"Sect Master, a phone call from your family."
Senior Sister Xiang approached Lu Changsheng and spoke in a low voice.
Lu Changsheng nodded, picked up his cell phone, and answered.
"Lu Yuan, come home this evening. There are a few matters to discuss," his mother's voice came through from the other end of the line.
"All right, I'll head home tonight," Lu Changsheng agreed with a nod.
In his memories, his family consisted only of his parents and a younger sister.
Both parents were university professors, members of the educated elite.
Ever since he took over for "Lu Yuan," he had barely communicated with his parents and family.
Yet family ties were not something one could easily cast aside.
Besides, there was no need to cut ties at all.
He might as well see what his parents wanted him to return for.
Although his parents had previously strictly forbidden him from practicing martial arts, now that he had created the Limit Martial Dao style and his prestige had soared, it was impossible for them to stop him anymore.
After taking a shower at the Limit Martial Arts Hall, Lu Yuan left the building and sat inside the sedan Senior Sister Xiang had already prepared.
Senior Sister Xiang had now become Lu Changsheng's right-hand assistant.
She arranged every aspect of his daily life down to the last detail.
Accompanying him wherever he went, she had completely become his personal and professional assistant.
"Sect Master, several new branches of the Limit Martial Arts Hall opened this month, not in Pan City, but in the surrounding regions..."
Inside the car, Senior Sister Xiang reported the details one by one.
Lu Changsheng closed his eyes and dozed, paying little attention to her report.
He had never involved himself in the commercial operations of the martial arts hall, leaving everything entirely in the hands of Senior Sister Xiang, Fei Qianliu, and the others.
Just as Lu Changsheng kept his eyes closed, listening to Senior Sister Xiang's report, he abruptly snapped his eyes open, his expression shifting in an instant.
Out of nowhere, he sensed a faint, indistinct crisis looming over him.
With Lu Changsheng's level of consciousness, such an intuition was never wrong.
"Get down!"
Lu Changsheng forcefully shoved Senior Sister Xiang's head down.
At the same moment, the sedan's window was instantly pierced.
Crack!
One bullet after another punched through the car glass, flying straight toward Lu Changsheng.
In truth, these bullets had already been sensed by Lu Changsheng's consciousness.
Yet he was not in his true body right now.
Even though his physical flesh had just undergone secondary growth, his reaction speed still could not outpace a bullet.
Thus, he could only watch helplessly as the bullets struck him hard on the head.
Clang!
Bullets bearing terrifying kinetic energy were the bane of almost all martial artists.
Yet right now, all three bullets struck Lu Changsheng's body.
Two hit his head.
One hit his neck.
All three collided violently with Lu Changsheng's skin.
However, having undergone secondary growth, Lu Changsheng's skin had become unimaginably tough.
It could not be pierced even by bullets.
Having exhausted their kinetic energy, the bullets ricocheted off and clattered onto the car floor.
Though it seemed slow in thought, it had all occurred in a mere instant.
Both Senior Sister Xiang and the driver were dumbfounded.
What had they just witnessed?
Bullets!
Lu Yuan could actually withstand bullets with his bare flesh?
This was... simply unbelievable.
Even though they knew Lu Yuan was formidable and the Limit Martial Dao style was powerful, witnessing this firsthand was still overwhelmingly shocking.
"B-bullets!"
"Someone used firearms to assassinate the Sect Master?!"
Senior Sister Xiang snapped back to her senses at once.
Yet Lu Changsheng reacted even faster.
"Stay here."
Lu Changsheng darted outward.
Whoosh!
He bolted out of the car.
Within his perception, there were actually two gunmen in total.
One on the left and one on the right.
One was on the third floor to the left, and the other was on the fourth floor to the right.
"Target is not dead. Mission failed."
"Retreat!"
The two gunmen acted with exceptional speed.
Seeing that they had failed to kill Lu Changsheng, they retreated immediately.
They were organized and premeditated, their escape routes mapped out long in advance.
Even if Lu Yuan discovered them, it should have been utterly impossible to catch them.
Yet they had underestimated Lu Yuan.
More precisely, they had underestimated the Lu Yuan who had achieved "secondary growth."
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Yuan took massive strides, sprinting frantically toward the third floor on the left.
Then, pushing off with both feet, he leaped into the air.
Boom!
The ground seemed to shake violently, giving off a deafening roar.
At the same time, Lu Changsheng soared through the air, jumping directly onto the third floor and crashing straight through the third-story window.
Crash!
The window shattered into pieces.
The gunman inside the room was stunned senseless.
Almost without thinking, he pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A flurry of rounds erupted.
The gunman emptied almost his entire magazine.
Furthermore, having undergone rigorous training, his marksmanship was exceptionally accurate.
Nearly every shot struck Lu Changsheng's body.
Yet Lu Changsheng did not so much as knit his brows, letting the bullets pelt him at will.
As the bullets hit Lu Changsheng, they failed completely to pierce his skin, bouncing off one after another and dropping to the floor.
Witnessing this, the gunman's eyes went wide, as though unable to believe his own sight.
Blocking bullets with bare flesh?
This was... incomprehensible!
And yet it was fact.
It was unfolding right before his eyes.
Ever since firearms were invented, the entire world had changed.
Whether pellet force or astral force, whether martial artists or martial masters, all lost their superiority before firearms.
Even with astral force, a single bullet could end a life.
If one bullet was not enough, then two or three would do the trick.
It was not just one or two astral force grandmasters who had been gunned down by barrages of bullets.
Yet now, someone capable of withstanding bullets with mortal flesh and blood had actually appeared.
This went far beyond anything the gunman could have imagined.
Thump!
Lu Changsheng knocked the gunman unconscious with a single palm strike.
The gunman could not die just yet.
He needed to know who had hired gunmen to kill him.
Moreover, this was only one of them.
There was still the second gunman on the right.
Taking advantage of this interval, the other party had already fled the fourth floor, escaped onto the street via the preplanned route, and gotten into a car, preparing to drive away.
"Hmph."
Lu Changsheng let out a cold snort.
He would never let someone who wanted him dead escape so easily.
Carrying the unconscious gunman in his left hand, Lu Changsheng jumped straight down from the third floor, landing on the street.
Furthermore, his perception locked onto the fleeing driver in an instant.
Boom!
Lu Changsheng leaped forward in a single stride, clearing a distance of over ten meters in the blink of an eye, and took off in a wild sprint.
"What?!"
The gunman spotted Lu Changsheng in the rearview mirror.
Her face drained of color.
She stomped the gas pedal all the way to the floor.
The vehicle's speed surged instantly.
Lu Changsheng could not be bothered to play out a car chase here.
Reaching down, he seized the wheel of a parked car and wrenched it hard.
Rip!
The entire wheel was torn straight off by Lu Changsheng's bare hands.
Then, Lu Changsheng hurled it toward the fleeing vehicle.
Whoosh!
The wheel tore through the air, whistling violently as it smashed toward the speeding car.
"No...!"
Watching the wheel grow larger in her rearview mirror, terror surfaced on the gunman's face.
Yet the wheel slammed down all the same, crashing heavily against the car.
The vehicle spun out of control instantly, tumbling over several times before finally crashing to a halt against a streetlight.
From the moment Lu Changsheng ripped off the wheel and flung it to the moment the killer's car was struck, spun out, and smashed into the streetlight, only a brief moment had elapsed.
Yet this entire scene was witnessed by many onlookers.
After all, this took place right on the street, and countless people had seen it.
They all stood with mouths agape and eyes wide, completely unable to believe what was before them.
"Are they filming a movie?"
"No, this isn't a movie, it's real... someone inside is hurt!"
"Isn't that man Lu Yuan, the founder of the Limit Martial Dao style? He literally ripped off a wheel and flipped a car with it?!"
"Ah... a gun, it's a gun...!"
Cries of panic erupted from the crowd.
A gun!
From inside the overturned car, that woman actually drew a firearm.
At this moment, Lu Changsheng was bent over, leaning his head forward to look at the woman inside.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The woman opened fire, desperately unloading bullets right into Lu Changsheng's face.
The onlookers turned pale with horror.
Wouldn't Lu Yuan's face be blown to pieces?
Taking bullets to the face meant certain death!
Yet a shocking sight unfolded.
Those bullets could not pierce the skin on Lu Yuan's face.
They did not even leave a mark.
Instead, the bullets ricocheted off one after another, falling to the ground.
"Impervious to weapons?!"
The woman stared slack-jawed, forgetting even to pull the trigger again.
Not that pulling the trigger would have done any good anyway.
She was out of ammo.
Lu Changsheng reached in, seized the woman, and hauled her roughly out of the car.
The woman was fortunate.
Even though the car had rolled several times, she had suffered only minor scratches on her feet and was otherwise unharmed.
Yet she was also unfortunate, because she had fallen into Lu Yuan's clutches.
Thud.
Lu Changsheng tossed the gunman he held in his other hand onto the ground.
A man and a woman, two gunmen who had attempted to assassinate Lu Yuan from both sides.
"Speak. Who are you? Who sent you to kill me?" Lu Changsheng said calmly.
However, both remained dead silent, uttering not a word.
"I've heard that death-sworn operatives and assassins commit suicide once their mission fails. If you have poison or other means, go ahead and kill yourselves now. I won't stop you."
"But if you don't intend to die, do you think you can endure the agony and torture that will follow? Would you like to try it out first?"
Lu Changsheng hoisted the female assassin, seized one of her fingers, and snapped it viciously.
Crack!
The finger was broken cleanly in two by Lu Changsheng.
"Aaargh...!"
The woman shrieked in agony.
"I'll talk! We'll talk!"
At this point, the other assassin spoke up.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "We are bounty hunters. We took the contract to assassinate you based on the bounty listed on the underground dark web."
"On the dark web, the bounty placed on your life is very high. It has already reached tens of millions, and it's still climbing rapidly."
Lu Changsheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
He had the two log into the underground dark web.
Looking closely, Lu Changsheng confirmed they were indeed bounty hunters.
Moreover, he saw the bounty amount on his head continuously rising.
Bounties on this underground dark web were not posted by a single individual; once a target was listed, others were permitted to add to the bounty anonymously.
In other words, the bounty of tens of millions accumulated on Lu Changsheng was not funded by a single person, but pooled together by countless individuals continuously adding to it anonymously.
Under this model, the bounties on the underground dark web tended to look extraordinarily high.
Senior Sister Xiang walked over at this moment. Glancing at the underground dark web on the screen, she said in a solemn voice, "Sect Master, the underground dark web has existed for a very long time. No one knows who created it, and it cannot be shut down."
"Any bounty mission posted on it cannot be canceled, nor can the identity of the bountiers be traced."
Lu Changsheng understood.
He could roughly guess that those offering bounties on him were mostly tied to martial arts circles.
In fact, for his bounty to reach tens of millions, it was most likely pooled by people from traditional martial arts circles.
"Heh, interesting."
"It seems I've offended quite a few people, enough to make them eager to put a hit on me on the dark web."
"Go, find whatever means necessary to contact the dark web. If they continue keeping a bounty on me, I will uproot the dark web entirely!" Lu Changsheng commanded without room for argument.
"Understood, Sect Master."
Senior Sister Xiang immediately left to make arrangements.
She had seen it clearly earlier: Lu Yuan was completely impervious to bullets.
Resisting bullets with bare flesh was no joke; it had become reality.
Nowadays, Lu Yuan's imposing aura grew heavier by the day, filling Senior Sister Xiang with profound awe.
"We've told you everything we know. Give us a swift end..."
The assassin closed his eyes.
He knew that for people like them, once their mission failed and they were captured, death was practically their only outcome.
The reason they had not resisted to the bitter end was merely to spare themselves prolonged torture.
"As you wish."
Lu Changsheng scooped up the bullets he had caught earlier.
Swish! Swish!
Two bullet slugs shot out, burrowing swiftly into both of their heads.
Their heads slumped, and they collapsed into pools of blood, completely devoid of life.
"Make the call. Have the police come clean up the bodies," Lu Changsheng instructed coldly.
He had acted in self-defense, and these two were professional hitmen.
Their deaths carried no consequences.
Lu Changsheng and Senior Sister Xiang switched to another car and continued on their way home.
This incident had nothing to do with his family.
The assassins had simply been lying in wait outside, keeping watch on Lu Yuan all along.
Seeing Lu Changsheng's calm demeanor, Senior Sister Xiang could not help asking, "Sect Master, are you... really all right?"
To Senior Sister Xiang, the whole affair was utterly shocking.
Resisting bullets with bare flesh—she was awed anew every time she saw it.
Without speaking, Lu Changsheng drew the assassin's handgun, aimed it straight at his own palm, and fired.
Bang!
The bullet burst from the barrel.
Lu Changsheng clamped his hand shut, catching the bullet in his grip.
Then, he opened his palm.
Lying in the center of his palm was a bullet slug.
Senior Sister Xiang's heart leaped.
Catching a bullet barehanded!
This was even more terrifying and direct than withstanding bullets with one's body.
This time, not a shred of doubt remained in her mind.
Lu Yuan truly did not fear firearms.
"Senior Sister Xiang, do you also doubt that one can break through the human limits?"
"Then let me tell you now. The reason I can catch bullets barehanded and remain impervious to their penetration is because I have already broken through the human limit and entered the secondary growth of the human body!" Lu Changsheng said to Senior Sister Xiang.
"What?"
"Sect Master, you've reached secondary growth?!"
Senior Sister Xiang was astounded.
When Lu Yuan created the Limit Martial Dao style, the doctrine had stated clearly: once primary growth reached its limit, one had to break through that limit to enter secondary growth.
Once in secondary growth, one could gradually unlock the terrifying power dormant within the human body, acquiring all manner of incredible traits.
And now, Lu Yuan had entered secondary growth.
Leaving other traits aside, being entirely impervious to firearms and bullets alone was already terrifying.
It had completely surpassed force-refining martial arts.
After all, even at the highest realm of force-refining martial arts, one still could not withstand guns and bullets.
Senior Sister Xiang was profoundly thrilled.
Secondary growth—Lu Yuan had actually achieved it.
This also proved that the theory of the Limit Martial Dao style was correct.
What was more, one could keep advancing along this theoretical path!
This undoubtedly gave Senior Sister Xiang absolute reassurance.
If one could keep walking this path, who would not want secondary growth, or even tertiary growth?
That represented boundless potential!
The car soon arrived at the residential complex of Lu Yuan's family.
Lu Changsheng walked upstairs alone.
Knock, knock, knock.
Lu Changsheng knocked on the door.
Before long, the door opened.
Inside the apartment, both of Lu Yuan's parents were present.
"Hmm?"
Lu Changsheng noticed that besides Lu Yuan's parents, there were three strangers.
"Lu Yuan, you're back."
"Come, take a seat. These three are leaders from our university..."
His parents proceeded to introduce the identities of the three individuals to Lu Changsheng.
All three were university officials from the school where his parents taught.
In truth, they were Lu Changsheng's superiors as well.
After all, "Lu Yuan" was currently still a junior enrolled at that university.
He was officially registered on the roster.
It was only because of his prior injury that he had taken a temporary leave of absence.
He could return to continue his university studies at any time.
"Student Lu, you are truly a promising young talent."
"At such a young age, you created the Limit Martial Dao style, which is currently wildly popular across Pan City."
"Why, even students at our university have formed a Limit Martial Dao Club."
"Our visit today is to invite you to give a lecture at the school, and while you're at it, re-enroll and complete your registration procedures. After all, you are still a third-year student at our university."
The official spoke in a very amiable tone.
Lu Changsheng frowned slightly and said, "Giving a speech at the school is not an issue, but as for the re-enrollment procedures, I'm afraid I don't have the energy to continue schooling right now..."
"No, completing the registration procedures is simply to make things more convenient for you, Student Lu. As long as you complete the formalities, the university will be able to grant you your graduation certificate directly next year. After all, Student Lu is an outstanding alumnus of our school."
Lu Changsheng understood.
Handling the re-enrollment procedures was not about having him actually attend classes; it was merely a formality.
For someone with a boundless future like Lu Yuan, how could the university remain bound by rigid procedures?
Attending classes?
Out of the question.
When the time came, they would issue the diploma directly.
In the future, the university could boast that Lu Yuan hailed from their institution.
After chatting for a while longer, the university officials took their leave.
Only Lu Yuan and his parents remained in the apartment.
Both parents were university professors, members of the intellectual elite.
They had previously been staunchly opposed to Lu Yuan practicing martial arts.
Yet who could have thought that a household of intellectuals like theirs would produce a martial artist—and the very founder of Limit Martial Dao at that?
This had exceeded their expectations completely.
By now, stopping him was impossible.
Even if they knew little about martial artists, looking at Pan City today, was there any street or alley without a Limit Martial Arts Hall?
On television and across the internet, discussions about Limit Martial Dao and Lu Yuan were everywhere.
Simply put, they knew Lu Yuan had made a name for himself.
He had accomplished far more than any path they had planned out for him.
"Lu Yuan, we can no longer dictate your choices."
"However, since you have chosen to walk the path of martial arts, we hope you will persevere resolutely. There is immense controversy surrounding you on the internet, but no matter how great the controversy, you must persist..."
His parents gave him another earnest lecture.
Lu Changsheng showed no impatience, listening quietly throughout.
In the Holy Land, Lu Changsheng had never experienced the warmth of a family.
Yet here, family finally held warmth.
The next day, Lu Changsheng returned to the Limit Martial Arts Hall.
Senior Sister Xiang came forward at once to report: "Sect Master, I reached out to the underground dark web through several private channels and issued a warning. However, the dark web ignored the warning of our Limit Martial Arts Hall and refused to take down the bounty on you."
Lu Changsheng nodded.
This dark web would certainly be uprooted in the future.
For now, however, there was no way to do so yet, as he could not even locate the people behind it.
Lu Changsheng consumed some nourishing tonics, but his secondary growth progressed very slowly nonetheless.
At this rate, even two years might not be enough to achieve tertiary growth.
Without tertiary growth, he could not step into the transcendent realm, let alone condense his Martial Dao.
Lu Changsheng knew that this was because the energy he required was simply too immense.
Primary growth and secondary growth could not be mentioned in the same breath.
One was still confined within human limits, while the other had broken past those limits.
The energy demanded was naturally extraordinary.
"Energy..."
"The way mortals obtain energy is essentially through food."
"In the Holy Land, even martial artists can absorb heaven and earth spiritual energy as an energy source."
"In this world, how difficult is it to find natural treasures? I must find a way to obtain a more direct form of energy."
Lu Changsheng lifted his head and looked at the sky.
In the sky were the sun and the stars.
Yet what of it?
He wished he could directly absorb the energy of the sun and stars as well.
However, attempting to absorb solar or stellar energy directly with his current body was nothing short of a pipe dream.
"The most direct, most accessible energy for mankind..."
Thoughts raced continuously through Lu Changsheng's mind.
"Electrical energy!"
Lu Changsheng's eyes lit up.
Yes, he thought of a form of energy.
Electricity!
Humans could generate electricity using wind power, hydropower, coal, and solar energy.
In short, electrical energy was the most massive and most direct energy source accessible to humanity.
Could Lu Changsheng utilize electrical energy to stimulate his physical enhancement?
In other words, Lu Changsheng wanted to draw energy directly from electricity.
This sounded like sheer fantasy.
Yet with Lu Changsheng's Earth Saint consciousness and lofty perspective, he did not find it fantastic at all.
As long as it was energy, it could be utilized.
If one were still in primary growth without breaking human limits, the human body could never endure electrical current, let alone utilize and absorb it.
Yet Lu Changsheng was different.
He had already entered secondary growth.
The resilience of his body was beyond ordinary imagination.
He could give it a try.
"Senior Sister Xiang, prepare a spacious, empty building for me."
"The wiring must be set up properly, and it's best to have transformers of various specifications. I need it for cultivation."
Senior Sister Xiang nodded and immediately set off to handle it.
In just a few hours, Senior Sister Xiang had completed the task.
"Sect Master, there was a factory up for sale, so I bought it directly under the name of the Limit Martial Arts Hall."
"The factory has specialized electrical wiring already installed, along with transformers of various specifications. Would you like to go take a look?"
Lu Changsheng nodded. "Good, let's head over right away."
Thus, the group set off for the factory at once.
Soon, Lu Changsheng arrived at the premises.
There were no longer any workers inside the factory; all had been dismissed, leaving only a few electricians who maintained the circuits.
Senior Sister Xiang was extremely thorough and reliable in her work.
Lu Changsheng was very pleased.
He stated directly, "Have everyone else leave, and turn on the power."
"Understood, Sect Master."
Left alone in the factory, Lu Changsheng switched on the 220-volt circuit.
He picked up an electric wire and pressed it straight against his body.
Hum!
Lu Changsheng felt his entire frame tremble.
However, his consciousness could control every single inch of his flesh and blood.
Thus, he swiftly took control of his body, frantically absorbing the electrical energy within.
It was only because this body had undergone secondary growth that its defenses were extraordinarily fearsome.
Even a voltage of 220 volts could not kill Lu Changsheng outright; it could merely cause him slight harm.
Yet relying on his consciousness, he was still able to make his body directly "devour" the electrical energy.
Just like that, Lu Changsheng remained inside the factory for three days.
For three days, he "devoured" the electrical current every day.
When three days had passed, Lu Changsheng checked his attribute panel.
Host: Lu Yuan
Limit Martial Dao style: Secondary Growth (2%)
"It really works. The progress increased by one percent, and in merely three days."
"One percent in three days means ten percent in a month, and in ten months it can reach the limit of one hundred percent, offering a chance to achieve tertiary growth."
Lu Changsheng's eyes brightened.
Reaching tertiary growth in ten months was an exceptionally fast pace.
Of course, this relied on electricity!
Furthermore, if he increased the electrical power—using higher voltages, for instance—perhaps his progress could be even faster.
Naturally, directly using electricity for cultivation was something only Lu Changsheng could do.
Even if someone else reached secondary growth, without Lu Changsheng's immense consciousness, using electricity to practice martial arts would require utmost caution.
It would be utterly impossible to match Lu Changsheng's speed of cultivation.
Yet that did not matter.
It was normal for others not to cultivate as fast.
What mattered was that Lu Changsheng had found another path of continued cultivation for ordinary mortals.
The path of cultivating secondary growth depended on electricity!
"Senior Sister Xiang, pass down my orders: unless there is an urgent matter of utmost importance, do not disturb me."
Lu Changsheng decided to remain in the factory and cultivate with the aid of electrical energy, striving to reach one hundred percent progress as quickly as possible, break the limit once more, and step into tertiary growth!
Senior Sister Xiang naturally complied with his orders.
Day after day passed.
In the blink of an eye, another three months went by.
On this day, Senior Sister Xiang hurried to Lu Changsheng's side.
"Sect Master, there is a matter I must report to you," Senior Sister Xiang said respectfully.
"What is it?"
Lu Changsheng did not stop, still pressing the electric wire in his hand directly against his flesh.
A crackle of electric sparks flashed across the surface of Lu Changsheng's body, causing Senior Sister Xiang's expression to twitch slightly.
This was not the first time she had witnessed such a scene, yet it still felt chilling to behold.
By now, she practically felt that Lu Yuan was no longer "human."
What human being could hook live electricity directly to their own body?
"Sect Master, those force-refining martial masters have extensive connections. Recently, they have been mobilizing their networks, and it is said they have already persuaded the kingdom's upper echelons to ban our Limit Martial Dao style!"
"Although an official decree has not yet been issued, rumors have been leaking through various channels."
"Therefore, I did not dare delay and came immediately to report to you, Sect Master," Senior Sister Xiang reported deferentially.
Chapter 257