43: Chapter 43 One-on-One Battle Against a Pulse Opening Realm Realm cultivator!

After charging about a hundred meters, that familiar feeling finally returned to Lu Cheng's chest.

A warm current surged into his limbs and bones, and his burning wounds and heavy body instantly felt significantly lighter.

Lone Hero, triggered!

Lu Cheng paused his steps and slowly turned around.

He stood before a crooked, dead tree, his chest heaving violently, his breathing ragged, yet the corners of his mouth curled up bit by bit.

"Come on."

"I want to see just how strong a Meridian Opening Realm really is!"

Zhou Shuolin stared at him intently, his expression so gloomy it seemed like water could drip from it.

"If I don't smash your head into pulp today, I won't go by the name Zhou!"

...

Over at the main battlefield.

Watching Lu Cheng forcefully lure away a Meridian Opening Realm, Su Wan felt her heart clench as if someone had gripped it tightly.

A Body Refining Realm, single-handedly resisting a Meridian Opening Realm.

Even the top geniuses from those major families, without relying on high-level relics, would find it very difficult to achieve this.

Lu Cheng won't be able to hold on for long...

As soon as this thought arose, the coldness in Su Wan's eyes could no longer be suppressed.

The Zhou Family wasn't just targeting Xia Xi and Lu Cheng tonight... She had always been in the Zhou Family's sights; otherwise, the Zhou Family in her past life wouldn't have targeted her either.

The difference is that right now I am in the dark, and they are in the light... They probably still don't know that it was me who made the move that night.

Many things from her past life have changed, but the Zhou Family, that mad dog, is still just as crazy...

She couldn't keep dragging this out!

"Xia Xi, hold him off!"

Su Wan's voice was icy, and the next second, cold air exploded from her entire body!

A piercing white mist swept out from her as the center, and the ground for several yards around was instantly covered in frost.

Behind her, a phantom of an Ice Spirit, fully two meters tall, slowly emerged.

The phantom was icy blue, its features blurred, and it was wrapped in currents of extreme cold. The moment it appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted significantly.

Even Xia Xi was stunned for a moment.

"Su Wan?"

Su Wan didn't look back.

She bit the tip of her tongue, causing her blood energy to blaze fiercely.

Blood Burning Art!

Boom!

The blood energy in her body instantly boiled, but her face rapidly turned pale.

Following that, she formed hand seals, and the cold air surged wildly through her meridians.

Secret Technique: Frost Prison Descent!

In an instant, the Ice Spirit phantom hovering behind her suddenly retracted, turning into a stark white cold light that ferociously merged into her body!

Her body shuddered violently, and dense coldness spread wildly from the depths of her flesh, as if the air around her had frozen at that very moment.

Su Wan's whole body trembled slightly; that overly domineering power of extreme cold was forcibly flooding into her limbs and bones.

The next instant, layers of frost rapidly condensed and spread across her skin, instantly turning into an ice armor that fit her whole body, encasing her entirely.

Pain.

It was too painful.

Her blood was burning, her bones were freezing, and her flesh and meridians were being fiercely torn by the two opposing forces.

But at the same time, her power was constantly surging upwards!

She snapped her head up, her eyes terrifyingly cold.

"Scum of the Zhou Family..."

"Welcome your deaths!!!"

The blade-wielding Meridian Opening Realm had just forced back the puppet, but in the next second, Su Wan had already arrived before him, sword in hand!

As her sword blade emerged, the cold air almost condensed into a physical substance.

Clang!

The opponent blocked with his blade horizontally, but his entire arm was instantly covered in a layer of white frost, and his movements slowed by a beat.

Xia Xi's eyes lit up; seizing the opportunity, she smashed down hard!

Bang!

This time, the opponent was finally struck, causing his frame to sink and his knees to buckle.

...

On the other side of the woods.

Lu Cheng and Zhou Shuolin had already slammed into each other.

With the buff from Lone Hero, his entire state was clearly different.

When Zhou Shuolin brought his hammer down, Lu Cheng took the brunt of the impact, only retreating a few steps, no longer nearly sent flying like before.

35% damage reduction was absolutely critical in this kind of head-on fight!

Coupled with the surge in his blood energy recovery speed, his sustained combat capability was forcibly elevated by a significant margin.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fist and hammer collided repeatedly.

Every strike Lu Cheng made was extremely vicious, cycling through Crushing Fist, Wandering Step, and Hardening Pulse, connecting them with extreme speed.

The more they fought, the more alarmed Zhou Shuolin became.

He had originally thought that Lu Cheng would die even faster after leaving the group, but this kid was far more outrageous than imagined—no wonder Young Master Zhou wanted to kill him!

"I admit, you are very strong."

Zhou Shuolin panted heavily, killing intent rolling in his eyes.

"You are the strongest Body Refining Realm I have ever seen... bar none."

"But the gap in cultivation realms is a chasm; you cannot cross it!"

As he finished speaking, the Source Power within him surged, and his heavy hammer lit up with a layer of earthy yellow light. The ground even began to shake.

Earth-Shaking Hammer!

Lu Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly.

This guy was going to use his ultimate move.

He slowly exhaled and lowered his body slightly.

Can't cross it?

The fact that he could hold on until now already proved that this chasm wasn't absolute!

The gap in cultivation realm is indeed large.

But proficiency in martial arts, methods of exerting force, and the rhythm of the battle—these are also major factors that affect combat power!

Suppose a Body Refining Realm has a blood energy value of only 100. A Meridian Opening Realm has a blood energy value of 500.

If the former practices their martial arts to perfection, they can exert 100 combat power. If the latter only masters their martial arts to proficiency, they can also only exert 100 combat power!

And Origin... is even above that. Lu Cheng, who has mastered three Origin martial arts, can use them in combination!

Their power can go from 100 points to 150 points or even higher!

Just like right now!

Zhou Shuolin roared as he charged.

The hammer light roared, and the ground was cracked by the impact.

Lu Cheng stepped aside.

Wandering Step!

His figure instantly closed in, his entire body cutting in while almost brushing against the wind of the hammer.

A ruthless look flashed in Zhou Shuolin's eyes, and he shifted the direction of the heavy hammer, smashing it down hard towards Lu Cheng's shoulder.

Lu Cheng didn't even frown.

He had pushed Hardening Pulse to its limit!

The black and gray metal patterns on his gauntlets spread wildly, and his arms, shoulders, back, and chest all tensed up.

Then!

Throw the punch!

Collapsing Fist - Three Styles: Origin!

All his blood energy, all his strength, and the Hardening Pulse that had been building up for a long time were all compressed into this one punch!

The fist's edge slammed hard into Zhou Shuolin's abdomen.

Pfft!

A muffled sound.

Zhou Shuolin's entire face instantly twisted.

His abdomen was punched through by this blow, leaving a hideous bloody hole, flesh bursting, and blood spraying wildly.

At the same time, that heavy hammer also landed solidly on Lu Cheng's left shoulder.

Crack!

The sound of bones shattering was terrifyingly clear.

Lu Cheng's vision suddenly went dark, his entire left arm instantly lost most of its sensation, his shoulder bone was almost pulverized by this hammer, and half his body went numb.

Fortunately... it was still attached.

It hadn't been smashed clean off and sent flying.

Zhou Shuolin looked down at the large hole in his abdomen, his eyes rapidly glazing over, and the hammer in his hand dropped to the ground with a clang.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, he only spat out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The woods were quiet for a moment.

Lu Cheng couldn't hold on either.

He stumbled two steps, slid down against a tree trunk, his face deathly pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

The intense pain from his left shoulder surged into his brain in waves, and even his breathing carried the scent of blood.

He looked down at his limp left arm and twitched the corner of his mouth.

"Is it over..."

Before the words left his lips... Lu Cheng collapsed completely to the ground due to his critically low blood energy.