Chapter 707

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Torrential rain poured down, lightning roared, and in the neon-lit city, two human figures resembling monsters engaged in close-quarters combat.

One resembled a humanoid tyrannosaurus—tall, his body wreathed in lightning.

The bald man on the other side was enveloped in swirling blood qi, radiating an overwhelming pressure.

Wherever the two passed, it was as if a tornado had swept through—buildings collapsed, the ground cracked open, as if the end of the world had arrived.

"Huh? Shuang-jie sent a message?"

Xu Jingming halted his steps, and the phantom image of Lei Shen erupted above his head: "No time to keep fighting you."

SWISH SWISH SWISH—

In an instant, nearly thirty thunder-spears, radiating terrifying energy, coalesced and slammed toward the bald man!

Immediately after, a brilliant thunder dragon materialized out of thin air and struck as well.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!

Thunder shook the air, brilliant golden lightning flashed—and when the storm cleared, the bald man had been reduced to a charred corpse.

"S-class, you can now effortlessly slay an eighth-rank mid-tier Grand Master."

The little girl Eva appeared mid-air above the city, swinging her short legs as she giggled.

"That's not a problem, but I still can't kill an eighth-rank low-tier Grand Master of S-class."

Xu Jingming shook his head.

After that recent battle, he had roughly determined his combat strength.

Any energy user below S-class, even an eighth-rank mid-tier Grand Master, could be easily slain.

But he still couldn't reach the level of an eighth-rank high-tier Grand Master.

As for higher S-class energy awakeners, he could at best overpower an eighth-rank low-tier Grand Master.

He could dominate the fight, but couldn't kill.

"You've only just entered seventh-rank as an S-class, yet you can already overpower them—killing them is just a matter of time."

Eva wasn't worried at all.

After all, she had always seen Xu Jingming's monstrous talent.

"True enough." Xu Jingming smiled, then saw the message from Ling Shuang.

"Shuang-jie really thought of me—going out of her way to prepare a gift. I wonder what it is."

As Xu Jingming thought this, he quickly removed his neural helmet and returned to the real world.

SWISH—

His thunder dragon wings unfurled, and he flew straight out the window.

The central district was over a hundred kilometers away; taking a taxi would be too slow—he preferred flying.

The central district was the most prosperous of the five major districts of the mega-city Mocheng.

The Rhine Commercial Street was the most bustling thoroughfare within the central district.

The entire street stretched four to five kilometers, with shops lining both sides.

Not only did they sell energy-user-related battle suits, weapons, rare flowers and herbs,

but also luxury goods—many internationally renowned brands had chain stores here.

Flying was prohibited in the central district, so Xu Jingming landed at the city's edge.

He arrived at the entrance of Rhine Commercial Street precisely at six p. .

The sky hadn't yet darkened, but the entire Rhine Commercial Street was already bathed in neon glow.

Crowds bustled along the street, with fashionably dressed people everywhere.

These people had varied skin tones and clearly distinct national features.

Giant holographic projections on the walls of buildings along the street displayed lavish advertisements.

The entire street radiated prosperity, unmistakably the aura of an international metropolis.

"This is Rhine Commercial Street—truly bustling..." Xu Jingming mused inwardly.

On one hand, Rhine Commercial Street was indeed the most prosperous street he had ever seen.

Even the commercial streets of Mo Du couldn't compare.

On the other hand, he hadn't visited a commercial street in a long time.

For the past few months, he'd either been on the frontlines or in the wilderness.

"Since I'm finally getting a break, I'll take my time and stroll properly with Teacher Ling."

Xu Jingming didn't wait at the entrance of the commercial street as Ling Shuang had requested.

Instead, he blended into the crowd and walked in with them.

After all, Ling Shuang had prepared a gift for him—he should return the gesture, shouldn't he?

But he had nothing on him that girls typically liked, so this was a perfect chance to browse the street.

Ling Shuang was an eighth-rank mid-tier Grand Master; ordinary gifts were useless to her.

The gift had to have real practical value.

Xu Jingming's goal was simple: a top-grade eighth-rank protective talisman.

Although Ling Shuang possessed a space-type energy ability, she could still encounter danger.

A top-grade eighth-rank protective talisman would at least grant her extra breathing room.

But after wandering the commercial street for over half an hour, Xu Jingming found not a single top-grade eighth-rank protective talisman!

The highest available were seventh-rank—and they were shockingly expensive, priced at ten billion Star Credits!

"I was careless. I've never lacked protective talismans on me before."

I assumed they'd be available for purchase outside too."

"But I forgot—such life-saving items are never sold by anyone."

Xu Jingming shook his head and stepped into a shop named "Zhenbao Pavilion."

Zhenbao Pavilion was a multinational chain selling a wide variety of goods: rare flowers and herbs, scarce pills, and even SSS-class battle suits and weapons—it was a comprehensive store.

"If Zhenbao Pavilion doesn't have the top-grade eighth-rank protective talisman I need, I'll just have to buy a gift for Shuang-jie next time."

Xu Jingming currently had three protective talismans: one eighth-rank low-tier given by Ling Shuang,

one top-grade eighth-rank given by Su Teacher, and one ninth-rank won in the Talent Competition.

The first was useless to both him and Ling Shuang; the second was from Su Teacher—he couldn't give it away.

As for the ninth-rank talisman, even if he wanted to give it to Ling Shuang, she'd almost certainly refuse.

"Hello, sir. How may I assist you?"

As soon as he entered the lobby, a beautiful salesgirl immediately approached.

"I'm looking for a top-grade eighth-rank protective talisman. Do you have any?" Xu Jingming asked.

"E... ighth-rank top-grade protective talisman?" The female clerk froze.

Normally, her customers were mostly second- or third-rank, at most sixth-rank.

She never expected someone to walk in demanding a top-grade eighth-rank protective talisman!

Was this man an eighth-rank Grand Master?

Looking at Xu Jingming's unnaturally youthful face, she instinctively shook her head.

Just as she was about to speak, a middle-aged Caucasian man in a suit hurried over with a smile:

"Sir, I'm sorry, but Zhenbao Pavilion doesn't carry top-grade eighth-rank protective talismans."

"Not just us—even every shop on Rhine Commercial Street lacks them."

"You know such items are almost never sold. Please understand."

"But we do have top-grade seventh-rank protective talismans. Would you like to take a look?"

Though Caucasian, he spoke fluent Daxia.

It was a required skill for managers like him—speak the language matching the customer's nationality.

Even if you misidentified their country, it didn't matter—Daxia was one of the Six Great Powers of the Star.

The person wouldn't be offended; they'd be flattered.

"Never mind." Xu Jingming felt disappointed.

It was getting late. Just as he turned to head back to the Rhine Street entrance to wait for Ling Shuang, Eva's voice suddenly echoed in his mind:

"S-class, wait—I think I just spotted something familiar."

"S-class, wait, I think I've spotted something familiar."