124: Chapter 124 Conversation

Zhang Wen looked at the rewards on the panel, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

As expected of a "Common" draw; nine out of ten times it was junk, and only the Soul Devouring Mirror fragments were worth anything.

While he was feeling depressed, he suddenly remembered the "Thunder Battle Body Awakening" reward and quickly focused his mind to sense the changes within his body.

The next second, a scorching force suddenly exploded in his Dantian. It wasn't the warmth of spiritual power, but a searing heat accompanied by crackling electrical currents!

That force rampaged through his Meridians, and everywhere it passed, his originally slender Meridians felt as if they were being widened by a sledgehammer.

They were also repeatedly tempered by the fine electrical currents, causing him to grimace in pain, yet he couldn't bear to stop.

With every tempering, he could feel his Physical Body growing stronger.

He hurriedly sat cross-legged and guided the force according to the Cultivation Technique automatically loaded by the System.

Gradually, that scorching force condensed into light blue Lightning Radiance, swirling in his Dantian into a small thunder orb.

Every time the thunder orb spun, a wisp of Lightning Radiance seeped into his limbs and bones, and faint golden patterns appeared under his skin before quickly fading away.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Zhang Wen suddenly opened his eyes, and a tiny bolt of Lightning Radiance flicked from his fingertip.

It struck the corner of the table with a "pop," leaving a charred little pit in the wood!

He touched his arm; his skin was much smoother, and his strength had increased significantly.

Even his ribs, which had been injured by Ye Chen, no longer felt painful.

More miraculously, when he circulated his spiritual power, the thunder orb in his Dantian would rotate along with it.

His spiritual power was dyed with a layer of light blue Lightning Radiance, and his speed was more than twice as fast as before!

He tried swinging his fist; the wind from the punch carried a faint crackling sound, but not a single bit of Lightning Radiance was exposed.

It seems there is no need to worry about this Physique being discovered by others.

The next day, before dawn, Zhang Wen arrived at the school gate half an hour early.

Gongsun Hongyi was already standing in front of the hovercar, and seeing him walk over, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

"I haven't seen you for a night, but your aura has become much more steady. It seems your injuries have recovered well."

Zhang Wen's heart tightened, and he quickly cupped his hands.

"Thanks to the help of Principal Gongsun and Teacher Lin Mo, this Junior was just lucky, and my Meridians recovered quickly."

Gongsun Hongyi nodded without asking further, only saying, "Get in the car. The Old Marshal is still waiting at the military headquarters."

The hovercar sped toward the Dragon Kingdom's military headquarters. Zhang Wen sat in the car, quietly sensing the Thunder Battle Body within him.

As long as he didn't actively trigger it, the Lightning Radiance would remain hidden deep within his spiritual power. Outsiders would at most think his spiritual power was more refined and would never suspect he had awakened a special Physique.

Upon arriving at the military council hall, the Old Marshal was reading a file. Seeing Zhang Wen enter, he raised his eyes to size him up for a moment, then nodded.

"Not bad. To have the cultivation of the Penetration Realm at such a young age and such a steady aura; you are much stronger than I was back then."

Zhang Wen bowed in salute: "Junior Zhang Wen greets the Old Marshal."

"Sit."

"Good! Good! Worthy of being a seedling with an SSS-Rank Talent!" The Old Marshal put down the file, a flash of approval in his eyes.

"However, although you have reached the Penetration Realm at a young age, you cannot slack off—the other two SSS-Rank Geniuses this year have long since achieved a Breakthrough to the Penetration Realm."

Zhang Wen's heart jolted: He had thought that with the System's support, his speed of Breakthrough was already the best among his peers, but he hadn't expected those two descendants of hidden Families to be even faster than his "cheating" self!

He secretly grumbled to himself: "As expected, the heritage of hidden Families is unfathomably deep; they really know how to hide."

"Don't sell yourself short either," the Old Marshal shifted the topic and teased.

"Not everyone can be like you, carrying SSS-Rank Spiritual Artifacts all over their body."

Zhang Wen was rendered speechless and couldn't help but cough twice, muttering in his heart: "I can't be blamed for this, the System gave it to me, I can't just throw it away, right?"

"Alright, let's talk business," the Old Marshal put away his smile.

"The main reason I called you over this time is to let you understand the foundation of the Dragon Kingdom so that you can have a better grasp when executing missions in the future."

"The Dragon Kingdom is one of the five great nations of Blue Planet; you should know this." Seeing Zhang Wen nod, the Old Marshal continued.

"Let me tell you something you don't know—our country has two ace armies. The Andong Army guards the eastern front, and the Zhenxi Army guards the western front. Both commanders are Origin Tracing Realm powerhouses, on the same level as your Principal Gongsun."

"Then why are there no troops stationed on the north and south sides?" Zhang Wen couldn't help but ask.

The Old Marshal patted his chest and said proudly, "I am stationed in the north, and for all these years, no one without eyes has dared to come and provoke me."

"As for the south, it is the Black Miasma Forest that stretches for ten thousand miles, teeming with Vicious Beasts. It serves perfectly as a training ground for various universities. It both prevents Vicious Beasts from crossing the border and allows you Juniors to practice, killing two birds with one stone."

Zhang Wen suddenly realized, and just as he was about to speak, the Old Marshal suddenly stopped smiling, his tone becoming grave.

"However, the Dragon Kingdom is not an impenetrable monolith; the biggest internal hidden danger is the Soul Devouring Hall."

He turned to stare at Zhang Wen, his gaze sharp: "You have engaged with the Soul Devouring Hall twice, so you are most familiar with their methods."

"We recently learned that the Soul Devouring Hall will be holding a live sacrifice in the Western Frontier in the next few days. We have decided to have the new commander of the Zhenxi Army lead the team."

"As for you, you can go along and see; it will be a good opportunity to temper yourself."

"How about it, will you go?"

Zhang Wen was hesitating when a System prompt rang in his mind:

[Ding! Main Quest Triggered: "Purge the Evil in the Western Frontier"]

[Quest Objectives: 1. Assist in finding the Western Frontier altar of the Soul Devouring Hall; 2. Prevent the live sacrifice ceremony; 3. Kill at least one altar guardian (cultivation level not lower than Late Stage of the Penetration Realm)]

[Quest Rewards: Special Draw Chance x1, 50,000 Points, Thunder Battle Body advanced Cultivation Technique "Nine Heavens Startling Thunder Art"]

[Failure Penalty: Thunder Battle Body temporarily Sealed, sky-splitting startling thunder spear spiritual power restricted for 7 days]

Zhang Wen clenched his fists, stood up, and bowed: "This Junior will definitely not fail the mission!"