Level Up in Martial World

Lu Zhen's eyes widened as he spotted a gigantic stone hurtling toward them at an unimaginable speed. The stone, a perfectly round, plain black object.

It descended gracefully, trailing a fiery tail that painted a surreal picture against the sky.

Shock gripped Lu Zhen to his core. With lightning speed, he hastily backstepped, took a deep, calming breath, and positioned his left leg as he crouched slightly. His thoughts raced, contemplating how to deal with this impending threat.

"I have to destroy it," he determined, his fist clenching tightly.

In a burst of determination, he leaped into the air, poised to strike the incoming stone.

"What a fool…" The white-haired girl observed Lu Zhen's actions with a hint of disdain. However, her expression shifted abruptly as Lu Zhen seemed to vanish into thin air. Her sense of dread intensified.

She turned to look behind her, only to find Lu Zhen there, waving at her casually. Before she could process this bewildering turn of events, Lu Zhen had captured her in a firm grip. She felt as though strong, unyielding chains had ensnared her, rendering her helpless.

Although she possessed special powers and other abilities, her body was still that of a little girl.

"Let's die together," Lu Zhen roared as he jumped.

Hearing this, the little girl's facial expression turned strange.

"Are you an idiot? I'm just testing you. Why are you so serious? And do you really think this meteor can kill me?" She sneered as she looked at Lu Zhen with an uncaring gaze.

However, Lu Zhen didn't say a word as his grip on the white-haired girl tightened even more.

"Let's see how long you can endure and run away. Even if you have the physique of an ancient warrior, only a first-stage martial artist can endure this," she confidently thought as she patiently waited.

But she became a little nervous when Lu Zhen didn't slow down even a bit and continued to approach the meteor.

Nervously watching the meteor closing in on them while locked in a tight hug, she couldn't help but scream, "Are you crazy?" However, Lu Zhen wore an expressionless face and remained unmoved.

With horrified eyes, the girl witnessed Lu Zhen crash directly into the meteor without even flinching.

In the intense moments just before Lu Zhen could make contact with the plummeting meteor, he abruptly released his grip on the white-haired girl. In a nimble and seemingly impossible maneuver, he leaped into the air, deftly altering his trajectory in a heartbeat.

"Whispering Shadow Step," Lu Zhen thought to himself, and in response, his speed increased dramatically mid-air.

As Lu Zhen distanced himself from the perilous meteor, the girl below watched with an enraged expression. She remained suspended in mid-air, utterly powerless to change her fate as the meteor continued its relentless descent.

As the meteor's force pushed Lu Zhen even further, he felt pain in his back.

"Hmm…" Lu Zhen touched his back, sensing the fiery heat of the dead skin.

"Could just a slight graze do this to me?" he wondered, a hint of relief mixing with his surprise.

Carefully sensing his surroundings, he quickly detected a bird attempting to escape. The bird had managed to flee previously when Lu Zhen employed his chain principles to ensnare the young girl. Unfortunately, his low-level chain mastery skill had limited him to capturing only the girl at that time.

Although Lu Zhen could have easily caught the girl in a conventional manner, he wanted to test the skill he had acquired.

""Kukuku. Do you think you can escape?" Lu Zhen laughed loudly as his speed increased in the air, leaving afterimages behind.

"Whispering Shadow Step."

He seemed to vanish into thin air as he blended into the shadows.

On the ground, the bird flew at a low altitude, flapping its wings hurriedly.

"Damn it, I didn't expect things to go this way…" the bird muttered as it increased its wing flapping speed.

Suddenly, Lu Zhen materialised in front of the bird, attempting to catch it. However, the bird swiftly escaped, just as it had done before.

"Wait, that was just a test. Now we can talk about our business…" the bird urgently opened its beak to speak.

"Why should I do that? You are weak and can't do anything to me. Previously, I might have entertained this, but now..." Lu Zhen's eyes gleamed with a sinister smirk.

"Do you really think I'm an easy target?" the bird's voice turned cold in an instant.

"Oh, you mean this." Lu Zhen side-stepped and kicked the girl who was attempting to attack him with a knife.

The girl was sent flying and crashed into a tree.

The white-haired girl was now broken, with her legs twisted in the opposite direction and blood gushing from her mouth, staining her white robe.

Lu Zhen turned his attention back to the bird, which was now utterly silent.

"The deal can greatly benefit you; however, are you really unwilling to listen?"

Lu Zhen suddenly felt a sense of foreboding but remained silent.

"The deal is that you can gain access to ancient knowledge of the ancient martial artists."

Lu Zhen's eyes lit up when he heard this. He had always been interested in how martial artists from previous eras cultivated. However, he had a frown on his face.

"What do I have to give?"

"You have to give me your blood essence."

Lu Zhen sneered when he heard this.

"Do you really think I will give my blood essence to a mage?"

"How did you know?" The bird spoke with some surprise.

"Your strength is so weak, yet you seem to defy logic. Only mages could do that," Lu Zhen said as his eyes turned cold.

"You know about us? How interesting. So, will you make the deal or not?"

"No." Lu Zhen simply answered in a cold tone.

Although Lu Zhen was interested in the knowledge of the ancient warriors, he wasn't foolish enough to give out his blood essence, which could potentially be used against him in the future.

The bird flinched when it heard this.

"Got you." Lu Zhen suddenly sneered as he skillfully threw his chain around the bird.

Caught off guard, the bird was directly bound by the chain.

Lu Zhen pulled the chain and captured the little bird.

"Do you really want to be our enemy?"

"No, I don't want to be. But something tells me you're going to become a problem in the future. It's a gut feeling of a man; you won't understand. So either you mages become completely become my servants, or I will…" Lu Zhen's eyes turned cold.

"How daring! Do you really think a mere Third-stage martial artist can fight us? In ancient times, even my servants could kill you, even if you have the physique of an ancient martial artist."

Lu Zhen was a little stunned when he heard this, but his expression didn't change.

"Are you threatening me?" His voice turned cold as he started to release his aura.

"Are you stupid or something? If you just give me your blood essence, you won't have to have a blood feud with us, and I will even give you knowledge enough to make you even stronger than a first-stage martial artist. Why don't we reach an agreement?" The bird opened its beak as it spoke in a calm tone.

When Lu Zhen considered it, he was tempted by the offer. Not only would he avoid a feud with the mages, but he would also acquire information that could make him stronger than a first-stage martial artist. It was an enticing offer that almost no martial artist could refuse.

However, he still shook his head, his eyes radiating pure killing intent as his expression became cold. The bird looked at Lu Zhen's facial expression and knew he didn't buy it.

"Wait…" before it could complete its sentence, it was directly crushed by Lu Zhen, like an insect.

Like a bug, it was instantly reduced to a wooden paste, which astonished Lu Zhen greatly.

"I thought it was a real bird," he shook his head.

Lu Zhen rubbed the wood paste as he ground it continuously.

However, he was still not satisfied. He took two stones from the ground and rubbed them together to create friction.

Lu Zhen aligned the spark created by the rubbing of the two stones with the wood paste as he watched coldly as it burned to ashes.

"Not bad," he nodded to himself, finally feeling safe enough.

Lu Zhen vanished from his location, reappearing where the injured white-haired girl lay unconscious. Her injuries were severe, but she was slowly healing.

"I knew it. How could something be infinite?" Lu Zhen didn't believe that the girl could revive endlessly. If that were the case, she would have already dominated the world. Why would they care about a minor character like him? In the grand scale of things, he was just a weakling.

As per his understanding nothing could be infinite and everything had to end someday. However that didn't mean you rot away at a place cursing your fate that god gave you an unfair life or just give up on life.

That was just the thinking of a loser.

If you want to become a great person in life you have to truly work hard without becoming lazy.

He dragged the injured girl with blood wetting the ground. Back to his carriage.

"You will be useful to me." His eyes glinted with a cruel light.

"If it wasn't for not having enough mana…" a roar echoed in the room under the dilapidated temple.

"I swear I will kill you, Lu Zhen."