A Chaotic World

Chapter 12: Ambush

Judging from how perfectly timed the appearance of the 10 men was, this was unlikely to be a coincidence. Someone had deliberately set up an ambush for him at the alley!

Faced with the man's sudden attack, Lu Tianzi felt his blood turn cold.

His first thought was that his identity had definitely been exposed. If that were the case, then he was in an extremely dangerous position right now!

Acting on instinct, Lu Tianzi immediately brought his arms up in a cross in front of his chest.

Bang-!

The punch connected right in the middle of the cross arm guard, and the impact echoed across the quiet alleyway.

Only it was not as loud as Lu Tianzi had expected?

In fact, it was not just the sound.

Wary of other sneak attacks, Lu Tianzi had spread his Spiritual Essence evenly throughout his body as a defensive measure instead of concentrating all of it for his block. However, his arms still felt like they had been punched by a toddler!

Were they really sent to deal with him?

Lu Tianzi was not so sure anymore

Sweeping his perception over all 10 of them, Lu Tianzi realised that there were only two men at the Primary Essence Building realm. As for the rest, they had merely established a foundation to begin cultivation, but they had yet to hit Primary Essence Building realm.

In other words, they failed to even qualify as proper martial artists!

What the hell?

Lu Tianzi's lips twitched wildly in disbelief. Did this bunch of weaklings really make him worried just a moment ago?

No, there was no way they were this retarded.

After giving it a second thought, Lu Tianzi finally understood. It was more likely that these 10 men were sent out to test him, and that there was a top expert hiding in the shadows, observing his every action.

At this moment, the other 9 men also rushed towards him. But in the eyes of the current Lu Tianzi, their speed of approach was painfully slow.

With a quick tap of his feet, Lu Tianzi traced an opening within the encirclement and easily escaped, reaching the other side of the group in a flash.

"What?" the 10 men exclaimed in shock.

"No way!"

"How is this guy so fast?"

"That was just luck! Get him!"

Once again, the 10 of them pounced towards Lu Tianzi.

Even though this fight looked to be nothing more than a joke, Lu Tianzi was actually feeling extremely pressured at the moment. If there really was an expert watching him from the shadows, then how he handled the current situation was extremely important.

One wrong move and he could end up being confronted by the highest powers of Ivory Rock City!

Even though his goal was to take out Hu Yuanbo, the current him was not ready at all!

But on the other hand, the fact that these pieces of trash were sent against him also meant that he had a chance to escape from their radar. Otherwise, Hu Yuanbo would have just sent an Essence Condensation realm expert to deal with him and he would not stand a chance.

So right now, Lu Tianzi just had to figure out what the other party wanted to test, and then react accordingly.

Was it his attitude towards the people of the city?

Or was it the skills he used in combat?

There was no way to know for sure, but Lu Tianzi was not planning to let himself get pummelled by these weaklings either. The rest of them might not be worth mentioning, but those two Primary Essence Building realm martial artists could really hurt him if he gave them free rein to do so!

His martial path did not allow for that!

This was a completely different matter from something trivial like making a casual apology over a misunderstanding. If he really did let himself become a punching bag just because he was afraid of some higher power, then what happened today would become a stained memory strand that lingered in his mind.

Martial artists' mental strength greatly influenced their cultivation.

This stained memory lingering in his mind would follow him for life, negatively impacting his mental strength. Ultimately, it might even result in his future attainments to fall!

This was far too high a price to pay!

But no matter what, Lu Tianzi had to make sure not to kill them or even injure them too heavily, lest he incurred the wrath of those who sent them. Neither could he utilise any of his usual combat techniques in order to prevent his identity from being inferred.

Thankfully, facing this bunch of low level opponents, doing both at the same time was still quite manageable for Lu Tianzi.

Without warning, Lu Tianzi suddenly charged forward towards the closest person, slamming right into him. The man flew a good few metres and smashed into the wall before falling to ground.

Bang-!

"Ahhh!"

A roundhouse kick smashed into Lu Tianzi's back, but to his companions' dismay, the attacker was actually the one who shouted out in pain. The next thing they knew, the attacker had already fallen to the ground, hugging his leg in pain.

Lu Tianzi had long seen the attack coming, and had promptly guarded his back with Spiritual Essence. To a non-martial artist, striking his guarded back would be similar to striking steel!

"What are you guys doing?" one of the two martial artists hollered in rage before rushing up with a punch of his own.

Lu Tianzi naturally did not intend to let him do as he pleased.

Once again, Lu Tianzi launched himself towards him, slamming his body into the martial artist. Even as a martial artist, he was only at Primary Essence Building realm, so it was impossible to resist the might of a full power body slam from the Advanced Essence Building realm Lu Tianzi.

Bang-!

Another loud impact sounded out in the alley as the martial artist was sent to the wall just like his other companion.

After this collision, only 7 of the attackers remained standing, and standing was exactly what they continued doing as well.

As if in a daze, they merely stood there, unsure of what to do next. But in their hearts, they were crying out in grievance!

Even one of the martial artists had been blown away as if he was no different from the non-martial artists, so what were the chances for the rest of them?

From start to end, their target had done nothing but slam his body into their companions. But this body of his was like that of a ferocious wild beast, impenetrable by even the strongest attacks!

Teach this guy a lesson?

It was more like they were being taught a lesson instead!

An awkward silence fell over the alley as everyone stopped moving, and that included Lu Tianzi, who was extremely confused at the moment.

In order not to injure the other parties, Lu Tianzi had not struck out against them at all. At the same time, by locking down his own offence, he eliminated any chance of striking out instinctively. This was the best plan he could come up with.

But why did all of them suddenly stop moving?

Were they already done testing him?

"You are you a martial artist?" the only remaining martial artist asked doubtfully.

Lu Tianzi kept a poker face and did not answer, but deep inside, he felt like punching the air in joy! With this question, he had more or less confirmed that Elder Huo was not acting about not being able to see the Slaughter Essence within him.

Otherwise, with the martial artist being at Primary Essence Building realm, he should have been able to detect the Slaughter Essence within Lu Tianzi which was also at the Primary Essence Building realm.

At that moment, Lu Tianzi deliberately took a step towards the remaining 7 men, and all of them immediately took multiple steps back in alarm.

All of them were afraid of this monster in front of them!

Lu Tianzi was not that dense. Seeing the reactions of his attackers, Lu Tianzi more or less understood the situation.

While a small part of him felt like toying with them a little as well as ask about the identity of the person who sent them, Lu Tianzi also understood that this was not the time to act in such an unbridled fashion.

For all he knew, the expert hiding in the shadows might even panic at the possibility of their master's name being revealed, deciding to show up to take him down immediately.

And it was not as though he did not know who the culprit was.

There was only one candidate in his mind Hu Yuanbo!

Thankfully, Hu Yuanbo probably felt that it was unlikely to really be him, thus choosing to only test him in such a manner.

After all, after portraying himself as a kind and benevolent City Lord, he would probably have to minimise the number of crimes he committed so as to reduce the chances of getting caught!

"Don't appear before me ever again!" Lu Tianzi hollered before walking out of the alley.

As expected, none of the attackers followed him.

None of them dared to!

They were already more than happy that Lu Tianzi was leaving of his own accord, so why would any of them do something as stupid as continue sticking to him?

After turning a corner, Lu Tianzi immediately picked up his speed, hurrying back to Uncle Ye's house. He had already made up his mind on what to do next.

He would have to leave Ivory Rock City at the first opportunity he gets!

It was a pity that Lu Tianzi would no longer be able to continue learning about herbalism when he had only just started gaining an interest in the subject.

However, even his life was in danger now, so who cared about studying?

Being noticed by Hu Yuanbo was extremely dangerous. Lu Tianzi had no idea whether there truly was an expert hiding in the shadows, or if he managed to successfully fool the expert if there really was one. But no matter what, he was not going to stay around and bet his life on this uncertainty!

Lu Tianzi's return to the city had been based on the premise that he would be able to escape the notice of Hu Yuanbo until he gained sufficient strength. Seeing that Hu Yuanbo had already become suspicious of his existence at such an early stage, Lu Tianzi had truly underestimated his enemy.

Unfortunately, for safety reasons, the city gates of Ivory Rock City would be shut at night, impossible for anyone to pass unless there was permission from someone who possessed authority at the level of a District Head or above. Lu Tianzi naturally would not be able to obtain such permission, and could only plan his departure for the following day.

Just like how he entered, Lu Tianzi planned to leave along with Uncle Ye and the other workers when they exit the city for work.

This time, armed with his familiarity with Uncle Ye, as well as the knowledge that martial artists below his realm would not be able to detect his Slaughter Essence, Lu Tianzi was confident that things would only go more smoothly.

The only problem was whether he could get to that stage!

One night!

Hu Yuanbo had one night to consider the reports given by the earlier attackers, and to decide if he wanted to hunt down Lu Tianzi.

If Hu Yuanbo decided to strike during the night, then things would get extremely tricky for Lu Tianzi.

If Hu Yuanbo chose to wait, then Lu Tianzi would leave Ivory Rock City first thing tomorrow.

Lu Tianzi sighed in lamentation as he sat in bed.

Ultimately, his fate was still left in the hands of others. When would he finally be able to gain the strength required to forge his own path and shape his own destiny?

But regardless of the current situation, Lu Tianzi was not intending to let the night go to waste.

After latching the door and window, Lu Tianzi once again set up the formation flags and started cultivating, practising the Undulated Currents Breathing Technique and tapping into the energy at the core of his Essence Stone.

With the experience from last night still vivid in his memory, it was much easier for Lu Tianzi to tap into the Essence Stone's energy. This allowed his progress to be even better than the previous night, further consolidating his cultivation at the Advanced Essence Building realm.

By the time he stopped, Lu Tianzi could already feel that he was infinitely close to touching on the boundary of the Peak Essence Building realm. The Spiritual Essence particles within his inner world had already become far more numerous, forming a structure that was much denser than before.

At this rate, he would probably be able to hit Peak Essence Building realm within the week!

But it was just too bad that he did not have a week. After tonight, things would no longer be the same

While Lu Tianzi was glad that his cultivation had improved, his heart was still heavy from anxiety.

He should be going to bed in preparation for the long day ahead, but Lu Tianzi was simply unable to relax without knowing if Hu Yuanbo would strike at him under the cover of the night.

For the entire night, Lu Tianzi sat in meditation, wary of every single movement in the vicinity.

But what Lu Tianzi did not know at the moment was that there would be a shocking piece of news arriving the very next day, causing him to completely change his decision to leave!