N-M Chapter 236 The Erosion of the Holy Light Crystal
Chapter 236 The Erosion of the Holy Light Crystal
Li Mu's smile froze on his face.
The black lotus petals, though devoid of any warmth, sent chills down his spine.
The blood was flowing abnormally fast in the blood vessels.
"Instructor Lu, I don't understand what you mean."
He tried to make his voice sound calm, but his throat was dry and his tone changed.
"I was just... just a little rushed."
"I failed to break through to the second tier, which dragged everyone down."
Lu Yan remained silent.
He simply moved the fragment of the black lotus forward an inch.
sizzle.
A soft sound, like hot oil dripping into cold water.
Beneath Li Mu's combat uniform on his chest, dark blue veins bulged sharply on his skin.
What flowed in the veins was not blood, but clusters of pure white light spots that were moving around wildly.
The light points struck his skin, forming tiny bumps.
"ah--"
Li Mu could no longer pretend.
He let out a roar that sounded inhuman, jumped back, and clutched his chest tightly with his right hand.
But it was too late.
Pure white light shone from between his fingers, dazzling and blinding.
He was enveloped by that light, and the pupils in his eyes disappeared, filled with pure white.
Behind him, the light distorted, vaguely outlining the silhouette of a pair of tattered wings of light.
"Blessed! This is the Lord's blessing!"
Li Mu's voice became sharp and fanatical, mixed with a strange resonance.
"You mortals! Feel the power of the Holy Light!"
He opened his arms, and a burst of light erupted from his chest.
The white light transformed into countless tentacles, shooting towards the nineteen team members who had not yet broken through to the second tier.
The light carried a seductive whisper.
"Do you crave power?"
"Blessed, you too can become second-tier powerhouses!"
The nineteen people were already restless because they had failed to break through, and when they were illuminated by this light, their eyes immediately began to glaze over.
Two people had already instinctively reached out their hands.
Xiao Qianyu moved.
There were no signs.
One second she was standing behind Lu Yan, the next she was already on Li Mu's left.
The mark of the flash strike vanished in an instant.
Instead of swinging the blade of the Dragon King's Halberd, he used the tail of the halberd to deliver a precise horizontal sweep.
Two muffled thuds, like bones being forcibly torn apart, echoed in the air.
Li Mu's two outstretched arms fell limply to his sides.
The tendon in his hand is severed.
He didn't even have time to feel the pain.
A crossbow bolt carrying an aura of destruction had already pierced the air and arrived.
Wen Yue stood at a distance, the bowstring of the World-Destroying Thunder Crossbow still trembling slightly.
A specially made heavy alloy crossbow bolt pierced Li Mu's right knee, pinning him firmly to the ground.
The first squad subdued a rampaging polluter in just 0.5 seconds.
"Aaaaaah!!"
Only then did the excruciating pain spread throughout my body.
Li Mu knelt on the ground, unable to move due to his pierced knees and crippled hands.
The holy light power within him went out of control and began to backfire wildly.
His skin cracked open in pieces, and flesh rolled out from the cracks, only to be burned to charcoal by the holy light.
He was like a candle that was repeatedly lit and then extinguished.
The phantom of the pair of wings of light shattered completely amidst a painful roar.
"Help me..."
He turned his head, tears of blood streaming from his pure white eyes, and looked at Lu Yan.
"Instructor...save me...I don't want to die..."
"I just... I just want to become stronger..."
Lu Yan walked up to him and looked down at him.
"This is not awakening."
His voice was calm, yet it sent chills down the spines of everyone around him.
"This is treating oneself as a vessel, selling one's soul to those higher-dimensional parasites."
"You're not getting stronger; you're preparing the coordinates and anchor points for their arrival."
"Every bit of strength you beg for has been bought with the lives of your fellow citizens."
Li-Mu was stunned.
He looked at his festering body, and the fervor and hope in his eyes were completely extinguished, leaving only endless fear.
Lu Yan raised his right hand.
The black phantom of the Void Disc slowly rotated in his palm.
Without the slightest hesitation, he placed his palm directly on Li Mu's chest, the source of the holy light bursting forth.
"No--!"
Li Mu let out his final wail.
The power of the Black Lotus's laws forcefully invaded his body.
There was no energy collision, no violent explosion.
The pure white holy light, upon contact with the laws of the void, melted and disintegrated silently, like snow exposed to sunlight.
A pure white crystal, about the size of a thumb and with sharp edges, was forcibly peeled from Li Mu's flesh by Lu Yan and floated in his palm.
Holy Light Crystal.
As the crystal was stripped away, Li Mu's energy fluctuations rapidly declined, falling from the peak of the first rank to the level of an ordinary person, and finally disappearing completely.
He collapsed to the ground, having lost all his cultivation, and became a cripple.
The entire process was eerily quiet.
In the camp, everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Yan.
The seventy elite Dragon Guards who had just undergone rigorous training looked at Lu Yan with not only awe but also a chilling aura emanating from their very bones.
Lu Yan ignored the unconscious Li Mu.
He turned to face the nineteen team members whose spirits were wavering.
His gaze swept across every face.
"Look carefully."
"This is the shortcut you've been looking for."
"The warriors of China are willing to die in battle, willing to shed their last drop of blood."
Lu Yan's voice was firm and resounding.
"But we will never wag our tails and beg for alms from external gods."
"Behind you stands China, four hundred million compatriots."
"The weapons in your hands are divine weapons obtained through our own blood, sweat, and sacrifice."
"Anyone who thinks this power isn't strong enough, anyone who still wants to worship those man-eating monsters as their father."
"Now, go out there yourself."
"I, Lu Yan, will cripple him myself, so that I won't sully my comrade's blade in the future."
Silence reigned.
The nineteen people trembled violently, and all the color drained from their faces.
They looked at Li Mu's mangled body on the ground, then at Lu Yan's cold, emotionless eyes, and a chill ran from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.
Everyone straightened their backs in unison.
The last trace of confusion and wavering in his eyes was completely crushed.
Lu Yan looked away.
His gaze returned to the holy light crystal in his palm.
The power of the laws of the Void Disc slowly seeped into it.
The internal structure of the crystal was deconstructed and analyzed layer by layer.
Soon, a blurry image was refracted from the deepest part of the crystal.
That was a city at night.
The camera zooms in rapidly, focusing on a uniquely shaped skyscraper that stands out from the crowd in the city center.
Jincheng.
Lu Yan's fingers suddenly closed.
Click.
That S-grade material, enough to drive an ordinary awakened being mad, was crushed into dust by him.
White powder drifted from between his fingers.
He raised his head and looked in the direction of the exit of the secret realm.
Qin Wangshan was waiting there with his logistics troops.
"Old Qin."
Lu Yan's voice came through the communicator, carrying a hint of suppressed anger.
"Looks like we won't be able to rest."
"Someone's up to no good behind our backs."