Level Up in Martial World

Lu Zhen stared at the lifeless butler's corpse with a sneer.

However, he didn't move from his position. He reached for the chain at his waist and swung it with precision.

As the chain touched the man's lifeless body, a splash of ink spread from it, causing the body to merge into the shadows.

"I knew it. A servant of a mage can't be so easy," Lu Zhen mused to himself. He clenched his fist and struck to the left.

This time, his punch hit a balloon that had appeared out of nowhere. The balloon burst, releasing a red liquid that splattered onto Lu Zhen.

He was taken aback, his instincts flaring with danger as he observed the red liquid. Quickly, he dodged, but not before a few droplets stained his clothes.

The butler who was carefully blending in the surroundings using the place as his hiding spot, harboured sinister thoughts, "Kukuku, you bastard, thank you for killing my master. Now that you're infected with this virus, you're as good as dead unless you beg me for my antidote. I'll make you my slave then..."

"That bastard has abused me ever since he was in that state where he could only roam around this place. Now that he has died and my restriction on my mage heart is gone, I can freely work again," he sneered as he momentarily let his guard down..

Lu Zhen's face turned expression as his eyes suddenly narrowed as he rotated his chain and threw it into thin air.

The chain directly towards the place the butler was stunning the man as it completely trapped him..

"Now, it's useless as you have got…"

"Go on," Lu Zhen said with an amused look, intrigued.

"Either way, you are infected, and no one knows the cure for this virus except me. If you kill me..." Suddenly the butler felt sweat rise as he hurriedly chanted a spell with what little mana he had left.

Bang!

Lu Zhen crushed the butler's body into smithereens, obliterating him completely.

"Like master, like servant, they talk too much... huh."

However, he didn't let his guard down as he carefully sensed his surroundings using his five senses.

"Is he dead?" Lu Zhen closed his eyes as he stood there waiting patiently; however, nothing came at him.

"He should be dead now." Lu Zhen's eyes turned golden as he looked at the crushed corpse of the butler.

Lu Zhen's eyes widened when he saw the status.

"My appraisal skill has improved a lot," he nodded with a satisfied expression.

"This seems to be the system mages use. For my qi, it was levels, and for these circle hearts?" Although Lu Zhen could vaguely guess what those were, it was still his guess, not the actual theory.

Unless he has the full details for the mages, but he wouldn't be interested in such a thing as the mages are too old. They used mana, which had entirely different properties than qi, and it wouldn't work for Lu Zhen either way.

"Huh."

Lu Zhen's vision blurred as he lost all his strength and collapsed to the ground.

"What's happening..." Lu Zhen's mind raced as fast as he could, looking left and right where all the blood was littered from the butler's body.

Lu Zhen's vision blurred, and his strength waned as he tumbled to the ground, bewildered by the sudden onset of this strange state.

"What's happening..." Lu Zhen's mind raced, pushing through the fog as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He looked around, searching for any clues in his surroundings.

"This is no time for sleep," he muttered to himself, the frustration evident in his bloodshot eyes. With a burst of desperation, he jabbed his foot with a finger, the sharp pain snapping his mind to attention.

He strained to remain awake, the weight on his eyelids feeling insurmountable, as if two million tons pressed down on them, urging him to surrender to sleep. Lu Zhen's willpower fought against the inexorable pull of slumber, resisting the urge to close his eyes.

A deep, guttural roar emanated from within him as he struggled to unleash his Vulgrith form, but exhaustion enveloped him, draining him of the necessary energy.

"Enough of this," he growled through gritted teeth, digging his fingers into his legs with all his might, tearing into his own flesh to keep himself awake.

The agony he inflicted upon himself granted him a momentary reprieve from the encroaching slumber, but as he battled to maintain consciousness, the loud rumbling of his stomach reminded him of an even more pressing concern.

Lu Zhen chewed on the delicious, chewy meat, savoring every bite as his lethargy seemed to evaporate with each mouthful. The food infused him with a newfound vitality, and his senses sharpened.

"Interesting," he thought, a glint of excitement in his eyes. As he continued eating, his strength gradually returned to him, and he felt more invigorated with every bite.

Lu Zhen consumed more and more of the meat, but as he finished the last piece, a sudden wave of fatigue washed over him once more.

"What's happening here?" Lu Zhen questioned himself, his brows furrowing as he chewed on a handful of jerky, trying to maintain his energy.

He reached into his pouch to grab more jerky, but his fingers only met empty air. His eyes widened in disbelief as he realized that the meat he had consumed had somehow vanished from his pouch.

Now, hunger gnawed at him, and his strength rapidly waned, replaced by a debilitating exhaustion.

"Didn't I already devour that third-stage martial beast and replenish my qi reserves?" he muttered in frustration, his expression bitter as he scoured his pouch, finding nothing but herbs inside.

"It should be helpful to me," Lu Zhen thought as he emptied his pouch of herbs.

With swift determination, he devoured all the herbs in a matter of seconds. The herbs rapidly traveled down his throat, and they were digested in the blink of an eye. As they were consumed, a strange but violent energy surged within his body, resisting digestion and churning chaotically as it coursed through him.

Lu Zhen's belly swelled and he felt a sense of fullness.

Cough!

However, the sensation was immediately followed by coughing as he brought up a small amount of blood. The chaotic energy, which felt oddly familiar, now appeared untamed and wild, displaying violent characteristics. Instead of helping Lu Zhen, it wreaked havoc on his body, causing internal injuries.

The injuries were painful, and Lu Zhen vomited blood again. Although his body was slowly healing, the chaotic energy continued to rampage, impeding the rate of his recovery.

Suddenly, a prompt appeared in the corner of his eyes.

[You have fulfilled the condition]

[Gluttony has leveled up from level 8 to level 9]

All the chaotic energy in his body vanished, seemingly melting within him. The internal injuries caused by the chaotic energy were instantly healed within seconds.

However, it didn't stop there; his body felt even more strengthened. Energy surged through him, and Lu Zhen's senses became even more enhanced. His height slightly increased by an inch or so.

A pure bliss welled up from the depths of his heart, as if he had broken free from shackles that had long restricted his body.

Lu Zhen felt like he was in a state of bliss.

[Your body has broken through the shackles]

[Your constitution has levelled up from Divine Physique level 3 to level 4]

However, Lu Zhen was too unfocused to care about it. He simply lay on the cold floor with his eyes closed, wearing a blissful expression, as if he had reached a state of profound clarity.

Time passed as he remained on the gruesome floor, where the blood of the butler and the red-haired man had fully stained the ground.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Lu Zhen slowly opened his eyes. However, a frown creased his face.

"Hmm…" He could feel that returning lethargic feeling that seemed to break his sense of pleasure.

"Even with my adapt skill, I couldn't adapt to this pleasure and this lethargy... I need to level up more. But before that..." Lu Zhen looked at his clothes, where the reddish liquid had soaked in.

His eyes turned golden as he carefully examined the red liquid stain on him.

Lu Zhen looked at this with a bitter expression.

"I knew it." He sighed with remorse.

Lu Zhen stood up from the ground and searched for the body of the butler.

"A book, huh…" The only thing he found was a book from the crushed remains of the butler.

As Lu Zhen's fingers brushed against the book, an unexpected searing heat emanated from its surface. His finger made a burning noise as some smoke came from his hand.

However, Lu Zhen sneered that this much heat was nothing for him, although he was a little surprised, but he could regenerate faster than this, so he had no problem.

He ignored the searing heat and curiously inspected the book. Its cover, crafted from supple animal skin, felt extraordinarily smooth, with a slippery texture that allowed his hand to glide effortlessly across it.

The centre of the cover was adorned with a large, eye-catching word engraved in bold letters: "NOTE." The word seemed to beckon him, its significance unclear yet brimming with an air of mystery.