Chapter Fifty-Three: The Terror of Old Man Ling

“Cao Dong, it’s you again!” Lu Han could not understand how Zhang Yuanqin and his companions, who had clearly departed from Tianlan City before him, were still able to track his movements.

“Haha, none of you are escaping today. Elder Zhang, I beg you, once we’re finished, let me have this little brat. I’ll hack off his limbs and turn him into a cripple! And you, Hong Banmei—consider it your good fortune that I fancy you. Soon, you’ll belong to me,” Cao Dong said, his eyes lewdly devouring Hong Banmei, burning with possessive desire.

“Shut up! Who gave you permission to speak?” Zhang Ren snapped impatiently.

Cao Dong shuddered in fright and quickly hid behind Zhang Yuanqin, but not before shooting a venomous glare at Lu Han.

With a surge of profound energy, Zhang Yuanqin effortlessly drew Lu Han’s bundle into his grasp from a distance. Upon reaching the realm of the Profound Lord, innate energy is transformed into profound energy, making it possible to retrieve objects from afar—just like this.

Zhang Yuanqin rifled through the bundle, finding only a set of clothes and a white gold coin card. With a snort, he tossed the bundle to the ground and extended his right hand toward Lu Han. “Boy, teach me the martial technique you used yesterday. If you do, I might consider letting you all go.” As he spoke, the aura of a Profound Lord surged from him, and Lu Han’s face drained of color—it was as if a great mountain pressed on his back.

Just as Lu Han was about to collapse, the pressure suddenly lifted.

“Boy, this is a Profound Lord you’re facing. You can’t possibly withstand him. Let me take control of your body,” a voice murmured within.

A hint of confusion flickered across Zhang Yuanqin’s face. The Lu Han before him seemed subtly changed, though he could not pinpoint how.

“The martial technique scroll is gone. I can recite it for you, but you must let the other three go first,” came Lu Han’s reply, his voice now hoarse and gravelly.

“You three may leave,” Zhang Yuanqin said without hesitation, gesturing toward Chen Jun and the others.

“Elder Zhang, this—” Cao Dong protested anxiously.

“Silence! One more word and I’ll kill you myself!”

“You’d best go quickly,” ‘Lu Han’ urged them.

Chen Jun and his companions hesitated; to leave now seemed disloyal, even if their opponent was a Profound Lord. But then Chen Jun caught a faint sound in his ear, and his face lit up with relief. Hiding his reaction, he said, “Brother Lu Han, then… we’ll go on ahead.” Niu Gao was still wavering, but Chen Jun dragged him away, and the three of them sped off in the direction of Maple Leaf City.

Watching them depart, Zhang Yuanqin turned back to Lu Han. “I’ve granted your request. Now, recite the martial technique.”

“Are you certain you want me to recite it?” Lu Han’s youthful face now gave voice to an ancient, weathered tone.

“Who are you?” Zhang Yuanqin asked suspiciously, glancing around, but sensing no one.

“Oh, the feeling of being in a body again—it’s wonderful, though it won’t last long,” the presence within Lu Han sighed. At that moment, Lu Han’s body was enveloped in a radiant azure light, energy seeming ready to burst forth from within.

‘Lu Han’ stretched out his arms, as if savoring the sensation.

“Who are you, really?” Zhang Yuanqin’s expression changed. He was now certain that the person before him was not Lu Han at all—the aura had risen to the third level of the Profound Lord realm, a stage above his own second level.

“Me? You’re not worthy to know,” came the chilling reply.

“Senior, I mean no offense. Please, allow us to leave,” Zhang Yuanqin said, bowing respectfully.

Zhang Ren and Cao Dong stood dumbfounded.

What was happening? Why had Zhang Yuanqin suddenly yielded?

“Leave?” ‘Lu Han’ did not answer. Instead, he rolled his shoulders and said, “This body is too weak. The third level of Profound Lord is its limit—any higher, and it would break apart.”

“Run!” Zhang Yuanqin cried in alarm.

This must be some ancient monster, he thought, grabbing Zhang Ren and fleeing at full speed, not sparing a thought for Cao Dong.

“If you could escape from me, I’d lose all face before my precious disciple,” the blue light flared, as ‘Lu Han’ formed seals with his hands in a blur of motion, too swift to follow.

Energy from throughout the small mountain forest converged upon his hands, draining the surrounding air of power.

Sensing the terrifying energy amassing behind him, Zhang Yuanqin’s face turned ashen, and he ran even faster.

To drain the energy from the very heavens and earth—this was at least an earth-grade martial technique! Such techniques were exceedingly rare in the entire Great Xia Empire.

“What kind of enemy have I provoked?” Zhang Yuanqin’s scalp prickled with cold sweat.

“Do you think you can escape?” ‘Lu Han’ extended his right hand, fingers curling, and thrust forward at the fleeing pair.

“Earth-grade basic martial technique: Freezing Burial of the Sealed Path.”

The azure light in his hand flared, instantly forming a massive orb of energy, which shot toward Zhang Yuanqin and his son like a bolt of blue lightning.

Zhang Yuanqin looked back, his profound energy surging as he tried to run even faster, but the orb moved faster still. With a whoosh, it enveloped them, but instead of a thunderous explosion, there was only silence.

They hovered in midair, trapped within the blue orb, their brows and robes dusted with frost.

“Told you, you couldn’t get away,” ‘Lu Han’ said, drifting before the energy sphere, peering inside at the captives.

“A Profound Lord, stooping to steal a martial technique from a junior of the acquired realm?” He slowly extended his right hand, fingers poised.

Inside the orb, Zhang Yuanqin and his son felt an unbearable cold. They tried to scream, but no sound emerged, and they could only pound helplessly against the barrier.

“Shatter.”

‘Lu Han’ clenched his fist.

The spherical barrier cracked like glass, shattering to the ground with a crystalline clatter.

With a thud, the two men fell limply to the earth.

“Boy, the rest is up to you. That move drained too much of my soul’s strength,” ‘Lu Han’ said softly.

So this was the power of Old Man Ling—he could annihilate a Profound Lord with a single blow!

A sharp breath escaped Lu Han as he regained control of his body; pain wracked his frame, as if all his bones had been scattered.

“Your body is too weak. After all, you’re only in the acquired realm. The third level of Profound Lord is already your limit. Any further and your body would have been destroyed,” Old Man Ling’s weary voice echoed in Lu Han’s mind.

“Master…” Lu Han began.

But Ling interrupted, guessing his intentions, “Don’t worry. I won’t die just yet.”

Enduring the agony, Lu Han staggered over to Zhang Yuanqin and his son. Seeing their bodies, he couldn’t help but gasp.

They were lifeless, faces drained of blood. A quick examination confirmed it—their bodies were utterly ruined, every bone crushed to powder.

“So this is the terror of an earth-grade martial technique—a killing in a breath?” Even though Old Man Ling had been in control, Lu Han could still sense what was happening outside.

“Zhang Yuanqin was already terrified, his spirit broken. He thought only of fleeing, so he didn’t even try to resist. Otherwise, he might not have died so quickly—after all, he was a second-level Profound Lord,” Ling remarked, his soul even fainter now.

Had Zhang Yuanqin fought with all his might, things might have been different. But he’d never even had the will to fight.

Old Man Ling sighed—dealing with a mere Profound Lord, and he’d nearly exhausted his soul.

Lu Han was about to leave when a sudden thought brightened his face. Profound Lords always had storage rings…

Delighted, he picked up the storage ring. Now that Zhang Yuanqin was dead, it was unbound and ownerless.

Cao Dong, meanwhile, had yet to recover from the shock of the battle. He’d witnessed everything—Lu Han had slain Zhang Yuanqin in an instant!

As Lu Han approached, Cao Dong fell to his knees, banging his head against the ground until his forehead bled.

“Lu Han, Master Lu, I was blind and ignorant—just let me go like a fart, please?”

Run? The thought never crossed his mind. Even Zhang Yuanqin, a Profound Lord, had been killed in a heartbeat—how could he possibly escape?

Seeing Lu Han’s silence, a cold sweat broke out on Cao Dong’s brow. He’d opposed Lu Han many times before, and even brought Zhang Yuanqin to kill him…

“Go,” Lu Han said.

“What! Yes, yes, I’ll get out of here right now!” Cao Dong thought he’d misheard, but scrambled to his feet and turned to flee.

Suddenly, with a soft thud, he looked down to see the tip of a longsword protruding from his chest.

Disbelief filled Cao Dong’s eyes as he struggled to ask, “Why? You said you’d let me go!”

“Men like you deserve nothing better than death.”

Lu Han withdrew the Biluo Sword, and Cao Dong collapsed, his life extinguished.

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