92: Hidden strength and clever response

If these peaceful days could truly be called peaceful, they didn't last long. Li Dong was still pondering He Tianzheng's scrutinizing gaze when a new directive came down.

"Emergency mission! All available personnel from the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Squads, assemble immediately! Black Wind Gulch—that place we reconnoitered before—has a high-level mutated demon! The outer patrol has been torn to shreds!"

Black Wind Gulch… Li Dong remembered this place; the System in the archives had marked it as being connected to the Soul-Devouring Demon Flower. He Tianzheng was sending him there again, and now there was a "high-level mutation"? Was this a new round of testing, or was that old fox getting impatient?

Zhou Tong's Face was darker than the bottom of a pot: "Black Wind Gulch again? Last time it was just some scout-level minor demons; this time… 'high-level mutation,' it doesn't sound good." He glanced at Mu Feng, "Kid, stick close, don't cause any more… trouble."

Li Dong thought to himself, my 'trouble' has probably long become your favorite thing, hasn't it?

That demon was practically a nightmare materialized. Taller than two men stacked, covered in a hideous chitinous shell, riddled with pulsating blood vessels, and countless gleaming segmented limbs. Its size and speed were unbelievably fast, and the pressure in its roar made it hard to breathe. It was definitely a Late Foundation Establishment Stage demon, and a formidable one at that.

The battle instantly plunged into a fierce struggle. Ordinary team members were like paper in front of it, one slap, one kill. Zhou Tong, experienced as he was, was also forced into a frantic scramble, constantly facing mortal danger. Mu Feng, as usual, stumbled and dodged attacks purely by "luck," almost being disemboweled several times.

"Damn it, Mu Feng! Move!" Zhou Tong roared, clumsily parrying a claw that nearly took off his head.

Li Dong felt a sharp pain in his ribs, struck by one of the demon's appendages. His clothes tore, and blood instantly gushed out. The raw, chaotic Demonic Qi surging into him made his scalp tingle. In that instant, the shadow of death truly enveloped him, and something within his body, long suppressed, seemed to break its chains.

Or rather, it exploded.

A torrent of spiritual power, far exceeding anything before, erupted violently in his Meridians. It wasn't a gentle expansion, but a wild, painful Impact. He felt his Meridians being torn apart, then filled and widened by an even more surging power.

【System Notification: Host has broken through to Late Foundation Establishment Stage. All attributes have increased.】

"Heh… just in time, huh." Li Dong spat softly, unsure if it was sweat or blood that had run into his eyes. He almost laughed out loud; this pressure cooker, the effect was outstanding.

The demon seemed to sense the change in him, letting out an even more ferocious roar. Its countless compound eyes locked onto him, and it charged.

"Alright, big guy," Li Dong snorted, no longer bothering to feign ignorance. He raised his hand, "Then let's have some fun."

The initial stance of the Spirit Transformation Demon Suppression Seal felt completely different. Spiritual power circulated with an unprecedented smoothness and ferocity. Golden runes, more brilliant and complex than ever before, burst from his palm, forming a magical seal radiating a sacred aura.

"Suppress!"

The magical seal shot out, striking the demon squarely in the chest. The monster let out a shrill shriek, its voice filled with pain, and… a hint of confusion? The black Qi on its body, encountering the golden light, melted away like snow on hot oil. Its movements, previously as swift as a ghost, became sluggish for the first time, as if it had fallen into a swamp.

"It… it's working!" a surviving team member cried out.

Zhou Tong's mouth hung open, his jaw almost hitting the ground: "This… what is this?!"

Li Dong didn't stop. Taking advantage of the magical seal suppressing the demon, his lips moved, softly chanting the incomplete incantations of the Purple Firmament Divine Lightning Body Tempering Art. In the air, faint flashes of electricity flickered. Although deep in the gulch, dark clouds seemed to gather overhead.

"Give me some power, give me some Face!" he muttered to himself. He was only half-proficient in this lightning Dao, but with his spiritual power surging, it seemed worth a try.

Sizzle! A thin, twisted purple electric snake, about the thickness of his thumb, shot from his fingertip, accurately striking the demon. It wasn't a world-destroying heavenly lightning, but more like a small, irritated electric eel taking a sharp bite.

The demon convulsed violently, its limbs trembling. The lightning itself had moderate destructive power, but its paralyzing effect was immediate. Already hampered by the Demon Suppression Seal, the demon was now completely disoriented.

"Now!" Li Dong roared, primarily for others to hear. He himself, wielding his standard long saber, which was now imbued with a faint spiritual glow, charged forward.

With the demon suppressed by the magical seal and trembling from the lightning, the subsequent battle had little suspense. Li Dong's figure flickered; his speed and strength were far from his former self. Of course, he still "accidentally" displayed a few "Mu Feng-esque" clumsiness, delivering several clean, decisive slashes. His final strike ruthlessly cleaved an inconspicuous energy node on the demon's body.

"Boom!"

The demon exploded into a shower of black blood and flesh, quickly dissipating into the air, leaving behind only a pungent burnt smell and a faint Demonic Qi.

He had deliberately held back, not using the lightning Dao with full power and controlling the might of the Demon Suppression Seal. His performance was that of "Breakthrough in battle" and "luck exploding," but not so exaggerated as to directly link him to some System or ancient Legacy of an old monster.

He leaned on his saber, panting heavily, trying to look utterly exhausted and disheveled. "Phew… that… that was close… Captain Zhou, my… my luck, it's back again…"

Zhou Tong stared at him, then at the demon's remains on the ground, then back at Mu Feng. He opened his mouth several times before finally managing to stammer out, "Luck? Kid, you… you just broke through? Just like that? And that golden light, that electricity… what in the world was that?!"

The other surviving team members were also stunned. Awe, confusion, and a touch of indescribable fear. This "Mu Feng" had exceeded their comprehension.

At the same time, deep within the Demon Suppression Headquarters, in He Tianzheng's secret chamber.

The crystal projection screen was frozen at the moment golden light shone on Mu Feng and electric sparks danced at his fingertips. He Tianzheng's perpetually calm mask had shattered completely. His always narrowed, calculating eyes were now wide open, and a sickly flush appeared on his pale cheeks.

"Spirituality… such rich Spirituality, to be able to spontaneously activate and Breakthrough in battle!" He almost reached out, wanting to touch the cold crystal, "And that magical seal… is it the power of purification? Lightning Dao… though crude, it is indeed lightning Dao! Perfect… too perfect!"

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing. "The perfect vessel… it's finally maturing! Faster than I imagined!" He chuckled softly, his laughter dry and grating, imbued with a chilling fanaticism. "My experiment… will definitely succeed!"

While others were still in a daze, the System's notification sound echoed in Li Dong's mind.

【System Notification: Absorbed a large amount of "spirituality fragments" and "heterogeneous energy," [Spirituality] attribute greatly increased, perception enhanced.】

He could clearly feel that his five senses, especially his perception of energy, had become much sharper. The residual Demonic Qi in the gulch was clearer in his perception, and also more… defiled.

He pretended to adjust his breathing and check his "injuries"—those superficial wounds were already healing rapidly after his Breakthrough—then subtly hooked and kicked with his foot. An inconspicuous black crystal, mixed in with the demon's remains, rolled into a nearby rock crevice. That was the demon's core.

He couldn't pick this up in front of everyone.

After he secretly retrieved it later, the System's analysis results quickly came out:

【Item: Degraded Demon Core Crystal (Modified). Components: High-concentration "spiritual essence" (residual), polluted chaotic energy, trace unknown elements… Confirmed to be related to the by-products of "Soul-Devouring Demon Flower" cultivation.】

"By-products, huh…" Li Dong mused. It seemed these demons were not just monsters, but also defective products on a production line, or rather, waste material that still contained "value." He Tianzheng, that old fellow, had truly set up quite a "black factory."

Back at the camp, the atmosphere around Mu Feng had completely changed. The whispers were no longer about his "good luck," but filled with awe for his incredible potential and inexplicable Breakthrough. He was no longer just a strange newcomer, but an unfathomable… powerhouse.

Li Dong himself knew it. The incident at Black Wind Gulch, with his Breakthrough and the display of new abilities, meant his persona as a "simple, honest country boy" was completely ruined. No matter how well he acted, he couldn't hide what he had revealed.

He Tianzheng's increasingly fervent gaze, the mix of awe and distance in his colleagues' eyes, even the change in tone when the deacons spoke to him—all pointed to one fact.

"Well, now I can't be low-key even if I want to." He leaned by the small window in his room, gazing at the grim outline of the Demon Suppression Headquarters in the distance, muttering to himself, "That old fox probably really sees me as his 'perfect vessel.' Others are probably wondering what kind of monster the Department has recruited."

The game, unknowingly, had escalated. His chess piece had been pushed from an unnoticed corner to the center of the storm. That "ease" of being overlooked was gone forever.

The real storm wasn't coming; it had already arrived.

The corners of his mouth involuntarily lifted. Interesting, it was getting more and more interesting.