Lu Yuan took two steps forward, suddenly feeling as if he had stepped on something sticky and viscous.
Looking down, he realized that the entire factory floor was smeared with thick, fresh blood. There even seemed to be man-made channels carved into it, forming a massive, bizarre pattern.
The colossal shadow he had seen earlier was located right at the center of this pattern.
"Azaroth gotha’num..."
At this moment, a strange sound emanated from the center of the black fog. It sounded like some sort of spell, yet also like a loud interrogation.
Lu Yuan hadn’t studied the ancient language used exclusively by the Crow God Sect, so he didn’t understand the meaning of these bizarre words.
But his eyes flashed, and he opened his mouth to loudly repeat the phrase he had just heard.
"Azaroth gotha’num..."
The speaker within the black fog was clearly startled.
Taking advantage of this momentary pause, Lu Yuan grinned, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his face.
Two shallow pits exploded in the ground beneath his feet.
In an instant, Lu Yuan’s figure had torn through the heavy barrier of black fog, pouncing into the center where the Death Qi coalesced.
"Sure-kill! Spirit Crane Skill: Penglai Vastness!"
His pitch-black eyes, like an encroaching dark sky, seemed to engulf everything. Lu Yuan lifted his right leg.
His pillar-like calves tore vacuum-like trails through the Black Fog, accompanied by a terrifying sound of rending air, yet also possessed a subtle, elusive rhythm.
He fiercely kicked the mass of Black Qi enveloped in Death Qi.
Lu Yuan’s kick felt like it landed on a soft, thick sandbag. The kick was immensely powerful and satisfying to deliver. However, the target merely wavered slightly, its Death Qi scattering a little, but it didn’t retreat even half a step.
Physical attacks are still at a disadvantage against the Extraordinary.
A Crow God Servant with Death Qi versus one without, one with abundant Death Qi versus one with little... They’re like opponents from two entirely different tiers...
Lu Yuan’s face remained expressionless as he took a deep breath.
The airflow drew the surrounding black fog, causing it to converge around him.
His already gigantic figure inflated by another thirty percent.
The large assault suit, which had fit him perfectly before, now strained tightly against his frame, faintly outlining his exaggerated muscle contours.
The Strong Divine Servant, who had just been kicked by Lu Yuan, barked another phrase.
Immediately, the Death Qi around him began to boil, surging towards him. Simultaneously, from the mass of Death Qi surrounding him, four or five tentacles, each as thick as a bowl, shot out.
They shot aggressively towards Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan paid them no heed.
He naturally entered the Lv3 state of Absolute Focus.
His Lv3 Special Burst was also pushed to its limits at this moment.
His heart pounded like a war drum, blood coursing through his veins like a surging tide...
Vast amounts of Death Qi accumulated on his legs.
His Lv2 Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength wildly stimulated his calf muscles.
A wave of inspiration washed over him. Lu Yuan raised his foot.
It was still the True Skill Sure-kill: Penglai Vastness.
However, this time, he seemed to feel the Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength within him resonating with the Death Qi outside, faintly forming a more powerful, invisible Strangle Power.
In his mind, the Spirit Crane soaring through vast clouds and mist, seeking the ethereal Penglai, suddenly shuddered its wings.
The ethereal backdrop shattered silently, revealing beneath it a water-logged moon, the flowing Netherworld River, and fields of Other Shore Flowers.
In a daze, the white Spirit Crane seemed to transform...
...into a pitch-black crow with blood-red eyes.
Lu Yuan’s sweeping kick instantly severed the four or five thick Death Qi tentacles in front of him as if they were hemp ropes.
Without suspense or flourish, he kicked heavily into the massive ball of Death Qi before him.
The "turtle shell" that had been tightly sealed was torn open by his powerful kick like a piece of tattered cloth.
It quickly revealed the core entity, wrapped in a black, raincoat-like substance.
Variable Segment Force Exertion! Multi-stage Force Exertion!
The terrifying force of over eight tons contained in Lu Yuan’s kick was solidly injected into the opponent’s body.
The latter was sent flying like a cannonball, instantly crossing dozens of meters before crashing heavily into the concrete wall at the far end of the factory with a BANG.
Lu Yuan exhaled a turbid breath, then casually swiped away the obstructing black Death Qi fog in front of him.
Without the Strong Divine Servant’s control, the Death Qi quickly descended, flowing around his feet like water.
He walked slowly, step by step, towards his target, the Strong Divine Servant.
Behind the crow mask, his night-dark eyes showed no trace of emotion.
The leg power, exceeding eight tons, had erupted in multiple stages within the Strong Divine Servant, directly blasting apart his entire chest and abdomen.
The Strong Divine Servant’s body was like a forcibly broken orange, segments scattered and juices flowing... leaning quietly against the wall. A prey on the verge of death wasn’t worth much focused attention.
Lu Yuan walked leisurely, savoring the wondrous tremor he’d felt when he delivered that kick.
On his Death Teller (Extraordinary) panel, the high-hanging, Star of Death Omen-like skill point waiting to be unlocked seemed to shine a bit brighter.
Is this due to the combination of Vigor and Death Qi? Lu Yuan wasn’t sure, but he felt as if he had faintly found a direction for further progress.
At this moment, a hoarse, deep voice came from ahead. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ n0velfire.net
Lu Yuan snapped his head up, his gaze meeting a pair of eyes filled with shock and bone-deep, venomous hatred.
A flicker of inexplicable unease arose in Lu Yuan’s heart.
He stomped hard on the ground, his speed instantly rocketing to its peak.
Leaving a trail of afterimages in the air, he reached out his large hand, grabbing for the Strong Divine Servant’s head.
By the time he clamped down on the other’s head, the strange words from its mouth had already ceased.
Beneath the crow mask, bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at Lu Yuan. The Strong Divine Servant tremblingly raised his right hand and viciously crushed a Red Bead, the size of a glass marble, held between his fingers.
A viscous, blood-like liquid rapidly flowed down his fingers.
An inexplicable fluctuation was promptly released.
Lu Yuan exerted his strength, crushing the Strong Divine Servant’s head like a watermelon.
Then, he reached out to grab the sticky red liquid between the other’s fingers.
To his surprise, the liquid was easily absorbed by him.
Following that, all the Death Qi filling the huge factory began to stir, flocking towards Lu Yuan.
Meanwhile, the Strong Divine Servant’s body, slumped against the wall, began to rapidly weather away like thoroughly burnt paper, crumbling piece by piece into ash...
Caught off guard, Lu Yuan was enveloped by a massive amount of Death Qi.
「Outside the abandoned factory.」
The crows perched on the wire fence and rooftops seemed suddenly agitated by something. They all took flight with a great RUSTLE of wings, circling in the night sky.
An indescribably oppressive atmosphere seemed to be brewing in the air.
A large swath of black clouds rolled in, completely obscuring the moonlight. Dark red glints of light seemed to flash incessantly within the black clouds.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, enveloped in countless Death Qi, looked in shock at his Death Teller (Extraordinary) panel.
His Profession Experience Points and Circulation of Death Qi experience points were increasing rapidly.
His original Death Teller (Extraordinary) Profession level was only Lv3 (143/400), and his Circulation of Death Qi was Lv3 (201/400).
However, in a short period, the former quickly broke through to Lv4. The latter surged even more dramatically, from Lv3, to Lv4, all the way to Lv5 (345/1600) before finally stopping.
While Lu Yuan was stunned, he suddenly noticed something.
He abruptly raised his head and, through the factory window, saw the oppressive, dark sky outside and the restless flock of crows.
A dark red bolt of lightning suddenly struck, instantly bathing the world in a crimson glow.
From the void, Lu Yuan seemed to sense an evil, hostile consciousness faintly locking onto him.
But this sensation vanished in an instant, and the strange phenomena outside the factory also dissipated.
White lightning flashed, and torrential rain poured down.
Everything... seemed to return to normal.
Lu Yuan slowly walked towards the factory entrance.
Raindrops the size of beans hammered down on the steel awning above, creating a dense PITTER-PATTER sound.
The agitated flock of crows scattered in disarray.
Lu Yuan stared intently at the sky, muttering under his breath, "Is this... a curse? Or a declaration of war?!"
Soon, Lu Yuan’s expression completely calmed.
In the torrential rain, large swathes of Death Qi emerged in the air, gathering around him. It flowed around him, like diffuse, burning black flames, or like slowly unfurling crow’s wings.
"Then come... let’s see how we fare in reality."