Chapter 146 - Open Season (Part IV) (Patreon)

Lucian had just devoured the blood of another Qi Refining cultivator who was attempting to hide from him using a Qi technique when he heard a crash in the distance. His nose twitched as he empowered his body with Blood Essence and rushed toward Wang Chen.

The young man was bleeding, sitting alone in the middle of the street, with a gash on his shoulder, but otherwise had no major wounds.

A few moments ago, Lucian had found Wang Chen crying and laughing, and brought him to an open space where it would be easy to spot any intruders.

Hearing the sound of collapsing buildings and the noise of something cutting through the air, Lucian frowned and said, “Something's happened. Control yourself. I thought you had grown and become used to death.”

Wang Chen turned to him with apathetic eyes and a wry smile. “Killing to survive is one thing. But I didn’t kill those people to survive and to drink their blood. What I did was wrong.”

“They were trying to kill you. I don’t understand how dealing with them isn’t about survival,” Lucian said, paying attention to the approaching noises and expanding his Qi perception while halting his cultivation and expenditure of Blood Essence.

Flipping to the natural pathway so he wouldn’t stand out like a flame in a dark forest because of his Qi deviation, he thought, Are the other forces making a move? Why are they being so loud? Shouldn’t they probe with weaker cultivators fist?

Amidst his inner questions, Wang Chen said, “I felt nothing.”

Glancing at him, Lucian remained silent, knowing the young man had more to say.

“It hurt so much to lose my family. My mother, my uncles, my father, my seniors," Wang Chen muttered, putting his hands on his head. "I didn’t want anyone else to feel what I did. But in the end, I'm killing people. And... And I felt nothing.”

While Wang Chen mumbled, Lucian listened to the distant noises and thought, There’s something wrong. The direction of the explosions and crashes is expanding. Are they covering every exit? I can hear something from the city walls too. Weird.

“Benefactor, I don’t blame you. I would be dead if I weren’t a jiangshi by now,” Wang Chen said, unaware that Lucian was barely paying attention to him. “With Little Meng’s support, I convinced myself this was the right thing to do. Survive by killing people who deserved it.”

Then Wang Chen laughed, and Lucian turned to him, noticing the self-deprecating tone, but more importantly, preparing to move as the noises rapidly approached. He hadn't moved yet because he was planning his next course of action.

“But how come I don’t feel anything? Neither guilt nor pain, not even mild discomfort,” he sighed. “I’m mostly sad because of my lack of reaction... What have I—”

Before Wang Chen could finish, Lucian grabbed him and threw him aside, dodging an incoming projectile.

With a booming sound, heavy tremors, and a wave of dust, a massive iron ball the size of a person’s chest crashed into Lucian’s previous position.

“You missed,” a woman said in a cold tone, her voice spreading through Qi. “You two, move quickly. Don’t forget he killed Qi Condensation experts before.”

After dodging the iron ball, Lucian tried to find the attackers and couldn’t sense their Qi flows, as if they didn’t exist.

But he could hear and smell them without issue.

His enhanced vision also allowed him to see the iron ball through the dust, and the two massive figures rushing toward Wang Chen.

Lucian was about to attack them when he noticed the strange masks worn by both men lunging at Wang Chen. It reminded him of breathing apparatuses.

Oh no, he thought.

At the same moment, a yellow wave of Qi, dust, and tainted air spread throughout the Broken Maze. It surged from the district's edges, flooding the streets and moving to the center.

Looking toward the distant walls, Lucian saw gaseous yellow dust flowing downward. Be it the streets outside the Broken Maze or the walls, everything was slowly being covered by yellow dust.

Such a bold move, he thought, holding his breath, and rushed toward Wang Chen. I need to protect him!

Lucian didn’t have time to think about how he had miscalculated again.

Reaching Wang Chen’s side in an instant, he raised his arms to block two punches thrown by the muscular men.

Meanwhile, Wang Chen couldn’t follow the movements with his weaker senses and was still flying through the air after being thrown aside like a sack of potatoes.

After Lucian blocked the strikes, he frowned at how coordinated the attackers were, and at the strange energy he felt entering his body through the contact.

I remember this. It’s similar to that cultivator in the warehouse, he thought. This will consume my Blood Essence. I can’t let them hit me!

Feeling his Blood Essence mobilize on its own to fight the mysterious technique invading his body, Lucian grabbed Wang Chen by the robes and threw him over his shoulder. He held him with difficulty using one arm, and rushed away, dodging four more punches.

“He’s fast!” the previous woman said with a laugh. “Tie Qiu, do your job. Shuang Bao, Shuang Tai, keep pressing.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the muscleheads wearing masks empowered their bodies with Qi, revealing their high-stage Qi Condensation cultivation, and enhancing their physiques.

Their Qi flow dissipated, and they kicked off the ground, cracking the floor beneath them. In a few seconds, they were close enough to Lucan and lunged at him. The brothers threw punches aiming at his head, chest, and also at Wang Chen!

Not having time to think about how things had escalated so quickly, and avoiding moving closer to the looming yellow gas, Lucian was about to use the Rune of Pride as he did against Elder Black Scale to deal with the situation. But then, he remembered Wang Chen.

I can’t use the Rune of Pride, or Wang Chen will die, he thought with a scowl, breaking through various houses to make himself harder to follow and hit. The Rune of Lust is not very useful against cultivators. The Rune of Sloth is useless to save Wang Chen.  And the Runes of Greed and Gluttony aren’t battle-oriented for now!

His thoughts raced as he sidestepped again and again, empowering each movement with Blood Essence to dodge a flurry of attacks.

Through a special technique, these two cultivators could compare to Lucian in terms of speed. He had to spend more Blood Essence to run and dodge, while always mindful of keeping Wang Chen safe.

Quickly forming a plan and having no need to be prideful about winning a battle, he turned to look at the city wall.

No matter what, this yellow gas will reach me as long as I carry Wang Chen, he thought with a cold gaze. It’s better for me to enter the gas, jump over the city wall, and leave. After I analyze the situation calmly, I will—

Before he could proceed with his plans, the duo attacking him abruptly stopped, each one rushing in a different direction.

This makes no sense, he thought as his senses expanded to catch even the faintest clue of an incoming attack. They shouldn’t be making such a big move! Obsidian Sea won’t stay still after losing a whole district.

Dismissing the thoughts that surfaced as he tried to make sense of the situation, Lucian heard the sound of air being cut from above. Without looking up, he kicked off to the side to dodge whatever was coming his way.

After he did, the torso-sized iron ball crashed down behind him, spreading a Qi wave that violently struck his back.

And at the very spot he was thrown to, a fist appeared.

One of the muscular men, Shuang Bao, punched in a curved arc, aiming to hit either him or Wang Chen.

Lucian emptied his mind of all other thoughts as he felt genuinely threatened for the first time during this battle. His long life and vast combat experience would not allow him to take things lightly from this point onward.

Adjusting his mindset, he narrowed his eyes. He would kill first and ask questions later.