Chapter 74: Electric Charge Surge

Absorbing the soul of a Mid-stage transcendent provides electric charge far beyond expectations.

Before that, the soul of that fourth-level female gunner had already been absorbed by Lei En, causing his electric charge to surge by twenty‑five units to 45%, since he didn't examine it closely during battle.

The soul of this sixth-level Elementalist is far stronger than that of the fourth-level female gunner, and the electric charge skyrockets even more.

In the illusory phone interface, one unit after another of electric charge is filled.

From 45% it keeps soaring, rising a few units each second, the numeric display of electric charge flickering rapidly; within just a few seconds it breaks past 90%, about to reach full.

A massive energy invisible to the naked eye fills the whole body.

The World Tree within the soul expands like time‑lapse photography, growing larger each second; the only three golden leaves emit a faint glow, making the whole tree more vivid.

Lei En is in a strange state, his head feels slightly swollen, as if mildly drunk yet very clear‑headed, experiencing an indescribable comfort and exhilaration!

After a few seconds, the electric charge reaches 100%, finally full.

At the moment of full charge, Lei En's soul instantly changes, the energy in his mind boils, the World Tree trembles lightly, and he feels as if he might start to float.

His spirit is a bit dazed, yet not completely out of control, and is developing in a positive direction.

"Soul Ascension, I'm about to level up!"

Lei En feels joy; this is the inevitable path for every transcendent to increase strength.

The soul keeps strengthening; upon reaching a node it undergoes a change, then merges a new demon soul or Law Seal, and the class level also rises by one. Ascension signifies a step up in power; its enhancement is far weaker than Soul Transformation, of course painless, and lasts a short time.

Even though brief, it still lasts a while.

Lei En barely suppresses the exhilaration from the soul ascension, gripping his blood‑stained war hammer, his gaze scanning back and forth over the ice.

He hasn't forgotten that a shadow warrior may be lurking nearby.

In the sky, Viola also searches for the enemy's trace.

The two remain vigilant for half a minute but find nothing; the frozen lake surface only carries the sound of cold wind.

"Could he have already left?"

Lei En thinks this, when suddenly a faint footstep reaches his ears; he locks onto the source and turns.

At the edge of the Ice Domain Technique, a faint silhouette appears, leaping off the surface; its posture is light, as if weightless, sprinting swiftly across the water.

Clap clap clap…

The shadow warrior's feet skim the water, light as a swallow, moving at extreme speed; soon it vanishes from sight, leaving a series of ripples spreading across the lake.

"Walking on water, running so fast!"

Lei En has long known the opponent possesses this Element, and even though he can see far and lock onto the target, he cannot catch up.

Clearly, the shadow warrior, seeing the unfavorable situation, abandoned the assassination.

Lei En is thoughtful.

In fact, he had long suspected the shadow warrior isn't allied with the other two; they don't know each other. Otherwise, after being wounded, the opponent wouldn't stay hidden watching as the Elementalist and the female gunner are killed.

If the shadow warrior had assisted from the shadows, the battle wouldn't have ended so quickly.

"Such a formidable shadow warrior, yet his background is unknown; who sent him to assassinate Viola?" Lei En finally has time to contemplate what just happened.

He first rules out the Shadow Blade assassin, because this shadow warrior is not a follower of Luo Xi.

The opponent's flame of faith is deep blue, like waves and raging wind, surging endlessly, indicating devotion to the 'Storm Lord' Kesu La, a capricious yet immensely powerful deity.

Kesu La is also revered as the 'Sea God', ruling the world's seas, countless islands, and many coastal nations.

His divine offices are many, including 'Ocean', 'Sky', 'Storm', 'Tide', 'Sea Race', 'Sea Monster', 'Water Element', 'Horror', etc.; the number of followers is incalculable, making him one of Ai Lun E Si's strongest deities.

Within the Empire, followers of the Storm Lord are few; most reside in coastal areas, and the farther inland, the fewer the believers.

Longshande lies in the central Empire, so encounters with Sea God followers are rare here, with not even a single temple.

"A shadow warrior who worships the Storm Lord is indeed quite rare."

Lei En memorizes this enemy; although he hasn't seen its appearance, the soul Element traits will allow him to recognize it if encountered again.

Viola descends to his side: "Lei En, how are your injuries?"

She pulls out several vials of medicine and scrolls, all for healing.

"I'm fine, don't waste those," Lei En shakes his head lightly, finally having time to check his wounds.

He looks down, finds a metal projectile lodged in his shoulder, then contracts his muscles to push it out, leaving a fingertip‑sized hole.

He tears off the damaged clothing; the skin between chest and abdomen is heavily charred, as if fire had seared it to a medium‑rare state, flesh and blood blurred, looking quite terrifying.

But it's only frightening to look at; in fact it hasn't injured the interior.

Lei En feels a lingering fear, laughing: "Luckily you gave me a bottle of flame‑resistance potion; otherwise that scorching ray would have pierced me."

Ray‑type spells have a small area, focused on a point, yet their penetration is astonishing.

Even the thick armor of an ice‑clad bear is pierced in a single strike.

Ordinary transcendants could hardly withstand it.

"You're too reckless, using your body to block a scorching ray; promise me you'll never do that again." Viola, with a look of concern, reaches out, gently presses her hand on Lei En's scorched chest, and a cool stream of water gathers, washing over his skin.

"I couldn't dodge, there was nothing I could do."

Lei En's face is full of smiles, reveling in the dual pleasure of soul ascension and hydrotherapy, almost unable to suppress a strange sound.

He looks down at the nearby Half‑elf, inhaling the scent of her flowing hair; a faint fragrance drifts into his nostrils, stirring his heart.

Viola focuses on healing and does not notice his gaze.

The charred skin recovers at a visible speed, the blackness fading to normal complexion, and the muscles beneath heal anew, as if uninjured.

Viola is surprised; her hydrotherapy doesn't seem that powerful—could Lei En possess a self‑healing Element as well?

She lifts her head to ask, and their gazes instantly lock.

The two stare for a few seconds; Lei En's hand reaches to act, but Viola quickly steps back, smiling and pointing at his forehead.

Lei En reacts, noticing the blood on his forehead has already coagulated; he wipes it away, and the clots crumble.

"I didn't scar my face, did I?" he asks, somewhat worried.

Viola mutters the spell, a broad bright water mirror forms, she covers her mouth and laughs, "Take a look yourself."

Lei En hurried forward, looked into the mirror, wiped the blood from his head, and found a shallow dent on his forehead from the blast, largely healed, likely won't scar.

He let out a breath, glad his appearance wasn't ruined, otherwise it would have been a big loss.

"Do you care that much about looks?" Viola flicked a stream of water from her fingertip onto Lei En's forehead, healing the blast wound.

"Cough, it's fine, I'm not that concerned."

Lei En let out a dry cough, masking his embarrassment, crouched to rummage through the elemental's corpse.

"It's time to loot!"

The elemental's gear was sparse; the most valuable was an enchanted weapon shaped like a dagger, entirely crimson, with a few runes on the hilt, just over a foot long, material unknown, and it felt warm to the hand.

The Empire's Wizards dislike traditional staves, often shrinking them into short rods and reshaping them into short swords or daggers, both elegant and handy, usable as melee blades in a pinch.

Viola's weapon was also a curved short sword.

Lei En handed the crimson dagger to Viola, she appraised it and said, "This spell dagger enhances fire element affinity, boosting fire spells' power, worth about eight hundred Gold Shields."

"You keep it for now."

Lei En also plucked a silver ring from the elemental's finger, noticed the elemental's robe was enchanted as well, and stripped it off.

Seeing the headless corpse left only with an undershirt and shorts, Viola shook her head helplessly and reminded, "The Ice Domain Technique's duration is ending; we need to return to the yacht."

"Alright, just a moment."

Lei En retrieved his shotgun, and didn't forget the female gunner's corpse; among the gore he found her soul gun and a belt pouch holding assorted ammunition.

The two returned to the yacht, and the lake surface began to thaw.

After a dozen breaths, the ice fully melted, the temperature warmed, the two bodies sank beneath the water as if nothing had happened.

Viola raised her hand, a spell summoned ten cold ravens from the sky; two dispersed back to the Soul Gathering Tower, the remaining eight turned back into a stack of soul cards.

The Frost Giant and the Ice‑armored Bear also turned into blue light and fell into her hand.

Lei En entered the yacht's lower cabin; servants, guards and pilots lay sprawled on the floor, all unconscious but unharmed.

A faint strange odor lingered in the air, likely a toxin that induces unconsciousness.

Lei En held his breath and dragged everyone onto the deck.

Viola raised her hand and cast, the cold lake water splashed onto their faces, and they quickly woke. One transcendent guard of the Title: Duke's family leapt up, shouting, "Assassin!"

Immediately, he saw Lei En and Viola, and the damaged yacht, and his face turned bewildered.

Viola didn't blame them; the two guards were average, only second‑rank transcendent, those assassins were beyond their ability to handle.

She comforted everyone briefly, used a spell to clear the cabin's toxin, and decided to set sail immediately.

The yacht's main structure remained intact; only the top deck was damaged, and a large hole was punched in a second‑level wall by Lei En's hammer, but it didn't affect navigation.

Soon after setting off, Lei En's soul finally calmed.

The ascension was complete!

(End of chapter)