‘This is not good, I can’t kill him. I would rather report this to the clan.’

Yu Long was aware of how important his discovery of Lu Zheng was, knowing he would be rewarded handsomely by the Clan Head if he reported this.

Hence, despite feeling infuriated after knowing his fellow internal members were killed, he wisely decided what was best for him.

After all, just like what Lu Zheng had said, they were not his friends but just a group of people who knew each other while having their own personal interests.

They were chosen by the elders to guard the place so it could be considered their meetings, and the present interaction was coincidental.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Despite the Scorching Blade Clan being known for their pride and ego, some knew how to take a step back, for greed also loved to overtake them.

Who would not want pills, high-quality weapons or equipment, women, and money?

Everyone.

Hence, Yu Long could abandon his ego now and take revenge later on.

Furthermore, it would be worth it if he could be rewarded by the clan.

Hence, without hesitation, Yu Long began his counterattack, attempting to confuse Lu Zheng with the idea he would finally battle with him, only to shake him off before running away.

He did not know how fast Lu Zheng was, but he was a bit confident of escaping from him.

Hence, without hesitation, he changed his stance to the fifth stance – Pyroclasm Stance – which utilizes unpredictable, explosive movements to disorient and overwhelm the opponent.

With that, he could shake Lu Zheng off.

Lu Zheng, who had been fighting in a light-hearted way, knowing his opponent was preoccupied with his line of thoughts, was surprised to see him starting his counterattack.

Furthermore, he recognized the stance, so he quickly changed his stance to counter his opponent's stance.

Now that his opponents were beginning to get serious, he could finally fight to his heart's content.

The fight he wanted to have, knowing he had become stronger than before.

In this way, he could stabilize his foundation and have a deeper understanding of his current strength.

After all, he acknowledged the disadvantages of receiving the system.

If he only continued to receive powerful buffs while not knowing his current strength completely, he would be like a fool who received superpowers from the heavens.

Now, imagine a fool who could not use the superpowers because he could not grasp them completely.

He would be the same as them.

Hence, he believed the current situation he was in would bring out his comprehension of the superpowers he received.

Of course, it does not mean he was not fighting for his life.

Lu Zheng changed his stance to the fifth stance, Calm Sea Stance, as it focused on stillness and precision.

If he was attempting to imitate the calm and serene surface of the ocean, then his concentration would elevate, perfectly counter-attacking the fifth stance of the Scorching Blade Clan.

Since their fifth stance focused on attacking, Lu Zheng performed the second technique, Silent Depths, a defensive technique that involves minimal movement, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Lu Zheng was not attempting to totally parry Yu Long's attacks, for it was completely overwhelming him due to the sheer power behind it.

However, he could parry it in a way that would allow him to distribute the weight by sliding his sharp edge into Yu Long’s sword.

It would not have been possible if Lu Zheng’s sword had not been a treasure, having more durability and sharpness than Yu Long.

Yu Long sword was an Enhanced Grade Weapons, a grade before the first grade – Basic Grade Weapons.

At most, his sword was made of steel, while Lu Zheng’s sword was obviously made with rare and tough materials, making it even more suitable to receive Qi and effectively perform techniques enhanced by Qi.

That was the advantage of having a Legendary Grade Sword.

Furthermore, with the Legendary Grade Sword, Lu Zheng could infuse the sword with Qi, making it sharper and stronger.

However, it would not be worth it as the amount it consumed was enormous.

With his single yellow Qi, he could, at most, cover the weapon with Qi in a full second.

It was not totally worth it.

Lu Zheng already knew he had the victory anyway. He was only prolonging the fight so he could have a satisfying battle.

As they continued to clash against each other, Yu Long finally went to a decisive attack, executing the first technique, Explosive Thrust, which intended to penetrate through defenses.

Lu Zheng’s expression changed slightly, as he placed more strength on his hand, aiming to smoothly block Yu Long’s explosive thrust.

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Clang!

He was successful, but he slightly lost his balance in a second.

Yu Long took the chance to execute the second technique, Bursting Slash, which was a quick, unpredictable movement pattern.

At the same time, as his attack was about to land on Lu Zheng’s sword, he glanced at the protruding stone, a milliliter away from Lu Zheng’s backfoot, and grinned.

Lu Zheng caught it, confused for a bit, before successfully defending against the attack barely, causing him to take a step backward.

‘Huh?’

He totally lost his balance when he discovered he had stumbled a jagged stone behind him, and he fell backward.

Now that he was completely open, Yu Long, who had been planning to escape from him, suddenly thought of killing Lu Zheng.

After all, he now had a chance, so why waste it?

If he could bring Lu Zheng, despite being a corpse with his treasures, to the Clan Head, he would be rewarded magnanimously.

If he reported Lu Zheng when he escaped, who knows if he would really be rewarded, not until they found Lu Zheng.

However, what if Lu Zheng managed to leave the city?

He would be punished instead for not killing Lu Zheng, bringing the treasures to them instead of information turning to be useless if Lu Zheng suddenly disappeared.

Now that he had a clear understanding of the decision to make, his eyes gleamed in excitement as he attacked Lu Zheng with the Explosive Thrust, the first technique of the fifth stance.

However, at the same time, Lu Zheng’s eyes flashed with coldness, performing the third technique, Serenity Strike, as he fell to the ground.

Although the effectiveness of his attack was reduced to fifty percent, as he was executing the technique with a broken stance, it was still agile and swift, heading toward Yu Long’s eyes.

Serenity Strike is a deceptively gentle strike that targets pressure points, causing paralysis or severe pain.

One of the pressure points of the human was eyes, and with him striking both of You Long's eyes, it would cause him severe pain, effectively paralyzing him.

With his stance now completely broken, as his other hand was free, losing the grip, he struck with his right hand even faster than Yu Long’s thrust.

Yu Long had been focusing on thrusting his sword into Lu Zheng’s heart, seeing Lu Zheng’s sword in his peripheral vision, but quickly neglected it.

After all, from what he imagined, Lu Zheng was already a dead man.

However, he was wrong.

Slash!

“Arghhh!!!”

He screamed at the top of his lungs, losing his vision and feeling the extreme agony emanating from his eyes.

He quickly straightened his back, discerning he was about to fall, as he dropped his sword while reaching for his eyes, not daring to intensify it if he accidentally touched it.

He continuously shrieked in pain while hearing a thud in front of him.

As if he was snapped awake by the noise, he quickly turned around and began to run away from Lu Zheng.

He knew if he continued to stay, death awaited him.

He ran with his tail between his legs, but now that he had lost his vision, he inevitably stumbled upon a protruding stone, causing him to fall and roll on the floor.

The excruciating pain from his eyes was still vivid, endlessly attacking him, and his fall only worsened it.

He decided to remain lying on the floor for a while to focus on easing the pain, completely disregarding the presence of Lu Zheng.

He could smell the rusty smell of his blood, even discerning the blood slithering on his face from his eyes.

He was completely terrified.

Meanwhile, Lu Zheng, the culprit, finally stood up and casually patted the grime and dust from his shabby clothes with an indifferent expression.

He swung the sword downward, removing the blood from the sword as his eyes moved forward, reflecting the image of Yu Long rolling on the floor due to the immense pain assaulting him.

His expression did not change, remaining emotionless and cold as he began to saunter towards Yu Long.

When he arrived near him, he crouched, watching him rolling and shrieking in pain, causing him to smile.

“Which of us is a true rat now? Seeing you shrieking like that?”

Yu Long’s body movement halted for a second before continuing to roll to the floor after he was distracted by the agony in his eyes.

Lu Zheng watched in amusement before growing bored.

Suddenly, he was struck by curiosity and asked Yu Long with a mischievous smile, “If you still have Qi Gathering Pills with you, I will end your suffering.”

However, what he only received was the constant howl of pain.

He frowned.

In the end, he grabbed the leather pouch on Yu Long’s waist and opened it.

He saw no Qi Gathering Pills, and worst, there were only two silver coins.

His expression turned ugly.

He shot Yu Long a deadly stare before kicking him more than the times he kicked the other internal members.

Yu Long could only increase his howl.

Lu Zheng asked, “Why are you poor? Why don’t you have Qi Gathering Pills? And what’s with the remaining money? Don’t you tell me you actually engage in illegal gambling or like to spend more time in a brothel? Keeping it a secret to your fellow internal members?”

Lu Zheng expressed his resentment through grumbling and kicking.

However, he did not expect to receive a reply from Yu Long.

“B-Brother…”

It appeared it was not a distress call but a reply to his complaint.

Lu Zheng was surprised, evident by his widened eyes, before a playful smile appeared on his face.

“Oh, you have a brother? And it seems you take care of him that seriously, too. Don’t you want to know something?”

Lu Zheng moved his mouth forward just enough for Yu Long to hear his whisper to avoid getting bumped by Yu Long’s excessive movements.

“I will also kill your brother. I’m pretty sure he is an internal member, too. After all, you can give him your Qi Gathering Pills.”

Lu Zheng smiled.

At the same time, Yu Long’s movement halted for a second, and suddenly attempted to open his eyes out of the blue.

It startled Lu Zheng as he hurriedly backed away.

However, Yu Long did not let the chance slip by as he pounced forward, grabbing Lu Zheng’s shoulder and attempting to bite him.

Yu Long could not see Lu Zhen, but he heard him.

It was enough for him to fall into a rage and try to kill him.

But that turned out to be useless when Lu Zheng beheaded him in a single motion.

Blood spurted out from the headless neck.

The head rolled on the floor, and a wrath expression was depicted on its face.

The body soon fell onto the floor, and Lu Zheng was now covered with blood.

He was completely soaked with blood: half of his face and his shabby clothes.

His shabby clothes had been filled with blood after killing many people earlier, but now that he carelessly beheaded someone so near in front of him, he inevitably received a shower of viscous blood.

His eyes were half-closed, trying to prevent the blood from entering his pupils.

At the same time, he remained still for a while, recalling he was actually horrified by Yu Long’s sudden attack.

While he was lost in thought, he heard the system announcing inside his head.

Even then, it did not startle him.

[Congratulations! You have successfully killed an Apprentice Rank Cultivator!

You have obtained 1 agility point!]