24: Chapter 24 The Bath Towel Shows Its Power

"Let's go, we shouldn't keep those people outside waiting any longer." Zhang Wen's body was wreathed in faint strands of purple lightning, his eyes gleaming with confidence and fearlessness. His voice was low yet full of power, carrying the imposing Aura of thunder itself.

"Mm, I can't wait to see them begging for mercy (◕ω◕✿)." Chen Nianchu said excitedly. Frigid energy overflowed from her, instantly crystallizing the air around her into fine ice particles that drifted slowly around her form, making her look like an ice goddess from the polar wastes—stunningly beautiful yet radiating an intimidating Aura. She gently stroked the longsword formed of condensed frost in her hand. The blade emitted a chilling, cold light, as if thirsting for the blood of her enemies.

...

Outside, Wang Kun and his lackeys were staring at each other, wide-eyed. "Boss Wang, if they don't come out soon, I'm gonna start wondering if they got lost in there..." one lackey said, rubbing his hands and hopping from foot to foot to keep warm—and who could blame him? Chen Nianchu had accidentally leaked a bit of her frigid energy when passing the entrance earlier, making the doorway feel like an ice cellar.

"Getting lost would be even better!" Wang Kun said, tightening his coat. His A-grade 'Earth-Splitting Force' was utterly useless in the cold—it wasn't like he could split the ground to create underfloor heating. "When they come out, the treasure is mine, and those two... well, deal with them! All of you, stay sharp! Don't look half-asleep later and make us a laughingstock!" No sooner had he finished speaking than a *crack* sounded beneath his feet. A thin layer of ice had formed unnoticed, nearly sending him sliding onto his backside.

Just then, the entrance to the ruins lit up with a *whoosh*, and Zhang Wen and Chen Nianchu strolled out, looking as leisurely as if they'd just finished shopping at a supermarket. Wang Kun's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Pointing at the pair, he shouted, "Get them! Grab that treasure for me! If you get it, I'm treating everyone to skewers tonight—wait, no! If you fail, you're all washing my socks!"

A dozen or so lackeys charged forward as if injected with adrenaline. But just as they closed in, they saw Zhang Wen raise his hand with a grin, looking at them with a mischievous smirk.

"Since you're all here, how about we give everyone a 'deep clean'?" With a flick of his wrist, the thunder bath towel *swished* out, accurately wrapping around the waist of the foremost lackey. A *zap* was heard, and the guy jumped three times on the spot, his hair standing on end. The dust on his clothes was electrocuted into falling off in a shower, and even his body odor seemed to have been fried away. He looked as refreshed as if he'd just stepped out of a bathhouse, though his face was as white as a sheet.

"Whoa! Is that... an electrified bath towel?" Another lackey charged forward with a raised knife, only to have Zhang Wen backhand the towel across his arm. The lightning crawled up the blade, shocking him into a trembling mess. His knife clattered to the ground. "Boss! Stop scrubbing! I just took a bath yesterday!"

Chen Nianchu watched from the side, thoroughly amused. With a swing of her sword, she traced a circle on the ground, instantly creating an ice surface like a skating rink. The lackeys charging at the front *sliiiid—splat!* fell in a chain, piling up like a human pyramid. The guy at the bottom still managed to wail, "Sis! Take it easy! These are brand-new pants—I haven't even worn them three days!"

Seeing this, Wang Kun grew frantic. He lifted his foot, intending to unleash his 'Earth-Splitting Force,' but the moment he stomped down, his foot *sliiid* on the ice. Instead of splitting the earth, he ended up doing the splits, nearly throwing out his back. Gritting his teeth, he threw a punch at Zhang Wen. But before the fist could land, Chen Nianchu extended her sword to block it. A wave of cold energy crawled up his arm, freezing it as if shackled in ice.

"What the heck is this?! My arm's turning into an ice pop!" Wang Kun was shivering when Zhang Wen strolled over with his thunder bath towel, deliberately waving the electric loops in front of his eyes. The small sparks crackling from the purple lightning scared the soul out of Wang Kun. "Boss! I was wrong! I'm not that dirty! No need to scrub!" He fell to his knees with a *thump*, tears and snot streaming down his face. "I'll take these idiots and perform a disappearing act for you right here!"

A few lackeys who had already been 'scrubbed' joined in with mournful faces. "Yeah, boss! Our skin's almost worn thin from your scrubbing! Any more and you'll see bone!" One clever one added, "Your bath towel packs too much force—it's even harsher than the iron palm of the old man at the bathhouse downstairs!"

Zhang Wen retracted the thunder bath towel and tapped his chin with a finger. "Huh? Not enough force? Want me to crank up the voltage?"

"No, no, no! That's enough, that's enough!" Wang Kun hurriedly kowtowed, leaving a red mark on his forehead. "Boss, miss, spare us! You take the treasure. We'll scram right now, guaranteed to vanish so cleanly it'll be like your bath towel scrubbed us away!"

The lackeys nodded vigorously in agreement. One who had just had his back scrubbed muttered under his breath, "Actually... aside from being scary, it did feel pretty clean..."

Zhang Wen was amused. He withdrew the lightning and scratched his head. "Alright, fine. Since you all seem to understand 'cleanliness' so well, get lost." Chen Nianchu giggled, tapping Wang Kun's head with her sword sheath.

The two turned and walked away, the glowing treasure tucked away, leaving Wang Kun and his lackeys huddled together, shivering—half from fear, half from the chill Chen Nianchu had left behind. From far away, they could still hear a voice calling out, "Boss Wang! My back's been scrubbed so shiny! Guess I don't need to shower when I get home, right?" "Shut up! Mention that bath towel again and I'll throw you on the ice to use as a mop!"

The echoes of the farce hadn't yet faded. Zhang Wen, carrying his newly 'blessed' thunder bath towel, walked side by side with Chen Nianchu deeper into the Secret Realm. The ground still bore a few black scorch marks from the lightning and patches of unmelted thin ice, resembling an abstract graffiti—a sort of 'we were here' memento left for Wang Kun and his crew.

"You know, that bath towel of yours is really handy," Chen Nianchu said, poking a scorch-marked rock by the path with her sword sheath. "Next time, maybe get an electrified washboard? Might double as an interrogation tool."

Zhang Wen was about to reply when a mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind: "Ding—Detected high-density energy reaction 300 meters ahead. Suspected Thunder-attributed secret treasure. host is advised to prioritize exploration."

"Whoa! The System finally remembers me!" Zhang Wen's eyes instantly lit up like two searchlights, and his steps became three parts lighter. "Watching Chen Nianchu absorb all those shiny treasures these past few days, my hands were itching so bad I almost wanted to split some thunder just to pass the time. Finally, something for me!"

He was practically beaming, but Chen Nianchu stopped walking, tilting her head to look at him. "What's up (｡･ω･｡)? Suddenly looking like you won the lottery." The little ice flower condensed at her fingertip nearly slipped from her grasp. "Did you catch a whiff of treasure?"

Zhang Wen cleared his throat twice, deliberately puffing out his chest and putting on a profound, mysterious air. "Hmm, just sensed something good nearby. Probably a big one. Got a little excited."

"Treasure?" Chen Nianchu frowned, scanning the surroundings. She even sniffed the air with the tip of her nose—her innate talent had always been sensitive to energy fluctuations, but right now, apart from the rustle of wind through leaves, there was nothing. "Why can't I sense anything (๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣? Is it being blocked by something?"

Zhang Wen secretly gloated but kept a straight face. "Eh, maybe my cultivation has improved recently, and my perception is just a tiny bit stronger than yours." He even raised a hand to stroke an imaginary beard, only to have Chen Nianchu rap him on the head.

"Less bragging, more leading!" She slung her frost longsword over her back, her ice-blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. "If we don't find anything, I'll carve you a 'King of Braggarts' trophy out of ice later."

Following the System's guidance, they walked about a hundred meters deeper into the dense forest. Zhang Wen stopped before a large moss-covered boulder. "This is the place." He pressed his hand against the stone surface. Purple electricity trickled from his fingertips into the rock. With a *crack*, the boulder slid sideways as if a switch had been pressed, revealing a pitch-black opening. Faint *zizzing* sounds of electric current came from within.

"This is... a hidden space?" Chen Nianchu leaned in for a closer look. The edges of the opening were dotted with fine ice crystals—clearly forced out by some kind of energy. "There's a pretty strong smell of lightning inside. Might really be your thing."

The two switched on flashlights and ventured inside. After navigating a narrow passage, the space suddenly opened up. Ahead was a pool the size of a basketball court. The water churned with silvery-white lightning serpents, bubbling and boiling like a pot of electrified hotpot. The surrounding air crackled with discharges.

"A Thunder Pool!" Zhang Wen's eyes went wide. He was itching to dive in for a swim. "The System didn't lie to me! Soaking in this must be more effective than absorbing ten treasures!"

Chen Nianchu circled the pool, testing the energy concentration at the edge with her hand. Her fingertips went numb instantly from the shock. "This Thunder Power is pretty fierce. You better take it easy when you go in. Don't actually become 'electric grilled fish.'" She leaned against the pool's edge, her sword sliding out of its sheath with a *shing*. "I'll stand guard here. Anyone who dares to cause trouble, I'll freeze them into ice sculptures to watch the show."

Zhang Wen grinned, quickly stripped off his outer jacket, and *plopped* into the Thunder Pool. The moment he entered the water, he felt countless threads of lightning drilling into his pores through his Meridians. It felt like countless tiny electric drills were unblocking his pathways—painful enough to make him grimace, yet also carrying a strangely exhilarating comfort. He activated the Myriad Force Thunder Guidance, actively guiding the Thunder Power to circulate within his body. The Bottleneck that had been stuck at the Late Stage of Budding Peak now felt like softened tofu. With a *crack*, it loosened.

The lightning serpents in the pool grew increasingly active, swarming toward him. Zhang Wen's hair stood completely on end, his body wreathed in silvery-white Lightning Radiance. He looked like a glowing lightbulb. Chen Nianchu watched intently from the shore, occasionally swinging her sword to shatter splashes of lightning that flew out, muttering under her breath, "Hang in there. Strive to become a 'Lightning Superman'..."

After an indeterminate amount of time, the Lightning Radiance in the Thunder Pool suddenly surged. Zhang Wen's eyes snapped open, two beams of electric light shooting from his pupils. The Thunder Power within his body surged like floodwaters through an opened sluice gate.

"Success! Budding Peak!" He punched the water's surface. The splash of lightning exploded into a shower of light in the air. He leaped out of the pool, the water droplets on his body vaporizing into white mist before they could hit the ground. "Incredible! This is a hundred times better than the bath towel!"

Chen Nianchu smiled and tossed him a jacket. "Congratulations. Now your perception really can crush mine—but next time you brag, I'm still carving you that trophy."

Zhang Wen caught the jacket and put it on. Looking at the gradually calming lightning waves in the Thunder Pool, he felt the power within him, now several times stronger than before, and his heart swelled with delight. He felt he could take on that Frozen Tundra Giant Crocodile from before single-handedly now. "Let's go. We've pretty much explored this Secret Realm. Time to head out."