"Mhm!"
Taking advantage of the lull, Yu Hengqing took out a healing pill and held it in his mouth, allowing its medicinal power to treat his injuries right away.
Once he was done, Yu Hengqing cast Lightning Attraction Technique again. Lightning churned rapidly within the thunderclouds.
The third bolt crashed down.
"Something's wrong! Why is the power of Leiyi's lightning still increasing? Normally, this bolt should be about as powerful as the second one, but now it's clearly ten percent stronger!"
Noticing the anomaly, Yu Hengqing immediately stopped using Lightning Attraction Technique. This time, Thunder Armor had been pierced by a hole as wide as a bowl.
Dugu Bo and Yu Hezai, standing beneath the tent, also sensed that something was amiss.
"Senior, you noticed something was wrong too, didn't you? The energy in the thunderclouds overhead is still building. This makes no sense."
Yu Hezai eyed the thunderclouds overhead with concern. Even though Thunder Valley had far more thunderstorms than other places, its thunderclouds had never kept growing stronger.
"I agree that these thunderclouds are strange. We should have Xiao Qing come back for now!"
Though Dugu Bo had seen plenty of strange things, he had never witnessed anything so contrary to common sense.
Before Dugu Bo could act, a fourth bolt of lightning struck toward Yu Hengqing.
Just as everyone had expected, the fourth bolt was clearly even stronger than the third.
"Leiyi, is this because I used Lightning Attraction Technique?"
Yu Hengqing dispelled Thunder Armor, which had been badly damaged. He had drawn down the fourth bolt to confirm whether the lightning was growing stronger, and the result was just as he had expected.
Although Leiyi had focused most of his attention on Yu Hengqing and his armor, he had also sensed what was happening with the thunderclouds.
"It isn't because of Lightning Attraction Technique. The technique works by using the high concentration of lightning power in your body to draw in the lightning power within the clouds. It can't affect the strength of the lightning itself."
"Unless something is making the thunderclouds above us stronger!"
Yu Hengqing immediately understood what Leiyi meant. This Thunder Valley was indeed far more complicated than he had imagined.
"In that case, let's stop Thunder Body Tempering for today. If this happens again next time, we can just leave and find another place to draw lightning for tempering."
Yu Hengqing had witnessed Yu Yuanzhen's power, so he knew that an ordinary Titled Douluo couldn't casually strengthen thunderclouds like this.
Rather than risk offending someone by cultivating here, they might as well find another place.
It didn't matter if his God Trial progress slowed down a little. As long as he stayed alive, everything else could be worked out. It wasn't as though the God Trial would run away.
Having made up his mind, Yu Hengqing started toward Dugu Bo and Yu Hezai.
But before he could take more than a few steps, a familiar presence entered Leiyi's range of perception.
"Xiao Qing, that Soul Beast, Bi Ji, is coming this way. Be careful."
"Why is she coming here? Based on what we learned earlier, shouldn't she be treating injured Ferocious Beasts or Soul Beasts? Something's wrong!"
Puzzled, Yu Hengqing stopped and activated the Soul Tool Dugu Bo had given him for emergencies. He warily turned toward the distant edge of the cliff.
At that moment, Bi Ji had just reached the cliff's edge and was about to look for Yu Hengqing when she saw him watching her.
He sensed me from this far away? His perception is stronger than that of most Titled Douluo.
Facing Yu Hengqing's hostile gaze, Bi Ji stood calmly on the cliff and met his eyes from the valley floor.
In the space of a breath, Bi Ji vanished from the cliff. Yu Hengqing instantly activated Martial Soul Possession and used Leiyi's perception to pinpoint her location.
Once the two were close enough to speak, Bi Ji stopped and called out to Yu Hengqing, her tone earnest.
"Yu Hengqing, after discussing it, we've decided that I'll be your guardian until Senior Thunder Dragon becomes your Wisdom Spirit Ring, to keep you from dying in an accident."
"Of course, this was decided without your consent, so we agreed to compensate you with this Purple Lightning Marrow Crystal."
Bi Ji produced a fist-sized crystal and tossed it to Yu Hengqing, who caught it securely and took a closer look.
The crystal was purple throughout, with shining purple veins running through its center. It looked as though someone had sealed purple lightning inside it.
"In that case, I'll gladly accept this Purple Lightning Marrow Crystal!"
As he spoke, the crystal in Yu Hengqing's hand vanished.
Yu Hengqing knew Bi Ji had lied. Given the Ferocious Beasts' attitude toward humans and their own strength, they wouldn't bother considering what someone as weak as him thought.
It was like people dealing with ants at their feet: if they were in a good mood, they might toss them some food; if they were in a bad mood, then even if the ants found food themselves, they would take it away.
The Purple Lightning Marrow Crystal he had just accepted was most likely from Bi Ji's own collection.
You didn't slap away a smiling face. Since Bi Ji had brought him a gift, Yu Hengqing couldn't leave her standing there.
"Senior Bi Ji, please come with me. I've already brewed some tea to welcome you!"
Yu Hengqing turned aside and gestured for Bi Ji to follow.
"Gladly. I haven't had human tea in quite a while!"
Seeing how polite Yu Hengqing was, Bi Ji knew her gift had done the trick.
She had pushed through the objections and insisted on coming because she wanted to explore the possibility of a new relationship between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts through Yu Hengqing.
If those hot-tempered fellows like Xiong Jun ruined things, Bi Ji thought it would be a terrible waste. If humans and Soul Beasts didn't improve their relations, one of the two groups would eventually go extinct.
After seeing Yu Hengqing and Bi Ji chatting and laughing together, Dugu Bo and Yu Hezai emerged from their hiding place and returned to the tent.
The two sat quietly at the table as though nothing had happened, except for the extra teacup on it, filled with tea.
As Yu Hengqing saw it, having Bi Ji monitor him was actually a good thing. No matter how effective medicine was, it couldn't compare to Bi Ji's Soul Power.
After all, with medicine, you had to wait for it to take effect. Bi Ji could treat him directly with Soul Power.
Bi Ji lifted the tent flap and entered. There, she saw Yu Hezai and Dugu Bo enjoying their tea.
"Senior Bi Ji is here! Please, have a seat!"
Since Bi Ji and Dugu Bo didn't know each other, Yu Hezai took it upon himself to make introductions.
"Senior Bi Ji, this is Senior Dugu Bo, a Level 92 Titled Douluo with the title Poison."
"Senior Dugu Bo, this is Senior Bi Ji. She is..."
Yu Hezai glanced at Bi Ji uncertainly. He knew she was a Soul Beast with a cultivation base of over one hundred thousand years, but that didn't seem appropriate to mention.
Seeing Yu Hezai's awkward look, Bi Ji set down her teacup and addressed Dugu Bo herself. "A Level 98 healing-type Titled Douluo."
Upon learning that Bi Ji was a Level 98 healing-type Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo's hand paused as he lifted his tea. His palm began to sweat.
It wasn't just that Bi Ji's power exceeded his by six levels, reaching the terrifying height of Level 98. The very title of healing-type Titled Douluo was enough to make Dugu Bo suck in a sharp breath.
The only healing-type Titled Douluo Dugu Bo had ever met was the head of the Nine Heart Begonia family.
With a Soul Power Level of just 93, that person's healing abilities could make their teammates practically immortal.
How terrifying, then, were Bi Ji's healing abilities?
What was more, Dugu Bo had never heard of anyone named Bi Ji or of her deeds.
The answer was obvious: she came from a powerful reclusive family.
And the fact that they dared to send out such a rare healing-type Soul Master proved they were absolutely confident that no one would ever harm Bi Ji.
Before you continue