Chapter One Hundred and Ten: Tomorrow Night's Operation

At that instant, a violent gale swept through the heavens, and I could also feel a torrent of spiritual energy surging out from my fingers. In the next second, five blue bolts of lightning suddenly appeared before me.

They struck at once. Just as they were about to hit the beasts, they converged into a single massive bolt.

With a deafening roar, the ground trembled several times. The beasts before me were all obliterated, reduced to nothing, not even ash remaining.

I did not linger. I hurried down the mountain. After unleashing the Five Thunder Art, the spiritual energy within me was nearly depleted. The moment I left the Black Forest, I collapsed onto the ground and lost consciousness.

...

When I woke again, I was lying in a bed.

I opened my eyes and looked around. This was a place I had never been before. I struggled up and looked outside. If I remembered correctly, this should be the Healing Hall, the sect’s infirmary.

I glanced at the bandages wrapped around me. It seemed the wounds had mostly healed, so I removed them myself.

At that moment, someone walked in from outside. I recognized him; he was the head physician here in the Healing Hall, a man of remarkable skill.

The old man was already advanced in years, with a beard so long it nearly reached his chest.

"Young friend," he said, staring at me in disbelief, "I have practiced medicine for decades, and I have never seen anyone recover this quickly..."

He kept looking at the scar on my shoulder for a long time, his face full of disbelief.

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

The old man held up one finger.

"Only one day."

Only one day? That startled me. I thought it had been a whole week.

"Um... I have to go back," I said.

After speaking, I was about to get up and leave, but the old man stopped me from behind.

"Elder Yuan said that once you wake up, I should give you these sets of clothes."

As he spoke, he rummaged through the cabinet and took out several sets of garments.

He probably knew I had no clothes to wear, so he had thoughtfully prepared a few extra sets for me.

I nodded and then left.

First I found a restroom in the building, stripped off my old clothes, and changed into the new ones. Otherwise I would have been covered in blood from head to toe, and that would hardly have been dignified.

After changing, I casually threw the old clothes into the trash, stuffed the remaining sets into my ring, and then headed out.

The sun was already high, around ten in the morning. Just as I had thought, the core disciples were out attending class.

When I reached the plaza, I indeed saw my fellow disciples.

That lesson was a boxing class, and everyone was practicing a set of punches I did not recognize in perfect order.

I walked over slowly, and some people noticed me.

I glanced at the instructor teaching the boxing forms, and he noticed me at the same time.

He waved for everyone to stop, then pulled me out in front of the whole group and said, "Yesterday, Lin Yao saved many lives. Everyone should learn from him!"

The people I had saved yesterday were all teary-eyed, and Zhang Shun was no exception.

After all, I had risked my life to give him the protective talisman yesterday; otherwise he would already have been reporting to the underworld.

"We’re all fellow disciples. It was nothing, really. No need for this," I said.

With that, I stepped to the front and motioned for the instructor to continue.

The instructor was not one for fussing, and he immediately began demonstrating the punches again.

After following along for one class, I discovered that my physical condition seemed to have risen to a whole new level. Perhaps it was also the result of years of gradual accumulation.

After class, Luan Teng and Zhang Shun came over together to thank me, then invited me to go with them to the dining hall for lunch.

I was hungry as well, so I happily agreed. Along the way, Luan Teng also told me what had happened yesterday.

After I had fainted yesterday, it was Luan Teng who found me. Because I had passed out, everyone had withdrawn from Divine Edge Mountain ahead of schedule.

Once we came out, the instructor personally sent me to the Healing Hall, and I had remained there until now.

I nodded, then asked whether anyone had died yesterday. At that, Luan Teng’s expression darkened at once.

It turned out that there had been a young man at the first rank of the Spirit Flower stage who refused to listen to reason and insisted on going his own way. In the end, his body was found beside a boulder.

I was not particularly saddened by it. First, I had not known him well; second, if this was training, then accidents were bound to happen. One could only say the boy had been unlucky.

As we talked, the three of us arrived at the dining hall. It was noon, and the place was packed.

We found an empty table and sat down. Zhang Shun went to fetch the food while Luan Teng and I waited there.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted that guy, Shi Lei. I had never looked at him closely before, but this time I noticed he had grown much thinner. It had to be a side effect of cultivating that evil art.

He was eating alone with his head down and did not notice me.

Thinking of Shi Lei, I could not help recalling the scene from that night, when he had staggered down the mountain in utter disgrace.

Since Shi Lei had been beaten to that state, going up there myself would surely have been a death sentence. But compared with the Ghost King, I was more willing to take the gamble.

Just then, Zhang Shun returned carrying a pile of dishes. Crawfish, barbecue, spicy dry pot, pot-braised chicken—everything looked so tempting it made my eyes blur. From this alone, one could tell how formidable the financial strength of Heavenly Sun Mountain truly was. The dining hall’s monthly expenses alone must be considerable.

I casually picked up a piece of meat and put it in my mouth, then asked Zhang Shun, "If we want to leave the mountain gate, who are we supposed to report to?"

Zhang Shun thought for a moment, then told me, "If you’re leaving the mountain gate, it’s either to go out and train, or to take on some upright mission like striking the rich and helping the poor. If you want to ask for leave, though, you have to report to the Affairs Elder."

I nodded. So taking leave was not really difficult after all. Once I got the item I needed, I intended to leave without lingering.

After lunch, the three of us returned to the dormitory. The instructor had told me that since my injuries had just healed, I did not need to attend afternoon class. There was still plenty of time before the afternoon lesson, and Luan Teng and Zhang Shun planned to head back with me and rest a while.

Zhang Shun’s dorm was on the first floor, so he returned there first. Luan Teng and I went up to the fifth floor, then parted ways as well.

Back in my room, I lit a cigarette and began to think things over.

In any case, I would have to make a trip to Giant Wolf Mountain sooner or later. Then let it be tomorrow night.

So this afternoon, I still needed to study the new technique as much as possible and strive to etch the Five Thunder Art into my bones.

But it did not seem nearly so simple. After trying several times, I kept getting it wrong. Yesterday may well have been nothing more than luck.

I had already witnessed the power of the Five Thunder Art. With my current strength, I could probably use it only once, so it had to be treated as my final trump card.

I sat on the sofa and took out the Heavenly Path Finger Art.

My top priority now was to become familiar with the Five Thunder Art. No sooner said than done, I began once again to move my fingers over and over.

Time passed slowly, drop by drop, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not grasp the Five Thunder Art. This was not something that could be learned by rote alone; one also had to master certain tricks and methods.

Whenever the strain gave me a headache, I would put the book down, smoke a cigarette, and continue practicing.

By a little after six in the evening, I was still not very proficient. This might have been the slowest I had ever learned any finger technique.

I put the book away and prepared to go downstairs for a walk and get some air.

Just as I was about to reach the first floor, I heard a loud quarrel breaking out in the plaza. I raised an eyebrow and quickened my pace toward it.