Chapter 66: The Lightning Spear and the Dismissal of Delusion

The immense heat caused a blinding flash to engulf half of the barrier’s interior.

Even with the barrier obscuring most of it, the light still pierced everyone’s eyes.

“That lightning strike was far too powerful; an ordinary person taking it head-on would likely be gravely wounded.”

“Indeed, it was quite substantial.”

“I was referring to the lightning, so why were your eyes on my chest?”

Lei Haotian’s recent lightning strike appeared even more potent than a typical bolt, undoubtedly possessing the strength of an E-rank peak, perhaps even nearing D-rank.

Yet, could an attack of this magnitude truly avoid incinerating someone into charcoal? While modern medicine could resuscitate most severely injured individuals, even those clinging to a single breath, a fatality would undoubtedly be disastrous.

Nevertheless, Sikong Xiangyu remained motionless, diligently taking notes as if Bai Li’s well-being were of no concern to her whatsoever.

For Lin Xi, the sentiment was precisely the same.

“How could Xiao Bai possibly be harmed by such a paltry attack?”

Lin Xi asserted confidently, and concurrently, the lightning within the barrier began to wane.

“Hmph! Did you finally perceive it? The vast disparity in our strengths. Should you concede now, I might mercifully spare you, assuming, of course, that you can even remain conscious.”

The lightning gradually contracted until it was just large enough to encase a single person. Yet, at that precise moment, the lightning inexplicably erupted once more, unleashing a flash even more intense than its predecessor.

This anomalous turn of events left Lei Haotian somewhat disoriented. After all, he had no intention of launching a second strike and could only surmise that the initial blow had struck its target, causing the power to spiral out of control.

Abruptly, the intense lightning vanished entirely in a single instant, leaving behind only a bolt shaped like a long spear, now clutched in the hand of a white-haired girl.

“Hold on, did she just catch lightning with her bare hands!?”

“Not even a symbolic insulated glove? She just grabbed lightning with her bare hands, and she’s perfectly fine?”

What Bai Li now held in her grasp resembled the legendary Lightning Fire (TL Note: A mythical weapon, often depicted as a bolt of lightning wielded by a deity) from ancient myths, a weapon clutched by a prime deity. However, this was devoid of any of Lei Haotian’s peculiar energy; it was a pure manifestation of the lightning phenomenon she herself had conjured and now held firmly.

Nevertheless, it transcended its mythical counterpart, appearing even purer and more potent, having shifted from its original white hue to a searing, high-temperature violet.

“This… this must be an illusion!”

Gazing at Bai Li, who effortlessly gripped a formidable lightning bolt that even he couldn’t summon, Lei Haotian found himself unable to reconcile the scene before him. He vehemently attributed everything to Bai Li’s psychic ability.

“I never imagined you could delude this young master to such an extent; it appears I must reassess your true capabilities.”

Psychic abilities were notoriously enigmatic, a category defined by their vast potential and equally vast limitations. For Bai Li to affect him, an E-rank peak ability user, indeed spoke volumes of her considerable talent.

Lei Haotian hoisted his tuning fork sword aloft. The lightning coiled around it clashed under his command, initiating a resonance phenomenon that vibrated through the weapon’s distinctive shape.

“Thunderclap Ear-Piercer!!”

A colossal wave of sound, imbued with lightning, surged forth. The sheer volume was so immense that it generated palpable shockwaves, further amplified by an intrinsic electric shock effect.

Yet, Bai Li, enveloped by these concussive waves, remained utterly unperturbed. To her, a shockwave of this magnitude was no more than a gentle breeze.

“Lightning isn’t meant to be used in such a crude manner.”

As if finally succumbing to boredom, Bai Li at last raised the hand clutching the Lightning Fire, assuming the poised stance of a javelin thrower.

In the very next instant, the Lightning Fire flew from her grasp. Before anyone could even process the blur of motion, the lightning spear tore through the air, cleanly severing half of Lei Haotian’s unique weapon. Without the slightest hesitation, it then pierced through the barrier and vanished into the distant horizon.

The aftershock manifested a fraction of a second later, gouging a significant trench into the ground before Bai Li. Simultaneously, Lei Haotian’s peculiar hedgehog hairstyle was shorn in half, leaving him with a look reminiscent of a receding hairline (TL Note: ‘Mediterranean’ hairstyle, referring to a bald spot at the crown).

“…What in the world…”

Lei Haotian stared blankly, his face a mask of utter bewilderment, completely oblivious to the events that had just transpired.

No, he understood on some level, but his mind simply couldn’t process the reality of it.

In his perception, Bai Li had merely glitched, like a skipped frame in a video, instantly shifting her posture. Then, a massive chunk of the ground abruptly vanished, and a strange lightness settled upon his hand and the top of his head.

It was only several seconds later that the shocking truth dawned on him: the upper half of his family’s specially crafted ability weapon had simply ceased to exist, leaving only the hilt, as if the sword had never possessed a blade.

“What just happened?”

“It looked like that beautiful girl hurled something akin to a javelin just now, and then… well, then it became this.”

“Hurl a javelin? Are you certain a lightning spear is meant to be deployed in such a manner?”

“The battle concludes! Student Bai Li is victorious. Now, for the next pairing.”

Sikong Xiangyu, who had maintained a profound silence throughout, finally broke it, cutting short both the spectators’ murmurs and the ongoing battle. With a gesture, she simultaneously dispelled the barrier.

Lei Haotian, however, was visibly displeased with this outcome.

“Hold on! It’s not over yet! She merely employed an illusion…”

“Silence!”

Before Lei Haotian could utter another word, Sikong Xiangyu’s sharp “Silence!” forcibly sealed his lips.

“While strength is paramount for an ability user, equally crucial is the precise judgment of one’s own capabilities and those of others. Did it not occur to you that had your opponent’s attack been merely a fraction lower, your head would no longer be attached to your body? You failed to grasp this fundamental truth, instead resorting to a litany of excuses to evade reality. In my estimation, you fall short even of the most rudimentary professional ability user.”

Sikong Xiangyu offered Lei Haotian no quarter, directly confronting him with his glaring deficiencies.

A lack of power is not inherently terrifying; what truly inspires fear is the delusion of strength coupled with a persistent denial of one’s own weakness. Such individuals possess the lowest survival rates among ability users, who are frequently thrust into combat, precisely because their misjudgment of their own and their adversaries’ capabilities inevitably leads to their demise.

“From the moment she effortlessly parried your utterly flawed charged attack, you should have recognized the disparity. When a casual strike so severely damaged your formidable ability weapon, you ought to have reacted with alarm. Is your head, perchance, harder than that weapon? Had her aim been true for your skull, your fate would have been far more dire than a mere death.”

This outcome was, indeed, far from simple. Bai Li’s throw had been precisely angled upwards, targeting the weapon without affecting the surroundings. Had her aim been for his head, however, everything in the lightning spear’s trajectory would have been utterly annihilated.

The undeniable proof lay in the fact that the barrier, meticulously crafted by her at D-rank peak proficiency, had been casually breached by Bai Li with a single, effortless strike. One could only imagine the extent of the devastation had Bai Li opted for a horizontal trajectory.

While she was certainly aware that Bai Li’s strength far surpassed that of her peers, and the preceding battle had been predicated on her trust in this intelligence, coupled with a desire to gauge the capabilities of a direct-entry student, she had never anticipated such an overwhelming display.

“But—!”

“There are no ‘buts.’ Go and rest. Who is next for the simulated battle?”

Having exhausted her patience with the foolish young master, Sikong Xiangyu unceremoniously dismissed him to the sidelines.