65: Chapter 65 This perverted bastard, I've wanted to beat him up for ages!

"Damn it! You're still running your mouth even when you're about to die!"

Zhou Tianren looked at Chen Xi, who wore a mocking expression on the cliff, the veins on his forehead bulging; his last shred of feigned composure vanished completely.

He waved his hand and let out a frantic laugh:

"Chen Xi! Do you think I went through all that trouble, pulling strings to change the map to this Echo Gobi, just to take out that girl playing the electronic keyboard next to you?"

"Naive! You couldn't be more wrong!"

Zhou Tianren's eyes were malicious, his tone filled with the superiority of someone who controlled everything:

"The Echo Gobi, the walls can indeed reflect sound waves, but that's just the surface! What you don't know is that beneath this Gobi lies a massive amount of thunder-magnetic ore, forming a natural, gigantic magnetic field!"

"And this magnetic field, besides being able to disrupt sound waves, has an even more lethal function—"

Zhou Tianren pointed violently at Ji Qing, who stood before him wrapped in terrifying thunderous light, and roared at the top of his lungs:

"That is, it can amplify the power of thunder-attribute skill attacks by a hundredfold!!"

"Here, lightning is the Sovereign Judgment! It is the divine punishment!"

"Let's see what you use to block it!!"

Boom!

As Zhou Tianren's words fell, the thunderous light on Ji Qing's body surged suddenly, and the surrounding air was instantly ionized, emitting a teeth-aching "zzzt" sound.

"Do it!"

Zhou Tianren issued the kill order.

Ji Qing's pupil-less thunderous eyes swept coldly toward Chen Xi, and her hands quickly formed seals.

Complex and obscure thunder-type incantations emanated from her throat, carrying a heart-palpitating pressure.

"Oh no!"

Seeing this, Li Murou's expression changed drastically. Instinctively, she prepared to raise her electronic keyboard, wanting to use sound waves to interrupt the opponent's spellcasting.

However, a warm, powerful hand pressed down on her keys.

"Don't move."

Chen Xi shook his head, stopping Li Murou's movements.

"Captain Chen?!"

Li Murou looked at him anxiously: "If we don't control it now, it'll be too late!"

"I know."

Chen Xi's expression was calm, his gaze passing over Li Murou and landing on Su Xiaoxiao: "Mu Rou, I believe you could restrict them. But that... wouldn't be satisfying enough."

A cruel arc curled at the corners of Chen Xi's mouth as he pointed to the twisted-faced Zhou Tianren below: "Doesn't this rich second-generation brat keep claiming he likes Xiao Xiao?"

"Then let Xiao Xiao take action and personally trample him underfoot; that... would be much more satisfying!"

Li Murou was stunned for a moment, subconsciously wanting to retort: "But..."

"No buts."

A voice as cold as an ice spring interrupted Li Murou. Su Xiaoxiao stepped forward, standing directly on the very edge of the cliff.

In her heterochromatic eyes, the usual indifference was long gone, replaced by long-suppressed anger and fighting spirit.

She slammed her magic staff onto the ground, her clothes fluttering wildly in the thunderous wind, her voice bone-chillingly cold: "Captain Chen is right."

"That pervert... I've wanted to beat him up for a long time!"

...

As the speed of Ji Qing's hand seals increased, terrifying phenomena began to appear.

The sky above the Echo Gobi, which had been clear and bright, instantly changed in color and wind.

"Rumble—!!!"

Rolling dark clouds gathered from nowhere, completely obscuring the entire sky, and the originally bright world instantly plunged into darkness, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

Within the clouds, countless purple-black currents resembling giant pythons slithered crazily, emitting deafening explosions.

Wave after wave of massive thunderous energy, as if summoned by a king, gathered frantically toward the palm Ji Qing held high!

The strength of this energy was such that the air within several kilometers became scorched.

"What... what is going on?!" "Why did the sky get dark?!"

In other areas of the Echo Gobi, the other teams that had been busy grinding monsters or traveling stopped their actions in panic.

They looked up, staring fixedly at the area of the sky thick with thunderclouds. Even from a great distance, the suffocating pressure still made their souls tremble.

"Is it a BOSS? Or has some hidden terrifying monster spawned?" "Quick! Defensive stance! Don't get caught in the aftermath!"

For a moment, the entire dungeon was in a state of panic.

However, on the side of the Echo Canyon, the situation was completely different.

Su Xiaoxiao looked at the rolling thunder across the sky above, looking at the world-destroying thunderous light gathering in the hands of that sophomore senior, Ji Qing.

Not only did she not feel a shred of heart-palpitating fear, on the contrary, she felt every cell in her body cheering and leaping with joy!

That was her [Ice-Thunder Origin Return] talent yearning! Those thunder particles that were lethal to others were, in her eyes at this moment, like young swallows waiting to return to their nest, full of intimacy.

A continuous stream of thunderous energy was passively feeding back into her body along the medium of the air, nourishing her.

"Hoo..." Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, a look of intoxication appearing on her face. "This feeling... is amazing."

Below the canyon.

Even with Ji Qing as her reliance,

Zhou Tianren looked at this terrifying celestial phenomenon that seemed about to destroy the world, and he couldn't help but swallow, his legs going weak as he took a step back.

This power... is it a bit too much?

Is this the strength of a top-tier sophomore thunder mage? Plus this hundredfold amplified magnetic field...

If this strike lands, I'm afraid it'll flatten the entire canyon, right?!

Thinking of this, Zhou Tianren panicked and hurriedly shouted at Ji Qing's back:

"Hey! Senior! You... you need to watch your aim!"

"As expected of a mage who controls the power of lightning, but this power is too great! You need to be careful! It doesn't matter if you kill those two pieces of trash, but don't you dare hurt my Xiao Xiao!!"

Hearing this annoying, clamorous face, Ji Qing, who was channeling the lightning, frowned slightly.

She didn't even turn her head, her voice cold and devoid of any emotion:

"Shut up."

"Rest assured, no one understands how to control lightning better than I do."

A flash of disgust crossed Ji Qing's eyes, which were flashing with thunderous light:

"Also, Zhou Tianren, get your status straight. I am not your servant; do not speak to me in such a commanding tone!"

"After this matter is done, I will have repaid your father's favor from back then. From now on, we are even!"

Being scolded in public, Zhou Tianren's expression instantly became as ugly as if he'd eaten feces.

"Hmph!"

He gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly: Pretending to be so high and mighty! Once I win the competition, sooner or later I'll show you who's boss!

On the other side, on top of the boulder.

Li Murou looked at the thunderclouds that were almost pressing down on their heads, feeling the stinging sensation on her skin, trembling in fear, and clutching Chen Xi's sleeve tightly:

"Captain... Captain Chen... is this really okay?"

"That's the sophomore Queen of Thunder! And there's a hundredfold amplification... do we really not need to help?"

Chen Xi patted the back of her hand, signaling her to be at ease.

He looked at the figure in front, bathed in thunderous light and cold wind, a confident arc curling at the corners of his mouth:

"Don't worry."

"Xiao Xiao's current strength is far greater than you think!"

"She is the one... who truly controls ice and thunder!"