From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword-Chapter 253 - 207: A Chasm-like Gap, Obtaining a Crystal Core

He just wanted to see Lu Heng suffer a miserable defeat, not even caring if national interests were harmed.

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However, when Lu Heng made his move, the situation changed.

Although Lu Heng also started by retreating and dodging, avoiding Alex Austin's fierce onslaught.

But after only dodging three times, his counterattack was like a landslide and tsunami.

A sharp sword's radiance destroyed Alex Austin's wall-like defense, followed by breaking the sound barrier, raising five sonic boom clouds in succession, each sonic explosion killing a White Eagle superpower user.

The terrifying combat power made him feel suffocated.

The superpower users sent by the White Eagle Federation to carry out the theft of technological data were all top-of-the-pyramid beings.

Yet, in front of Lu Heng, they couldn't even block a single sword strike.

This frightening disparity in strength elicited deep jealousy and unwillingness in Zhuo Hongjun's heart.

He couldn't accept this fact; since childhood, he had been cultivated as an elite.

After the Abyss Descent, he had the backing of power, securing only the top resources, and every Skill Crystal Core he absorbed was of Class B or higher.

Countless superpower users had to fight with all they had for a Class C skill, but to him, Class C skills weren't even worth a glance.

The first time he saw Lu Heng at the special training base, he didn't even consider him a threat.

A superpower user from an ordinary background wouldn't have qualified to speak to him in a different place.

Yet, such a seemingly ordinary superpower user, the Sound Explosion Sword he wielded was so dazzling.

He suppressed Alex Austin, who had no chance of responding, into a weakling who could be killed with a single sword strike by Lu Heng.

This gap was too great for him to accept.

This sense of defeat, like a sharp blade, was slicing away at his fragile ego.

...

Lu Heng killed five enemy spies without even glancing back at Zhuo Hongjun, bending down to pick up two Star Shields and Thunder Hammers dropped on the ground, and storing them in his inventory.

Both these weapons were Class A; such good forging materials couldn't be missed.

After the battle ended, Jian Qing and the rest of the support troops arrived.

Jian Qing drifted down from the sky, powered by the wind, only to find the fight was already over.

She wasn't slow; she flew over as soon as she received the order.

It was just that her original ambush spot was a bit too far away, so it took a little time.

By the time she arrived, the battle had ended.

It wasn't that she was too slow, but that Lu Heng was too fast.

Five Sound Explosion Swords, instantly killing five people, from the first sound of the explosion to the last, took less than ten seconds in total.

When Jian Qing arrived above the river, she still saw Lu Heng unleash two Sound Explosion Swords.

It really was just two flashes; two sonic boom clouds burst forth, and the opponent was sliced and sent flying.

The light of the sword, swung at supersonic speeds, carried tremendous kinetic energy; hence the opponent's bisected body was truly spun through the air, with blood trailing behind in a startlingly beautiful arc.

After landing, Jian Qing remarked, "It's been just over two months since we last fought the Flame Demon together, and I can't comprehend the speed of your combat power's improvement."

Lu Heng smiled at her and said, "You're also advancing quite fast."

Jian Qing was now a Captain, and at her age, another promotion would make her a Major.

Hearing the two mutually praise each other, Zhuo Hongjun felt an even greater sense of disparity, his face darkening frighteningly.

Moreover, the competition for the Damage Retrospection Crystal Core had a clear outcome.

The rule established at the beginning was that whoever captured Alex Austin would get the core.

The result was obvious, even with generals present to witness everything.

This made Zhuo Hongjun even more uncomfortable, completely losing face in front of everyone.

He could even imagine the kind of reprimand he'd receive once he got home.

From childhood to adulthood, he had always received the best education, the best resources after the Abyss Descent.

Every time there was a call to arms for the Abyss Battlefield, superpower soldiers with the same countdown timer for conscription from all the major warzones would be transferred over to join him in the Abyss Battlefield.

He had entered the Abyss Battlefield a total of four times and claimed three World Task rewards.

He was so proud in his heart, proudly believing he stood at the pinnacle of human strength.

However, when facing Alex Austin, he felt a vast gap.

The white eagle's Thunder God with such terrifying combat power was no match for Lu Heng.

At that moment, his pride was trampled relentlessly underfoot.

...

Lu Heng never gave Zhuo Hongjun as much as a glance from start to finish. Once he confirmed that all five enemy spies were taken care of, he crossed the river with Jian Qing to check on You ZhanYu.

You ZhanYu had served as bait to draw out the enemy spies, and even though he had redeemed himself through his actions, he still needed to be brought back for trial.

However, when Lu Heng found You ZhanYu, he realized that You had already knelt under the bridge piling of Jingshui Bridge and committed suicide by swallowing a gun.

Just as he had said before, he was freed.

In the Abyss, he had fallen from grace, embarking on an irreversible path of a Traitor.

He had betrayed his initial beliefs, his homeland, and the glory he had once been awarded.

He didn't wish to continue this descent, but he had no choice.

Death was the only choice he could make to put an end to all the sins he had committed.

If his death could leave behind anything, it would be a warning to posterity.

A Traitor is doomed never to be able to turn back.

Lu Heng understood this well, but other Superpower Users of this era might not possess this awareness.

...

The mission was completed; the stolen hard drives were recovered, and an ambush was set for the spies of the enemy nation.

The only thing that made the higher-ranking Generals somewhat dissatisfied was that Lu Heng had been too heavy-handed, not leaving a single prisoner alive.

This led to no possibility of interrogation.

A few days later, Lu Heng received his third medal, this one being a second class merit.

If one only considered the recovery of the hard drives and the ambush of enemy spies, earning a first class merit would have been justifiable.

However, since Lu Heng had already received two first class merits, and this act of merit was slightly less significant compared to the previous two, he was awarded a second class merit in the end.

It was Jian Qing again who delivered the medal.

As she pinned the medal on Lu Heng, she remarked, "At this rate, you'll have more medals than me soon."

Although she also participated in the operation, she didn't have much individual merit, so she received a collective second class merit.

"Also, here's the Skill Crystal Core you asked for. Plus, the rewards previously promised by the organization still stand. You can make any request at any time, anything is fine, as long as the country can accommodate it." Jian Qing opened the box and took out the "Damage Retrospection" Crystal Core, formally handing it over.

Lu Heng, holding the Crystal Core, lifted it and said, "I didn't mean to outshine you."

Jian Qing waved her hand dismissively, "Do you really think I'm that petty? Besides, I am clear about this: if you hadn't taken the Crystal Core, it wouldn't have ended up in my hands anyway. Some things are simply meant to be."

After delivering the medal and Crystal Core, she said her goodbyes and left.

Lu Heng held the Crystal Core, discharged a bolt of thunder, breaking the Crystal Core down into energy and absorbing it into his body.

A few minutes later, the Crystal Core's energy condensed into an Energy Ball in the fifth Skill Slot.

On the data panel, the fifth Skill "Damage Retrospection" appeared.

He finally had five Skills filled.

Thinking back to when he first awakened, he only had three Skill Slots, which had now grown to five—a significant improvement.

Lu Heng checked over his combat power data in an instant.

[Name: Lu Heng]

[Level: 28]

[Qi-Blood: 640/640]

[Source Energy: 650/650]

[Attributes: Strength 64, Agility 82, Constitution 64, Spirit 65, Perception 64]

[Talents: Agile as a Dragon, Divine Evolution, Demon Hunter]

[Combat Rank: Shadow Swordsman (Second Transition)]

[Source Material Ability: Shadow Traversal, Rift Slash]

[Skill Slot Number: 5]

[Skills: Thunderous Heavenly Prison, Shadow Clone, Windwalker, Bullet Time, Damage Retrospection]

[Martial Arts: Swordsmanship (Conception Level), Fighting (Master Level), Movement Technique (Conception Level)]

[Vice Professions: Advanced Quenching Master, Forging Assistant]

While checking "Shadow Clone," he noticed the Skill Proficiency had reached (4960/5000).

The proficiency training of an A-level Skill was indeed much slower than other lower-level Skills.

He had acquired this Skill during the first few days of the Abyss Descent, and now, after eight months, the proficiency was finally nearing completion.

This meant that the Skill was about to be upgraded.

Only 40 points of proficiency were needed; with dedicated training, it could be maxed out.

However, a significant amount of Divine Energy was required for the upgrade of an A-level Skill.

Afterward, Lu Heng tested the Skill Effect of "Damage Retrospection."

Although Skills came with data descriptions, the real effects could only be known after testing.

After all, some effects wouldn't be apparent in the data.

After testing the effect of this Skill, Lu Heng found it to be even stronger than he had anticipated, almost equivalent to 3 seconds of invincibility.

Of course, this Skill could not defend against direct, fatal instantaneous damage.

For instance, in a nuclear explosion, matter would be instantly incinerated, leaving no chance to retcon the damage.

Even so, this Skill was powerful, as any damage that wasn't an instant kill could be directly retconned. Even if he were shot by a sniper bullet, he could immediately activate the Skill and revert his body to the state before taking the damage.

Additionally, another reason Lu Heng valued this Skill was that upon upgrading, it had the potential to develop abilities that could influence space-time.