Chapter 2787: Chapter 2787: An Unexpected Attack

The Oneness Sky Palace was unique among the forces. It was different from groups such as the Nine Li race and the Bearing race.

The Nine Li race and the Bearing race were comprised of people descended from the same bloodlines, sharing a common genetic ancestry.

In contrast, the Oneness Sky Palace included people that came from different backgrounds. At any given moment, the Oneness Sky Palace had a mixed group of members from all around the world.

Thus the Oneness Mountain, the Origin Mountain, and the Vastness Mountain each had their own elite and diverse forces.

The Vastness Mountain had secretly established its own intelligence agency. The covert organization was notorious among the few who had heard of it for its cruel rules and rigid practices.

As a member of the Vastness Mountain's intelligence agency, Lazlo was always dealing with various problems. Just now, he was intensely worried about the consequences of Marco's death.

Lazlo feared that he was about to face one of the most cruel punishments in the history of the intelligence agency. He had once seen a fellow agent receive an extreme penalty, and even now the image of his colleague's punishment lingered in his consciousness, haunting his thoughts.

He couldn't stop thinking about it.

If Marco was dead, Lazlo knew he would be taken to the agency's infamous penalty room.

He could just imagine what would be waiting for him there. He envisioned a teeming, countless horde of purple-brown soul-devouring bugs swarming towards him in every direction, until he was surrounded.

Lazlo was overcome with terror.

Meanwhile, Zen's mind was flooded with a rush of ideas, coming to him one after another.

These three warriors all had a much stronger aura than Marco. They might be strong martial artists who had surpassed the Lust World.

Zen realized that he had no chance of winning a head-to-head battle.

Therefore, he had to launch a sneak attack. He had to take him by surprise. Without further ado, Zen immediately summoned the demonic eye.

There was a wave of energy as Zen waved his arm.

He had released a messy, powerful truth aura that rushed headlong towards Lazlo.

The Sword Texture Technique was lethal, but it was a bit troublesome to use compared to other theurgies, because the user had to envelop the target completely within their truth aura.

But no opponent would be foolish enough to stand passively within an aura without trying to escape.

Fortunately, Zen's demonic eye could serve as a temporary distraction, capturing the attention of his opponent.

Once Lazlo was entirely cocooned within the truth aura, Zen leaned forward, searching for an opportunity. But as he looked at Lazlo, Zen's expression changed.

“Is his body flawless?”

Zen murmured to himself, frowning. In his field of vision, Lazlo's body was smooth and unlined, an integral whole. How was this possible?

Zen had repeatedly tested the Sword Texture Technique, so he knew that nothing was fully perfect. Everything had at least a couple of flaws, no matter how minor. ℞𝘢Ŋ𝘖βΕṧ

But there was no time to dwell on such thoughts. Zen quickly adjusted his tactics, using the second ability of the demonic eye.

“The Authentic Visual World!”

A spark of white light flashed in Zen's right eye. Everything around him seemed to become clearer, more focused. Everything he saw was real. He could spot the smallest details even from a distance.

“There, I see it!” he exclaimed.

Indeed, Zen could see something with his right eye, but what he saw was quite strange.

Lazlo's hands and legs were still flawless—but there were lines in his chest, neck, and head, running across his body and crisscrossing one another on one side of his head.

“Here it is!”

he shouted. He rose up and launched his attack. The Snow Sword, like a viper coming out of its hole, soared through the air towards the junction of lines on the side of Lazlo's head.

Lazlo was a strong warrior beyond the Lust World.

Although he had yet to complete the Chaotic Source Reinforcement, he was already far stronger than the ordinary warriors of the Other Shore Realm in both soul and body. It could be said that he was a mere half-step from the Chaotic Source Realm.

Despite his strength, Lazlo had been so worried about Marco's life that he had become careless and distracted, focused on his fear instead of on his more immediate problems. However, within a few seconds, he snapped out of the fog of fear and recovered his senses.

He instantly took stock of the situation, and was shocked at the direction of Zen's attack.

He realized that Zen was aiming straight for the most vulnerable section of his body. Lazlo was stunned. Only his neck and head hadn't undergone the Chaotic Source Reinforcement, but how could Zen know that at a glance?

“How dare you!”

Lazlo moved like lightning. He turned to his side to avoid the radiant Snow Sword shooting straight towards him. At the same time, he leaped forward and lashed out with his right hand, grabbing Zen's right arm forcefully.

Zen had not expected the counterattack, and he found his arm caught firmly in Lazlo's grip.

Lazlo let out a sigh of relief.

'Zen is just a junior in the Lust World. Why does it feel like I'm in a life-and-death battle with him?' he thought.

Lazlo prepared to launch his vicious death aura, an attack that would melt Zen's arm and likely kill him. However, a powerful force emanated suddenly from Zen, right where Lazlo was gripping him.

“You want to struggle?”

Lazlo said coldly. He smiled and released the black death aura. The wave of killing energy instantly covered Zen's whole arm.

Virtually all creatures, including the strongest warriors who had undergone the Chaotic Source Reinforcement, would be helpless against the black death aura. Contact with it caused the victim to wither and collapse immediately. Lazlo anticipated Zen's cries of pain as his arm shrunk and withered before him.

To his shock, Zen did not seem like he was in any kind of pain. Instead, his arm turned dark.

“What... What is this?”

Lazlo demanded, looking dumbfounded.

He looked up from the dark arm to see that Zen looked calm and unafraid of his death aura.

As Lazlo stared, a huge force of cold light burst towards him, heading straight for his head. He was forced to let go of Zen's arm.

Lazlo tried to dodge the attack, but it was already too late.

The cold light went straight through the junction of the lines. The next moment, Lazlo's head and chest cracked. A powerful force penetrated through him and his soul was smashed into pieces.

There was a terrible sound of bones cracking and splitting.

Lazlo's severed head still had its mouth open in shock. His headless body tumbled backwards into the water.

Hundreds of thousands of people by the Clear Lake witnessed what had happened.

The clan masters were not strong, but they were smart enough to recognize strength in others.

As soon as Lazlo, Grayson and Drystan had appeared, they could tell that the three of them were incredibly strong, and close to breaking through to the Chaotic Source Realm.

The Chaotic Source Realm allowed warriors to upgrade their souls and exceed the limits of their bodies' physical strength. Those who had reached the Chaotic Source Realm were thus far more powerful than even the strongest warriors of the Other Shore Realm in the Lust World. Yet, in front of so many people, Zen had managed to defeat Lazlo.

There was no sound except the wind. Everyone was deathly silent, waiting to see what would happen next. The master of the Xu Clan was white-faced, looking at Zen blankly.

He couldn't help but think that he should stop Zen. If he had acted rashly, however, Zen would have killed him with a single blow.

Cailen was looking back and forth between Zen and the pool of blood spreading on the lake from Lazlo's body, unable to speak. He was stunned.

He had seen Zen's strength firsthand back in Blue Cloud City. At that time, Zen had just reached the Other Shore Realm, and Cailen had been highly impressed when he saw how much stronger Zen was compared to the other warriors in that realm.

He thought he knew what Zen was capable of. But this was even more incredible. In the span of just a few months, Zen had somehow gained the power and ability to defeat a person who was on the verge of entering the Chaotic Source Realm.

Cailen kept in close touch with many contacts at the Oneness Sky Palace, so he was familiar with stories of the outstanding talents there. Yet he had never heard of a warrior who had reached such heights as Zen.

“Father, did you know about this? My Flag Master is so powerful! He has not stayed long at the mountain, but he has already made great progress!” Gant whispered excitedly. All around, people were recovering from their initial astonishment, and beginning to murmur and whisper to each other.

Cailen said nothing. He was frowning, unable to conceal his worries.

He had allowed Gant to follow Zen because he thought highly of him. If Zen continued to succeed, Gant would also reap the benefits.

He realized now that Zen's talent was far beyond his greatest expectations. Warriors like Zen attracted enemies and rivals. Moreover, Zen had already offended the Xu Clan on the Vastness Mountain.

However, Cailen decided not to share his concerns with his son. After all, Zen had been a helpful ally to his own clan. He just hoped his son wouldn't be endangered by his continued association with a warrior as powerful as Zen.

“Lazlo!”

“Oh no!”

When Lazlo, Grayson, and Drystan had rushed out, Lazlo had confronted Zen while Grayson and Drystan rushed to check on Marco.

It turned out that Marco had survived Zen's sword strike. Somehow, despite his severe injuries, he was still breathing. He was saved by the Latent Theurgy.

But before they could even give voice to their relief, Grayson and Drystan had turned to see Lazlo being killed by Zen. As they watched, Lazlo lost his head, and his body fell into the Clear Lake. A spreading pool of crimson blood marked the spot where Lazlo had fallen.

They instantly forgot about their relief at Marco's survival. Instead, a sudden and fierce rage rose inside them. They focused on Zen, Lazlo's killer, their faces flushed with anger.