Chapter 187: Overestimating One’s Ability

The group surrounding Lin Mu was shocked by his sudden surge in momentum. They had not expected their already formidable opponent to have been holding back his true strength.

After exchanging glances, they immediately closed in together, attempting to surround him. At the same time, the Alien Energy within each of them surged powerfully. Extraordinary phenomena began appearing frequently on their bodies, clearly indicating they were preparing to unleash some deadly moves.

Lin Mu paid them no mind. With his hands brought together and then stretched out to either side, a shockwave of air currents immediately swirled around him. The violent force uprooted large patches of dead leaves and branches from the ground, and the rushing energy blasted the surrounding Superpower Users away.

The only one who did not retreat was the middle-aged white man. A burst of gray energy abruptly flashed over his body, and the incoming shockwave vanished instantly without causing him the slightest harm.

“Hahaha! Truly a rare Master,” he exclaimed. “I had wondered how these small fries dared to raid Huaxia’s Heavy Prisoners Penitentiary. So it turns out they had an Expert like you guarding it. Excellent! I can finally enjoy a good fight—I hope you won’t disappoint me!”

Lin Mu’s inner fighting spirit was fully ignited. It had been a long time since he had a chance to really loosen up his muscles. Zhenqi rushed rapidly through his body, and his bones emitted a series of crisp cracking sounds. His body had adjusted to its peak condition; the next attack he launched would be earth-shattering.

At that moment, the middle-aged white man abruptly moved. The timing was perfect—just as Lin Mu’s aura was about to reach its peak, he struck first.

Gray energy flashed around his hands. Originally quite normal, they began to elongate and grow larger, their nails sharpening into claws. The fair skin instantly turned an ashen gray, only stopping after increasing about half in size.

The gray hands clenched tightly into fists, and sharp bone spurs protruded from the knuckles. With a flicker of movement, the middle-aged man vanished from sight.

Lin Mu narrowed his eyes. He could no longer focus on building up his momentum; the enemy’s grasp of timing was unexpectedly sharp. However, Lin Mu was no greenhorn. He would not be thrown into disarray just because his rhythm was disrupted.

Without turning, he calmly thrust his palm backward. His right hand collided squarely with a fist that had abruptly appeared out of thin air. Where the fist and palm met, an invisible yet violent energy erupted, carving a deep gash into the ground.

Zhenqi from his Dantian surged instantaneously to the soles of his feet, and Lin Mu’s figure also disappeared.

To the surrounding Superpower Users, the two had completely vanished. They had no idea where the two were fighting, even though violent bursts of air erupted continuously in empty spaces. By the time their eyes locked onto a location, both combatants had long since moved elsewhere.

The sheer terrifying speed of the two gave the onlookers pale faces. If such speed was used against them, they would be defeated in an instant without the chance to retaliate.

Of all Martial Arts, none is indestructible save speed.

When speed reaches a certain level, even a falling leaf can possess astonishing destructive power—let alone these two powerful Experts.

As everyone glanced around, trying to find them, a tall, lean white man quietly retreated behind a tree. He closed his eyes slowly, and a unique wave of energy emanated from his head.

As this energy spread out gradually, the man cracked a faint smile. Though his eyes could not see the two, his Superpower—a powerful mental energy that allowed him to communicate and even invade others’ minds—let him easily track their movements.

Earlier, at the warehouse, he had erased the memories of many People’s Armed Police officers and implanted false ones. Now, a black-and-white image formed in his mind, chaotic lines dancing wildly all around—streams of air stirred by the two combatants’ rapid movements. Through his mental power, he could also see the positions of his companions.

Taking a slow, deep breath, the image in his mind gradually simplified. The other people and the trees vanished one by one, until only Lin Mu’s figure remained.

Lin Mu was thoroughly enjoying the fight with the middle-aged man. The opponent’s deep strength excited him more with every exchange. Perhaps after this battle, his own strength would advance yet again.

Just then, a faint, elusive wave locked onto him. Though incredibly subtle, it did not escape Lin Mu’s senses—especially in his peak condition.

That mental energy felt much like Spiritual Sense, though weaker and less flexible. It seemed somewhat rigid, yet it firmly tracked his location.

Scanning quickly during a brief lull in the fight, Lin Mu immediately spotted the tall, lean white man hiding behind the tree, eyes lightly shut.

His mind raced, connecting this to the earlier strangeness with the People’s Armed Police. He quickly guessed the man’s identity—he must be the Superpower User with mental abilities.

A peculiar smile formed on Lin Mu’s lips. Instead of stopping the man, he continued sparring happily with the middle-aged man. The next moment, a piercing scream rang out—not from where the two were fighting, but from behind a tree.

The tall, thin man who had been hiding there was now writhing on the ground, clutching his head, screaming frantically as if in extreme agony.

Everyone around was stunned. They did not know what happened; one moment he was fine, the next he collapsed. Maybe his Alien Energy went out of control?

Startled, the middle-aged man abruptly released a surge of gray energy to fend off Lin Mu, then flashed to the convulsing man’s side. He pinned the man down and pressed a finger firmly to his forehead.

“His mind is in complete chaos, as if struck by a powerful mental attack,” the middle-aged man said slowly, shaking his head as he stood. The man lay motionless, possibly dead.

“How did you do that?” he asked Lin Mu suspiciously.

During their fight, he had not seen Lin Mu attack anybody else, yet his companion suddenly collapsed, utterly finished.

“It wasn’t me,” Lin Mu chuckled lightly, shaking his head. “I had no time to deal with anyone else. I don’t know what happened to him—maybe he was punished by heaven for his misdeeds.”

In truth, Lin Mu knew perfectly well. The lean man had tried to attack him mentally, hoping to distract him and give the middle-aged man an advantage. What he didn’t know was that Lin Mu’s soul was not that of an ordinary person—it was the soul of an Expert from the Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

Though Lin Mu’s Soul Power had been almost entirely depleted during the Heavenly Tribulation, the soul of a Tribulation Transcendence Stage Expert was unimaginably resilient—after all, it had survived a Heavenly Tribulation.

Thus, when the man’s mental energy invaded Lin Mu’s mind, it immediately triggered a backlash from Lin Mu’s Soul Power. A mere rebound—not even a deliberate attack—instantly inflicted severe trauma on the attacker’s brain, causing him to collapse immediately.

“You’re very strong. Since my breakthrough, you’re the first Master I haven’t been able to defeat,” the middle-aged man said, smiling inscrutably instead of pressing further. “It’s a pity someone of your caliber is with the police! With your skills, you could achieve so much more!”

Lin Mu inwardly chuckled. This man was interesting—seeing Lin Mu’s strength, he actually considered turning him, persuading him to leave the police. Clearly, he wanted Lin Mu to join them in their criminal activities.

“I agree it’s a pity,” Lin Mu said, shaking his head with a smile and looking straight at the middle-aged man. “But not for me—for you. With such power, why mingle with these lowlifes? Do you really aspire to be a general among dwarves? Don’t you want to pursue a higher Realm? Don’t you want greater strength?”

“Everything I do today is for the sake of gaining more strength! How could I be satisfied with my current Realm?” The man laughed, then looked coldly at Lin Mu. “Today’s match seems inconclusive. Why don’t we call it a truce? You can’t really stop us, so why persist?”

“Not necessarily. I might not be able to stop you from leaving,” Lin Mu replied, smiling playfully. “But the rest here won’t escape my grasp.”

“Is that so?” The middle-aged man’s face hardened, a mocking smile forming. “What if I keep you busy and let them get away? How certain are you then, really?”

Lin Mu’s statement had unsettled the other Superpower Users; they knew he spoke the truth. If he targeted them, few would escape.

But the middle-aged man’s words reassured them. At least they weren’t being abandoned. With him holding Lin Mu back, they had a good chance of fleeing.

“Your plan sounds clever,” Lin Mu said with a slight smile, though his voice carried a chill. “If you keep me occupied, I won’t have time to capture them. But if they escape, you’ll have to stay in their place.”