Chapter 233: Projection Clone, Opening Like a Lion

After returning to Zeng Fu, Ceng Ruyu began her seclusion to transcribe the Tuopian.

The sensation caused on the streets during the day was too great; many were stunned by her peerless beauty and were asking everywhere which family the young lady belonged to.

The plan to sneak out had failed; once Ceng Fuzi returned home and learned of this, who knew what would happen? Zhou You could not help but feel a bit apologetic; after all, the other party had stood up for him.

Suddenly one day, the sound of a Bone Whistle rang out; Jiang Hua notified him that they were about to make a move on Li Chonghe, with the time and location provided in full.

Hmm, this was the notification for Du Yan Lu Zhigang.

As for the identity of the main body, Zhou You...

"Junior Brother Zhou, the time has come; please lend me a hand."

When he saw Jiang Hua again, Zhou You could not help but be greatly shocked; the change in the other party was too immense.

This bout of secluded hard training had been quite effective, breaking through to Qi and Blood 4th Stage and officially entering the middle stage of Qi and Blood.

However, his complexion was increasingly eerie; his face was as pale as paper, yet his features were shrouded in a rich, rosy blood aura.

It was as if the vital blood from deep within his bone marrow had been extracted and replenished across the surface of his body.

What kind of wicked Secret Technique was this?

"Cough, cough, stop looking; it is the Marrow-Extracting and Essence-Damaging Method of the Blood Sand Palm."

Jiang Hua provided the answer, "Forcing growth by pulling on the sprouts, ruining one's future to seek a short-term breakthrough—does that sound familiar?"

How could it not be familiar? The method Wu Yanyi used to break through the Qi and Blood barrier was based on the same principle.

The next moment, Jiang Hua provided the answer.

"Wu Yanyi's method was actually taught to him by me; it is a simplified version of the Marrow-Extracting and Essence-Damaging Method."

"He tested it, so I dared to risk using it on my end."

Zhou You clearly heard a surge of vigorous, false fire in his voice and knew that Jiang Hua was taking revenge at the cost of burning his own life.

He did not ask if it was worth it, but instead said, "How do you plan to make your move?"

"I have contacted Lu Zhigang to take the lead; at the very least, we will eliminate one Disciple of Li Chonghe and use Poison Palm to wound Li Chonghe."

Jiang Hua analyzed, "This person is cautious and deep; he never makes a move he isn't sure of. If he dares to say this, he must have a plan."

"Once the Martial Master shell of Li Chonghe is weakened by the Poison Palm, you and I will have a sure chance of victory if we join forces."

What about the remaining three Qi and Blood Disciples? To kill a fierce beast, one must first pull out its claws and teeth; this is an unbreakable truth! "Junior Brother Zhou, before Lu Zhigang makes his move, you and I will join forces to take care of the other Disciples. We must strike with all our might."

There are four Disciples of Li Chonghe: one in the late stage, two in the middle stage, and one in the early stage.

Zhou You transformed into Lu Zhigang and used the Blood Qi Gu to control Li Chonghe; the strongest late-stage Qi and Blood member had already defected.

As for the remaining three Disciples, both Zhou You and Jiang Hua were in the middle stage of Qi and Blood, so they were confident in catching them off guard.

"Good, let's act as soon as possible to avoid any complications."

There was no need to make excuses for leaving the city this time; with Jiang Hua providing cover, they would just say they were going out on business.

His parents were a bit surprised; how long had it been since he had rested at home?

His mother even specially prepared a change of clothes and dry rations for him, secretly slipping him some money to buy meals on the road.

After Zhou You and Jiang Hua left the city, the project to surround and kill Li Chonghe began.

"Trial Project: Surround and kill Primary Martial Master Li Chonghe; enemies > 3, meeting the conditions to activate Battlefield Perspective; character roles > 2, meeting the conditions to activate Projection Clone. Note: limited to the Trial Project phase."

"Choose between Battlefield Perspective and Projection Clone."

Projection Clone—it was truly a pillow arriving just as one felt sleepy.

The brand-new function provided by the panel brought great joy to Zhou You, who had been worrying about being unable to be in two places at once.

By activating this function, Zhou You could manifest a second projection; it looked flawless from the outside, but it could not be touched.

The main body and the projection could switch freely, making it impossible to tell the real from the fake.

What was important was that, when combined with the disguise function of the Void Mask, the effect was nothing short of miraculous.

In this way, Zhou You could appear as both his main body and Lu Zhigang simultaneously to participate in the project. Although he could not attack with both at the same time, he could switch projections and take turns launching attacks without revealing any flaws.

By comparison, the Battlefield Perspective was of little use; the enemies were in the open while they were in the dark, which was already clear at a glance.

"I choose Projection Clone."

Zhou You's palm squirmed as the Void Mask spat out the face of Lu Zhigang, which then merged into the manifested projection.

Following his mental command, the panel placed the projection of Lu Zhigang a hundred meters away.

Just as he finished, he heard Jiang Hua say, "Junior Brother Zhou, we must guard against a backstab from this Du Yan Lu Zhigang."

"Eh?"

Zhou You asked curiously, "Isn't he here to help at Senior Brother Jiang's invitation?"

"Those who practice Poison Palm are mostly sinister and eccentric by nature; they cannot be judged by the standards of ordinary people. In short, be extremely careful."

Jiang Hua even took out a Detoxification Pill and handed it to him, "Keep it under your tongue just in case."

Zhou You was between laughter and tears; Jiang Hua's gesture was well-intentioned, just a bit redundant.

Speaking of which, did his bad-mouthing of Du Yan count as behind his back or to his face? A moment later, the projection flew over from the distance to rendezvous with Jiang Hua and Zhou You.

"Lu Zhigang, you arrived quite quickly."

Jiang Hua took two steps forward and introduced Zhou You, who was beside him, to the other party, "This is my Junior Brother, Winged Tiger Zhou You."

"Hmm, wasn't he expelled from the martial arts hall? He's still your Junior Brother?"

'Lu Zhigang' glanced at Zhou You and asked.

Jiang Hua said with a sunken face, "That has nothing to do with you. We will act according to our agreement, and you will receive what I promised afterwards."

"The situation has changed; it's not enough!"

'Lu Zhigang' suddenly said this, causing Jiang Hua's expression to change, "Are you trying to hold us for ransom?"

Zhou You remained silent on the side; since 'Lu Zhigang' had spoken, he naturally switched to the projection.

"It's not holding you for ransom; it's just that I've investigated the situation, and the difficulty of succeeding is very high."

Lu Zhigang spoke eloquently, "Therefore, I paid the price of a treasure, and after acting, it yielded miraculous results."

"In this way, the Blood God Leeches are no longer enough; I want one more thing."

"What do you want?" Jiang Hua asked.

Lu Zhigang grinned, "I want his gauntlets."

"Impossible. Those are the remains of my late father; I would rather die than hand them over."

Lu Zhigang reminded him, "Golden Crane Mountain has two gauntlets; surely both aren't your father's skin. I only want one of them; weigh the importance yourself."

Jiang Hua fell silent; his original plan was to leave the other gauntlet for Zhou You as payment.

He had not expected Lu Zhigang to be so greedy, demanding the gauntlet right before taking action.

Time waits for no one! "Fine, I agree."

Jiang Hua nearly shattered his teeth, thinking about how to compensate Zhou You afterward.

Deep down, he felt even more resentment toward Lu Zhigang; it would be best if he and Golden Crane Mountain perished together, so he wouldn't have to pay a single cent.

"Good, it's a deal. I'll take my leave first."

Lu Zhigang smiled wickedly, "I don't trust you, and I know you don't trust me either. Let's act separately."

As soon as he finished speaking, dust kicked up from under his feet, and he vanished before their eyes in an instant.

Jiang Hua watched his retreating figure, his heart a tangled mess of worry and surprise.

He was happy to have such a strong reinforcement, as it increased the success rate of killing Golden Crane Mountain, but he was worried that dealing with such a person was no different than asking a tiger for its hide—the risk was immense.

(End of chapter)