Level Up in Martial World

Mana was similar to Qi, but their nature and characteristics were different.

In the era of the mages, instead of Qi, there was mana, a crucial element that defined the mages.

Without mana, mages couldn't have interacted with nature and bent it to their will, producing heaven-defying effects that could render even a first-stage martial artist insignificant.

Mana was essential for forming a mana heart, the source of a mage's strength, yet also their greatest weakness.

Similar to a martial artist without a Qi, mage was nothing without mana. In fact, they were even more miserable than martial artists, as martial artists have stronger bodies strengthened by Qi, but mana didn't strengthen one's body.

However, with the fall of the mage era, humanity had to adapt, and mana underwent a strange mutation.

Its properties changed significantly, making it unsuitable for giving birth to mages and instead paving the way for martial artists to rise.

This transformation led to the birth of what was known as qi in the present day.

"Young master, who is this girl?" The old man asked, respectful yet uncertain, as he looked at the white-haired girl whose clothes were soaked in blood.

Lu Zhen closed the book with a sigh. "The era of the mages was really interesting," he thought to himself, interest gleaming in his eyes as he looked at the obedient girl who was silently sitting there.

"So this is the history, huh?"

"Yes, this is history. Now, can you let me go?" the girl asked.

"Nope," Lu Zhen chuckled.

The girl remained silent once again.

Seeing this, Lu Zhen shook his head. "It might be more difficult to extract more information from her in the future," he thought with some pity.

The carriage continued forward, and the journey remained silent, with neither Lu Zhen nor the girl paying much attention to the old man.

"Young master, we have arrived," Yu Bai informed.

"Finally, let's go," However, he had a frown on his face as he looked at the white-haired girl.

Suddenly, Lu Zhen caught the girl and effortlessly placed her on his shoulder.

"Whatever," he muttered as he looked at the girl, whose face was red with embarrassment.

"I'm not a kid. Put me down," she demanded.

"Why should I? You might escape again," Lu Zhen replied. Earlier, when he was a bit distracted, she had nearly managed to get away. Thankfully, he had implemented countermeasures, allowing him to quickly recapture her.

"Let's go. Old man, stay in the carriage," Lu Zhen instructed.

"Why shouldn't I?" the old man inquired.

Lu Zhen's eyes turned cold as he simply stared at the old man. The old man hastily avoided eye contact.

"Yes, young master," he hurriedly nodded.

"Sigh, am I going senile in my old age?" For some reason, he's been quite bold with Lu Zhen, even though he knows that their lives are in Lu Zhen's hands, and he could die at any moment if he annoys him too much.

He silently stayed in his seat.

As Lu Zhen exited the carriage, he looked around and found himself surrounded by a forest with a small pond.

"So, where is this place..." Lu Zhen glanced around, feeling like everything was quite ordinary and unspectacular.

He closed his eyes to rely on his five senses, attempting to detect any extraordinary phenomena, but he came up empty-handed. The most he could discern were the chirping of birds and various animal sounds.

"Young master, I stumbled upon this place accidentally..."

"Is it in the pond?"

"Yes, young master."

Lu Zhen nodded and picked up a rock, tossing it into the pond.

Splash!

The water splashed up briefly before settling down, creating a ripple that spread across the surface.

Lu Zhen intently focused on the sound of the vibrations the rock had caused as he carefully examined the surroundings.

Suddenly, the vibrations ceased as they reached a particular depth within the pond.

"Hmm, a regular pond shouldn't be this small, especially in a world where everything can be found in larger quantities," Lu Zhen confirmed his suspicion as he patted Xiao Yun on the back.

"You can enter the pond now..." Lu Zhen said casually as he made way for Xiao Yun.

"I can go, young master, but..."

Lu Zhen chuckled when he saw this.

"You truly are a smart kid, never doing free work without any rewards. Here." He handed him 10 gold biscuits.

"You might be wondering why I didn't give you a qi stone? That's because you might not survive it."

Xiao Yun nodded, understanding Lu Zhen's point. He took the gold biscuits and, with determination in his eyes, jumped into the water without hesitation.

"Stay here, Yu Bai." Yu Bai nodded, wearing a peculiar expression.

"Wait, are you jumping into the wa..."

Lu Zhen didn't let the white-haired girl finish her sentence as he jumped into the water, taking her with him.

Soon they reached a dome that seemed to have completely sealed off water. It was strange to see water isolated in thin air.

Lu Zhen made hand signs saying, "is this it?"

Xiao Yu nodded his head as he entered, and Lu Zhen followed suit.

With a "plop" sound, Xiao Yu entered the dome, and a vibration was created as he entered it.

As Lu Zhen reached the dome, he found a structure that isolated all the water. He could not help but experiment with it.

He lightly touched the dome, his hands directly passing through the water as he expected it to be.

"Hmm..." Lu Zhen took back his fist as he lightly punched the dome. However, the simple punch contained at least 50% of his raw strength.

Even his punch directly passed through the dome, which made him lose his footing a little.

However, luckily, he stabilised quickly.

"How meaningless." Suddenly, the white-haired girl smirked on the shoulders of Lu Zhen, as she had a smug face.

"Then do you know what this is?" His eyes lit up.

"I don't know."

Lu Zhen deeply looked at her as his eyes radiated killing intent, but he decided to forgive this girl as he could deal with her later.

First, he needed to know what this thing was.

Lu Zhen looked at the dome as he turned to golden hue.

[???]

[Grade: ???]

[Remark: ???]

Lu Zhen was a bit disappointed by this appraisal result. He realized he needed to improve his Appraisal skill further. Although his system had shut down, it didn't mean he couldn't use his skills anymore; everything was functional except for his status.

"I wonder how these were made," Lu Zhen thought as he examined his surroundings. However, he couldn't find anything that confirmed his suspicions. With an unsatisfied expression, Lu Zhen entered the dome.

Inside, he was greeted by a bright light to which he quickly adapted. He looked around and couldn't identify the source of the light, as all he saw was a plain white ceiling.

Lu Zhen gently set down the girl from his shoulder and began to explore the area. Then, he heard a hoarse voice.

"Young master, this is where I found the items." Lu Zhen turned to see Xiao Yun pointing at a plain white bowl.

"What's wrong, young master? Why aren't you responding? It's right here." Xiao Yun looked at Lu Zhen with anxious eyes, waving to get his attention. However, Lu Zhen remained motionless, lost in thought.

"Huh, what happened? Young Master?" Xiao Yu came near Lu Zhen as he casually almost touched him.

However, suddenly, Lu Zhen's face turned into a pure sneer as he punched Xiao Yu in the face.

With a "whoosh" sound, he directly punched the face of Xia Yu.

Boom!

Xia Yu's head directly exploded into a million pieces.

Blood splattered all over the place, staining Lu Zhen's classical black robe in the process.

However, Lu Zhen's eyes widened as he dodged to the right by side-stepping. With lightning-fast speed, a flash of light passed through as it directly went past him, slightly grazing Lu Zhen in the process.

"Hmm," he said, looking at Xiao Yu's corpse, which had melted to the ground already the ground made sizzling melting sound as the very ground melted.

Lu Zhen's eyes turned golden as he surveyed his surroundings. However, he couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary in this place that might have attacked him.

"Ssss!" Suddenly, countless needles with terrifying auras surrounded Lu Zhen, all converting towards him nearly simultaneously, in a terrifying speed.

"This…" Lu Zhen observed the onslaught with a bitter expression, carefully evading, countering with punches and kicks, or moving with acrobatic dexterity.

Yet, in a moment of distraction, Lu Zhen missed a small dart that hit him directly in the body. He promptly removed the dart and saw greenish-tinted blood gushing from the wound.

"Poison." Lu Zhen felt a growing dizziness in his head, rendering him lethargic.

His vision dimmed, but he continued to evade and counter the countless darts, each carrying an aura comparable to a Third-stage martial artist.