Chapter 130 - 104: Martial Arts Combined with Technology

Chapter 130: Chapter 104: Martial Arts Combined with Technology

Having obtained the item he needed most, Lu Jing’an felt his mind settle. Tapping his toes lightly, his figure drifted like a fallen leaf, silently floating back to the center of the dilapidated stage. The old wooden floorboards beneath his feet let out a soft CREAK, exceptionally clear in the suddenly tense silence.

Leopard One watched Lu Jing’an, who now stood firmly opposite him once more. His gaze was like someone appraising a toy about to be dismantled. He grinned, the corners of his mouth stretching almost to the roots of his ears to reveal stark white teeth. His tone was a sinister mix of mockery, cruelty, and a certain morbid excitement.

"Very good... Later on, make sure you don’t run, and make sure you don’t hide. Otherwise—" He deliberately dragged out his tone, his gaze sweeping over the dense crowd below the stage like a venomous snake. "You won’t be the only one dying. That would be... very boring, and a great waste."

Lu Jing’an slowly raised his eyes. The afternoon sun slanted across his handsome profile, leaving half of it bright and clear, and the other half hidden in the shadows of his eyelashes. When he spoke, his voice was not loud, but every word was distinct, carrying an icy, penetrating force.

"I hope you can run a little faster later on." Lu Jing’an paused, his gaze locking onto Leopard One’s bloodthirsty eyes. "Otherwise, you will be beaten to death by me very quickly. I’m in a hurry."

"Hahahahaha!"

As if hearing the greatest joke in the world, Leopard One suddenly erupted into a booming laughter that echoed like a massive bell. The sound shook the canopy of the stage, causing dust to rustle down. He laughed so hard he rocked back and forth, the metal ornaments on his clothes clinking together.

"Good, good, very good! It’s truly... been a long time since anyone dared to say such things to me, Leopard One!" His laughter came to an abrupt halt, and his face instantly darkened. All expression was replaced by pure killing intent. "Then let’s see which one of us will tear the other to pieces first!"

The moment his words fell, Leopard One’s body abruptly sank, and his right foot stepped a half-pace forward.

BOOM!

A visible, pale red energy wave violently spewed from the pores all over his body! This was no illusory Qi Force; it was more like a blood mist formed by the evaporation of extremely vigorous, nearly boiling vitality. Carrying a strong metallic stench of rust and sweet blood, it rapidly spread outward, dyeing the three-foot radius around him in an ominous, dark red hue.

Leopard One’s exposed skin instantly turned crimson. Blue veins bulged out like earthworms, throbbing violently beneath his skin. His entire person resembled a volcano on the verge of erupting.

Lu Jing’an’s brows furrowed imperceptibly. He recognized this Technique; it was the Blood Boiling Technique, an unorthodox art that stimulated one’s potential by burning their very source of life. It could push a person’s vitality and strength to their peak within a short period, but it caused immense damage to the meridians and internal organs. In Lu Jing’an’s eyes, this method was exceedingly crude. Its enhancements were limited while leaving behind endless hidden dangers—a truly inferior practice.

However, Leopard One’s actions did not stop. Amidst the rising blood mist, his large hand, knotted with bulging veins, swiftly reached into a bulging leather satchel at his waist. The style of the satchel was completely out of place with the people around them, bearing a distinct Void World style. When he withdrew his hand, his fingers steadily gripped a crystal-clear glass test tube about the length of a forearm.

The test tube refracted a cold light under the sun. It was filled with a thick, heavy, silver-bright liquid that resembled melted mercury. As it flowed sluggishly, it almost seemed alive. A trace of near-fanaticism flashed across Leopard One’s eyes. Popping the wooden cork off with his thumb, he tilted his head back and downed the eerie liquid in one gulp!

GULP...

The moment the liquid slid down his throat, a sudden mutation occurred!

SIZZLE...

A teeth-grating sound, like cold water dripping into boiling oil, emanated from inside Leopard One’s body. His already swollen muscles bulged and stretched once again in a terrifying manner. His bones let out a scalp-numbing CRACK. At a speed visible to the naked eye, the skin across his entire body lost its color and elasticity, taking on a cold, hard, and lifeless metallic luster.

First came a dull iron-gray, which rapidly shifted to a glaring silver-white, before finally settling into a dark silver-gray similar to Fine Steel! Amidst the cracking sounds, his height continuously shot up. His already burly, nearly 1.9-meter-tall frame forcefully broke past the two-meter mark. His shoulders became unusually broad and thick, his chest as sturdy as a wall, and his arms thicker than an ordinary person’s thighs. The contours of his muscles no longer possessed the softness of flesh and blood; instead, they were filled with the angularity and hardness of metallic blocks.

Under the sunlight, his entire body reflected a cold, hard metallic matte finish. When his joints moved, there was even a faint, unsettling sound of metal grinding against metal. At this moment, Leopard One had already transcended the boundaries of a human, looking more like a steel golem hastily cast by a clumsy artisan—brimming with primal violence and a heavy, oppressive presence.

He merely moved his ankle slightly.

CRACK! CRASH!

The stage beneath his feet, pieced together from thick wooden planks, actually couldn’t withstand his suddenly skyrocketing, terrifying weight. Centered around where he stood, the planks shattered inch by inch. Wood chips flew into the air as the floor caved straight into a shallow pit, exposing the rammed yellow earth below. The entire stage shook violently in tandem, letting out a groan of being overwhelmed.

And in the instant Leopard One drank that unknown metallic liquid and completed this horrifying metamorphosis, the orange [Danger Perception] entry within Lu Jing’an’s sea of consciousness suddenly lit up with an urgent and blinding radiance!

A faint, needle-like prickling sensation lingered at the center of his brows. This was an unprecedented warning. Just earlier, when he first stepped onto the stage to face Leopard One, the entry hadn’t reacted at all. Yet now it was so intense, signifying that the threat level of the metal golem before him had already surged by several times!

THUD! CLANG!

Leopard One seemed highly satisfied with his current state.