Just as the arrow closed in on Mu, he instinctively shoved Ruoxue aside. In the next breath, the Manhuman leapt out, throwing himself between Mu and the arrow, taking the hit square in the chest. The arrow simply vanished.
Ruoxue blinked, confused. "What was that?" she asked, her gaze locked on the ink-black figure now standing in front of Mu like a silent shield.
"Mu… what is that thing?"
Mu stepped forward slowly and offered her his hand. "This is my Manhuman," he said quietly. "Please… don't speak of this to anyone. Not a word."
Ruoxue hesitated. "But… why?"
"Let's just keep it between us. Please."
She gave a small nod, but her eyes drifted to where the Manhuman was staring. Three figures in elder robes stood off in the distance. Their faces looked… off. Distorted somehow.
Mu narrowed his eyes. "Manhuman, who are they? Why are they coming after me?"
"I don't know," the Manhuman replied, voice low. "But we're about to find out."
Mu and the Manhuman took their stance, ready for a fight. Ruoxue looked at them and asked, "Can I join in? I can fight."
Mu raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Fight? You can't even land a proper kick. What makes you think—"
Before he could finish, Ruoxue launched herself upward and spun, landing a clean kick right across Mu's cheek. He hit the ground hard, stunned.
He stared up at her, holding his face. "Did you just… kick me?"
"That's my way of proving I can fight," she said, crossing her arms.
The three figures began to spread out. One was a Creation Realm cultivator. The second, Golden Core. And the last, Crystal Core.
The Creation cultivator summoned a glowing rope, while the other two brandished swords.
Without waiting, Ruoxue grabbed Mu and dragged him toward the fight. The Manhuman joined, charging forward. But then Mu suddenly dropped onto a nearby bench, stretched out his legs, and yawned. "You two go on. I'll catch up in a minute."
The Manhuman shot forward, faster than wind. The three cultivators couldn't even track him as he blurred past, then slammed a brutal punch into the Creation cultivator's spine. A nasty twist followed.
Ruoxue summoned a yellow Qi blade, dropped into a slide between the other two's legs, and slashed at the back of their knees. But her sword didn't cut through.
They recovered fast and launched a synchronized kick, sending her flying. Mu jumped to intervene, but the Manhuman blocked him, dashing ahead to face the two alone. He grabbed their heads and smashed them together.
But the Creation cultivator had gotten back up. With a snap of his holy rope, he ensnared the Manhuman, locking him in tightly.
Ruoxue collapsed—knocked out from the blow. Mu rushed over, picked her up, and laid her gently on the bench.
The Creation cultivator formed an ice prison, spinning the Manhuman mid-air before slamming him into it with a hard crash.
Only Mu was left now.
The three turned to face him, slowly stepping forward.
"So this is the boy the lord warned us about?" one of them sneered. "This little rat?"
Mu's eye twitched. "Little rat?" he said coldly. "Who the hell are you calling a rat?"
They smiled, but kept walking closer.
"Aren't you a scary little rat?" one of them said.
Mu lowered his head, feeling embarrassed—but then realized he wasn't afraid at all.
"Ha? Me? I'm not scary, and I'm definitely not a little rat. If anyone here looks like a little cute rat, it's the three of you."
The Crystal Core cultivator's face twisted with anger.
"You disrespectful brat. Such a jerk," he spat, then dashed forward and kicked Mu straight on the nose. Blood ran down—but Mu just smiled, and that grin only made the man even more furious.
He grabbed Mu by the collar and pulled him close, their faces nearly touching, like he was about to kiss him.
"Let me make one thing clear. If the Mana Lord didn't give us orders, I would've already killed you."
Mu didn't want to hear whatever nonsense was coming next, so he bit down hard on the man's nose and pulled. The skin tore with a sharp rip. The man screamed and dropped him, blood pouring into his palm.
The Golden Core cultivator stepped up next and delivered a sharp slap across Mu's face—so hard that the pain reached the Manhuman as well.
Inside the frozen cage, the Manhuman winced at the pain. He tried to break free. He had to help. Then he saw Grand Lu walking toward them, holding a glass of wine.
He couldn't let him see this.
Manhuman struck the ice and summoned every spirit technique he had—but it didn't work. Still, the ice cracked. He punched again, hitting the same spot, and this time the entire prison shattered. Without wasting a second, he vanished—diving straight into Mu's body just before Lu arrived.
Lu's wine glass slipped from his hand in shock. He saw his grandson being beaten by nobodies like them.
The fury that rose in him didn't feel like anger—it felt like a storm tearing through his chest.
"How dare you touch my grandson!" he roared.
In one fluid motion, he drew an azure sword wrapped in lightning. His body moved like light—and with one swing, he sliced off both heads. Only the Creation cultivator was left.
That one saw Lu and immediately tossed his rope, knocking Lu's sword out of his hand.
Lu didn't flinch. He stood calmly, both hands behind his back.
"Who sent you?" he asked coldly.
"Why do you want to know?" the man replied.
Lu moved his fingers swiftly, forming a Nascent Soul-level technique:
"Heaven-Binding Seal – Thirteen Finger Lotus Chain."
A low rumble spread through the cracked earth as Lu stood still, the wind pressing against his robes, his face calm but sharp—like the edge of a sword waiting to be drawn. Across from him, the Creation cultivator grinned, his form wreathed in blazing spiritual essence that warped the space around him.
"You've killed enough," Lu said flatly, eyes fixed. "This ends now."
The Creation cultivator let out a dry laugh, voice like gravel. "Ends? You think you have what it takes, old man? You're nothing but a flickering candle to me."
Lu didn't reply.
His hands slowly formed a seal.
A faint golden glow started from his fingertips, coiling into his palm like a dragon being summoned from sleep. Then—
BOOM!
The air behind him cracked open as a dome of pressure blasted outward. Trees bent, rocks split, and the clouds above spiraled like a whirlpool.
"Heaven-Silencing Seal."
A wave of ancient power surged forward. The ground beneath the Creation cultivator shattered instantly, dragging him halfway into a pit of cracked stone. But he didn't panic, he moved very fast as he could imagine.
With a flick of his wrist, dozens of metallic rings shot out from his sleeves, spinning midair before forming a floating armor around him.
"World-Forging Armor."
Then he vanished.
Lu's eyes narrowed. He turned instinctively, catching the blow at the last second. The Creation cultivator reappeared behind him, fists covered in molten silver qi, slamming them toward Lu's spine.
Clang!
A jade barrier flared up.
Lu slid backward several meters, digging furrows in the ground. His arms throbbed from the force.
"Tch," he muttered. "Annoying trick."
"You're not bad for your realm," the Creation cultivator said, circling him like a wolf. "But you're still beneath me."
Lu exhaled slowly. The air around him changed. The wind stilled. The sounds dulled. Then he moved.
His palm turned upward, and from it rose a floating sigil made of starlight. It pulsed once.
"Nine Heavens Chain Art—Fourth Binding."
In a blink, glowing chains of ethereal qi erupted from the sky, piercing through clouds and crashing down like thunderbolts. The Creation cultivator raised his arms to defend, but the chains struck faster than thought, wrapping around his limbs, neck, waist and pinning him midair.
His aura flared. The chains cracked.
"You think this can hold me?! I forged my own core in the Abyss!" he roared, spiritual energy exploding outward.
CRACK!
The chains snapped.
But that was the bait.
Lu had already appeared above him.
"Soul-Carving Spear!"
A spear made of condensed Nascent Soul energy formed in his grasp, its edges flickering with runes of ancient script. Without a word, Lu hurled it downward.
WHUMMM—!
The impact was blinding.
The entire valley exploded in a dome of white light. Trees were uprooted. Mountains in the distance trembled. When the light faded, the Creation cultivator had crashed into the earth, a crater where he once floated.
He coughed blood, still alive but barely.
"I'm… not finished," he muttered, struggling to lift his head.
Lu landed silently, the soles of his boots brushing against the edge of the crater. He looked down at the man who'd murdered thousands, defiled entire clans, forged power through corruption.
"You're finished. If you awake from death try not to touch my grandson. " Lu said, voice flat.
The Creation cultivator raised his hand one last time.
But Lu didn't hesitate.
"Void Splitter Palm."
One strike.
It shattered everything—the man's body, his core, and the surrounding space itself. There was no scream, only silence. The kind that follows the end of something terrible.
Lu stood there, breathing steady.
Then—
SHLKT.
A spear tore through his chest.
His body jerked forward. Blood burst from his mouth.
His head slowly tilted down. The weapon gleamed with a dark sheen, stained in fresh red. Its shaft was unfamiliar. The aura behind it, Cold and wrong.
And completely foreign.
He tried to turn his head, but his limbs didn't move. His vision blurred.
"Who…?"
"No. No. Grandpa lu!!!"
The battlefield, now silent and scorched, suddenly felt colder.
Far behind him, on the ridge of the cliffs, a tall silhouette began to walk forward. Step by step. Slowly. Methodically. The figure was cloaked, face hidden, hands calm as if nothing had happened.
And yet, the pressure that rolled off him... Was deeper than death.