BXBX NOVEL Chapter 162: Devour Life
Lu Zhen was very satisfied with the "Devour" skill.
"As expected of a golden grade skill, even higher than Battle Instinct…" Lu Zhen thought as he focused on the old man who was struggling to move, with veins popping in his head.
"Monster." The old man's eyes reflected deep terror, and his instincts screamed with danger, his eyes wide with a horror deep within.
He was helpless as his Qi was rapidly draining. However, he still had plenty left, and Lu Zhen's absorption ability was very slow, so he could manage. After a while, he felt something deep inside him being drained, causing his aged face to become even more withered, his vitality rapidly diminishing.
Lu Zhen was devouring his vitality.
What was his weakness? Old age. Theoretically, an average martial artist had to train continuously for at least half their entire lifetime to become a second-stage martial artist from the third-martial artist.
However, it was just theoretical. No one could practice continuously; even Lu Zhen couldn't, despite his terrifying physique. And while resources could help shorten the time needed, martial artists faced countless bottlenecks during cultivation, significantly slowing down their progress.
Even as a direct descendant of the Xia family and considered a genius since his youth, he could only reach the second-stage martial artist level after a century. Although he was relatively young compared to an ordinary second-stage martial artist, he still had at most a century more to live. With old age, his cultivation had significantly slowed down.
So, the thing he most yearned for from him was his lifespan. In fact, almost every martial artist had a yearning for lifespan, as, regardless of notions of justice, righteousness, or demonic practices, it all boiled down to one thing: life!
It is the instinct of every living creature to live longer—a never-ending yearning for immortality!
And Lu Zhen was taking away the most important thing to the old man: his lifespan.
"You bastard…" the old man roared, but he coughed, interrupting himself in the process.
"This is a truly terrifying skill," Lu Zhen thought to himself. As he devoured the man's Qi and vitality, he could feel his own vitality increasing. His body felt more energised, and the more he devoured, the more powerful and rejuvenated he became, as if he had become a child again, full of vitality.
His bones seemed to have become denser, and his lean muscles emitted a terrifying aura with the almost condensed wood Qi in his body circulating at a frightening speed.
Lu Zhen directly underwent a qualitative leap, increasing his speed by leaps and bounds. This filled him with exhilaration as a pleasurable sensation coursed through his entire being. Luckily, he quickly adapted to this feeling and suppressed it.
Ignoring his blissful state, he looked at the old man with greed in his eyes as he devoured even more of the man, fully engulfed in this sensation.
Suddenly, Xia Cai, who remained still, moved at a terrifying speed, breaking the sound barrier itself and instantly landing a jump kick right at Lu Zhen.
Lu Zhen's instincts screamed like crazy as his brain received an aura of death.
Even with the Battle Instinct skill, he wasn't able to dodge in time.
Boom!
The earth seemed to shatter as the kick landed on Lu Zhen. However, he remained standing, and the ground underneath him seemed to crack before he was sent hurtling, crashing into a building full of people. The ground underneath Lu Zhen caved in by at least ten feet (304 cm) deep.
Chaos ensued in the crowd as everyone ran with their lives on the line. Nobody even bothered to glance back.
Awoo!
Xia Cai roared, revealing his big, canine sharp teeth. His hands, legs' nails were tall and sharp, emitting a terrifying aura that sent shivers down one spine.
He crouched down on all fours, pressing his hind legs into the ground. The ground beneath him dug in by at least one foot (30 cm) as he propelled himself into the air, reaching a terrifying speed breaking the sound barrier effortlessly as he sped at Lu Zhen with madness reflecting in his fully red eyes.
Lu Zhen vomited blood as he looked around, his expression bitter.
"I let my guard down," he sighed as he summoned his system with a thought.
However, a log screen appeared, prompting his excitement.
"I levelled up?" Lu Zhen opened the log, imagining pressing on it.
[BATTLE INSTINCT has levelled up from level 1 to level 2]
[DEVOUR has levelled up from level 1 to level 2]
[Appraisal eye has levelled up from level 5 to level 6]
[Saber mastery has levelled up from level 6 to level 7]
[Aura control has levelled up from level 5 to level 6]
….
A long list of level-ups filled Lu Zhen's vision, overwhelming him with happiness. Almost all his combat-related skills had advanced at least once in level, but he quickly suppressed his excitement as he opened his status.
[LEVEL UP]
—-----
[Name: Lu Zhen]
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[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Half Human/ Half Volgrith]
[Lifespan left: 170 years]
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[Attributes]
[Constitution: Divine physique (level 4)]
[Charm: Mortal (Level 5)]
[Wood Qi: third-stage martial artist](99.99%)
[Demonic Qi: null]
[Mana: Null Circle]
???
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[Cultivation manuals]
[Cultivation technique: Verdant art (stage 2)]
[Combat arts: [Verdant Whirlwind (full mastery)], [Whispering Shadow Step (full mastery)], [Verdant Grove Fist(full mastery)]]
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Skills: 12
—-----
[Quest]
[Mission completed:1]
His eyes widened as he saw that his lifespan had increased by at least 10 years.