Chapter 188: Defeat
Chapter 188: Defeat
“So confident? ”
The middle-aged white man’s expression shifted, and his eyebrows raised slightly.
“You’ve cultivated to your current level, so you must know about Huaxia’s Ancient Martial Arts. I saw that your fist technique had both form and spirit, clearly mastering its essence. So you should understand the difference between Alien Energy and Zhenqi!”
Lin Mu nodded and said slowly, “Although Alien Energy gives powerful amplification and impressive force, its sustainability is far worse than Zhenqi. Cultivation experts with mature Zhenqi all have long, steady breath. You want to drag this out? Aren’t you afraid you’ll end up trapped yourself?”
Hearing Lin Mu’s words, the middle-aged white man’s face instantly changed. He hadn’t expected Lin Mu to understand superpowers so deeply, even grasping the characteristics of Alien Energy.
“Tutas, take them and go!”
After carefully studying Lin Mu, the middle-aged white man’s eyes flickered briefly before he suddenly spoke.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he lunged at Lin Mu like lightning. Gray energy reappeared in his hands, wildly swirling as gray claw marks covered Lin Mu’s surroundings, sealing off all directions of movement and forcing him to retreat only one way.
Just as the middle-aged white man spoke, the short, fat white man who had been standing nearby immediately sprang into action, quickly moving to join the other companions. Once together, they joined hands.
As a faint earthy yellow glow enveloped the fat white man, he and those beside him slowly began to sink into the ground. The soil churned beneath their feet, rippling like water waves.
“Earth Escape?”
Lin Mu was inwardly surprised. Although he knew this fat white man’s superpower allowed him to control earth’s energy, he hadn’t expected him to figure out something like Earth Escape, and even be able to take others with him underground.
With his current strength, there was no way Lin Mu could track them once they went underground. After all, his once-mighty Spiritual Sense was gone. His soul was too damaged to extend his Spiritual Sense outside his body.
Otherwise, with the formidable Spiritual Sense of an expert at the Tribulation Transcendence Late Stage, probing underground to track someone—or even covering the entire Earth—would have been easy.
Seeing a flash of anxiety on Lin Mu’s face, the middle-aged white man chuckled lightly. “That’s Tutas’s life-saving ultimate move. He’s used it countless times to escape enemies and complete many difficult missions. Don’t even think about catching him!”
“Oh? Since you’re so eager to help your comrades, then you can stay in their place!”
Lin Mu gave a strange smile. His previously broad and forceful palm technique suddenly changed, its aura shifting from vigorous and explosive to secretive and gloomy. The force emanating from his palms also turned peculiar.
They exchanged only a few blows before several of the protruding spikes on the middle-aged white man’s transformed gray hands snapped off. These spikes were extensions of bone, originally very hard under the enhancement of his superpower. But now, Lin Mu’s palm force easily destroyed them.
Having grasped some of Taiji’s essence, Lin Mu could now switch smoothly between the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms and the Bone-Melting Soft Palm. This time, he switched almost in an instant—so fast the middle-aged white man didn’t react, forcing him to block several more palm strikes head-on.
By the time the middle-aged white man realized what was happening, all the bone spikes on his hands had fallen off. That strange force was still trying to worm its way up his arms into his body. He hurriedly mobilized a large amount of energy to forcibly neutralize the invasive, bizarre force.
With a flash, he retreated ten steps away.
“Bone-Melting Soft Palm?!”
Staring at Lin Mu in shock and uncertainty, the middle-aged white man wore an expression of disbelief.
“I’m surprised you recognize this palm technique. You’re not European, are you?”
Lin Mu was also somewhat amazed that a white man would know of the Bone-Melting Soft Palm. His mind stirring slightly, he suddenly thought of that person he’d encountered at the entrance of the Hilton Hotel. He blurted out, “Could it be… you’re mixed-race? Grew up in Huaxia?”
Although the middle-aged white man said nothing, the flicker of surprise in his eyes didn’t escape Lin Mu’s sharp observation. Lin Mu immediately understood.
“I never thought anyone actually mastered this palm technique. But with your level of Cultivation Power, executing it shouldn’t be a problem.”
The middle-aged white man slowly nodded, and the look in his eyes toward Lin Mu changed slightly, carrying a hint of respect.
“I see you use that fist technique with considerable power as well. It’s not easy for an ordinary person to cultivate such high-level Martial Arts. Seems you’ve had your own encounters. So why are you mixed up with this crowd? You’re ruining your own future!”
Lin Mu gave a light snort, narrowing his eyes as he carefully studied the middle-aged white man. He knew beneath that face lay another, completely different appearance.
“I grew up among street thugs. Only by chance did I learn some Martial Arts. I could have cultivated Zhenqi, but unexpectedly, I awakened a superpower, which made it impossible to cultivate Zhenqi anymore. So I had to take a different Cultivation path.”
The middle-aged white man shook his head and let out a short laugh. “Cultivating Alien Energy is much harder than you imagine. It’s completely different from the step-by-step Cultivation of Zhenqi. I wanted to follow the Righteous Path, but that would make it very difficult to afford the resources I need for Cultivation.”
“With your strength, if you joined one of the great families, the treatment you’d receive definitely wouldn’t be worse than now, right? Could those families really not supply the resources for one person’s Cultivation?”
Lin Mu asked curiously. After all, such experts were highly sought after by wealthy, powerful families. Having such an expert guarding a household could solve countless troubles.
“You think the things I need for Cultivation are that easy to obtain? Even in those powerful families, it’s just using their influence to do what I’m doing now. How is that any different? It’s more comfortable being on my own.”
The middle-aged white man laughed. Just as he was about to say more, he glanced behind him. “Someone’s coming. Must be your reinforcements. I won’t stay longer today. If there’s a chance, we’ll have a proper match another time.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished into the woods. Lin Mu’s feet shifted slightly, but in the end, he didn’t give chase. If he’d insisted on tangling with this man, the man would never have had a chance to leave. But Lin Mu chose not to.
He sighed helplessly in his heart. Not far away, Jiang Chu arrived with several People’s Armed Police officers. Although Jiang Chu’s strength was inferior to Lin Mu’s, his experience from campaigning north and south with the Dragon Protection Corps was vast. In some detailed aspects, he even surpassed Lin Mu.
“Brother Lin, are you all right?”
Jiang Chu glanced at the motionless European lying behind a tree and quickly asked.
“I’m fine. The Superpower Users got away. One of them could control earth’s energy and even used a skill similar to Earth Escape, taking the others underground. In the end, I only caught this one.”
Pointing at the unconscious European on the ground, Lin Mu shook his head.
Jiang Chu walked over, felt around the European’s cheek, and then peeled off a thin layer of facial skin—exactly the kind of High Polymer Disguise Mask Lin Mu used. The revealed face matched one from the surveillance footage.
“I encountered a powerful Superpower User expert just now. His skills were very formidable, even above Ding Yongyan’s. I’m sure he didn’t arrive on the same flight as that group, because I didn’t see anyone with such strong Alien Energy that day.”
Lin Mu then said, “If that man hadn’t held me back, even if that Superpower User knew Earth Escape, he wouldn’t have had the chance to use it.”
“An expert stronger than young Ding?”
Jiang Chu, who was checking the European’s condition, immediately looked up. Lin Mu had fought Ding Yongyan, so he knew Ding’s strength well. “Someone even stronger than young Ding? Could this person have an important background? Or be from an organization like the Supernatural Ability Group?”
“I don’t think so. This Superpower User is self-taught, not like the scientifically trained Supernatural Ability Group. He uses authentic Huaxia Ancient Martial Arts. The difference is, his Martial Arts are powered by Alien Energy, not our Zhenqi.”
Lin Mu shook his head.
“That’s quite novel. This is the first time I’ve heard of someone using Alien Energy to power Ancient Martial Arts. Didn’t he run into problems in his Cultivation?”
Jiang Chu raised his eyebrows in astonishment.
“Not sure. From our fight just now, at least, his Cultivation seems quite sound, and his strength is very powerful.”
Lin Mu shrugged. Everyone had their own Cultivation path. Perhaps this man had pioneered a new method. Although most such attempts end in failure, those who succeed often achieve strength far beyond ordinary people.
“Spread the word; get ready to capture that group at the hotel. But don’t make a big scene. They’ve completed their plan smoothly. If I’m not mistaken, they should be withdrawing soon. Since they posed as tourists entering the country, they’ll probably leave the same way.”
After thinking briefly, Lin Mu spoke.
“What do you mean?”
Jiang Chu’s mind stirred slightly as he began to grasp Lin Mu’s idea.
“There are many of them. To leave together, they’d have to book group airline tickets. For such a large number of passengers, airports usually send a shuttle bus to pick them up.”
Lin Mu’s lips curved. “We replace that bus. On the way to the airport, we create a fake traffic accident or obstruction, force the bus to detour to a remote, empty place, and then carry out the arrest!”
“That plan is definitely feasible!”
Jiang Chu’s eyes lit up. Originally, arresting them in the busy city was inconvenient. This way, luring them to a more isolated spot would make the arrest much easier.