Chapter 232: Senior, You’re Still Here
Chapter 232: Senior, You’re Still Here
After the plan was set, the action began.
It was actually not easy to catch Thunder Message Seeds.
They were micro-sized Soul Pets, even smaller than Little Caterpillar, and their growth in size was even shorter.
A Thunder Message Seed with Centennial Soul Power Cultivation was only about one meter long, appearing flat and round, with its head scattered in ring-like patterns resembling lightning-struck blooms.
They floated dozens or even hundreds of meters high in the sky, appearing as tiny black dots when viewed from the ground.
Catching these Thunder Message Seeds was not an easy task.
Magnetic Sword did not have the means to capture them, even though it could fly.
Only Little Caterpillar’s Silk Spitting and Insect Net could catch these Thunder Message Seeds in large batches.
This really tested Little Caterpillar’s Art of Object Manipulation and control skills.
The longer the silk thread, the harder it was to control.
Wang Che searched for a few seconds and found a Thunder Message Seed floating closest to the ground.
This Thunder Message Seed was very active, not staying still in mid-air, but running around instead.
Sometimes it even sneaked above some Soul Pact Masters, shot out a bolt of lightning, and caused mischief everywhere.
“This one,” Wang Che said. “It’s the closest to you and easiest to catch, but it’s rather mischievous. The other Thunder Message Seeds that aren’t as playful are much higher up.”
“Sii wuu…”
Little Caterpillar nodded, staring at the wildly darting Thunder Message Seed, and shot out a strand of silk thread.
Whoosh!
It missed.
The Thunder Message Seed seemed very sensitive to danger.
Little Caterpillar’s preemptive silk shot was easily dodged.
After dodging, the Thunder Message Seed realized it was a Green Caterpillar attacking it and immediately let out a hooting laugh.
Its scattered blooms even formed a ghostly face, mocking the Green Caterpillar mercilessly.
Little Caterpillar: “…”
It was careless!
As a champion caterpillar!
It almost ruined its reputation!
“Use the Art of Object Manipulation,” Wang Che immediately instructed. “Earlier, when you intercepted those Toxic Treasures, they were static. Now that it’s a moving Thunder Message Seed, you don’t know how?”
Little Caterpillar suddenly understood.
It stared intently at the silk thread it had shot out.
The Art of Object Manipulation emphasized merging Divine Sense with the object, then using the qi infused into the object for fine control.
Little Caterpillar had practiced the Art of Object Manipulation for a long time and was extremely familiar with silk threads.
If it were another object, its Art of Object Manipulation might not be very effective.
But with silk threads, it could definitely achieve perfect unity.
The silk thread that the Thunder Message Seed had dodged suddenly turned around and wrapped around the hooting, laughing Thunder Message Seed.
The lively Thunder Message Seed was confused.
Didn’t I dodge it?
What happened?
Was this Green Caterpillar Psychic-type? Could it use mind control?
The trapped Thunder Message Seed became angry.
Its whole body burst with lightning, and it immediately released a powerful Thunder-Element Soul Skill. Dense, tree-like bolts of lightning struck the silk thread.
This was a very common but famous Soul Skill.
The advanced Hundred-Year Soul Skill of Thunder Strike, Thunder Surge.
It was common because almost all Thunder Element Soul Pets could use Thunder Strike, releasing lightning to attack enemies.
It was famous because its ultimate Ten Thousand Divine Thunders Soul Skill, when advanced to ten-thousand-year level, was the most powerful attack among Thunder Element Soul Pets.
Without any fancy tricks, it simply unleashed terrifying thunderbolts that could turn a large area into a terrifying thunder hell.
Powerful moves could destroy everything.
The strongest ultimate move of Thunder Element Soul Pets evolved from the most common Thunder Strike through gradual advancement and training.
But this long process could wear down the patience of many Thunder Soul Pets.
Seeing the lightning coming, Little Caterpillar shouted at Magnetic Sword.
The meaning was clear.
Quickly go absorb the lightning!
Magnetic Sword was about to move, but Wang Che stopped it.
“No need,” Wang Che said.
Little Caterpillar: “???”
Magnetic Sword paused.
The lightning traveled along the silk thread and struck Little Caterpillar.
Little Caterpillar’s whole body trembled as if it were dancing a tap dance.
“Lately, you’ve processed quite a few seeds,” Wang Che immediately guided Little Caterpillar. “You should be very skilled at controlling Life Energy by now. What is lightning afraid of? You’ve also eaten ground tree leaves for over a week. You have some Earth Life Energy in your body.”
“Use your little brain and apply Nature’s Power!”
Little Caterpillar understood.
It immediately used Nature’s Power, mobilizing the Earth Life Energy in its body to cover itself entirely.
A faint yellow energy covered Little Caterpillar’s surface, as if coated with a thick layer of crystal.
The lightning, following the energy crystal covering Little Caterpillar’s body, was diverted into the ground beneath its feet.
Instantly, the effect of the lightning greatly diminished.
Although the lightning made Little Caterpillar’s body twitch uncontrollably, the actual damage was minimal.
However, it could cause a stiffening effect. If in battle, an opponent followed up with another set of attacks, it would be troublesome.
They had to resist it.
“Sii wuu!” Little Caterpillar shouted, indicating that it understood.
Wang Che nodded.
He needed to apply daily training to actual combat.
Whether it was the Art of Object Manipulation or using Nature’s Power to process planting and ripen crops.
Otherwise, after training for so long, he would perform poorly in real combat.
“Pull this Thunder Message Seed down and catch it with the Insect Net.”
Little Caterpillar gave a light tug and pulled down the first Thunder Message Seed, then immediately spat out an Insect Net that wrapped around the Thunder Message Seed.
“Good, Magnetic Sword, you hold the Insect Net with your mouth.”
Wang Che nodded.
Magnetic Sword held the Insect Net with the tip of its blade.
The Thunder Message Seed caught in the Insect Net was still unwilling to give up and continued to release electric shocks.
Then… then it was directly absorbed by Magnetic Sword, serving as a light appetizer.
The Thunder Message Seed looked at Little Caterpillar and Magnetic Sword with despair…
These two Soul Pets didn’t seem very afraid of lightning.
Next, they repeated the same trick.
Later, Little Caterpillar became more and more skilled. The Silk Thread seemed to have a life of its own, changing shapes in mid-air. Even if the Thunder Message Seeds tried to escape quickly, they were quickly caught.
With a few swishing sounds, several Thunder Message Seeds were tied up in a row.
Then the Silk Thread shook a few times downward.
At this point, Magnetic Sword would hold the Insect Net and go up, putting the caught Thunder Message Seeds into the Insect Net.
Hmm… very skilled now.
Like two bully Soul Pets, they caught one Thunder Message Seed after another.
In less than an hour.
The Insect Net contained dozens of Thunder Message Seeds.
The toughness of the Insect Net was something these Thunder Message Seeds couldn’t resist.
“That’s about enough.”
Wang Che nodded, “With so many Thunder Message Seeds, we can reliably summon Heavenly Thunder down. They’re even more useful than a Lightning Rod. Magnetic Sword, hang the Insect Net in mid-air, wrap it around your blade tip, and start the Thunder Summoning.”
After speaking, Wang Che took out a bag of prepared snacks and a storybook he had drawn, glanced at Little Caterpillar, “You stay below and keep watch, make sure no one approaches from the surroundings.”
“Our training will take a while. If you get bored, eat some snacks and read the storybook yourself.”
“After reading, practice on your own.”
“Look at the Thunder-Element Soul Beasts around, the ones going wild. If there’s nothing to do, go beat them up and train yourself.”
Little Caterpillar nodded repeatedly, automatically ignoring the last sentence.
Wang Che stepped on Magnetic Sword and flew up into the air.
“Bzzz…”
The Thunder Message Seeds in the Insect Net seemed unwilling to be used as tools and kept resisting, releasing weak electric shocks.
These were all absorbed by Magnetic Sword.
The Thunder Message Seeds were very angry.
Wang Che didn’t even need to provoke them.
The trapped Thunder Message Seeds floated in mid-air like a large hot air balloon.
The Thunder Message Seeds seemed to be discussing something, their bodies beginning to glow.
This was a sign of using their internal Thunder-Element Life Energy to summon Heavenly Thunder.
Among Thunder-Element Soul Pets, there was a Soul Skill called Thunder Summoning, which originated from this.
For example, if Thunder Message Seeds floated in the air for a long time without using the Thunder Summoning Soul Skill, there was still a high chance Heavenly Thunder would strike them.
If they used the Thunder Summoning Soul Skill, it was guaranteed to hit.
The Thunder Message Seeds had a simple idea: use Heavenly Thunder to break the Insect Net.
As Wang Che expected, soon, a bolt of Heavenly Thunder struck down.
Unfortunately, the Heavenly Thunder didn’t hit the Insect Net; it was intercepted by Magnetic Sword and Wang Che.
“Bzzz bzzz!”
The long-awaited Heavenly Thunder made Magnetic Sword emit excited sounds.
Wang Che understood the meaning: So awesome.
Sword light flickered with thunder, and Magnetic Sword’s body began to shimmer.
Wang Che also withstood a small portion of the Heavenly Thunder.
“The Heavenly Thunder here is indeed a bit stronger than during a normal thunderstorm.”
When the Heavenly Thunder entered his body, Wang Che didn’t feel it strongly, as he only took a small part.
Moreover, with his twenty-seven layers of Hundred-Tempered Soul Force, even without training, his body strength had reached a terrifying level through daily and nightly refinement by the Hundred-Tempered Soul Force.
As the top foundational technique in the Cultivation World, even if he didn’t switch to other techniques later, it would be overwhelmingly powerful in the early and mid stages.
Cultivating both immortality and martial arts wasn’t just empty talk.
“Compared to the first time I trained… the strength of this Heavenly Thunder feels like a mere tickle to me now.”
Wang Che thought to himself.
To be honest, Wang Che hadn’t started cultivating his second Martial Soul yet.
The Humanoid Martial Soul, as a Spirit Martial Soul that could possess the body, would greatly enhance his physical strength once possessed.
Different Humanoid Martial Souls also had various powerful effects.
As for the quality of the Humanoid Martial Soul, according to this world’s rules, it might be even stronger than the colorful Myriad Vault Dao Palace Martial Soul by one level.
When it first awakened, it was when he faced the Empty God Dragon.
Its aura shook the Empty God Dragon.
The awakening light at that time outshone any color.
Later, Wang Che used it sparingly, lacking the energy to cultivate the Primordial Soul Martial Spirit extensively.
After fully sensing it, he set it aside.
Without Soul Power, the Martial Soul naturally couldn’t possess the body.
Wang Che planned to start cultivating the Primordial Soul Martial Spirit only after opening the second layer of the Myriad Vault Dao Palace and reaching Soul Power Level 30.
For now, he would focus on properly cultivating the Myriad Vault Dao Palace Martial Soul.
After all, the Myriad Vault Dao Palace Martial Soul wasn’t just useful for himself; it had great benefits for Soul Pets too.
The Primordial Soul Martial Spirit’s effects were limited to himself.
Heavenly Thunder kept striking down.
Wang Che’s whole body shimmered with lightning, continuously tempering his physique.
If the Hundred-Tempered Soul Force was a gradual, accumulative tempering through daily nurturing,
then Heavenly Thunder tempering was an intense, short-term burst of refinement.
It had high intensity, high pain, but also better results.
Among Soul Pact Masters, especially those whose Martial Soul was a Tool Martial Soul, they would actively train their bodies through various methods; otherwise, their bodies could easily become weak points targeted by enemies.
However, no matter how much they trained, a Tool Martial Soul could rarely provide direct strength improvement to the Soul Pact Master.
There were very few Tool Martial Soul Soul Masters with high physical strength.
Of course, there were exceptions.
But when it came to tempering the body with Heavenly Thunder, if it was a Spirit Martial Soul, one might still manage it.
Ordinary Soul Pact Masters could not endure such pain.
Even if one wanted to get used to it, it still depended on whether their body could withstand it.
Wang Che, however, enjoyed it thoroughly.
No matter how powerful this Heavenly Thunder was, it was still far, far weaker compared to the Thunder Tribulation.
The Divine Sword Thunder Control True Scripture, based on different realms, had several levels of intensity for thunder cultivation.
Ordinary Heavenly Thunder, Nine Heavens Divine Thunder.
These were the two basic types of Heavenly Thunder.
Then came the intensity of the Thunder Tribulation.
Three-Nine Thunder Tribulation, Six-Nine Thunder Tribulation, Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation, Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation, Celestial Origin Thunder Tribulation, Immortal Universe Thunder Tribulation.
The senior who created the Divine Sword Thunder Control True Scripture had only cultivated up to the intensity of the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation in his time.
He could control the Nine-Nine Thunder Tribulation with his sword.
But the Thunder Tribulation itself represented the power of the Heavenly Dao’s rules.
How could a cultivator touch the Heavenly Dao?
This was no longer just defying the heavens; it was like wanting to ride the heavens.
How could the Heavenly Dao tolerate this? Later, when he attempted to cultivate the Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation, he was struck down and perished.
The Heavenly Thunder at present still couldn’t be considered Nine Heavens Divine Thunder.
It could only be counted as high-intensity ordinary Heavenly Thunder, still some distance away from Nine Heavens Divine Thunder.
If Wang Che were struck by a Nine Heavens Divine Thunder now, neither Magnetic Sword nor Wang Che could withstand it.
For now, bearing these ordinary Heavenly Thunders was still within their capabilities.
With the help of the Thunder Message Seeds, a bolt of Heavenly Thunder would gather and strike every dozen minutes or so.
It had to be said, this was more comfortable and easier to control for cultivation compared to the Heavenly Thunder in ordinary thunderstorms.
When normal Heavenly Thunder struck, it could sometimes be very dense; too many strikes at once would put great pressure on Magnetic Sword.
Other times, there would be very few strikes; Magnetic Sword wouldn’t even feel it before it was over, making the cultivation effect poor.
Being able to control the Heavenly Thunder like this made cultivation perfect.
It maximized the cultivation effect.
This continued for four or five hours.
After enduring sixteen or seventeen bolts of Heavenly Thunder, Magnetic Sword began to feel somewhat tired.
One cultivation session was completed.
After these four hours, the many Thunder Message Seeds also looked exhausted.
Summoning Heavenly Thunder consumed both energy and Soul Power.
For them, it felt like they had been drained as well.
Wang Che released these Thunder Message Seeds.
“It’s time to switch to the next batch,” Wang Che thought to himself.
Because he hadn’t cultivated for so long, under normal cultivation progress, Magnetic Sword only needed to cultivate once a week.
Cultivating four or five times a month was considered quite laid-back.
After each cultivation session, it took time to recover vitality.
Now, with such a great opportunity, Magnetic Sword wanted to make up for all the cultivation it had missed over the past month.
Wang Che had also prepared some pills to restore vitality and Soul Power, planning to let himself and Magnetic Sword recover for a while before starting the next cultivation session.
Wang Che glanced at Little Caterpillar nearby.
He found that the little guy had eaten and drunk its fill, finished its storybook, and was now fast asleep.
Exercise?
That was out of the question.
It was sleeping soundly, even breathing out puffs of air, with a ring of bubbles forming at its mouth.
Whether it was training something in the Dream Space or having a sweet dream, its eyes were curved.
As if sensing a gaze as deep as an abyss, Little Caterpillar slightly opened a slit of its eyes and saw Wang Che staring at it.
It jolted awake instantly, then patted its belly with its tail, indicating that it had just eaten.
It wasn’t suitable for exercise; it needed to rest a bit.
If it had to exercise right now…
After saying that, Little Caterpillar started to run around, but Wang Che directly grabbed it by the neck, its four small chubby legs swinging in the air.
“You’re starting to like slacking off,” Wang Che couldn’t help but say. “Don’t go yet; let’s catch another batch of Thunder Message Seeds first.”
Catch Thunder Message Seeds?
Little Caterpillar agreed immediately. That was much more fun than fighting other Soul Beasts.
This time, Magnetic Sword wasn’t helping because it was resting.
Little Caterpillar spent over an hour catching another batch of Thunder Message Seeds.
After resting for two hours, Magnetic Sword had mostly recovered.
Its spirit and vitality were still there.
After all, it had been holding back for over a month.
Plus, with Wang Che cultivating alongside it, it felt like it could manage a few more sessions.
And so…
“Stay away from that area with all the thunder rolling over there!”
In the distance, a senior student warned his companions seriously. “That terrifying Heavenly Thunder probably means there’s some powerful lightning Soul Beast around.”
His companions all nodded in agreement.
“I think I saw a faint human figure in mid-air,” one companion said doubtfully. “My Martial Soul is a telescope, so I can see a little more clearly. But there’s too much Heavenly Thunder striking down, distorting the space in that area. I can’t see much—just a little.”
“Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?” the senior asked.
“Yeah, I probably did see wrong. My Martial Soul isn’t fully trained yet. Ah, I’m holding you guys back.”
…
Similar thoughts kept appearing in the minds of the Soul Pact Masters who entered the Inner Layer of Thunder Roar one after another.
Where Wang Che was located, as the Heavenly Thunder kept falling, no Soul Pact Master was willing to get close.
It was too dangerous.
Plus, with Little Caterpillar guarding the area, naturally, no one noticed what was happening there.
Occasionally, some Soul Pact Masters with special Martial Souls could faintly see a human figure in mid-air amidst the rolling Heavenly Thunder.
However, they did not dare to get closer for a better look, and could only assume their eyes were playing tricks on them…
A day passed without anyone noticing.
On that day, he cultivated about four times.
It pretty much made up for what was missed before.
For the remaining time, Wang Che looked around the area and collected some Core Stones containing thunder Life Energy and various minerals.
The quality wasn’t especially good.
But with Wang Che’s skill level, he could perfectly fuse and refine these Core Stones and minerals, producing high-quality, usable mechanical Core Stones for Magnetic Sword to consume.
“Only in the mineral veins of the Thunderous Soul Earth could one collect some rare Core Stones.”
Wang Che thought to himself.
Wang Che had learned about the Thunderous Soul Earth.
Unlike the Floating Forest, which had unique terrain, the Thunderous Soul Earth was a special Soul Land where mountains converged and thunder proliferated.
It was a Soul Land rich in Core Stones.
“The Heavenly Thunder in the Thunderous Soul Earth must be even stronger… Should I go take a look later?”
Wang Che pondered.
Although the Thunderous Soul Earth was in a sealed state…
If Wang Che wanted to go in for a look in advance, it wasn’t impossible.
“Forget it, no rush. I’ll come here to cultivate every weekend from now on. Let Magnetic Sword get used to the Heavenly Thunder here first, then go to the Thunderous Soul Earth. That way, even if the Heavenly Thunder in the Thunderous Soul Earth reaches the level of Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, it won’t be too much to handle.”
One day of the weekend passed. On the second day, Wang Che only let Magnetic Sword cultivate twice before stopping.
In total, they cultivated six times.
Exactly how many strikes of Heavenly Thunder they endured was too many to count.
Each time they cultivated, every aspect of Magnetic Sword improved, and its Soul Power Cultivation increased by twenty to thirty years.
Because the Heavenly Thunder here was very strong, the first time directly increased thirty years.
The next few times only increased twenty years of Soul Power Cultivation each.
After two days, Magnetic Sword’s cultivation skyrocketed to eight hundred and eighty years.
This made Little Caterpillar feel immense pressure.
It began to cultivate seriously.
As for Wang Che’s physical strength, it also improved greatly.
“For future cultivation sessions, come here once every two weeks, and only cultivate twice each time.”
Wang Che estimated, “Then rest for two weeks to recover energy and solidify the foundation. Otherwise, raising Soul Power too quickly isn’t a good thing.”
These two days, Wang Che and Magnetic Sword had a great time cultivating.
However, Shen Mingluan, waiting outside, was starting to doubt her life.
On the first day, they waited from noon until afternoon, but didn’t see any sign of him.
At first, they were quite excited.
“Wang Che has been inside for way too long, right?”
Tian Xiaoyu looked at the distant setting sun, surprised, “It’s been four or five hours already?”
“His Magnetic Sword can absorb thunder, and he wore the Thunder-Storing Magnetic Hat, so it’s understandable he can stay this long.”
Shen Mingluan was also quite surprised, “He should be coming out soon.”
Then…
Evening came.
No sign of him.
“Ten hours, and he still hasn’t come out?”
Tian Xiaoyu had already gone back to Raging River City once. When she returned, she found Shen Mingluan still waiting and couldn’t help but ask.
Shen Mingluan was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head.
Four or five hours was still understandable.
But over ten hours… some Professional Soul Contractors could stay that long; staying for one or two days was normal.
But Professional Soul Contractors were at least level thirty and had two Soul Pets.
“This…”
Tian Xiaoyu whispered, “Could something have happened?”
“Don’t jinx it.”
Shen Mingluan glared at her, “Maybe he encountered some rare opportunity?”
“What kind of opportunity in the Inner Layer of Thunder Roar… would make him stay so long.”
Tian Xiaoyu rubbed her forehead, “But it’s hard to say… should we keep waiting?”
“Let’s go back and rest for the night. I have his contact info. If he comes out, we can reach him.”
Shen Mingluan thought for a moment, “If he hasn’t come out by now, he probably won’t for a while. If he still hasn’t come out by tomorrow morning, we’ll need to go in and check the situation.”
Then, the next day arrived.
They couldn’t contact him.
Which meant he hadn’t come out, because inside the Inner Layer of Thunder Roar, unless using specially made Soul Guiding Devices,
ordinary communication equipment doesn’t work; there’s no signal inside.
“He hasn’t come out…”
Shen Mingluan, Tian Xiaoyu, and some other classmates went in to search.
But they couldn’t stay too long.
After just over three hours, they came out around noon.
“We can’t find him…”
Tian Xiaoyu said helplessly, “This seems a bit troublesome. Should we report it to the principal? Or talk to the soldiers here and see if they can send some people in to look?”
Staying four or five hours was still understandable; staying over ten hours could be explained by a rare opportunity.
But seriously, it’s been over a day now.
They weren’t just doubting their lives anymore.
They were sure something must have gone wrong.
They found the soldiers guarding the Inner Layer of Thunder Roar and asked.
“Missing? How could he be missing?” The soldier shook his head, “Staying over a day isn’t that unusual. Some Professional Soul Contractors specifically come to the Inner Layer of Thunder Roar to cultivate. Not just one or two days; staying three or four days is normal.”
“Um… but he’s just a first-year student.”
“A first-year student? He can stay this long?” The soldier looked at Tian Xiaoyu with an expression like he’d seen a ghost, “Wait, let me check. If he came out, there would be a record…”
The soldier came back after a while, his face serious.
“He hasn’t come out…” The soldier frowned, “A first-year student shouldn’t be able to stay this long… Something must have happened. Why did you only report it now? The Inner Layer of Thunder Roar isn’t considered very dangerous; the overly powerful Soul Beasts have been cleared out. It’s meant for your adaptation training.”
“For a first-year student, it’s still quite dangerous. But usually, if they encounter danger or can’t hold on, they come back on their own. This month, we haven’t had any student run into trouble.”
“I’ll contact the Thunderous Soul Earth right now and have them send a Rescue Team to check.”
Hearing this, Tian Xiaoyu and Shen Mingluan felt slightly relieved.
Just then.
Wang Che walked out, glowing with health.
“Senior, you’re still here?” Wang Che looked at Shen Mingluan in the distance.
Shen Mingluan and the others turned around and looked at Wang Che.
Shen Mingluan: “…”
For a moment, there was silence.