CHAPTER 413: CHAPTER 413: TEMPERING (SEEKING SUBSCRIPTION)

Now Pei Yan truly understood the meaning of the words epiphany and self-forgetfulness. He was constantly shifting between these two states, focusing only on maintaining his current physical condition and the long knife in his hand against his enemies. With each swing, he gained new insights.

Once engulfed in this state, Pei Yan’s highly concentrated Spirit Power made him forget the fatigue of his mind and body. After further mastering the ability to sustain the forces of lightning and vibration for longer periods, he unleashed his domain, significantly enhancing his sensory and reaction speed. The video information fed into his brain from multiple angles at lightning speed, allowing him to easily dodge the enslavers’ attacks from tricky angles. This sense of controlling the whole scene excited him, driving him to tirelessly cut through the waves of enslavers back and forth.

Watching the holographic image of Pei Yan slaughtering like mowing grass, and then glancing at the hourglass dripping on the tavern table, those who previously scoffed at Pei Yan in the shelter grew increasingly silent. On the battlefield, Pei Yan’s figure was already indiscernible; only a streak of light darted back and forth among the swarms, leaving a trail of carnage—any enslaver blocking his path was cut down. The process was seamless, like a sharp blade effortlessly slicing through soft silk, everything fell into place naturally.

A gurgling swallow sound came as the bartender at the tavern bar flipped the exhausted hourglass once more. A whole day had passed! Ever since Pei Yan fought his way out of the valley, they had been timing it, and now a full day had gone by! Yet he was still vigorously repeating such killing work.

"Why doesn’t he use the earthquake ability he previously used, instead of laboriously engaging in close combat!" someone in the tavern whispered. By now, no one dared to call Pei Yan recklessly arrogant anymore. Even without the Red Scourge, being able to perform such feats under the same conditions was a rarity in the Hell Plane.

"Maybe that move consumes too much, and he can’t use it consecutively?" This statement immediately found agreement.

"Yes, it must be so!"

"Indeed, it should be that way!"

Suddenly a low voice interrupted the chatter in the tavern, Raphael’s gloomy face barked, "Fools, he’s using these enslavers as his sharpening stone, honing his skills!"

"What!" "Is he insane to train in such circumstances?"

Ignoring the new round of discussion his words sparked in the tavern, Raphael turned to Bailang and Sifuer, noting their equally grave expressions, and knew he was not mistaken. Unlike those who could only see a streak of light in the battlefield, Raphael could barely make out Pei Yan’s movements through the hologram. From clumsy at first to increasingly adept, finally becoming effortlessly in control, the progress was too obvious. What surprised him even more was this person’s reaction ability. He could weave gracefully through the venomous sprays of millions of enslavers, always finding the optimal path to avoid the venomous sprays. Raphael was confident he could do it in a fully concentrated state, but such combat was extremely mentally taxing, and he could not endure for as long as this person could.

"Miss Sifuer, you mentioned that when you met him, he summoned dozens of Steel Puppets similar to himself, but he hasn’t used them since the battle began. Have they been destroyed in combat?" Casro stood up beside the table, asking.

Sifuer didn’t even glance at him, her eyes fixed on the hologram without answering. The ignored Casro’s face stiffened, wanting to retort but was signaled to sit down by Raphael, who reprimanded, "Think about it with your brain. He already has the strength to crush the enslavers, how could he possibly let them destroy his puppets?" He rubbed his chin and looked at Bailang, saying in a deep voice, "Sir Bailang, I think it’s time to persuade him to come back. According to the Red Scourge’s attack frequency, there will be a contraction period next. He can take this opportunity to withdraw."

Bailang glanced at Raphael, shaking his head helplessly, "I thought so too. I just tried to contact him, but I don’t know if there’s a problem with this thing or if he’s refusing to receive my message. There was no response from him."

"Whew! Well, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s see if he can bring us any new surprises!" Raphael then asked the bartender, "It’s been a day and a half, right?"

"Yes!"

"The next wave of offense is coming soon!"

Just as Raphael made this exclamation an hour later, the enslavers on the battlefield retreated once again in waves, leaving behind enough swarms to halt Pei Yan’s pursuit. Like a towering rock amidst the tides, Pei Yan and the mountain of enslaver corpses beneath him stood conspicuously in the now empty battlefield, unabsorbed by their fellows.

Gazing blankly at the retreating dark wave-like swarm, his taut mind snapped like a stretched rubber band. The aftereffects of overextending his Spiritual Power, combined with the contentment from absorbing energy, left Pei Yan’s brain dizzy and his body swollen, limbs momentarily unresponsive. He slumped onto the corpse of an enslaver beneath him.

"Ugh!" Pei Yan shook his hands, flicking away the sticky pus covering them. Even though the acidity of the enslavers’ fluids decreased significantly after death, posing no harm to him, they still looked quite disgusting.

Starting the engine on his back to propel himself off the ground, Pei Yan knew he couldn’t stay here long. He had to find a place to adjust his physical state. After searching around, he chose the previous valley as a temporary shelter.

After setting up defenses deep in the valley, Pei Yan collapsed to the ground, closed his eyes, and began snoring. He finally understood why Lin Junzhao trained him to maintain his original operational state. After the initial effort, once he familiarized himself with this mode till it became a bodily instinct, even with his eyes closed and sound asleep, the core energy would run by itself, dissipating his fatigue and restoring his strength.

He didn’t know how long he slept until a blaring alarm woke him, jolting him awake, eyes snapping open as he sprang up like a carp flipping over, shaking his heavy head. Suzi had already conveyed the scene of the enslaver army’s regroupment.

Putting away the six Mechanical Puppets responsible for vigilance, Pei Yan once again formed his long knife and walked out of the valley.