The Shadow Demon's claws pierced through Gong Chusheng's abdomen, hoisting him up.
Gong Chusheng's face was full of terror, he turned his head towards Lu Heng, struggling to shout, "Save... save me..."
Seeing the Shadow Demon appear, Lu Heng immediately knew where Gong Chusheng's rare skill had come from.
It must have been obtained from this Shadow Demon.
Only this time things had changed; Gong Chusheng's panicked escape led him to collide directly with the Shadow Demon and he was impaled by a claw through his belly.
Shadow Demons greatly increase their combat power at night; one must be cautious in dealing with them.
Lu Heng clenched his Han Sword, activating the "Thunder Weapon" skill.
Puff!
A burst of blue lightning danced on the sword's edge, illuminating the surrounding space.
Shadow Demons hated bright light; the demon flung its arm, discarding Gong Chusheng and charged at Lu Heng with a hiss, its pitch-black claws reflecting a chilling light, thrusting towards Lu Heng's chest.
Lu Heng took a step back to dodge the claw strike and immediately counterattacked with a horizontal sword slash.
Clang!
The sword light, mixed with thunder, slashed at the body of the Shadow Demon, cutting a large gash in its body, nearly bisecting it.
The Shadow Demon did not vanish then and there; instead, its body split in two, becoming two Shadow Demons.
Seeing this, Lu Heng recognized that the Shadow Demon was using the "Shadow Clone" skill.
Among the two Shadow Demons, there must be one that was a clone.
Whether it was the original or the clone, both possessed attack power.
Therefore, Lu Heng needed to deal with the attacks of two Shadow Demons at the same time.
Both shadows let out sharp screams and pounced from both left and right to initiate their attack.
Lu Heng concentrated on the fight, utilizing the high agility provided by the talent "Agile as a Dragon" to dodge and manoeuvre, while trying to discern which one was the clone.
After seven or eight rounds of combat, Lu Heng seized an opportunity to counterstrike, swinging his sword and hitting the shoulder of a Shadow Demon, clearly feeling like it struck something solid.
After this blow, Lu Heng identified that the demon struck by the sword was the original, meaning the other was the clone.
Although the clone could attack, its ability to bear damage was weaker.
After another dodge, Lu Heng seized the moment, delivering a "Seven Styles·Suppressing Mountains" slash, and with a "clang," the sword pierced into the clone.
The clone burst with a "bang," its energy instantaneously erased.
With the clone gone, the Shadow Demon's combat power significantly decreased.
Lu Heng stepped up the offensive, avoiding a lunge from the Shadow Demon and executing a "Returning Dust Style," the sword cutting a swathe behind him with a "clang," bisecting the Shadow Demon at the waist, and then smoothly sheathing the blade.
The movement was fluid, done in one fell swoop.
[Hunting demons, absorbed 30 points of Demon Energy.]
[Demon Energy enhances Energy Level. Source Energy Level raised to Level 3, All Attributes +1, Agility Attribute additionally +0.3]
After the Shadow Demon's death, the remaining energy condensed into a walnut-sized dark purple Crystal Core.
Lu Heng picked it up and examined it in the palm of his hand.
[Shadow Clone Crystal Core: Absorb the Crystal Core energy for a chance to learn the "Shadow Clone" skill.]
[Shadow Clone: Consumes Source Energy to create a Shadow Clone controlled by the caster. The clone can initiate attacks, but a heavy hit will cause the clone's energy to be erased. Skill Consumption: 60 Source Energy. Skill Level: A-Level.]
It was indeed that skill!
An A-level skill that emerged in the early stages of the Abyss invasion, its rarity was immeasurable.
In memory, in his previous life, only one person had ever obtained this skill.
And now, that person was lying on the ground, barely clinging to life.
Gong Chusheng struggled to crawl to the wall, managing to prop himself up against it.
His abdomen was pierced by the Shadow Demon, intestines mixed with blood spilling all over the floor.
The injury was severe, but it had not damaged any vital organs; if rushed to the hospital immediately, there was still a chance to save his life.
He was still desperately pleading for help: "Save... save me... I'll give you money... my father will even give you a mansion..."
Lu Heng looked down at Gong Chusheng lying on the ground, begging for his life, and felt very emotional inside.
In his previous life, because Gong Chusheng had acquired the A-level "Shadow Clone" skill right from the start, leveraging his early advantage and immense wealth, he became one of the top ten Superpower Users in Coastal City.
The him from the past had attention-grabbing combat power, commanding the winds and summoning the rain in Coastal City, doing whatever he pleased.
However, now, he could only beg for his life in a pitiful state.
Comparing his current situation to his high-and-mighty attitude from his previous life, it was hard to believe this was the same person.
Lu Heng looked at his filthy appearance, raised the Shadow Clone Crystal Core in his hand, and crushed it with force.
Energy flowed into his body through his palm and condensed into an energy ball in the second skill slot.
"[Absorbed Shadow Clone Crystal Core, acquired skill 'Shadow Clone'.]"
Lu Heng felt the changes in his body and then glanced at the attribute panel.
[Name: Lu Heng]
[Species: Human]
[Level: 3]
[Qi-Blood: 90/110]
[Source Energy: 60/130]
[Attributes: Strength 11, Agility 14, Constitution 11, Spirit 13, Perception 12]
[Talent: Agile as a Dragon, Divine Evolution]
[Skill Slot Number: 3]
[Skills: Thunder Weapon, Shadow Clone]
[Martial Arts: Swordsmanship (Proficient), Movement Technique (Beginner), Fighting (Beginner)]
...
Gong Chusheng still wanted to struggle for survival, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Demon Crystal Core.
This Demon Crystal Core was bought by his family with money.
However, he didn't use it right away because with his noble identity, he would wait for the superpower user his family raised to test the Crystal Core's effects and make sure there were no side effects before using it.
Now he couldn't care less and wanted to crush the Crystal Core to become a superpower user.
Lu Heng saw his movements, swung a sword to send him to his death, and then picked up the Demon Crystal Core.
Having done all this, he set fire to burn the four bodies clean.
Su Muyu watched all this in a daze, her whole worldview almost collapsing.
Especially seeing Lu Heng fighting with a shadow, everything surpassed her understanding.
It wasn't until Lu Heng reached out to pull her that she exclaimed and staggered back three steps.
She had never experienced such a terrifying thing and even when looking at Lu Heng, a hint of fear arose in her eyes.
After all, Lu Heng had just killed four people, not being afraid would be abnormal.
But she knew in her heart that Lu Heng did it to save her.
Her emotions fluctuated violently, and she trembled as she said, "You should leave. I'll stay here and turn myself in, I won't betray you."
Lu Heng picked up the motorcycle, tossed her a helmet, and said, "Put it on, sit at the back."
Su Muyu didn't understand why, but despite being afraid, she still obeyed the command and sat on the motorcycle's back seat.
Lu Heng looked back at the raging flames and then started the motorcycle, speeding away like lightning.
Before leaving, he used his skill to leave behind a "Shadow Clone".
The Shadow Clone stayed to clean up the scene and incidentally create an alibi.
...
When they returned to the budget hotel, it was almost 11 pm.
Lu Heng pulled Su Muyu into the room, pressed her hand against the wall with a stern tone, "Remember every word I'm about to say now. If law enforcement comes looking, do exactly as I tell you..."
Her wrist pressed against the wall, Su Muyu's face flushed, turning red from her cheeks to behind her ears.
She didn't know if she understood, she just nodded, agreeing to everything.
After Lu Heng finished what he had to say, he pointed to the bed in the room and said, "You sleep here tonight. If you're tired, go to sleep first, I need to take a shower."
"Ok," Su Muyu just nodded, standing still.
Lu Heng picked up a towel and went into the bathroom to shower.
He was covered in dirt, sweat, and a stench of blood from the recent fight.
After the shower, Lu Heng came out of the bathroom drying his hair.
Su Muyu had been sitting on the edge of the bed, but quickly stood up when she heard the bathroom door open.
Lu Heng sat on the bed and pulled out a hairdryer from the bedside drawer, asking, "Do you want to take a shower?"
Earlier at the West Suburb Abandoned Factory, Su Muyu had also gotten a lot of dirt and dust on her, so she nodded.
As she nodded, her body trembled because the two of them were under the same roof, and she didn't know what would happen after the shower, so she was both scared and nervous.