Chapter Nineteen: Pursuit to the End

Lu Han’s face was somewhat pale as he slowly walked toward the fallen Hu Xingfu.

Hu Xingfu struggled to lift his head, looked at Lu Han, and spoke weakly, “Why? You couldn’t possibly have blocked it!”

Just moments before, the two had been evenly matched. Hu Xingfu had used his strongest trump card, believing Lu Han should have been the one to collapse.

“The old me might not have been able to, but now, with the perfected Star-Shattering Palm, defeating you isn’t impossible.” Suddenly, Lu Han’s aura surged.

“You… you’ve broken through to the Seventh Heaven! How is that possible?” Sensing Lu Han’s aura, Hu Xingfu was shaken. He had thought he would be the victor, but at the last moment, Lu Han broke through.

On the Celestial Continent, unless one possesses exceptional talent or cultivates advanced martial techniques, fighting across realms is extremely difficult.

“Kid, what… what do you want? Spare me, and I promise not to reveal your location!” Seeing Lu Han approach, fear crept into Hu Xingfu’s voice.

“If you were me, would you spare me?” Lu Han smiled faintly, his sword-like brows twitching. Though his face was pale, his demeanor was calm and indifferent. His clear, bright eyes gazed at Hu Xingfu as he walked closer, making Hu Xingfu increasingly uneasy.

“Kid, since you want to push me to the edge, then die with me!” Hu Xingfu suddenly gave a sinister smile, and as soon as his words fell, he flicked his sleeve, sending a black throwing knife flying toward Lu Han.

“Kid, watch out!” The old man’s voice sounded in Lu Han’s ear.

Lu Han twisted his body.

“Pff!”

His reaction was quick, but not quick enough; the flying knife stabbed into his left arm, and a swelling pain spread.

“Haha… Kid, I coated the knife with Soul-Severing Powder. Within three hours, unless someone of Innate Realm uses innate energy to force out the poison, you will surely die!”

The Soul-Severing Powder was something Hu Xingfu had obtained with great difficulty. Its formula was troublesome and its ingredients rare, so few knew of it.

“Soul-Severing Powder?” Lu Han’s expression changed. He’d never heard of it, but the name alone spelled poison—no wonder he’d felt uneasy moments ago.

“Don’t worry, kid. Just a mere second-grade poison—while I’m here, you’ll be fine!” The old man’s voice came again.

Lu Han breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

“You don’t understand, kid! Only I have the antidote to this poison. Spare me and I’ll give it to you! Don’t you want to be cured?” Hu Xingfu struggled feebly, nearly shouting as Lu Han drew closer.

Lu Han walked up to the barely breathing Hu Xingfu and ended his life with a single punch—quick and decisive.

“I never thought you’d have the antidote on you anyway.”

He searched Hu Xingfu’s body and, as expected, found no antidote. Instead, he discovered a scroll of Wild Wolf Saber.

A faint smile appeared on Lu Han’s face. At least he’d gained something.

“Kid, find a quiet place to detoxify yourself—someone will likely discover this place soon.” The old man drifted over and appeared before Lu Han.

Seeing the old man, Lu Han’s frustration rose. Ever since Hu Xingfu entered the cave, the old man had vanished, only to reappear now that the fight was over.

Lu Han was about to speak, but thought better of it. Detoxification was urgent, so he hurried away.

“Who sent the signal? Where’s the kid?” Iron Mad pushed through the crowd.

Iron Mad had been searching nearby. Seeing the signal, he thought the boy had been caught, only to find dozens gathered around.

“What happened here?”

“Captain… Captain, Hu Xingfu was killed. His signal tube was found in the cave over there.” One man approached Iron Mad, trembling. He had been grouped with Hu Xingfu; if anything went wrong, he couldn’t escape blame.

Smack!

Iron Mad suddenly slapped the man to the ground.

“I paired you up to avoid accidents—why are you unharmed?” Iron Mad gritted his teeth, furious—mainly because Hu Xingfu was dead!

He’d paired Hu Xingfu with this man because he was at the Eighth Heaven of the Postnatal realm. Iron Mad feared accidents; only Iron Luo and Hu Xingfu had visited the location marked on the treasure map. Few in the group knew, and Iron Mad couldn’t openly discuss it.

“I really want to kill you.” Iron Mad glared coldly at the kneeling man clutching his face.

“Hu Xingfu died less than an hour ago—he’s nearby. Search carefully. Whoever finds the boy gets ten thousand gold coins! And he must be captured alive.” After Iron Mad issued this order, over a hundred men became frenzied—with mercenaries, money is everything.

Over a hundred began searching in the direction Lu Han had fled.

“Kid, looks like you’re safe for now.” The old man still floated half-transparent atop the sapphire ring.

Lu Han was now beneath a huge stone, barely squeezed into a crevice.

He sat cross-legged, circulating his internal energy—the Seventh Heaven of the Postnatal realm was indeed much stronger. Had he not broken through just now, he’d likely be dead.

“Old man, do you have more of those pills? They can cure Soul-Severing Powder. And that’s a storage ring, right? What other treasures do you have in there? Let me take a look.” Lu Han eyed the old man with ill intent, feeling there were secrets the old man kept hidden.

“There’s nothing left. Nothing at all. Brat, I knew I shouldn’t have saved you—better to let you die from the poison. I just cured you and now you’re after my treasures!” The old man refused to be fooled, looking at Lu Han with disdain.

“Stingy old man, we’ve been through thick and thin together—just let me see, that’s all.” Lu Han’s face reddened under the old man’s gaze, and he quickly defended himself.

“Listen, brat, instead of wasting time babbling, you’d better run—looks like a whole crowd is after you.” The old man teased. He felt Lu Han needed a lesson or he’d never learn to respect his elders.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier, old man!” Before Lu Han finished, he took off with a whoosh.

“That kid…” The old man watched Lu Han’s retreating back, stroked his beard, and followed.

“Captain, fresh footprints here—size matches the battle site.” A mercenary inspected the ground.

“After him!”

The Iron Mad Mercenary Corps was in pursuit.

“Kid, what will you do if you’re caught?” No matter how fast Lu Han ran, the old man always kept pace.

“I can’t be caught! I must return to Maple Leaf City, to the Lu family—I still don’t understand what’s going on!” Mentioning Lu Ran, Lu Han clenched his fist.

He and Lu Ran had always been close, but suddenly Lu Ran had driven him off a cliff, and now he was being hunted.

“Kid, believe me, family power struggles are all too common. You haven’t experienced it yet, but in a few years you’ll understand—even those closest to you can’t always be trusted.” The old man sighed; he seemed to have a story of his own.

“Can you really escape from an Innate realm expert, kid? I’m rather curious—should I stir things up a bit?” The old man mused, stroking his chin.

He flicked his sleeve, and a piece of Lu Han’s tattered robe fell unnoticed to the ground.

Suddenly, the old man slipped a speed-boosting ring into Lu Han’s possession.

“Captain, we’ve found something! We’ve found something!”

“He can’t get away—he’s just ahead. After him!”

Lu Han thought that by running in circles, they wouldn’t catch up so quickly.

“I didn’t expect them to close in so fast.” Lu Han heard sounds from the woods behind.

“Is escape impossible?”

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