Chapter 48: Falling Thunder
Chapter 48: Falling Thunder
“Ha!”
Amidst his furious shout, Yu Qian’s figure was like a dancing butterfly. Outside his body, raging waves and torrents swirled and assaulted, with furious jade light. He resembled the master of a tsunami!
His set of equipment shimmered and shone with flowing radiance, practically embodying “luxury and extravagance” to the absolute extreme!
All five of his fingers were adorned with dazzling Magic Rings, a dazzling array. Some deepened his Water Elemental Affinity, some amplified his Mana resonance, some reinforced his Spell Proficiency, and among them, there was even one divine ring—”The Whispers of the Odd Aspect.”
Six pendants swayed on his chest with his movements, each with different effects. Among them, a Trickling Pendant was the most eye-catching. Its effect surpassed even “Mana Wellspring,” being a “Pool of Mana” that not only stored Mana but also aided in Mana recovery.
With the aid of this item, he no longer needed to meditate and could hunt tirelessly without pause.
With a lift of his hand, several Toothy Wolves were sliced apart by water blades. He was in high spirits, graceful and dashing like the son of a god.
The dark mood that had arisen in his heart because of Li Yi also showed signs of clearing.
Lowering his head, he glanced again at that pathetic number—eighty. Yu Qian became even more spirited and radiated confidence, saying darkly, “Kid, let’s see how you catch up to me? But, the number hasn’t increased for a long time. Could it be that Hong He has succeeded?”
A cold sneer rose in his heart, and he suddenly felt a chill all over. Startled, he moved and looked up behind him.
On his body, there was an item attuned to his soul. At that moment, a primal, ancient roar of a beast, like a giant bell or grand chime, rolled and thundered beside his ears, deafening and shocking his soul, instilling fear.
Turning to look, a brilliant streak of lightning descended from the Nine Heavens. It resembled both a dragon and a snake, and also a piercing Rune that connected heaven and earth. It twisted down, cracking open the Void as if a heavenly tribulation had arrived!
“Falling Thunder Technique?”
Yu Qian was stunned. The Falling Thunder Technique was a Level 4 spell, on par with Lava Burst, requiring an Upper Mage to perform it.
But why would such a formidable person remain within a yellow barrier?
His heart was filled with doubt. Looking closely, he felt it was different.
The Falling Thunder Technique originated from the divine art—”Wrath of the Thunder God,” which wielded the power of the heavens to carry out heavenly punishment. Its momentum was often immense, with the sounds of the heavens rolling forth, shaking the Nine Heavens!
But this technique was completely silent.
Yet, within the silence, the cold brilliance harbored an indomitable, heaven-defying will. It even nurtured a terrifying tremor, as if billions of saw-toothed teeth were slicing through the Void, cutting through hemp with a sharp blade, effortlessly.
The lightning fell!
From the depths of the forest beyond sight, a radiance bloomed like a daffodil. White brilliance spilled out, like waves crashing against a wall, scattering along the edges of the barrier.
“What kind of person is that? This spell… it’s way too terrifying…”
Yu Qian was a bit dumbfounded. He muttered a few words, then felt a warmth on the back of his hand. Following it with his gaze, he couldn’t help but cry out.
“Score, three hundred and thirty? In a short while, the score increased by two hundred and fifty in one go?”
His face was filled with disbelief. The only explanation for such a situation was that the other party had hunted a Level 2 magical beast!
But how was that possible?
This wasn’t just surpassing a single level; it was skipping two levels!
The gap in levels was the most ironclad Rule/Law. Even for a Divine Favored One, one with the Celestial Human Aspect, or the Six True Bodies, truly bridging it was still no easy feat.
Various thoughts swarmed his mind. With a complicated expression, he looked toward where the light had disappeared, a ridiculous notion surfacing: Could that silent, astounding thunder have come from Li Yi?
This thought was far too absurd. In just an instant, he laughed it off and brushed it away.
“Hong He, what a waste! He can’t even deal with a kid who hasn’t reached the Spell Apprentice Realm, and he dares call himself ‘Green Arrow’?”
While cursing aloud, a faint, hard-to-describe sense of caution arose in his heart.
Although he was still ahead, Li Yi’s upward momentum was just too terrifying!
“A cornered rat will fight back? Even if you really did hunt a Level 2 magical beast, you must have suffered serious injuries yourself! What will you do in the coming days?”
After a moment of thought, Yu Qian’s mind settled. However, he didn’t dare slack off either. Quickening his pace, his figure vanished into the woods.
…
Amidst scattered and uneven broken trees, the corpse of the Shadow-Mad Lion lay sprawled on the ground.
To say “sprawled” wasn’t entirely accurate; its entire skeletal structure was shattered, its skin and flesh hung loosely, completely a mass of bloody pulp!
However, Li Yi didn’t know this, as he had already fainted.
Even with the help of the Behemoth’s Breath to share part of the mental backlash, his Sea of Consciousness was still raging with stormy waves, almost cracking apart from within!
Using the secret technique with his “Bearing the Stele” ability had resulted in unimaginably severe backlash.
It was almost dark when he slowly regained consciousness.
The moment his awareness returned, the aftereffects of his depleted Mana assaulted him in waves. He felt as if his whole body was about to shatter from pain, his head empty, unable to form even a single thought.
After opening his eyes, it took nearly half an hour before he was fully alert. He shifted his gaze to inspect the results of his battle.
“Heh heh!”
His gaze fell upon the corpse, and he chuckled. But the action stirred up the excruciating pain throughout his body, causing him to grimace fiercely.
Li Yi descended silently from the tree and groped his way closer. Actually, most Level 2 magical beasts had their own territories, so there shouldn’t be any other beasts nearby. But it was better to be safe than sorry.
After rummaging around in the pile of flesh for a while, he found something and smiled happily. He took out his dagger and dug out a crystal.
A Level 2 Magic Crystal!
A Level 2 Magic Crystal was worth close to a thousand White Crystals!
Furthermore, a Level 2 Magic Crystal could serve as the core for many magic formations, such as basic mana-gathering arrays, or a dark sacrificial array for summoning a “Shadow Spirit.”
After resting briefly, he draped his cloak and climbed back up, hiding among the trees. He closed his eyes and began to meditate.
He needed to use his time well to recover both his Mana and his mental energy.
“Tomorrow, we continue!”
The fourth day.
It was again at dawn. A silent thunder, like a judgment from heaven, descended from the sky!
“Five hundred and eighty?”
Yu Qian’s unwilling roar of anger startled countless birds into flight.
Yesterday, he had run all over the place and managed to gain one hundred and eighty points in one go, raising his score to four hundred and eighty. Yet, this morning, he had actually been surpassed?
“Damn it, damn it, to hell with you!”
His hatred for Li Yi had sunk deep into his bones. Without any sense of grace, he cursed and swore, only able to vent his anger on the magical beasts around him.
By evening, his face was full of weariness, but his expression was proud. His score had actually reached six hundred and eighty!
“Hunting a Level 2 magical beast couldn’t possibly be that easy! Let’s see how many more days you can keep this up?” he said bitterly.
The fifth day.
At the crack of dawn, the silent heavenly tribulation, as if cleaving heaven and earth, arrived as scheduled.
Li Yi’s score transformed into eight hundred and thirty!
By now, how could Yu Qian not know that the thunderous light that seemed to make heaven and earth lose their composure had something to do with Li Yi?
“I am a Heaven’s Pride of the Yu Clan, how could I lose to a mere commoner? A worthless piece of trash with lowly blood?”
His eyes bloodshot, Yu Qian became like a madman, waves of murderous intent surging!
By evening, his score had reached eight hundred and eighty, barely managing to overtake Li Yi again.
But on the sixth day, early in the morning, Li Yi’s score reached the terrifying number of one thousand one hundred and eighty!
That day, Yu Qian fought until late into the night, and his score barely reached one thousand one hundred, still behind.
On the seventh day, Li Yi’s score transformed into the despair-inducing one thousand four hundred and thirty!
“If he can do it, I, Yu Qian, can do it too! Hunt a Level 2 magical beast? I can do that too!”
Yu Qian stood before the yellow barrier, a feverish madness boiling on his face. He lifted a foot as if to step in, but it remained suspended for a long time, unable to fall.
He, Yu Qian, was different from Li Yi, who had nothing to lose. He was a Heaven’s Pride of the Yu Clan, extraordinarily gifted, of noble status. As the saying goes, “a child of a rich and noble family does not sit under a crumbling eave”—how could he place himself in such danger?
“I’m not like him. My life is worth much more!”
After a long while, he gave up resentfully, comforting himself with these words. But deep in his subconscious, he knew that the shadow Li Yi had cast over him would probably last for a very long time.
The eighth day.
Oh, there was no eighth day.
On the morning of the eighth day, Yu Qian admitted defeat, activated his mark, and quietly left.
Unlike his heroic, soaring spirit when he arrived, he left with a gloomy expression, filled with unwillingness, crestfallen and dejected.
“Li Yi, just you wait…” Apart from uttering a threatening remark, Yu Qian seemed to have no other recourse.
However, only when Li Yi opened his eyes in the evening did he realize he had won.
“I… won!”
He raised his fist and gave a resolute smile.
Though they had never met, Li Yi could imagine the look of frustration, gloom, and even rage on the face of the proud Yu Qian as he left.
Just thinking about it felt immensely satisfying.
“Basing my own happiness on someone else’s pain—not a bad feeling!”
Since he’d won, he also had to stop hunting.
Through successive impacts, his mental energy had become more refined and solid. However, Li Yi felt that the very foundation of his consciousness had developed shallow cracks.
If he continued, consequences like the collapse of his Sea of Consciousness or a mental breakdown could even occur.
The Black Tortoise Clan was renowned for defense and recovery, so naturally, they suffered no aftereffects. But Li Yi was, after all, only human. Injuries to the soul were not something to be taken lightly.
To play it safe, he wasn’t planning to return directly. Instead, he quietly meditated in the forest, recovering from the soul trauma.
Whenever he had a spare moment, he would take out the Thousandfold Strategy to carefully deduce and study it.
Just as it seemed the tenth day was about to pass, yet another disturbance arose.
“It’s her?”