Level Up in Martial World

"Huh…" Suddenly, the man felt a shiver down his spine, and his hair stood up as if he were static-electrocuted. His hair formed spikes as it stood up like mad scientist hair.

A dark void materialised in the ground, emitting an eerie aura of death, unlike the portal a first-stage martial artist created. It seemed as if the void was connected to the underworld itself, sending a chill down the spines of both Lu Zhen and the envoy.

However, something unexpected happened: a small dog emerged from the ground through the eerie dark portal. It happily barked at Lu Zhen and the envoy.

"Eh." Lu Zhen was stunned when he saw this.

The dog was relatively small, barely reaching Lu Zhen\'s knee. Its coat was coated with a rich, lustrous golden colour. It had two big ears that curved downward, and its muzzle was straight and wide, almost touching its nose. As it walked, its tail was carried level with its back, with a slightly upward curve.

"A golden retriever?" Lu Zhen had question marks on his face.

The dog walked up to Lu Zhen, showing its canine teeth with its tongue out as it laid on the floor, as if asking for scratches.

"This…" Lu Zhen was stunned beyond belief.

He rubbed his eyes as if he couldn\'t believe it and looked again, but still, there was the golden retriever sleeping on the ground, waiting for scratches.

Not only in appearance but even its behaviour was eerily similar to it.

"Umm…" he scratched his head as he said in a loud voice.

"Are you playing with me, Elv?"

However, no voice replied to him, as if Lu Zhen were a mad man talking to himself.

"So this was your trap?" the envoy laughed as he shrugged it off.

"Have a good mind in the next life, kid." He launched at Lu Zhen at a terrifying speed.

Lu Zhen felt his life flash before him as he was about to mutter the words that would break the blood contract: "If I die, you won\'t fare well either."

Gulp!

Suddenly, a loud gulp sound resounded in the room.

"Eh," Lu Zhen looked around for the man who was nowhere to be found, his silence laced with astonishment.

He turned to the dog, which was making a chewing sound as it happily gnawed on bones with a gleeful smile on its face.

Its tail wagged left and right as it enjoyed its meal.

Lu Zhen just remained still, as if he couldn\'t believe his eyes and his brain had gone numb.

A strange silence descended on the metallic place as a hulking purplish man and a dog stayed in their respective places, with the chewing sound of the dog eating the bone being the only audible noise.

Awoo!

As the dog ate to its fill, it roared and burped, patting its stomach with its front paws. It then opened its mouth, revealing a clean mouth as it looked at Lu Zhen with glee.

Lu Zhen\'s body was already soaked in cold sweat, and he remained silent. However, from the disbelief, his expression had now turned into calmness.

"How do you like my pet?"

The cold, feminine voice rang in his ears again.

Lu Zhen nodded his head. "I like it. Can I keep it?"

"What do you think the answer is?"

He coughed when he heard this. "Of course, yes."

"You are really shameless," a sultry voice with a teasing tone rang in Lu Zhen\'s ears, making him shiver.

"But since the dog likes you, I can let you borrow it for a while."

Lu Zhen looked at the puppy eyes of the golden retriever, which still seemed to be yearning for some petting.

"Well, your loss."

"Now fulfill your agreement; give me some mana," Lu Zhen said as he ignored the dog.

The voice paused when it heard Lu Zhen. This time, he patiently waited, after all, he didn\'t want to annoy the terrifying monster that this elv girl was. He had already learned his lessons.

"I can\'t."

"What do you mean, you can\'t?" Lu Zhen said with a frown on his face.

"Well, I am out of high-grade Qi stone. Bring me that, and I can give you mana sufficient enough for you to break through to the first-tier mage."

"Hmm…" Lu Zhen frowned when he heard this. "How am I supposed to find high-grade Qi stone?"

"Well, that is your problem."

Lu Zhen gritted his teeth when he heard this.

"Damn it, this witch," he cursed in a hushed tone while he remained expressionless.

"Would a middle-grade Qi stone be okay?" Lu Zhen said with some reluctance.

"No." The simple answer made Lu Zhen fall silent as he narrowed his eyes before looking around the room and jumping up in the air with a decisive expression.

"Come back after you have collected enough high-grade Qi stone."

Lu Zhen just gritted his teeth.

"Why would I give a high-grade Qi stone? I would rather use it for myself than for some small amounts of mana," Lu Zhen muttered under his breath as he ascended into the air, soon reaching the surface.

However, before he could take his first step, he coughed up blood.

"This intent…" Lu Zhen gritted his teeth as he looked around at the collapsed temple. "Oh well, it\'s not my problem; Elv should fix it since it\'s her home."

Lu Zhen\'s eyes narrowed as he looked into the distance, seeing a small dot approaching. It grew larger and larger, and in the blink of an eye, it landed on the ground beside him, covering the area in dust.

"Mother?" He was stunned.

"Where is that bastard?" Lu Ying looked around with a confused expression as she spread her sixth sense. However, she couldn\'t find anyone, which confused her.

"Cough, mother, he is already dead." Lu Zhen vomited blood again as his internal organs ruptured.

Lu Ying\'s eyes widened when she saw this.