Jinzhou's Legend of Speed

"Qichi Village?"

Yangyang nodded. "It's an ancient village, but it's abandoned now."

"A Piao, should we head over now?"

A Piao nodded. "Let's go now. I can feel that we're running out of time."

"Yes! Violet-Feather Heron captured!" Lu Li exclaimed excitedly, gourd in hand.

At last, he wouldn't have to slog along on foot anymore. Besides, flying had to be faster than running!

But he still needed to catch two more.

Lu Li carefully examined the Violet-Feather Heron's back. Sharp black spikes covered it.

Although Lu Li really wanted all three of them to ride one, that didn't seem very practical.

Those spikes would dig into their butts!

Seeing Lu Li head toward another Violet-Feather Heron with Mingyu in hand, Yangyang spoke up.

"...Why do we need to catch so many?" she asked, puzzled.

Lu Li's voice suddenly rose with fervor. "Who is one bird supposed to seat?!"

"If the Fractsidus next door saw us, they'd think we couldn't afford our own rides!"

"Let's catch two more! One each!"

Yangyang: "..."

A Piao: "..."

A short while later, Lu Li nodded in satisfaction at the three obedient Violet-Feather Herons before him.

"Not bad! Let's give you names!"

Lu Li pointed to the one in front of A Piao. "You'll be Haki Piao!"

Then he pointed to Yangyang's. "You'll be Haki Yang!"

He patted his own Violet-Feather Heron. "And you'll be Handsome Li!"

The three Violet-Feather Herons chirped happily.

A Piao: "...Why do ours get 'Haki,' while yours gets 'Handsome'?"

Lu Li climbed onto Handsome Li. "A fitting name for a fitting rider."

A Piao: "?"

Yangyang said, "This is my first time riding an Echo. It really is a wonderful feeling."

"Isn't a Glider an Echo too?"

Yangyang smiled. "True, but the two feel completely different."

The three Violet-Feather Herons took to the air.

"Woohoo!" Lu Li shouted gleefully into the wind.

[Ding! Achievement unlocked: Jinzhou's Legend of Speed!]

[Reward obtained: 'Run Like a Boss' increased by one level!]

Lu Li tidied his windblown hair, then admired his reflection in a puddle and said smugly:

"Ah, handsome guys really can pull off any hairstyle!"

"Stop admiring yourself and come over." A Piao stood at the stone steps leading into the village and beckoned.

Yangyang's expression grew grave. "This is the place..."

"I sensed a faint, ominous presence on the leaf earlier, but it was so weak that I couldn't be completely sure."

Lu Li approached the two and used his Resonance Ability to sense the surrounding frequencies.

"Hmm... There really is something unsettling here."

Yangyang said, "The pain and hatred filling the air... I don't even need to deliberately sense them..."

"A Piao, Lu Li, something terrible must have happened here..."

The three climbed the steps and entered the dilapidated village.

The most striking sight was the central area, where the unmistakable signs of a Tacet Field marked the ground.

Its shape was the same as the Tacet Field where they had faced Crownless before.

Lu Li quipped, "Another Crownless isn't going to jump out once we get close, is he?"

A Piao teased, "If another Crownless really does jump out, are you going to cling to my thigh like last time?"

"Hahaha..." Lu Li gave a few stiff laughs.

"A Piao, you know me. I just love joking around."

"Last time, I was only playing a little joke on you."

"And at the same time, it was a little test!"

A Piao chuckled. "Really? And what did your test reveal?"

Lu Li turned and gazed seriously into A Piao's face.

"A Piao, your thigh feels really nice!"

Smack!

"A Piao, if you keep hitting me like this, you won't get to see this handsome face anymore!"

A Piao sneered. "Good. Then you won't be going around ruining young girls' lives every day."

Lu Li exclaimed in shock, "How can a mouth at thirty-seven degrees say something so cold?!"

Yangyang covered her mouth and laughed. "Would you call this a love-hate relationship?"

"No! Yangyang, hitting means affection, and scolding means love. This is the strongest proof that A Piao loves me!"

"All right, enough wisecracks. Let's get closer and take a look. If any Remnants appear, we'll deal with them as quickly as possible."

The three drew their weapons and headed toward the central Tacet Field.

As they slowly approached, a wave of Remnants flashed into existence and descended from the air.

Lu Li glanced around and found that they were all merely Whispering Waves Class Remnants.

Even the strongest among them, the Rocksteady Guardian, was only Howling Waves Class.

Although he was only one class below the Raging Tides Class Crownless they had faced before, the difference in danger was like night and day.

"Perfect. Time to try Cleansing Profundity, the skill I got from Jianxin."

As for why he wasn't using 'Red Skies • Shadowless'...

After obtaining that skill, he had learned that it was more of a burst ability.

It placed a heavy strain on his body. With his current resonance strength, a single use would leave him weakened.

That was why he wouldn't use it unless he had no other choice. Once he grew stronger, though, he could use it regularly.

Lu Li charged forward with Mingyu in hand. He first used Cleansing Profundity, gathering all the Remnants together and dealing some damage with his Aero Resonance Ability.

The two women, several paces behind him, were bewildered. "When did you become a Resonator?"

There was no predictable path to becoming a Resonator.

For example, nothing unusual had happened when Yangyang became a Resonator. Her ability had awakened naturally.

Others, however, awakened under specific conditions. Chixia, for instance, had been surrounded by intense flames and heat when she awakened.

Neither woman knew when Lu Li had awakened. There had been no signs beforehand, and Lu Li hadn't mentioned it himself.

When Lu Li used his Blood Blade Technique against those Exiles earlier, he hadn't used any Resonance Ability.

That was why they had only considered him an ordinary person with some fighting skills.

This time, however, every slash Lu Li made carried his Aero Resonance Ability.

As the saying went, diligence honed one's craft while idleness dulled it. As he continued using his Resonance Ability day after day, it would naturally become more refined.

"Stop standing there and help!"

Although he was now a Resonator, handling so many Remnants alone was still a little taxing.

Yangyang was the first to react. Her Resonance Ability was also Aero.

Their combined skills blew the Remnants' hair into punk hairstyles.

A Piao's resonance attribute, meanwhile, was Spectro. She rushed forward and mercilessly cut down the Remnants.

"Echoes, resonate with this!"

A Piao clenched her fist and drew it back. A golden sphere of Spectro energy abruptly appeared, enveloping all the Remnants. Its release even briefly stopped time.

In an instant, every Remnant vanished.

Lu Li's face lit up with excitement. "You can do something that cool, A Piao?"

I'm definitely learning that move!

Come to think of it... why hasn't A Piao's affinity reached 80 yet?

A Piao said modestly, "That Blood Shadow Follows Form move you used against the Exiles earlier was pretty good too."

Yangyang frowned at Lu Li. "Once we reach Jinzhou City, you have to get examined at the Huaxu Research Institute."

"Why?"

"Because becoming a Resonator isn't without its drawbacks."

"Some people experience changes in their physical characteristics when they become Resonators. In more serious cases, there's a risk of overclocking, so we need to check the frequencies in your body."

Lu Li looked a little worried. "Is it that serious?"

Doubts stirred in his mind. That might be true, but since his ability came from the system, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

Am I still doomed to be sliced up and studied by Bai Zhi after all?!