Chapter 429 - 88: Those Who Stand in My Way Will Die

SPLASH!!

Under the scorching sun, the river’s waves surged relentlessly.

Continuous artillery fire shot out from the wilderness on both riverbanks, crashing down like flaming meteors.

The shooting holes and gun barrels on the freighter’s hull continuously spat fire, blasting out waves of air as they desperately intercepted the hail of bullets and shells from the City Guard Army.

RAT-A-TAT! The gunfire continued as explosions roared across the river and its banks.

The shockwaves turned into a fierce gale that swept across the freighter’s deck.

Wearing a blue hoodie, Wu Yuntao stood by the cargo container area on the right side of the deck. His face was cold as he watched the boy who was once a weak child from the orphanage leap down from the sky, ignoring the rain of bullets and walking straight toward him.

CLANG CLANG CLANG!

The Qi Flame around Lu Chao was exceptionally dense. His brown rock armor seemed to have transformed into solid alloy, exuding an incredibly heavy presence. Every bullet that struck him was deflected, bursting into sparks.

The Rebel members on the deck frantically pulled their triggers, even deploying grenade launchers, but they failed to inflict a single scratch on him.

"Kill him!"

BUZZ!!

Clad in a black robe, Black Owl suddenly appeared beside Wu Yuntao.

Several Superpower Bureau hovercars circled above the freighter, exerting immense pressure. Unable to control his emotions, Black Owl’s voice—which sounded like grinding iron—was filled with murderous intent.

THUD!

Instantly, the steel deck shook violently.

Stomping the ground, he charged forward like a rampaging tank toward Lu Chao. The hail of bullets in his path was brutally smashed aside, reduced to metal dust.

As a special steel-transformation superhuman, Black Owl’s name had long been recorded in the classified files of the Superpower Bureau and the Special Investigation Team.

He could steel-transform his physical body, raising its strength, hardness, and density to levels infinitely close to manganese steel alloy. For a short time, he could even hold his own against an Exploration Level expert—a feat no ordinary Peak of Limit-Breaking superhuman could hope to match.

"Watch out!"

"Leader Lu!"

Yao Jin and the others, who had been momentarily stunned by Lu Chao’s sudden leap from the cabin, immediately turned serious. No longer caring to question why he had acted so impulsively, they shouted warnings through their earpieces.

At the same time, they didn’t forget to order their squad members to activate combat mode and lay down suppressive fire, preparing to jump out and support Lu Chao.

BOOM!!

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, a muffled explosion erupted as a shallow crater was blasted into the center of the deck.

A ring of white airwaves plowed across the surface, sending iron shards flying within a radius of several meters.

Clad in his black combat suit, Lu Chao stood firmly in place. He simply held his left arm across the air, using his silver fist armor as a shield. He didn’t budge an inch.

In stark contrast, Black Owl’s all-out explosive attack was effortlessly blocked.

His black robe burst apart into fluttering shreds, revealing a completely gray, steel-transformed body.

A metallic luster rippled continuously across his skin, and all his muscles bulged tightly like blocks of solid steel.

He had clearly unleashed the full power of his Genetic Spring, yet he failed to injure Lu Chao in the slightest.

"This..."

It wasn’t just Yao Jin’s group—Legos and Zhu Yue’s expressions also shifted slightly as they realized something was amiss.

Being the closest, Black Owl’s gaze grew heavy. He felt as though he had crashed into a reef sturdier than alloy; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake it.

Instinctively, he tried to change his attack pattern.

"Don’t get in the way."

BOOM!!

A punch shot out, far faster than his own!

Lu Chao’s right arm tore through the air, smashing toward Black Owl’s head like a heaven-supporting pillar!

A whistling sonic boom tore through the sky as the brown rock armor and silver fist armor merged into one, detonating all the surrounding air.

A chill gripped his heart, and Black Owl hastily tilted his head.

But then...

BAM!!

His chest jolted violently as if struck by a heavy sledgehammer.

He looked down in disbelief, only to see that the Fist Seal strike he should have evaded had changed direction mid-air and smashed right into his chest.

Hairline fractures appeared on his body, which was infinitely close to manganese steel alloy, followed by the CRACKING sounds of shattering.

"You..."

BOOM!!

Lu Chao’s fist trembled, and the Qi Flame gathered around it exploded violently, unleashing its crushing heavy-pressure property in a frenzy.

The powerful impact tore through everything, completely pulverizing the opponent’s steel-transformed defense. The silver-armored fist forcefully pierced straight through Black Owl’s chest, protruding from his back.

The next instant, Lu Chao retracted his arm.

THUD!

Black Owl collapsed to his knees and died. His face planted against the deck, his wide, staring eyes showed that he couldn’t rest in peace, unable to comprehend why he couldn’t withstand even a single move.

In stark contrast, Lu Chao’s expression remained as indifferent as ever. Without his gaze wavering for even a second, he walked step by step toward Wu Yuntao, who was dozens of meters away.

The swirling Qi Flame condensed into armor once more, emitting an oppressive aura.

Whether it was Yao Jin, Li Xiyuan, and the others preparing to jump from the cabin, or Rebels like Legos and Zhu Yue, everyone’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

"Could it be..."

SWISH!!

BOOM!!

The brown Qi Flame suddenly flared outward, blasting forth like a fired cannonball.

Legos, Zhu Yue, and the others, who instinctively moved forward to block him, found their paths obstructed and were forced to use their own methods to withstand the attack.

Amidst the rumbling explosions, the Qi Flame burst apart, shattering the freighter’s steel plates.

Lu Chao, previously the center of everyone’s attention, vanished from his spot and reappeared on the right side of the deck.

His striking silver-armored fist moved with the momentum of a frenzied dragon, viciously clashing head-on with the blue-clad young man.

BOOM!!

Instantly, a muffled explosion erupted, sending rings of airwaves rolling out in all directions.

Standing by the command cabin and the side of the deck, Legos and the others deflected the shockwaves of the Qi Flame explosion, their expressions turning grim.

Inside the hovercar in mid-air, Li Xiyuan’s expression shifted drastically. Abandoning any sense of luck, he confirmed his suspicions.

"Exploration Level."

Reactions varied among the crowd. Even the normally taciturn Special Commissioner Liu had a flicker of shock in his eyes, and Yao Jin’s face was filled with utter astonishment.

She still hadn’t stepped into the Exploration Level. Yet this man, who had entered the Superpower Level two years later than her, had actually broken through first?

A wave of complex emotions welled up in her heart as she turned her gaze toward his figure, amidst the CRASHING of the wind and waves.