Level Up in Martial World

Lu Zhen's crimson eyes turned golden again as he looked at the other fruits.

[Hidden Divine Apple]

[Grade: Intent]

[Remark: Increases the strength of the body.

The tree can produce the fruit every hundred years; however, not many people know about it. Even if they know, extracting the fruits without the willingness of the tree is impossible.]

His eyes lit up as he consumed the apples. Just like the peach, it was ordinary to the taste; however, the moment it entered, it melted in his mouth while Lu Zhen could visibly feel his strength increasing exponentially.

Lu Zhen started consuming the apples until he could no longer feel its effect affecting his body.

[Hidden Divine Banana]

[Grade: Intent]

[Remark: Increases the defence of the body.

The tree can produce the fruit every hundred years; however, not many people know about it. Even if they know, extracting the fruits without the willingness of the tree is impossible.]

[Hidden Divine Grapes]

[Grade: Intent]

[Remark: Smoother travel of the blood flow.

The tree can produce the fruit every hundred years; however, not many people know about it. Even if they know, extracting the fruits without the willingness of the tree is impossible.]

[Hidden Divine Apple]

[Grade: Intent]

[Remark: Construction of more meridians.

The tree can produce the fruit every hundred years; however, not many people know about it. Even if they know, extracting the fruits without the willingness of the tree is impossible.]

He casually looked at the other thousands of fruits and started to devour them one by one. However, Lu Zhen was still carefully examining every fruit he ate; after all, there was no guarantee that all the fruits present there were only beneficial to him.

As he continuously ate and filled his belly, a strange transformation occurred in his body.

Lu Zhen grew taller, and his strength increased in proportion to it, with his muscles being hardened to the limits and his physique growing at a terrifying rate, enough to shock everyone.

By the time he was done eating every fruit, his height and body had grown bulkier, while his internal organs were strengthened to a terrifying degree.

Lu Zhen had grown at least a foot taller and bulkier, with his aura increasing by a large margin.

"My strength has increased."

"Hmm…" Although Lu Zhen was satisfied, a frown marred his face.

"These things only increase my constitution. There is no such thing that could help me strengthen my soul."

Soul, although in his previous world it might not have been a thing and might not have existed, however this was a concept that existed in this world and was true. In fact, the most important thing in this world was one's soul, and it was the very key factor that defined the uniqueness of one's existence in the world.

That might be the reason the system couldn't affect his soul because it was truly him.

While thinking of this, Lu Zhen quickly, reluctantly left the fruits.

"Hide these," he said with some pity.

A tree branch extended, and they all took back the fruits they had.

"Well, Elv should be done by now." Lu Zhen stretched his body as he went back to the temple.

When he was still outside, he used his five senses to see if that old monster had tampered with anything in the ritual. Feeling that nothing had been altered, Lu Zhen heaved a sigh of relief.

But he was still sceptical about it!

With that thought, he swiftly entered the temple and saw a blue circular formation in the middle.

"Oh, you're here?" Elv said seductively as she looked at Lu Zhen with a sultry gaze.

The woman was tall, around seven feet, with long legs, dressed in purple clothes that perfectly showed her seductive cleavage.

Lu Zhen just looked at her with a cold gaze, while Elv was stunned.

"What did you eat? How come you have grown taller so quickly?" she said with a shocked expression.

"It's a secret. So, is this the formation?" He looked at the formation, which glinted with a blue light.

"Yes, this is one. However, I have to warn you about one thing."

"Which is?" Lu Zhen asked with a confused expression.

"It will be excruciatingly painful, enough for you to die."

"That's fine." Lu Zhen just shrugged.

"Remember, since it is your soul being strengthened, then it will only affect your soul and nothing else. But no matter if it is physical or illusionary, you won't be able to lessen the pain."

Elv looked deeply at Lu Zhen, while Lu Zhen remained expressionless as if in deep contemplation.

"System, does my skill help me lessen the pain?"

[No host]

"Is it true, like Elv said?"

[Yes]

The cold voice rang in his ears, causing his eyes to close.

"So, will you do it or not?"

"Yes, I will do it." Lu Zhen opened his crimson eyes as a glint flashed in them. He directly walked to the center of the formation and sat down with a determined look, though internally, he was smirking.

"Are you sure you really want to do it?" Elv asked with a stunned expression once again.

"Yes," Lu Zhen answered in a simple tone.

"Alright, if you say so..." Elv had an amused expression, as if she was looking at an idiot, before she started to chant in a strange language.

The moment she began to chant, the blue light shone with an eye-blinding intensity, covering the entire bamboo temple.

With that, she slowly extended her hand, and an orb-like object appeared, fully green and blue, almost like a small model of Earth.

"This is my core…" she muttered as Elv closed her eyes, and her body started to shine with a red light.

Boom!

Elv suddenly opened her eyes, and the red light directly entered inside the formation, into Lu Zhen's body.

Ahhh!

Lu Zhen violently screamed as his crimson eyes flickered.

His body seemed to have become frozen and cramped.

The screams became more and more intense as time passed.

The sounds soon transformed into an eerie sound of a man in agony near his death, his crimson pupils dilating from the sheer pain.

Although nothing changed physically for Lu Zhen, a deep transformation was occurring inside his body, with the pain increasing at a terrifying degree.

Elv looked at this with a cold gaze, shaking her head with a sneer on her face.

"He has already sentenced himself to death…" Elv had a victorious expression as she walked back to her base and went underground again.

The blue light continued to shine in the formation, accompanied by the death throes of Lu Zhen echoing in the old bamboo temple.

"How dare a mere mortal try to trick me," Elv sneered as she swiftly descended to the ground at a quick pace and entered her futuristic room.

She settled onto a comfortable sofa, and when her little servant brought her a strange brown liquid with black seeds at the bottom, its temperature cold and fizzy, Elv couldn't resist a satisfied smile. It was undoubtedly boba.

Elv leisurely started to sip her boba with a relaxed expression.

"Master, I have a question?"

"What is it?" she hummed in a cheerful tune, enjoying her good mood.

"What happened to Lu Zhen?"

"He is going to die," Elv replied with a simple tone.

"Huh, how?" her servant couldn't help but question with curiosity.

A sneer formed on Elv's face as she mocked, "That mortal wanted to progress, but he is just a tiny insect in the grand scheme of things, nothing but a bug that can be killed with a slap. However, I didn't even have to slap, as he chose his own death."

"Eh," Ju Ji was stunned when she heard this.

Elv smiled mysteriously. While she had warned him, she hadn't mentioned a crucial point for Lu Zhen to know: he will die 100% if he tried to use the formation.

Although the formation could potentially strengthen his soul, no mortals had ever been strengthened by it. This was due to the inherent weakness of their souls, which were like paper and could be shredded to pieces with a nimble move. The mortal soul was the most vulnerable and the core of their existence.

Since that was the case, and no other outside factor could affect it, it was practically impossible to strengthen a mortal's soul with this formation. In theory, it could work, but in practice, the chances of a mortal surviving were null to zero.

…

Lu Zhen was still screaming, as if in the throes of death. His crimson pupils had already vanished from his eyes, replaced by a blood-red sclera. Dark red veins covered every part of his body.

Thud!

After a long time, he fell to the ground, his screams finally ceasing, and his body became motionless.

His heart stopped pumping, and his brain ceased functioning. Deep within his body, his soul resembled Lu Zhen from his previous world, but its body was tiny, palm-sized, and its eyes were closed.

Upon closer inspection, a small hole in the soul of little Lu Zhen flashed with red light.

Lu Zhen was deader than dead!

[Warning! Warning!]

[Host life signal has stopped functioning]

[All functions of the host have ceased]

[No energy source detected]

[Reviving the host]

[Power supply not sufficient]

[System shutdown]

[3… 2… 1]

[Shutdown!]

[Emergency ejection]

A blue ball shot out of Lu Zhen's lifeless body, but it couldn't travel far as it fell to the floor soon after.

As time passed, his body started to turn cold.