Chapter 253: Chapter 160: Shame of Defeat 2

It was just like her final attack from their first encounter.

Appearing above his head without any warning.

Only when his Final Sense screamed with an extreme sense of crisis did he feel the danger approaching.

Before that, he hadn’t detected a thing.

’This must be her unique approach.’

SHWISH!

Eight illusions struck at him from different directions!

Each illusion would suddenly vanish from afar, only to reappear out of thin air in a different position around him.

Each illusion was executing an Assassination Skill.

And yet, the true attack wasn’t coming from any of their positions.

Instead, an extremely intense sense of crisis emanated from directly above his head!

"Killing Technique—Lost in This Realm"

"Lost in This World, the Cutting of Resolution"

Lu Cang sensed the danger from above.

Formless... substanceless. It stirred no wind, nor did it cause any spatial disturbance.

It was as if it didn’t exist in this world at all.

Only a powerful, intuitive warning told Lu Cang that an attack was coming from above.

Beyond that, there were no other signs.

’I’ll try taking it head-on.’

Lu Cang swallowed a pill he held in his mouth while simultaneously pushing his body’s defenses to their absolute limit.

Lu Cang let out a short cry, "Ha!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

[Battle Cry: Rigid Glazed Body (Level 301)—Extreme Hardening, Rebound, Full Body Defense, Extreme Physical Defense Enhancement, Instant Hardness Special Enhancement, Longer Duration, Super Resistance to Cutting, Super Resistance to Piercing]

In that instant, Lu Cang’s body turned rigid, seeming to reflect a brilliant, glazed light!

CLANG!

Lu Cang felt a swift and ferocious attack strike the top of his head!

It struck his hair, which was as hard as glazed crystal!

A sharp, metallic clang rang out!

And yet, his Perception still failed to detect any presence!

SCREECH—

He felt a long spark grind across the top of his head!

Only then did a figure fall back.

Leng Qingying clutched her numb wrist.

’I can’t cut through!’

’Leng Qingying had been quite confident in this attack’s lethality. It struck from directly above, so how did it hit his body and still fail to break his defense?’

PFFT!

As the question was still forming in her mind,

she felt a sudden warmth in her abdomen. At some point, a beam of Light had already pierced through it.

It was already a fatal wound.

Lu Cang had defeated Leng Qingying once again.

’That was a really powerful strike...’ he mused silently.

’Its strength wasn’t in its lethality, but in how it completely vanished, making it impossible to detect.’

Until the moment the attack was complete, Lu Cang’s Perception hadn’t detected Leng Qingying’s presence at all.

’How truly terrifying.’

"The gap between us is just too wide right now. Do you still want to continue?"

Leng Qingying’s fatal wound healed the moment the battle concluded.

She looked at the young man before her.

Only a single thought dominated her mind.

’No matter what I do, I’ll never be able to beat him.’

"But I still want to get stronger."

"Hmm..." Lu Cang murmured.

Lu Cang understood the feeling. In a magical world like this, overwhelming strength was the most important thing.

When reason failed, you could always punch your way through.

You could be reasonable when you wanted to be.

And if others were unreasonable with you, a single slap could shut them up.

Lu Cang understood this principle well, which was why he, too, was so determined to grow stronger.

"So, have you gained anything from this?"

Leng Qingying looked at Lu Cang and shook her head, a blank expression on her face.

"You don’t get stronger just by losing all the time."

"If the battles don’t teach you anything, then there’s no point in getting stronger, is there?"

Lu Cang glanced toward the spectator stands.

"I actually think I know a suitable opponent for you."

Sensing Lu Cang’s gaze, Xu Zhou appeared in the arena, teleporting from the stands.

"What is it?"

Leng Qingying had seen Xu Zhou when she first arrived, but she only had eyes for Lu Cang and had paid no mind to the ugly creature.

"A Void Creature, a Level 4 Root Mage."

"He’s a good friend of mine; we exchange insights about the Root Source. He should have just recently advanced to a Level 4 Mage himself."

"A match between you two should be perfect."

"After all... it’s far too easy for me to crush you two. You’re not making any progress fighting me, are you?"

...

A vein throbbed on both Leng Qingying’s and Xu Zhou’s foreheads.

’This guy...’

’He’s so arrogant.’

But they had to admit that Lu Cang was, in fact, absurdly strong.

"Why don’t you two try sparring?"

Lu Cang suggested.

Leng Qingying glanced at the ugly thing, then back at Lu Cang, and nodded.

"I have no problem with that," Xu Zhou said. "In fact, I’m quite curious about this little one’s strength myself."

Lu Cang nodded.

He then retreated to the spectator stands.

WHOOSH~

The map this time was a domain of drifting snow...

The map was the Ice Heaven Snow Realm.

’It seems the last few battles hit Leng Qingying pretty hard. She’s no longer arrogant enough to fight on a map with no cover.’

’Right now, all Leng Qingying wants is to win just one match.’

SHWISH!

SHWISH SHWISH SHWISH SHWISH SHWISH—

Xu Zhou moved through the Void, his form flickering in and out of reality!

His Magic rained down furiously on Leng Qingying!

However...

WHOOSH!

A chaotic storm of illusions flickered and scattered!

Leng Qingying’s form switched back and forth between the phantoms; the Magic spells swept through, but they only struck her illusions!

Xu Zhou blinked away repeatedly!

CLANG!

But a cold glint of light, like a relentless viper, stuck to him like a shadow!

’So fast!’

’Such a fierce attack!’

VMM!

He took a single step, crossing a great distance, but the moment he reappeared in real space, Leng Qingying’s Dagger was already slicing at his throat!

"Blade Kill·Throat Slit"

CLANG!

A Shield materialized!

But the Shield was instantly sliced apart as if it were made of paper!

PFFT!

Xu Zhou’s throat was slashed!

But to Leng Qingying, it felt as if she had only cut through a black shadow, with none of the feedback of striking a physical body.