【Killed Tier 2, Level 3 monster Shadow Leopard. Ability points +90, exam credits +12.】
【《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》 proficiency +10.】
【《Sands of Time》 proficiency +6.】
The Rock-armored Great Lizard was thick-skinned and tough; its Tier 2, Level 4 rock armor was harder than a city wall.
Lin Yuan spent a full ten minutes grinding it down. It wasn't that he couldn't beat it, but breaking through its defense was just too exhausting.
The tip of Purple Lightning had left dozens of white marks on the rock armor before he finally managed to pierce through its eye socket.
【Killed Tier 2, Level 4 monster Rock-armored Great Lizard. Ability points +110, exam credits +14.】
【《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》 proficiency +12.】
The Wind-winged Python could fly, coiling itself in the canopy and spitting out wind blades.
Lin Yuan couldn't fly, but he could climb trees.
A lightning user’s speed using tree trunks for leverage was faster than a monkey’s. In a few leaps, he darted into the canopy and drove Purple Lightning straight through the python's head.
【Killed Tier 2, Level 3 monster Wind-winged Python. Ability points +90, exam credits +12.】
【《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》 proficiency +10.】
By the evening of the second day, Lin Yuan was leaning against an old pine tree that had been snapped in half by the Wind-winged Python.
Munching on his third tea egg—the last one he had—he opened the system panel to take a look.
【Host: Lin Yuan】
【Weak Spark (Lightning): E-rank, Tier 1, Level 7 (Peak)】
【Space-Time Ruler (Space-Time): S-rank, Tier 1, Level 4】
【Bone Tempering: 9 rounds (99% complete)】
【Combat Technique: 《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》 (Proficiency: Proficient)】
【Combat Technique: 《Sands of Time》 (Proficiency: Entry)】
【Ability Points: 1746】
One thousand seven hundred and forty-six points.
His ability points had been just over a thousand when he left Donghai City, meaning he had gained over a thousand in two days of hunting.
Tier 2 monsters were indeed generous with ability points; a single one was worth more than a dozen Tier 1 monsters.
The proficiency of Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens had increased by over two hundred points, and Sands of Time had increased by over a hundred and sixty.
His exam credits had soared to 286 points.
Although he didn't know the scores of the other examinees, according to Jiang Ran and the others, the winning score for the combat portion of the Hangzhou entrance exam in previous years was usually only just over two hundred.
He had already exceeded that before the second day was even over.
However, none of that was his primary concern right now.
Since this afternoon, the lightning ability inside his body had been acting strangely.
It felt like the surface of a lake before a storm—calm on the outside, but with something churning underneath. The fluctuations of his ability were erratic, sometimes weak and sometimes surging with sudden agitation.
This was a sign of an impending breakthrough.
He had been stuck at the peak of Tier 1, Level 7 for several days now.
The foundation provided by nine rounds of bone tempering made his roots much more solid than those of ordinary ability users, but it also meant he required a greater accumulation of energy for each breakthrough.
These past few days of high-intensity combat in Hangzhou, combined with the residual medicinal power of the ten Peak Grade Extreme Bone Tempering Pills, had finally pushed his accumulation to the critical point.
He needed to find a quiet place to break through.
Lin Yuan glanced at the map—there was no cell signal, but the screenshot he took earlier was still there.
His current position was at the edge of the red diagonal zone. If he headed east-southeast for about forty minutes, there was a lake labeled "Qingshui Lake."
The lake was located in the middle-to-outer area of the danger zone. The density of monsters nearby was low, making it a suitable place to rest.
He put his phone away, shouldered Purple Lightning, and began walking toward Qingshui Lake.
...
When night fell, Lin Yuan arrived.
Qingshui Lake was much larger than he had imagined.
The surface was about half the width of a football field and shaped like an irregular oval.
The water was a light jade green and crystal clear, and the shore was made of fine gravel surrounded by a ring of reeds.
There was no scent of monsters.
The water was too clear and the surrounding vegetation was too short for monsters to stage an ambush, so even demonic beasts didn't bother nesting here.
Lin Yuan found a large, flat rock by the lake and sat down.
The rock had been baked by the sun all day and still retained some warmth, making it quite comfortable to sit on.
He leaned Purple Lightning against the rock, took a few gulps of water, and then sat cross-legged.
The fluctuations of his lightning ability were becoming more and more intense.
Deep within his dantian, it felt as though a thundercloud had been compressed to its limit and was now expanding and churning, searching for an outlet to release its energy.
The lightning ability throughout his body began to circulate involuntarily. Silvery-white arcs of lightning flickered across his skin, casting alternating light and shadow over the surrounding reeds.
Lin Yuan closed his eyes, guiding that restless power to flow according to the pathways of his lightning ability.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles.
Each revolution became smoother than the last, and the lightning became more condensed.
His bones, tempered through nine rounds, grew slightly warm under the wash of lightning. Golden bone patterns emerged, intertwining with the silvery-white lightning.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
The thundercloud deep in his dantian finally expanded to its absolute limit. And then...
"Vwoom..."
A low tremor resonated from within his body.
It wasn't a sound, but a resonance on an energetic level.
An invisible ripple swept across the lake's surface, creating fine ripples that spread toward the center, while the reeds rustled from the vibration.
【Breakthrough successful!】
【Lightning Ability: E-rank, Tier 1, Level 8】
Lin Yuan opened his eyes.
Silvery-white lightning flickered deep in his pupils for a moment before slowly receding.
He could feel a qualitative change in his lightning ability. It wasn't just an increase in quantity, but in density.
Tier 1, Level 8 lightning was much more solid than Level 7. With the same amount of energy reserves, the power he could unleash now had increased by at least ten percent.
Furthermore, his control over his lightning ability had reached a new level. Previously, the lightning was diffuse, but now he could constrict it into finer, more concentrated strands.
Lin Yuan was in no hurry to stand up. Breaking through to Tier 1, Level 8 was only the first task for the night.
He opened the system panel; his ability point balance was 1746.
Upgrading the Space-Time system from Tier 1, Level 4 to Tier 1, Level 5 required 1,000 points. Upgrading Sands of Time from Entry to Practiced required 500 points.
“Upgrade Space-Time system.”
【Consumed 1,000 ability points. Space-Time system ability increased from Tier 1, Level 4 to Tier 1, Level 5.】
【Remaining ability points: 746】
A warm sensation from his space-time ability welled up from his dantian. It was completely different from the turbulence of the lightning breakthrough; it was quiet, deep, and silent.
His spatial perception range expanded from fifteen meters to twenty meters.
The movement of fish at the bottom of the lake, the direction of the wind through the reeds, the movement of the clouds overhead—all of this information surfaced in his consciousness in a way that transcended the five senses.
“Upgrade Sands of Time.”
【Consumed 500 ability points. 《Sands of Time》 proficiency increased from Entry to Practiced.】
【Remaining ability points: 246】
【《Sands of Time》 Proficiency: Practiced】
【Effect Updated: Slowdown ratio 15%–35%, effect range 4 meters, duration 6 seconds, cooldown 25 seconds.】
The Practiced level of Sands of Time was significantly stronger than the Entry level.
The maximum slowdown had increased from thirty percent to thirty-five percent, the range had expanded from three meters to four, the duration was a second longer, and the cooldown was five seconds shorter.
A five-second difference was the gap between life and death in combat.
Rate on N.U.
