Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

In Qing Ming City.

 Somewhere.

 A group of four-star cultivators was trembling with fear.

Before their eyes, their two powerful team leaders were already done for.

 The team leader, w.a.n.g Batian, who had the nickname of ‘Shadowless Kick', had lost his leg… The other team leader, Zhang Xiao, who had the nickname of ‘Iron Head', had lost his head…

 This…

 How could this be possible?!

 Although they had just attained the beginner five-star level, they were quite famous!

 Someone with nicknames at the five-star level definitely possessed a good combination of physique and abilities, as well as a unique combat ability!

But now…

 Both of them had been killed in seconds!

 At the thought of this, they looked up and glanced at the teenager nearby. Their hearts instantly trembled.

 Before today, who would have thought that this pretty boy Card Creator, whom they could tell in one glance depended on looks to survive, would possess a combat ability that was in defiance of the natural order? He could actually kill five-stars within seconds?!

 W-was heaven that unfair?!

 “Why bother?”

 Lu Ming sighed.

 Seriously…

 He was very surprised too.

 When he found out that those two were actually Energy Warriors, he was shocked and elated. However, never did he expect that the two actually majored in… leg and head!

 Even if you're tempering kidneys like Old Fan, that's better?!

 Old Fan's body had been hollowed out but he could still fight, alright?!

 He was certain.

 The Energy Warriors had tempered their body to the extent to which even with the temporary loss of a particular organ in their body, they might not die. However, if it was the head…

 Brother, tell me. Of all things, why did you temper this?

 This head is really as hard as iron…

 “You're actually that powerful?”

 That cultivator with a broken leg looked at Lu Ming in despair.

 Two cards… destroyed two five-stars!

 Was this Lu Ming's strength?

 To h.e.l.l with it!

 d.a.m.n it. Who said that Lu Ming relied on his sister to survive?

 Such powers…

 When they fought a six-star the last time, it was not that tragic! With each of them focusing on their respective fortes of attacking and defending, they exchanged a few moves with that six-star…

 Old Zhang tempered his skull because the skull itself was already very hard. After tempering, its hardness would far surpa.s.s the rest of the body. His defense had reached the stage of being unequaled amongst people in his cohort!

 However…

 They did not even exchange any moves when it came to Lu Ming.

 If they had known that this would be the case, would they dare to look for Lu Ming?

 “Actually. I don't know why I'm so amazing either,” Lu Ming said from his heart.

 He could challenge someone of a higher level, but he could only skip a level and take on a four-star. If it was a five-star, he had a tad of advantage only when he faced Energy Warriors…

 Nevertheless, these two were Energy Warriors!

 That was fine, but it so happened that one of them cultivated his skull…

 Afterward…

The rest was history.

 At this moment…

 There was pin-drop silence surrounding them.

 Trembling all over, those four-star cultivators dared not make the slightest move, and the five-star cultivator with a broken leg was lying on the ground in despair. He dared not move too.

 However…

 No matter what, he had a wealth of experience.

 After a long while…

 Gritting his teeth, he suddenly said, “I see that you're still at three-star level, if I provide you with a rapid approach to attain breakthrough to four-star, will you let me go?”

 Lu Ming was speechless.

 He seemed to have sensed some respect from his words.

 Look.

 Experienced veterans were indeed very particular with their words.

 However…

A rapid breakthrough to four-star?

 “You actually have a way for this?”

 Lu Ming was very astonished.

 “Yes.”

 The cultivator with a broken leg said, “I taught everyone in this group… We were once three-star, until I found this secret in a particular legacy site.”

 “Oh?”

 Lu Ming's eyes lit up.

 They were once three-star and now four-star and five-star…

 This secret… does not seem simple!

 Interesting.

 The purpose of his trip this time was to look for Jiang Feng to inquire about how to reach a ‘rapid breakthrough'. Unexpectedly, this guy with a broken leg also had such a method.

 “I…”

 The cultivator with a broken leg gritted his teeth. “You have to promise to let me go first.”

 “Okay.”

 Lu Ming contemplated for a moment. “But you have to promise me a breakthrough.”

 “That's for sure.”

 The cultivator with a broken leg was elated.

 True enough.

 These teenage cultivators were very inexperienced…

 Lu Ming looked like he was only sixteen years old. At this age, he was already very powerful. This went to show that he had been cultivating most of the time. How would he have spare time and energy to experience life?

 Usually, such people were clueless…

 At this moment…

 He certainly was.

 Furthermore, the secret…

 “Look, this is what you have to do.”

 The cultivator with a broken leg sent the secret and some data to Lu Ming.

 Lu Ming took a glance and was instantly stunned. This secret was actually to absorb the aura of his enemies after they were dead to increase his energy!

 Yes.

 Each time they killed a four-star cultivator, their energy would increase slightly.

 That was right.

 It would merely increase by one point!

 The original ten thousand points of energy would increase to ten thousand and one point.

 This point…

 Actually, it would not make a difference to a physique with ten thousand energy points. The upper limit for three-star was only ten thousand points! Therefore, when there were ten thousand and one points…

 There would be a feeling of ‘fullness'.

 For many people who could not attain a breakthrough, this was their chance!

 This was a critical moment!

Simply put.

 This increase of one energy point would provide the cultivator with an opportunity to break through naturally. There would not be any side effects and it was also extraordinarily stable!

 Talented people could break through on the spot!

 Those who were not talented enough might break through after a few tries.

 This secret… simply existed like G.o.d!

 Of course.

 It was only limited to three-star!

 After all, the breakthrough for four-star and beyond cultivators required an improvement in energy strength. The increase in quant.i.ty was of no value at all. An additional point would not have any effect.

 On the other hand, there was a flaw. It was not suitable for ordinary folks.

 For example—

 For a three-star to break through to four-star, they would have to kill a four-star cultivator!

 Who could afford to do that?

 It was impossible for an ordinary cultivator to beat a four-star in a fight, right? Therefore, only a team could join forces to kill a four-star and improve rapidly!

 This was the origin of this legless team.

 Lu Ming was silent for a long time.

 This was a good ability but such an absorption method… In ancient times, this would certainly have been considered a demonic skill, okay?! These people would be killed by orthodox sects in the world he came from!

 “Will this really work?”

 Lu Ming was very doubtful.

 “It's true.”

 The cultivator with a broken leg said respectfully, “Look, we came through in this way…”

 In the data, there was detailed information on everyone's transformation.

 Oh.

 There were even some videos.

 The entire team was really three-star in the past. After collaborating to kill a four-star, they began to con and murder other people easily.

 In the end…

 The entire team attained a breakthrough. It was super amazing!

 The then three-star team had become a team consisting of five-stars and four-stars. It had been very smooth for them all these years and as a result, they became very complacent…

 Afterward…

 They encountered Lu Ming.

 “How many people have you conned?”

 Lu Ming heaved continuous sighs.

 “Hehe…”

 The cultivator with a broken leg smiled wryly but dared not reply.

 “Well… Can you let us go?”

 He looked at Lu Ming with hopeful eyes.

 Of course.

 “I'm a man of my words.”

 Lu Ming turned around and left. However, when he was almost leaving, he paused a moment and waved his hands. A skull appeared in the sky and landed near the headless corpse.

 “A family has to be together.”

 Upon finis.h.i.+ng his sentence…

 Lu Ming then left.

 “Thank you!”

 The group was filled with grat.i.tude. They kowtowed continuously until Lu Ming had completely disappeared… The s.h.i.+ne in their eyes then turned into viciousness.

These d.a.m.n geniuses… We'll kill all of you sooner or later… 

We have already gone through a similar experience.

 It was also a genius teenage cultivator who was quite powerful. However, he was too green. He was deceived and we killed him on the spot. According to sources, he also had an older sister…

 Hahahaha.

 This kind of teenager who only has an older sister had been overly indulged. A nerve is lacking in their brains and they deserve to die! I heard that his sister wants to seek revenge for her young brother…

 It's a pity…

 No one knows that we are the murderers!

 This Lu Ming…

 Hahaha.

 Just wait…

 When I recover…

 However…

 At this moment.

 He actually discovered that Old Zhang's skull was glowing.

 “Old Zhang? Old Zhang, you're still alive?”

 w.a.n.g Batian was elated.

 He lifted up Old Zhang's skull. However, his entire body froze the next moment. This was because Old Zhang was no longer breathing. Furthermore, the way that energy was released from this skull…

 Oh no!

 Just as this thought flashed across his mind…

 Bang!

There was a deafening sound.

 A horrifying aura suddenly rose to the sky!

 Terrifying energy swept across, engulfing everyone. While it was erupting, the energy that soared into the sky hit the barrier that they had set up earlier.

It rebounded afterward.

 Bang!

There were booming noises inside the energy barrier.

 After a long while…

 When Lu Ming's figure appeared from the corner of the street, there was no longer any sound or breathing inside.

 “As I said before, a family has to be together.”

 Lu Ming smiled faintly.

 He did not have a good impression of such teams.

 Well…

 The time was just right.

 He could try the abilities that they had left behind earlier.

 Buzz—

 Lu Ming tried to circle it.

 Shus.h.!.+

 A gush of auras rose to the sky. The energy of a four-star cultivator which had not fully dissipated after dying flowed into Lu Ming's body and transformed into a strange glow.

 Buzz—

 His energy level increased by one point.

 Bang!

The energy quant.i.ty in Lu Ming's body exceeded the ten thousand point mark and became ten thousand and one points! That unattainable bottleneck seemed to be breaking…

 Coming! Coming!

 Lu Ming was excited.

 Bang!

He instinctively launched his energy towards the bottleneck!

 Based on his sense of perception, that so-called bottleneck was akin to a huge door, resembling more the entrance of a cave. Its existence was the upper limit of the three-star…

 Therefore…

 At this point in time…

 He needed to break through it!

 It was as if a small train was das.h.i.+ng across the cave. He charged towards it with all his might!

 Bang!

Bang!

Lu Ming directed his might.

 However…

 In the next moment, that wobbling bottleneck regained its stability again.

 Lu Ming was speechless.

 Alright.

 Sure enough, outstanding talent did not have anything to do with it.

 Well…

 Should he continue?

 He absorbed the energy of another four-star cultivator and began to dash again. Failed! He absorbed, charged, and failed again! He repeated the steps but still did not achieve a breakthrough!

 Four four-star cultivators!

 There were a total of four chances!

 All of them failed!

 “Am I that lousy?”

 Even Lu Ming was doubting himself.

 He did not know if he was considered talented but this quant.i.ty…

 Should he try it at all?

 He forcefully absorbed the dissipating energy of the last two five-star cultivators. A surge of faint lights appeared and flowed into Lu Ming's body. His energy was increased again.

 Ten thousand and twenty-four points!

 Yes.

 Each five-star cultivator had increased his energy by ten points!

 Bang!

The bottleneck was shaking again.

 This time, the magnitude of the vibration was unprecedented.

 “It's coming! It's coming!”

 Lu Ming was filled with excitement.

 Bang!

Bang!

He charged again.

 However, the most terrifying thing was, after multiple charges, the wobbling bottleneck was actually as st.u.r.dy as a monolith again. It could not be moved…

 “Why isn't this working?”

 Lu Ming felt a little regretful.

 Was he lacking talent?

 No.

 There was a problem with the secret…

 Seemingly, that cultivator with a broken leg had given him a perfect trick but he had a feeling that something was missing. It was similar to the time when he taught Xiaobai the ‘near-perfect' card in the past. Nevertheless, he had most of the experiment and cultivation data. He could go home and deduce something from them.

Oo…

 He could let Xiaobai give it a try.

 After pondering, Lu Ming simply headed straight home.

 He knew that…

 The chance that belonged to him had arrived.

 Very soon…

 The policemen rushed to the scene.

 Although they did not sense any aura, according to the reports of some people, a group of burly men entered the place after a boy… There were constant tremors afterward… They suspected that these people were into some terrifying activities. Therefore, they called the police!

 However…

 Looking at the traces on the ground…

 Obviously, a huge fight had occurred here!

 Four-star, five-star…

 Many people had died.

 The most terrifying thing was that this was such a large-scale fight but none of the policemen had sensed any auras. This was rather frightening!

 This was the city!

 “You didn't sense any auras?”

 The six-star policeman was silent.

 “Yes.”

 One policeman smiled bitterly.

 What could he do about it?

 This was Qing Ming City!

 All this while, two-star and three-stars were the ones committing crimes. They had not seen any four-star and above over the past year! Therefore, they were not prepared to deal with this at all!

 Investigate a five-star?

 No way!

 If the combat aura was exposed, they would be discovered.

 However…

 If the other party were to deliberately hide it…

 Given the current standards of technology and policemen in Qing Ming City, it was impossible for them to discover it!

 The six-star policeman was silent.

 He poured over the records of the recent crimes in Qing Ming City…

 This was a red flag!

 The number of crimes in one month was more than the total number of crimes for the past ten years… Furthermore, almost all were fatal cases. They could not find the culprits at all!

Stealing, robbery, murders…

 There were red flags across the board!

 He was the only six-star and only had a deterrent effect.

 “Increase vigilance… I'll think of other ways for the rest of the problems.”

 “Yes.”

Very soon…

 They left after investigating and gathering evidence.

 However…

 A long time after their departure.

 In the corner.

 Shadows suddenly gathered.

 In the darkness, from the shadow, two figures actually appeared. Looking at the traces of the fight at the scene, they could not come to their senses for a long time.

 “What do you think?”

 A voluptuous shadow suddenly spoke.

 “What do you think?” the other shadow retorted.

 Sigh.

 The voluptuous shadow smiled bitterly. “I thought that we would be able to complete this mission. Who the h.e.l.l knew that the topic of the graduation project this time would be to a.s.sess Lu Ming's combat ability. Hahahahahaha! I've waited for so long to witness him striking but it actually turned out like that. He doesn't know how to respect the opponent at all?!”

 The other shadow was silent.

 He was fearful that he had to ‘surrender' for his graduation project this time.

‘a.s.sessing Lu Ming's combat ability' seemed like a simple activity but it was actually very difficult.

 Did Lu Ming make a move?

 He did.

 However…

 There was never an opportunity for a direct fight!

 You never know what Lu Ming's actual ability is! You never know what his trump card is! Was it his own or his sister's?!

 You don't even know what the vocation cultivated by Lu Ming is about?!

 He didn't understand!

 He could not figure it out!

 Till now, the only thing that he understood was…. Lu Ming seemed to have a trump card that could kill beginner five-star cultivators in seconds. That was all.

 “This guy is not a human!

 Can't he do it openly for once?” the voluptuous shadow lamented.

 The other shadow was silent.

 Sigh. “Right. Tell me. Why don't we force Lu Ming to make a move openly?

 For example…

 Capture Lu Ming and a five-star cultivator! We can then observe how they fight and look at how many powers Lu Ming will release in a desperate situation,” the dark shadow proposed excitedly.

 However…

 The other shadow only cast a glance at her silently.

 “I don't think that's good. With Lu Yan and Senior Qiu around…”

 That shadow was filled with helplessness.

 To h.e.l.l with it.

 He could neither capture nor beat him. Why did they give them such a topic?

 However…

 That silent shadow suddenly said, “We don't need to tail Lu Ming anymore. It's pointless to continue to do so. We can't a.s.sess his ability through observation. But…

 I can propose a new topic from this.

 I believe… They will be satisfied with it.”

 “Oh?”

 The shadow was suddenly thrilled. “What topic?”

 “The impact of Lu Ming's new card on Energy Warriors…”

 “Huh?”

 “Don't forget Lu Ming's tone when he saw the Energy Warrior and the powers that he released eventually. I suspect that this is a new card that Lu Ming is going to release…

 This can possibly… make the entire Energy Warrior vocation collapse!

 Believe me.

 This topic is far more important than Lu Ming's combat ability…

 Those teachers and seniors…

Many of them are Energy Warriors…

 This is also our chance. Aren't they always shunning us for being too theoretical in our research and think that we're weaker than the actual fighters? Haha, this time…”

 “But we're not sure what this card is…”

 “Oh, heck. We're writing about it first!”

 “O-oh. Oh.”

 “How's your article writing?”

 “It's alright. My uncle is a president in Qing Ming City. He's brilliant in writing articles. I'll get him to help us write this…”

 “Okay.”

 “We have to become famous with this fight!”

 The next day.

 The article “The Death of a Genius Energy Warrior With Humble Origins” was published. It was as if a bomb had been dropped in the cultivators' forum, rocking the world!