Chapter 65: 8,000 Psychic Points! Luxurious Panel!

One month later, Ping’an County.

A four-member psychic team walked along the ruined city streets.

Compared to other psychic teams roaming the wilderness zone, this team seemed unusually casual.

Each member carried their weapons on their backs, showing not a hint of tension.

“Captain, what’s going on with Ping’an County?

We’ve been wandering all day—how come we haven’t seen a single beast?”

One of the team members couldn’t help but complain.

They had arrived in Ping’an County the night before, and immediately noticed something was off.

The entire county was unnaturally quiet.

But nighttime visibility was poor, and many beasts were nocturnal, so they didn’t investigate further.

Then, the next morning, when they prepared to begin hunting beasts,

they discovered the entire county was as lifeless as a dead city—eerily silent!

As a result, from morning until afternoon, they hadn’t encountered a single beast!

In the past, they would’ve already started hunting by now!

“You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask?”

The captain was a bald, burly man who was clearly on the verge of exploding—he snapped back irritably.

“There were at least five or six hundred beasts in Ping’an County.

Such a massive population couldn’t possibly vanish so completely—even if they migrated.”

One team member frowned.

Ping’an County was a place their team frequently visited.

Yet they never expected that after just a month away, the place had changed so drastically.

“Let’s search for two more hours. If there are still no beasts, we’ll move on.”

The bald, burly captain said in a low voice.

They knew the terrain and beast distributions of Ping’an County intimately.

If they switched locations, they’d have to spend considerable time familiarizing themselves again.

Unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to abandon this place.

“Roar—”

At that moment, a second-rank lower-tier Arm-Knife Tiger leapt out from a nearby abandoned building, appearing in their line of sight.

“It’s an Arm-Knife Tiger!”

For their team—all members above second rank—a second-rank lower-tier Arm-Knife Tiger was nothing special.

But after an entire day without seeing a single beast,

each of them stared at the tiger with eyes gleaming green like starving ghosts.

Finally! So hard to come by!

First beast we’ve seen!

The bald captain’s face lit up—he waved his hand loudly:

“Everyone, attack! Kill it!”

Everyone was especially eager for today’s first prey.

Especially a middle-aged man with a greatsword—he closed the distance in three strides and was about to charge forward—

BOOM!!

A sound like a sonic boom echoed from a distant high-rise!

Instantly, a thick, blue-purple lightning spear—like a cruise missile—shot from the horizon at blinding speed!

“What the hell is that?!”

Before anyone could react,

with a thunderous crash, the lightning spear struck the Arm-Knife Tiger directly!

Crackling—pop—

The ground trembled as arcs of electricity hissed and danced.

A terrifying blue-purple lightning mushroom cloud rose from the spot!

The entire Arm-Knife Tiger was instantly obliterated into ash!

“Holy shit!”

The closest burly man flinched, his longsword dropping from his trembling hand.

If he’d taken just one more step forward, he’d be the one reduced to ash!

The rest of the team were equally stunned. One member trembled as he asked the team’s strongest member:

“C...Captain, what was that? A new laser weapon?”

Beasts had thick hides and tough skin—ordinary bullets and missiles barely pierced them.

Only laser weapons could inflict this kind of damage.

“No. Laser weapons are faster. This looks like a lightning-based combat technique.”

The bald captain glanced toward the distant high-rise, then quickly ordered with a grim expression:

“Let’s go. Ping’an County must have been seized by some powerful individual.

That strike was probably a warning to us.”

“No wonder we couldn’t find any beasts—they must’ve all been killed by that lightning user!”

“Whoa, that lightning spear’s power was terrifying—I’m still trembling.”

"Let's go! If we delay and anger that powerful being, we're finished!"

“......”

The group quickly changed direction and hurried away from Ping’an County.

Afraid that moving too slowly might provoke another lightning spear from that powerful being...

“Ding. Slain one second-rank lower-tier Arm-Knife Tiger. Gained 19 psychic points.”

On the rooftop of a high-rise in Ping’an County,

a tall young man slowly retracted his right hand, still crackling with blue-purple lightning.

This man was Xu Jingming, who had stayed in Ping’an County for over a month.

Compared to when he first entered the county a month ago—clean and neat—he now looked disheveled.

His black combat suit was splattered with dark red bloodstains; some areas were torn, and his boots were caked in dust.

Of all his gear, only the Dark Cloud Wind Spear slung behind him remained relatively clean, still showing its original dark gold hue.

His short hair had grown into medium length, and his chin bore a thick stubble.

Yet this didn’t diminish his looks—it added a touch of ruggedness.

Especially his piercing, clear black-and-white eyes.

They gave off an aura of deep experience, yet still retained a youthful purity.

This appearance held a deadly allure for middle-aged women.

“With high-level proficiency in Lightning Spear, the attack range has surged to over a thousand meters. Not bad.”

A smile appeared on Xu Jingming’s determined face.

The lightning spear he’d just fired was the result of upgrading his A-rank technique, Lei Mao, to high-level proficiency.

The outcome was even better than he’d expected.

“Speaking of which, the beasts in Ping’an County are dwindling. It’s time to move to a new location.”

Ping’an County had held roughly five hundred second-rank beasts.

After a month of relentless slaughter, nearly all five hundred had been converted into psychic points!

8,000 psychic points!

This was the rough total Xu Jingming had accumulated.

Why “rough”? Because every time he gained psychic points, he immediately spent them—he never saved up!

And his current panel was nothing short of luxurious!

【Name】: Xu Jingming

【Rank】: Second-Rank Upper

【Psychic Ability】: Purple Thunder Divine Lightning (S)

【Physique】: 1310 Qi (+)

【Spirit】: 972 He (+)

【Skills】: Spear Technique (Master), Fist Technique (Intermediate), Lightning Spear (High-Level), Chain Lightning Spear (Intermediate), Lightning Flash (High-Level), Thunder Prison (Intermediate), Lightning Wind Break (High-Level)

【Body Cultivation】: Thunder Indestructible Body (Third Stage)

【Psychic Points】: 112

His rank had leapt directly from First-Rank Upper to Second-Rank Upper!

The S-rank body cultivation technique, Thunder Indestructible Body, had advanced to the Third Stage—he’d successfully mastered Thunder Extreme Form!

His Spear Technique had reached Master level—the very pinnacle most psychics could never attain in a lifetime!

All his other techniques had been raised to at least Intermediate level!

One month to reach upper second-rank level.

The third layer of Thunder Imperishable Body, plus multiple A-rank combat techniques with intermediate proficiency!

Besides me, who else could do it?

At this moment, Xu Jingming was filled with grand ambition, his clear eyes shining brightly.

Though the Deep Blue System played a part, his own efforts were equally indelible!

“Tonight, pack everything up. Tomorrow, return to the supply base first, then push deeper into the wilderness!”

Xu Jingming withdrew his gaze, descended from the rooftop, and returned to his room inside the building.

It was a modest room of over thirty square meters—his temporary base in Ping’an County.

The room contained nothing but a desk and a bed.

Though simple, it was the only room among more than a dozen he’d checked that was still passable.

Furniture in all other rooms had long since rotted away, unfit even for sleeping.

In the corner of the room stood a massive black tactical backpack.

A standard tactical backpack could hold at most one or two hundred kilograms.

Yet this one had been stuffed by Xu Jingming with over four hundred kilograms of gear!

It had swollen into a bloated, overstuffed version of itself.

“Good thing I bought the reinforced model—otherwise, this weight would’ve torn it apart.”

Xu Jingming walked to the corner, opened the backpack, and found inside cleaned arm-blades, tiger sinews, cat claws, and rhino horns.

These were the most valuable parts of the ferocious beasts.

When he first entered Ping’an County,

Xu Jingming would meticulously harvest every usable material from every beast he killed.

But he soon realized the backpack couldn’t possibly hold it all.

So later on, he collected only the most valuable parts.

Even so, he’d still gathered nearly four hundred kilograms of beast materials.

As for rare herbs and exotic flowers, perhaps Xu Jingming didn’t recognize them, or perhaps they only grew deep in forests and mountains.

Either way, during his time in Ping’an County, he hadn’t seen a single one.

“What should I eat tonight...”

Xu Jingming scanned the contents of the backpack and finally selected a massive tiger sinew.

Duang~~

The sinew was supremely elastic; as he lightly lifted it, both ends bounced uncontrollably up and down.

He skillfully threaded the sinew onto a bamboo pole, then a flash of Lei Guang ignited the pile of firewood in the room.

He propped the pole over the fire, and soon the sinew—still clinging to bits of meat—turned golden-bright, exuding rich aroma.

Xu Jingming picked up the pole, bit into the sinew, and nodded in satisfaction at its springy texture and mouthwatering flavor.

Though he’d brought over a month’s supply of fresh water and energy bars,

energy bars had almost no taste—fine for filling the stomach, but unbearable to eat long-term.

So later on, Xu Jingming mostly skipped the bars and opted for freshly grilled meat.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t brought any seasonings—otherwise it would’ve been even better.

“Tomorrow, when I return to the supply base, I’ll buy a pot and a full set of seasonings.

When I crave meat, I’ll just pick a beast, kill it, and cook it fresh.”

This made him think of some fishermen from his past life.

They prized nothing but freshness and authenticity!

Since Ping’an County had almost no ferocious beasts left—even the few remaining were mere scraps,

after dinner Xu Jingming didn’t go out hunting again. He trained in his room until eleven at night, then lay on the bed and slipped into light sleep.

Early the next morning, he slung his towering tactical backpack and set off toward the supply base.