How could he possibly know that Lu Chen possessed the supernatural power to calm and control the tides?
What’s more, the [Ultimate Clear Water] completely countered his Water Transformation Art.
If it came down to a battle of endurance, Lu Chen might not necessarily lose to him.
In the blink of an eye, those dozen or so water-formed evil spirits had been completely eliminated.
All that was left were puddles of water on the ground, gathering into small, shallow pools.
“Right now!”
Lu Chen’s thoughts raced like lightning, and the [River Dragon King]’s meridian-controlling power suddenly kicked in.
Although this wasn’t a great river or mighty stream, so he couldn’t fully use his water escape techniques,
this power still greatly increased Lu Chen’s speed in the water!
Almost instantaneously, Lu Chen’s speed surged to an astonishing level. His body flickered and vanished from where he stood.
Spirit Water Superior barely had time to react before Lu Chen was already right in front of him, as swift as a ghost!
“Shorty, time to die!!!”
Lu Chen shouted as he threw a full-powered punch, his fist wind fierce and sharp!
“BAM!!”
A dull thud!
But the imagined scene of Spirit Water Superior being sent flying didn’t happen!
Lu Chen’s fist stopped about three inches from the other man’s face, firmly gripped by a withered, bony hand.
The shockwave from the punch was incredibly heavy, startling Lu Chen.
Spirit Water Superior slowly pried open Lu Chen’s fist, revealing a fierce, triumphant grin: “Kid, you really underestimated a third-grade spiritualist!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying aura pressed down on Lu Chen!
“BOOM!!!”
Spirit Water Superior’s other fist shot out with the force of thunder and lightning, smashing directly into Lu Chen’s chest!
Lu Chen felt as if he’d been hit by a flying mountain. His body flew backward uncontrollably, like a fired cannonball.
“CRASH! CRASH!”
Two loud crashes followed. He snapped two bowl-thick trees before his momentum was finally stopped by a massive tree that would take two people to wrap their arms around.
For a moment, wood chips flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.
“Hahaha!” Spirit Water Superior let out a proud, wild howl. “Just a measly second-grade spiritualist, daring to act so arrogant in my presence! Let’s see if you survive this!”
He looked smugly toward the cloud of dust.
But the next moment, his laughter stopped abruptly, and his face showed disbelief again.
Out of the dust, a figure slowly stood up, moving with a calmness that chilled and frustrated him.
Oh my god! He’s not dead after all?!!!
“Heh heh, thank goodness for this defensive skill, combined with my own spiritual energy protecting my body. Otherwise, I really might have been caught off guard today.”
Lu Chen brushed the dust off his clothes. Though his chest throbbed with pain, his injuries were visibly healing quickly.
“Alright, warm-up’s over. These skills really aren’t bad; they didn’t disappoint me.”
Lu Chen cracked his neck, very satisfied with how the Four Dragon Lords’ respective talents performed in actual combat.
Then, his face twisted into a grin even fiercer than Spirit Water Superior’s. “As for your third-grade strength… it’s pretty solid, I’ll give you that. So fighting above my level really isn’t that easy, huh.”
Lu Chen looked at the hesitant Spirit Water Superior hovering in the air, his tone teasing. “Thanks for helping me test my moves, shorty!”
“What did you say? Test moves?!”
Spirit Water Superior was both shocked and furious, a sense of absurdity washing over him.
He’d thrown that last punch with almost everything he had. Not to mention a second-grade spiritualist—even a third-grade one of the same level would’ve been half-dead after taking that hit.
How could this kid be perfectly fine?
And more importantly, he said “test moves”?
Could it be… he’d been holding back all along?
No way!
Absolutely no way!
But in the next second, something happened that made Spirit Water’s scalp tingle with sheer terror.
Lu Chen flipped his hand, and the Netherworld King’s Command on the back of his hand suddenly appeared, glowing with a blood-red light.
“BOOM!!!”
A monstrous black aura rose like a tornado into the sky. Lu Chen’s hair instantly grew down to his waist, whipping wildly in the fierce, howling wind.
Spirit Water Superior was horrified. His face turned deathly pale, and he nearly fell from the air. Pointing at Lu Chen, he stammered, “Y-you… are you human or ghost?!”
Looking closer, blood light oozed from Lu Chen’s scarlet eyes. With his ghostly pale face, he looked exactly like a vengeful demon crawling out of the deepest hell!
Lu Chen curled his lips into a terrifying, appalling smile. “Want to know? Then save that question and ask the Netherworld King down below!”
“Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face!”
Lu Chen’s shout was like thunder, shaking the surroundings.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Four thick columns of black aura shot up from beside Lu Chen like evil dragons!
As the black aura churned, four figures radiating terrifying, gloomy energy slowly stepped forward.
The four great Netherworld messengers had been summoned!
In addition to the previously seen Black and White Impermanence—Fang Rusong, cold as ice, and Xie Qingyi, with a hint of playfulness—
the newly appeared Ox-Head had skin like forged red copper, covered in dark, mysterious beast patterns, and mane hair standing straight up like steel needles on his forehead.
Horse-Face had a pale, long face with no color, and strange, dark mourning patterns carved on his cheekbones.
“Subordinates greet the Netherworld’s Martial Virtue General!!!”
The moment the four messengers appeared, they all knelt on one knee before Lu Chen, clasping their fists and bowing. Their voices rolled like thunder, and their yin energy surged.
“Netherworld’s Martial Virtue General?!” Spirit Water Superior was utterly horrified, unable to believe his ears. “You’ve actually enshrined the Netherworld King and taken on a divine Netherworld role!”
Lu Chen snorted coldly. “At least you know something, but… no reward! Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face!”
“Here, General!” The four messengers’ voices rang out like the clang of metal.
Lu Chen pointed at Spirit Water Superior in the air. “Capture him! Bring him back alive!”
“Yes, sir!!”
Before the words faded, the surrounding environment suddenly transformed, as if it had become a grim, ghostly domain. The piercing screams of countless evil spirits surged from all directions!
The four messengers vanished like smoke. The next moment, they had taken positions in all four directions and, carrying an overwhelming aura of yin evil, pounced on Spirit Water Superior together!
White Impermanence Xie Qingyi swung her pale, mournful staff. With one swing, ten thousand ghosts wept together, and the yin wind howled.
Black Impermanence Fang Rusong whipped out her dark, soul-reaping chain. The links cut through the air, shaking the void itself.
Ox-Head raised his massive axe, shrouded in an impenetrable black mist. Before the blade even reached him, the sharp screams of vengeful ghosts pierced the soul.
Horse-Face wielded his soul-whip, topped with a skull. Wherever the whip passed, ghostly blue flames scorched the very spirit!
Witnessing this scene, Spirit Water Superior nearly lost his three souls and seven spirits on the spot. His courage shattered completely!
“GHOSTS!!!!!!!”
He let out a piercing, distorted scream, desperately channeling all his spiritual energy to turn and flee.
“BOOM!!”
Ox-Head’s axe came down first, splitting a deep gash in the ground.
Then, White Impermanence’s mournful staff swung down. The yin wind was so fierce it almost blew Spirit Water Superior away.
But as the yin wind brushed his body, he felt his soul waver, as if it might be blown right out of his body.
Then, his feet tightened sharply, as if something had grabbed them tightly.
Turning his head, Spirit Water Superior nearly wet himself in terror.
One of his feet was caught in Black Impermanence’s soul chain, and the other was tightly wrapped in Horse-Face’s soul whip.
Instantly, Spirit Water Superior felt a tearing pain in his soul, as if it were being dragged out of his body by force. The world spun before his eyes.
The shadow of death had never been clearer or thicker. He didn’t even have time to feel complete fear.
Just then, his vision darkened again. Looking up, he saw Lu Chen, wrapped in a sky full of black aura, leaping above him like a demon god!
BOOM!!!
Lu Chen landed, his feet gouging two deep pits. One hand clamped down on Spirit Water Superior’s throat like iron pincers, slamming him hard into the ground!
The ground exploded into a large crater. Spirit Water Superior coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning purple.
Before he could catch his breath, Lu Chen dragged him by the neck like a dead dog, plowing him violently across the ground!
The hard, rocky soil was carved into a deep trench several meters long!
Finally, Lu Chen lifted the barely breathing, tattered Spirit Water Superior into the air.
“Shorty, how does it feel to be at someone else’s mercy?”
Lu Chen stared into the other man’s fear-scattered pupils, his voice ice-cold.
With his last bit of strength, Spirit Water Superior squeezed out a weak plea from his throat: “Gen… General… please… spare me…”
“General, you must not spare him!” Black Impermanence Fang Rusong warned. She waved her hand, and a blood-red light rose from Spirit Water Superior.
Within that blood-red light, countless twisted, pained, and hideous faces wailed and screamed. Looking closely, there seemed to be dozens, even hundreds!
All of them were innocent souls tortured to death by Spirit Water Superior!
Seeing this sky-high resentment and the struggling spirits within the blood light, Lu Chen’s gaze turned icy cold. His killing intent spread like a solid substance.
“CRACKLE!!”
A bolt of black lightning tore through the void without warning, hitting Spirit Water Superior squarely on the head.
The next moment, Spirit Water Superior and his clothes vanished without a trace.
That was the domineering, unmatched [Netherworld Divine Lightning], specifically designed to send souls to the underworld.
The perfect essential skill for travel, murder, and silencing witnesses!
Whoosh~
With Spirit Water Superior dealt with, a flood of mixed emotions washed over Lu Chen.
Then a soft “click” sound came from the ground, something falling.
It caught his attention again.
Lu Chen looked down and saw, on the lightning-scorched ground, a strangely textured, ancient-looking scroll lying peacefully.
He bent down and picked it up. The scroll felt neither like leather nor paper—rough and hard, impossible to identify.
“Did I just… loot some gear?” Lu Chen thought.
He knew how powerful the Netherworld Divine Lightning was. Whether living or ordinary dead things, like the teacup earlier or Spirit Water Superior’s clothes, would be instantly sent to the underworld.
But this ancient scroll survived perfectly intact, proving it was no ordinary item.
“What’s written on this?”
Lu Chen examined the cover of the leather scroll. There were several crooked, hieroglyph-like patterns he couldn’t recognize at all.
“Do you know?” Lu Chen showed the scroll to the four messengers.
They looked closely, exchanged glances, and all shook their heads.
“General, we don’t recognize it.”
“Never mind. I’ll keep it for now.”
Lu Chen put the scroll away.
“RUMBLE!!!”
Just then, the sound of fierce collisions and explosions came from deep within the woods.
“There’s still one more!”
Lu Chen’s eyes sharpened. Without any further delay, his body turned into a black streak of light, speeding toward the source of the battle sounds.
The four messengers followed immediately.
…
Deep in the forest shadows, the battle was at its peak.
The red-spotted woman had used some kind of evil, secret art. Her muscles bulged wildly, and a sickly green, evil aura coiled around her body, tearing her clothes apart! Two vicious fangs extended from the corners of her mouth, transforming her into a monster.
Opposite her, Sun Yourong clearly hadn’t expected this woman to possess such a demonic transformation skill.
After over a hundred intense exchanges, she had sustained serious internal injuries. A trickle of bright red blood dripped from her lips.
“Hee hee hee, you bitch, didn’t think you had it in you,” the red-spotted woman cackled like a night owl. “I’ve never met anyone who could stand against me since I learned this Raksha Art. You’re the first!”
She licked her fangs, her eyes gleaming with cruel, excited light. “But dying by my secret art is an honor! And since you’ve got a decent face, don’t worry—I’ll carefully peel off your skin and keep it!”
With that, she raised her spiked mace, ready to pounce again.
But just as she was about to charge, a hand landed silently on her shoulder.
The red-spotted woman jolted in shock, horrified to find she couldn’t move!
She even noticed that Sun Yourong across from her had widened her eyes in sudden terror and disbelief.
“WHOO!!!”
In that moment, a chill shot from her feet to the top of her head. The red-spotted woman stiffly, slowly turned her head.
What she saw were five figures, all taller than her, radiating overwhelming, gloomy energy, forcing her to look up.
Each of these five figures had blood-red eyes gleaming like those from an abyss of blood!
Black and White Impermanence?!
Ox-Head and Horse-Face?!
And the most terrifying one of all was…
“CLANG!”
The red-spotted woman’s courage shattered instantly.
The spiked mace slipped from her hand and fell to the ground…
