Chapter 173 - 148: Ji Zhixing? How Is That Possible?

Chapter 173: Chapter 148: Ji Zhixing? How Is That Possible?

Flapping his Purple Gold Thundercloud Wings, Ji Zhixing stood amid the thunderclouds, gazing down at the earth below.

The purple-gold wings flapped slowly behind him. With every beat, streaks of lightning flashed, looking dazzlingly brilliant.

Surrounded by wandering lightning and roiling dark clouds, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of danger. Instead, he felt entirely in his element.

"It feels great to fly."

An indescribable sense of exhilaration welled up in Ji Zhixing’s heart.

The ability to fly was something everyone desired. Many people’s childhood dreams were filled with fantasies of soaring through the sky under their own power. The thrill of breaking free from the earth’s restraints and weaving freely through the clouds was unmatched by any form of movement on the ground.

And now, he had achieved exactly that. He wasn’t relying on special Scrolls, but on his own power—on the Purple Gold Thundercloud Wings integrated into his body—to truly take flight.

"The Purple Gold Thundercloud Wings—a four-star quality ability," Ji Zhixing noted as he sensed the information of the wings that had been refined and fused into his body.

A four-star ability was by no means weak.

Furthermore, unlike Genetic Equipment—where the built-in ability quality and rank were nearly fixed, remaining the same for a lifetime as they were at the start—this was different. Once an external gene was refined, it transformed into a part of the Cultivator’s body, and its rank would improve alongside the Cultivator’s own rank.

Its ability quality, just like the abilities inherent to one’s own genes, also had a chance to upgrade. It was just that this probability was far lower compared to a Genetic Cultivator’s innate gene abilities, and the conditions for an upgrade were much harsher.

"But I’m different," Ji Zhixing thought silently.

"I still don’t know what that Eight Trigrams Map in my Genetic Melting Furnace is, but it can actually increase my compatibility with external genes when I refine them."

Ji Zhixing carefully sensed his Purple Gold Thundercloud Wings, realizing he was completely different from others. It felt as though he had been born with this pair of wings; there was no sense of unfamiliarity or disconnect whatsoever.

He could even sense that at this very moment, his Purple Gold Thundercloud Wings were intensely craving the thunderclouds surrounding him. The craving was visceral—like a starving man longing for food, yearning to devour it all.

He guessed that if he could refine these thunderclouds and merge them into the Purple Gold Thundercloud Wings, this gene ability might just evolve to a five-star quality.

"Once I unleash the power within these thunderclouds and draw the remnants into my Genetic Melting Furnace for refinement, I’ll give it a try," Ji Zhixing thought secretly, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

A five-star flying ability would be an absolute qualitative leap. There was even a chance the Purple Gold Thundercloud Wings would undergo other transformations by then.

RUMBLE!

Thunder rolled through the dark clouds. Gathering his thoughts, Ji Zhixing gazed far into the distance.

From afar, he spotted the Twisted Forest. At the same time, he noticed continuous pulses of power blooming within the woods, along with three figures locked in a fierce battle against the twisted trees.

"They actually came here," Ji Zhixing muttered, raising an eyebrow.

He hadn’t expected Yu Mengdie, whom he had previously hunted, to show up at this Twisted Forest with Cao Zhenxing and Gongye Zhou.

Right now, the three were unleashing their respective skills, fighting wildly against the twisted trees. Various energy fluctuations clashed violently, setting off an endless stream of explosions.

"What a coincidence." A cold smile crept onto Ji Zhixing’s face.

"Before, I couldn’t do anything to them.

"Although Xiao Mingyue and I could suppress Yu Mengdie by joining forces, I had no counter to Gongye Zhou’s speed.

"And against Cao Zhenxing’s defense, I most likely wouldn’t have been able to break through.

"But this time is different.

"This time, I rode here on a thundercloud. I can unleash the full might of these clouds and absolutely stand my ground against anyone.

"Let alone the three of them, even if Lu Xinghe—the undisputed number one among the three universities—came here now, I reckon I could force him to retreat."

Ji Zhixing was intimately aware of this thundercloud’s power.

When the purple-gold lightning struck, each bolt was as thick as an arm, carrying terrifying might. The main reasons he had endured being struck for so long were his robust regenerative abilities and the fact that his Five-Colored Spiritual Light countered lightning-based attacks.

Beyond that, the primary reason was that the thundercloud had only struck him with one bolt at a time. But now, he controlled this thundercloud and could release dozens of lightning bolts simultaneously.

"This time, both the timing and the terrain are in my favor!"

...

"Is that the Thundercloud Treasure Land?"

Meanwhile, in the Twisted Forest, Cao Zhenxing and the other two also noticed the thundercloud flying in their direction.

All three had heard of this thundercloud before. Gongye Zhou had even stumbled across it. At that time, he had tried charging into the cloud to see if there were any treasures hidden inside.

But the moment he entered, the volatile lightning energy within had violently blasted him right back out. He had been scorched black from head to toe, looking thoroughly miserable. After that, he never dared to set his sights on this thundercloud again.

"Why is this thundercloud heading this way?" Gongye Zhou frowned tightly, feeling a vague sense of unease as he watched the dark clouds drawing ever closer in the sky.

"It shouldn’t be a big problem," Cao Zhenxing said evenly, glancing up at the sky. "I heard this thundercloud is special. As long as you don’t run directly underneath it, it won’t attack unprovoked."