Chapter 548: 420,000 Psychic Points! Advancement Marker Appears!

"An eighth-rank ferocious beast?!"

Xu Jingming's expression changed instantly; his spiritual force surged out and immediately activated the bracelet on his left hand.

This bracelet was gifted by Teacher Su Su Qingli, ranked at the peak of eighth-grade quality!

Hum—

In an instant, a pale white, transparent energy barrier erupted around Xu Jingming!

At that very moment, a deep crescent-shaped wind blade slashed toward him!

Shhh—

The wind blade, brimming with terrifying energy, slammed into the energy barrier, sparks flying everywhere.

Yet it ultimately failed to pierce the barrier's protection.

"Thank goodness I still have Teacher Su's protective talisman—otherwise, that blow would've killed me or left me critically wounded!"

Xu Jingming, still shaken, turned his gaze toward the source of the wind blade—and there, indeed, was a flying ferocious beast.

Its appearance resembled a kite bird, but its size was hundreds of times larger!

Its feathers glowed a pale blue-green, swirling with razor-sharp gales.

It was unmistakably a Lord-level Qingyu Qingyu Fengyan!

"Dare you distract yourself while fighting me? Seek death!"

With a cold snort, the human side's eighth-rank Wind Grand Master unleashed his psychic energy in attack.

Perhaps due to the sudden wind blade disrupting its rhythm, it was momentarily thrown into disarray.

"Good thing each eighth-rank ferocious beast has a corresponding eighth-rank Grand Master keeping watch.

Otherwise, being tangled by this Qingyu Qingyu Fengyan would've been a real headache."

Xu Jingming exhaled deeply.

But this also served as a warning to him.

On this complex frontline battlefield, he must remain ever-vigilant against sudden attacks from high-rank ferocious beasts.

"Teacher Su's protective talisman can only be used three times within twenty-four hours.

From now on, I must be even more cautious—avoid using the talisman unless absolutely necessary."

Xu Jingming thought silently.

All surrounding ferocious beasts had been cleared; it was time to move to the other side.

But just then—crack! —a brilliant blue-white lightning bolt slashed down!

"Thunder Barrier!" An instant, perfected Thunder Barrier enveloped Xu Jingming completely.

Boom!!

The blue-white lightning struck it with tremendous force.

Even some of the lightning pierced through, striking Xu Jingming directly.

His body went numb, as if electrocuted.

"Huh? The Thunder Barrier didn't fully block it?" Xu Jingming was surprised.

Moreover, the power of this lightning was astonishing.

His practiced Divine Thunder Indestructible Body was specifically trained by enduring lightning strikes.

He possessed extremely high resistance to lightning.

And this blue-white lightning had already been weakened twice—by the Thunder Barrier and his S-class battle armor.

Logically, even if it struck him directly, it should've had zero effect.

He looked up—and spotted the source of the lightning on the horizon.

It was a massive flying bird, drenched in blue-white lightning, its eyes sharp and pale blue.

Seeing Xu Jingming look its way, the bird opened its beak and spoke in human speech:

"Human, your opponent is me! Don't even think about killing my kind."

"Xu Jingming, that's a Lord-level Qingxu Leiniao, seventh-rank mid-tier.

More than one member of the Vanguard Team has fallen to it—be careful!"

Sha Ke shouted a warning from afar.

Flying ferocious beasts were a nightmare for psychic users without flight ability.

The initiative lay entirely with them.

They could strike or retreat at will—immensely frustrating.

And this Qingxu Leiniao controlled lightning, having already slain two seventh-rank low-tier Vanguard Team Grand Masters.

The Vanguard Team despised it, but due to its incredible mobility,

even seventh-rank peak Grand Masters couldn't catch it—so it had never been killed.

Yet unexpectedly, the ferocious beasts had also recognized Xu Jingming's devastating power and deliberately sent this one after him.

"Understood."

Xu Jingming replied, then fixed his gaze on the thunderbird and taunted:

"Want me to stop killing your kind? First try catching me!"

Shhh—

His Lei Long Wings unfurled, and Xu Jingming shot off into the distance.

The Qingxu Leiniao, seemingly fixated on him, followed closely behind.

Undeniably, as a seventh-rank mid-tier flying ferocious beast, the Qingxu Leiniao was incredibly fast.

Even with Xu Jingming's flight speed at 400 meters per second in Lei Ji Tai, it still caught up effortlessly.

"Human, you're still too green to race me in flight speed!"

A mocking voice rang out as the Qingxu Leiniao opened its beak and unleashed another lightning bolt.

Crackling—

Brilliant golden lightning encircled Xu Jingming, neutralizing the incoming strike.

"This guy's really a pain..." Xu Jingming frowned.

The Qingxu Leiniao also controlled lightning and possessed strong resistance to his lightning-based psychic abilities.

His current strength was roughly equal to this Qingxu Leiniao's, perhaps even slightly weaker.

Even if he activated Lei Bao Tai, he might gain the upper hand—but couldn't kill it.

"With this guy's lightning interference, my Doushen Doushen Shenlei's damage against ferocious beasts is drastically reduced."

Ferocious beasts weren't fools—they wouldn't let a super-tier killer slaughter their low-rank kind unchecked.

The same applied to humans: once a seventh- or eighth-rank ferocious beast broke through,

they immediately dispatched an equivalent-level psychic user to counter it and prevent escalating casualties.

Thus, after casting Lei Long Shu, Xu Jingming had already prepared for being targeted.

But he hadn't expected the ferocious beasts to send this seventh-rank mid-tier lightning-type beast.

"I can't beat it, and it can't kill me—I'll just stall for now.

Luckily, my lightning's range is long enough to still kill plenty of ferocious beasts."

After a moment's thought, Xu Jingming unfurled his Lei Long Wings again and flew at top speed.

Dodging the Qingxu Leiniao, he extended Doushen Doushen Shenlei outward, continuously slaughtering ferocious beasts.

Though the presence of the Qingxu Leiniao behind him slightly lowered his kill efficiency,

the system panel's psychic points were still skyrocketing at an astonishing rate!

In just over two hours, they surged from 350,000 to 420,000 psychic points!

Simultaneously, a small plus sign finally appeared after the level on the system panel!

"420,000 psychic points! Finally enough to advance to sixth rank!"

Xu Jingming, soaring through the air, wore a look of wild joy.

Under the combined drain of Lei Ji Tai and Lei Long Wings—even with the Jiyao Jiyao Lei Huan's backup psychic energy—

his psychic energy was nearly exhausted!

If he waited a few more minutes, he'd have to return to Zhen'an City to train.

Fortunately, he'd met the advancement condition just before resting!