Chapter 157 Then Kill Them

After lighting the Phoenix Incense, Lu Yan flickered and concealed himself within the canopy of a nearby large tree, using the foliage to hide his figure as he stared fixedly at the incense without a blink.

The Phoenix Incense burned down bit by bit.

Lu Yan gradually felt a sense of mounting tension.

The Phoenix Incense was a single-use item; once burned, it was gone forever.

He hoped to reap some reward before it completely burned out.

Fortunately, the Phoenix Incense burned very slowly and durably, far surpassing ordinary mortal offerings.

A single stick of Phoenix Incense could burn for half a day, spanning over ten hours.

In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed.

"Oh, that is..."

Lu Yan's eyes lit up.

He saw a certain patch of blood-red soil stirring, and shortly after, a bug the size of a child's palm crawled out from beneath the ground.

This insect was covered in a layer of blood-red carapace, adorned with beautiful patterns that resembled the legendary phoenix.

Phoenix Blood Worm.

This was the Phoenix Blood Worm.

Historical records stated that the legendary Phoenix Blood Worm carried a trace of the phoenix's bloodline, thus possessing formidable medicinal and spiritual efficacy.

The phoenix was merely a legendary creature; no one knew whether it was real or truly existed, but the efficacy of the Phoenix Blood Worm was beyond doubt.

Lu Yan was overjoyed.

How long had he been in the mountain, yet he had already lured out a Phoenix Blood Worm? It could be said to be an extraordinarily smooth start.

Swish!

Executing the Cloud-Treading Steps, Lu Yan dashed forward like lightning, his hand clawing towards the Phoenix Blood Worm.

Startled, the Phoenix Blood Worm plunged headfirst into the blood-red soil.

However, Lu Yan's hand pierced into the soil as well and was immediately retracted. In his palm, a plump insect was wriggling and struggling continuously.

"Phoenix Blood Worm, secured."

Lu Yan wore a smile, retrieving a strip of cloth from his pouch to securely bind the Phoenix Blood Worm. He then placed it inside an iron box, tucked the box into his cloth pouch, and slung it over his back.

Just at that moment, Lu Yan felt a rush of air from behind him.

He spun around swiftly and saw a figure rushing towards him at breakneck speed.

"Someone from the Zhao family."

Lu Yan narrowed his eyes.

This person was none other than one of the fifteen members of the Zhao family who had entered Mount Kunwu.

It was Zhao Yong'an.

Zhao Yong'an's speed was terrifying. The muscles in his legs bulged, and with a single step, he covered over fifty meters. Following up with a leap, he descended from above, throwing a punch straight at Lu Yan.

Lu Yan did not dodge or evade, throwing a punch to meet him head-on.

Bang!

Their fists collided with a dull, heavy thud. Zhao Yong'an drifted backward more than ten meters, a look of shock and suspicion crossing his face.

"Friend, what is the meaning of this?"

Lu Yan asked with a cold face.

"Hand over the Phoenix Blood Worm and the Phoenix Incense to me, and you may leave freely. I will not obstruct you in the slightest."

Zhao Yong'an said.

Lu Yan laughed. "Are you out of your mind?"

Zhao Yong'an was not angered. Instead, he said, "My name is Zhao Yong'an. No doubt you have heard of it."

Lu Yan had indeed heard of it, and the name was like thunder ringing in his ears.

Ranked fifteenth on the Martial Marquis Roll, he was even one position higher than Gao Wanping.

"I've heard of it. Please leave, I won't see you out."

Lu Yan said indifferently.

Zhao Yong'an's expression turned cold. "It seems you are very confident in your own strength. Everyone says you possess the strength of the Martial Marquis Roll; today, I shall test just how much capability you truly have."

With a stomp of his foot, Zhao Yong'an charged at Lu Yan once more.

His arms and fists turned pitch-black, resembling dark iron, and smashed down fiercely toward Lu Yan.

The Zhao family's top-tier martial art, the Mountain-镇 Fist.

The force of his punches was as heavy as a mountain.

At the same time, the three strands of bone-force within his body erupted in unison. Under the amplification of such formidable bone-force, the might of the Mountain-镇 Fist became even more terrifying.

Yet, Lu Yan's expression remained calm. Activating the Vajra Indestructible Art, he swung his fist to meet the attack.

Bang, bang, bang...

The two exchanged dozens of blows in an instant, their vital energy spilling outward like two iron hammers repeatedly crashing against each other.

No matter how fiercely Zhao Yong'an unleashed his attacks, Lu Yan met them with calm composure.

Back when he was at the third level of the Martial Marquis realm, had he encountered Zhao Yong'an, Lu Yan would undoubtedly have been inferior in terms of sheer strength—much like his previous encounter with Gao Wanping, where he could only rely on movement techniques to grapple with the opponent.

However, after breaking through to the fourth level of the Martial Marquis realm, his bone-force had surged drastically, and in terms of raw power, he now completely suppressed his opponent.

Dozens of moves later, Zhao Yong'an was jolted with numb arms and forced to retreat repeatedly.

"Zhao Yong'an, if you withdraw now, I can pretend this never happened. If you continue to pester me, don't blame me for being unpolite."

Lu Yan said coldly.

To be honest, he held no grudge against the Zhao family.

Moreover, his impression of the Zhao family was not bad; they kept their word, honored their promises, and displayed the demeanor of a great aristocratic clan.

Although scoundrels like Zhao Hao and Zhao Yi emerged from among them, overall, the clan was upright.

Especially since Zhao Sirong had helped him a great deal.

Therefore, unless necessary, he did not wish to make an enemy of the Zhao family. Because of this, he had already held back in his previous strikes.

"Such arrogant words! I'd like to see how you plan to be unpolite. Divine Wyrm Body!"

Zhao Yong'an let out a low shout as his body expanded. At the same time, black scales crept over his arms and neck.

His hands and feet underwent drastic transformations as well, resembling the razor-sharp claws of a flood dragon.

"The Divine Wyrm Body again. It seems this martial art is indeed formidable and deeply favored by the disciples of the Zhao family."

A thought flashed through Lu Yan's mind.

Swish!

Kicking off the ground with both feet, sending dirt flying in all directions, Zhao Yong'an lunged at Lu Yan like a wild beast.

His sharp claws hooked through the air, aiming straight for Lu Yan's throat with murderous intent, seeking to take his life.

"Unrelenting and refusing the chance I gave you? Then I'll send you on your way."

Lu Yan's gaze turned cold as all nine strands of bone-force within his body erupted simultaneously. The Crimson Blood Saber cleared its scabbard, ready to eliminate Zhao Yong'an in a single blow.

Just at that moment, a figure suddenly leaped out from behind a large boulder to Lu Yan's flank.

Someone had been hiding in the shadows all along!

Furthermore, this person's movement technique was as fast as lightning. With a single leap, he crossed a distance of a hundred meters, a short axe gripped in his hand which he hurled outward.

The short axe spun furiously like a beam of white light, slashing toward Lu Yan's neck.

Fast—unimaginably fast.

Top-tier martial art, Returning Tower Flying Snow.

Lu Yan could no longer afford to attack Zhao Yong'an. He quickly swung his Crimson Blood Saber backward, intercepting the short axe.

With a resounding clang, the short axe deflected backward and was caught by a lean figure.

Without breaking his momentum, the figure tapped his toes, shifted his position, and hurled the short axe once more. It spun as it sliced toward Lu Yan, while the man himself kicked out toward Lu Yan.

His leg whipped through the air like a steel whip, creating a howling sonic boom.

Like Zhao Yong'an, this person had also mastered two top-tier martial arts.

One was Returning Tower Flying Snow, and the other was a leg technique, granting him astonishing speed.

Simultaneously, Zhao Yong'an's sharp claws lunged once again for Lu Yan's throat.

The coordination of two top-tier Martial Marquises was something very few among their peers could evade.

Naturally, that did not include Lu Yan.

Executing the Cloud-Treading Steps, his figure moved with the grace of a startled swan. With a few blinks, he dodged their joint attack, slipping right through the gap between their assaults and landing ten meters away.

"Zhao Kuo, you've come at the right time. Let's kill him together!"

Zhao Yong'an let out a low shout, leaped forward, and lunged at Lu Yan once more.

Zhao Kuo tapped his toes, landing as lightly as a feather as he charged toward Lu Yan. The short axe was thrown once again, infused with three strands of bone-force, carrying terrifying lethality.

Lu Yan stood holding his saber in one hand, completely still, watching the oncoming attacks. All nine strands of bone-force burst forth, channeling into his arm and surging along it straight into the Crimson Blood Saber.

As the short axe drew near, Lu Yan slashed a single stroke directly against the blade of the axe.

This single strike fully displayed all of Lu Yan's mastery over swordsmanship and saber arts. It was not a wild, random hack; the timing and positioning were exquisite to the extreme.

With a loud clang, the short axe did not stop; it continued to spin, but under the guidance of the Crimson Blood Saber, its trajectory reversed, hacking back toward Zhao Kuo instead.

Zhao Kuo was startled. Stopping abruptly, he employed the techniques of Returning Tower Flying Snow, snatching at the short axe with his right hand and grabbing the hilt with pinpoint accuracy. However, the immense momentum of the short axe dragged Zhao Kuo along, making him stumble clumsily.

"Die."

Lu Yan strode forward, grasping the saber with both hands, and brought it down in a cleaving arc toward Zhao Yong'an.

Zhao Yong'an lashed out with his claws, which were completely covered in black scales.

He intended to catch the Crimson Blood Saber with his right claw while grabbing Lu Yan's throat with his left.

However, the moment his claws collided with the Crimson Blood Saber, Zhao Yong'an's expression changed drastically. He felt an irresistible force transmitting from the blade.

This force imbued the Crimson Blood Saber, rendering it utterly indestructible.

Splat!

The claws that Zhao Yong'an believed to be comparable to divine weapons were split in half by the Crimson Blood Saber.

The saber did not stop, continuing downward to hack into Zhao Yong'an's neck.

The scales protecting his neck failed to block Lu Yan's blade edge as well.

A flash of blade-light swept past, and Zhao Yong'an's head flew far into the air, blood gushing from his severed neck like a fountain.

"Lacking in talent yet trying to master two top-tier martial arts, neither of which you've refined to a profound level—did you really think everyone has my talent?"

Lu Yan muttered to himself inwardly.

Zhao Yong'an had dual-practiced two top-tier martial arts, but his depth in either was not particularly high.

Take the Divine Wyrm Body for instance. Zhao Yong'an possessed three strands of bone-force; logically, when activated, his defense should have surpassed Zhao Yi's. Yet it didn't—his defense was roughly on par with Zhao Yi's, which naturally couldn't withstand Lu Yan's full-powered strike.

In truth, this was the helpless plight of most martial cultivators.

With limited talent and finite energy, mastering even a single top-tier martial art to a profound level was difficult enough, let alone two.

However, focusing on only one could sometimes make one's methods too singular.

Take Zhao Yong'an, for example: had he solely cultivated the Divine Wyrm Body, his defense and strength would have been sufficient, but his offensive repertoire would have been lacking, often preventing him from fully unleashing his physical prowess.

Practicing an auxiliary fist technique allowed one to channel that strength perfectly.

Conversely, if one focused purely on speed-based martial arts, speed was achieved, but offensive power would fall short.

You cannot have your cake and eat it too; fish and bear paws are difficult to obtain simultaneously.

Of course, none of this concerned Lu Yan.

Not far away, Zhao Kuo turned pale with shock.

He knew Zhao Yong'an's strength intimately.

He and Zhao Yong'an were on equal footing, both having cultivated three strands of bone-force, and his own ranking on the Martial Marquis Roll was even two spots higher than Zhao Yong'an's.

Yet he knew he could not kill Zhao Yong'an; let alone kill him, even injuring Zhao Yong'an would be difficult.

At best, he could rely on movement techniques to gain a slight advantage.

Since Lu Yan could kill Zhao Yong'an with a single slash, he could kill him just as easily.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Kuo turned and fled, pushing his speed to its absolute limit.

Yet, fast as he was, Lu Yan was faster.

Moving like a phantom, he gave chase to Zhao Kuo, rapidly closing the distance between them.

Panic gripped Zhao Kuo's heart, and he shouted loudly, "Lu Ren, must you push this to the bitter end and completely rupture relations with the Zhao family? Spare me, and I swear I will never breathe a word about you killing Zhao Yong'an!"

Lu Yan remained unmoved, striding forward to close the gap as the Crimson Blood Saber transformed into a streak of brilliance and slashed downward.

His temperament had always been thus: since enmity had already been forged, he would act decisively and eliminate the threat.

Only the dead could keep a secret.

He only trusted dead men.