Chapter 180: Chapter 168 Encirclement

Rao Mingxian smiled and said, “You rarely pay attention to the Celestial Ladder entrance exam group, right? The most powerful ones from each school are advancing particularly fast. I’m not the fastest to improve though.”

“I’ve heard too. Some people have reached the Mid-Stage Body Refining and might transfer to Yunhua Jinjing.”

Rao Mingxian’s eyes flickered as he said, “We also have a chance! Even as ’Invited Students’, with our low status, it’s worth it to gain the resources of Yunhua Jinjing.”

“Indeed…”

Deng Zhijue glanced at his watch and said, “Time is almost up. Let’s talk in the car. By the way, you two should be prepared. There are quite a few from the Fishman Sect this time. If you need to go, just go. Don’t be ashamed to run if necessary.”

“Alright.” The two nodded in unison.

In the car, Zhou Leng remembered there were some files during the last investigation, so he asked, “Instructor, are there any files?”

“For such a large-scale operation, to prevent leaks, only those at my captain level can see the relevant information.”

Zhou Leng and Rao Mingxian glanced at each other.

This siege on the Demon Worship Sect might be more dangerous than imagined.

Ordinarily, a siege wouldn’t withhold information.

“When the time comes, just follow my orders. Our entire team will advance and retreat together; there won’t be any problems,” Deng Zhijue said.

“Yes.”

“However…” Deng Zhijue looked at the two and said, “With Qi, Blood, Body, and Power at four levels, you have entered the Vitality Stage, the backbone of the Human Race, so you need to take on more responsibility and face greater risks, understood?”

“Understood!” The two responded in unison.

Deng Zhijue surveyed everyone in the car and said, “Everyone, talk about the martial arts you specialize in, share your strengths and weaknesses for the team to coordinate. Rao Mingxian, you start.”

Rao Mingxian said, “When I was young, I thought Finger Technique was cool, so I specialized in it, but it really made me suffer. Fortunately, I got through it. The advantage of Finger Technique is that it’s slightly longer than fists and palms, and it can channel True Qi. The power is not as strong as fists and palms, but it has a higher True Qi utilization rate… My weakness is that my foundation isn’t strong enough…”

Zhou Leng listened while pondering.

He had thought about Finger Technique before.

As Rao Mingxian mentioned, the weakness of Finger Technique is its weaker power, but it can concentrate True Qi. The later stage highlights the advantages of True Qi more.

When he was young, he was more skilled in Overlapping Waves Palm, but as his Martial Arts Realm advanced, he had to learn multiple martial arts to face various complex situations.

For instance, to deal with Giants, he had to learn Leg Technique and Joint Techniques because that was the martial art with the highest chance of defeating Giants.

He was already good at True Qi Manipulation and, with the aid of the Sea Suppressing Fragmented Map, his True Qi advantage even surpassed that of a super genius like Zhang Xinglie.

Learning Finger Technique could maximize the advantages of True Qi.

“Zhou Leng, it’s your turn,” Deng Zhijue said.

Zhou Leng said, “I specialize in Overlapping Waves Palm and Eight Trigrams Step, with the Overlapping Waves Palm at the Extreme Realm and Eight Trigrams Step at Great Success. My strength lies in the small gains I’ve achieved in the Celestial Ladder and Dwarf World. My body is a bit stronger, my power a bit greater, my True Qi a bit more, and my greatest advantage is my strong True Qi Manipulation…”

When Zhou Leng mentioned reaching the Extreme Realm in Overlapping Waves Palm, everyone in the van looked over in surprise.

After Zhou Leng finished speaking, a Martial Guard asked, “Are you really a new student?”

“Yes.”

“Impressive.”

Rao Mingxian sighed, “Before the end of the first semester, you’ve achieved Martial Arts Extreme Realm, ranking in the top five in Quanru City. Compared to you, my foundation is particularly unstable.”

Everyone introduced themselves in succession, and soon everyone had a clear idea.

Deng Zhijue said, “As per usual, since there’s nothing to do now, let’s have the veteran Martial Guards share their combat experience against the Demon Worship Sect—real combat, specific cases.”

Then, one after another, Martial Guards shared their combat experiences.

Zhou Leng and Rao Mingxian listened attentively, occasionally taking notes.

The van kept taking detours, waiting for a full three hours, until it finally stopped.

“Get out, prepare for battle!”

Everyone quickly exited the vehicle.

There were a total of eight people: two at the Vitality Stage, four at the Body Refining Stage, and two at the late stage of Blood Transport.

The Martial Guards at the late stage of Blood Transport held demonized crossbows.

Zhou Leng looked up and saw three other vehicles from the Martial Guard Bureau stopping.

The four vehicles formed a perimeter around a small courtyard.

Zhou Leng saw Chief Instructor Huang Jingqiu standing in front of a vehicle, nodding at him.

Zhou Leng nodded back, then looked at Rao Mingxian.

Rao Mingxian naturally recognized the chief instructor of the Martial Arts Hall, and the two shared a mutual unease.

What was hidden in this house that required an Innate Master to hold the line?

Zhou Leng looked around.

They were in Mill Town, on the outskirts of Rucheng, with rows of independent houses lined up.

In the distance, outside a company, were numerous Martial Guard vehicles and numerous Martial Guard figures in camouflage, ambiguously visible.

The company’s building visibly bore the name “Changrong Exploration Company.”

Countless demonized drones flew high in the sky, blocking signals and conducting surveillance.

Batches of military and police stormed into the Exploration Company.

Only then did Deng Zhijue speak, “This house is one of the secret exit paths of the Changrong Exploration Company; be prepared.”

“Yes.”

Zhou Leng gradually channeled his Qi and blood, stretching his body.

“Someone’s coming out,” Deng Zhijue reminded.

Zhou Leng heard a faint noise from inside.

Everyone’s muscles tensed, eyes focused on the house.

It was silent inside.

“Break the wall!”

At Huang Jingqiu’s command, Vitality Stage masters rushed forward, kicking the wall.

With each kick, a large hole appeared, and amidst the roaring sound, broken bricks scattered.

In just a few moments, the courtyard wall collapsed, leaving only the house.

“Come out; you can’t escape,” a Martial Guard shouted.

There was a commotion within the house.

“Kill!”

Houses exploded in all directions, bricks and stones flying, dust and glass splattering everywhere.

“Retreat.”

Everyone retreated one after another.

A dozen people burst out of the smoke and charged in all directions, followed by a second wave of a dozen people.

“Stay close to me!”

After Deng Zhijue spoke, like a fierce tiger or wolf, he slightly hunched his back and suddenly leaped towards a Vitality Stage member of the Demon Worship Sect, kicking out with one foot.

The person blocked with both arms, their whole body surging with True Qi. Their hood fell, revealing a face with a chin brimming with blood and flesh tree roots.

Rao Mingxian was momentarily stunned seeing the Demon Worship Sect members pounce out.

Zhou Leng scanned the nearest Demon Worship Sect members. Everyone manipulated their Qi, and with one glance, he could discern their basic realms.

Zhou Leng dismissed the Early and Mid-Stage Body Refining ones, charging straight at a Late Stage of Body Refining one.

That person was just like the ordinary Fishman Sect members, as soon as their True Qi operated, the chin sprouted blood and flesh tentacles, bizarre and terrifying.

Seeing Zhou Leng so young, with his True Qi realm only at the Early Stage of Body Refining, the person swung a punch.

“Get lost!”

Zhou Leng had long wanted to test a Late Stage of Body Refining opponent, directly pushing forward with a palm strike.

Seeing such a solid attack, the person’s eyes flashed, putting away their disdain, attacking with all their strength.

Fist and palm collided.

With a bang, Zhou Leng’s stance wavered, retreating several steps.

The opponent retreated half a step, secretly shocked.

Not only were they at the Late Stage of Body Refining, but also empowered by Demon Skills, having taken a Pill, their strength far exceeding the average Late Stage of Body Refining for a short time.

The two glanced at each other, the other even seemed to want to turn away, but Zhou Leng wasn’t about to let go of such a good opponent for a life-or-death struggle.

“Stay,” Zhou Leng said, sweeping with his right leg as he charged.

The person dodged sideways, and Rao Mingxian stepped forward.

“I’ll lend you a hand,” Rao Mingxian, seeing this person only slightly stronger than Zhou Leng, thought they would definitely win by teaming up with him.

Zhou Leng said, “I want to fight him alone…”

Rao Mingxian punched out, but the person sidestepped, grasped Rao Mingxian’s wrist, shook, and pulled him to stumble forward unbalanced.

The person twisted their body, swung their arm, and Rao Mingxian’s feet left the ground, spinning half a circle, flying out horizontally.

Rao Mingxian flew more than ten meters away, crashing forcefully into a courtyard wall.

“Cough, cough…” Rao Mingxian fell among the rubble, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, looking forward.

Zhou Leng was fighting with that person.

He stared at the two, showing a look of confusion.

He slowly stood up, took a step, swayed from the intense pain in his back, and quickly stopped.

Rao Mingxian barely managed to stand and regulate his breathing, eyes fixed on their fight.

Zhou Leng fought with a life-risking technique right from the start.

The person, already a startled bird, clearly having slightly more experience and strength, got distracted by having to constantly watch the Martial Guard’s movements, causing him to be pressed back step by step by Zhou Leng.

After a dozen moves, the person found most of their people blocked, those who ran out intercepted by military police outside, growing more and more anxious.

“Seeking death!” Driven to desperation, he suddenly punched, without defending himself.

Both simultaneously attacked each other’s chest but simultaneously used body techniques to evade.

With two thuds, they both hit each other’s shoulders.

Both retreated two steps.

“Hmm?” The person glanced at his fist.

Just now it felt like hitting steel, the opponent seemed unharmed.

In contrast, where he got hit sent waves of chilling sensation, he wasn’t sure if it was an illusion.

Zhou Leng stepped forward again.

The person’s heart skipped a beat, instantly realizing he encountered a Martial Guard Department prodigy.

His eyes gleamed fiercely; realizing escape was impossible, he decided to capture this prodigy as a hostage.

He had been battling at the Late Stage of Body Refining for years, reinforced by Demon Skills, without concerns, showing overwhelming strength.

After exchanging seven or eight moves with Zhou Leng, his right arm didn’t fully block, receiving a punch that sent darkness over his eyes, staggering backward.

The person grinned, about to pursue, when suddenly a half-human-high wall whistled towards him.

He quickly retreated, seeing Rao Mingxian raise a large section of brick wall, throwing it again.

Zhou Leng steadied himself, glanced at Rao Mingxian and that person, took a deep breath, rubbed his chest.

A bit painful, but only the chest muscles were injured, not the heart, so he moved forward again.

This time, Zhou Leng no longer charged recklessly, changing his combat strategy.

After a dozen moves, the person found his men successively killed or fallen, yet unable to defeat Zhou Leng, and grew more anxious.

Fiercely he drank a bottle of Magic Potion, his body swelling, skin turning reddish, revealing streaks of black lines.

“Go to hell!” He accelerated, a punch so fast and fierce it roared like a gale.

Zhou Leng saw the situation was too urgent to dodge, using the Overlapping Waves Palm technique that integrated offense and defense.

Tide Rises and Falls.

The True Qi in his body, originally releasing continuously like a long river, now transformed into bursts, like one True Qi cluster after another consecutively flying out.

Their fists and palms collided, Zhou Leng took peculiar retreating small steps.

Each step retreated a mere inch, but within the blink of an eye, he retreated a dozen steps.

Combined with the Tide Rises and Falls Qi, each retreating step dispelled a portion of the power.

Retreating seventeen steps, completely neutralizing the opponent’s ferocious punch.

Only, his arm felt slightly numb and sore.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep