The others wore similar expressions, raising their wrists to check their messages.

However, the next moment...

The smile froze on the blond youth's face, and everyone else's expressions also came to a standstill.

The group seemed collectively paralyzed, standing motionless.

THUMP.

A soccer ball rolled in from afar, settling at their feet.

"Uncle, can you kick the ball back to us?" a timid child's voice asked.

But no one paid any attention.

An older child, attempting to bravely retrieve the ball, approached them. He was startled when the previously motionless blond youth suddenly started twitching and jumping as if he'd taken drugs.

"Holy shit! Holy shit, shit, shit..."

"What is this? Is my message wrong?!"

The blond youth looked at his companions with an incredulous expression, his eyes filled with utter shock and disbelief.

"Someone completed an A+-level mission?!"

"Solo?!"

"And... it's that Lu Yuan again?!"

"?!!!"

The others' mouths hung open, their faces blank and astonished, as if they had all been punched hard in the forehead, still struggling to comprehend what had happened.

"An A+-level mission. The guardian boss's strength has to be at least A-level. Plus a horde of B+-level or even A–-level guards... how could one person possibly complete it?! This is absurd!"

Frantically muttering, the blond youth quickly opened the mission map, seemingly wanting to confirm something.

But as soon as he opened the map, he froze.

On the mission map, where there had once been eight red mission zones, one had vanished, leaving only seven.

Clearly, someone had completed one of them, causing the corresponding mission marker to disappear.

"Er...."

The blond youth stared blankly and murmured, What kind of monster... How could they let an A-level monster like that into a mere New Blood Assessment?... How is anyone else supposed to compete? I thought someone like Mr. Teng was already an exaggeration... Wait!

The blond youth suddenly jolted, snapping back to reality.

"Mr. Teng!"

He instinctively looked up towards a certain floor of the abandoned apartment building behind him.

The next moment, a loud BOOM resounded.

A section of the apartment building's wall exploded outward, and a shattered figure plummeted from above.

A torrent of blue electrical energy surged from the breach in the wall.

The blond youth's pupils contracted; he could faintly see a figure standing amidst the arcing electricity.

That figure suddenly threw its arms high and let out a roar—a vent filled with shock, bewilderment, anger, unwillingness, and a maelstrom of other complex emotions.

"AAHHH!!"

The roar echoed throughout the empty apartment building.

The children playing soccer were so scared they burst into tears.

「...」

PHEW.

Lu Yuan expelled a visible puff of white breath.

His skin was flushed and scorching hot, as if molten magma seethed beneath it. The very air around him seemed to shimmer and distort.

CLATTER.

Lu Yuan casually tossed a handful of ripped electronic wiring and components onto the ground, then slowly reverted from his Second Transformation state.

The volcano within his chest subsided, its lava cooling.

Once he entered his Second Transformation, the battle... had become utterly devoid of suspense.

The previously conspicuous Electronic Demon was now gone.

No, not gone.

To be precise... scattered everywhere.

Dismantled parts of its body were strewn all over the place.

In my Second Transformation, I can easily crush A-level opponents; my power is likely close to A+-level. In my Third Transformation, if I go all out with all my trump cards, I could probably defeat an A+-level opponent?...

Calophis of the Crow God Sect and his teacher, Master Liudao Yuan.

So far, they were the strongest opponents Lu Yuan had faced.

He personally felt that both could be considered A+-level contenders or even higher.

But are they S-level? Lu Yuan wasn't sure, mainly because he didn't know how Yellow Bear categorized individual strength.

The actual combat power disparity between A+-level experts from different power systems must be significant.

Recovering to his normal state, Lu Yuan reverted to the appearance of a fair-skinned, clean-cut handsome high school boy.

Unfortunately, his school uniform—both shirt and pants—had been torn to shreds. His hair, which had grown longer during the Second Transformation, now cascaded over his shoulders, giving him a somewhat disheveled look.

No wonder Ancient Martial Arts fell by the wayside, while New Martial and the Modification System have risen. The higher the power level, the more pronounced the drawbacks of Ancient Martial Arts become when compared to other systems.

Take the Electronic Demon from before. It utilized the mechanical Modification System, and its modifications weren't even particularly sophisticated. Yet, at full power, its Fist Strength exceeded fifteen tons. It also boasted a tough hide and the support of various ranged weaponry.

In his First Transformation, even with Vigor pushed to its limits, he found it difficult to completely suppress it.

It was only after entering his Second Transformation that he could achieve a bare-handed dismantling, effortlessly and violently crushing it.

Could a typical Ancient Martial Arts practitioner do what he did?

In the Crane Sect, probably only Liu could barely kill it...

—Using Martial Arts True Intention to suppress the Electronic Demon's will and thoughts, and exploiting openings during 'crowd control' to obliterate it in a single barrage. This was the countermeasure Lu Yuan had devised.

Ancient Martial Arts Masters, battling high-level Modified Humans like the Electronic Demon... It was like asking an ordinary person to dismantle a heavy truck by hand.

If the truck is stationary, there might be a chance. But once the truck starts speeding up, running is the only option left.

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