Chapter 147: Close Combat Divine Skill

At Tianxuan Men, heavy snow falls ceaselessly throughout the year.

On the peak of Hei Luo Cliff, high in the void, stands a girl with purple wings on her back, surrounded by swirling thunder and lightning, as if a celestial deity has descended to earth.

Facing her is an ordinary young man, armed with nothing but a sword.

Xu Xiaoshou pats Zang Ku and turns with a smile. "Are you sure?"

Her reply comes as a defiant shout, full of stubbornness. "I am sure!"

Young people can be so impulsive… Xu Xiaoshou shakes his head and says calmly, "Your parents will grieve for your decision."

Luo Leilei: …

Her eyes suddenly turn dangerous.

"How do you want to fight?" Xu Xiaoshou asks nonchalantly.

He has just completed his breakthrough and is still figuring out his own strength, so having an opponent like this isn't bad.

If it were someone like Yuan Tou at the level of the new thirty-three, it might not be much of a challenge.

This girl is different—a Sheng Nu… she's quite formidable!

"Hand-to-hand combat, swordplay, or spellcraft?" Xu Xiaoshou offers generously. "You choose."

His current fighting styles include these three, and from what he recalls, geniuses are often proficient in both magic and martial arts, excelling in everything.

With his own mastery of sword, body, and techniques, isn't he even more impressive?

"Hmph, I'm going to take you down!" Luo Leilei snorts coldly. She crosses her four fingers to form a triangle, framing Xu Xiaoshou in the distance.

She's well aware that her physical strength is no match, so she avoids direct confrontation. Since she's not skilled in swordplay, she opts for ranged combat.

As soon as she forms the seal, Xu Xiaoshou senses the danger. He looks up to see the sky darkening with storm clouds, silver lightning snaking through them.

"Forcing a heavenly tribulation on me?"

Xu Xiaoshou isn't foolish enough to stand there and get struck. He leaps into the air, bursting through the clouds.

A tingling numbness washes over him, but it's mild and still under control.

"Heh, can your lightning strike upward now?"

Luo Leilei is stunned by his bold move, taking a moment to recover.

"Heh, you guessed right!"

Zzzzt—

Flashes of electricity erupt as purple thunderbolts, like massive serpents, surge toward Xu Xiaoshou.

But this time, he's prepared. Knowing his speed can't outrun the lightning… he's physically strong, though!

He tosses Zang Ku to the side, dodging just in time to redirect the lightning toward it.

Boom!

The thunderclap nearly bursts his eardrums. Xu Xiaoshou can only hope Zang Ku is unharmed as he clenches his fist toward the massive cloud layer below.

"Jin Zhao Tian Fen!"

His inner Ling Yuan plummets sharply, yet the void heats up intensely.

The usually sluggish spiritual energy of heaven and earth seems forcibly invigorated, turning into steaming mists that rise scorchingly.

The clouds below evaporate into nothingness in an instant.

With the clouds gone, their eyes meet across the distance, and Xu Xiaoshou sees the shock in Luo Leilei's beautiful eyes.

The next second, pain flashes in her pupils.

Thud, thud!

"Jin Zhao Tian Fen… One Glance, a Thousand Years!" Xu Xiaoshou chuckles.

The invisible Jin Zhao Tian Fen flames latch onto Luo Leilei!

His spiritual techniques are incredibly unfriendly to enemies—they're almost all instant-cast.

"What the hell is this?"

Luo Leilei experiences the same agony that Shao Yi felt that night. Her first instinct is to block it with Ling Yuan, but it burns right through that too!

Xu Xiaoshou is no longer the same as he was that night.

Now in Yuan Court Realm, even at the initial stage, the quality and quantity of his Ling Yuan are vastly superior.

As someone who gained Ling Yuan at the acquired level, his innate Qi Sea transformation and the Golden Dragon illuminating his Dan—it's like an abnormal leap in development for him.

"Full of Yuan Qi" doesn't even need upgrading; with one glance, the ongoing consumption of Ling Yuan is negligible, leaving him without any worries.

Seeing Luo Leilei trying to defend herself, he grabs at the air, compressing the Jin Zhao Tian Fen flames on her.

With his "Culinary Mastery" advanced to the innate level, he can now control the heat from a distance.

Luo Leilei writhes in agony. Without her innate physical body, she'd have been incinerated if not for her Lei Shen Zhi Qu blocking most of the damage.

"How is his spellcraft this strong too?"

Low on defensive techniques, Luo Leilei decides to fight fire with fire.

She claws her hands into the void and rips it open violently.

"Jin Kong Lei Yu!"

— A Zongshi-level spiritual technique!

In an instant, the space within a hundred zhang around Xu Xiaoshou collapses. Black thunderbolts, like ancient trees come to life, intertwine and strike down relentlessly.

Boom, boom, boom!

Endless thunder engulfs the target, turning the sky into a deadly sea where only corpses could float.

Luo Leilei pants heavily—the attack has drained her significantly. But soon, her pupils shrink in alarm, and her scalp tingles.

In the "Jin Kong Lei Yu," there's only… a bathtub?

What is that?

Where's Xu Xiaoshou?

She scans with her spiritual sense and looks up sharply, spotting an unstable energy orb shooting down from above.

"Small Fireball Technique!"

The compressed, scorching energy is terrifying to behold. Luo Leilei dodges immediately.

With a massive explosion, the air surges upward, melting the falling snow into mist in an instant. A mushroom cloud rises clearly.

Luo Leilei is flung through the air.

To her horror, in the direction she's flying, another compressed fireball hurtles toward her.

Farther away, Xu Xiaoshou wears a sinister grin, three more compressed fireballs in his hand.

"Heh, take your time. Dodge this one, and there's another; dodge that, and there are three more!"

A compressed fireball races straight at her face. At the critical moment, Luo Leilei shows her incredible reflexes.

"Zi Dian Guang Ying!"

Her body shakes and transforms into a streak of golden lightning, barely grazing past the fireball.

"Gold… Golden Flash?" Xu Xiaoshou is astonished.

He envies people with so many flashy spiritual techniques.

Unfortunately, his talents limit him to plain, self-created ones—he has to rely on raw power to impress.

In that split-second distraction, Luo Leilei doesn't pull away; instead, she closes in.

Zzzzt, zzzzt—

A sound like melodious birdsong rings in his ears as Xu Xiaoshou sees the lightning coiling around her hand up close…

"Thousand… Thousand Birds?"

"Lei Ji Mu!" Luo Leilei strikes fiercely, aiming to pierce straight through him. So what if he's at Zongshi level? This technique is the strongest single-target attack!

Hiss!

In the crisis, Xu Xiaoshou inhales sharply toward her face.

This is the close-combat divine skill he realized from sucking up Lao Sang's flame seed in the Spirit Repository Pavilion that day.

Unlike the foul odor back then, he now smells only the girl's fresh scent.

Sizzle—

Luo Leilei is shocked as her Ling Yuan riots chaotically, leaving her bewildered.

The lightning on her hand weakens instantly, only managing to melt his clothes… her strike doesn't even break the skin, turning into a light press.

Xu Xiaoshou looks down blankly at her fair jade hand on his chest.

"You're touching me again?"

Luo Leilei feels dizzy, her anger unvented. Xu Xiaoshou seizes her wrist, lifts it up, exposing her chest completely.

He forms his fingers into a blade and strikes without mercy, piercing through her chest!

Thud!

Luo Leilei widens her eyes, spitting blood onto his face.

Xu Xiaoshou exhales lightly, his gaze wandering.

This is his first battle since entering the innate realm. He thought a Sheng Nu at the upper Ling realm would be stronger, but… she's disappointingly weak!

"Remember, no matter how powerful your spiritual techniques are, never try to engage me in close combat—it's hopeless."

He wipes the blood from his face and looks at Luo Leilei's fading expression, saying slowly, "You've lost."