42: Chapter 42 The Way to Break the Stalemate

The moment the two Meridian Opening Realm cultivators pressed in from front and back, Lu Cheng's heart sank.

Of the two, one was hulking and broad, carrying a short-handled heavy hammer with Source Power constantly surging around its head.

The other was much taller and thinner, wielding a long, narrow combat saber. With cold, sinister eyes, he shifted his feet, cutting directly toward their escape route.

Lu Cheng's eyelids twitched, and his palm had already flipped over a step ahead.

He had long since kept that combat puppet clutched in his palm.

In a moment like this, being a split second too slow meant death!

"Go!"

Whoosh!

He violently flung the palm-sized puppet, sending it straight toward the hammer-wielding Meridian Opening Realm cultivator.

In mid-air, dark golden patterns suddenly lit up on the puppet, and its mechanical joints clicked and clattered loudly. Its size expanded rapidly against the wind, instantly transforming into a humanoid battle puppet over two meters tall. It spread its arms wide and slammed heavily onto the ground!

Boom!

The soil exploded, and gravel flew everywhere.

The hammer-wielding martial artist's advance was forcibly blocked, and his expression shifted.

"A Source Gathering Realm peak puppet?!"

He clearly hadn't expected a Body Refining Realm student to be hiding such a thing.

The puppet clamped its arms together and lunged to crush him. Its movements were stiff but extremely fierce, and waves of Source Power exploded outward, actually managing to drag him to a halt.

On the other side, Xia Xi had already charged out!

Gritting her teeth with a fierce look in her eyes, she violently swiped at the silvery-white ring on her wrist with her right hand.

Hum!

The ring instantly lit up!

A soft yet blinding white light surged from the ring, spreading along her arm across her entire body, condensing into a pale golden light film on her skin.

B-Rank Artificial Relic — Angel's Light!

This item was one of the trump cards the Xia Family had given her for self-preservation; it could withstand damage below the Meridian Opening Realm for a short time, and could even block a single strike from the Hua Hai Realm!

"Want to catch me? Come and try!"

Xia Xi let out a sharp cry and charged directly at the saber-wielding Meridian Opening Realm cultivator, wielding her large hammer.

Clang!

The blade edge and the heavy weapon collided violently, sending sparks flying.

The Meridian Opening Realm martial artist had brought his blade down intending to cripple her in one strike, but the blow landed on that film of light. It only forced Xia Xi to stumble back several steps, but her body remained unscathed.

The opponent's eyes darkened, clearly somewhat surprised.

Xia Xi gave him no chance to catch his breath. Taking advantage of the protection from Angel's Light, she closed the distance and slammed her hammer down hard!

Bang!

This strike landed solidly on the opponent's shoulder.

Yet the Meridian Opening Realm cultivator only swayed slightly. His protective Source Power vibrated, tearing the clothes on his shoulder, but his flesh only suffered a bruise.

Xia Xi's expression changed slightly.

The damage... was too low!

She could take the hits, but she couldn't break through the opponent's defense!

The saber-wielding martial artist sneered and swept his blade backhand. The blade qi grazed her side, causing the Angel's Light to ripple violently, forcing her to retreat again.

"A Body Refining Realm dares to block me?"

"Too much talk!" Xia Xi, her eyes red, charged up again.

If they kept fighting like this, she would be exhausted sooner or later!

"Don't let her bear this alone!"

Su Wan's voice turned cold as she drew her sword.

"Attack together!"

Lu Cheng and Su Wan charged out almost simultaneously.

One lunged low to the ground, the other cut in from the side with a sword; both aimed at the Meridian Opening Realm cultivator who was suppressing Xia Xi.

Ma Dachun stood in the back, his face pale.

His hands gripping his staff were drenched in sweat, and his throat bobbed hard. Finally, he gritted his teeth and cursed.

"Damn it! Let's fight!"

He raised his staff and also charged in.

For a moment, four students besieged one Meridian Opening Realm cultivator, while a Source Gathering Realm peak puppet was dragging down the other Meridian Opening Realm cultivator nearby, turning the scene into a chaotic mess.

Clang, clang, clang!

Su Wan's sword struck out repeatedly, strands of cold air wrapping around the opponent's legs and wrists.

Ice Blossom Stab!

Tiny ice shards shot out in succession, forcing the saber-wielding martial artist to divide his attention to parry.

Lu Cheng seized a split second of opportunity, cutting in from the front straight toward the opponent's ribs. The power generation method of the Crushing Fist surged into his arm, fast and ruthless!

But a Meridian Opening Realm is still a Meridian Opening Realm.

The man kicked Xia Xi away, turned, and knocked aside Lu Cheng's attack with his saber, then struck him hard in the chest with a backhand elbow.

Bang!

Lu Cheng stumbled back seven or eight steps, his chest feeling stifled; he nearly spat out blood on the spot.

"Lu Cheng!"

Xia Xi grew anxious and lunged forward again to block for him.

Angel's Light lit up once more, taking a blade strike head-on.

Su Wan seized the chance to thrust her sword toward the opponent's lower back. The cold air seeped in along the blade, finally causing the man's movements to lag for an instant.

Ma Dachun had arrived as well; he swung his staff and smashed it hard toward the opponent's head!

The Meridian Opening Realm cultivator didn't even turn his head. With a shrug of his shoulder and a vibration of Source Power, Ma Dachun was sent flying, staff and all. He rolled several times before crawling back up, sucking in cold air through his teeth.

"Damn... this guy is too tough!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Get up!"

A full minute.

Every second was a fight for their lives.

But the gap in cultivation realms was right there.

Between the Body Refining Realm and the Meridian Opening Realm lay the Source Gathering Realm—a difference of two whole major realms!

The saber-wielding Meridian Opening Realm cultivator had several wounds on his body, but the most severe one was just a cut in the flesh caused by Lu Cheng and Su Wan's combined effort; it didn't even touch the Tendon & Bone Stage.

Conversely, the situation on their side was getting worse and worse.

Xia Xi's breathing was already ragged, and the light on the surface of Angel's Light had dimmed significantly.

Su Wan's face was pale; she had released too much cold energy, and her fingertips were trembling slightly.

Ma Dachun was in an even worse state; his arm was swollen, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Lu Cheng threw punches while quickly glancing at the other side.

That puppet... seemed to be unable to hold on much longer either.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With every collision, another crack appeared on the puppet's metal shell, and the light at its chest core grew dimmer.

It could hold on for one minute at most.

If the hammer-wielding Meridian Opening Realm cultivator freed himself by then...

Then the two Meridian Opening Realm cultivators would press in together...

None of the four of them would survive!

If it truly came to that point, there would be absolutely no way out.

He quickly scanned the battlefield.

Xia Xi could take hits, but she couldn't deal damage.

Su Wan had crowd control, and her burst damage was decent.

Ma Dachun... never mind, this guy not dying would be the biggest help!

And there was that Source Gathering Realm peak puppet.

If he pulled the puppet back and had it coordinate with Xia Xi and Su Wan to focus fire on one, they might actually have a chance to take one down first.

And he himself would lure one away...

Lu Cheng parried the opponent's slash with a punch and retreated, his mind racing.

He was still in the team right now, so Lone Hero couldn't be triggered!

What if he left the team and lured a Meridian Opening Realm cultivator away alone...

With Lone Hero triggered and Hardening Pulse added... how long could he hold out?

Lu Cheng really didn't know.

Three seconds?

Ten seconds?

Half a minute?

Or would he be smashed to death by a hammer?

No one could give him the answer.

But there was no other way right now.

"Clang!"

Another loud explosion rang out.

Xia Xi was slashed and stumbled back, the light on the ring on her wrist dimming another layer.

Su Wan seized the opportunity to follow up with a sword strike, the cold air piercing into the opponent's lower leg, finally causing the saber-wielding martial artist to frown.

This was the moment.

Lu Cheng made up his mind.

He abruptly retreated half a step and, with a thought, directly controlled the puppet to change its target.

"Return!"

The puppet in the distance slammed into the hammer-wielding martial artist and turned to dash toward them.

The hammer-wielding martial artist's expression turned fierce, and he chased wildly with his hammer.

Lu Cheng took a deep breath and turned to look at Su Wan and Xia Xi. His voice was very low, yet steady.

"Su Wan... I'll leave this side to you!"

Xia Xi was stunned.

"What are you doing?!"

Lu Cheng didn't explain.

He raised his hand and ripped off the team insignia on his body.

He yanked off the small identification tag representing their team status and flung it into the mud.

The next second, he raised his fist, turned around, and charged straight at the pursuing hammer-wielding Meridian Opening Realm cultivator!

"You're courting death!"

The opponent was already furious from being dragged down by the puppet. Seeing Lu Cheng actually charging at him voluntarily, killing intent instantly exploded in his eyes.

Lu Cheng stepped closer, his blood energy surging explosively.

Collapsing Fist - Three Styles: Origin!

His fist tore through the air, smashing hard toward the opponent's face!

The hammer-wielding martial artist, named Zhou Shuolin, had been full of rage, but when this punch arrived, his eyes still shook violently.

The power of this punch had actually touched the level of the Source Gathering Realm!

The gap between the lower three realms was large, but... it wasn't insurmountable. He couldn't ignore this strike either, so he broke away from the puppet and turned to face Lu Cheng.

Bang!

He raised his hammer to block, but the force of the punch made his arm go numb for an instant.

Zhou Shuolin's expression turned ferocious instantly.

"You, a mere Body Refining Realm, where did you get the guts!"

Lu Cheng didn't reply; he turned and retreated.

While retreating, he fully transferred the puppet to Xia Xi's side.

The Source Gathering Realm peak puppet landed with a boom in front of Xia Xi and Su Wan, directly blocking the saber-wielding martial artist's attack for them.

The situation was instantly split into two.

On one side, Xia Xi, Su Wan, and Ma Dachun, plus the puppet, surrounded one Meridian Opening Realm cultivator.

On the other side, Lu Cheng was alone, luring Zhou Shuolin away.

"Lu Cheng!!"

Xia Xi's voice changed, and she wanted to chase after him.

But Su Wan grabbed her abruptly, her eyes icy and terrifying.

"Don't go over! He is buying us time!"

Xia Xi bit her lip hard, her eyes red.

On the other side.

Zhou Shuolin had completely lost his cool.

First, he was dragged down by a puppet, and then he was openly provoked by a Body Refining Realm cultivator. This humiliation struck him hard, burning his eyes red.

"Useless trash! You can't even injure a Body Refining Realm!"

There were even people from the Zhou Family in the battle circle cursing angrily.

Zhou Shuolin's face twitched, and his killing intent grew heavier.

He thrust his heavy hammer forward, the tip carrying heavy Source Power, and smashed it toward Lu Cheng's chest!

Hardening Pulse!

Lu Cheng's arms tensed instantly. A layer of hardening patterns emerged on the surface of his dark gray metal gauntlets, and he crossed them in front of him to block.

Clang!

The terrifying impact force surged into his bones.

Lu Cheng was knocked sliding backward, the soil beneath his feet churning. His arms were in excruciating pain, and fine cracks had even appeared on the surface of his gauntlets.

It hurts so much!!

Veins bulged on his forehead.

If not for his masterful Hardening Pulse, this single blow would have been enough to cripple his hands on the spot!

But what made his heart sink even more was... Lone Hero still hadn't triggered!

Damn it, the distance still wasn't enough!

Zhou Shuolin chased after him with a sinister grin.

"Run! Keep running!"

Lu Cheng didn't say a word, turned, and plunged into the forest.

His Wandering Step was fully activated, and he darted rapidly between tree shadows and scattered rocks, specifically choosing to dive into complex terrain.

Zhou Shuolin roared and chased wildly with his hammer.

The two figures, one following the other, quickly left the main battlefield.