Indeed, after entering the valley, he would have the advantage of time, terrain, and unity!
Time was on his side as the sky was pitch-black, perfect conditions for him to make full use of the Hateful Heaven Pupil Technique!
The Hateful Heaven Pupil Technique could slow down their speed, allowing him to pinpoint their vulnerabilities more precisely.
As for terrain advantages, compared to the two of them, he was far more familiar with this valley.
Unity...
Naturally, although the two men were traveling together, they were suspicious of each other!
Neither of them would be willing to initiate an attack, thus depleting their spiritual energy. This was one of the factors that could increase Lu Chen’s chance of a successful sneak attack!
With a clear destination in mind, Lu Chen spared no effort and ran at full speed, regardless of the drain on his spiritual power!
His Qi Sea had expanded considerably, and even sprinting to the valley, he was confident he would retain at least half of his energy.
And to take down these two men, at most ten moves!
Lu Chen had his mental abacus clacking away, already experienced, and after being discarded, even more adept at calculating.
He knew he had no way out and could not afford to fight unprepared!
Finally.
After his mad dash, Lu Chen turned into the valley!
"Haha, the so-called genius of Yuzhou City? If he had continued to run deeper into the mountains, he might have had a slim chance of survival! But into this valley, it surely must be a dead end!"
The man in black burst into a derisive laugh, his sharp cackle tearing through the night!
Hearing the word "genius," Lu Changkong gritted his teeth and said, "Of course he’s no genius. If he were, how could I bear to drive him out of the Lu Family?"
Originally, in his plan, with Lu Chen dead, he could have positioned Lu Zhan as the number one among the younger generation!
This way, he could nominate him for the Heavenly Book Academy, bringing glory to himself as his father.
He would then be rightfully seated as the head of the family, silencing all criticisms!
But to his dismay, Lu Zhan had been killed by Lu Chen!
He still couldn’t understand why Lu Chen would kill Lu Zhan for Qin Yaotiao!
That was clearly just a maidservant!
"Lu Changkong, is it so hard to admit someone else’s excellence?"
The man in black mocked, but it had a deeper meaning. He was trying to provoke Lu Changkong into making the first move, so that he could seize an opportunity to ambush him!
Because before he heard about the jade pendant, he didn’t wish for Lu Chen’s death!
"Hmph, you who skulk in shadows dare to lecture me?"
Lu Changkong snorted coldly, still ignorant of the existence of the Polar Treasure Meeting.
He had no idea why this man was also looking for Lu Chen!
If this man bore no hostility towards Lu Chen, he might have thought him to be an ally hired by Lu Changren and his wife to save Lu Chen.
But oddly enough, the man had picked a fight with them without any reason.
It was only recently that Lu Changkong had learned that they were also in search of Lu Chen!
"Hehe," the man in black chuckled dismissively, "I suggest you better not know too much. Everyone who knows of our origins has died!"
"Big talk," Lu Changkong replied disdainfully, "although my Lu Family is not the top-tier in Yuzhou City, we are still an upper-class family. What are you in comparison?"
Amid their verbal skirmish, Lu Chen had already reached the bottom of the valley. Without hesitation, he headed straight for the edge of the stream.
Using the sound of the stream to mask his footsteps, Lu Chen quickly hid behind a large boulder.
But he didn’t fully stay put; instead, he crouched down and moved to another location.
As expected.
After Lu Changkong and the man in black closely pursued to this point, they stopped in their tracks.
"Could Lu Chen have hidden in the stream?"
The man in black frowned.
He was only somewhat familiar with Ten Thousand Demon Mountain; the stream never flowed out of it, which likely meant there were underground rivers.
If Lu Chen had really hidden inside one, it might render years of preparation fruitless.
"Lu Chen can’t swim, so if he were to hide, it would be behind these boulders."
Lu Changkong broke it down plainly, pointing at the large stones.
"Oh?"
The man in black raised an eyebrow, visibly relieved.
But Lu Chen made a mental note to learn swimming in the future; indeed, more skills could open more paths to survival!
"Let’s get one thing straight," said Lu Changkong, "We take turns attacking to shatter these boulders."
"Not a bad idea."
The man in black had no objection.
He was not surprised by Lu Changkong’s caution.
After all, Lu Changming was a Martial Artist of the Marrow Refinement Realm who had died in a grove outside Yuzhou City.
"Let me go first!"
Lu Changkong’s eyes turned icy as he drew out a long sword and thrust!
Spiritual power converged, focusing on a single point to shatter the surface, and the boulder exploded with a loud boom, the shattered pieces flying and mostly falling into the stream with a loud splashing sound!
"No need for reminders!"
The man in black spoke coldly, leaping up and smashing another boulder with a fierce punch!
The spiritual power erupted, turning the boulder instantly to dust!
And there Lu Chen was, cleverly hidden behind another large boulder close by!
To make a move or not?