Chapter 5: The Powerful Man
The Misty Sea erupted in chaos, with billions of lightning bolts crashing down—even high-level gods couldn't withstand such might. What kind of power was that?
And yet Bates claimed someone dared to fly under those conditions?
"Haha, Bates, are you just spouting nonsense because you're so thrilled to have escaped this calamity? You've seen the power of the Misty Sea's upheaval yourself. Even those extremely formidable high-level gods who could resist this lightning probably wouldn't be arrogant enough to fly straight through it," a green-haired demon warrior laughed.
Linley and the others nodded slightly.
In such an environment, the only ones daring to fly directly would likely be the exceptionally powerful Seven Star Demons, Asuras, and the like.
"Fine, don't believe me if you don't want to." Bates sneered, looking unconcerned. "But I definitely didn't see wrong just now. I don't think I'm going cross-eyed." As a mid-level god, how could he possibly have faulty vision?
"Boss, isn't it just flying through that kind of lightning? You and I could probably fly straight through it," Bebe's voice echoed in Linley's mind. "What could those lightning bolts do to us? Back in that desert ancient castle, when that high-level god attacked you with all his lightning power, you didn't even have a scratch."
Linley smiled.
Lightning attacks?
His true body had first absorbed a drop of golden blood, then merged with the terrifying energy contained in a drop of liquid Sovereign power. His body's toughness had already far surpassed ordinary high-level divine artifacts. Linley was confident he could withstand this lightning.
"Bebe, don't just blurt things out," Linley transmitted mentally.
Bebe chuckled. "I know, Boss. I'm not the type to be arrogant and show off." Their conversation was through soul transmission, unknown to outsiders.
"I saw it too. There really was someone flying through the lightning just now." Suddenly a voice rang out.
"Hmm?"
Linley was surprised and turned to look. Not just Linley, but all the other surviving demons looked over as well. The speaker was actually that high-level god demon—the bald young man. He nodded and said, "And I saw clearly. He was carrying a blade or a heavy sword—some kind of heavy weapon on his back."
The bald young man was a high-level god, so his words carried more weight than Bates's.
"There really is such a person?"
"Lord Pofei said it, so how could it be wrong?" someone immediately responded.
"I, Bates, wouldn't lie. Even Lord Pofei has confirmed it." Bates immediately looked a bit smug.
This bald young man was indeed named Pofei. Now he turned to look at Bates, staring at him. "Bates, when those countless lightning bolts were crashing down, that was a life-or-death moment. I only dared to glance around because I was confident. In that situation, how did you manage to notice something in the distance?"
Bates was stunned.
In a moment of danger, how could anyone dare to be distracted?
Bates gave a foolish grin, his thick beard bristling. "I only noticed the distance after I had dodged that wave of lightning strikes. By then, that person had already flown far away. That's why I didn't see clearly—I only saw him carrying a weapon on his back."
"Oh," the bald young man responded.
"Alright, everyone. Making it through this calamity safely is a great blessing. Haha... but we still need to continue our journey," the employer Aichi said cheerfully, as a metal lifeform that had transformed into a diamond-shaped ship once again appeared on the sea surface.
Linley and the others immediately entered the metal lifeform.
"Whoosh!" The metal lifeform immediately cut through the waves and sped forward.
Inside the metal lifeform's main hall, the demons who had escaped death were in high spirits, laughing loudly as they drank and chatted. The walls of the hall were transparent, allowing everyone to see the sea view outside. Faint traces of electric light still flickered across the sea surface, but their power had already weakened considerably.
"In the center of that vortex, why are lightning bolts still striking down?" Standing by the wall, looking outside, Olivia suddenly spoke.
"Still lightning striking down?"
Linley and the others immediately turned to look. Through the transparent metal, they could see that at the former center of the vortex—though the vortex had now disappeared—thick bolts of lightning, like electric serpents, were continuously crashing down, madly striking a single point below.
The metal lifeform continued moving forward, drawing closer and closer to the location being struck.
"How strange. I've never heard of lightning continuing to strike downward after a Misty Sea upheaval," someone muttered. No one was worried, though, because the lightning was concentrated on just one spot and couldn't possibly hit them.
Linley's eyes suddenly widened.
"Someone's there!" As they drew closer, Linley immediately spotted a figure standing on the sea surface at the spot where the lightning was continuously striking.
The distance was too great; Linley could only barely make out a silhouette. The thick lightning bolts struck down, but the figure didn't dodge at all.
"Ah, there's someone under that lightning!" The others noticed too.
"That was the center of the vortex, where the lightning power was strongest. Even the legendary Seven Star Demons probably wouldn't dare to withstand that lightning head-on," the other demons said, stunned. But they were only speaking from hearsay—after all, Seven Star Demons weren't so easy to encounter.
"Hey, Aichi, get closer! Let's see what's going on!" someone urged.
In the Infernal Realm, people worshipped the strong. A figure who dared to provoke the strongest lightning power of the Misty Sea's upheaval to strike himself was definitely worthy of admiration. Aichi said generously, "Alright, I'll steer the metal lifeform over immediately. But... the closest I can get is one mile. Any closer, and I might offend that lord."
With that, the metal lifeform headed straight toward that location.
One mile was very close for gods. A god-level expert could clearly see an ant from that distance.
At that moment, thick lightning bolts, like hundreds of entwined electric serpents, continuously struck a single figure standing on the sea surface. The man was lean, standing as straight as a spear shaft, with ink-black long hair that reached down to his hips, billowing freely in the wind.
Linley could now see clearly. The man carried a war blade on his back, his head tilted back as he stared up at the lightning above.
"Crackle..."
Countless lightning bolts slammed fiercely into his forehead, then spread across his entire body. But the man stood as immovable as a mountain. Occasionally, two cold, eerie red lightning bolts would shoot from his eyes, charging straight up into the misty sea above. This would cause the lightning crashing down from the mist to grow even stronger.
"So strong!" Linley's heart trembled.
The lightning strikes made space itself tremble, yet the man was completely unharmed.
Everyone inside the metal lifeform held their breath. Such a powerful figure was terrifying beyond measure.
"Lightning shooting from his eyes?" Linley had some understanding. This person must be cultivating the Laws of Lightning.
"He should be cultivating the Laws of Lightning," the calm Olivia spoke up.
The others snapped back from their shock. The bearded Bates nodded as well. "Normally, this lightning would naturally dissipate after a while. But this man keeps attacking the misty sea, provoking repeated punishment... But I think he's enjoying the punishment."
"He's training," the bald young man Pofei said.
Everyone nodded.
Cultivating the Laws of Lightning by personally experiencing the strongest lightning power during a Misty Sea upheaval—that was indeed a good training method. But this kind of method wasn't something ordinary experts dared to try.
"Let's go," the employer Aichi said quickly with a laugh. "We're just standing here watching that lord. If he finishes his training and sees us here, he might get angry, and that would be disastrous." With that, Aichi made the metal lifeform set off.
Everyone laughed.
The strong had their pride. Unless provoked by special circumstances, they rarely vented their anger on the weak.
The light of the blood sun filtered faintly through the thinning mist. Waves churned as the metal lifeform rode the wind and waves, pressing ever forward.
Linley and Delia stood at the bow.
"We've been at sea for two full years now. There are far fewer bandits and pirates here than on the mainland," Linley remarked with emotion. "On the Violet Continent, we'd run into bandits and pirates not long after flying anywhere. But in the Misty Sea, we only encounter them once every month or two."
Delia nodded.
Then Delia smiled. "Linley, your words are really prophetic. Mention someone, and they show up."
"Who?" Linley turned to look as well.
Sure enough, figures were emerging from beneath the sea in the distance. At the same time, a fierce cyan python, thick enough to require three or four people to wrap their arms around, shot out from the water. It was over a hundred meters long, comparable in size to a dragon, and it charged directly at the metal lifeform, which immediately stopped.
Linley shook his head with a smile and flipped his hand—
"Roar!" A ten-meter-tall earthen-yellow bear materialized out of thin air. The bear grabbed the massive cyan python, let out a roar, and tore it in two.
In truth, the other party had only summoned this elemental creature to make the metal lifeform stop.
"Heh heh, looks like we've run into some pirates. I was getting bored out here in the Misty Sea. Finally, something interesting happens!" Laughter rang out from inside the metal lifeform's cabin, and quite a few demons came running out.
A group of demons gathered outside the metal lifeform.
Meanwhile, about a hundred figures were hovering in front of the metal lifeform. But they immediately noticed Delia.
"A high-level god demon?" The hundred or so bandits and pirates immediately sensed trouble.
"Hey, what's wrong? Scared just because you see two high-level god demons here?" the bearded Bates shouted, as if eager to stir up trouble.
Linley and his group were relaxed. Among those hundred people, there wasn't a single high-level god. They posed no threat.
"Retreat," the leader of the group—a burly man with a bald head and fish scales on his forehead—growled.
Just then—
Linley and many others sensed a terrifying power. They immediately tried to turn and look, but Linley only caught a glimpse of a bolt of lightning descending from the sky, with a figure wrapped inside it. Linley was horrified to realize: "It's him!" It was the same expert who had withstood the Misty Sea upheaval's lightning a year ago.
As this figure descended, his right fist suddenly punched downward into empty space.
"Boom!"
Striking empty air, it produced a terrifying sound. At the same time, centered on the fist, a ripple spread outward. The ripple curved in an arc, twisting to just barely avoid Linley's group, and directly struck the group of bandits and pirates who were trying to flee.
Silently—
Everyone caught in the ripple trembled, collapsed limply, and then slowly began to sink.
One strike. Over a hundred bandits and pirates. All dead!
Aichi, Bates, and the others stared in stunned disbelief. Linley had witnessed the power of many experts—Alizuin, Qinghuo, the purple juvenile beast, and others—so his perspective was broader, and he wasn't too shocked. But he was puzzled: "In the Infernal Realm, bandits and pirates are countless. Most experts can't be bothered to deal with them. But this man... why?"
It was indeed suspicious.
At the same time, Linley observed this man up close. He was lean, with a face as sharp as if carved by a knife. His gaze was as cold and fierce as a blade. His murderous aura was restrained within. Every strand of his hair was like fine steel wire, stirred by the wind, producing a strange sound.
The man glanced down at the sinking bodies of the bandits and pirates and snorted coldly: "Bandits and pirates. All deserve death!"
With that, the man moved. A figure shot into the mist above, moving at extreme speed through the thin fog. Anyone entering this mist would be attacked by lightning, and wherever this man passed, lightning flashed.
But the man seemed completely unaffected. In an instant, he vanished into the distance.
"So fast. So strong," Olivia murmured.
The group of demons took a moment to snap out of it.
"Ah! Those bandit bodies are sinking! So many divine sparks and space rings!" the bearded Bates wailed in grief. The other demons only then realized what had happened, but the bodies had already sunk deep below.
There were plenty of people living on the seabed. For gods, being in water or on land wasn't much different.
The group of demons immediately began to regret it.
"Haha, forget it if they're gone. Look at all your faces. Let's set off," Aichi said with a laugh. "The sea ahead has a very large bandit force stationed on Blade Edge Island. We'd better go around that cursed place."
With that, Aichi once again controlled the metal lifeform and sped off!
But Linley's mind was still filled with the image of that man: "That expert cultivating the Laws of Lightning... he probably has the strength of a Seven Star Demon, right?" Linley speculated inwardly.