“So attribute extraction can actually fail? Could this panel have come from some Goose Company product?”
Xu Yuan shook his head with a laugh. It seemed that attribute extraction had a fairly high failure rate as well.
He then looked toward the newly appeared ability: Paralysis.
‘Even though it sounds like I’m insulting someone, this ability really is excellent.’
Xu Yuan read the skill description. His attacks now had a 5% chance of inflicting Paralysis, causing the enemy’s qi and blood to fall into disorder for three seconds.
Disorder in their qi and blood for three seconds?
A sharp gleam flashed through Xu Yuan’s eyes.
That was equivalent to saying that, for those three seconds, the opponent would briefly lose a martial artist’s ability and be unable to mobilize their qi and blood.
For martial artists of higher levels, time was all the more precious.
In most situations, those three seconds were enough to decide life or death.
“Although the probability is a bit low, it’ll still be decent enough if my attack speed is fast enough.”
Xu Yuan understood clearly that this skill could help him fight enemies at the same level, but as an overall enhancement, it still was not as strong as Berserk.
Presumably, that was because there was some gap in quality between the two.
“Looks like in the future, I’ll have to find some high-quality martial arts to cultivate.”
“But before that, I need to break through to eight-meridian first. By then, I should be able to strut sideways through the entire Level Three zone.”
At that thought, Xu Yuan suppressed his excitement and calmly resumed practicing his stance art.
…
Bai Family, main headquarters in the Level Three zone.
At that moment, Bai Jinwu, the Bai Family’s eight-meridian chief overseer, was holding a meeting with his subordinates.
He slammed a hand down on the wooden table in fury.
“The Shangyang Residence has gone too far. They want to drive our Bai Family out of the Level Three zone without leaving us a single street. They’re not giving us the slightest face! This is humiliation, the greatest humiliation!”
“Since I’ve taken over command of the war here, I naturally have to win back our honor…”
His finger slid across the strategic map before finally coming to rest on the name of the Shangyang Residence’s battle overseer, Xu Yuan.
At this point, the Bai Family had no real power left to turn the situation around. Their withdrawal from the Level Three zone was inevitable.
But even so, they still had to make the Shangyang Residence pay dearly.
That made the choice of target self-evident. It had to be Xu Yuan, the man who had ruined their plans time and again.
There was another reason as well. Xu Yuan was now being promoted as an example for others. If they truly managed to kill him, the intimidation value would be greatest, the reputation gained would sound the best, and it would be the hardest slap possible to the Shangyang Residence’s face.
Besides that, Xu Yuan’s Aptitude was also astonishing. In the future, he might even break through all nine levels of the Meridian Opening Realm.
Taken together, killing this man offered exceptional value.
Liu Zhensi, who stood nearby, immediately understood the chief overseer’s intention. Narrowing his eyes, he said, “According to intelligence, Xu Yuan is cautious by nature and likes to hide his true strength… Still, he only registered as seven-meridian not long ago. Even if we assume the most, at most he’s kept one trump card hidden and trained one martial art to Perfected.”
That was already a generous estimate.
The Shangyang Residence’s Heavenly Net Mirror, which tested cultivation levels, had never lied. It could not possibly be that Xu Yuan had just broken through to seven-meridian and then entered eight-meridian as well, could it?
What, did they think a bottleneck was no longer a bottleneck, but some woman’s maidenhead that could be broken with a single snap?
Bai Jinwu tapped his finger against the wooden table and asked, “By the way, do we still have any spies left on Xu Yuan’s side?”
A trace of difficulty appeared on Liu Zhensi’s face. “No. Even if we do, they’d only be in Qunlong Ward. They can’t get anywhere near Xu Yuan.”
Bai Jinwu shook his head. “Fine, forget it.”
“This time, you’ll go fight Xu Yuan head-on. I’ll wait in the shadows for the right moment and make sure to kill him cleanly and directly with a single strike!”
“Once he’s dead, we’ll withdraw from the Level Three zone.”
Liu Zhensi nodded, but then asked worriedly, “But will Zhao Yan be guarding against a move like this?”
Bai Jinwu let out a sneer. “Most likely he will, which is why we need to exploit the timing and finish the matter before Zhao Yan arrives!”
Liu Zhensi said in a deep voice, “With Chief Overseer Bai making a move personally, killing Xu Yuan naturally will not be difficult. This time, it will also avenge the martial artists our Bai Family has lost!”
…
Two days later.
Just as Xiao Han’s side was preparing to move their forces,
The Bai Family suddenly launched an attack and caught them completely off guard.
The battle this time was exceptionally fierce, but the Shangyang Residence’s martial artists all knew this was a rare opportunity. The Bai Family would probably be defeated and driven off after this battle.
Battle merits were right before their eyes. If they did not fight now, then when would they?
Several Workshop Masters mobilized along the entire line as well and engaged the Bai Family’s Workshop Masters in battle.
And at that moment, Xu Yuan naturally found himself facing Liu Zhensi.
The two seven-meridian martial artists instantly clashed in a fierce battle.
With both Wandering Dragon Step and Iron Garment Art at Perfected, something rarely seen among seven-meridian martial artists, Xu Yuan naturally forced Liu Zhensi into a miserable struggle, filling the latter’s heart with shock.
More importantly, whenever he traded blows with Xu Yuan, every so often a strange force would disrupt his qi and blood, forcing him to retreat and catch his breath.
“What the hell is this damned thing of yours?!” Liu Zhensi could not help but curse in anger.
Xu Yuan said nothing, merely meeting him head-on in a relentless exchange of heavy blows and holding a complete advantage in the fight.
Only when Liu Zhensi began to show signs of failing,
a figure suddenly flashed out from hiding at terrifying speed, charging at Xu Yuan like death itself!
‘This is… the Bai Family’s chief overseer entering the fray?’
Xu Yuan’s heart jolted, but he did not panic.
He pushed Wandering Dragon Step to its absolute limit beneath his feet and narrowly evaded the fatal killing blow.
So that was it. He had wondered why the Bai Family had launched a sudden attack. It turned out they were coming for him.
Xu Yuan avoided direct confrontation and constantly circled around Bai Jinwu, gradually dragging the battle toward the edge of the battlefield, where the Workshop Masters of both sides were already locked in combat.
Xu Yuan had just been about to leave when he caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of his eye, and his heart stirred.
Then, little by little, he led the battle toward a spot not far from Huo Gang.
Bai Jinwu was already irritated. He had not expected Xu Yuan to be this difficult to deal with, so slippery and so fast that he could barely pin him down.
When he noticed a six-meridian martial artist of the Shangyang Residence nearby and in his way, he casually threw a burst of fist force at him.
Huo Gang was currently entangled with a Bai Family five-meridian martial artist and had no idea that a fatal threat was approaching from behind.
By the time he noticed it, that burst of fist force had already reached him.
Boom!
Huo Gang turned in horror, his pupils contracting sharply. He only had time to make out his attacker’s face before, in the next instant, the fist force blasted straight through his chest.
Blood splashed everywhere, and bits of flesh flew apart.
Huo Gang lowered his head to look at his chest. There, a hole the size of a bowl had appeared, clean through from front to back.
“This…”
For some reason, he instinctively looked toward Xu Yuan. Although he could not make out the latter’s expression, he still felt that this matter had something to do with him.
“Just… one more day, and I could have, could have… I hate this!”
Huo Gang’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but his words came out broken and incomplete.
Then his whole body fell stiffly to the ground.
“Workshop Master Huo!”
Some Shangyang Residence martial artists cried out in alarm and hurriedly pulled away from that area.
The corner of Xu Yuan’s mouth lifted slightly before returning to normal. Without pausing, he led Bai Jinwu toward another area, though along the way he took several blows by accident, leaving him looking somewhat bedraggled.
‘The Bai Family really did move fast. If they had given me another five days, I would have stepped into eight-meridian. Unfortunately, heaven does not grant people their wishes…’
Fortunately, with the enhancement of Berserk, he was still able to contend with the enemy for a while. Holding out until Zhao Yan arrived should be possible.
Bai Jinwu’s brows knit slightly. The punch he had thrown earlier had only been casual. He had not put much thought into it.
Still, killing a six-meridian martial artist in passing was not a bad outcome.
Right now, the most important thing was still the brat in front of him.
“Xu Yuan, you won’t get away!”
Bai Jinwu shouted slowly, his figure bursting forward again as he gave chase.
Xu Yuan remained silent and pushed Wandering Dragon Step with all his might, weaving and darting through the battlefield.
Eight-meridian was eight-meridian after all. The man’s speed was astonishing, and his strength was overwhelming.
If Xu Yuan’s movement art had not already reached perfection, and if Iron Garment Art could not endure the aftershocks, he would likely have died long ago.
Even so, injuries had already begun appearing on his body.
A sweep of palm wind struck his left arm, leaving it burning with pain. A burst of fist force hit his back, making his qi and blood churn violently. A line of force scraped across his face, leaving a bloody mark…
But Xu Yuan never panicked.
He had been waiting the whole time.
Waiting for one person.
Right at that moment, a furious roar came from the distance:
“You dare injure a martial artist at my Shangyang Residence? I’ll turn you into battle merits to aid my cultivation!!”
A figure shot over like a meteor, his qi and blood surging around him like a raging tide. It was Chief Overseer Zhao Yan.
“Bai Jinwu, I never expected you would actually dare show yourself. But that’s fine. It’s about time we closed the net on the Level Three zone as well.”
He gave a cold smile, clearly not taking the other man seriously.