Level Up in Martial World

A loud drum sounded as everyone woke up, and the sun hadn't revealed itself yet. The camp became bustling with activities, and everyone had a serious expression on their faces as they prepared and carefully checked their equipment to ensure everything was in order.

After all, it might be their last day to live!

Lu Zhen stretched his body, wearing his armour and mounting his war horse. He set off directly to the Xia family camp without saying a word to anyone.

As he neared the Xia family camp, he quickly dismounted and patted the horse. The intelligent eyes of the horse seemed to tremble before it reluctantly went back without much sound.

"Let's get started." A smile appeared on his face as he disappeared from his position.

…

"Is that Lu Zhen bastard here yet?" Xia Jiao said impatiently, his expression remaining stoic as he sat in the middle of the camp with the other grand elders.

"Yes, Brother Liao, he should arrive soon..." the old man who had previously delivered news of the fortress's destruction responded with wisdom in his voice.

"That bastard really did cross the Devil River to attack the castle and even killed my younger brother..." Xia Jiao's fist tightened, his eyes reflecting a deep fear that quickly transformed into anger.

"Remember, after Lu Zhen comes, we must immediately attack him. Don't give him any chance to recover. No matter how strong that monster is, he won't be able to take all of us. The only choice he has is to run, and that too..." A strange smirk appeared on his face as he took out a round disk plate.

"Is that…" all the grand elders' eyes widened when they saw this.

"Yes, this is an instant formation that can trap even a second-stage martial artist," Xia Jiao said with a smirk on his face.

"So now we just need to wait."

The grand elders all hid in the camp while Xia Jiao casually strolled around with a contemplative expression, making rounds outside the camp.

Time passed, and he patiently waited, but Lu Zhen was nowhere to be seen, even as the warm light of the sun began to fill the surroundings with its early rays.

"Where is this bastard?" Xia Jiao grumbled, growing more impatient as he continued to wait. However, the thought of the plan leaking out crossed his mind.

He dismissed it quickly; if the plan had been revealed, the message wouldn't have reached him. Though not entirely confident in the third-stage martial artist, he had some faith in the effectiveness of the human-skin mask.

As long as the man wasn't obvious, it would be impossible to tell whether he was fake or not.

"Wait…" Xia Jiao's eyes widened with realisation as he looked back at the camp and then turned again.

Without hesitation, he ran into the forest, tapping into his mental energy, trying to sense Lu Zhen.

"Eh, why did he leave suddenly?" The grand elders were stunned as they suddenly received a voice transmission.

"Lu Zhen is a smart monster; he must have noticed the trap after coming to our camp, so he probably ditched. We can't let that kid go. Inform the army and come to me immediately for support. Although I am confident I can take care of that bastard, he could still escape from my hands."

Their eyes widened with realisation upon hearing this as they hurriedly informed a trusted servant, one of their captains and gave him their grand elder order which had the same authority as them, and left to chase down Lu Zhen almost immediately disappearing into the forest.

….

"Where did that little monster go?" Xia Jia thought as he looked around, his mental energy rapidly straining his body.

Since he was still in the second-stage martial realm, he couldn't fully manipulate mental energy as he wanted, nor could he draw every strand of mental energy from his head.

Tapping into mental energy was a very body-straining thing to do.

Even Lu Zhen, relatively adept in using it with his Adapt skill, couldn't push his body too much with the use of mental energy. Although he could adapt and strengthen his body over time, the damage to the body outweighed the adaptation rate.

Lu Zhen had already suffered the consequences of being comatose for hours just using it underwater to escape from those gigantic, terrifying eyes.

"Got him." Xia Jia's eyes widened when he finally sensed Lu Zhen and increased his speed.

Boom!

The ground caved in as he released a terrifying aura that made all the beasts in the surroundings run away as he chased Lu Zhen down.

Finally, in the distance, he saw a hulking, long-haired youth running fast, which made his eyes light up with a glint.

He erupted with all his aura and directly punched at Lu Zhen with his full strength.

"The prey has taken the bait," Lu Zhen had a small smirk on his face as he turned back, countering by slightly moving backward by one step, causing Xia Jia's attack to miss.

Xia Jia's eyes widened as he turned left to see a fist hurtling towards him, right in the face.

Boom!

He was sent flying, crashing into the trees before he finally gained footing to hold his ground.

"This…" Xia Jia's eyes widened with disbelief as he vomited blood, with three of his teeth coming out from the vomited blood with it.

"Oi, old man, why are you bullying a junior like me? I am just a humble nineteen-year-old man with my cultivation level. I am still considered an infant at most," Lu Zhen said with an amused smirk.

"Won't the world laugh at you, the strongest grand elder of the Xia family, bullying a junior."

"You…" Xia Jia became expressionless when he heard this.

"Good, good." He took out the discs from his pouch and immediately threw them up in the sky with a smug smile on his face.

The disc travelled in air after reaching some height it stopped in mid-air.