From rejecting the beautiful female CEO to becoming extremely powerful

Mu Qingying held the dress bag on her lap, her flushed face reflected in the car window.

After Lu Yunzhou finished speaking, she stared out the window for two intersections before turning around.

"You can be so blunt about buying clothes? Is this how you usually try to appease people?"

She pressed down on the bag opening, her tone disdainful, but her hand remained firmly in her grasp.

Lu Yunzhou gripped the steering wheel, his old right shoulder injury tightening from the seatbelt, so he shifted his seating position.

"I wasn't just trying to comfort you. You stood next to me on my birthday."

Mu Qingying snorted lightly, her guard down a little.

Just as she was about to speak, her phone rang.

The call was from Su Qingwan.

Su Qingwan told her to go to the North City Manor immediately to confirm the guest list and arrangements for the birthday banquet.

Lu Yunzhou turned the car around and drove Mu Qingying there.

The birthday banquet, to be held six days later, will be held in the main hall of the North City Manor.

Entry begins at 7 PM, and only those on the list are allowed in.

Xiao Sihai will bring several business partners to the event. Su Qingwan will be in charge of security, and Mu Qingying will sit at the main table and will not be allowed to leave the hall before cutting the cake.

Su Qingwan placed the list on the table and looked up at Lu Yunzhou: "Saturday night, you stay by Qingying's side."

Lu Yunzhou nodded: "Okay."

Mu Qingying stood to the side, her ears burning again.

She looked down and fiddled with the ribbon on the dress bag, not responding to Su Qingwan's words.

Su Qingwan glanced at her, picked up the teacup on the table, and reminded Lu Yunzhou to drink less alcohol at the banquet and not to be led away from the main hall.

She spoke calmly, but her tone carried a sense of preordained arrangement.

Lu Yunzhou noted down the time and confirmed the routes in and out of the manor.

Mu Qingying stayed at the manor for dinner, while he drove back to the city alone.

As the car drove out of the north of the city, the number of vehicles on the road gradually decreased.

The navigation indicated that the route would take them through an abandoned tunnel. Lu Yunzhou glanced at the time and turned directly into it.

The tunnel entrance was partially collapsed, and the road surface was piled with rubble.

The car headlights shone out, revealing a man standing in the middle of the road, blocking the entire way.

The man was wearing a gray jacket and carrying a short knife.

The knife tip was hanging on the ground, and the sole of the shoe was stepping on a worn-out license plate.

Lu Yunzhou stepped on the brakes, and the wheels made a sound as they scraped against the stone surface.

The man raised his face, his gaze landing on the driver's seat: "You're Lu Yunzhou?"

Lu Yunzhou got out of the car and closed the door behind him: "You've mistaken me for someone else?"

The man held the dagger horizontally across his chest, his face expressionless: "Chu Zhengnan spent thirty million to find me through a bounty posted in another province. I'll make you disappear within seven days. I'll collect the deposit tonight."

Lu Yunzhou glanced at his wrists and feet: "Stone Falcon?"

Shi Jun's gaze darkened.

He didn't expect that Lu Yunzhou even knew his own name.

"You know quite a lot."

Lu Yunzhou tossed the car keys back into the car and relaxed his shoulders.

At this moment, he had already started practicing the "Turtle Breathing Technique," his breathing was low and steady, and his internal energy sank into his waist and abdomen, so that his external aura was only at the level of an ordinary person.

Without further ado, Shi Jun pushed off with his feet, and his short sword hurtled along the ground.

Lu Yunzhou took half a step to the side, the blade grazing his clothes.

He thrust his shoulder forward, his elbow striking Shi Jun's chest.

Shi Jun raised his arm to block, and the hilt of his knife slammed down on Lu Yunzhou's jaw.

Lu Yunzhou turned his head to avoid the attack, placed his palm against the opponent's elbow, and pressed his body close, unleashing a series of Bajiquan short strikes.

Shoulder strike, elbow strike, short punch followed by a close-range strike.

The movements are very close together, and each strike is aimed at the joints and chest/abdomen.

Shi Jun was forced back two steps, and the gravel under his feet rolled away.

He raised his leg and kicked at Lu Yunzhou's knee, while the short knife followed by a downward thrust.

Lu Yunzhou pulled his leg back to avoid the blade, and his left fist struck Shi Jun's ribs.

Shi Jun's body swayed slightly, his right shoulder sank, and his inner energy flowed along his waist and back into his arm as his short sword slashed horizontally.

Lu Yunzhou raised his arm to block, the back of the blade striking his right shoulder.

The old wound was torn open by this blow, and his clothes were quickly soaked with blood.

Shi Jun stared at his shoulder and finally confirmed, "You've been seriously injured."

Lu Yunzhou shook his arm and deliberately retreated to the side of the tunnel.

He didn't use the Creation Technique, but continued to parry the attacks using only the Eight Extremes Short Strikes.

After several exchanges, he had memorized the sequence of Shi Jun's power exertion.

Before each strike, the opponent would press their right foot into the ground, sending energy up from the sole of their foot to their waist and back, and then into their right arm.

The left shoulder is just a relay; the real power comes from the right side.

Having figured out the route, Lu Yunzhou began to retreat even faster.

There were highway cameras on both sides of the tunnel entrance. He used the pile of rubble to block his view and retreated along the slope into the abandoned quarry next to it.

Shi Jun drew his sword and chased after them.

The quarry ground was uneven, with fist-sized stones everywhere.

On the left is a broken material platform, and on the right there is a drop of more than two meters. In the middle, there is only a narrow path to walk through.

Lu Yunzhou stopped at the edge of the material platform, his shoe pressing down on a loose stone.

Shi Jun raised his short sword, the blade scraping against the ground: "How long can you hide here?"

Lu Yunzhou raised his eyelids: "Give it a try."

Shi Jun lowered his body and charged towards him.

The stone flew toward the stone falcon's face, forcing it to raise its arm to shield itself.

Taking advantage of the opening, Lu Yunzhou shifted his position, bumping his shoulder into Shi Jun's back.

Shi Jun reacted quickly, using the momentum to flip over and slash down diagonally with his short sword.

Lu Yunzhou was half a step too slow in retreating, and the back of the blade grazed his right rib.

He crashed into the stone wall, and the taste of blood welled up in his throat.

Shi Jun did not stop, and the second knife followed immediately.

Lu Yunzhou raised his arm to block, and slid down the slope.

The loose stones beneath his feet kept rolling down, forcing Shi Jun to slow down his pace.

Every time he lands, he has to find a stable spot first.

Lu Yunzhou used the difference in elevation to change direction repeatedly, sometimes getting close and sometimes moving away.

Shi Jun's swordsmanship was fast, but his body could not maintain the original rhythm.

After several failed pursuits, Ishigatsu changed his strategy.

He stopped chasing Lu Yunzhou and stood directly in the center of the material platform, blocking the exit to the tunnel.

His protective aura emanated from his body, and the surrounding rubble was pushed around by the airflow.

Lu Yunzhou raised his hand to wipe the blood from his lips; his right shoulder was already numb with pain.

Shi Jun looked at him: "After hiding for so long, you're at most a sixth-rank."

Lu Yunzhou did not answer.

That's exactly what he was waiting for.

The next moment, he changed the way the "Turtle Breathing Technique" was performed.

The deep breath turned into a burst of energy, with the chest and abdomen rising and falling three times in succession.

With each exhale, true energy is compressed into the limbs, and the power in the feet rises upwards.

The "Creation Secrets" operate simultaneously.

The internal energy flows along the meridians, the pain in the right shoulder is pushed back, and the power of the seven orifices is concentrated in both arms.

Shi Jun charged forward, sword in hand.

Lu Yunzhou did not retreat, but took half a step forward to meet the blade.

He knocked the knife handle away with his left elbow and slammed his right fist directly into Shi Jun's chest.

The first force struck the protective aura, and Shi Jun's body sank backward.

The second stream of true energy rushed in through the opening, and the protective force immediately dissipated.

Shi Jun's expression changed, and he tried to raise his arm to block the punch, but Lu Yunzhou had already grabbed his right wrist.

Lu Yunzhou twisted his body and exerted force, pulling Shi Jun's right arm to his side, and the sound of the joints dislocating could be heard.

He raised his knee to knock Shi Jun's leg away, and then his left fist followed, hitting the opponent's left arm joint.

Shi Jun's arms drooped down, the short knife slipped from his hand and stuck into the pile of rubble at his feet.

He tried to retaliate with his leg, but Lu Yunzhou stepped on his knee, lowered his body, and placed the heel of his palm on Shi Jun's lower abdomen.

The true energy of creation permeates into the dantian.