Chapter 202: Begin the Slaughter! Ling Shuang Takes Action Herself!

BOOM BOOM~~~

ZZZT~~~

Thunder roared in his ears as Xu Jingming sprinted through the Thunderstorm Zone, his body wreathed in faint golden lightning arcs.

Under normal circumstances.

After decades of continuous thunder strikes, the entire Thunderstorm Zone should have become a wasteland.

But reality was not like that.

The tenacity and adaptability of plants exceeded imagination—the trees and thickets growing throughout the Thunderstorm Zone.

Were even taller and more lush than those in ordinary wilderness areas.

In fact,

Since elemental energy appeared two hundred years ago, all life on Blue Star had shown extreme adaptability.

Wild beasts evolved into ferocious beasts; even humanity's ultimate weapon, the nuclear bomb, failed to eradicate them completely.

Instead, it made ferocious beasts adapted to nuclear radiation even more vicious and terrifying!

The plants in the Thunderstorm Zone were no different—they had adapted to thunder strikes and grown even tougher.

Of course,

Human adaptability was also strong; within just two hundred years, they had adapted to the existence of elemental energy.

Evolving from ordinary people into psychics who wielded extraordinary powers.

Xu Jingming moved nimbly through the jungle.

"Moo—"

Suddenly, with a roar, a ferocious beast emerged from behind a tree half-sundered by lightning, baring its fangs.

The beast resembled a water buffalo, but its size equaled that of a small car.

Its skin was not smooth—it was covered in countless black-blue scales!!

The scales clustered tightly together, forming a suit of armor around it.

On its head, a pair of horns crackled with blue-white lightning.

"Blackscale Thunder Ox. Based on its size, it should be high-tier first-rank."

Xu Jingming, who had scored full marks in the Magic University's ferocious beast knowledge exam, recognized it at a glance.

"Senior brother said ferocious beasts in the Thunderstorm Zone are stronger than those in ordinary wilderness. Let me see just how strong they are."

Xu Jingming didn't activate his psychic ability—he walked casually toward the Blackscale Thunder Ox.

"Moo—"

The Blackscale Thunder Ox seemed to sense Xu Jingming's strength.

It lowered its body, horns forward, emitting a threatening low growl.

Then, lightning flared violently on its horns!

ZZZT—

A bolt of blue lightning shot out and struck Xu Jingming.

CRACKLE CRACKLE~~~

Blue-white arcs danced across his body.

This lightning, capable of easily splitting a giant tree, couldn't even pierce his formidable physique.

"The lightning's power is decent—this single bolt alone could wipe out most first-rank ferocious beasts in ordinary wilderness."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

Even the relatively tough Dujiaoxi in ordinary ferocious beasts would be crushed by this Blackscale Thunder Ox.

"Next, let's test its physical defense."

He pushed off hard, covering over eight meters in an instant, arriving before the Blackscale Thunder Ox.

He didn't use the 'Thunder Flash' technique—this was pure physical strength.

Seeing the human who had withstood lightning suddenly appear before it,

the Blackscale Thunder Ox sensed danger and instinctively tried to flee forward.

But it was too late!

"Die."

Xu Jingming didn't even bother drawing his spear—he swung his muscular right fist, striking the ox's head.

SPLAT!!

Its skull, as hard as F-class alloy, shattered instantly under the blow, exploding apart!

Thick blood gushed from its neck, drenching the air with the stench of blood.

The massive body, still propelled by momentum, lurched forward four or five meters before crashing down, crushing nearby bushes and undergrowth.

"Its defense is far stronger than ordinary high-tier first-rank ferocious beasts."

"Of course—daily thunder strikes would make its physique weak? That'd be absurd."

Xu Jingming shook his head, now having a clear sense of the combat strength of ferocious beasts in the Thunderstorm Zone.

Just as Senior Brother Jiang Luo had said, Thunder Beasts were vastly stronger than ordinary ferocious beasts in every aspect.

Of course,

To him, these low-rank ferocious beasts were all instant kills.

In fact, had he not been testing their strength, even a single stray arc of his SS-rank psychic ability, Heavenly Thunder, would have erased them.

'Ding~, slain one high-tier first-rank ferocious beast: Blackscale Thunder Ox. Psychic points +15.'

Simultaneously, a pleasant system chime echoed in his mind.

"Only +15 psychic points? Too little."

Compared to the thousands of psychic points gained from slaying Divine Blood Messengers, the points from killing ferocious beasts were negligible.

But fortunately, ferocious beasts weren't as rare as Divine Blood Messengers, nor did he need to hunt for clues.

"Come to think of it, I haven't fought a ferocious beast in nearly a month."

"Then let's begin the slaughter—hope to earn enough psychic points soon to advance to high-tier third rank..."

A fierce, eager battle spirit slowly surfaced on Xu Jingming's resolute face.

Golden lightning spread across his body as he pressed deeper into the Thunderstorm Zone.

He didn't collect any materials from the Blackscale Thunder Ox.

Because the most valuable part was its scales.

But cutting off that scale armor would take over an hour.

Xu Jingming's S-class pass had only thirty days—he wouldn't waste time on low-rank ferocious beasts.

As Xu Jingming reignited his long-dormant slaughter of ferocious beasts in the Thunder Realm,

Magic University, Combat Technique Library, top-floor office.

Vice Principal Ling Shuang, barefoot and seated behind her desk, hesitated.

According to Xu Jingming's intel, the remnants of the Sect of Heavenly Mandate's Chongqing branch would hold a gathering today in the Chongqing suburbs.

But she hadn't decided who to send.

"Forget it—I'll go myself. Otherwise, more of them will slip away."

After a moment's thought, Ling Shuang decided to act personally.

Her graceful figure rose from the chair, stepped into the spatial gate, and vanished...

"Given by Heaven's Mandate, the Heavenly God Endures."

Chongqing suburbs, an abandoned factory draped in a massive crimson moon flag.

Under the bishop's lead, the Sect of Heavenly Mandate members closed their eyes in prayer.

Besides the man standing in the center, over a dozen others stood beside the bishop.

Their auras were powerful—each at least third-rank, with several even fourth-rank!

After a long while, the prayer ended, and the bishop spoke:

"Lately, I've been pleased."

"Since our branch was destroyed, new members have continuously joined our ranks!"

"This proves our beliefs, our path, are correct!"

Of course,

Joining the Sect of Heavenly Mandate requires strict screening and trials.

These people beside me are those who passed the trials!"

"They will officially become our members today! Let us welcome them!"

The bishop's voice echoed through the factory; the followers' faces gradually lit with fanaticism:

"Given by Heaven's Mandate, the Heavenly God Endures! Our path shall finally welcome dawn!"

Watching this, the bishop's hidden face beneath his hood curled into a satisfied smile.

Though the Great Xia high command had issued a death warrant for them, making the entire nation aware of the Sect of Heavenly Mandate and triggering widespread persecution,

wasn't that also a nationwide advertisement?

To ordinary people, the Sect of Heavenly Mandate was utterly detested.

But for fugitives, or ordinary people and psychics already inclined toward such beliefs, the Sect of Heavenly Mandate was their ideal haven!

That's precisely why they'd gained so many new members recently.

If this had happened in the past, it would have been unthinkable!

Under these circumstances, as long as we survive the state's initial wave of strongest strikes, the Church of Destiny is undoubtedly promising!

But before that, the Modou branch must be rebuilt.

Otherwise, hiding forever in abandoned factories will leave no good impression on new members.

Thinking of this, the bishop asked someone beside him:

"Brother Liu, have we chosen a new location for our branch?"

The Church of Destiny's ranks, from lowest to highest, are: Acolyte, Priest, Bishop, Archbishop, Cardinal, and Supreme Pontiff.

This Brother Liu was his assistant.

"Report, my lord, the location is chosen; we can move there shortly," Brother Liu replied respectfully.

"Good."

The bishop nodded with a smile, then sneered:

"The Public Security Bureau and Moda dare oppose the Church of Destiny.

Once our branch is rebuilt, they will see just how powerful we are!"

"Oh? Really?"

A cold voice suddenly echoed through the factory, and a portal of space opened in midair.

Ling Shuang stepped out from the portal, her slender figure cloaked in icy frost.