Chapter 140: Battle Merits Secured

Poison gas!

Highly toxic.

Although Lu Yan had heightened his vigilance to the absolute limit, he had not expected the opponent to have this trick up his sleeve.

At the critical moment, Lu Yan hastily retreated while wielding his blade, but he still inhaled a wisp of the black smoke.

"You..."

Lu Yan's expression turned ghastly, and he stumbled backward.

"Hehehe, no matter how high your cultivation is, you will die by my hand."

The old man sneered and charged forward with his sword.

Lu Yan swung his blade to parry, but his strength was clearly lacking compared to before, and after blocking a few strikes, his power grew increasingly weak.

"Die."

The gaunt old man lunged with all his might, thrusting his sword toward Lu Yan's throat.

This was exactly the strike Lu Yan had been waiting for.

When a person attacks with full force, their defense is at its weakest.

Lu Yan's eyes lit up, and he unleashed the full force of his eight-bone energy.

*Shing!*

A flash of blade light cut through the night sky. Lu Yan and the gaunt old man passed each other.

Then, Lu Yan turned, sheathed his blade, and stared at the old man.

"You... you aren't poisoned?"

The gaunt old man asked, filled with unwillingness.

"I did inhale a little. Unfortunately, your poison is not the 'Peach Blossom Charm'; it does not attack the internal organs, so it is ineffective against me."

Lu Yan said.

That poison was indeed potent, attacking the nervous system through the bloodstream, but thanks to his "Diamond Indestructible Art," Lu Yan's resistance to toxins was immense, and he had withstood it directly.

His stumbling appearance moments ago had been an act.

To be honest, this gaunt old man was extremely troublesome—his movement techniques were as elusive as a ghost, and his methods were complex and varied. If he had been determined to flee, Lu Yan might not have been able to kill him.

He had only been able to feign weakness to make the opponent careless, creating the necessary opening.

"I..."

The gaunt old man was unwilling to accept this, but just as he was about to speak further, a squelching sound erupted. His upper body slid off and crashed onto the ground, while his lower body remained standing.

Lu Yan walked over and used his Crimson Blood Blade to lift the man's clothes, checking for any spoils.

Unfortunately, there were only a few pieces of broken silver.

However, a metal cylinder on the old man's sleeve caught Lu Yan's attention.

The black needles must have been fired from this cylinder.

But upon inspection, Lu Yan discovered that the cylinder was empty.

It was spent. A piece of trash.

Lu Yan did not linger; he still needed to hunt monsters to earn military merits.

After a brief thought, Lu Yan did not return to the eastern sector but continued toward the northern city district.

He was unsure how many assassins the Dark Moon organization had dispatched, and he couldn't rule out the possibility of more lurking in the east.

Soon, Lu Yan arrived at the walls of the northern district.

The fighting in the northern district was even more brutal than in the east.

There were more monsters gathered here, and a greater number of human martial arts experts as well.

Everywhere was carnage; everywhere were corpses—some belonging to monsters, others to humans.

Lu Yan glanced outside the city. In the distance, that massive figure remained standing on the earth, gazing toward them.

The Monster King had yet to make a move.

*Roar!*

A foul wind rushed toward him as a massive monster lunged at Lu Yan. Lu Yan slashed it in two and retrieved a monster crystal.

He then held his blade and charged to the side.

One monster after another died under his blade.

Of course, most were at the "Breaking Limit" stage; monsters at the Martial Marquis realm were few and far between.

A moment later, Lu Yan spotted an acquaintance.

Liu Yuansong.

That Martial Marquis from the Liu clan of Changfeng City.

Beside Liu Yuansong were two other Martial Marquises whom Lu Yan did not recognize; they were likely from other prominent families that had pledged allegiance to the Liu clan.

Clearly, the Liu clan had also sent experts to support Lingwang City.

Of course, the Liu clan only had one Grandmaster, so the clan ancestor would not come in person; they had only sent a few Martial Marquises to go through the motions.

The three formed a defensive circle, seeking only to survive rather than achieve glory.

Lu Yan dashed past the trio, cleaving a monster in two.

When Liu Yuansong and his companions looked at Lu Yan, their expressions were filled with both respect and fear.

Such an expert was far beyond their level.

After Lu Yan killed several more monsters, he saw more familiar faces.

Li Wenxuan and Li Wenxin.

Both were accompanied by several experts.

Lu Yan kept a close eye on Li Wenxuan, his potential enemy.

Li Wenxuan's combat strength was undoubtedly formidable. With a divine weapon-grade sword wielded with supernatural skill, a single flash of light would often pierce a monster's heart, and a twist of his blade would crush it.

He only focused on killing, while someone by his side was responsible for digging out the crystals.

"Ranked thirty-sixth on the Martial Marquis Rankings; the reputation is well-deserved."

Lu Yan nodded inwardly.

Some time ago, he had asked Zhao Sirong in detail about which experts were on the Martial Marquis Rankings.

Li Wenxuan and Li Wenxin were both on the list, though only at the very end.

Li Wenxin, thirty-fifth.

Li Wenxuan, thirty-sixth.

Neither possessed innate or acquired martial bodies; they relied purely on their superb mastery of first-class martial arts to make the list.

Lu Yan felt that with their talent, it wouldn't be too difficult for them to cultivate their second-class martial arts to the realm of "Man-Martial Unity."

However, they had not done so, likely fearing it would affect their chances of breaking through to the Grandmaster realm.

Once they achieved the Grandmaster level and then cultivated an acquired martial body, their combat power would surely skyrocket.

On the other side, Li Wenxin used a short spear, which was equally devastating, with monster after monster falling beneath it.

Of course, not everyone had this level of strength to easily slay monsters.

The vitality of monsters was far superior to that of human martial artists. In reality, it was difficult for a martial artist of the same level to kill a monster, and a moment of carelessness could lead to their own death.

Moreover, the number of monsters far exceeded that of human martial artists; in terms of Martial Marquis-level monsters alone, they greatly outnumbered human Martial Marquises.

Fortunately, the human martial artists held the home-field advantage and had Grandmasters overseeing the defense, allowing them to gain the upper hand and hold the monsters at the city walls.

Even so, many human martial artists were still killed by the monsters.

Lu Yan swung his blade continuously, occasionally pausing to dig out monster crystals. Eventually, he lost track of how many monsters he had killed.

*Roar! Roar!*

Suddenly, the Monster King outside the city let out a deep roar. The monsters on the wall turned and fled, retreating like a receding tide.

Only after all the monsters had retreated into the savage mountains did the Monster King slowly turn and walk away.

*Phew...*

Many people breathed a sigh of relief.

They had finally blocked another wave of monster attacks.

"Those who are injured, return to recover. Those who wish to exchange for military merits, go to the Zhao Clan Administrative Office tomorrow. The Zhao Clan Martial Army—those who can still move, clear the battlefield!"

A deep, resonant voice echoed.

Lu Yan leaped down from the wall and returned to his residence. He took out a large pile of monster crystals—thirty-two in total.

This meant thirty-two Martial Marquis-level monsters had died by his hand, the equivalent of destroying five or six Martial Marquis-level families.

Unwittingly, his strength had grown to this point.

The monster crystals varied in size, and he could only judge the cultivation level of the monsters based on these dimensions.

The largest were the size of dragon eyes, numbering seven.

These must have been left behind by fifth-level Martial Marquis monsters.

The next tier had five crystals.

These were likely from fourth-level Martial Marquis monsters.

These alone accounted for nine hundred military merits.

Adding up the rest, Lu Yan estimated he had over twelve hundred merits.

That was more than enough to exchange for the "Heart-Tempering Scripture" twice over.

Lu Yan took out a wooden box, stored the crystals, drew well water to wash the blood from his body, changed into clean clothes, and slept in his garments.

The next morning.

Lu Yan brought the monster crystals to the Zhao Clan Administrative Office to exchange for his merits.

When he opened the wooden box, the two Zhao clan elders responsible for inspection were both moved.

"You are truly formidable, my friend. I imagine you must be on the Martial Marquis Rankings?"

One of the elders sighed.

"You two elders are mistaken. This was not hunted by me alone, but through the concerted efforts of over a dozen of my clansmen," Lu Yan said humbly.

The two elders nodded and said no more, turning their attention to checking the crystals.

"Seven crystals from fifth-level Martial Marquis monsters, four from fourth-level, five from third-level..."

"A total of one thousand two hundred and sixty military merits."

"Where is your merit token? Hand it over, and I will register it for you."

After the inspection, one of the elders said.

Lu Yan hesitated slightly before reaching out to retrieve the merit token Zhao Sirong had given him.

It originally contained ninety merits.

The elder took a special pigment, crossed out the original ninety, and wrote the number one thousand three hundred and fifty.

"If you have anything you wish to exchange for, you may state it now. I will record it, and it can be fulfilled in a few days," the elder added.

"I wish to enter the Martial Treasury to borrow a first-class martial arts manual," Lu Yan said, naturally not revealing his true purpose.

"Borrowing a first-class manual? Very well. I will record it, but arrangements take time, perhaps three days. After three days, come back here, and someone will take you to the Martial Treasury."

"Also, borrowing a first-class manual costs five hundred merits and is only for half a year. After six months, you must return the Divine Intent Diagram and the manual. Is that clear?"

One elder stated.

"Clear."

Lu Yan nodded.

"Good." The elder nodded and recorded in his book: *Lu Ren, wishes to enter the Martial Treasury to borrow a first-class manual. Please arrange promptly.*

"Many thanks, elders."

Lu Yan bowed and took his leave.

On the way back, he bought some second-grade martial food, returned to his residence to cultivate, and waited for the three days to pass.

One day later.

Zhao Yi's residence.

Zhao Yi's steward stood respectfully behind him.

"How did the investigation go?"

Zhao Yi asked.

"I have checked. That Lu Ren wants to enter the Martial Treasury to borrow a first-class manual, but he did not specify which one," the steward replied, bowing.

"He didn't specify?"

Zhao Yi frowned.

If that was the case, he couldn't easily interfere.

"That girl, Zhao Sirong, has been very close to Lu Ren; she most likely knows what martial art that kid wants to exchange for. Make arrangements; I want to meet with Zhao Sirong."

Zhao Yi ordered.

Half a day later, at Zhao Yi's residence.

"Dear niece, please sit."

Zhao Yi waved his hand, inviting Zhao Sirong to be seated.

"Uncle, what brings you to invite me here today?"

Zhao Sirong asked.

"Sirong, Hao'er was a few years older than you. He looked after you like a younger sister since childhood. Now he is..."

As he finished, Zhao Yi choked up, tears streaming down his face.

Zhao Sirong looked downcast and said, "Uncle, please accept my condolences."

"Hao'er was a man of loyalty and righteousness. You should know that. He was merely misled by evil spirits; his sins were not worthy of death. Yet that Lu Ren killed him, and so ruthlessly. Hao'er didn't even have a complete corpse left. Your aunt has fallen ill because of this, growing more frail by the day. *Sigh*."

Zhao Yi sighed.

Zhao Sirong remained silent for a long time before asking, "Uncle, are you seeking revenge?"

"Hao'er did commit an error and received his due punishment. I will not seek revenge on Lu Ren because of that; I only wish to teach him a lesson so your aunt can vent her grievances."

"Sirong, I heard that Lu Ren is going to exchange for a first-class martial arts manual at the Martial Treasury. Do you know exactly which first-class martial art he intends to exchange for?"

Zhao Yi asked.