Chapter Fifty-One: Murder

A small red dot appeared at the upper right corner of the Temporal Ant. The Temporal Ant was female. That was a stroke of luck. Stroking the Temporal Ant in his hand, Lu Sheng found a nearby spot to hide. It didn’t offer much protection, just barely covered his body. Looking at the blood-red moon, Lu Sheng felt an unusual charm. Was it the blood moon that had turned the world scarlet, or had this world colored the moon crimson?

Unlike last time, under the blood moon’s glow, he sensed his life card was slowly growing stronger. The feeling was faint—if the life card weren’t fused with him, Lu Sheng probably wouldn’t have detected the change. If the blood moon could strengthen his life card, might it also enhance the monsters of this world? It seemed reasonable; otherwise, how would these creatures grow in power? Perhaps there were even more wondrous transformations under the blood moon’s radiance, changes he couldn’t perceive due to his own weakness.

Lost in thoughts about the blood moon, Lu Sheng suddenly heard a bird’s cry from afar, followed by the repeated sound of trees crashing down, as if a fierce battle was underway. He wasn’t surprised; with his current strength, he could have toppled those thick trees himself. The commotion was far away, separated from him by a river, the battle raging on another mountain.

Before Lu Sheng could ponder further, a massive Thunderbird, crackling with blue lightning, flew toward him, clutching a person in its talons. Lu Sheng’s brow furrowed with foreboding—was the bird heading for him? In the next moment, the Thunderbird vanished above him, and a bloodied figure fell from the sky, clutching a golden fruit that shone brightly against the crimson world.

Focusing, Lu Sheng recognized the battered, mangled man—it was Meng Yang. How could a fifth-tier powerhouse be in such a wretched state? The previous battle must have been brutal.

Lu Sheng prepared to leave; he had no desire to meddle in Meng Yang’s fate, especially not with someone so powerful.

“Stop! Come help me. Which settlement are you the leader of?” Meng Yang lay on the ground, barely clinging to life. Seeing the third-tier Goblin behind Lu Sheng, he mistook Lu Sheng for a settlement leader—how else could he possess such strength? A flicker of murderous intent crossed Meng Yang’s eyes. The man had seen what he held; he couldn’t let him leave alive.

“Sir, I’m from the Demonic Wolf settlement,” Lu Sheng replied cautiously, neither denying his leadership nor claiming to belong to the Gale settlement. He had no intention of approaching Meng Yang, whose power far exceeded his own—getting close felt unsafe.

But now that Meng Yang had spoken, running was out of the question. Who knew if Meng Yang would seek revenge later? Even though he didn’t mention the Gale settlement, there were only a few settlements in the Spirit Fruit dungeon today. If Meng Yang was determined, it was only a matter of time before he found him.

Carefully, Lu Sheng moved closer, ready to help Meng Yang up. Suddenly, murderous intent erupted; blue lightning gathered on Meng Yang’s arm, and he punched at Lu Sheng’s head.

“Don’t blame me. You were unlucky to see what I have,” Meng Yang growled.

Lu Sheng’s pupils contracted, his heart nearly stopping—the threat of death loomed over him like never before.

“Temporal Freeze!”

Half a second! That was Lu Sheng’s limit. All his strength drained away, granting him 0.5 seconds to escape. Without hesitation, he kicked back, fleeing the spot.

Meng Yang stared in disbelief as Lu Sheng escaped. How could he possibly react in time?

Lu Sheng’s face darkened—he’d nearly met his end in such an ignoble way.

“If I told you I was swatting a mosquito, would you believe me?” Meng Yang’s voice trembled; his condition was poor, and luring Lu Sheng in for a killing blow had exhausted him further.

Lu Sheng was even more annoyed—did Meng Yang take him for a fool? He ignored Meng Yang’s explanations.

“Stone-Throwing Goblin, attack him with all your might!”

The Stone-Throwing Goblin snarled, “As you command, Master!” It pulled a red stone from its back—a product of its evolved basket. The Red Stone! Heat radiated from it, growing stronger as the Goblin gripped it. The Goblin activated its evolved trait: High Temperature! The Red Stone was hurled at incredible speed, smashing toward Meng Yang’s head.

Meng Yang sensed danger and tried to dodge, but he was too weak; the stone struck his shoulder.

“Ah!” Pain flooded his mind, an intense burning sensation accompanying it. The impact felt like boiling water scalding his flesh. His right arm dislocated, hanging limp like a broken limb.

Meng Yang’s face twisted in agony. “Damn it! Let me show you—even a fallen tiger is not prey for dogs!” But as he looked toward Lu Sheng, he fell silent.

Lu Sheng had walked to a large tree, punched through its trunk, and snapped off a section. He now approached, clutching the tree trunk. This way, he could kill Meng Yang while keeping his distance.

Meng Yang’s heart pounded furiously—the power was overwhelming. Was this the end? No! He had just seized such a rare opportunity!

He struggled to stand and flee, but his injuries were too severe; his efforts only worsened his wounds.

As Meng Yang scrambled for a plan, another scorching Red Stone struck him, this time slamming into his abdomen. The stone nearly pierced through his belly, lodging inside.

But this only made Meng Yang’s suffering worse. A sizzling sound arose—the sound of roasting flesh. His shrill screams echoed through the forest, but his stubborn will to survive kept him conscious.

With that, his last resistance faded away. In his delirium, he seemed to see a demon approaching, wielding a hefty club.

“Bang!”

“One hit…”

“Bang!”

“Two hits…”

“Bang!”

“Now a meat patty…”

Lu Sheng swung the tree trunk and murmured as he did. Thus, a fifth-tier powerhouse fell, beaten to death by Lu Sheng’s relentless blows. The force left a tree-shaped depression in the ground; Meng Yang’s corpse, flattened like paper, lay in the deep pit, his mangled flesh resembling crushed jam.

Perhaps because he had killed so many monsters, his first human kill left him oddly unmoved.

He gathered five cards floating above Meng Yang’s corpse.

After killing an opponent, all their cards save their life card appear above the body. The life card shatters, vanishing from this world.