Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan moved at extreme speeds, running toward the firearm and food supply crates respectively. As for the other stuff, there was no helping it.
After recovering the supplies, they each found a corner to hide from the wind and watch Qianye.
There were wisps of origin power dancing amidst the raging winds. Like invisible blades, they were so powerful that they could carve out gashes in the rocky ground of the camp. The two ladies had no choice but to activate their origin defenses, otherwise, their clothes and armor would be cut up by the void origin power. There was no way to replace damaged clothes in this accursed place.
The fierce winds formed a tornado which stretched all the way into the swirling clouds. Flashes of blood-red lightning flickered along the walls of the tornado, almost as though the end-times were near.
Fortunately, the winds didn’t last too long. The tornado scattered after a while, and the swirling clouds gradually dispersed. The spatial lacerations in the sky also faded away unwillingly.
When Qianye opened his eyes, there were flashes of sanguine lightning arcing in the depths of his pupils. At this moment, it felt as though his body was full to the brim and leaking with origin power. His newly transformed body was full of violent power, yet it was also itchy, painful, and inexplicably uncomfortable. All he wanted was to smash something to vent this feeling.
However, a scene of carnage welcomed him as he opened his eyes, and the two girls were hiding far off in the distance, watching him as though he were some kind of monster.
“What happened?” Qianye was puzzled.
“It’s your doing of course! You dismantled our home!” Li Kuanglan wanted to continue blaming Qianye, but Ji Tianqing pulled her back. The latter then asked, “Qianye, were you cultivating just now?”
Qianye nodded. “The injection activated all the muscles in my body and condensed a new origin vortex. I had to cultivate for a while to replenish my origin power.”
Ji Tianqing asked, “What cultivation art is this?”
This problem cut straight into Qianye’s core secrets, but he neither avoided nor hesitated with his reply. “The Combatant Formula.”
Unexpectedly, Ji Tianqing wasn’t quite surprised. She pondered for a moment before continuing, “Didn’t you sense anything abnormal just now?”
Qianye was puzzled. “No, it’s just like before. I sensed the void origin power and then guided it into my body for absorption.” At this point, he thought of something. “If I have to point out something, it’s probably that the area I can sense seems to have grown a bit.”
“How big is your usual area of perception?” Ji Tianqing kept up with her questions. Li Kuanglan also seemed quite interested.
“About a hundred meters.”
“You can sense and control void origin power within that range?”
Qianye nodded. “But there’s really too much void origin power around, and I can only absorb so much. Most of it ends up going to waste.”
This was an incomparable heartache to ordinary cultivators as they would need fairly good luck to absorb just a small amount of void origin power. Qianye, on the other hand, could converge all the void origin power in the vicinity into a tempest. If people were to hear about this, their jealousy would surely turn to hate, and they might even want to chop him up.
Ji Tianqing, however, was focused on something else entirely. “Qianye, when you’re guiding the void origin power, can you direct it anywhere else apart from your own body?”
Qianye thought back to the cultivation process before nodding. “I might be able to, but it won’t be accurate. The amount of void origin power is ma.s.sive, I can only control a small part of it. I probably won’t be able to control more at my current stage.”
The human mind was ultimately limited in capacity. It was impossible to concentrate on too many things unless one cultivated a specific secret art for it. This type of secret art was also extremely difficult to perfect, and only the most important scions of the aristocratic families would have access to it. Song Zining was able to sneak out the Song Clan Ancient Scroll but not the secret inheritance related to concentration. Thus, Qianye knew he was still a ways off from being proficient in this regard.
However, Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan both looked surprised. The latter disguised her astonishment with a cough, saying, “Qianye, being able to sense and control origin power in the environment is a sign of a divine champion. Although some people are able to pull it off before reaching that level, only divine champions are able to exceed a hundred meters in range. Your performance just now might be lacking in technique, but the power is definitely at the divine champion level.”
Ji Tianqing chimed in, “Many divine champions can stir up a tempest with a single attack, their might spanning over a hundred meters in an instant. In truth, the amount of origin power they can control might not be superior. It’s just that they have special techniques and arts. For instance, some of them can only control one portion of origin power, but that one portion can affect ten, then a hundred meters . That makes their attacks look awe-inspiring, but the truth is that they’re even weaker than you are.”
Something lit up in Qianye’s heart after listening to this, almost as though he had achieved a certain enlightenment. The principle was similar to rowing in the water, the initial movement only existed in a small area, but the ripples could spread out far and wide.
Seeing him in thought, JI Tianqing said, “This kind of secret art isn’t difficult to find. Basically, every family that has ever produced a divine champion will have several of them. I’ll help you find a couple of them after we leave this place. They might not be as good as the Zhao clan’s, but they won’t be so bad, either.”
Qianye nodded in grat.i.tude.
His time in the Zhao clan was short, and he was still far from the divine champion realm back on the void continent. Naturally, the clan wouldn’t hand him divine champion level arts under those circ.u.mstances. All major clans had their own rules about when to do what, regulations that couldn’t be messed up. Hence, Qianye still had no idea how to break through to the divine champion realm or what to do afterward.
Ji Tianqing said, “Okay, that’s enough. Time is of the essence, so you go and cultivate now. I need to talk to Kuanglan, don’t eavesdrop!”
Nodding, Qianye gathered his concentration and began refining origin power. The newly formed origin vortex was full of void origin power, which he needed to slowly convert into Venus Dawn. Only then would the vortex become stable.
There was still some time before midnight. Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan began organizing what remained of their camp, whispering to one another all the while.
“Is the Combatant Formula that powerful?” Li Kuanglan still couldn’t believe it.
Ji Tianqing replied, “Who knows? Strictly speaking, only three people have ever fully succeeded in cultivating the Combatant Formula: Grand Ancestor, Martial Ancestor, and War Monarch. I heard grandpa say that the formula encompa.s.ses the might of the heaven and earth, and is one of the most powerful arts in the world. It’s just that only the Grand Ancestor had ever reached perfection. The Martial Ancestor was slightly inferior, and the War Monarch even more so.”
Li Kuanglan was astonished. “It’s that awesome?”
“Yes, grandpa said that the Grand Ancestor is the most talented person throughout our history. He invented countless unimaginable secret arts and single-handedly laid down a thousand years of the empire’s foundation. For some reason, however, no one else managed to cultivate those powerful arts to their peak. Prince Greensun was the most likely to crack the Combatant Formula in the current dynasty, but unfortunately, he gave up at the introductory stage and switched to his own clan’s arts.”
Li Kuanglan pondered for a while. “Judging from the power of Qianye’s cultivation art, he’s very likely reached the introductory realm. Don’t tell me the Combatant Formula requires a vampire bloodline? Besides, the contents of the art don’t look like they can take you very far.”
Ji Tianqing pointed upward, whispering, “Careful, or those above will hear.”
“Who?” Li Kaunglan was puzzled.
“Who knows? Those divination b.a.s.t.a.r.ds just love eavesdropping. If you happen to utter the words they want to hear, you might be unknowingly connected and they’ll figure out what you’re doing.”
Li Kuanglan was shocked out of her wits. She only calmed down after thinking back to the two days prior and recalling that she hadn’t really spoken much during the times she couldn’t be seen. She became sullen after the initial panic. “Which school’s divination arts are so wretched? I’ll destroy them once we get out.”
“It’s not too hard to guess. Just think about it, whose divination arts are powerful enough that they can peep on you, and at the same time understands you enough? Someone who can avoid your sister’s attention and yours.”
This hint was enough to confirm her suspicions. Li Kuanglan’s voice was like shattered ice as she uttered the name word by word, “Song Zining!”
“You said it, not me.”
Li Kuanglan snorted. “So what if he knows? It makes no difference even if he knows I’m going to teach him a lesson after I leave this place.”
Ji Tianqing blinked innocently. “Why not tell your sister? With her skills, I’m sure she can make Song Zining never want to get involved again.”
“That’s a good idea.” Li Kuanglan was quite straightforward.
Ji Tianqing gazed at Li Kuanglan’s abdomen and then whispered in her ear, ”Didn’t your sister tell you about that?”
Li Kuanglan’s cold expression disappeared. Her face flushed red as she reached out to choke Ji Tianqing.
The latter, however, had run far away. There was no way she would get caught like this.
…
Back on the Eastern Sea continent, a large horde of imperial wars.h.i.+ps was gathering outside of Tidehark, seemingly ready to storm the city. The Evernight army inside the city only consisted of some arachne and vampire forces. In terms of military power, they were only slightly stronger than the forces under Song Zining’s control.
Song Zining was standing on the deck of his s.h.i.+p, gently flapping his fan as he waited for the airs.h.i.+ps to finish a.s.sembling. There were a couple of airs.h.i.+ps still on the way. These were actually vessels belonging to the various powers and families of the neutral lands. Having inherited the characteristics of the neutral lands, they were old, rickety, and possessed little to no fighting power.
Now, the two sides were equally matched on paper, the best time to engage in a big battle. Song Zining had brought these weak airs.h.i.+ps along because he wanted to let these native forces witness his might. There was no need for them in battle, anyway. All they needed was to sit quietly and watch from the side.
Just as he was feeling happy, Song Zining suddenly felt as though someone had poured a bucket of ice water on his head. An intense chill penetrated his bones and almost froze him!
His folding fan fell to the ground with a plop.
The guards and aristocratic family heads around him crowded over to check up on him. Song Zining, however, was in no mood to maintain his carefree att.i.tude. His face was pale, and his hands were trembling constantly. The only thing he could think of was where this tremendous menace was coming from.
But even the most talented youngster in divination arts had no clue at all.