Chapter 28: Wings of Wind and Thunder

Bai He trembled with excitement, nearly letting out a roar toward the sky.

At that very moment, Bai Chenxiang suddenly opened her eyes.

Her body floated upward, as if lifted by an unseen breeze, hovering about half a foot off the ground.

A purple spirit ring rose slowly from beneath her feet, circling her body.

A first spirit ring—a thousand-year one!

Her martial soul, the Sharp-Tailed Swift, manifested quietly behind her.

But this time, the silhouette of the swift had undergone a stunning transformation. Its previously jet-black wings were now marked with mysterious, magnificent silver-blue patterns, resembling flowing lightning.

A surge of spirit power, far exceeding that of a level ten spirit master, emanated from her.

Level eleven, twelve, thirteen...

Her spirit power soared, finally settling firmly at the peak of level fifteen!

A single spirit ring had propelled her directly from level ten up five levels! It was simply unheard of.

Bai Chenxiang landed slowly, feeling the brand-new power within her—explosive yet incredibly agile. She felt that her speed was more than twice what it had been before.

She had obtained her first spirit skill.

It was not "Thousand Bird Stream," nor was it "Wind-Thunder Cut."

It was a more fundamental, yet far more essential ability.

Spirit Skill Name: Wings of Wind and Thunder.

Effect: Infuses the powers of wind and lightning into the user. It significantly enhances movement speed, explosive power, and nervous system reaction speed. When moving at high speeds, the body naturally carries the effects of wind-blade cutting and lightning paralysis.

This essentially fused the prototypes of the several self-created spirit skills she had previously envisioned into one powerful passive talent!

More importantly, her "Wind Whisper" had also evolved.

The signals of the entire world became clearer—and noisier—in her ears.

"Hahahaha! Good! Excellent!"

Bai He could no longer hold back. He let out a hearty, joyous laugh, stepped forward, and patted his granddaughter’s shoulder heavily. "My Swift Clan is about to produce a true phoenix!"

Bai Chenxiang smiled sincerely as well.

However, just then, her smile faltered slightly.

She turned her head to look toward the entrance of the Thunder Marsh, her eyes—flickering with lightning—narrowing slightly.

"Grandfather," her voice turned cold.

"What is it?" Bai He’s laughter stopped abruptly.

"We have guests."

Bai Chenxiang whispered, "Guests carrying a strong, unpleasant scent of lightning."

In her "Wind Whisper" perception, seven or eight auras were approaching the valley at high speed. Their target was clear, and their movements were swift; it was evident they had known about this place all along.

The smile on Bai He’s face vanished instantly, like embers extinguished by a cold wind. His brow, which had smoothed out due to his granddaughter’s massive success, knotted once again.

Following Bai Chenxiang’s gaze toward the outside of the valley, he extended his powerful spiritual energy like invisible tentacles.

A moment later, his face turned ashen.

"Hmph, a pack of wild dogs chasing a scent; their noses are quite sharp."

Bai He let out a cold snort. His tall figure moved forward rather than retreating, blocking the valley entrance like a temple guardian, shielding Bai Chenxiang and the cooling corpse of the Wolf King behind him.

"Grandfather, they come with ill intent."

Bai Chenxiang’s voice came from behind him, carrying a metallic chill.

"Those who come in peace do not approach in such a manner."

Bai He did not look back, his voice steady as a mountain. "Xiangxiang, you have just absorbed your spirit ring; your spirit power is unstable. Meditate first. Leave this to Grandfather."

"They came prepared, and they arrived two days early," Bai Chenxiang reminded him. "The 'Earth Rat’s' intelligence might be inaccurate, or he himself might be the problem."

Bai He felt a jolt in his heart.

He hadn’t thought that deeply, assuming the Purple Lightning family had simply changed their plans. Now, prompted by his granddaughter, he immediately realized several possibilities. Perhaps the Earth Rat was playing both sides and had sold their trail to the Purple Lightning family.

The thought flashed by, for the enemy had arrived.

Seven figures, like seven bolts of purple lightning, tore through the mist of the marsh and appeared outside the valley.

Leading them was a burly, rugged-looking middle-aged man dressed in luxurious robes embroidered with purple lightning patterns. His eyes flashed with electricity as they opened and closed. His spirit power was potent and overbearing—he was the Spirit King expert the Earth Rat had mentioned.

Behind him, the purple-clad youth who had been humiliated at the tavern was staring at the grandfather and granddaughter in the valley with eyes full of venomous hatred. When his gaze swept over the corpse of the Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf lying in a pool of blood, his hatred instantly turned into naked shock and greed.

"Third Uncle! That’s them!" The purple-clad youth pointed at Bai He, his voice shrill. "The Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf! They killed the Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf!"

The Spirit King known as Third Uncle, an elder of the Purple Lightning family named Zi Dianxiong, kept his gaze as calm as water. He ignored his nephew’s clamoring, his eyes falling first on the massive wolf corpse; his pupils contracted slightly.

What heavy wounds, what overbearing wind blades.

Looking next to the wolf corpse, he saw the remains of the Thunder-Drool Grass, which had lost all its luster and now looked like common weeds. His heart sank further.

Finally, his gaze landed on Bai He.

"You have quite the speed and quite the ruthless methods," Zi Dianxiong’s voice was low and gravelly, carrying an undeniable pressure. "The prey that my Purple Lightning family has been tracking for half a month has been snatched by you just like that."

"Are you not going to provide an explanation?"

Hearing this, Bai He laughed instead of getting angry. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyeing the man sideways with the look of a street thug.

"An explanation? What kind of explanation?" He picked his ear, looking completely indifferent. "Is this Sunset Forest your family’s backyard? Is this spirit beast your family’s pet? Did you carve your name on it?"

"You!"

The purple-clad youth was shaking with rage and was about to rush forward to argue.

"Shut up!" Zi Dianxiong barked, stopping his useless nephew.

His eyes remained locked on Bai He. This unassuming old man before him was a tough nut to crack. Although the man hadn’t released his spirit rings, his composed and towering demeanor was far from that of an ordinary spirit master.

"You joke, sir," Zi Dianxiong suppressed his temper, his smile forced. "In all things, there is an order of arrival. My Purple Lightning family lost one Spirit Ancestor and four Spirit Elders, and expended countless efforts for this Wind-Thunder Demon Wolf."

"For you to just pick the fruit like this... is that not against the rules?"

"Rules?" Bai He laughed even louder. "In this spirit beast forest where the strong prey upon the weak, you talk to me about rules? Whoever has the bigger fist makes the rules!"

"You didn't have the ability to take it down, and I did—that is my ability."

"What, you’re not convinced? If you’re not, why don't you try biting me?"

These words were coarse and sharp, effectively blocking all the rhetoric Zi Dianxiong had prepared.

Zi Dianxiong’s expression turned completely dark. The six disciples of the Purple Lightning family behind him also released their martial souls and spirit rings. In an instant, yellow and purple spirit light flickered, electricity crackled, and the atmosphere became tense.

"It seems you prefer to do things the hard way."

Zi Dianxiong took a step forward, and two yellow, two purple, and one black spirit ring rose from beneath his feet. The pressure of a Spirit King erupted without reservation, whipping up a fierce wind that pressed down on Bai He.

"A mere five-ring Spirit King dares to put on airs in front of me?"

Bai He’s voice carried a hint of disdain, and a terrifying aura surged from his body toward the sky!

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black!

Eight full spirit rings, three of which were deep, ten-thousand-year black rings, and the last one even had a faint red glow within the black!

The aura of an eighty-second-level power-attack... no, an agility-attack Spirit Douluo, hit them like an insurmountable mountain, pressing back with crushing force!

*Thump!*

The Spirit Ancestor and Spirit Elder-level disciples behind Zi Dianxiong were unable to even stand under this terrifying pressure; they fell to their knees in a row, their faces pale as ghosts.

Even Zi Dianxiong himself was forced back three steps by the impact of this aura, leaving a deep footprint with every step.

The blood drained from his face, leaving only endless shock and disbelief.

A Spirit Douluo!

It was actually an eight-ring Spirit Douluo!

He couldn't fathom how a powerhouse of the Spirit Douluo level would personally come to this Thunder Marsh for a mere two-thousand-year spirit beast—and with a little girl who looked only five or six years old!

It made no sense!

It was even more absurd than a spirit beast being able to talk!