Chapter 74: Lu En

"Wilted? What's that?"

"I don't know, just something trees don't like."

Luo De, using invisibility potion, hung far behind Lu En.

This kid also belongs to the type that cultivates both spirituality and magic.

His body has been purified by spirituality, and his magic reserves are sufficient—this means both his spirituality and magic have reached fourth-rank levels.

This is rare; most dual-cultivators always make trade-offs.

Take Lily, for example—her magic rank is slightly higher than her spirituality rank.

For someone so young to achieve both at once, he truly can be called a genius.

"No wonder he's Bahadur."

The banshee ahead of Lu En appeared to be mid-fourth rank.

She had been pursued by two human mages, one of whom radiated a sixth-rank aura.

It had terrified her into a state of utter panic.

Even hearing movement behind her, she dared not turn back.

But as she ran, she eventually sensed something was wrong.

The aura behind her had weakened drastically—when she finally turned, she realized only another fourth-rank novice mage remained.

Instantly, two words flashed in the banshee’s mind:

Turnabout!

She let out a rasping, saw-like laugh.

With a sudden spin, her once-charming face twisted into a grotesque, rotting skull.

Ha! Try my [Leap of Fear]!

[Leap of Fear] is the banshee’s signature spell—when successfully cast, it causes mental shock, reduces the target’s spell success rate, weakens their physique, and has a chance to outright terrify them into flight.

But Lu En’s expression didn’t change; a faint glow of magic shimmered across his body.

Clearly, he had effortlessly negated the effect.

He casually hurled a magic missile, crackling with explosive magic.

It pierced the banshee’s thin magical shield with ease.

"Huh?"

The stunned banshee was slammed into the wall by the missile, spewing a thick, translucent blue fluid.

Lu En stepped forward slowly.

His fingertips tapped lightly; a rope of magic coalesced in midair.

Then, like a serpent, it slithered around the banshee’s back and bound her tight.

Looking at the ugly banshee, his expression was one of clear disgust.

"Teacher, is this thing really useful?"

"When have I ever lied to you? Before you obtain the true Dragon’s Throat, the banshee’s throat is the best magical medium for Dragon Roar."

Came the voice from the ring.

"But she’s a spirit—how do you even cut off her throat?"

"First freeze her with ice magic, then saw off the throat section."

On this continent, both spirituality and magic can interact with and harm spirits, so to cultivators, they aren’t particularly troublesome.

Far easier to deal with than the mental constructs created by the Yigo.

Lu En sighed, raised his hand, and was about to cast a spell.

Then, suddenly pointing toward the sky behind him, his magic ring blazed with brilliant light.

His other hand secretly activated a concealment artifact.

A cloud of purple spiritual powder exploded in midair like fireworks, engulfing a wide stretch of buildings.

A man wearing a purple mask shaped like a snarling lion gradually materialized.

"I’ve known you were there all along!"

Sixth-rank magic ring—[Ice Prison].

Countless ice pillars materialized out of thin air, forming a circular cage of frozen bars.

"So?"

As the ice pillars slowly closed in around him, Luo De made no move.

The steel sword in his hand erupted with an even brighter blue spiritual light.

[Aetheron’s Flash]. [Five Flash]!

In an instant, five furious blades of light flashed past.

Ding!!!

The Ice Prison shattered with a massive gap torn through it.

Even a steel sword of ordinary quality couldn’t withstand such abuse—it snapped clean.

The glowing effect of [Sacrifice Sword] was far too conspicuous—anyone could see it—so Luo De simply pulled out a spare ordinary steel sword.

He hadn’t expected that after growing accustomed to high-quality gear, he’d misjudge the force and snap it outright.

"Still... a fourth-rank beginner triggering a sixth-rank magic ring?"

That’s interesting.

Sixth-rank magic rings demand massive amounts of spirituality and magic—a fourth-rank brat couldn’t even drain himself enough to power it.

Lu En frowned slightly.

Instantly, he activated his ring to summon a high-tier magical shield—also sixth rank.

The voice from the ring spoke, filled with surprise and urgency.

"This man holds a high-level access pass to the Open Labyrinth!"

"What?!"

Lu En acted instantly, pulling out two magic rings radiating sixth-rank energy.

He triggered them in succession.

Massive magic blades and ice lances rapidly formed.

Luo De grinned.

"Perfect—let’s test the Dragon Scale Art."

He spoke.

Instantly, his body was covered in tiny, translucent scales the size of rice grains, while a faint dragon aura spread through the air.

Simple, unassuming—but carrying an indescribable weight.

Lu En immediately felt his magic flow slow to a crawl.

Boom!!

The magic blade and ice lance struck Luo De simultaneously.

The blade cut through his shirt, exposing his muscular torso—then, as if absorbed, it weakened and shattered instantly.

The ice lance, forged from high-tier magic,

now struck Luo De’s skin like glass hitting rock—fragile from tip to base, crumbling into a pile of ice shards.

[Dragon Scale Art: Grants extremely high physical and magical defense, and absorbs magic. Legend says the Immortal Ancient Dragons of the First Era transcended life, becoming beings like stone.]

"!!!"

Lu En’s eyes widened.

His usually calm face finally changed—filled with disbelief.

A fifth-rank mage effortlessly blocked two sixth-rank spells—without any external aid?!

"Something’s wrong! He must be hiding his true power with an artifact! Run!"

The teacher’s voice turned panicked.

"But the access pass—"

"Don’t risk it! Run!!!"

Lu En immediately activated his ring and vanished in a spatial teleport.

Luo De had already extended his perception to its maximum and precisely predicted the man’s subtle movements.

His broken sword burst into pink-purple wrathfire and whipped sideways.

Almost the instant Lu En reappeared, the broken blade shot straight for his face.

Ping!

The broken blade halted less than five centimeters from his face.

Tiny shards of metal drifted gently downward.

The sixth-rank magical shield was pierced instantly, then blocked by another force.

Lu En broke into a cold sweat.

In that instant, he felt the terror of death!

"Run! I can’t use it again!"

The teacher’s voice came again, frantic and weak.

Lu En gritted his teeth, staring at the distant figure.

Keep it firmly in mind.

His strong sense of pride made him feel utterly humiliated at this moment.

When he embarked on the path to confront Aetheron, he was destined to never tolerate failure!

"Purple Wrath Lion, I'll remember you."

Used [Spatial Teleport] again and vanished from his spot.

Luoen was no match for fate, not a villainous protagonist, just a gear-dropping tool character whom the main hero never once truly acknowledged.

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(End of Chapter)

[101] Remember it well.

[102] His fierce pride made him feel utterly humiliated at this moment.

[103] When he chose the path of confronting Aiselong, he was doomed to never tolerate failure!

[104] “Purple Wrath Lion, I’ll remember you.”

[105] He used [Spatial Shift] again and vanished from where he stood.

[106] Lu En was no destined rival, no villainous protagonist—just a gear-dropping tool character whom the main character never once deigned to look at.

[107]

[108]

[109] (End of Chapter)