Level Up in Martial World

Chapter 146: Lu Yuan

On a grand and luxurious pavilion with the golden-coloured mark "THE GOLDEN PAVILION" written above it, a group of youths, appearing to be around twenty, sat casually inside. They indulged in wines served with meats and luxurious dishes. Their surroundings were harmonious as they chatted and drank happily.

However, there was only one guy with a dark face, veins popping from his head as he ate his cakes.

"Brother, why are you angry?"

"Hmph, that bastard Lu Zhen. We invited him, but he didn't come even after accepting the invitation. How can I not be angry?"

"Brother, Young Master Lu Zhen must have his difficulties; he must be training for the tournament. You can't judge him."

Lu Yuan was stunned when he heard his sister.

"These guys…" Lu Yuan looked at everyone. When they talked about Lu Zhen before, they only had disgust in their eyes with clear signs of hatred as they discussed the infamous trash of the Lu family, Lu Zhen. But now, Lu Yuan felt out of the circle whenever he said anything negative about Lu Zhen.

"These people change their skins faster than a chameleon," Lu Yuan thought. He tightened his fist, drank his whole cup of wine, and left the place, completely ignoring the others, who were stunned but didn't even get up to stop him, not even his own sister.

After he left, the girl's friend asked with a smirk, "Are you sure you are letting your brother go just like that?"

"Hmph, he said bad stuff about my idol. What do I care about him? If I associate with these guys, Young Master Lu Zhen might have a very bad impression of me." The girl completely forgot that Lu Zhen was her cousin as she continued to talk, and their environment became harmonious again. However, no one complained about Lu Zhen not joining.

Suddenly, a shadow materialised in the centre of the banquet, revealing a woman fully covered in black assassin-like dress.

"Who are you?"

All the people were stunned when they saw the girl, and their protectors were about to make a move.

Suddenly, the girl emitted a terrifying aura that covered the entire pavilion as the minds of people became hazy.

Even the protectors began to sweat as their eyes widened.

"A third-stage martial artist, what?"

The girl slowly receded her aura to the minimum as she spoke. Her voice was cold as ice.

"My young master couldn't come to the party because he was invited by the ancestor," she said as she disappeared into the shadows.

Her cold voice reverberated in their heads as they took a moment to process her words with widened eyes.

However, nobody spoke a word for a long time before the sister of Lu Yuan spoke in a small voice, which was barely heard.

"Young Master Lu Zhen is so hardworking; he doesn't care about the banquet; instead, he is training hard. We shouldn't blame the Young Master for not coming." The voice was barely audible, but as if in motion, everybody started to praise Lu Zhen before they continued their normal conversation again.

They would have been a little dissatisfied and unconvinced in their hearts if Lu Zhen hadn't come because he was training.

However, the mention of the ancestor completely shut them up, as nobody wanted to incur the wrath of the ancestor. From the looks of it, Lu Zhen was favoured by the ancestor, and that meant they had to make a good impression toward Lu Zhen now.

"We should tell this to our elders immediately." they all had these inner thoughts as they continued to talk normally.

However now in their conversation they started to scornfully curse Lu Yuan as the banquet continued in its harmonious tune.

Lu Yuan, who was slowly returning to the Lu estate in his carriage, banged the carriage as hard as he could with his hands.

However, he couldn't even budge the carriage as it moved along its path. After all, Lu Yuan was just a mortal; there was no way he could damage it.

Instead, his hands hurt as a red bump appeared on them.

"Ahh!"

He screamed in a muffled voice.

The carriage stopped as the servant came from outside.

"Are you alright, young master?"

"I am alright, just continue moving." Lu Yuan managed to say with the searing pain he was feeling.

"Yes, young master." The carriage continued to move through the crowd of people.

"Dammit, I should be able to become a martial trainee soon," Lu Yu said through gritted teeth as he ground his teeth. Due to his lack of sufficient talent, despite practising since childhood and having access to abundant resources, he had not yet entered the martial trainee realm.

Feeling powerless in his current situation, he contemplated, "That might be the only option I have now." His eyes glinted with ruthlessness as he opened his pouch and took out a plain black ring.

"Don't blame you bastards…"

Lu Yu closely looked at the ring, his eyes glinting in a strange light. The ring was ugly, with no design and nothing on its surface, just a plain black colour. With determined eyes, he broke the ring, resulting in a dark shine as a domineering voice echoed from all sides. However, only Lu Yu could hear it.

"Have you chosen it?"

"Yes," Lu Yuan nodded.

"Very well, we will provide you with all the resources. You know what you will have to do." The voice carried a hint of mockery in its cold tone.

Lu Yuan swallowed his saliva. "I have another condition as well."

The voice fell silent for a moment before ringing in his head again. "What is the condition?"

"I want you to kill someone. As long as you kill them, I will wholeheartedly join you then."

"Who is the person?" The voice didn't accept immediately.

"Lu Zhen," Lu Yuan said with clear hatred. Ever since Lu Zhen became the genius of the Lu family, his life had been miserable. Even his sister didn't support him anymore, and his father scolded him for disrespecting Lu Zhen and even his resources were cut in half.

"Everything is because of you, bastard Lu Zhen," he thought with seething hatred.

"I cannot fulfil that."

"Why can't you?"

"Because he is the young master, and assassinating him will hamper our plan."

Lu Yuan frowned when he heard this. "Then I won't help you in your plan."

"We promise to kill Lu Zhen after our plan is successful. How about this?"

"This…" Lu Yuan tightened his fist, still not convinced.

"This is the only option you have; if not, we may void the agreement."

"Wait, I can reach the second-stage martial artist before the tournament, right?"

"Yes."

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth as he accepted. "Alright, then I will accept."

"Very well." Suddenly, a black box materialised in front of him.

"This is the promised pill. As long as you take it, you will be able to reach the second-stage martial realm as long as you train for a week," the cold voice rang in Lu Yuan's head.

"Okay," Lu Yu said as he sceptically took the box.

"I can become a first-stage martial artist as long as I complete the task, right?"

"Yes," the voice rang in Lu Yuan's head with a hint of mockery. However, Lu Yu didn't care as he looked at the box with greedy eyes. He withdrew from taking it, storing it in the pouch.

"I should take this after I return home. To hell with the Lu family. Now, when I get power, naturally, all will bow down to the great me."

A ghostly form sat in a makeshift cave as laughter reverberated in the surroundings.

"That idiot finally agreed."

"Looks like my mission will soon be completed. Did they think a small town like Phoenix City could monopolise all the resources from the inheritance cave?"

"Kahahha! I have already implanted three of the spies in three families: Xia, Lu, and Huang, first-class families. Hmm…" The ghostly figure decided to ignore another major family as it wasn't even a family; it was more like a den of assassins. However, it didn't work much in Phoenix City and mostly remained in seclusion throughout the year.

"I will deal with them if they move, but planting spies in the three major families should be sufficient for now." He casually swiped his hands, creating a portal in thin air, strolling inside.

"My mission is completed; I will definitely gain a lot of contribution points for it."

As for the pills he had given to his three little spies, they were a type of poison pill. This pill made a person unleash their full potential temporarily, gaining the power of a second-stage martial artist. However, it would not only completely block their talent for martial arts, but it would also slowly sap their lifespan until the user died, all for a temporary boost of power.

After all, nothing was so easy in this world. If just eating a mere pill could make you reach the second-stage martial realm, the world would have been turned upside down.