Chapter 353: Shameless Potential

Lu Shan Jun did not look like a strong or muscular person. While not exactly thin-limbed, he certainly appeared to be more of a scholar.

However, the martial arts world was known for its many extraordinary individuals, and some profound martial arts were not dependent on physical build. The trembling chopsticks on the floor were proof enough that the person who stood up was a master.

Hearing Lu Shan Jun's distinctly sarcastic tone, Jiang Meng narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him from head to toe, and spoke.

"Who are you, sir? This man poisoned my friend's and my wine, and then attacked us with a knife. He brought all these consequences upon himself; it's hardly an outsider's place to interfere, is it?"

Lu Shan Jun smiled.

"Not at all, not at all. I actually have no interest in this fellow named Fan. It's simply that the gentleman over there owes me a small debt, and since you happen to be with him, you might as well help him settle it."

Lan Ning Ke snorted coldly and stood up.

"Hmph, are you talking about me, sir? I don't recall ever seeing you, much less owing you any debt."

Lu Shan Jun remained silent, sweeping his sleeves from side to side. His garments slowly shifted color, transforming from the former green to a light yellow, and the black, flowing cloud patterns on the cuffs extended upwards, resembling an intricate design.

This scene filled the surrounding martial artists with astonishment.

"Does this person know magic?" "Or is he performing a trick?"

"I don't know, it's a bit eerie!"

"Let's see how that Jiang fellow and Lan fellow react."

The voices of others were hushed, filled with curiosity as well as a hint of schadenfreude. Meanwhile, Jiang Meng and Lan Ning Ke themselves felt increasing pressure.

Such a striking change in clothing color raised concerns of hidden poisonous powders, or perhaps, if he truly were a sorcerer, he would be a formidable opponent.

At this moment, Lu Shan Jun looked at Jiang Meng, then his gaze swept towards Lan Ning Ke.

"Of course, you wouldn't recognize me in this appearance. Let me offer a hint, so you understand my identity. In the early spring of the Dingchou year, before the Mountain God Temple on Niu Kui Mountain, I heeded my master's teachings and spared your lives. The agreement was that after the nine of you escaped, you would dedicate your lives to chivalry. Years later, I would personally descend the mountain to ascertain whether you had upheld your promise. Lan Ning Ke, do you recall now?"

Lu Shan Jun spoke slowly, but every word felt like a heavy hammer striking Lan Ning Ke's heart. His eyes widened, blood vessels appeared in the whites of his eyes, his breathing became more rapid, and his face turned extremely pale.

He remembered. He remembered that night many years ago, the scene outside the Mountain God Temple on Niu Kui Mountain, and then he looked at the scholar's clothing color before him.

'This, this is...'

Lan Ning Ke was utterly terrified, his body slowly retreating. Some memories one believes are forgotten are merely buried deep in the heart, and at this moment, with crisis approaching, they all resurfaced.

"Brother Lan, what kind of person is this?"

Jiang Meng stared intently at Lu Shan Jun, seeing that he had indeed said something significant, and thought of asking Lan Ning Ke, but the latter's emotions were clearly unstable.

"Brother Jiang, this one, might not be human..."

"What did you say?"

Due to intense fear, Lan Ning Ke's voice was not only faint but also broken.

"He says I might not be human!"

Lu Shan Jun bared his teeth, his fingers curling one by one into prominent, sinewy claws. He raised his head and spoke in a voice that was both deep and resounding.

"I also use Tiger Fist. Watch closely."

As his voice fell, Lu Shan Jun let out a roar.

"Aow Roar————"

Boom...

Everyone around instinctively covered their ears. The tremendous roar made all the porcelain dinnerware in the entire restaurant clatter and shake, with many pieces even cracking.

Jiang Meng felt as if his head had been struck by a heavy hammer, instantly stunned, his ears filled with a buzzing sound.

Though his mind was hazy, his vision remained. In his wide eyes, he saw Lu Shan Jun slightly bending, rapidly approaching with a slanted shoulder.

In a daze, he seemed to witness a fierce tiger, its eyes slitted and fierce, lunging with a roaring "Aow roar...", its power flowing through its very bones, embodying the very essence of a tiger's pounce.

Jiang Meng's body wanted to react but felt incredibly heavy. Everything around him seemed to slow down for a moment. Before he could even raise his hand, his chest was violently struck by the opponent's slanted shoulder in a flash.

"Bang..." "Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack..."

Amidst a series of crisp bone-cracking sounds, Jiang Meng's entire chest caved in, followed by a sharp pain in his left chest.

"Boom..."

The window wall on the second floor of Rengui Restaurant directly exploded. A figure, along with wood splinters and debris, smashed through the restaurant's wooden wall and flew out seven or eight zhang, crashing onto the street.

Jiang Meng was not dead yet. He lay outside, trembling, blood gushing from his mouth, unable to speak. His limbs appeared to be completely shattered, leaving him immobile.

"Hrr... uh... hrr-uh-cough..."

His eyes fixed intently on the second floor of the inn, then he looked down at his own chest, where there was a large hole.

His formidable physical resilience allowed him to hold on for a moment longer, before he collapsed to the ground, drawing his last breath.

On the second floor of the inn, Lu Shan Jun held up a blood-stained hand-claw. In its palm, a blood-soaked heart was still throbbing.

"Oh, so this person's heart was still red after all."

This "Black Tiger Scoops Heart" technique was utterly brutal and shocking. Everyone around felt their scalps tingle, yet a profound silence fell.

Lan Ning Ke was the first to react, but he had absolutely no courage to resist. Without a word, he leaped out of the restaurant through the large hole Jiang Meng had created, channeling all his internal energy to its limit, fleeing frantically as if his life truly depended on it.

What martial arts conference, what status in the jianghu—nothing was as important as his own life.

Lan Ning Ke ran frantically, disregarding everything. His Qinggong at this moment reached its highest level, truly moving with exceptional speed.

The thought of going to a temple or similar place did cross his mind, but Lan Ning Ke immediately discarded it, unwilling to gamble or place his hope in those clay and golden statues.

Lan Ning Ke's first thought was to flee to Luoxia Villa, where Luo Ling, a top-tier expert even among Innate Masters, resided. Only he could stop such a monster.

Even if Villa Master Luo couldn't stop him, heading in that direction was definitely the right choice. Lan Ning Ke knew there was also a "Cloud Jade Pavilion" there, a significant property of Cloud Pavilion in Duming Prefecture city, and Lu Chengfeng was certainly there!

'I can't die, even if I die, I can't die alone! Lu Chengfeng, Lu Chengfeng was also involved back then, he was also involved!'

He roared silently in his heart, his face, a mix of fear and excitement, appearing even more sinister.

On the second floor of the restaurant, Lu Shan Jun watched Lan Ning Ke flee frantically but did not immediately follow. Instead, he walked to the broken wall, looked at the lifeless Jiang Meng outside, then at the hushed crowd inside, and finally lowered his gaze to Fan Tong, who was also horrified but with a glint of satisfaction deep in his eyes.

"Please, please... ah... spare me!" "Great hero, spare our lives! Spare us!"

"We are just Lan Ning Ke's servants..." "We don't know anything, nothing at all!"

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Lan Ning Ke's two attendants immediately knelt down, crying and kowtowing repeatedly towards Lu Shan Jun.

However, Lu Shan Jun completely ignored them. Instead, he casually tossed the still-beating heart in his hand, and with a "plop," it landed right in front of Fan Tong.

"I could have chosen not to kill Jiang Meng, but I consider myself indebted to your Fan family for a small favor. Since you so strongly wished for his death, then he shall be dead."

This remark was abrupt and unfinished, and Lu Shan Jun showed no intention of explaining it fully. Leaving behind these words and the heart, he leaped lightly out of the inn.

It wasn't until Lu Shan Jun had left that the color returned to the faces of those in the inn. Many only dared to breathe deeply now; the oppressive feeling earlier had been too intense, like a child standing alone before a fierce tiger.

"Was that an Innate Master just now?"

"Definitely, without a doubt. He's probably one of the most formidable among Innate Masters!"

"Too terrifying, too ruthless! He just ripped out the heart of 'Tiger by the River' Jiang Meng!"

"Hmph, he's now just a dead cat downstairs." "That person has a connection with the Fan family?"

"It can't be wrong."

"Now there's a good show to watch..."

Fan Tong stared blankly at the heart on the ground. Only at this moment did it stop beating. A martial artist from the jianghu came over to help him up.

"Hero Fan, are you alright? Quick, get up, get up!"

"Congratulations, Hero Fan, on getting your revenge!" "Indeed."

In the quiet evening, the loud commotion of the fight naturally attracted attention. Arriving even before the local constables were the nether-emissaries, enveloped in cold, eerie winds.

Two Night Patrollers, gliding indistinctly, paused beside Jiang Meng's corpse, frowning as they looked at the large hole in Jiang Meng's chest and towards Rengui Restaurant.

"That roar just now came from here!"

"Mm."

The two nether-emissaries scanned the surroundings but detected no demonic energy for the moment. They then turned to look at Jiang Meng's corpse; a dazed, fresh soul was emerging from his body. Jiang Meng's own soul, however, was wrapped in malicious karma and fierce aura.

"Hmph, as expected, few jianghu people are truly good." "Take him along for now!"

One of the nether-emissaries reached out and directly pulled Jiang Meng's soul from his corpse. With a strike of his saber hilt to its forehead, the soul, now dazed, followed behind them like a wooden dummy.

Although Jiang Meng was not a local, since they encountered him, they naturally couldn't allow a lost soul to wander freely outside.

"That roar was somewhat strange. We should investigate thoroughly to make sure no evil spirits have infiltrated the city."

"Indeed!"

After a few words, the two Night Patrollers surveyed their surroundings. Amidst the pervasive Yin energy, which clashed with the remnant Yang energy of the martial artists from moments before, a faint wisp of smoke seemed to form in their eyes. In that fleeting vision, the frantic fleeing silhouette of Lan Ning Ke appeared.

"Over there!" "Let's go!"

The two Night Patrollers stepped forward, transforming into two blurry ghostly figures, and pursued in the direction Lan Ning Ke had fled.

At this moment, Lan Ning Ke completely disregarded internal energy consumption or the need to conserve stamina for battle. He knew very well that he was absolutely no match for a monster; resistance meant death.

Fortunately, by desperately activating his potential, his Qinggong broke through its limits, and he quickly approached Luoxia Villa.

"Villa Master Luo, Villa Master Luo Ling———— an evil martial artist from the jianghu is pursuing me! I beg Villa Master Luo Ling to intervene! Villa Master Luo, save me—!"

"Lu Chengfeng... Lu Chengfeng, come out quickly! Our common enemy is here, come and help...!"

Disregarding all propriety and manners, Lan Ning Ke now cared for nothing else. Channeling his internal energy, he screamed whatever came to mind, rushing towards Luoxia Villa as he yelled.