Xingran knew this stuff would taste awful, but she never expected it to be this bad.
Lu Yunze thought he was drinking a lump of muddy perfume, the stench clogging his nose, its sticky texture and pungent taste almost made him vomit on the spot.
It took all his effort to finish it, and he immediately collapsed to the ground, carefully feeling the changes inside his body.
A burning sensation swept through his senses, spreading rapidly in his mind, an indescribable feeling—both painful and invigorating, as if every fiber of his being was ignited.
More importantly, after drinking the medicine, no matter how hard Lu Yunze tried to breathe, he couldn’t dispel the pain crushing his chest.
But maybe that was fine; at least it meant he could still hold on, barely able to continue fighting here. Every second he delayed, Jiang Sui gained one more moment of safety.
As he thought of the little girl’s smile, Lu Yunze’s mind, wild and frenzied from the medicine’s effects, slowly regained some calm.
Lu Yunze’s pace grew quicker, each step growing heavier, and every time the soles of his shoes struck the ground, they left spreading cracks in the earth.
Both hands tightly gripping the Heavy Sword, he stopped stumbling and started leaping, every jump vaulting over a wide courtyard in a single bound, returning to the battlefield at incredible speed, even flying right up to the enemy.
At this moment, the Mistmaster reached out to reattach his head to the stump, turning it until it settled into place. Before the skin could even heal, a dazzling cold light slashed toward him.
The head he had just managed to reattach was knocked away again by Lu Yunze’s Heavy Sword, sent flying straight into a distant ramen shop and smashing heavily onto the ground.
The Mistmaster’s head rolled across the ground, losing several of its few remaining teeth. As he came to, fury blazed across his face.
“Almost finished reattaching it, and you had to come punch me now?!”
This was the second time his head was knocked off. Why wouldn’t this guy die?
Lu Yunze frowned slightly, thinking, Does he have to destroy this guy’s entire body for him to finally die?
Just as he was about to approach the cursing, rolling head, the Mistmaster’s headless body suddenly moved on its own, wildly swinging its hands to launch attacks at him.
Lu Yunze casually dodged the attacks with a few steps back, but unease crept into his mind.
He recalled stories his elders had told him about certain deranged Secret Arts Practitioners.
Secret Arts Practitioners were not limited to mastering just one Secret Art; some specialized in learning many types to increase their strength. But most believed it was better to master one art to perfection than to be mediocre at many.
Even so, there were always fanatics among Secret Arts Practitioners, obsessed with research and willing to use forbidden or dangerous methods.
The man before him was a living example. His original ability was probably related to controlling mist or poison.
But after modifying his body, he had become a walking poison factory, constantly secreting this poisonous Green Mist—a living, large-scale biological weapon.
The side effects were obvious: he had to destroy his own face, tear his flesh apart, and even replace body parts that had rotted away.
Lu Yunze raised the Heavy Sword again, slashing the zombie-like body in half, watching as its green blood sprayed everywhere, his heart grim with determination.
Yet even so, it continued spewing Green Mist. Clearly, he needed to crush the head entirely.
Lu Yunze turned, locking eyes with the Mistmaster.
The latter’s face was already black as coal, teeth clenched in fury. “So you really have to completely destroy me to kill me? I really didn’t want to use that last trick…”
He had thought this would be a simple assassination mission—just hand it to the Execution Division’s greenhorns and it’d be enough. Who could’ve known they’d fail and he’d have to take action himself?
His opponent was just a couple of youngsters, yet the battle had forced him to use his final trump card.
If he used it, who knew if he’d be able to escape into another body?
The Mistmaster’s eyelids drooped, blood seeping out.
Lu Yunze, confirming the enemy’s body would not move again, started to walk towards the direction of his head.
But after only two steps, he heard another strange sound.
The corpse, split in half, suddenly sprouted sticky Touch Tentacles, swatting at Lu Yunze as it began to piece its body back together.
The reconnected flesh swelled rapidly, bursting out of its clothes, and even its bones began to mutate, vertebrae stabbing through the skin of its back, becoming the necessary structure to hold the two halves together.
Without a head, several sharp Touch Tentacles extended from where the neck should be, replacing the brain—a bizarre and monstrous sight.
“What kind of twisted Secret Art is this?”
Aside from the Green Mist and physical enhancement, this guy had a third Secret Art?
And these tentacles looked disturbingly familiar—wasn’t this the same kind of Touch Tentacles that appeared in Li Zhiya’s ruptured wounds earlier?
The Headless Monster lunged, both fists smashing the ground, sending web-like cracks racing across the floor.
“There’s no time for backup now. That thing is already out of my control.”
The Mistmaster finished speaking, watching on with a cold sneer.
The Headless Monster’s form was huge, but its movements were unexpectedly swift.
Lu Yunze kept his distance, but no matter how he dodged, he couldn’t escape its attack range. Each time, he narrowly avoided disaster.
He tried to block its fists with his Heavy Sword. With a loud clang, the force sent him flying backward, slamming into the wall.
Both arms went numb—he thought he might lose his grip completely.
Seeing the Headless Monster charging at him again, with nowhere left to retreat, Lu Yunze rushed toward it instead, leaping high onto its shoulder.
He thought he’d be able to break away, but the creature caught his leg in midair and slammed him violently into the ground.
His back hit hard, and Lu Yunze felt his bones nearly shatter. If not for catching sight of the Headless Monster’s massive foot stomping toward him, he might have given up right then.
Dodging its attack, Lu Yunze tried to fight back several times, but its skin was too tough. The Heavy Sword barely left a shallow wound.
If he wanted to finish this thing, he’d need more power—a force greater than anything he’d used before.
Lu Yunze considered using his own power points, but his current strength wasn’t enough.
Not only did he need force, he needed something that could pierce through its body.
The Heavy Sword was effective, but not by much.
Suddenly, Lu Yunze recalled a weapon he loved to use in games—one he used to wield often.
Could he replicate that move now?
There was no other way. If he didn’t try, how would he know?
Thinking this, Lu Yunze smashed the ground, creating a deep pit that caused the Headless Monster to lose balance. Its lower body was trapped in the earth.
He couldn’t stall for long, but it was enough for a shot.
Lu Yunze moved to the right, keeping some distance, gripping the Heavy Sword tightly. Before, he’d always focused his power points on his hands for better control of heavy weapons.
Now, he would channel everything into the sword itself.
First Power Release—Lu Yunze immediately felt the weapon grow heavier in his hands, but he could still wield it.
Not enough.
The Headless Monster was already starting to break free.
Second Power Release—Lu Yunze nearly lost his grip, only managing to stabilize the weapon by using the ground to counter the force.
Still not enough.
The Headless Monster was climbing out of the pit, charging at him.
Third Power Release—Lu Yunze swung the Heavy Sword behind him. Both the sword and his own body became engulfed in blazing red light, pulsing like living veins.
He steadied the Heavy Sword, the ground at his feet caving in from the immense force.
Wait—he wasn’t at the right distance. If he swung now, he’d only smash the cold stone beneath him.
As the third release neared its limit, Lu Yunze stabbed the Heavy Sword into the ground and used the recoil to propel himself forward.
Then, with all his strength, he brought the Heavy Sword crashing down onto the Headless Monster.
In that instant, both Lu Yunze and the Heavy Sword radiated a dazzling red light, bursting forth with blinding brilliance like the sun.
The Headless Monster’s body was pinned directly onto the sword’s blade, crushed and flattened into a puddle of flesh and blood, smeared across the ground.
The earth trembled, dust billowed, cracks spread up the nearby building’s retaining wall, and spiritual energy fluctuated wildly.
“What kind of monster is this? Are all young people so terrifying these days?”
Quietly rolling away from the battlefield, the Mistmaster, badly injured, knew he couldn’t afford to linger. He had to escape before Lu Yunze caught up.
Once the dust settled, Lu Yunze was still standing, panting so hard his chest heaved violently. His hands seemed glued to the sword’s hilt, unable to let go.
That strike had used up all his strength—he could barely remain standing and collapsed to the ground.
Meanwhile, the fleeing Mistmaster was already hurrying toward the border of the Smoke Zone.
After barely escaping, he stopped, drenched in sweat.
“At last… safe…”
He didn’t even finish his sentence when a gunshot echoed from the distant rooftops.
A bullet whistled through the air, striking the Mistmaster square in the forehead, blowing his head off and sending it flying onto a utility pole.
The Mistmaster’s final act before death was to stare at the blood blooming on his forehead.
Special bullets spun inside the skull, grinding his brain to paste.
From afar, the Sniper lowered his weapon and spoke into his comm:
“Chief, I’ve neutralized the suspected Mistmaster. You should be able to proceed.”
“Alright, thank you.”
The Sniper slung his weapon over his shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected the mission to end so simply.
With the Secret Arts Practitioner dead and the Green Mist dispersing, the Police Bureau and Execution Department, long on standby, finally launched their operation.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.