My Professions Have Too Much Personality - Chapter 262 - 165: Who is More Vengeful, Struck by Lightning

Chapter 262: Chapter 165: Who is More Vengeful, Struck by Lightning

“A decision?” Su Chen paused, suspicious. “What decision?”

“It’s nothing. First, let’s see if you’ll be acknowledged.” Xia Hanshi shook his head, not elaborating.

Seeing that Old Xia was unwilling to say more, Su Chen knew it was pointless to ask. He noticed that Xia Hanshi’s exposed, withered skin was covered in scars.

“Just a careless injury from a few Deceitful God’s Followers.” Xia Hanshi said it casually, but Su Chen knew that any situation capable of injuring the Chief Judge had to be extremely dangerous.

“In that case, you must get some proper rest,” Su Chen said, seizing the chance. With Old Xia gone, he always felt insecure and had to be careful about many things.

Xia Hanshi glanced at him. “Now that I’m back, I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. I need to guard the Judicial Court for a while.”

“Guard?” Su Chen faltered. ’That word seems a bit unusual.’

Xia Hanshi didn’t conceal the truth. “The Faceless Ghost Followers have gathered in large numbers and are preparing to attack Yingfeng.”

Su Chen’s brow twitched as he blurted out, “The Holy Banquet?”

“Chong Jingtian and his people told you even that?” Xia Hanshi snorted. “They’re certainly good at putting pressure on others.”

’So it’s not the Holy Banquet?’ Sensing that Xia Hanshi wasn’t anxious—he even had time to curse Old Chong—Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

“Correct.” Xia Hanshi, pleased with Su Chen’s sharpness, nodded. “This attack by the Faceless Ghost Followers isn’t the Holy Banquet. It’s an independent assault.”

“However, we find it strange as well.” At this, Xia Hanshi also looked rather puzzled. “They aren’t busy preparing for the Holy Banquet, yet they’re coming to attack Yingfeng.”

“If this attack depletes their strength and prevents them from initiating the Faceless Ghost’s ritual, then the fate of the Red Thunder Star will have nothing to do with them.”

Su Chen lowered his head, deep in thought. He suddenly recalled the Faceless Ghost Divine Son, who had created the vessel of Meng Qi to infiltrate their ranks, all for the Stone Slab that held the Great Venerable Spirituality.

’But I foiled his plan and sent him away in defeat. Could the purpose of this attack on Yingfeng be the Stone Slab? Since they failed to get it through infiltration, are they planning to seize it by force?’

“Have an idea?” A glint flashed in Xia Hanshi’s eyes as he asked.

“No,” Su Chen replied honestly, shaking his head. “I was just thinking about Meng Qi.”

“Meng Qi?” Xia Hanshi frowned, then recalled. “The Core Seed killed by Teng Liang… The methods of the Faceless Ghost…”

Su Chen muttered, “If Meng Qi hadn’t died and had advanced to Tier Four, the Chief Judge would have probably taken him to see the Stone Slab. I wonder if the thing inside would have acknowledged him.”

“The Stone Slab?” Xia Hanshi’s brows furrowed, and he seemed to have a faint suspicion.

Su Chen left it at that, then asked with a worried expression, “Can Yingfeng… withstand this attack?”

Xia Hanshi glanced at him, his expression hardening. “The only reason those Deceitful God’s Followers want to initiate the Holy Banquet is because they can’t defeat us otherwise.”

“They hide in the vast, fog-shrouded lands, making them difficult for us to find. But for them to launch a frontal assault is next to impossible.”

“There may be some unexpected developments this time, but the outcome will remain the same.”

Xia Hanshi sounded certain.

’That’s true… If they had the strength to breach Yingfeng, would they need to resort to sneaking around and infiltrating?’

’The cities those Deceitful God’s Followers chose for their blood sacrifices before were all fringe cities under Yingfeng’s control. It was obviously a move to avoid confronting Yingfeng’s full strength.’

Thinking of this, Su Chen relaxed considerably. He had always thought that Yingfeng and the other three cities were like cornered beasts, fighting for survival on a path to ruin.

’But thinking about it now, the Deceitful God’s Followers initiating the Holy Banquet is actually a sign that they’re out of options, too.’

’They’ve probably reached their limit for recruiting new Believers. Their only option now is to reach into the cities, but all four cities are heavily fortified, so their only recourse is to attempt the Holy Banquet.’

’If the Holy Banquet is thwarted, they’ll also suffer a devastating blow, and might even collapse completely.’

“One more thing,” Xia Hanshi suddenly asked. “The first time Teng Liang killed that Meng Qi in the Judgment Department’s trial hall, was there anyone fanning the flames?”

’Old Xia still remembers that.’ Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat as he looked into Old Xia’s icy eyes.

“I don’t remember the events of that day too clearly, and I arrived late. I heard from Ming Lin that this is what happened…” Su Chen said, trying his best to recall the details.

As he listened, the icy look in Xia Hanshi’s eyes gradually grew strange. He knew the final outcome and that some Black Tuo Followers had jumped out. He just wanted to know if anyone had taken the opportunity to stir up trouble.

But Su Chen’s account was overly detailed—down to every person’s change in expression, down to Xue Fei’s malicious glare.

“You remember it that clearly?” Even Xia Hanshi couldn’t help but ask in the end.

“Huh?” Su Chen looked baffled, then thought for a moment. “Do I? I guess I just have a good memory for things like that.”

’This kid holds a grudge even better than I do,’ Xia Hanshi thought, nodding to himself.

’Holding a grudge is a good thing. It’s better motivation for revenge.’

“Xue Fei… that useless sycophant who was always bowing and scraping behind Wei Yinsuo…” Xia Hanshi said grimly.

Su Chen hesitated. “This… wouldn’t it be bad to just kill him for no reason? After all, he’s a department director in the Judicial Court, and we’re short on manpower right now…”

Xia Hanshi’s eyelid twitched. He gave Su Chen a long, hard look. ’He’s even more ruthless than I am.’

“You’re right,” Xia Hanshi said, his expression unreadable.

“Uh, that’s just my personal opinion. You don’t have to take it to heart,” Su Chen added.

“Alright, I know what I’m doing.” Xia Hanshi waved his hand dismissively and asked, “Has anyone been giving you trouble lately?”

“Not exactly trouble, just some disputes,” Su Chen said with a sigh. “Wei Yufan doesn’t seem to like the sight of me.”

“Him… He’s a student of Old Qi, Zhu Yutie. That is a bit troublesome.” Xia Hanshi frowned. “We’ll have to see when Old Chong leaves. As long as he’s here, it’s difficult to deal with.”

“I’ll leave it to you,” Su Chen said, saying no more.

Xia Hanshi told him to focus on his training and not to worry about anything else, then left.

“It’s a relief to have Old Xia back,” Su Chen muttered as he walked into the Gravity Chamber, ready to work on the final bit of progress for his Cyan Thunder Master advancement.

At the same time, even the most ordinary citizens of Yingfeng could sense that the atmosphere had become unusually tense.

Various organizations throughout Yingfeng announced their examinations were postponed. Not only that, but the Judicial Court also announced a delay. Many people saw giant war chariots and Flying Devices rumbling out of the city’s armories. Every Judge, Inspector Guard, City Patrol Guard, and Explorer Guard they encountered wore a grim, murderous expression.

Everything pointed to a coming storm.

…

A few days later, inside the Gravity Chamber, Su Chen’s skin was crackling nonstop. Fine arcs of electricity danced between the strands of his hair, and a faint, burnt smell hung in the air.

[Rapid Shadow Body Refining Technique has been upgraded to Master Level. Ability Gained—Swift: Slightly increases speed.]

Su Chen let out a long sigh of relief. He glanced at his panel; his progress toward the Cyan Thunder Master was at 95%. He was in the home stretch.

“However, I still have one last advancement requirement to complete.”

Su Chen reached out, took his Wristband from his Storage Space, and connected to the network. He had a notification from the Professional Analysis Department: the thunderstorm environment was ready, and he could enter whenever he wished.

“Perfect…” Su Chen got up, straightened himself out, and headed to the coordinates provided by the Professional Analysis Department.

The location wasn’t inside Yingfeng City, but outside its walls.

To be safe, he called Teng Liang to come with him. They boarded a small Flying Device, completed the necessary procedures, and left the city.

“This seems to be the first time I’ve left the city since I first arrived in Yingfeng.”

Su Chen looked down at the thick city walls below. The massive Defense Spirit Ring encircling Yingfeng seemed close enough to touch as the walls sped past beneath them.

“My teacher sent Xue Fei to the front lines,” Teng Liang, sitting to the side, suddenly said in his usual dull tone. “He’s leading a squad to gather close-range intel on the Faceless Ghost Followers.”

Su Chen raised an eyebrow. ’Old Xia is certainly putting him to good use. Scouting the Faceless Ghost army up close… there are probably Sacrificial Chiefs, maybe even a Faceless Divine Son among them. The danger is self-evident.’

“He was willing?”

Teng Liang shook his head and said flatly, “Willing or not, he has to go. Someone has to do it. Why not him?”

“True,” Su Chen nodded. Xue Fei had kept a very low profile ever since Wei Yinsuo’s death. Unfortunately for him, Old Xia really knew how to hold a grudge.

Teng Liang wasn’t a man of many words. The two made small talk as they flew, and soon they arrived at the coordinates.

It was a valley. From a distance, they could see a vast, dark thundercloud. Thick serpents of lightning writhed madly within the sea of clouds, their rumbles echoing through the valley.

The torrential downpour was like a bursting dam, the dense sheets of rain twisted by the gales into a solid curtain of water.

The Flying Device landed off to the side, where staff from the Professional Analysis Department were already waiting. According to them, this Thunderstorm Zone had been created by two Tier Four Professionals over the course of three days.

“The intensity should be enough to meet the requirements for a Calamity Walker!” the person in charge shouted over the howling wind. This was based on the reference information Su Chen had provided.

“Thank you.” Su Chen nodded and walked straight into the storm.

“Director Teng…” The two Tier Four Professionals who had created the Thunderstorm Zone approached just then. They watched Su Chen’s retreating back, exchanged a glance, and then turned to Teng Liang, unable to hold back their question.

“Is Lord Su Chen not going to use any defensive measures?”

Teng Liang frowned slightly. ’Su Chen didn’t mention needing any, so he probably doesn’t.’

Seeing that he didn’t respond, the two could only wait on the sidelines.

The moment he stepped into the Thunderstorm Zone, Su Chen felt a frantic throbbing between his brows. The air around him was saturated with extremely dense and agitated Thunder Element.

’I’m about to get struck…’ Su Chen tentatively wrapped himself in a layer of Thunder Element under his control.

In the next instant, a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck him.

BOOM!

His entire body was engulfed in a storm of blue-white lightning. Countless arcs of electricity coiled around his limbs like frenzied vines.

The immense kinetic energy from the strike slammed him into the ground. A dense web of electrical patterns appeared on the surface of his skin, pulsing with overloaded current.

“He’s just taking it head-on?”

’Don’t you need defensive measures to get struck by lightning? A Calamity Walker should be able to use defensive measures to weaken the force of the strikes.’

In the distance, the two Tier Four Professionals noticed this, and their hearts leaped. They wondered, ’Could he not be a Calamity Walker?’

Although the two of them had worked together to create this zone, they had also harnessed the power of a natural thundercloud. They knew exactly how much power it contained.

They couldn’t help but worry. Chief Judge Xia had just returned and had already taken care of Xue Fei.

If anything happened to his precious student, the two of them would likely face his wrath as well.

At that thought, the two could only pray silently.

“Fuck…” Su Chen grunted. ’That was really intense.’

However, while his clothes had been blasted to smithereens, his body hadn’t sustained much damage.

’This seemingly simple requirement is actually terrifying. An ordinary Tier Three Professional might be able to withstand one or two strikes, but doing it for three days straight without any defenses? They’d be lucky to only end up as a pile of ash,’ Su Chen thought, amazed.

Immediately, he activated his Thunder Undying Armor ability. It attached to the Purple Gold Scale Armor hidden beneath his skin, and the pressure on his body vanished instantly.

An endless stream of lightning descended. Part of it was absorbed by the Undying Armor, while the rest was completely unable to harm him.

“I have to get struck like this for a whole day.” Su Chen spat out a mouthful of crackling sparks. Even though the lightning could no longer hurt him, the sensation of being constantly struck was still quite unpleasant.

Time ticked by, second by second. The two Tier Four Professionals stood to the side, maintaining the intensity of the Thunderstorm Zone.

Twenty-four hours passed quickly. Su Chen shot out of the storm, completely naked, but he paid it no mind.

“Was that enough time?” Teng Liang asked, quite surprised.

“Close enough.” Su Chen took a set of clothes from the person in charge and put them on.

’Good heavens, he really just tanked it without a scratch.’ The two Tier Four Professionals were secretly dumbfounded and quite surprised. ’He only took the lightning for one day. It seems he really isn’t a Calamity Walker after all.’

“Let’s go, then.” Teng Liang didn’t ask any more questions and left with Su Chen. The staff from the Professional Analysis Department began to clean up and dismantle the Thunderstorm Zone.