CHAPTER 397: 397 THE TOP-LEVEL ACCOUNT THAT ALMOST BECAME BLANK

To verify the reliability of the skill, Lin Bai used Jiang Qingqin as an anchor point and successfully used Shadow Following on her. The surprise attack nearly scared Jiang Qingqin, who was cultivating, into a state of cultivation deviation.

The test was a success.

With newfound confidence, Lin Bai refocused his gaze on the ongoing battle between the Thunder Heavenly King and the God of Darkness.

If someone offended him, he’d make them pay dearly. With the loss of the Thunder Hammer, Bei Gui’s strength must have significantly declined. He might not even be able to defeat the God of Darkness. Only a fool would pass up an easy advantage. Exploit their weakness, deliver the fatal blow. Go after him.

A head flew through the Magpie Bridge and into the Dark Space.

Inside, the Thunder Heavenly King and the God of Darkness were fighting fiercely. Once the space was repaired, the God of Darkness had turned the tables and was now pressing the Thunder Heavenly King.

Thunder Spirits were extinguished one after another. The God of Darkness’s arrogant and goading voice echoed within the space, "...Weren’t you going to tear my space apart? Well, come on then! I’ve devoured your mana again. Try taking it back! I’ve never seen such an imbecile. Your own Divine Artifact was snatched from right under your nose! And you call that a partnership? Hahahaha..."

"God of Darkness, don’t celebrate too soon. Do you think Lin Bai will let you off? Even without the Thunder Hammer, I can still handle you," the Thunder Heavenly King said, his face dark as he sneered, "You have no idea what kind of existence I am... Lin Bai, you dare return..."

Before he could finish speaking, a ball of golden lightning had already entwined Lin Bai’s lone head. "Where is my hammer?" the Thunder Heavenly King demanded.

"My main body is outside, waiting to pick up the pieces. Defeat the God of Darkness, and I’ll return the hammer to you." Since neither had been seriously injured yet, Lin Bai’s head chuckled, sowing discord.

SMACK!

Lin Bai’s head was crushed, and his vision went dark.

Shortly afterward, a second head flew over via the Magpie Bridge. "Trapped in the Dark Space, you’ll never get your hammer back, not even in death!"

SMACK!

That head was crushed too.

A new head appeared. "Hammer-Dropping Heavenly King, you coward! So afraid of death you lost your hammer..."

SMACK!

Another head. "I’m waiting for you outside."

SMACK!

One head flew in after another, each appearing just to utter a single phrase, every word dripping with sophistry.

In the background, the Thunder Heavenly King was continuously generating Emotion Value from his anger, and Lin Bai used this to further fuel his rage.

The heads were expendable; losing a few meant nothing to him. Successfully enraging the Thunder Heavenly King and forcing him to fight desperately was all that mattered. He didn’t bother provoking the God of Darkness simultaneously because it wasn’t necessary; one enraged enemy was sufficient...

Head after head arrived in rapid succession, as if fired from a gun, each delivering a single taunt. Even the God of Darkness was dumbfounded by the spectacle.

Truth be told, he considered himself worldly and experienced, but this was the first time he had witnessed such a fighting style. He still hadn’t understood how Lin Bai had managed to snatch the hammer earlier. Logically, the Thunder Heavenly King was an existence on par with himself; it made no sense for his Divine Artifact to be stolen so brazenly.

When he could no longer deliver complete sentences, Lin Bai started sending a stream of heads, each one popping out a single word: "If... you... don’t... secure... the... hammer’s... restriction... soon... I... will... erase... it..."

This utterly shameless harassment tactic finally pushed the Thunder Heavenly King over the edge. He roared, "Thor’s Advent!"

A humanoid figure made of lightning, over three thousand meters tall, suddenly materialized behind the Thunder Heavenly King.

Gazing at the three-thousand-meter-tall Lightning Giant, the God of Darkness suddenly understood. Damn it! I’ve been played! Lin Bai provoked the Thunder Heavenly King, and I’m the one who’s going to suffer for it! That bastard has been scheming from the very beginning...

The God of Darkness hurriedly cried out, "Heavenly King, wait! Lin Bai is our common enemy..."

"Too late!" the Thunder Heavenly King snorted, his voice thick with anger. "The moment the Thunder God is summoned, you are destined to accompany me in death!"

The Lightning Giant raised its hand, a longsword made of lightning materializing within it. With a powerful swing, it slashed forward.

The Dark Space was once again flooded with blinding electrical light. With a deafening BOOM, the Dark Space shattered.

Starlight rained down. Charred, dead trees and the corpses of demonic beasts were obliterated by the blast... Between heaven and earth, only a solitary Magpie Bridge remained.

The God of Darkness shrieked miserably. The fragments of the shattered space coalesced into a pitch-black humanoid form that rapidly fled into the distance.

"Die!" The Thunder Heavenly King stood at the far end of the Magpie Bridge, directing the Lightning Giant to hurl a bolt of lightning at the fleeing God of Darkness.

The lightning tore through space, striking the God of Darkness in an instant and blasting him apart once more.

One of Lin Bai’s heads flew in via the Magpie Bridge, witnessing this exact moment. He immediately placed a mark on the God of Darkness.

All this time, the God of Darkness had never truly revealed himself, so Lin Bai couldn’t mark him even if he wanted to. Now, finally, the opportunity had presented itself.

Bei Gui, despite losing the Thunder Hammer, could still use Thor’s Advent. This proved to Lin Bai that skills learned from Thor’s Hammer wouldn’t disappear with the hammer itself. This is excellent, he thought. I can pass the hammer around for others to learn skills too.

This time, the Thunder Heavenly King didn’t destroy Lin Bai’s head. Instead, he hurled bolt after bolt of lightning at the God of Darkness, then turned his cold gaze to Lin Bai. "Are you satisfied now?"

Lin Bai remained silent, merely observing the Thunder Heavenly King and calculating how much longer the Thunder God manifestation would last.

"Help me eliminate the God of Darkness, and I’ll expect the Thunder Hammer back," the Thunder Heavenly King stated. "The hammer is bound to me and bears my restrictions; you can’t use it even if you have it. Your strength has earned my trust. I agree to cooperate with you to conquer the Continent of Gods and Demons."

"Defeat him first, then we’ll talk," Lin Bai said, gesturing with his chin towards the fleeing God of Darkness, seemingly confident he had the Thunder Heavenly King under control.

The Thunder Heavenly King glared at Lin Bai. A bolt of lightning shot from the Lightning Giant’s hand, transforming as it landed on the God of Darkness into the very same Lightning Cage that had once imprisoned the Body of the War God.

The next moment, the Lightning Cage, containing the God of Darkness who had already fled thousands of miles, reappeared back in the Misty Forest.

Watching the Lightning Giant, Lin Bai was inwardly astounded. The skill description for Thor’s Advent on the Thunder Hammer is clearly inaccurate! It’s not limited to a single world-destroying attack. For three minutes, the user can cast any skill at will, and all skill effects are amplified a thousandfold...

Battered relentlessly, the God of Darkness was also enraged. From within the Lightning Cage, he glared at Bei Gui. "You imbecile! You’re being used and you don’t even realize it! Do you truly believe you can kill me? Dark Touch!"

His body abruptly dissolved into a black mist, seeping out from the Lightning Cage. It re-formed into a humanoid shape outside, and thousands of tentacles instantly enveloped the Lightning Giant.

The instant the tentacles made contact, the towering Lightning Giant began to shrink at a visible rate.

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, severing the God of Darkness’s tentacles.

A black canopy once again blotted out the starlight. From within it, a Devil Dragon, wreathed entirely in black, stretched out its claw, aiming directly for Bei Gui, who was protected by the Lightning Giant.

Simultaneously, a vortex materialized beneath Bei Gui, siphoning power from the Lightning Giant...

Lin Bai watched, utterly mesmerized. Without the Dark Space to constrain them, the two top-tier experts fought with unbridled fury, their battle a true clash of raw power where every blow landed true.

Bei Gui’s techniques were all skills from Thor’s Hammer. He executed them with masterful proficiency, unleashing combo after combo that relentlessly damaged the God of Darkness.

The God of Darkness truly lived up to his reputation as a supreme deity of the Continent of Gods and Demons. His Divine Power seemed inexhaustible; despite the constant bombardment of lightning, he showed no signs of fatigue...

However, Bei Gui was clearly at a disadvantage in this exchange. After all, his Thor’s Advent could only last for three minutes. Yet, being a Player, he didn’t seem to care.

"You’re dead meat!" the God of Darkness sneered, his voice growing more savage as he watched the Lightning Giant continue to shrink. "No one can save you now!"

"Are you so sure?" Bei Gui chuckled, then looked at Lin Bai. "I’m offering you a grand gift. Let’s see if you can seize this chance. Keep my hammer. I’ll be waiting for you in the Fairy World. If not, the God of Darkness’s fate will be yours."

A dreadful premonition flickered through the God of Darkness’s heart. The very next second, the nearly three-thousand-meter-tall Lightning Giant detonated with a colossal BOOM! It transformed into a massive surge of lightning that crashed down heavily onto the God of Darkness, slamming him into the ground.

The God of Darkness let out a bloodcurdling shriek. He tried to dodge, but there was no escape. He could only retract all his dark energy to shield himself from the devastating lightning descending from the sky.

"So this is the true Destroy the World Strike," Lin Bai muttered to himself.

Bei Gui jolted, his expression finally changing. "How did you know that?"

"What do you think?" Lin Bai’s main body suddenly appeared behind Bei Gui, his hand deftly closing around Bei Gui’s neck. He activated the Absolute Suppression from the Cooking God System. With his Spiritual Power completely depleted, Bei Gui couldn’t even activate his Electric Field. "Bei Gui, when you trapped the Body of the War God in that cage to threaten me, did you ever imagine this day would come?"

"You erased the restrictions on the Thunder Hammer?!" Bei Gui was horrified.

"Isn’t it obvious?" Lin Bai smiled and used his Extraction Skills on Bei Gui.

Electric Field: Forms a protective aura of lightning around the body, isolating it from external harm and reflecting damage back at the attacker.

"How is that possible? How could someone at the mere Star-glowing Realm remove my restrictions? Besides, the hammer is clearly bound to me!" Utterly shaken, Bei Gui didn’t even notice he had already lost a skill.

"Binding is a joke. If it can be bound to you, it can be bound to me." Lin Bai activated Three Heads and Six Arms, one hand now holding the Thunder Hammer.

Just as I expected! After extracting Bei Gui’s skill, the Electric Field reached maximum proficiency. Lin Bai smiled with satisfaction. I’ve found a way to deal with the Nine Heavenly Kings! As long as I keep extracting their skills, even a top-tier Player will become a powerless blank slate. Plus, this saves me the trouble of leveling up!

"Hahahaha!" The God of Darkness, still pinned down by the Thunder God’s Destroy the World Strike, witnessed Bei Gui’s miserable plight and roared with laughter. "Heavenly King, your end is hardly better than mine!"

"You can’t kill me. I possess an Undying Body!" Bei Gui sneered, though his eyes were murderous. "So what if you have the Thunder Hammer? To master it, you’d need at least a thousand years of cultivation. The Spiritual Energy in the Mortal World is insufficient for you to raise its proficiency. Dare to ascend to the Fairy World, and you’ll be mine for the taking!"

Lin Bai shook his head and released Bei Gui again. Bei Gui, regaining his freedom, was momentarily stunned. Before he could comprehend the situation, Lin Bai had him by the neck once more in the next instant.

Extraction!

Thunder Strike: Summons lightning to injure enemies.

Then, Lin Bai, beaming, released Bei Gui once more. What could be more convenient than farming skills from a max-level character stripped of all Spiritual Power?

He hadn’t used a Card to seal the Thunder Heavenly King. Players possessed Undying Bodies; even if severely injured, their consciousness remained clear. They could respawn at a Resurrection Point at any moment, making the chances of successfully sealing them extremely low.

When his foundational skills suddenly vanished, Bei Gui finally realized something was amiss. He asked in horror, "You... you’ve erased my skills?"

Erased? Lin Bai blinked, then nodded. "You figured it out that quickly? Bei Gui, if I didn’t have a way to deal with you Players, how could I possibly save the world from your kind?"

In the blink of an eye, Bei Gui was restrained again. He struggled futilely. "How did you find out I’m a Player?"

"I’m not an idiot. I even managed to get Thor’s Hammer, didn’t I?" Lin Bai activated Extraction Skills.

Series of Lightning: Attack enemies with chain lightning.

Another skill greyed out. Bei Gui was on the verge of a complete breakdown. His Level hadn’t dropped, but the skills he had painstakingly cultivated to maximum proficiency were becoming unusable one by one. Even if he returned to the Fairy World and grinded his Level back, it would take an eternity. Moreover, without the Thunder Hammer, it was uncertain if he could even relearn these skills!

"Lin Bai, release me! The Thunder Hammer is yours!" Bei Gui pleaded. "I can even cede my title as Heavenly King to you. I have many loyal subordinates in the Fairy World who only listen to my commands..."

"No need to hurry. With Thor’s Hammer in my hands, it proves I’ve defeated you, the former Thunder Heavenly King, and become the new one. They’ll acknowledge me soon enough." Sensing Bei Gui’s terror, Lin Bai released him yet again. "I hear you’ve lived for tens of thousands of years, but I must say, you’re incredibly naive. Did you really think I’d let you go at this stage?"

"The Nine Heavenly Kings are all connected! I’ll tell everyone about your skill-stealing ability! They won’t let you get away with this!" Bei Gui roared furiously.

"Do as you please." Lin Bai nonchalantly continued his work.

Thunder Bind, Thunder Shock, Thunderbolt Flash, Fire Thunder, Thunder Spirit Soul Eating, Thor’s Advent...

One by one, Lin Bai extracted the skills—not only those from Thor’s Hammer but also numerous useless martial arts and movement techniques.

It had to be admitted, a max-level character truly possessed an astonishing number of abilities.

In less than two minutes, the skills Bei Gui had cultivated over tens of thousands of years greyed out one after another. Unable to endure it any longer, Bei Gui went from pleading to cursing violently. However, under the Absolute Suppression of the Cooking God System, he couldn’t offer the slightest resistance...

However, the Thunder Heavenly King was a top-tier Player, and his Spiritual Power recovery rate was remarkably fast, even outside the Fairy World. After Lin Bai had released him more than twenty times, Bei Gui suddenly used Flash to teleport into the lightning pillar of the Destroy the World Strike, instantly turning into a charred corpse. He had chosen to sacrifice a Level to escape with his life.

Watching the Thunder Heavenly King die so abruptly, Lin Bai couldn’t help but sigh. "What an unyielding fellow!"

Lin Bai wasn’t too concerned about Bei Gui’s escape via death. He had already extracted the most powerful skill, Thor’s Advent. Furthermore, with most of Bei Gui’s skills now his, the balance of power had decisively shifted. Bei Gui was no longer his match. With Shadow Following, Lin Bai could find the fallen Heavenly King anytime to extract his remaining skills.

Just then, the Destroy the World Strike from Thor’s Advent completely dissipated, leaving behind a humanoid cloud of black mist that remained condensed and did not scatter.

The moment it was free, the black mist attempted to disperse and flee. Although Lin Bai didn’t appear overwhelmingly powerful, the God of Darkness knew Lin Bai had expended significant energy to withstand the Destroy the World Strike. More importantly, he was terrified by Lin Bai’s methods!

"Trying to run?" Lin Bai chuckled, activated Shadow Following, and instantly grabbed the black mist.

The black mist coiled around his arm like a leech, voraciously devouring his Spiritual Power. It flowed out from his Dantian like water from a breached dam...

Electric Field!

Absolute Suppression!

Under Lin Bai’s grip, the black mist solidified into a pale-faced young man. He looked at Lin Bai and forced a subservient smile. "Lin Bai... perhaps we can talk about this..."