Xie Jun and another Gold Bear stood rigid, frozen in place like statues.

They were enveloped by a tsunami-like pressure, giving them a strong suffocating sensation as if they had suddenly been submerged in the deep sea.

But this pressure was nothing compared to the terror and shock surging in Xie Jun's heart at that moment.

His expression frozen, Xie Jun stared at the terrifying figure that had suddenly burst through the Death Qi Crystal Wall and appeared before them.

The figure was clad in a tight-fitting, deep-blue battle suit, stretched taut by exaggerated muscles. A pattern on the left chest symbolized its Gold Bear status.

All this proved that this powerful individual, who had managed to shatter the Death Qi Crystal Wall single-handedly, was one of their own from the Yellow Bear Organization.

Combined with the words the figure had just spoken and those eerily familiar, calm eyes...

An unbelievable suspicion sprang into Xie Jun's mind—

Lu Yuan!

It was the "proud" and "well-connected" "Crown Prince"—"Divine Blood" Lu Yuan—who had once rejected his invitation to join them, chosen to enter the Lament Ruins alone, and even encountered their team once in the Secret Realm!

As soon as this thought arose, it began to bombard his mind.

Then, he ruthlessly suppressed it, again and again.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

That brat has no New Martial enhancements or modifications. He only follows the Pure Martial path! How could he possibly break the Death Qi Crystal Wall that even the three of us S-ranks couldn't shake!

It's just that his eyes look similar... It's just that his eyes look similar...

Xie Jun repeatedly hypnotized himself.

Lu Yuan noticed the fleeting shock and disbelief in Xie Jun's eyes and figured he might have suspected his identity.

He didn't say a word, merely quirked the corner of his mouth into a slight smile, then lightly bypassed the two and walked into the forbidden zone they had fought so hard to enter.

People inside want to get out, people outside want to get in...

To push the main storyline to its conclusion inevitably requires a spectacular battle to wrap things up...

Lu Yuan stood on the pale, rocky ground.

Reflected in his pupils was the Crowman, its mouth twisted into a grin that stretched to its ears.

The cold, evil aura radiating from it spread rapidly like smoke.

It cocked its head, bit by bit, its bizarre and eerie grin growing ever more exaggerated.

It stared at Lu Yuan as if it had found a fascinating new toy.

This grotesque posture and expression sent a chill down the spines of Xie Jun and the other Gold Bear, causing them to back away involuntarily.

Lu Yuan, however, seemed very calm.

The Crowman was tall, over two meters in height.

However, compared to Lu Yuan, who had entered the third stage of his ultimate transformation, it was still shorter by more than a head.

Lu Yuan looked down at the Crowman, his expression unwavering, and calmly said, "Has no one ever told you that you look exactly like a circus clown right now?"

The Crowman opened its mouth, revealing a gaping maw packed with dense, downward-spiraling, serrated teeth.

It smiled silently, then suddenly vanished.

A black wind swept through the area, carrying gusts of bone-chilling air.

This cold sensation made Xie Jun and the other Gold Bear recall the brutal obliteration of their companions. Their faces instantly turned pale as their bodies instinctively shifted into a combat stance.

However, the black wind showed no intention of targeting them.

Instead, it rapidly enveloped Lu Yuan's body, spinning wildly around him.

Immediately, an utterly unbelievable scene unfolded before the eyes of Xie Jun and the other Gold Bear—

Wherever the black wind passed, the white rocks on the ground were sliced open as easily as tofu.

Visible cutting ripples filled the air, like an ever-tightening fishing net closing in on Lu Yuan at its center.

Even from a distance, Xie Jun and the other Gold Bear could feel the frigid, sharp intent within.

Previously, their two Gold Bear Level comrades had been easily sliced apart by this Walker Level Crowman's power, like sashimi on a cutting board.

However, facing such terrifyingly dense attacks, Lu Yuan's towering and powerful body became as flexible and agile as a noodle.

He always evaded the incoming attacks in the most unexpected ways.

He weaved and spun within the small area at the center of the black wind, reminiscent of an elegant dancer waltzing on a tightrope.

This contrasted starkly with his exaggerated, muscular physique.

It was this very dissonance that made Xie Jun and his companion watch with dry mouths and boiling blood.

Technique... no!

It should be true artistry!

Compared to the incredible combat artistry Lu Yuan demonstrated, they were like clumsy infants, barely able to walk despite possessing S-rank strength.

The black wind seemed to sense its attacks missing and began to spin with increasing speed and ferocity.

Sharp whistles pierced the air.

They sounded like wails, like whimpers.

Suddenly, SWOOSH—

A faint sound echoed, as if something had been sliced off.

The expressions of Xie Jun and the other Gold Bear froze, and they instinctively tensed up.

Then they saw Lu Yuan's dodging figure freeze.

Behind him, a silky strand of black hair fluttered to the ground.

Lu Yuan lowered his head, looking at the lock of black hair that had fallen at his feet. He stared at it silently for a moment.

He raised his head, revealing silver-white eyes filled with calm and indifference.

"Impressive," Lu Yuan said.

The next second—

BOOM!

An astonishing aura erupted from Lu Yuan's body like a volcanic explosion.

The air around him momentarily blurred and distorted.

The howling, turbulent black wind seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then, a lifelike Demon Crane—resembling a crow yet not quite, resembling a crane yet not quite—soared upward and began to inflate rapidly.

Twenty meters... thirty meters... forty meters...

It kept expanding until it reached a height of a full forty-five meters before stopping.

Within the vast area enveloped by the Demon Crane's form, the air seemed to grow exceptionally viscous. Even Xie Jun and the other Gold Bear, standing quite far away, felt a suffocating pressure.

The black wind was also affected, its speed diminishing instantly.

It was at this precise moment.

WHOOSH—

Lu Yuan's waist-length black hair, untouched by any wind, suddenly billowed out behind him.

He gently raised his hand in a clapping motion.

The massive Demon Crane hovering overhead mirrored the action, raising its claw in sync.

BOOM!

Though this palm strike hit only empty air, potent, intangible ripples spread out in all directions.

The terrifying shockwave transmitted through the air, abruptly dispersing the stagnant black wind.

It morphed into waves of surging black Death Qi, raging like a tsunami...

Lu Yuan, expressionless, extended his five fingers forward, forming a claw.

The forty-five-meter Demon Crane behind him mirrored the action.

RUMBLE!

The tsunami of Death Qi was instantly shattered by the Demon Crane's claw, scattering in all directions.

The chaotically swirling black Death Qi obstructed the vision of Xie Jun and the other Gold Bear.

They squinted, craning their necks.

They dared not approach, yet desperately wanted to see what was happening.

Only when the black Death Qi dissipated into smoke did the scene at the epicenter gradually become clear.

At the heart of the dissipating black Death Qi...

Lu Yuan stood silently, his outstretched fingers, like iron pincers, tightly gripping the throat of a tall, gaunt, and sinister figure.

The figure was suspended in mid-air, held in Lu Yuan's grasp like a helpless chick.

"I detest it when ugly things bare their teeth at me," Lu Yuan said, his voice cold.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, his other hand also grabbing the Crowman's body.

The immense aura swirling around him began to compress. Along with the pure power surging through his arms, it was forcibly squeezed into the Crowman's body.

The Crowman's mouth was forced open. Its long, crow-like arms flailed, trying to lift, but Lu Yuan grasped them and twisted them around its own neck as if they were soft noodles.

CRACK! CRACK!

Before long, Lu Yuan had forcibly twisted the entire Crowman into an almost spherical shape.

Then...

With a BOOM, it exploded completely.

It turned into large clumps of fine black sand that flowed through Lu Yuan's fingers...

"Ugh... ugh... ugh..."

Xie Jun and his companion, who had witnessed the entire fight, stood wide-eyed, their bodies tense, expressions frozen. They tried to speak, "Ugh... ugh... ugh..." but couldn't articulate a single word.

It was as if Lu Yuan had seized their throats as well.

Enormous shock and incredulity welled up from the depths of their hearts.

It was indescribable.

They couldn't imagine that the Walker Level Crowman—who had been hunting them just moments ago, slaughtering them as casually as if it were a game—had been killed in mere minutes by this "colleague," who was also supposedly only Gold Bear Level.

And what's more... using what appeared to be pure Ancient Martial Arts techniques?!

It can't be him...

Xie Jun couldn't help murmuring aloud.

He repeatedly tried to erase a certain image and name that kept surfacing in his mind, but it only etched itself deeper, like a brand...

By this time, all the fine black sand had flowed from Lu Yuan's hand, leaving a marble-sized, almost completely black bead resting in his palm.

He stared at the black bead in his hand, his mind still replaying the battle.

Easy.

After activating Level 2 Unconquerable Instinct...

Relying solely on his Pure Martial strength, he had easily crushed this Walker Level Crowman.

The process had been so smooth that he himself found it somewhat unbelievable.

The increase in my four Basic Attributes, plus the fact that this Crowman was on the weaker side even for a Walker Level... That must be why this was possible...

Unconsciously, Lu Yuan realized his strength had silently reached a new peak.

The Walker Level beings that once gave him a sharp sense of crisis were now mere "minions" he could obliterate with ease, without even needing to play his trump cards.

I have indeed become much stronger...

Lu Yuan pinched the black bead in his palm, marveling quietly. He was contemplating whether to absorb it now.

Suddenly—

In the distance, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Four powerful, evil auras erupted like pillars of wolf smoke.

Then, a vast, dark cloud of Death Qi surged toward him.

In the blink of an eye, it was upon Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned. Before he could react, he was completely enveloped and swallowed by this vast cloud of Death Qi.

Four grotesque, twisted figures flashed through the air and then slammed violently into the Death Qi.

RUMBLE!

The ground shuddered. A massive mushroom cloud, composed entirely of Death Qi, rose slowly into the air.

Nearby, Xie Jun and his companion, shaken by this abrupt turn of events, were already deathly pale with fright.

Their eyes wide with terror, they watched the rising mushroom cloud of Death Qi.

They were utterly horrified to see that their Evil Energy Fluctuation monitors displayed only a screen full of erratically jumping characters: "SSSSSS..."

...

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