Level Up in Martial World

Lu Zhen sighed as he sat on his throne, looking at the empty hall.

He was wearing his emperor robes, intricately adorned with dragon symbols woven finely and detailed to showcase the quality of the robes.

His long black hair cascaded down his shoulders, and his crimson eyes seemed to contain a hint of chilling indifference.

With well-defined facial features, he looked handsome, his extremely bulky body exuding a domineering aura, as if he were a celestial immortal descended straight from heaven.

A woman suddenly entered the palace, bringing a smile to Lu Zhen's extremely cold face. His handsome facial features seemed to blossom like flowers, accentuating his allure even further.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" he called out gently.

"Well," Lu Ying rubbed her temples, her face haggard with exhaustion.

She was holding a small paper in her hand. "Do you remember the envoy from the war against the other three families, and the person I wanted to deliver the demonic cultivation to? She was dead all along. We found her body in a terribly mutilated state, and…"

When Lu Zhen heard this, his expression turned serious, his eyebrows arching with concern. "What happened?"

Lu Ying hesitated, her voice laced with uncertainty, but ultimately, she decided to speak. "That envoy was also from the eight great bloodline families, so they already have some involvement in Phoenix City."

Lu Zhen's eyes narrowed as he delved into deep contemplation.

It had only been a day since Lu Ming broke through and became a mid-first-stage martial artist, and there were still six days remaining before the marching army arrived.

Yet, now another problem has arisen seemingly out of nowhere.

If Lu Ying hadn't mentioned it, Lu Zhen might never have considered the implications of that encounter, the memory of the assailant who had nearly taken his life fading into the background amidst the chaos of recent events.

With so many pressing matters vying for his attention, Lu Zhen found himself consumed by a myriad of concerns, almost forgetting about this matter altogether.

"I already had troubles with that sect, and now another has joined the fray…" Lu Zhen muttered as he closed his eyes, sinking into deep thought.

Lu Ying sighed deeply as she quietly departed, her eyes flickering with an indescribable light as she moved away.

Her waist-long hair swayed gently in the air, caught in the currents of her conflicted thoughts.

"I will protect you, my son, no matter what," she declared, her words carrying a conviction that brooked no argument.

...

Meanwhile, in the dimly lit chamber of Lu Huang, a solemn atmosphere pervaded as he stared at a piece of paper with an expressionless face.

Eventually, he crumpled the paper in his hand, his features contorting into a darker expression.

"That woman... a mere servant dared to betray me like this…" Lu Huang's voice dripped with rage, the sheer force of his anger causing the table before him to shatter into fragments.

The very air crackled with tension as Lu Huang seethed with fury.

"Shadow One," he bellowed.

Instantly, a shadowy figure materialised before him, bowing in subservience.

"Yes, master," the shadow's voice echoed with an icy chill.

Lu Huang's eyes gleamed with bloodlust.

"Bring that traitor to me, or if she resists, eliminate her immediately," he commanded, his rage-filled demeanour swiftly giving way to a calm, calculated resolve.

The shadow nodded silently as it seamlessly melded back into the darkness. A discerning eye would notice the similarity between this technique and the one employed by Li Nan, though it seemed more intricate and potent.

Alone in the hall once more, Lu Huang found himself immersed in contemplation. Beads of sweat formed on his brow as a dawning realisation seemed to widen his eyes.

"Lu Zhen must have been aware of me for a long time now, especially after witnessing Li Nan's faulty reports," Lu Huang muttered, his gaze narrowing with suspicion.

However, he didn't have any way to deal with his son now, although his own realm was at the early second-stage martial realm, while Lu Zhen could previously defeat a first-stage martial artist when he was barely at peak third-stage martial artist.

Whatever method he used to defeat the man Lu Zhen was able to fight the first-stage martial artist for a time with peak third-stage martial artist cultivation, Lu Huang was aware of his own strength; he could die from just a casual strike from a first-stage martial artist. Their power was terrifying, to say the least.

Lu Huang still remembered the domineering aura that Lu Zhen had released when they were in the meeting in the palace; his mere aura was enough to completely immobilize his body.

"I need some external forces," Lu Huang muttered as he suddenly thought of the crisis heading towards his own city right now.

"But this cannot be done recklessly. Even if I kill that unfilial son of mine, his mother might kill me…" he went to his chair and sat, looking at the broken table, a small frown appearing on his face.

…

In the quiet solitude of his cultivation chamber, Lu Zhen's keen gaze fell upon the sprawling pile of resources laid out before him.

With a sense of casual ease, he extended his hand, the movement accompanied by a faint green glow that seemed to dance in the air.

Swish!

A single Qi stone responded to his command, lifting into the air with a graceful motion, levitating in thin air.

If you look carefully at its Qi fluctuation, it revealed a very pure Qi, unlike the most common Qi stones used by ordinary martial artists.

This was a middle-grade Qi stone; however, if you look at the ground, there were thousands of middle-grade Qi stones among the stacks of cultivation resources, all lined up in a pile.

There was even a relatively bigger stone in the middle whose signatures were above the others by many folds. It slightly leaked pure Qi, which had a calming effect on others' minds.

Lu Zhen made a grabbing motion, and instantly, the middle-grade Qi stone landed in his hand swiftly.

Without a shred of hesitation he directly opened his jaws wide, swallowing the whole Qi stone!

As the Qi stone travelled down his espionage and entered his body, instantaneously it was dissolved.

The pure Qi without any attribute to it instantly was absorbed by Lu Zhen and converted into plant Qi.