Chapter 568 - 313: Struck by Heavenly Lightning

A searing heatwave carrying the pungent smell of ozone rushed toward him. The lightning hadn’t even struck, but its oppressive Power already felt like a mountain crashing down.

In that instant, the color drained from Su Chen’s face, and a chill shot down his spine.

’This Power... something’s wrong!’

He reacted in a flash. Streams of light interwove behind him, projecting the image of the Reflected Great Venerable onto his body. At the same time, he rapidly enhanced the various Secret Artifacts fused within him.

Due to absorbing the metallic solution, his body had been in a constant state of Secret Artifact Enhancement recently.

BOOM!

A blinding, incandescent white light exploded before Su Chen’s eyes. His limbs first grew as hot as branding irons, then an agonizing, needle-like pain erupted from the depths of his marrow. His muscles twitched uncontrollably, as if being repeatedly pummeled by an invisible sledgehammer. His bones groaned, and his blood felt like it was boiling.

"Cough, cough..."

A long moment later, the lightning finally dissipated. Su Chen gave a few dry coughs, black smoke puffing from his lips as he staggered backward.

The next instant, green fluorescent light emerged from all directions, scrambling to surge into his body. His injuries healed at a visible rate, and he quickly returned to normal.

"Copper Spirit, why was the Power of that lightning so immense?" Su Chen asked, steadying himself. If he hadn’t realized something was wrong and quickly fortified his body, he might have been struck dead.

"The attack intensity was calculated strictly according to the data stored in the system. It should have been within your tolerance range," the Copper Spirit replied, sounding perplexed.

"Well..." Su Chen was speechless. Then it dawned on him.

Whether it was the data saved in the challenge system or his physical performance when he previously adjusted the environmental flow rate here in Copper Heart, he had always been under the enhancement of the Soldier Master.

And the Copper Spirit had assumed that was his default state.

But now he was trying to comprehend the meaning of Vajra, so of course he wasn’t going to use the Soldier Master’s enhancement.

’Can’t blame the Copper Spirit,’ Su Chen thought. He could only say, "Lower the intensity. The upper limit for a regular Tier Six Professional will do. We can adjust it slowly from there. I’m honestly afraid you’re going to blast me to death."

"Please rest assured. Within Copper Heart, your life will never be in danger, no matter the circumstances," the Copper Spirit said in a gentle voice. "Even with the excessive intensity just now, I was prepared to intervene the moment your life was truly at risk."

"Fine, you’re incredible," Su Chen said after a moment of silence, giving it a thumbs-up.

’This Copper Heart really is something else,’ Su Chen mused. His injuries had been severe, but now he was completely healed. He had no idea what method was used, but it was definitely no ordinary medical treatment.

Outside, an injury that severe would have taken several days to fully heal, a significant waste of time.

"Let’s continue." He adjusted his condition and worked with the Copper Spirit, gradually regulating the intensity of the lightning strikes until he found a suitable range. He began his attempt to comprehend the so-called indomitable ferocity amidst the constant barrage.

...

「A few days later.」 Deep within the Punishment Hall, Wu Feng’s face was grim. Several high-ranking members of the Hall stood behind him, their expressions equally grim. The atmosphere was utterly silent.

"How could this happen?" one of the higher-ups couldn’t help but ask, his gaze fixed on the corpse on the floor. With bulging eyes and a contorted face, he had died with his eyes wide open. It was Fan Zhao.

"When did this happen?" another higher-up asked the guard of the prison sector, who stood to one side, drenched in a cold sweat.

The guard answered, trembling, "J-just a little while ago. About three hours ago. It was already like this when I made my patrol."

"Hall Master, should we handle this matter discreetly?" someone at his side asked cautiously. "Although the verdict on Fan Zhao was final and he was sentenced to death, the impact of a formal execution versus a sudden death in prison is completely different."

"I’ve already notified Qin Yun," Wu Feng stated, his expression cold. The faces of the men behind him paled slightly, but they held their tongues.

’Fan Zhao dying suddenly in prison is not a good look for the Punishment Hall. Was it really necessary to be this transparent?’

’Fan Zhao was going to die anyway, wouldn’t it have been better to handle this secretly?’ Though they were all dissatisfied, no one voiced their thoughts.

TAP... TAP...

The unconcealed sound of hurried footsteps approached. Everyone turned to see Qin Yun being led in by a member of the Punishment Hall staff.

Upon entering the prison sector, his eyes immediately fell upon Fan Zhao’s body on the floor. His expression changed drastically. In a flash, he appeared before the body and examined it closely. Qin Yun’s face grew even darker.

"He’s dead?" Qin Yun’s voice was thick with suppressed fury and a hint of confusion. His gaze landed on the expressionless Wu Feng. "Martial Hall Master, it wasn’t time for Fan Zhao’s execution, was it? Besides, this doesn’t look like a natural death."

With his power, a single glance told him that Fan Zhao’s body was weakened to an extreme degree, as if it had been completely hollowed out.

"He did not die of natural causes," Wu Feng confirmed, his gaze locked on Qin Yun. He showed no sign of backing down from the Morning Star Venerable’s questioning. "I asked you to come, Venerable, precisely so we could determine how Fan Zhao died."

As he spoke, Wu Feng waved his hand, and a virtual screen materialized. It displayed a recording of Fan Zhao’s final moments.

He had been sitting quietly in his cell when, for some unknown reason, his body suddenly began to convulse. He let out a series of low, mournful groans before quickly falling silent.

"This..." Qin Yun’s brow furrowed in confusion. "Martial Hall Master, what is this supposed to mean? Are you suggesting Fan Zhao committed suicide?"

Wu Feng stressed, "I cannot determine if it was suicide. However, these sudden convulsions only started recently. To be more precise, they began to occur after Qin Tianlin visited Fan Zhao in secret, behind my back."

"Tianlin?" Qin Yun’s heart jolted. He truly hadn’t known about this. But sensing the scrutinizing gaze from Wu Feng, he didn’t mince words.

"What are you implying, Martial Hall Master? The verdict on Fan Zhao was final, and my Qin Family had no objections to the death sentence. Even if we wanted to silence him, we wouldn’t choose to do it now, would we?"

The two men locked gazes, the atmosphere tense. Wu Feng’s brow twitched, and he suddenly said, "You are right, Venerable. Fan Zhao was your student, after all. This was an oversight on the part of the Punishment Hall. I will accept the punishment for it."

Qin Yun’s gaze swept over Fan Zhao’s body before landing on Wu Feng again. He composed himself and said coolly, "I trust that you, Martial Hall Master, will uncover the truth."

"As for my student..." His gaze fell back to Fan Zhao’s body. "Please have him cleaned and prepared for burial."

"Of course," Wu Feng nodded, watching Qin Yun depart.

As he left the Punishment Hall, Qin Yun’s eyes burned with a mixture of anger and faint regret. He returned directly to the Qin Family’s estate and swept the area with his Spiritual Power, but he couldn’t find Qin Tianlin.

"Young Master Tianlin has gone to Dragon Abyss," a steward said softly.

"Dragon Abyss? What is he doing at Dragon Abyss?" Qin Yun frowned.

The steward explained, "The preliminary ranking list is being released today, it seems. Young Master Tianlin appears intent on competing."

Competing? The anger in Qin Yun’s eyes flared. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he stormed out of the Qin Family estate and headed for Dragon Abyss.

He had to find out if Qin Tianlin was truly involved in Fan Zhao’s death!

...

RUMBLE!

A deafening roar accompanied a bolt of lightning that descended from the sky, striking Su Chen directly on the head. Arcs of electricity erupted, instantly swallowing him in a blinding, blue-white light.

Every inch of his muscle spasmed and twitched within the light. He felt the excruciating pain of his flesh being torn asunder—another round of gaping wounds.

However, Su Chen had grown accustomed to it. His eyes were startlingly bright. If one looked closely at his mangled wounds, a golden glint, finer than a spider’s thread and fainter than the light of dawn, had quietly emerged.

It possessed a strange quality that was neither flesh and blood, nor metal or stone.

Immediately, streams of green light surged from all directions and quickly repaired his body.

*Huuu...* Su Chen exhaled, but unlike before, he didn’t call for the Copper Spirit to send another bolt of lightning.

The endless torment had proven useful after all. Su Chen placed his right hand on his chest, feeling the powerful, surging beat within.

About ten days ago, under the constant barrage of lightning, he had begun to feel something irrepressible building within him, though he couldn’t identify its source.

After another ten days of this torture, the feeling grew even clearer, as if something was desperately trying to break free from inside his body.