Chapter 159 - 99: Truly Mastering the Thunder Power
Mo Ning vaguely sensed that the Phantom Carved Divine Statue in his Spiritual World was showing signs of becoming active.
He looked up at the dim cloud layer again, and an almost absurd thought flashed through his mind: ’Can I use the monster in the sky to get rid of Uma?’
At first glance, this seemed completely unrealistic. He couldn’t control the monster, so how could he possibly kill Uma?
But a Spiritual Light roamed through Mo Ning’s mind, sparking ray after ray of brilliant light that quickly outlined a "murder" plan.
The plan included a method for luring the monster down, one that seemed like pure fantasy.
Yet, for some reason, he had a strange intuition—’I can do this.’
"...Get away from me!"
Uma’s roar still drifted through the curtain of rain.
Mo Ning used his cane to push aside a patch of tall grass and quickly walked in, making a decision. ’I’ll give it a try.’
Ever since he’d noticed the monster in the sky, he had been ducking into the tall grass, heading for places everyone else was desperately avoiding.
The other newcomers all went around the tall grass or specifically chose paths through shorter patches.
Mo Ning took a light breath, splitting off a wisp of his consciousness. Like a delicate thread, it sank silently into his Spiritual World and gently touched the Phantom Carved Divine Statue.
SCREEE—!
A phantom eagle’s cry exploded in the void of his Spiritual World.
The Phantom Carving abruptly spread its wings. The feathers at its wingtips carved two sharp arcs through the void, wreathed in clearly visible blue electric light.
The sparks leaped and intertwined along the edges of its wings, making the statue look like a holy relic caught in a thunderstorm.
Mo Ning instantly sensed that he could now vaguely predict when the next Thunderbolt would split the heavens.
It was a feeling that couldn’t be described in words.
He knew that the Thunderbolt was brewing deep within the clouds, gathering energy, searching for an outlet to unleash its power.
The time—thirteen seconds from now.
A passage he had read long ago surfaced from the depths of his consciousness.
"Perhaps you don’t believe it, but I must say, your Spiritual World possesses astonishing potential.
"When you have a vague feeling that you can do something that seems absolutely impossible, you dismiss it as a delusion.
"In reality, it is not a delusion. You really can do it.
"It’s merely your Spiritual World perceiving your limits, while your rational mind refuses to accept it."
Mo Ning thought to himself, ’Yes, I can do it.’
He stared at a certain area of the sky, trying his best to imagine a Phantom Carving, its body erupting with bright electric light as it battled fiercely against the wind and rain.
In his Spiritual World, the statue seemed to sense something.
Its eyes, which had been peacefully closed, suddenly snapped open.
It spread its wings to their limit. The electric arcs that had been coiling around its wingtips now converged into Electric Snakes as thick as fingers, slithering madly around the statue.
The [Eye of Truth]sensed the anomaly and quickly provided a series of notifications:
[Warning: Spiritual Power is rapidly decreasing.]
[Current remaining Spiritual Power: 98.23%.]
[Current remaining Spiritual Power: 96.47%.]
[Current remaining Spiritual Power: 94.56%.]
In just five seconds, his Spiritual Power had plummeted to a low of 92.32%.
This was the first time something so strange had ever happened to him.
In his Spiritual World, countless Electric Snakes swarmed over the Phantom Carving, turning the entire statue into a dazzling ball of electricity.
Mo Ning glanced at the sky again.
This time, he saw with a perspective that transcended mortal sight—a view not from his eyes, but from his soul. It was as if he could truly see a Phantom Carving soaring in that very spot.
Its wings stretched out within the clouds, its gaze pierced the barriers of space and time to meet his soul’s.
The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly, and he repeated silently in his heart: ’I really did it!’
「Over a hundred meters away.」
Serial number 005, Potter, stared deeply at the sky with his dark green eyes.
He had thick, chestnut-colored hair that curled slightly, the tips an unusual shade of lake blue.
Potter vaguely sensed that a strange change had occurred in the sky.
But the feeling was too vague, too fleeting. He could feel its presence but couldn’t grasp it.
His Spiritual Intuition told him the change posed no threat, so Potter chose to remain silent.
He lowered his head, suppressed his confusion, and continued following the flow of the Battle Group toward the forest.
Eight more seconds passed.
A particularly blinding bolt of lightning suddenly slashed down from the thick clouds.
A fork of this lightning bolt branched out, extending directly over the area where the newcomers were.
The mud, grass, and trees were instantly cloaked in a layer of incandescent white light.
BOOM—!
The clap of thunder finally arrived, fashionably late.
The lightning vanished in an instant, but countless free-floating electrical charges surged through the air.
Mo Ning pressed his lips together, a flash of intense surprise and delight in his eyes. He was so excited he wanted to scream.
’I did it!’
’I really did it!’
The lightning had struck at the exact moment he had sensed it would.
The forked lightning had reached the very spot where he had imagined the "Phantom Carving soaring."
That illusory, non-existent Phantom Carving had actually managed to draw down the unpredictable Thunderbolt.
His will, his spirit, had truly forged an invisible link with the ancient power coiled in the clouds.
To draw a Thunderbolt to a specific location using only the power of the mind was something that likely even a Third Level Apprentice would find difficult.
And yet, he had succeeded!!
He also felt an unprecedented surge of confidence—’Sooner or later, I will truly master Thunder Power.’
Mo Ning’s steps faltered for a moment as he quickly looked up at the sky.
The next moment, a hint of surprise flashed in his pupils.
Aided by the enhanced vision of the [Insightful Secret Eye], he finally saw it—in the area ravaged by the lightning, a black dot was rapidly piercing the rain screen, swooping down with incredible speed.
’There really is a monster!’
The creature undoubtedly possessed an ability similar to "scattering light to conceal its form," which blurred its silhouette. Combined with the cover of the downpour, it was completely imperceptible to the naked eye.
But the startling thunderclap just now had struck its location, disrupting its cloaking ability and forcing it to reveal its true form.
His ’plug-in’ instantly completed a pixel-level analysis, deduction, and reconstruction, outlining the monster’s clear form:
It had the form of a half-human, half-beast. Its entire body was covered in skin with a metallic sheen, naturally marked with deep blue patterns that gave off a faint, cold light in the rain.
It possessed a typical Demon head, with pointed, upright ears, curved horns protruding from its forehead, fangs jutting from the corners of its mouth, and a pair of cold, dark yellow vertical pupils.
It also had a pair of large demon wings on its back. Due to its dive, the wings were mostly folded, with only the bony claws at their tips extended, like pairs of open scissors.
Mo Ning took one look and felt his scalp tingle slightly. ’Golem Demon!’