289: Thunder falls, and cultivation reaches perfection!

“Can't you have some cunning and magnanimity?!”

Shen Bei arrived at Bai Wei's office, somewhat annoyed, and wailed, “Isn't my Cultivating of Magnetic Pole Cyclone Yuan Skill for going into the catacombs? To put it bluntly, I'm working for the country, so why am I still being charged for electricity?!”

Bai Wei didn't even lift her head, correcting documents, her fingers hooking a stray strand of hair, and said indifferently, “When you say you're working for the country, don't you feel ashamed? Oh, right, you don't have that emotion, how enviable.”

Shen Bei: …

Shen Bei pulled over a chair, rested his arms on the seat, propped his legs on the table, and said with a ruffian look, “What about the bigger picture? Can't you even afford 300,000 yuan?”

“It's only been three days, and you've already spent 300,000 yuan.”

Bai Wei placed the corrected document aside, pulled out another document, and continued to review it, “If you stayed for a hundred days, how much would that be? You do the math.”

Shen Bei smacked his lips, “You know I'm not good at math.”

Bai Wei chuckled, “The military's funds don't just come from nowhere. There's no such item in the annual budget. What do you expect me to do? At the end of the year, when I meet the big boss, and I tell him it's your electricity bill, Shen Bei, will he give you Face? Or should I sell a kidney to cover the shortfall?”

Shen Bei scoffed, pulled over the document Bai Wei had just corrected, opened it, and said, “Maybe I have Face with the big boss.”

“Who do you think you are?”

Bai Wei reminded him unceremoniously, “Although the big boss has heard your name, the country has its rules and regulations, especially when it comes to money. Income and expenditure are two separate lines, and once reflected in the accounts, finance cannot erase them.”

Shen Bei rolled his eyes and said nothing more.

His gaze was drawn to the document in his hand.

It was about the application for the location of a simulated combat exercise to be held soon between social Martial Artists and Martial Arts University students.

“Qipan Mountain?”

Shen Bei mumbled the place name, “This place is still under military control?”

Qipan Mountain is located outside Shen Bei New District.

It's not famous for its scenery, but for its strange slope.

If a ball is placed at the bottom of this strange slope, it will roll uphill.

Even a car, without any power, if stopped at the bottom of the slope, will slide uphill.

In fact, there is more than one such strange slope in the country; there are others as well.

It's actually a visual illusion; it looks like an uphill, but it's actually a downhill.

At this moment, Bai Wei nodded, “Strictly speaking, the exercise area is under military control. Other areas are scenic spots. Exercises are usually like a locust plague, so we can only use our military training grounds.”

Shen Bei glanced at the exercise time.

It was set for three days later.

“You're participating too, right?” Bai Wei asked.

Shen Bei nodded, “Teacher Gu told me to go too. Actually, I don't want to go, it's boring.”

“Go,” Bai Wei handed a consultation document back to Shen Bei, “Your teacher still has a lot of ideas.”

Shen Bei took the consultation document and opened it to look.

There was a lot of content on it.

In summary, the current Martial Arts Exam has certain flaws. After Professor Gu Xinrou's proposal, in addition to meeting the four-dimensional attribute standards, the Martial Arts Exam also needs to add a Fifth Dimension Attribute assessment for those students who failed.

It cited an example of a student with electricity immunity. Although the name wasn't mentioned, Shen Bei knew it was him.

For this, Vice Minister Qin Tian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education and President of Beijing Martial Arts University, consulted various people for their opinions on whether to approve the Fifth Dimension Attribute assessment, how to assess it, and what standards to use.

Shen Bei scratched his head.

He looked speechless.

Professor Gu Xinrou was overthinking again…

Back at Lingnan City Martial Arts University, it was like a copy of himself, forcing students to work, which completely confused them.

Now she's come up with another “big move.”

“What are your thoughts?” Bai Wei asked calmly.

Shen Bei shrugged, “What thoughts could I have? Anyway, I don't need the Martial Arts Exam.”

“So, you mean it's meaningless?”

“The Fifth Dimension Attribute can't be detected at all. If we insist on exploring this potential, should we let students eat poison? Or hold their breath, or try touching live wires? Every single one carries a risk to life. If something really goes wrong, wouldn't the students' parents be filing lawsuits left and right?”

“That's true.”

Bai Wei tossed the document aside. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to control her tone, “I also feel it's meaningless. Even if some students are like you, immune to certain damage, what good is it if their other attributes are weak? In my opinion, the country needs elite Martial Artists who can fight like an army of one, not a bunch of commoners.”

“That's a bit extreme,” Shen Bei said, his Face serious yet amiable, “Strength comes in numbers.”

“Does that apply to me, or to you?”

Bai Wei stretched, “To be blunt, a group of commoners is no match for Nine Lives Raven alone. Meeting him is just a free surrender. The only ones who can truly stop Nine Lives Raven are the Ten Heavenly Kings. Anyone below the Martial God level, Nine Lives Raven won't even bother to look at. Do you understand what I mean?”

Shen Bei nodded solemnly.

“So, I'll cover this electricity bill for you.”

Bai Wei tapped the table, her gaze lingering on Shen Bei for a moment, and said indifferently, “Don't disappoint me; grow up.”

Shen Bei was momentarily dazed, then smiled, “How many people have you said that to?”

“Three,” Bai Wei admitted directly, “The first is Yun Zhiyi, but now his faith has collapsed. The second is Zhuang Bifan. I don't know how far he'll go in the future, but his faith is definitely not a problem, aside from his liking to show off.”

Shen Bei questioned, “What makes you think Zhuang Bifan won't follow Yun Zhiyi's old path?”

“Do you know about fishing enthusiasts?” Bai Wei asked.

Shen Bei nodded, “I do.”

“Fishing enthusiasts are addicted to fishing and are generally not interested in other things, nor do they cheat. What do you think?”

“Although it's a bit absolute, it… seems somewhat reliable,” Shen Bei shrugged.

“And you,” Bai Wei's eyes narrowed, her full lips curved upwards, revealing glimpses of her teeth, “have absolutely no faith. You only do things for yourself, so pure that you can't be purer. You won't be influenced by anything. You have your flexible moral bottom line.”

Bai Wei's tone sounded like a joke, but her eyes were very serious as she spoke again:

“On trivial matters, you have no morals, even being despicable and shameless. The Four-person Group of Zha Tian Gang wishes they could skewer you and roast you over a fire, then sprinkle some cumin and chili powder.”

“But on the larger scale, the achievements you've led Zha Tian Gang to are obvious and undeniable.”

“So, I'm not afraid of you joining the Headhunter Tribe or the Apocalypse Cult. Even if you actually do so one day, it will be for your own benefit, not to change your stance.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Bei felt as if he had been stripped naked by Bai Wei.

But Shen Bei's expression remained bright, his pure white teeth showing that his master was in a very joyful mood: “It's rare in life to hear such good news. Where's the enlistment application form? I'll join the military right now!”

“Stop messing around.”

Bai Wei waved her hand, “Even if you wanted to join the military, I wouldn't want you. It's too chaotic and annoying all day long.”

Shen Bei tilted his head and slapped the table, “Oh, so now you've finally figured it out.”

Bai Wei's smile slowly faded, “I'm not joking. You are a free bird.”

“A mighty eagle.”

“It doesn't matter if you're a sand sculpture either.”

Shen Bei: …

Can't talk anymore.

Goodbye!

Shen Bei left Bai Wei's office.

This trip only clarified one thing: the electricity bill would be reimbursed by the military…

Otherwise, with his savings, Cultivating to a million volts would truly be unbearable.

Shen Bei left the military and went to the Martial Arts University.

According to Shen Bei's plan, transforming True Qi into dark clouds, although a simple method, also required a trick.

The difficulty was similar to learning telekinesis.

The military's Martial Skill library was full of powerful stuff.

But there was no technique for transforming True Qi into dark clouds.

The Martial Arts University's treasure vault did have it, but it required integral to exchange.

Shen Bei's integral had been transferred by Liao Zhongyang.

He could only press-gang people.

He arrived at the Martial Arts University's comprehensive building, at the Zha Tian Gang office.

At this time, the Zha Tian Gang's base was already very well-furnished.

Seats and cabinets were all in place.

On the wall hung bright, brush-written characters: “Work together, create new glory.”

Red background with black characters.

The brushstrokes were strong, penetrating the paper.

Inside, everyone except Liao Zhongyang was there. Liao Zhongyang was still in the forging building, still tinkering with Shen Bei's dual blades.

It seemed there was a problem.

Mainly, Oleg's dual blade Materials were too Advanced, and the proportion of newly added auxiliary Materials might be incorrect, causing a decrease in strength.

They were currently revising the formula.

Shen Bei pointed at the large characters on the wall and said, “Not bad, who wrote them?”

Niu Yanben proudly raised his head, “Envious, right? I wrote them, hey!”

Shen Bei was surprised, “You have such refinement?”

“Don't use your cultural level to measure my artistry, hey.”

Shen Bei patted Niu Yanben's shoulder, “I'll find you for the New Year couplets. It'll save a few bucks.”

Niu Yanben pointed at Shen Bei and, with a pained expression, said to the others, “Look, what kind of person is this! He won't even provide paper, pen, and ink for the couplets. We're really used to him freeloading, hey!”

Shen Bei sat down boldly in a chair and said shamelessly, “Your existence is for me to fleece you. Otherwise, how could weaklings like you have the nerve to hang out with me?”

“Damn it!” Du Ziteng slapped the table, “If I couldn't beat you, I'd definitely hit you!”

Qi Chuanyu smacked his lips, “The root of all this is Liao Zhongyang. I've repeatedly emphasized that without Liao Zhongyang's showing off, Shen Bei wouldn't have done Stance Training, wouldn't have gotten into the Martial Arts University, and certainly wouldn't be showing off in front of us.”

Shen Bei laughed heartily and waved his hand, “Just kidding, can't you guys take a joke?”

The others rolled their eyes.

Shen Bei tapped the table, “Serious business. Did Bai Wei investigate my character through you guys? How did you answer?”

The three looked at each other and said in unison, “Absolute praise!”

Shen Bei gave them a look of disdain, “I saved your dog lives several times in vain. I treat you like people, but you're not acting like people.”

“Punishment! I must punish you today!”

“I'll fine you by having you go to the Martial Arts University's treasure vault and exchange for a technique to transform True Qi into dark clouds.”

Qi Chuanyu's mouth twitched; he finally understood.

Shen Bei was clearly looking for an excuse to extort them.

“Why beat around the bush?” Qi Chuanyu raised an eyebrow, “Isn't it just that you want to freeload?”

“Exactly, it's not like we're short on those few points,” Du Ziteng snorted.

Niu Yanben swallowed, looking somewhat serious, “Next time, don't pretend. Just say what you need, hey!”

Shen Bei shrugged.

Although everyone in Zha Tian Gang would bicker whenever they met, constantly bringing up old matters and arguing.

However, they were still very united internally.

They also knew that Shen Bei's integral had been used for re-forging his dual blades.

He was dirt poor.

Shen Bei needed this kind of small technique, and they didn't even ask, just pooled some skill points and exchanged it from the treasure vault.

They were absolutely unambiguous when it came to helping.

“Thanks, I'll treat you to a meal another day,” Shen Bei said, taking the book and turning to leave.

Niu Yanben picked his ear and asked the other two, “Did I just hear things? Shouldn't it be him treating us to a meal, hey?”

Du Ziteng's mouth twitched, “See? The evaluation we gave Bai Wei's investigation was still too conservative. It should have been zero stars.”

Qi Chuanyu picked his nose, watching Shen Bei walk away, “Shameless people are truly invincible.”

…

Back at the military.

Shen Bei came to a secluded area.

He spent two hours thoroughly reading and contemplating this “Cloud Control” Martial Skill.

With the Fifth Dimension Attribute's blessing, he quickly grasped the key points.

By now, the sky had darkened, and the moon and stars were sparse.

Shen Bei slowly raised his hand, palm upwards, as if holding up a colossal weight.

Instantly, the True Qi within him surged like a tide, rapidly converging between his palms along his Meridians.

As the True Qi churned, an invisible Qi vortex gradually formed, initially as weak as a thread, then rapidly growing, like the eye of a storm brewing in his palm.

Then, Shen Bei roared, pushing his palms upwards. The long-accumulated True Qi instantly burst forth from his body, like a giant Dragon ascending, rushing straight into the sky.

In an instant, the originally clear night sky seemed to be torn apart by an invisible force. A thick mass of dark shadow rose from above the protagonist's head, rapidly expanding and churning.

That was his “dark cloud,” simulated with True Qi, incredibly realistic and majestic in Aura.

When this dark cloud first appeared, it was like ink dropping into water, spreading rapidly and instantly covering half the sky, continuously roiling.

As the dark cloud formed, the surrounding temperature plummeted, cold winds howled, and vegetation swayed.

And within the dark cloud, the electricity within Shen Bei's body was already silently brewing in the deep sky.

Instantly, electric light flickered, and thunder rumbled, just like the coming storm in nature.

The edges of the dark cloud intertwined with the moonlight, forming eerie and magnificent light and shadow, like brushstrokes in an ink painting, both bold and delicate.

Deep within the clouds, occasionally a few thick bolts of lightning cut through the darkness, like silver snakes dancing wildly, illuminating the night sky.

“Falling Thunder!”

Boom~~

A bright purple lightning bolt, like an electric sword, struck straight down to the ground.

It sliced the night sky in two.

Rumble…

Crack…

Unintentionally, the Falling Thunder directly struck a nearby transformer.

The transformer was like paper, fragile and unbearable, instantly exploding into a scattering of iron chunks and copper wires.

The lights of the military base were once again extinguished in the darkness.

Then, Bai Wei's scream was heard from her distant office, “Shen Bei! Damn it, my promotion to Silver rank has been ruined by you again! Ah!!! I'm going to kill you!”

Shen Bei shrank his head.

He continuously used the Seven Stars Steps, directly making his escape…

…

The next day.

An unknown simulated combat exercise began at Qipan Mountain.