"Where's your own phone?" Zhong Qing glanced at him, clearly experienced and suspecting he was trying to hack into her account again. How childish!
"I forgot to bring my phone!" Zhong Cheng pointed into the depths of the rain. "I should have recorded his battle process earlier. We need to review it and analyze his various techniques."
His expression turned serious. "Such a person is too rare; his combat style is worth studying. Plus, sister, you need to pay attention. If you don't recruit someone like him into your exploration team, Big Wu might snatch him away, and you'll surely regret it. We are about to witness a master in his early twenties appearing! Just the thought of it is terrifying—this type of person is exactly what's needed for that mysterious place, isn't it?"
"Shut up! Don't call her Big Wu! From now on, you either call her by her name or just Old Wu!" Zhong Qing glared at her brother.
She was still upset about Big Wu's various "black talks"—like how a place that was already not wealthy became even poorer… just thinking about it made her furious!
Then, she shot a warning look at her brother, signaling him to behave and not to snoop through her things, before handing him her phone.
---
In the depths of the rain, Wang Xuan was breathing heavily, a faint mist of blood around his mouth and nose. He was gravely injured this time, nearly killed during those "twenty-four seconds of death." He had faced death several times but managed to pull through.
Letting the heavy rain wash over him, he tried to cool his burning body. His organs ached slightly, but it wasn't too serious; with some rest, he should recover.
This was already the best outcome. After continuously using Old Zhang's techniques that night, the fact that his body hadn't fallen apart was nothing short of a miracle. Had it been anyone else, their body would likely have collapsed long ago.
Wang Xuan pondered that this was likely due to the success of his Golden Body Technique, which significantly enhanced his physique. His flesh and blood brimmed with vitality, allowing him to withstand the various "ordeals" of dancing between life and death that night.
He suspected that the techniques recorded on the five pages of the Golden Book required one to enter the extraordinary realm to even touch.
"It seems that at this stage, if I want to practice the mysterious engravings from the five pages of the Golden Book in advance, I can only start with the Golden Body Technique and continue to enhance it to improve my physique."
This didn't conflict with his original intention; he had always wanted to continue practicing the Golden Body Technique. If he hadn't had this protective secret technique, he would likely have been shot with a cold gun by now.
Avoiding everyone's gaze, he found a secluded spot to focus on restoring himself with the root technique. The night was not over, and he didn't know if there were still strong enemies around.
"It really hurts." He looked down at his fingers. All five fingernails on his right hand were gone, torn off during the battle by the force of a master-level attack, exposing the bones at the tips.
His left hand was similar, with three nails missing, and the tips were a bloody mess. The other two were about to fall off as well.
Fortunately, his Golden Body Technique was remarkable. After reaching the sixth level, the vitality within his flesh and blood surged, and the fresh, vigorous energy enveloped him, causing his wounds to heal rapidly and the bleeding to stop.
"Even though I was severely injured, I don't feel I've lost." That night, he had killed several quasi-masters.
The ones who donned the super-material armor were comparable to true masters. Being able to survive and kill in such a deadly situation was seen by many as a miracle.
He realized that this glorious achievement would likely cause quite a stir; he couldn't avoid people making associations. He needed to wrap things up.
Once he felt restored enough, Wang Xuan entered the rain again, moving like a ghost without a sound, and encountered no further enemies; it seemed he had killed most of them.
He passed by several battle sites, discreetly retrieving the bullets he had forced out and searching for his own fingernails, not wanting to leave evidence for others to analyze in the lab.
"What happened to Lighting the Lamp Chen? Why hasn't he dealt with his enemies after so long? I hope he hasn't been hunted." Wang Xuan felt a bit anxious.
"This really doesn't allow me, as his guardian, to relax." He sighed and entered a warehouse, hoisting an energy cannon and stealthily moving toward the reed marsh behind the estate.
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Zhong Qing, with her fresh face and pure beauty, stared into the depths of the rain. "He just appeared again. Did you capture it on film? His movements are incredibly elusive; he covers ten meters in a single step, indicating his extraordinary physique."
Soon, she sensed something was off. Turning her head to look at her brother, she found that Zhong Cheng hadn't filmed the retreating figure in the rain at all.
Approaching silently, her delicate face suddenly turned frosty. This time, her brother hadn't hacked into her bank account; he was sifting through her photo album.
"Bang! Bang! Bang…" The sweet Zhong, who always appeared pure and lively in others' eyes, began to violently hit her brother, not uttering a word but striking relentlessly.
---
In the rainy night, near the reed marsh, thick fog rolled under the flashes of lightning, creating a misty scene resembling a celestial abode, with clouds rolling and no rain falling nearby.
In the air, a fiery figure burst forth, unleashing astonishing extraordinary energy that evaporated all the rainwater, drying up the entire reed marsh.
A golden-haired elder, disheveled, fell from the sky. He was severely injured, bloodied, with a terrible sword wound on his chest.
His pores were spewing flames, and the energy was terrifying and astonishing. His once-powerful super-material armor was shattered, starting to melt away onto the ground.
He gasped for breath, saying, "People like you and me might not be able to approach the divine in the future. Don't call me arrogant; who doesn't have dreams? If beings like gods exist, why can't modern people achieve that? We have both taken the initial steps, but unfortunately, we've become rivals. Be careful; once I die here, you probably won't be able to hide your true strength for long. You might attract special attention, losing your freedom of movement from then on."
After saying this, he charged forward, his silver sword now just a half, seemingly a transcendent divine sword that had broken. Covered in flames, he shone like the sun, burning the rain and producing a rumbling sound as he closed in.
"Farewell!" Old Chen said coldly, his black sword unleashing sword light that sliced through the dark night like lightning.
Swish!
A blinding beam cut across, extinguishing the flames enveloping the golden-haired elder, plunging the entire realm into darkness as his vitality rapidly faded.
The arc of lightning flashed across the sky, and amidst the falling rain, the head of the golden-haired elder flew off, splattering blood everywhere, and with a thud, the headless corpse collapsed to the ground.
A small spaceship descended, and Qingmu rushed over, asking, "Master, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Old Chen waved his hand dismissively.
Not long after, Wang Xuan also appeared, carrying the energy cannon. Upon seeing the charred grass where the golden-haired elder's body lay, he was astonished. The top figure of the New Technique realm had died—this was definitely a major event!
"Old Chen, you did well! I thought you'd need my help," Wang Xuan said.
"Please call me Chen Fate Soil!" Old Chen leaned on his sword, breathing heavily. He was exhausted; the opponent he faced tonight exceeded his expectations and had nearly lured him to his death.
Wang Xuan was speechless. Just a moment ago, he was still Lighting the Lamp Chen, and now he had rapidly leveled up? Chen Fate Soil was becoming quite impressive!
"What should we do with this?" Wang Xuan asked, looking at the corpse on the ground. This incident had immense repercussions and would undoubtedly alert many parties, requiring careful handling.
"This man is truly not simple. I initially wanted to bury him in the reed marsh, giving him enough respect, to rest alongside my beloved fish," Old Chen pointed toward the pond, now completely dry. It was evident how devastating the golden-haired elder's final struggle had been; all the fish had been turned to ash.
Chen Fate Soil continued, "But Qingmu suggested we take him to the wrecked spaceship to 'age' him, so he 'dies properly'—it'll make things easier to manage later."
Qingmu was contacting the most reliable people to repair the lawn overnight and redirect the nearby river to refill the reed pit, restoring it to its original state.
Soon, Qingmu approached, and seeing Wang Xuan unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief. Tonight had been perilous; both his master and Wang Xuan had encountered formidable enemies.
"I'll go 'age' him now," Qingmu said, taking the body into the small spaceship and disappearing into the night sky.
Without a doubt, after being 'aged,' the cause of death for the golden-haired elder would be linked to the spaceship accident.
Wang Xuan was stunned and speechless. The top figure of the New Technique realm had been killed just like that—he wondered what kind of storm this would stir up.
"Let's head back," Chen Fate Soil waved his hand and picked up the broken divine sword from the ground. He would keep this item because it was exceptionally unusual!
"I'll reforge it later; it remains a terrifying weapon," he said as he examined it again.
Wang Xuan noticed that Chen Fate Soil was injured. One of his arms was drenched in blood, with a severe sword wound, and he had injuries on his forehead and a cut on one side of his scalp.
"Is that all? You still call yourself Chen Fate Soil? Old Chen, you're not doing so well if you almost got killed!" Wang Xuan looked at his wounds, astonished. The enemy was extremely powerful!
"I encountered a crafty old fox!" Chen Fate Soil touched his wounds. The battle tonight wasn't just about carelessness; that person was indeed strong and exceptionally formidable.
"Are you scolding yourself?" Wang Xuan shouldered the energy cannon and walked back with him.
Old Chen's face darkened. He often "fished," but tonight he almost got "fished" by a fellow practitioner, which was a bit embarrassing for him. Finally, he sighed and said, "This person is indeed quite formidable!"
Not long after, in Old Chen's room, Qingmu, Wang Xuan, and Chen Fate Soil gathered to summarize their gains and losses and propose contingency plans for the various troubles that might arise.
"We can't hide this for long, so Master Wang, you need to prepare yourself mentally. Once I 'wake up,' I'll probably have to report in advance for any appearances—better to keep it under wraps for as long as we can."
"What will happen tomorrow? It's hard to say. After all, the top figure of the New Technique realm has died. Even if we cover it up, who would believe he died from a lightning strike?"
"Wang Xuan fought valiantly in the rain, witnessed by all, even killing strong figures from the New Technique realm. Those who wore super-material armor were comparable to masters!"
"Most importantly, you, Master Wang, somehow survived the bullets in plain sight and are still alive and kicking, ready to kill!"