Awakened Talent: 10,000 Exp Converter!

"That's all? Isn't your sect's skill a little trashy?"

Vincent's words immediately darkened Xu Zheng's expression. It was one thing for him to be insulted, but it was entirely different if his sect was insulted.

He had to defend the honor and name of his sect. No one was allowed to insult his sect to his face. Therefore, he increased the intensity of his attack.

"Third strike—Lunar Lunge!"

Xu Zheng burst forth with speed as he lunged his glowing blade forward.

"Die!" Xu Zheng cried.

However, even with the sudden burst of speed from Xu Zheng, it was still slow in Vincent's eyes. Therefore, he calmly responded, "No."

Then, instead of dodging, he clenched his fist and activated his skill Stoneheart Gauntlet. His arms were immediately encased in silver-colored stone. With a stoic expression, he punched Xu Zheng's blade.

Bang!

A deafening sound erupted as Vincent's arms subtly trembled, while Xu Zheng was forced to retreat several meters upon impact.

Vincent was quite satisfied with his physical strength. With his epic-grade skill Stoneheart Gauntlet and Sterling Silver Body, his force attribute was greatly enhanced, allowing him to withstand even a rare-grade Tier 2 armament without difficulty.

The reaction was quite the opposite for Xu Zheng. His expression turned ugly at the result. His curiosity about Vincent's identity grew immensely, but so did his concern.

"That's impossible! There's no way he can withstand my armament with just his physical skill!"

Xu Zheng exclaimed in his mind before once again dashing at Vincent with bloodshot eyes.

"There's no way you can defeat me with just a physical skill! You will die under my armament! Die!"

"Fourth strike—Crescent Strike!"

A purple crescent energy flashed out of his blade as he bellowed, "I'm not done yet! Taste my armament's special skill Fiend's Fury!"

The initial purple crescent energy quickly transformed into a shade of crimson and expanded to a three-meter span horizontally. It flew toward Vincent with greater speed.

With a thought, he activated the third sub-skill of Stoneheart Gauntlet—Earth's Resilience.

His entire upper torso was immediately covered in a dense rock of silver-stone armor.

He didn't stop there. He shielded himself with both arms and activated the second sub-skill of Stoneheart Gauntlet—Stoneheart Guard.

Immediately, a dense, two-meter tall, two-meter wide stone shield materialized in front of him.

Everything happened within moments. By the time Xu Zheng's sword skill arrived, Vincent had already prepared himself. Hence, the crescent crimson energy landed harmlessly on the thick stone shield.

Bang!

Another loud sound echoed upon impact, sending shockwaves through the mountain forest. When everything subsided, Xu Zheng's attack had failed to leave even a scratch on the stone shield.

Needless to say, Vincent's physique and skill were far superior to Xu Zheng's. There was no need to mention his current force points; while Xu Zheng's armament was rare-grade, Vincent's Stoneheart Gauntlet skill was epic-grade.

There was no comparison between the two. Therefore, it was no surprise to Vincent when he saw the result.

However, for Xu Zheng, it was a different matter. Oblivious to Vincent's force points and skill grade, Xu Zheng was unable to hide his shock.

But before he could voice his disbelief, Vincent's voice cut through the air.

"Weak."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

One word was enough to shatter Xu Zheng's confidence. He had one final move, but he doubted it would be enough to defeat Vincent.

Just as he hesitated, his phone rang. Though still focused on Vincent, he quickly took it out and answered the call without checking the caller ID. Experience new tales on empire

Before he could even ask who it was, Zhang Chen's furious voice bellowed from the other end. "Where are you right now?! Isn't it your job to protect me?! I need you now!"

Instead of being displeased, Xu Zheng's expression brightened. However, he maintained an irritated façade.

"Don't contact me unless it's urgent. If it is, then just use the Moonlight Summon."

Zhang Chen's furious voice rang again, "Damn it! Do you expect me to use my precious item?!"

"Then don't use it." Xu Zheng maintained his calm and composed tone, though he silently hoped Zhang Chen would. He wanted an excuse to leave Vincent's presence.

On the other end, Zhang Chen cursed vehemently. "Damn it!"

Taking out a deep blue crystal from his storage ring, Zhang Chen hesitated momentarily before finally activating it.

Meanwhile, Xu Zheng pocketed his phone and feigned composure.

"You done?" Vincent asked nonchalantly.

Xu Zheng grinned.

"Heh, you're indeed strong."

Acting as though the conversation with Zhang Chen had not happened, he continued, "But you won't survive my next strike. Prepare yourself!"

Xu Zheng took a stance, his blade beginning to emit waves of purple energy and immense pressure.

"Fifth strike—Farewell! Haha!"

Instead of releasing a powerful attack, Xu Zheng burst out laughing when he felt a tug on the connection to his mind. Slowly, his figure dissolved into smoke.

"You might win today, but this isn't the end! I'll kill you the next time we meet!"

Xu Zheng vanished.

Mochi, who had been peacefully eating and watching the battle, was speechless.

"He ran?" she muttered before resuming her snack.

Vincent made no move to stop Xu Zheng, assuming it would be futile after noticing the shift in his confidence. However, he wasn't one to let his enemies grow stronger unopposed.

Closing his eyes, he spread his mental perception.

Ten kilometers... Twenty... Fifty… Finally, nearly a mile away, he located Xu Zheng's presence.

"Found you," he muttered, snapping his eyes open.

Without a word, he grabbed Mochi, who was startled, and placed her on his shoulder. "Hold on tight; we're running."

Before she could react, he activated his One-Step Shift movement skill.

Almost a mile away, Xu Zheng reappeared beside Zhang Chen, who bore several wounds. Xu Zheng frowned after scanning the surroundings.

Lifeless black-clothed corpses littered the area, while Jiang Hao's group stood in front of them, visibly injured but in better condition than Zhang Chen.

Xu Zheng's appearance brightened Zhang Chen's ugly expression, though his tone remained accusatory.

"Finally! Go deal with him for me, or I'll tell Grandfather you let me end up like this!"

On an ordinary day, Xu Zheng would have been displeased with Zhang Chen's attitude. However, today he chose to let it slide—after all, Zhang Chen had inadvertently saved his life from Vincent.

On the opposing side, Jiang Hao's face darkened at Xu Zheng's arrival. He had been one step away from killing Zhang Chen, and now this elder appeared out of nowhere.

Lu Mengmeng's worried voice called from behind, "Senior Brother, what do we do now?"

Jiang Hao didn't answer. Even if he had a plan, his group was already drained from their fight against Zhang Chen and his men.

Xu Zheng sneered.

"I'm in a bad mood, and you kids just made it worse. Why don't you accept your deaths gracefully?"

Before anyone could respond, a familiar voice cut through the tension.

"Right, why don't you do that too?"

Xu Zheng froze in terror, mechanically turning toward the voice.

The demonic figure he feared most stared back, predatory eyes locked on him.

"H-How…"