"The warning has been completely lifted, it should be safe now." Li Yuan thought for a moment and stepped out of his room.
His aunt and younger siblings were still asleep.
"I'll head to school first." Li Yuan left home and walked out of the neighborhood.
At the end of the street, the military vehicle from four in the morning had vanished.
There were no patrolling soldiers in sight either.
However, Li Yuan's sharp eyes caught sight of a drone hovering several hundred meters high in the distance.
It seemed to be on alert.
Li Yuan went straight to the bus stop to catch the tram, but after waiting for a long time, no bus arrived.
"Forget it."
"I'll just run to school." Li Yuan turned around and began jogging towards the school.
With his physical fitness, what he called jogging was still at a pace of about eight to nine meters per second.
He could reach the school in less than ten minutes.
As he ran, he noticed many shops opening along the street, and several people who seemed to be heading to work.
With more people around, he felt a bit safer.
Just as he turned a corner, he suddenly heard a cheerful voice.
"Young man, seems like you’re a bit late for your morning run today."
"It was because of the Star Realm creature attack last night. I waited for the warning to lift before heading out," Li Yuan replied with a smile, slowing down his pace. "Are you opening your shop today? I thought you were taking a break."
The voice belonged to the owner of a noodle shop, who was busy moving things around.
They had met many times and were familiar strangers.
"I have to pay the rent, can't take a break," the owner said with a laugh, his body a bit plump but his arms strong enough to easily lift a large table.
"Hope your business thrives," Li Yuan said casually as he continued jogging.
As he passed a narrow alley, which looked dark and uninviting, he instinctively glanced inside.
Suddenly, he saw a vague figure darting out from the end of the alley, emerging from a sewer.
It seemed to be heading towards the main road.
"Huh?" Li Yuan's heart tightened, sensing an instinctive danger.
But his body, still running, instinctively carried him forward for over twenty meters.
Then, he finally stopped, turned around, and stared intently at the alley, instinctively stepping back.
"Thump~" "Thump~" Li Yuan's keen hearing caught the sound of hurried, faint noises coming from the alley.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" There seemed to be heavy, rapid breathing as well.
Without thinking, Li Yuan backed up to a nearby closed shop, where two hollow metal rods leaned against the wall, likely used for supporting goods.
Somewhere deep down, something warned him that he needed to run immediately.
But before he could react,
Boom!
A tall, thin figure suddenly burst out from the narrow alley and stood on the sidewalk.
Li Yuan's vision was sharp enough to see clearly.
It was a humanoid creature nearly two meters tall, with four arms, its skin a deep blue like the ocean, long green hair flowing down, and bright red eyes sparkling with intelligence.
It looked like a creature that had just emerged from the water.
Its limbs were long and elegant, its proportions taller than a human, and its fingers had evolved into sharp webbed claws. The most striking feature was the fin-like structure on its back, resembling a fish's tail.
"Fish Spirit Clan? A Star Realm creature!" Li Yuan instantly recognized it, his body covered in goosebumps.
Star Realm creatures came in all shapes and sizes, some resembling various animals from Blue Star, some humanoid, and others like oversized insects... but humanoid creatures made up about a third of them.
The Fish Spirit Clan was particularly notorious, known for being able to live both on land and in water.
In the history of Jiang City, they had been the main attackers in several incidents.
"How could there still be a Star Realm creature here?" Li Yuan felt a surge of alarm. "Didn't they lift the warning?"
Almost instinctively, he thought,
[Target creature, life level 10.2, ranked creature, currently in a heavily injured state, approximately 9.2, killing it will yield spiritual nourishment.]
Li Yuan's mind raced, feeling a wave of fatigue wash over him as he received the creature's life information.
10.2!
It was already ranked, equivalent to a true martial artist.
However, the information also indicated its heavily injured state.
It seemed its physical abilities could only reach 9.2.
"Shot?" Li Yuan noticed a bullet wound on the creature's chest, but there wasn't much blood, so he hadn't seen it right away.
If its physical condition reached the martial artist level, it would be strong enough that a small caliber bullet wouldn't be fatal unless it hit a vital spot.
Besides recognizing its injury, Li Yuan also noted the last line of the information: "Killing it will yield spiritual nourishment."
What was that?
Li Yuan had previously checked the life levels of many martial artists but had never encountered such a prompt.
Time seemed to slow down. In reality, within a second of the Fish Spirit Clan bursting out of the alley, Li Yuan had already identified and assessed the threat.
At the same time, he instinctively grabbed one of the hollow metal rods beside him, taking up a defensive stance and keeping his eyes fixed on the creature.
From all the information he had learned about Star Realm creatures throughout his life, these beings were incredibly brutal, and a fight was inevitable once they encountered humans.
However, to Li Yuan's surprise,
Boom!
The injured Fish Spirit Clan seemed to sense Li Yuan was not easy to deal with and instantly turned, its agile form darting towards the noodle shop owner several dozen meters away.
It moved with astonishing speed.
Clearly, it perceived Li Yuan as a serious threat.
"Star Realm creature?" The noodle shop owner also saw the Fish Spirit rushing towards him, adrenaline surging through him as he instinctively grabbed a kitchen knife!
At that moment,
Whoosh! The air exploded with a low, sharp sound!
A nearly three-meter-long hollow metal rod shot through the air like a giant arrow, directly aimed at the Fish Spirit Clan.
The creature was fast, but the metal rod was faster and more powerful!
"Roar~"
The Fish Spirit sensed the danger and instinctively tried to dodge, but its speed on land was already slower, especially since it was injured.
Boom!
The metal rod struck the Fish Spirit's shoulder with tremendous force, sending its nearly two-meter tall body crashing to the ground.
Bricks shattered.
Its body rolled on the ground, and blood seeped from its fish-scale-like shoulder but quickly stopped!
"Hah! Boom~~"
The Fish Spirit suddenly flipped over, letting out strange low growls filled with rage, focusing on Li Yuan standing several dozen meters away, completely ignoring the noodle shop owner nearby.
It raised its arms slightly, the sides of its arms glinting with a chilling light, resembling bone blades.
"Do you want to kill me?" Li Yuan gripped the last metal rod tightly, staring down the Fish Spirit.
Just moments ago, seeing the noodle shop owner in danger, Li Yuan had instinctively hurled the metal rod.
Li Yuan was always cautious and rarely took risks.
He knew life was precious.
But could he just stand by and watch someone he knew face danger?
He asked himself if he could really do that.
When he hurled the metal rod, facing the Fish Spirit and seeing its bloodthirsty eyes, Li Yuan felt no fear left in him.
Or rather, he had no more thoughts, only instinct.
"Martial arts is about killing enemies," Li Yuan thought, filled with an indescribable courage and bloodlust.
"Roar~"
The Fish Spirit let out a low roar and suddenly lunged at him with incredible speed.
Boom!
Li Yuan wasted no time, activating the Dragon Movement Technique and charging towards the creature like a dragon.
Long weapons require enough space to wield.
"Whoosh" "Whoosh!"
The Fish Spirit realized Li Yuan was not easy to handle and did not attack carelessly like it would against ordinary humans, swinging its arms like dual blades trying to strike Li Yuan down.
"Swish!"
The metal rod, like a spear, accelerated just before it was about to hit the Fish Spirit's arm, creating dozens of afterimages that momentarily distracted the creature.
Then, the metal rod shot through the gaps between the Fish Spirit's arms.
It struck directly at its eye.
The Rock Staff Technique's fifth killing move—Mountain Manifestation.
Boom!
It was as if a grape had been crushed, and the Fish Spirit's eyeball exploded instantly.
Blood and water splattered everywhere!
Boom!
The impact from the collision made Li Yuan's arm tremble, and he was thrown back.
He absorbed the force.
"Ahhh~" The pain from the exploded eye caused the Fish Spirit to feel excruciating agony, and its vision went dark.
Instinctively, it covered its injured eye with one hand.
Boom!
But Li Yuan's metal rod was incredibly agile, striking again, mercilessly hitting its other eye.
Explosion!
Blindness! The entire creature howled in agony.
"Your skills are too poor, not even reaching the third rank," Li Yuan murmured to himself.
He raised the heavy rod high again, his arm gathering strength, and struck down towards the creature's head.
(End of Chapter)