CHAPTER 155: CHAPTER 155: WANT TO KILL ME? YOU CAN TRY! (REQUESTING FULL SUBSCRIPTION)

The Nightmare Demon’s words solidified Lu Luo’s next course of action: kill the man behind him.

This place is secluded enough and narrow enough. It also has a rule that one can’t leave the field of vision, which is very suitable for restricting the movement of shadow people. The Nightmare Demon already said that if I can defeat him, he will come to see me. That means as long as I can win, I don’t need to consider the rules of this area anymore and can leave. The plan is clear, the conditions are set. Let the action begin!

Lu Luo closed the corridor door. Looking at Li Qingshu swimming towards him, he completely gave up control over the poison gas, letting it fill the passageway.

He hung ten grenades all over the door, then strung several steel wires through the pins to create a simple trap.

Seeing Li Qingshu still a long distance away, Lu Luo decided to start enhancing his attributes.

"Enhance Agility to 30."

[Enhancing Agility to 30. Enhancement complete.]

Agility, as a secondary priority attribute, naturally needed to be raised when energy was ample.

After enhancing Agility, next came the main event.

"Enhance Constitution to 50."

[Enhancing Constitution...]

With a massive amount of energy as the foundation, Lu Luo’s Constitution began to skyrocket: 35, 40, 50!

[Your Constitution has reached 50. You have obtained a new Sequence change. Sequence C-00-Extreme has been enhanced, promoted to B.]

Sequence Chain B-00-Extreme

Effect—Endurance: Reduces 27% of damage taken, stacks with any other damage reduction. All damage ultimately reduced by 9 (Basic -5, Extreme -2, 40 Constitution -2).

Effect—Agility: Increases Agility by 22%, reduces fall damage, enhances jumping ability.

Effect—Force: Increases physical damage by 22%, physical damage penetration +4%.

Effect—Strength: Increases Vitality by 40%, increases physical damage by 11%.

Description: Extreme is the zenith; only the peak can forge the Extreme State.

The enhancement process caused Lu Luo’s body to tremble incessantly. Watching Li Qingshu get closer, Lu Luo adapted to his gradually changing emotions: nervousness, excitement, and a hint of absolute murderous intent.

HA!

Lu Luo opened his mouth again, and a large amount of poison mist flowed out. His extremely high Constitution now allowed him to completely ignore the erosion of the poison gas.

In the last moments before his vision was about to disappear, Lu Luo said to Li Qingshu, "Aren’t you trying to kill me? Come on then!"

Li Qingshu found it surprising that Lu Luo chose not to run but to provoke him here. He sneered at such behavior. Although he coveted the secret within Lu Luo, he absolutely wouldn’t die here for it. He had a bright future ahead of him. Even without the secret within Lu Luo, he was still the master of shadows.

"Stupid fool! Just wait to be killed by that armor. I have no interest in playing a death game with you here."

Li Qingshu continued to swim forward, hidden in Shadow Dodge. Lu Luo, for now, had found no way to disrupt this shadow form. It was precisely because of this special form that Lu Luo was determined to kill Li Qingshu here. An enemy with a shadow form was too dangerous.

Although Lu Luo couldn’t catch Li Qingshu now, he didn’t mind. If Li Qingshu wanted to run, he had to open the door, and to open it, he would have to materialize!

"Why do people like you always act so arrogantly and forget what others say? I think I’ve said it before: I never thought I would die here. The only one who will die here is you."

"Big talk. Do you really think I’m afraid of you?"

Although Li Qingshu said this, as he passed Lu Luo in the poison gas, he didn’t even glance at him and moved right through. He had talked big earlier, but in this eerie corridor, Li Qingshu only wanted to run.

"Lu Luo, our battle will have to wait until the next area. I’ll be waiting for you!"

Soon, Li Qingshu arrived at the doorknob. He just needed to materialize and open the door, all in an extremely short period. Even if the armor was incredibly fast, it wouldn’t be able to stop him from this distance. That was his way out of here.

In a normal situation, if he were breaking in alone, this plan would definitely be foolproof. But the current situation was different, because Lu Luo was there!

Lu Luo had been quietly staring into the depths of the mist. Even in the hallway, he had to keep his eyes on the armor’s direction. The armor wasn’t just one set.

Just as the sound of the doorknob turning behind him resonated, Lu Luo pulled the pins connected to the grenades.

"Bro, here’s a 10-hit combo for you!"

BOOM!

Li Qingshu, having materialized, was sent flying by the intense blast of ten consecutive grenade explosions. Having left his shadow state, before he could react, the armor once again caught him by the ankle.

Lu Luo had wondered why Li Qingshu hadn’t used Shadow Dodge earlier. But after seeing this, he had a theory. If Li Qingshu wasn’t in an independent state—meaning, if he was being grabbed or controlled—he couldn’t use Shadow Dodge.

Watching Li Qingshu being dragged away by the armor, Lu Luo laughed and began walking deeper into the hallway. Although the path ahead was completely engulfed in mist, leaving no visibility, he knew that the weeping face armor would keep beating up Li Qingshu for a while. This shadow person must die.

Li Qingshu, once again dragged to the end of the hallway, was prepared this time. The moment the armor was about to strike him, he unleashed Shadow Pressure, instantly crushing the armor. But the armor’s rules seemed more complex than he had imagined; the armor, though squashed into a metal ball, restored itself. It then punched Li Qingshu’s Shadow Shield.

BANG!

COUGH! HACK!

As Li Qingshu coughed up blood, he also inhaled a large amount of mist. He swayed under the armor’s furious assault. After nearly thirty seconds, the armor’s assault on him finally ceased.

"HA! HA! HA!"

Li Qingshu knelt on the ground, gasping for air. The surrounding mist made breathing difficult, but taking deep breaths offered some slight relief.

"Three times! I’ve been caught three whole times, Lu Luo!"

Li Qingshu gritted his teeth. He had discovered two conditions for the armor to remain still. First, one had to stay within a twenty-meter radius of the end of the hallway. Second, as long as one kept their gaze on the armor, it would not move. But he had just barely made it to the end of the hallway only to be grabbed and pulled back. How could Li Qingshu accept that?

"That guy, Lu Luo."

"Are you from Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals?"

Li Qingshu was stunned. He subconsciously started to answer but immediately closed his mouth. He hadn’t expected Lu Luo, who had already reached the end of the hall, to return. Had the man gone mad?

But since they had both returned to the starting point, Li Qingshu was no longer in a hurry. As long as he was within twenty meters of the end of the hallway, the armor would be in a safe state. This was the hallway’s final safe zone. If Lu Luo dared to come over, then he would die here. He hadn’t made a move earlier because the environment was unsuitable, but here, the conditions were ripe for a fight. After prying the secret from him, it wouldn’t be too late to leave.

"Originally, some of your actions made me think you weren’t that stupid. But your decision to return for me has wiped away that little bit of respect I had for you. You really are stupid, Lu Luo."

"Is that so? I don’t think so. When I was little, my mom often praised me for being smart."

You forgot again, in this world you are an orphan.

COUGH, COUGH! Can we not always bring up the orphan thing?

Li Qingshu waved his hand; the annoying fog was already significantly affecting his vision. However, as long as there was no armor interference, killing Lu Luo was merely a matter of time.

"Ignorant fool! How could you possibly understand the power of high-level Sequences if you haven’t experienced them firsthand?"

Lu Luo looked at his fingers. A tentacle suddenly emerged and twisted a few times.

"This thing about high-level Sequences..."

Li Qingshu’s combat experience was extremely rich. In battle, concepts like martial ethics simply didn’t exist for him. In any situation where he could launch a sneak attack, he would absolutely not engage in an upfront, honorable fight. In this regard, he was very much like Lu Luo. Thus, the moment he saw Lu Luo momentarily distracted, he chose to launch a sneak attack.

Shadow Pressure!

The reason Lu Luo hadn’t acted preemptively and instead waited was simple: he just wanted Li Qingshu to inhale a few more breaths of the mist. This mist was, after all, a special ’gift’ he had meticulously prepared for Li Qingshu.

Li Qingshu’s shadow claws grabbed Lu Luo’s shadow. It was an attack almost impossible to dodge; Lu Luo had no way to actively defend or block it. The distorted shadow brought with it spatial pressure multiplied tenfold. This pressure translated into intense physical damage, imposing a great burden on Lu Luo’s body.

[Strong physical damage is transmitting from your shadow into your body. Your Endurance has reduced some of the damage.]

[The second wave of Shadow Pressure is coming! Maintain Qi He defense to mitigate the damage!]

"No need. Qi He can’t be wasted."

Facing the second wave of Shadow Pressure, Lu Luo still didn’t counterattack. He could still withstand such damage, simply enduring it with sheer toughness. He decided to drag it out for another ten seconds.

HA!~

A large amount of poison mist flowed from Lu Luo’s mouth. At last, Li Qingshu sensed something was amiss. This mist? Is it coming from Lu Luo’s mouth?

Feeling doubtful, Li Qingshu decided to end the fight quickly. The air was thinning, and he needed to deal with Lu Luo as soon as possible. Although the mist hadn’t yet affected his body, it was very likely due to his higher Constitution. He couldn’t delay any longer; further delays would lead to future trouble.

Destroy Shadow!

Li Qingshu clenched his hands tightly, instantly crushing more than a dozen of Lu Luo’s bones. But Lu Luo’s physical resilience was so great it far exceeded his imagination. No matter how he used explosive Shadow Pressure to distort Lu Luo’s shadow, he couldn’t crush Lu Luo’s seemingly fragile body. A Constitution of 50, plus the 27% damage reduction from Endurance, and a final damage reduction of 9, gave Lu Luo a physique comparable to a Fourth Tier behemoth. Thus, Li Qingshu’s Destroy Shadow never succeeded in annihilating Lu Luo.

And Lu Luo, who had been counting down, finally made his move.

"Poison Outburst!"

All the toxins in the corridor, including the copious poison mist Li Qingshu had inhaled, converged at a single point in an instant.

Then, BANG! They exploded.

UGH! BLECH!

Li Qingshu suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood that had turned completely orange. The blood rapidly evaporated in the air, transforming into new poison gas that spread once more. Li Qingshu clutched his chest, violently spitting out over a dozen mouthfuls of blood, only to inhale a significant amount of poison gas again.

The severe poisoning prevented him from entering the shadows. Intense pain and nausea forced Li Qingshu to one knee, compelling him to rest for a moment.

Li Qingshu didn’t understand one thing—or rather, he didn’t understand Lu Luo well enough. When fighting Lu Luo, one must never show the slightest weakness or fatigue. If one remained calm, Lu Luo would also maintain a vigilant, offensive stance. Otherwise, he would pounce like a hungry wolf—just as he was doing now.

Poisonous Fog, Steam—Second Gear!

The steam surrounding him was no longer simple steam; it was incessantly spewing poisonous gas.

COUGH! COUGH! HACK! While Li Qingshu was still coughing, Lu Luo activated his jet apparatus, flash-stepping to appear right before him.

BOOM!

The sword blade hacked brutally onto the shield formed by Shadow Energy. The powerful Fourth Tier energy protected Li Qingshu, but the massive inertia and impact still sent him flying. Lu Luo gave him no chance to react, nor would he grant him time to use Shadow Dodge.

The muscles in his right arm, starting from a state of perfection, began to twist. Lu Luo accelerated his flash-step again and thrust his sword.

Spiral Sword.

"HA!"

The force of the Spiral Sword technique surged forth, striking Li Qingshu’s Shadow Energy.

BOOM!

The energy shield still didn’t break, but the wall behind Li Qingshu had completely shattered!

Lu Luo gripped his sword with both hands again. This time, it was Fu Yu Sword.

"Wait a second," Li Qingshu’s voice was completely hoarse. He wanted to stop Lu Luo; he wanted to talk. He hoped to use the time spent talking to recover some Dark Energy and find an opportunity.

But again, he didn’t understand Lu Luo. Lu Luo was the type who could spend months conceiving a fight, days planning it, hours designing it, and mere minutes setting it up. But the actual combat itself would be condensed into mere seconds. As someone who liked to condense fights into mere seconds, he had a clear understanding: Villains die from talking too much. Lu Luo didn’t consider himself a villain, so he didn’t talk. The logic was perfectly sound to him.

DING DING DING DING DING!

The strikes of Fu Yu Sword rained down like a violent storm, showing no sign of stopping.

CRACK!

Finally, a crack appeared on the Shadow Shield. Panic surfaced on Li Qingshu’s face. He wanted to flee, but Lu Luo’s attacks were too ferocious. A look of delight emerged on Lu Luo’s face. It was almost there, about to break.

He stabbed faster and faster. Yet, what he hadn’t expected was that an ordinary sword blade simply couldn’t withstand so many collisions with high-level energy.

The 2,600-yuan two-handed sword broke.

This scene stunned both Li Qingshu and Lu Luo.

Li Qingshu had to get away from Lu Luo. He absolutely had to. His fingers immediately transformed into shadow blades, and he unleashed all his strength in a thrust towards Lu Luo’s heart.

Shadow Kill!

Kid, I respect you as a true warrior. Using your last bit of protective energy to attack—isn’t that just asking for defeat? That guy Lu Luo, he’s heartless!

Lu Luo narrowed his eyes slightly, his lips curling up to reveal a cruel smile.

THUD!

The shadow blade pierced Lu Luo’s heart, the pain causing his face to contort. But instead of collapsing as Li Qingshu expected, Lu Luo became even more ferocious. Swirling toxic mist, crimson steam, a fierce visage. At this moment, Lu Luo truly resembled a vicious Exotic Species.

Lu Luo completely ignored the injury to his chest, seizing Li Qingshu’s throat with one hand. His other hand delivered a Deliberate Bombardment Fist right to Li Qingshu’s face.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Each punch tore a large hole or left a massive dent in Li Qingshu’s body. This continued until the entire wall was shattered, and the poison gas began to diffuse outward.

The room didn’t reform. Their location now seemed to be a somewhat spacious, dim cliffside. Lu Luo looked back. The previous ’world’ behind them had begun to collapse; it seemed they had arrived in a new area.

Taking advantage of the spatial collapse, Li Qingshu detonated the Shadow Energy in his hand, blasting Lu Luo away. He finally seized this chance to put some distance between himself and Lu Luo.

Breathing fresh air, Li Qingshu greedily gasped, ignoring the mangled state of his body and the two bloody holes, as he looked towards Lu Luo.

"Haha! Heaven doesn’t want me dead, Lu Luo! Want to kill me? You can try!"