Chapter 966: Attack! Xu Jingming

The void stones in the ninth layer of this Breakthrough Tower seem far more abundant than in the first two layers.

High above, Su Qingli floated through the air, her body wreathed in emerald thunder, speaking softly.

"Indeed."

Xu Jingming nodded with a smile, "In a few more days, we should have gathered three million void stones."

The location of the monstrous beast is not far from here.

Even with the Iron Lotus restricting us to slow flight, we can reach it within a few hours.

But he underestimated the richness of the underground void stones.

In these three days, they had only traveled four hundred kilometers.

The vast majority of their time was spent collecting void stones.

Of course, the harvest was extremely rich—they had already gathered 2.72 million.

"Should be about enough."

Su Qingli smiled lightly and nodded, about to speak again.

Xu Jingming’s entire body broke out in goosebumps, as if an extremely terrifying threat was about to arrive!

His SS-rank perception combat technique, Mind Net, had remained active, his vast spiritual force spreading around him.

Almost instantly, he sensed an energy shockwave approaching from about five kilometers ahead!

And its target was Su Qingli beside him!

The energy shockwave moved at incredible speed—nearly the speed of light!

Five kilometers, relative to light speed, would take only a few microseconds to cross.

If this had been before, Xu Jingming might have sensed the shockwave but could not have reacted in time.

After all, biological signal transmission also takes time.

But his Body Tempering technique had broken through to the Tenth Level—his reaction speed was no longer comparable to ordinary psychics.

A few microseconds were already enough for him to react!

"Chaos Divine Thunder!"

Time was too slow—he had no chance to cast any combat technique; he could only unleash his psychic energy!

Boom—

Within a one-kilometer radius, the area instantly became a sea of black thunder.

Puff—

The shockwave entered the thunder sea and its speed instantly dropped to one-thousandth the speed of light.

This finally gave Xu Jingming breathing room—he rapidly channeled his psychic energy and spiritual force.

A thick barrier of lightning swiftly formed, enveloping him and Su Qingli.

Azure Thunder Shield!

An SSS-rank defensive combat technique.

The instant the Azure Thunder Shield took shape, the energy beam slammed into it!

Whoosh—

The shield trembled slightly, its surface rippling with faint waves.

Its power barely diminished at all, completely blocking the beam from penetrating.

Laser guns rely on surprise—their power isn’t actually strong, comparable to an S-rank technique released by a ninth-rank lower-tier Law Saint.

With Xu Jingming’s current strength, he could easily defend against it.

From sensing the beam to deploying defense, the entire process took less than 0.1 seconds!

This was the terrifying reaction speed granted by his Body Tempering technique breaking through to the Tenth Level.

"Enemy!"

Su Qingli finally reacted, her eyebrows furrowed, Jade Clear Thunder surging around her body.

"To the right front."

Xu Jingming’s expression turned icy.

He immediately activated Thunder Storm Mode and shot toward the location, Su Qingli following closely behind.

"It actually blocked that?"

Shima Taiyi nearly popped his eyes out five kilometers away.

That was a laser gun!

The high-energy beam reached light-speed levels!

If a ninth-rank peak had reacted, he could understand.

But Xu Jingming was only eighth-rank mid-tier!

Could his reaction speed be this fast?

Keep in mind that Su Qingli beside him didn't notice anything at all at first!

"No good—I must flee immediately!"

Shima Taiyi knew this was no time for confusion.

He immediately activated his psychic ability and fled at full speed.

Suddenly—

A piercing thunderclap rang out; endless black lightning converged, forming a cage that trapped him inside.

He could feel that even a single spark of lightning from this thunder cage could obliterate him instantly...

"It’s over!"

Shima Taiyi’s heart turned to ash; he collapsed to his knees with a thud.

Shhh—

Just a few seconds later, Xu Jingming and Su Qingli landed on the ground nearby.

"So he’s just a seventh-rank Master?"

Su Qingli’s face showed surprise; Xu Jingming was also puzzled.

When did seventh-rank Masters gain attack strength capable of threatening ninth-rank psychics?

"Looks like a Sakura Nation person."

"How do you know?"

"Sakura Nation people are naturally short—I can tell at a glance."

Xu Jingming smiled and walked steadily toward Shima Taiyi.

Before he could even approach, Shima Taiyi began kowtowing in desperation:

"Master Xu! Please spare my life!"

Thud! Thud! Thud...

The hard ground actually echoed with the sound of his head banging against it.

The heavy Sakura Nation accent in his Daxia speech made his origin obvious.

"So he really is from Sakura Nation?"

Su Qingli was surprised.

But upon reflection, most Sakura Nation psychics did indeed match Xu Jingming’s description.

"Speak—how did you manage that attack just now?"

Xu Jingming looked down at him.

Shima Taiyi was far too weak—he had to slightly restrain his aura.

Otherwise, the pressure naturally radiating from Thunder Storm Mode alone would have paralyzed him, leaving him unable to speak.

"Will you spare me if I tell you?"

Shima Taiyi spoke cautiously.

"What do you think?" Xu Jingming’s gaze was icy.

Shima Taiyi’s face turned pale; he took a deep breath and declared firmly:

"I’ll be straight—this device, if I die, you’ll never find it!

Unless you let me go, I’d rather die than reveal this secret!"

The laser gun was his last card.

As long as Xu Jingming needed him, he still had a chance at survival!

"What a nuisance." Xu Jingming frowned.

He had no patience for pretending to agree—he unleashed a torrent of spiritual force, forming a peculiar mark.

Shhh—

The mark swiftly sank into Shima Taiyi’s forehead.

In an instant, the once-defiant Shima Taiyi became instantly submissive:

"Master."

"What technique is that?"

Su Qingli’s eyes widened, her delicate oval face filled with astonishment.

"Soul Slave Mark—a simple mental manipulation combat technique."

Xu Jingming explained.

For same-rank psychics, the Slave Heart Seal might not take effect so easily.

But this man is merely a Seventh-Rank Master, with weak mental energy—easy to implant the Slave Heart Seal.

“A simple mental manipulation technique? Why can’t I learn it?”

Su Qingli silently grumbled in her heart.

She had once studied mental techniques, but could only master B-rank and A-rank mental techniques.

Any higher rank, and she simply couldn’t learn them.

But from Xu Jingming’s tone, this technique seemed as if one could learn it just by glancing at it...