entire being seemed more elusive.

Like a wisp of smoke that could vanish into the dust at any moment.

“Crane’s Graceful Walk, Crane’s Graceful Walk.”

These four words echoed repeatedly in Lu Yuan’s mind, bringing him many profound insights.

After stepping out of the urban area, it was as if he suddenly understood something.

“Twang!”

His whole body swelled up in an instant, and he kicked off the ground fiercely, shooting into the dense night like a cannonball.

Lu Yuan ran swiftly along the edge of the road, his powerful calf muscles swelling with blood, leaving only a shallow footprint with each forceful step.

This is what they call… lifting something heavy as if it were light!

His speed increased rapidly.

He even tried to race with speeding cars.

Every time an oncoming car’s headlights lit up, he would hide in the darkness, and as the lights receded, he would dash onward.

Black crows occasionally flew overhead, and Lu Yuan was getting closer and closer to his destination.

He was headed north of the city.

To an abandoned factory that had been left untouched for years.

Lu Yuan covered the nearly 25-kilometer journey in just under 21 minutes.

His speed was nearly 75 kilometers per hour, comparable to an average car traveling at moderate speed.

Converted to meters per second, that was almost 20 meters per second.

And this was his long-distance running speed. For short bursts, this number could go even higher.

“Huff—huff—”

Standing in the dark outskirts, Lu Yuan slowly steadied his breathing.

His massive, robust body rose and fell slightly in the night, and the 19 constitution points provided him with ample stamina, so he still didn’t feel any significant fatigue.

At this moment, Lu Yuan was like a beast that had just finished warming up, ready to start hunting.

Today, he had specifically worn an extra loose black windbreaker with a large hood when he went out.

With the hood up, it could conceal most of his face.

Lu Yuan also brought along the crow mask he had picked up from the Powerful Divine Servant of the Crow Deity sect and slowly put it on his face.

Although this mask had been washed and dried many times, it still retained a faint scent of blood.

This faint bloody smell ignited certain restless factors within Lu Yuan.

“Hiss—”

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, glanced up at the moon overhead, then swiftly moved towards the distant factory building.

This abandoned factory was a remnant from when the Jiaoyan city government promoted heavy industry years ago. After subsequent industrial restructuring, it was gradually abandoned.

In the abandoned factory area, two huge chimneys stood tall, surrounded by dilapidated and overgrown factory buildings.

Flocks of crows perched on the rusty wire fences around it.

It looked like the decayed corpse of a giant beast that had been rotting for years.

Lu Yuan stepped into the factory area under the moonlight.

The crows along the way paid him no mind.

Although Lu Yuan’s [Crow Language] skill was relatively low, only Level 2, with his high Mental Power, it was easy to calm the flock of crows and avoid exposing himself prematurely.

Lu Yuan had a clear goal and headed straight for a particular factory building.

Even before getting close, he could smell the faint scent of blood carried by the night wind.

“Who’s there?!”

Someone shouted at him.

A flashlight’s beam shone on Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan slowly turned his head, the eerie crow mask appearing ghastly white in the light.

Not far away, a man holding the flashlight dropped to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling as he called out, “Lord.”

Lu Yuan ignored him and continued forward.

As he neared the gate, a few people slowly stood up.

With a flick of his foot, Lu Yuan darted forward like a blur.

With a loud “bang,” the rusty, padlocked door of the abandoned factory caved inwards and collapsed.

The men guarding the entrance were thrown to the sides like they had been hit by a speeding truck, crashing into the walls outside the factory without making a sound.

Lu Yuan walked slowly into the factory.

As he stepped in, he immediately caught a glimpse of what seemed like a giant snake-like shadow lunging towards him from the darkness.

“Whoosh—whoosh—”

With the instincts of a martial artist, Lu Yuan instantly activated Level 3 [Death Energy Entanglement].

Large swathes of black aura appeared out of nowhere, rapidly converging on Lu Yuan’s hands like flowing water.

He formed his ten fingers into claws and thrust them forward.

“Boom!”

Two thick black aura columns, resembling octopus tentacles, were crushed by Lu Yuan’s grip.

“Powerful Divine Servant?!”

Under the crow mask, Lu Yuan blinked.

Before coming here, he hadn’t deliberately investigated the strength of this Crow Deity sect servant.

Only now did he realize that the opponent was indeed a Powerful Divine Servant.

This was evident from the similar attack methods he had seen used by the last Powerful Divine Servant of the Crow Deity sect.

The death energy possessed by an ordinary Crow Deity servant wouldn’t sustain such an attack.

“An unexpected delight,” Lu Yuan muttered, lowering his hands and squinting around the interior of the Factory Building.

The entire factory seemed spacious, yet it was shrouded in thick black fog.

Although there were still many windows on the upper parts of the outer walls, the black fog prevented any moonlight from penetrating, rendering the entire space pitch black.

“[Eye of Doom].”

Lu Yuan quietly activated the skill, and his eyes swiftly turned completely black.

He saw an exceptionally dense shadow within the black fog, and it was clear that this was the Powerful Divine Servant of the Crow Deity sect.

“Plop—”

Lu Yuan took two steps forward and suddenly felt something sticky under his feet.

He looked down.

Only then did he realize that the entire floor of the factory was flowing with thick blood, with man-made blood channels forming a huge, eerie pattern.

The massive shadow he had seen earlier was located at the very center of this pattern.

“La Maggege @￥%￥.”

At this moment, a strange sound emanated from the center of the black fog.

It sounded like some kind of spell, or perhaps a loud questioning.

Lu Yuan hadn’t studied the Crow Deity sect’s ancient language and didn’t understand the meaning of this bizarre speech.

But his eyes flashed, and he loudly repeated the phrase he had just heard.

“La Maggege @￥%￥.”

“Uh—”

The person speaking within the black fog clearly hesitated for a moment.

Seizing this opportunity, Lu Yuan smiled, a flash of fierceness crossing his face.

“Bang!”

The ground beneath his feet exploded into two shallow pits.

In an instant, Lu Yuan’s figure had torn through the layers of black fog, lunging towards the center of the death energy cluster.

“Killer Move! [Spirit Crane Technique: Ethereal Penglai]!”

His pitch-black eyes resembled a dark sky, and Lu Yuan lifted his right leg.

His shin, like a pillar, ripped through the black fog, creating vacuum-like trails accompanied by a terrifying whistling sound.

Yet it also carried an elusive, ethereal charm.

He fiercely kicked the black aura enveloped in death energy.

“Boom!”

Lu Yuan’s kick felt like striking a soft, thick sandbag.

The force was immense, giving him a satisfying impact, but the opponent merely swayed slightly as the death energy dispersed a bit, without retreating a single step.

“Pure physical attacks are still at a disadvantage against the extraordinary.”

“With or without death energy, and the amount of death energy, Crow Deity servants are simply on different levels.”

Lu Yuan remained expressionless, taking a deep breath.

The airflow drew the surrounding black fog towards him.

“Crack-crack-crack—”

His already massive frame swelled even more.

The once well-fitting large combat jacket now stretched tight, faintly outlining exaggerated muscle contours.

“&…@￥%%…”

The Powerful Divine Servant, who had just been kicked by Lu Yuan, shouted something again.

Immediately, the death energy around him boiled and surged towards him. Simultaneously, four or five tentacles, each as thick as a bowl, shot out from the surrounding death energy cluster.

They lunged at Lu Yuan with a menacing ferocity.

Lu Yuan paid them no mind.

He naturally entered the Level 3 [Absolute Concentration] state.

At the same time, Level 3 [Special Exertion] was pushed to the extreme.

His heart pounded like a drum, and blood surged through his veins like a tidal wave.

Large amounts of death energy converged on his legs.

Level 2 [Ten Thousand Refined Crane Bone Technique] crazily stimulated his calf muscles.

As if guided by intuition.

Lu Yuan lifted his foot again.

It was still the true skill killer move [Ethereal Penglai].

However, this time, he seemed to feel the Ten Thousand Refined Crane Bone Technique inside him resonating with the death energy outside, forming a more powerful invisible strangling force.

“Shriek—”

In his mind, the Spirit Crane, searching through the vast clouds for the elusive fairy mountain, suddenly shook its wings.

The ethereal background shattered quietly, revealing a water-soaked full moon, the flowing Styx, and the mountain range covered with Red Spider Lilies.

In a trance, the white Spirit Crane seemed to transform.

It turned into an entirely pitch-black crow with blood-soaked eyes.

“Crackle—”

Lu Yuan swept his leg across, and the four or five thick death energy tentacles in front of him snapped like hemp ropes.

Without any suspense or embellishment, his heavy kick landed squarely on the massive death energy cluster.

The once tightly wrapped “turtle shell” was torn apart like a rag.

Soon, it revealed the innermost layer, like a body wrapped in a black raincoat.

Phased Power Exertion!

Multi-stage Exertion!

The terrifying force of over eight tons contained in Lu Yuan’s kick was fully injected into the opponent’s body.

“Boom!”

The latter was kicked away like a cannonball, instantly crossing tens of meters before crashing heavily against the concrete wall at the end of the Factory Building with a “bang.”

“Whoosh—”

Lu Yuan exhaled a breath of stale air, casually brushing aside the obstructive black fog of death energy in front of him.

Without the control of the Powerful Divine Servant, the death energy quickly fell, flowing like water at his feet.

He slowly walked towards the fallen Powerful Divine Servant.

Under the crow mask, his night-like eyes showed no emotional fluctuation.

The over eight-ton leg force had burst multiple times within the Powerful Divine Servant’s body, directly shattering his entire chest and abdomen.

The whole person looked like an orange forcibly split open, with pulp scattered and juice flowing, quietly leaning against the wall.

A prey at the brink of death, nothing worth paying extra attention to.

As Lu Yuan walked leisurely, he savored the strange sensation he had felt when he had just kicked.

On the [Death Messenger (Extraordinary)] panel, the skill point that hung like a Doomstar waiting to be unlocked seemed to shine brighter.

Was it because of the combination of inner strength and death energy?

Lu Yuan wasn’t entirely sure.

But he felt as if he had vaguely found a direction for further advancement.

“￥%&&&”

At this moment, a low, hoarse voice came from ahead.

Lu Yuan abruptly looked up, meeting a pair of eyes filled with shock and deep-seated resentment.

A sudden, inexplicable unease arose in Lu Yuan’s heart.

He stomped on the ground, instantly accelerating to his maximum speed.

Almost leaving afterimages in the air, his large hand reached out, aiming to grasp the Powerful Divine Servant’s head.

However.

The moment he clutched the opponent’s head, the latter had already finished uttering his strange incantation.

Under the crow mask, the bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at Lu Yuan. Trembling, the Powerful Divine Servant raised his right hand and fiercely crushed a red bead the size of a marble between his fingers.

Thick, blood-like liquid quickly flowed down his fingers.

A strange ripple was immediately released.

“Bang!”

Lu Yuan exerted force, crushing the Powerful Divine Servant’s head like a watermelon.

He then reached out to grab the viscous red liquid at the latter’s fingertips.

Unexpectedly, the liquid was easily absorbed by him.

Immediately, all the death energy filling the large Factory Building began to stir.

It converged towards Lu Yuan.

And the Powerful Divine Servant’s body, which had fallen against the wall, quickly weathered into ash, like burnt paper.

Caught off guard, Lu Yuan was enveloped by a massive amount of death energy.

Outside the abandoned Factory Building.

The crows perched on the barbed wire and the rooftop seemed to be suddenly startled.

They flapped their wings in unison, taking to the sky.

They circled in the night sky.

An inexplicable oppressive atmosphere seemed to be brewing in the air.

A large dark cloud rolled in the sky, completely obscuring the moonlight.

It seemed that dark red flashes of light were constantly flickering within the dark cloud.

At the same time, Lu Yuan, wrapped in countless strands of death energy, was shocked as he looked at his [Death Messenger (Extraordinary)] panel.

His professional experience and [Death Energy Entanglement] experience points were rapidly increasing.

His original [Death Messenger (Extraordinary)] professional level was only Level 3 (143/400).

Death Energy Entanglement was at Level 3 (201/400).

However, in a short time, the former quickly broke through to Level 4.

The latter surged even faster, from Level 3 to Level 4, and then all the way to Level 5 (345/1600) before finally stopping.

While Lu Yuan was in a daze.

He suddenly sensed something.

He abruptly looked up, through the Factory Building window, at the oppressive dark sky and the restless Flock of Crows outside.

“Crack—”

A scarlet lightning bolt suddenly struck down.

In an instant, it illuminated the world in scarlet.

In the haze, Lu Yuan seemed to sense an evil and hostile consciousness vaguely locking onto him.

But it lasted only for a moment before the sensation disappeared.

The strange phenomena outside the Factory Building also dissipated.

“Boom—”

White lightning rolled, and torrential rain poured down.

Everything seemed to return to normal.

Lu Yuan slowly walked to the entrance of the Factory Building.

Bean-sized raindrops pounded on the steel canopy above, making a dense “pitter-patter” sound.

The agitated Flock of Crows scattered in disarray.

Lu Yuan fixed his gaze on the sky, murmuring to himself:

“Is this a curse? Or a declaration of war?”

In no time, Lu Yuan’s expression returned to complete calm.

Amidst the torrential rain, large swathes of death energy emerged in the air, converging towards him.

Flowing around him, like black flames burning in the air, or like the slowly unfolding wings of a crow.

“Then let’s face it in reality,” he said.