Chapter 203: The Sect of Heavenly Fate

"You're… the vice principal of Devil University?!!" The bishop's pupils shrank sharply.

The bishop, who had been lurking in Devil City for over five years, had heard rumors of this beautiful yet formidable vice principal.

What he never expected was that she would appear here, at this exact moment!

There's a traitor in the organization!

That was his first thought; his next thought was to flee—run away immediately!

The vice principal of Devil University was at least an Eighth-Rank Grand Master; he, a mere Sixth-Rank Adept, had no chance of winning!

Yet just as he tried to unleash his ability and flee at full power, he found the space around him had solidified like frozen glass.

He couldn't move at all, let alone activate his ability.

"Remnants of the Sect of Heavenly Fate… still trying to rise again? Then die all of you…"

Ling Shuang's cold eyes swept downward.

Everyone present felt as if they'd been slashed by knives!

In truth, it wasn't an illusion.

Everyone present, except the bishop at the very front.

Had been split cleanly in two by suddenly sharpened space!

Plop. Plop—

Flesh slithered off smooth cut surfaces onto the ground.

In an instant, the clean factory became as terrifying as the Eighteenth Layer of Hell.

The stench of blood filled the air; blood flowed everywhere.

To the bishop, who had once witnessed blood pools and used living humans as materials, this sight meant little.

What terrified him more was the terrifying aura emanating from Ling Shuang.

His entire body broke out in gooseflesh—he knew he was finished.

Yet he still had one question: everyone here except him had been killed—so where was the traitor?

Suddenly, a name flashed through the bishop's mind—Leng Chang!

In the past few days, only he had led a team away from here.

If information had leaked, it could only have come from Leng Chang!

And Leng Chang had taken three Third-Rank Peak adepts with him; the local Jincheng Security Bureau couldn't possibly stop them.

The only one who could possibly defeat them was Xu Jingming, who had returned recently.

"Xu Jingming… if I'd known, I'd have come myself."

The bishop's eyes burned with venomous hatred, but now, there was no way to turn the tide.

"Bishop of the Sect of Heavenly Fate, you've committed countless evils. What awaits you now is endless torment."

Ling Shuang extended her jade hand and lightly pointed; the space around the bishop sealed completely.

To the outside, it looked normal—but to the bishop, vision, touch, and even hearing vanished entirely due to the spatial lockdown.

This state was, without doubt, an excruciating torture.

Yet this wasn't the end—after being handed over to the Security Bureau, the bishop would face even more torment.

"With the Sect of Heavenly Fate's Devil City branch destroyed, operations targeting Xu Jingming and others should decrease significantly."

Ling Shuang silently thought, scanning the surroundings and finding no survivors.

All S-Rank mission completers, including Xu Jingming, primarily operated within Devil City.

Thus, the Sect of Heavenly Fate's Devil City branch held the deepest grudge against them—and now, they'd been completely wiped out, eliminating all future threats.

If even one member of the Sect of Heavenly Fate escaped,

Operations against Xu Jingming and the others would never cease.

That was precisely why Ling Shuang chose to act personally…

Ziiiiii—

In the Thunder Secret Realm, brilliant golden lightning flashed; a thunder beast was struck black and charred, collapsing lifelessly.

'Ding~! Slain one Second-Rank Mid-Grade Swift Thunder Iron Wolf. Energy Points +25.'

The notification chimed in his mind, yet Xu Jingming was unsatisfied—he furrowed his brows slightly:

"The density of ferocious beasts in the Thunderstorm Zone seems too low…"

He had entered the Thunderstorm Zone at 8 a. .; now it was noon, 12 p. .

In these four hours, he had slain only nine thunder beasts.

Among them were First, Second, and Third-Rank beasts—but altogether, they yielded less than 150 Energy Points.

The efficiency of harvesting Energy Points was pitiful; if this continued, he might not even reach 800 Energy Points in a day.

Recall that in the Source Water Wasteland, four hours had been enough for Xu Jingming to slay over forty ferocious beasts.

"This is troublesome."

Xu Jingming pulled out an energy bar from his space ring, bit it idly, and sucked it to replenish his stamina.

Because thunderstorms rained continuously in the Thunderstorm Zone, besides keeping the entire zone brightly lit 24/7 without night,

There was also the deafening, ever-present roar of thunder echoing in his ears.

For thunder beasts adapted to this environment, hunting and resting posed no problem,

But as a human, Xu Jingming couldn't even enter light sleep.

So his plan had been to remain in the Thunderstorm Zone for 24 hours without rest,

Continuously slaying ferocious beasts or meditating on natural thunder to improve his control over the All-Heavenly Divine Thunder.

But with such low beast density, he couldn't accumulate enough Energy Points.

"You can't have both fish and bear's paw—am I doomed to focus only on improving my ability proficiency here?"

Xu Jingming sighed, then opened the smart bracelet on his wrist.

Vvvvv—

A holographic map of the Thunderstorm Zone projected before him.

Based on thunder intensity, the zone was roughly divided into outer, middle, core, and innermost regions.

The closer to the center, the stronger the thunder's power.

According to his senior brother Jiang Luo, even a single thread of thunder in the innermost region could erase a Fifth-Rank Adept.

Only Sixth-Rank adepts with enhancement-type abilities could withstand it.

"I'm still in the middle region. I'll wait until I reach the core zone—maybe the beasts are concentrated there.

I can also test how strong a thunder strike my current physique can endure."

Xu Jingming closed the map and pressed deeper inward.

Another four hours passed; Xu Jingming, moving at full speed, was nearly at the Thunderstorm Core Zone.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ziiii! Ziiii!

Above the core zone, lightning streaked through thunderclouds; the thunderclaps were deafening.

The frequency of lightning strikes was far higher than in the middle region!

Ziiiiii!

A bolt of lightning, as thick as a bowl's mouth, struck ten meters to Xu Jingming's left front.

Soil exploded; the ground instantly cratered!

"No wonder this is the core zone—the thunder's power already feels dangerous to me."

Xu Jingming's gaze sharpened; he didn't immediately enter the core zone, but stood at its edge, preparing to sense the thunder's strength.

In ordinary thunderstorms, standing there and getting struck by lightning was as unlikely as winning a five-million-credit lottery.

But in the Thunderstorm Zone, lightning density was immense; Xu Jingming stood there—

And in less than a minute, a bolt struck down!

Ziiii!

Violent thunder poured over his head; Xu Jingming felt his body go numb, his skin slightly reddening.

"This lightning's power is indeed strong—it's affecting my Thunder-Immortal Body, Fourth Stage."

Xu Jingming exhaled slowly; if the power increased just a little more, he'd be injured.

"I'll need to maintain my ability's flow constantly if I enter the core zone."

Crackling!

Golden thunder surged forth, enveloping Xu Jingming entirely.

With the protective barrier formed by his SS-Rank ability, All-Heavenly Divine Thunder, his safety entering the core zone would greatly increase.

The downside: he'd constantly drain his energy, meaning he couldn't stay long in the core zone.

"Thunder beasts that survive in the core zone are at least Fourth-Rank.

There might even be Fifth-Rank beasts—next, I must be cautious."

Xu Jingming took a deep breath, gripping the Azure Black Dragon Spear in hand, and stepped into the core zone.

Second- and Third-Rank beasts could be handled with fist techniques, but for Fourth-Rank beasts, a long spear was safer.

After entering the core zone, Xu Jingming quickly searched for ferocious beasts.

To his disappointment, the core zone had few beasts too—within an hour, he found only one Fourth-Rank Low-Grade thunder beast.

After slaying it with the S-Rank technique Heavenly Thunder Art, he gained 231 Energy Points.

"Forget it, even if I get fewer ability points, I came to the Thunder Secret Realm just to improve my ability proficiency."

Xu Jingming felt a bit disappointed, but could only comfort himself this way.

"Ang——"

At that moment, a shrill cry suddenly rang out from the distant sky.

The cry was piercing, even drowning out the thunder, making Xu Jingming's eardrums ache.

Xu Jingming instinctively looked up and saw, five or six kilometers away, in the very heart of the thunderstorm zone.

A monstrous bird, as large as a fighter jet, with deep blue feathers like a giant eagle, soared through the sky!

Keep in mind that

The core of the thunderstorm zone was almost constantly shrouded in lightning and thunder.

Yet these bolts struck the monstrous bird without causing even a single scratch.

Instead, they made it emit excited cries one after another.

It even flew upward toward the dense thunderclouds, as if seeking even stronger lightning!

"Avian monster—Blue Feather Thunder Eagle! To bathe in lightning at the core zone, it must be at least sixth-rank!"

Xu Jingming quickly ducked beneath a large tree; avian monsters had excellent eyesight and could clearly see targets five or six kilometers away.

He had no intention of becoming this sixth-rank monster's target.

"This Blue Feather Thunder Eagle seems to be chasing stronger lightning—and it's not the only one.

The thunder beasts I've encountered along the way all seem to have a habit of using lightning.

For them, lightning isn't a threat at all; it's more like a tool to grow stronger..."

Xu Jingming rubbed his chin, his eyes suddenly brightening with a bold idea.

His SS-rank ability, Great Divine Thunder, was also a form of lightning. If he unleashed it at full power,

could he attract all the scattered monsters nearby?

If so, he wouldn't just get plenty of ability points—he could harvest a massive batch!