Chapter 107: All Points Added! The Great Battle Begins!

Lu Zhangsheng walked forward all the way.

Before long, he stepped into the central hall.

Four figures hurried to their feet to greet him, their faces full of smiles.

"For holding Wuqiong Town this time, Brother Ye has done a great deed; we will report to the DemonSubduingOffice and request credit for you, Brother Ye. May I ask where you are stationed…"

Zhao Changyun laughed brightly, making people feel like bathed in spring breeze.

Regarding some top experts, the four dared not be even slightly negligent.

In their eyes, being able to retreat unscathed from Mo Xueyou's hand already places one among the top strongmen.

"I am merely a idle fish, a wild crane."

Lu Zhangsheng smiled and waved his hand.

He knew the other side was trying to coax out his identity.

Yet Lu Zhangsheng had no intention of revealing anything; staying hidden in the shadows could save many troubles.

Otherwise those cult strongmen would surely hunt him madly, endless trouble.

After all, he had slain a great number of cult experts.

Zhao Changyun and the others' eyes flickered at the words.

They all guessed that Ye Chen might be a government martial artist; since the other side refused to disclose, they could not force it.

"May I ask what business you all have with me today?"

Lu Zhangsheng gave a faint smile and sat down.

Zhao Changyun and the others also took their seats again.

Then Zhao Changyun, with a solemn expression, said, "A large number of cult strongmen have gathered nearby; this town has become an arena for both sides. We hope Brother Ye can lend us a hand…"

As he spoke, he clasped his hands together, his tone very courteous.

Strictly speaking, they could not order the other side, only appeal to them emotionally.

After all, a top expert's influence is enormous.

"I accept this, but if circumstances change, I will withdraw immediately."

Lu Zhangsheng's expression was as calm as water.

At his own speed, even if Mo Xueyou himself acted, he could retreat swiftly.

He actually wanted to see what scheme the other side had.

This person clearly harbored a huge secret, a heart‑pounding power that lingered around his mind for a long time.

"Brother Ye, your noble righteousness, we, representing the ten thousand common folk of Wuqiong Town, thank you, Brother Ye."

Zhao Changyun and the others quickly rose, clasped their hands, their faces full of respect.

Being able to guard the lone city alone, even if the other leaves now, they could not say anything.

The town's many civilians survived because the other kept the city, otherwise they would have been slaughtered long ago.

Afterwards, after a brief exchange, Lu Zhangsheng stood, bid farewell, and walked toward the hall's exit.

…………

The next few days.

The situation around Wuqiong Town grew increasingly tense, and many cult strongmen rushed over, gathering in a large jungle east of the city.

Among them were some Heishan Dao Blood‑Transfusion Realm strongmen.

Mo Xueyou also became the leader of the entire cult camp.

A presence that made countless government martial artists tremble in fear.

East of the city, within a large jungle.

A massive crowd stood on the flat ground, and a blood‑clad man stood in the center, his face full of murderous aura.

It was Mo Xueyou himself.

"Lord Mo, when shall we launch the attack?"

A man in black faced him with full respect.

This man was a Blood‑Transfusion elite of Heishan Dao.

"Let's launch the attack in seven days; our goal is not to capture the town, but to slay many government Blood‑Transfusion elites as the primary mission."

Mo Xueyou's eyes bore a chilling killing intent.

Now both sides' troops are still gathering; when the time comes, this place will become a massive meat grinder.

As long as they can defeat the enemy in one battle and slay many Blood‑Transfusion elites, it will greatly benefit the eventual decisive battle.

As for the government's Detached‑Born elites, they have been covertly restrained by the Wenxiang Sect and Heishan Dao strongmen; this battle is also their chance.

With his strength, plus that thing inside his body, he could alter the whole battlefield's direction.

…………

Night, silent as water.

Lu Zhangsheng lay quietly on the bed, and a crisp Prompt Sound rang in his mind.

"Source Energy Points +1."

"Source Energy Points +1."

"Source Energy Points +10."

…

As the Pangolin mined crazily, his resources surged rapidly.

Now the great battle is imminent; every point increase is especially critical.

Especially under the pressure of top strongman Mo Xueyou, he must quickly boost his strength.

Nobody knows what the other side is actually hiding.

However, according to this excavation pace, it probably won't be long before all skills can be upgraded.

According to his guess, after breaking through Blood Exchange, the resources required to upgrade skills will be far less than those required to upgrade cultivation techniques.

This can be seen from the time of breaking through Blood Exchange.

Time flowed slowly.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

Over these past few days, the cultists outside the city have become increasingly arrogant, frequently active around the town.

However, strangely, the other side seems to be waiting for something and has not launched a full-scale attack.

At the same time, many powerful officials have rushed to support, among whom several have achieved Blood Exchange Perfection.

The entire area around Wuqiong Town seems like a giant powder keg, with a major battle imminent.

That night, the sky was dotted with countless stars.

Lu Zhangsheng stood in the center of the courtyard, legs apart.

In the moonlight's reflection, he seemed like a twisted ghostly shadow.

He opened the panel.

Source Energy Points: 1900.

After days of nonstop mining spirit jade, he finally met the requirements to upgrade his skills.

However, the plus sign after the Golden Body Technique remained gray.

This also matched his own speculation.

He no longer hesitated, preparing to immediately begin upgrading his skills.

"Add points, add points to everything."

Lu Zhangsheng's thought moved, and he pointed at several skills at once.

Extremely extravagant.

"Boom boom boom..."

As the Source Energy Points decreased by 1500.

A mysterious surge quickly descended into the depths of his mind, as if a powerful expert were training day and night.

Lu Zhangsheng's qi and blood surged wildly within his body, emitting rumbling sounds.

Vast qi and blood spontaneously gathered on his body's surface, forming a pure white gangqi shield, radiance flowing over his form, extremely miraculous.

【After years of arduous practice, Absolute Spirit Slash, Traceless Snowstep, True Gangqi Body Protection, you have finally reached the Minor Accomplishment realm.】

With a series of crisp prompt sounds echoing in his mind, this upgrade was completed perfectly.

Lu Zhangsheng slowly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam piercing the void.

He gripped the Pig Slaughter Knife tightly and immediately began testing it.

He slashed forward with a single fierce strike.

The piercing cold light seemed capable of cutting through everything, its momentum fierce and unmatched.

Thereafter, he frequently brandished the knife, streaks of snow-white blade light like snowflakes dancing in the void, gorgeous yet perilous.

"Whoosh whoosh..."

Endless blade lights intertwined, forming a massive net that left one astonished.

After this upgrade, the power of his sword technique increased significantly.

If before the breakthrough his strength after activating the secret technique was far inferior to Mo Blood Yin, relying only on footwork to contend, now he is extremely close to that opponent.

This person is a renowned expert of decades, his sword technique already cultivated to an extremely profound level, not to mention he still hides some kind of killing trick.

With his increased strength, he also feels more confident about the upcoming battle.

Next, Lu Zhangsheng began to test his footwork.

"Whoosh..."

With a stomp of his foot, the whole courtyard was filled with afterimages intertwining with the moonlight, like ghostly shadows in the darkness.

Such speed is not even possessed by ordinary fetal-stage experts.

This is also Lu Zhangsheng's greatest confidence: if he cannot win, he runs; survival is everything.

Shortly after.

Lu Zhangsheng stopped, the afterimages returning to his body like birds returning to their nests.

He suddenly activated True Gangqi Body Protection, vast qi and blood gushing out, forming a pure white gangqi shield enveloping his whole body.

Radiance flowed over the shield, extremely miraculous.

He drew a long blade and swiftly slashed at the gangqi shield.

"Bang bang bang..."

Violent roaring sounds echoed throughout the courtyard.

The gangqi shield continued to rotate slightly, not a single ripple appearing.

After verification, Lu Zhangsheng nodded with satisfaction.

After this breakthrough in the Body Protection technique, his defensive power increased significantly; even several Blood Exchange Perfection martial artists surrounding him would find it hard to break his defense.

Afterwards, Lu Zhangsheng put away the long blade and walked toward the bedroom.

The night passed without a word.

The next day, early in the morning, Lu Zhangsheng was summoned to the central hall of the town.

When he arrived.

Seven figures with awe-inspiring auras were already seated in chairs, their faces solemn.

Besides the four who arrived earlier, three middle‑aged men later came to reinforce them, all of whom are blood‑exchange perfected strongmen.

Two of them are members of the Xuanjia Army, and one is a warrior of the DemonSubduingOffice.

Upon seeing Lu Zhangsheng arrive, Zhao Changyun and several others quickly rose to welcome him, smiling.

"Brother Ye has arrived."

Everyone greeted him with smiles, their tone friendly.

No matter where a strongman goes, he is always given respect.

Among those present, no one claimed they could reliably defeat Ye Chen.

Naturally, the few did not dare to be overconfident.

Lu Zhangsheng smiled, exchanged greetings with a few, and then took a seat.

At that moment, Zhao Changyun spoke slowly: "I have gathered everyone today to discuss a matter."

"Last night Mo Xueyou sent a messenger with a war notice; how shall we act?"

After speaking, he took a blood‑red notice from his bosom and placed it on the table.

He then slowly spread it out.

A line of blood‑red characters appeared on the notice.

"Tomorrow, we will meet the blood‑exchange strongmen at the eastern hunting grounds of the city for an arena battle. Dare you keep the appointment?"

It was signed by Mo Xueyou.

Seeing this, everyone present hardened their expressions.

"What does the opponent mean? If they want to fight, they may; we will wait by the city walls for them to attack."

Zhang Yonghong wore a look of disdain.

Regarding these cultists, there is no need to heed their challenge.

Those around also nodded repeatedly.

Going to an arena battle with them is completely unnecessary.

It would be better to simply defend the city, though for blood‑exchange strongmen the city poses little trouble.

Zhao Changyun then said softly: "They also sent us a letter. They have relocated a large number of civilians; if we win a single battle, they will release five hundred people, otherwise on the day they assault the city they will perform a blood sacrifice at the city gate…"

"Asking for death."

Zhang Yonghong's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

"If they want a fight, then we fight."

His tone was icy, his heart full of anger.

If they were to shy away, the opponent would secretly embellish the story, spread it, and it would be detrimental to our reputations.

"Indeed, regardless of their motives, we might not lose either."

Beside them, Guo Zi, a middle‑aged man, spoke in a low tone.

Then the group began to discuss.

At that moment, Zhao Changyun suddenly turned his gaze toward Lu Zhangsheng:

"Brother Ye, what do you think?"

Lu Zhangsheng gave a faint smile: "Then let's fight."

This battle cannot be avoided; since the opponent wants to try new tricks, we will oblige.

"Very well, tomorrow we will launch an immediate battle with them."

Zhao Changyun pounded the table and shouted loudly.

The matter was thus settled.

The group exchanged a few more words, then each rose and left.

…

The next day, at dawn.

When Lu Zhangsheng's party arrived at the city rampart, they saw a huge arena set up outside the city.

A multitude of cult strongmen surrounded the perimeter, and behind them were escorted many civilians with desperate faces.

The leading cult strongman was none other than Mo Xueyou.

He wore a blood‑colored robe, his eyes flashing like lightning, and the killing aura around him seemed solid.

Beside him stood seven men in black, each exuding an aura as deep as an abyssal sea.

Clearly, all seven were blood‑exchange perfected strongmen.

Against the government side, this formed a one‑on‑one standoff.

"He is outrageously arrogant, even placing the arena directly at the city gate."

Zhang Yonghong's face was full of murderous intent.

Zhao Changyun and his companions also wore angry expressions.

The opponent completely disregarded the government officials.

The many city guards on the rampart stared ahead with frightened faces.

Killing aura after killing aura intertwined, soaring straight into the clouds.

It made everyone's chest feel as if pressed by a massive stone, a sensation of suffocation.

Even Yue Shulan, Tong Yuhua, and the others wore solemn expressions.

Such a great battle would be difficult for them to join.

The clash of numerous blood‑exchange perfected strongmen was truly terrifying.

"Let's go, we will all leave the city together to meet them in battle."

Zhao Changyun leapt, jumped out of the city, and then rushed forward at speed.

Swoosh…

Lu Zhangsheng and several others followed closely, leaping down.

A crowd surged toward the arena ahead.

Soon, they stopped a short distance before Mo Xueyou, staring intently at Mo Xueyou and his companions.

A strong smell of gunpowder wafted through the surroundings.

"I thought you were as timid as mice and wouldn't come to fight."

Mo Xueyou snorted, his face full of contempt.

To try to kill as many of these blood‑changing strongmen as possible, he improvised this game.

If they launched a full‑scale assault, the officials' strongmen would scatter and flee, making it hard to chase and slay them one by one.

"How do you propose we duel?"

Zhao Changyun's expression was cold.

"Simple. Each of us fields eight people; we draw lots, step onto the stage, and fight to the death. No one else may interfere."

A cruel smile tugged at Mo Xueyou's mouth.

"The victor may keep the formation until they voluntarily step down; for each win, I will release five hundred civilians. How does that sound?"

He finished speaking and clapped his hands.

At that moment, two men in black lifted a huge red sealed box and brought it forward.

They placed it on a vacant spot.

"For fairness, the numbers inside are hidden; everyone relies on luck,"

He said in a very flat tone.

A crowd of civilians nearby, hearing of the chance of release, lit up with excitement.

They all looked at Lu Zhangsheng and his group with yearning eyes.

Yue Shulan and her companions on the city wall also witnessed the scene and felt rather worried.

No one knew what Mo Xueyou was really planning.

"Fine, then let the battle begin."

Zhao Changyun shouted with full vigor and slammed the board.

"Indeed, that's refreshing."

Mo Xueyou laughed, clapped his hands, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.

After speaking, he struck the iron sealed box with a single palm.

"Boom—boom—boom…"

With each booming sound, a metal sphere fell out.

Mo Xueyou immediately picked it up and held it.

He then waited quietly.

Seeing this, Zhao Changyun mimicked the move and slapped out a palm.

The fierce palm wind struck the sealed box, producing a resonant clang.

Soon, another metal sphere dropped from below.

He picked it up and retreated to his spot.

Immediately thereafter, numerous cult strongmen and official strongmen around the area took turns collecting the metal spheres.

Before long, Lu Zhangsheng also obtained his number.

He opened it and looked.

"3."

Inside was a blood‑red numeral.

"Number three?"

His heart stirred slightly, but he gave no loud proclamation.

When the last person finished drawing, the lottery officially ended.

(End of chapter)