Winds of Watoomb

Chen Ji's head swam, and his vision went dark.

His sight warped and blurred.

It felt like he had eaten poisonous mushrooms and was about to drop dead.

Beads of sweat broke out across his forehead.

His entire body went limp and weak!

He had never imagined that creatures from the Weird World could come with an Innate Plague!

It was impossible to guard against!

The plague entered through his pores and coursed through his body, making him burn with fever and agitation.

"There might be a risk to my life..."

"This is ridiculous!"

"Every Weird Plague Rat is an Intermediate Aberration."

"If the Weird Plague Rats have a Rat King, wouldn't that make it a High-Level Weird?"

Chen Ji slowly crouched down, forcing himself to stay upright as he slowed his breathing.

"Big brother?"

"What's wrong?"

Sugar's face was full of concern.

She had not been harmed by the rat plague!

Because she possessed a rare Blue Talent!

[Undying Body] (Blue): She seemed impossible to kill. Have you thought of a solution?

This trait had probably made her immune to the Weird Plague Rat's green talent, [Innate Plague]!

It seemed that traits of different levels could exert absolute restraint over one another!

"Big brother..."

"I'm just a little tired."

"I'll be fine after resting for a while."

Chen Ji sat down on the ground.

At that critical moment,

he suddenly recalled an incantation from the Compendium of a Hundred Herbs!

It could temporarily suppress poisonous vapors through magic power.

The next second!

Chen Ji's body erupted in brilliant light.

With every breath through his pores, the omnipresent Cosmic Arcane Energy came howling in, frantically washing over his meridians, skin, limbs, and bones!

A moment later,

color returned to Chen Ji's face.

He finally felt somewhat reassured!

This gave him enough time to search for an antidote to the rat plague.

Squeak!

Squeak, squeak, squeak!!

A shrill, piercing howl rang out.

Having lost their target, the Weird Plague Rats suddenly looked up and spotted two figures on the balcony of the neighboring apartment.

In an instant,

bloodthirsty light flared in the Weird Plague Rats' eyes. Like a tidal wave, they charged toward the apartment ruins!

The dense deathly aura of the Weird World had condensed into something tangible, becoming a walking toxic cloud that surged toward Chen Ji!

"Winds of Watoomb!"

Chen Ji chanted softly.

Then, he thrust both hands forward.

Whoosh!

A sudden gale, shaped like a tornado, swept out at once.

This was a high-level secret art from Kamar-Taj!

The magic power it consumed far exceeded that of a Mystic Arts Weapon.

The scale and power of the Winds of Watoomb could also be controlled through the amount of magic power used.

In the hands of the Sorcerer Supreme, it could even turn the ordinary into the miraculous and become an attack that covered the entire battlefield!

For Chen Ji, summoning Winds of Watoomb on the scale of ten feet was already his limit!

However... Enough!

As the Winds of Watoomb appeared, the plague-ridden deathly aura covering the sky was immediately swept into the distance, completely away from Chen Ji!

Even the climbing Weird Plague Rats were caught by the ferocious Winds of Watoomb, hurled into the sky, and smashed brutally to the ground!

Their necks snapped on impact!

They lay on the ground, screeching without end!

"Sugar!"

"You handle the Weird Plague Rats nearby!"

Chen Ji shouted.

Then he raised the Mystic Arts Rifle, narrowed his eyes, and pulled the trigger repeatedly!

[Academic Prodigy] (Blue): You are the child everyone else's parents compare them to. No matter the subject, you can master its knowledge with ease and apply it with masterful skill.

Shooting

naturally fell within that scope as well!

Shot after shot, Chen Ji went from clumsy to proficient, from proficient to accurate, and from accurate to never missing!

His rate of improvement was enough to shock even the favorites to win modern Olympic shooting competitions!

Bang!

A purple-glowing energy projectile pierced straight through a rat's skull.

One shot, one headshot!

[Weird Plague Rat killed]

[Luck Value +30]

[Luck Value +30]

[Luck Value +30] ...

Lines of text bubbles appeared.

A faint smile curled Chen Ji's lips.

Did that make him a practitioner of Dual Magic and Martial Cultivation?!

Though magic power was invisible and intangible, it could be given physical form through the mind!

Whether Mystic Arts Weapons or Mystic Firearms, they were merely different manifestations of energy.

Ultimately, the form and power of Secret Art Magic depended entirely on Chen Ji himself!

As long as he let his imagination run wild,

anything was possible!

"If Mystic Firearms can become reality,"

"then Mystic Arts Armor should be just as easy!"

Chen Ji's eyes gleamed.

Immediately, he mobilized the magic power within his body, turning it into a gentle stream that covered the surface of his skin and formed a simple suit of armor!

Even a translucent membrane appeared over his head.

The Mystic Arts Armor filtered impurities from the air.

It could indirectly counter the Weird Plague Rats' plague!

It also greatly enhanced his body's defense and resistance to blows!

Of course,

because Mystic Arts Armor required Chen Ji to continuously supply magic power, it also placed an enormous burden on his reserves.

At that moment, he finally understood why Kamar-Taj's Mystic Arts Mages had never developed Mystic Firearms...

It was not because Mystic Arts Mages lacked brains. Rather, the magic power Vishanti "lent" to Mystic Arts Mages simply could not sustain Mystic Firearms over time!

Chen Ji was in the Weird World and had the Power Stone's support, which was why his combat strength had skyrocketed!

As for the other Mystic Arts Mages, the magic power they "borrowed" was limited.

Vishanti was a god on the level of the Multiverse. The Kamar-Tajs he needed to protect obviously did not exist only in this universe!

For every parallel universe, there was a Kamar-Taj.

And there were that many Mystic Arts Mages!

Therefore, once the magic lending was divided among every Mystic Arts Mage, it was impossible to allow them to innovate and create "money-burning" Mystic Firearms.

"Vishanti..."

"Can he distinguish between the Ancient Ones and Kamar-Tajs of different universes?"

"How does he do that?"

"Does every Kamar-Taj have a serial number?"

"Good thing I'm clever!"

"The Power Stone is the best!"

Chen Ji secretly rejoiced.

However, he still knew what mattered most.

A man is innocent, but treasures invite trouble.

If the outside world discovered that he possessed the ability to create Mystic Firearms,

those who hated Kamar-Taj would surely stop at nothing to kill him. They would never allow another "Ancient One" to emerge from Kamar-Taj!

Everything had two sides.

Since Kamar-Taj sat firmly at the top of the Hidden World and bore the mission and duty of safeguarding the real world, countless eyes must have been watching it from the shadows!

Chen Ji still remembered Bartender Jack mentioning a Guardian Mage who had died beneath the claws of a spirit monster!

Could a Guardian Mage remembered even by Bartender Jack—The Fulcrum—possibly have been a useless mediocrity?

Clearly,

there was definitely some unknown scheme behind it all!

[Weird Plague Rat killed]

[Luck Value +10]

[Luck Value +10]

[Luck Value +10] ...

A crisp, pleasant system announcement rang out.

Sugar wielded the Ring of Ragadol, smashing it wildly into the Weird Plague Rats that came rushing at her.

Her father's timeless saying

was fully demonstrated at that moment!

Fight magic with magic!

Sugar moved swiftly, cutting through them like vegetables. There was not the slightest hesitation on her little face.

Part of the energy from killing the Weird Plague Rats had also transformed into Luck Value and been given to Chen Ji!

"A massive haul!"

Chen Ji secretly reveled in it.

With perfect coordination, he and Sugar had successfully killed every Weird Plague Rat.

And the Luck Value he had gained far surpassed that of any previous exploration!