Lightning Ability

Over the next few hours, they moved through three different locations.

The second stop was a dried-up riverbed, where they encountered a pack of Mutated Hyenas—four First Rank and fifteen Unranked.

Song Chen killed three First Rank ones alone, while Li Wei and the other three worked together under his cover to kill one.

The third stop was a rocky outcrop, where they ran into a den of Mutated Foxes.

There was only one First Rank fox, but it was incredibly cunning and nearly caused Sun Qiang to suffer badly.

Song Chen chased it for a thousand meters and forcibly hacked it to the ground.

The fourth stop was their final push before nightfall. On the outskirts of an abandoned village, they came across a small scattered herd of Mutated Sheep.

That was right—even herbivores had mutated. With half-meter-long sharp horns atop their heads, they were ferocious beyond compare.

Four First Rank, and over twenty Unranked.

This time, Li Wei and the other three had developed coordination. They took the initiative to tie down two, letting Song Chen quickly finish the other two before turning back to reap the rest.

When the sun had completely set, the Armored Vehicle finally turned around and headed back to camp.

Inside the vehicle, the five of them leaned against their seats, covered in blood, yet there was light in all their eyes.

Everyone had enjoyed the slaughter today. At last, it had begun to feel like real combat training.

"How many did we kill today?" Li Wei asked.

"I counted. Song Chen killed at least ten First Rank beasts by himself."

Li Wei did the math. "More than that. I counted eleven."

Song Chen said nothing. With his eyes closed, he was checking the system.

Including the one point left from yesterday, he had a total of fifty-five points.

The First Rank exotic beasts gave varying amounts, but the average was around five points.

With such a huge sum, what should he choose?

Song Chen weighed his options carefully, with no time to chat with them.

By the time he finished thinking, they had already returned to the military camp.

"We're here." Zhang Zhenyun's voice interrupted his thoughts.

The vehicle stopped deep within the camp, still beside that row of simple prefab rooms.

"Rest well tonight. We'll continue tomorrow."

Zhang Zhenyun got out first.

The others got out as well and returned to their rooms.

Song Chen entered his own room, locked the door behind him, and sat on the bed.

Late at night.

He took a deep breath and summoned the system interface.

His gaze slowly moved across the shop list.

A Blood Vitality Potion cost twenty points per bottle. He could buy another one and raise his Vitality Value a little higher.

But he did not rush to buy one. His gaze shifted upward and landed on the [Abilities] section.

Abilities.

This was the most mysterious and powerful force of the Martial Arts Era.

Not every Martial Artist could awaken an ability. Out of a hundred Martial Artists, only five or six could probably awaken one.

And the type and strength of an ability determined a Martial Artist's upper limit.

Song Chen opened the [Abilities] section.

With a flash of light, densely packed options appeared before him.

[Flame Manipulation (C-Grade) - 40 points]: Can control flames for attack and defense. Its power increases with ability level.

[Ice Solidification (C-Grade) - 40 points]: Can condense ice, freeze enemies, and create ice walls.

[Storm Summoning (C-Grade) - 40 points]: Can summon a small storm to affect enemy movement.

[Lightning Control (C-Grade) - 40 points]: Can unleash lightning attacks. Extremely fast and immensely powerful.

[Earth Travel Technique (C-Grade) - 40 points]: Can temporarily travel underground and enhance defense.

[Wings of Wind (C-Grade) - 40 points]: Can condense a pair of wind wings for brief flight.

Song Chen read through them one by one. Every ability tempted him.

But he could only choose one.

His eyes moved back and forth among the various abilities before finally stopping on [Lightning Control].

Lightning.

The fastest, immensely powerful, and it came with a numbing effect.

Paired with his saber techniques, it was simply a match made in heaven.

He recalled the novels he had read in his previous life, those peerless experts who could empower their weapons with the force of lightning. With a single slash, electric light coiled around the blade, and enemies collapsed at the slightest touch.

This was the one.

He tapped the air with his finger.

[Do you wish to consume 40 Killing Value to purchase Lightning Control?]

Confirm!

[Purchase successful. 40 Killing Value deducted. Remaining Killing Value: 15.]

A flash of light.

Song Chen felt an invisible force surge into his body, traveling along his meridians before finally gathering near his heart.

That force was blazing hot, yet icy cold, carrying an indescribable tingling sensation.

He lowered his head to look at his hand. Faint, tiny sparks of electricity danced at his fingertips.

Crackle.

With a soft sound, the electric light vanished, but the sensation remained.

He clenched his fist, and with a thought—

"Zzt—"

A bolt of lightning as thick as his thumb shot from his palm and struck the wall, leaving behind a charred mark.

Song Chen froze. So this was an ability?

He tried again, this time with greater familiarity.

He controlled the lightning as it danced at his fingertips like a nimble little snake.

He could feel that, if he wished, he could send this bolt flying at any time and strike any target within thirty meters.

He opened his personal panel and discovered that an additional section had appeared.

[Song Chen]

Rank: First Rank

Vitality Value: 1.1

Mental Power: 0.7

Ability: Lightning Control (Consume 1,000 Killing Value to upgrade ability)

System Level: 1 (Consume 5,000 Killing Value to upgrade system)

One thousand points?

Song Chen sucked in a sharp breath, but soon enough, he smiled.

As long as it could be upgraded, that was enough.

C-Grade was already this strong. How powerful would B-Grade be? What about A-Grade? S-Grade?

He seemed to see his future self, lightning in hand, roaming the Wilderness without restraint.

At six the next morning, they assembled.

As usual, Zhang Zhenyun leaned against the vehicle, smoking as he waited for everyone to arrive. When Song Chen walked over, Zhang Zhenyun's expression changed.

He stared at Song Chen, his brows furrowing.

"You..."

Song Chen stopped.

Zhang Zhenyun took two steps closer and looked him over from head to toe.

"There's a... smell of lightning around you?"

Song Chen lied without changing expression. "Captain, you have sharp eyes. I awakened an ability during yesterday's combat."

Zhang Zhenyun's cigarette nearly fell from his mouth, and even his voice changed pitch. "Awakened an ability? You? Yesterday?"

Li Wei and the others also gathered around, their faces full of shock.

Li Wei's eyes widened round as saucers. "Song Chen, you awakened an ability? What ability? Hurry up and show us!"

Song Chen raised his hand, and with a thought—

"Zzt..."

A spark shot from his fingertips and burst into a tiny blossom of electricity in the air.

Everyone sucked in a cold breath.

"Lightning—it's a Lightning Ability!"

"Holy shit..."

Zhang Zhenyun stared at that electric blossom for a long time, then slowly exhaled a mouthful of smoke.

"Not bad, kid. Your Vitality Value skyrocketed overnight, and you awakened an ability the very next day. Are you trying to soar into the heavens?"

Song Chen withdrew his hand. "I was just lucky."

Zhang Zhenyun gave him a long, deep look.

Lucky?

He had spent ten years outside the city and had seen lucky people before, but never anyone this lucky.

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him. He leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Kid, do you have some insanely powerful master backing you? You were so weak before because he was testing your character. Now that the test is over, he's started giving you resources?"

Song Chen was stunned for a moment, then realized this explanation was excellent. It was far more believable than saying he had picked up a fruit off the ground.

He did not answer directly. He merely nodded lightly.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhenyun revealed an expression that said, Just as I thought.

Now that they had talked this far, he no longer wanted to pry. Who did not have secrets?

People with too much curiosity usually did not live very long.

"All right, get in the vehicle."