Chapter 771: Clash of Will and Truth

Are you really going to start a fight right away?

Lu Xin felt a twinge of resignation.

At first, he was ready to use force to reclaim his father’s belongings. But upon meeting the old man – or rather, the Fire-Thief – who was far less hostile than he had imagined, he dared to hope that words might suffice.

Yet, after a brief exchange, it was clear that strength was still needed.

Though it stung a bit, some tasks simply had to be done.

Seeing the old man’s intent, Lu Xin nodded subtly and stepped forward at a measured pace.

Subtle ripples began to shiver through the air in the entire church.

Stopping three steps before the old man, Lu Xin bowed slightly and said, “Then I’ll begin.”

“Sorry,” he offered.

…

The old man regarded him silently, a gentle smile gracing his face as he whispered, “You’re a polite young man.”

“I admire your respectful attitude toward everything,” he added.

…

Lu Xin smiled, “Isn’t common courtesy the very least one should practice?”

Even as he spoke, he reached toward a hidden compartment beneath the statue behind the old man and grasped a black box.

His Fantasy Ability had already been unleashed.

To the old man – or rather, to all beings on the mental plane – Lu Xin had merely advanced a few steps, stopped before him, and exchanged polite words. In reality, he was still at least seven or eight meters from the compartment’s box.

Yet on the physical plane, Lu Xin had already circled the old man to reach for the black box.

This was Lu Xin’s strategy – the most direct method he could devise.

Once he resolved to claim it, he naturally chose the most efficient way.

…

…

Swish…

But as Lu Xin reached into the compartment, ripples suddenly blossomed around his fingertips.

It was as if he were plunging his hand into a vertical lake.

In the moment the ripples spread, the old man appeared to Lu Xin’s left.

With a feint touch of his palm, the old man unleashed a mental impact that halted Lu Xin’s hand mid-reach.

Strangely enough, that mental impact was remarkably gentle.

So gentle that not a ripple disturbed the surrounding air, and not even the candles on the shelf behind trembled.

Though it manifested as a mental impact, it functioned more like a mental barrier.

…

“Truth cannot be deceived by illusion…”

The old man glanced at Lu Xin’s physical position and nodded with a gentle smile.

In such a short time, he had seen through Lu Xin’s illusion and perfectly intercepted him in the real world?

Lu Xin was somewhat taken aback.

Then he looked up at the elderly man, whose weathered features exuded a constant gentleness, and exhaled softly.

“If I can’t trick it, I’ll have to grab it!”

With that declaration, he retracted his outstretched hand and slowly clenched his fist.

As his fist closed, black particles began to coat it.

Gritting his teeth, he suddenly hurled a fierce punch at the old man’s mental barrier.

Whoosh…

The violent vibration of the black particles sent rippling shockwaves through the air.

The visible ripples transformed the church’s soft candlelight into glass-like crystals.

It was as if liquid had frozen solid; the air condensed inch by inch, locking the intangible light into a fixed form, while the tearing black particles created a pattern of precise, sparkling facets. A burst of colorful brilliance flashed by in a moment.

Squeak…

At the same time, the church trembled as if struck by an earthquake, with walls and dome creaking in an almost unbearable symphony.

The punch, heavy with black particles, crashed relentlessly into the mental barrier before him.

It was the first time Lu Xin had thrown such a solid blow.

Back when facing the Cangzhang Sect, he hadn’t yet mastered coating his punch with black particles.

And when clashing with the Sword-Bearer, the threat of his power spiraling out of control left little room for such finesse.

But now, this punch hit the mental barrier with unprecedented precision and force.

Boom!

When the black fist collided with the barrier, the entire church shuddered violently.

Everything inside trembled as if the impact had created an afterimage.

Squeak.

A sense of imminent collapse took hold, as though the church might crumble at any moment.

Behind him, his sister looked up in fright, her body seemingly distorted by the shockwaves.

…

…

But in the next moment, Lu Xin looked up in astonishment.

He realized that his punch had struck the old man’s barrier and been repelled.

The barrier remained intact, neither shattered nor deformed.

Even the shock of mental power from his punch was completely absorbed by it.

All he could see was a series of strange, code-like runes flashing at the point of contact, as the power in his punch mysteriously faded away.

The old man behind the barrier showed no change in his expression.

Not even the bright flames on the shelves beyond the barrier flickered.

“Truth does not fear brute force.”

The old man looked at Lu Xin with eyes sparkling with mirth as he said, “Even if that brute force comes from a tyrannical king.”

“The more violently one attempts to destroy the truth, the greater the backlash…”

…

“Hmm?”

His tone was gentle, more an explanation than a fight.

But as his words faded, Lu Xin suddenly grew alert.

In the next moment, he sensed an unusually fierce power unleashed from the old man’s barrier.

This force was raw and brutal, embodying the potential to destroy everything.

“It’s my own power…”

In an instant, Lu Xin reacted, quickly retracting his fist and backing away.

Sure enough, the moment his fist withdrew, he saw the runes on the barrier accelerate their descent.

Countless interlaced runes merged with the barrier’s energy to form a black fist that, as he pulled back, shot out from the barrier like a shadow following him.

It was the very force he had driven into the barrier, perfectly rebounded back!

Shhraa…

As his retracting fist collided with the emergent punch from the barrier, the tremendous impact tore through the air.

Rows of benches nearby were shredded into splinters by the explosive collision.

Lu Xin’s expression turned stark as the bones in his left arm shattered. His body, like a kite with a broken string, was flung backward, crashing through the church wall and landing on the wet street outside…

At that moment, Lu Xin’s face lit up with excitement, “Got it.”

“Hmm?”

Inside the church, the old man watching from behind his barrier suddenly showed a subtle change in expression.

He noticed Lu Xin’s right hand.

While Lu Xin’s body was thrown backward, his right hand reached forward.

From the opposite view, only the broken cross-section of his right arm was visible.

It was as though his right hand had plunged into a void.

Thus, all that could be seen was the rear half of his elbow; his forearm and hand had vanished without a trace…

The old man’s reflexes were lightning-fast; he spun around and saw a pale hand emerging from the hidden compartment behind him.

The pale hand sliced through layers of space, bypassing the barrier and reaching for the black box within the compartment.

By the time the old man realized what was happening, the pale hand had already seized the box.

…

…

Pale Hand.

A forceful theft spanning space.

Even if hundreds of miles apart, knowing the target’s precise location was enough to pull off the theft.

At that moment, Lu Xin knew exactly where the black box was—it was unmistakably clear.

In that instant, he even felt as if he had touched the black box, and he immediately retracted his hand.

Bang bang bang bang…

A series of glass-shattering sounds rang out as the Pale Hand clutched the box and swiftly withdrew.

The theft was successful.

Lu Xin distinctly felt as if something had yanked him backward.

His heart let out a small sigh of relief.

But when he looked at his right hand, he was momentarily stunned.

He felt as if he were tugging at something—only to find that his right hand was empty.

The invisible resistance on his palm made him feel like he was dragging an unseen fishing net.

Then, as his hand snapped back quickly, that net lunged toward him.

Ho ho ho…

A barrage of confused cries filled his ears, leaving Lu Xin feeling utterly lost.

Thud…

He landed on the hard stone slab, only for his feet to sink into it moments later.

Off balance, he reached out to grip the ground.

In an instant, his palm sank into the stone as if caught in sticky glue.

Startled, he unleashed a burst of mental power.

Intent on using that surge to propel himself away…

But in that moment of release, he felt his mental power being engulfed and anchored by the soft, viscous stone—as if countless hands had grabbed the net of energy he projected, pulling it even deeper.

Yet, as his mental power surged, the scene shifted until he finally saw the truth.

There were no stone slabs or alleys at his feet—only one bizarre, damp, black humanoid after another.

Their bodies huddled together with raised palms forming what looked like a stone floor. As he fell, they suddenly reached out and grabbed him, drawing him into the chaotic mass. Sneaky hands crawled along his calves and arms, intent on devouring him.

No matter how he resisted, his strength was absorbed; the tighter they clutched him, the more he struggled.

…

…

“Truth is everywhere – you can never outstep it.”

At the same time, the old man in the church smiled as he spoke into Lu Xin’s ear, “Truth accompanies uncertainty, so when you think you’ve stolen the truth, you only grasp at confusion…”

…

…

“Shut up, shut up…”

“Stop playing tricks…”

“All you know is deception…”

…

Meanwhile, inside the church, as Lu Xin and the old man clashed with every ounce of strength, both his father and mother discovered the elder’s weakness. His father roared as the black shadow by his side surged like a tidal wave, crashing ferociously toward the old man.

His mother slipped her palm into a small bag, and her body suddenly split into two shadows.

One quickly left the church and came to Lu Xin’s side, swiftly grabbing his raised hand.

The other glared coldly at the old man.

In her eyes, her pupils contracted into concentric rings that stretched deep into their core.