Volume 1: Bo'an Awakening & The Calamity Storm
Chapter 50
Lightning Breakthrough - Frenzied Arcs!
Night winds swept down from the steep flanks of Mount Cang Lei, carrying a bone-chilling frost that wound through the serpentine alleys of the South Street district. Under the buffeting gusts, the weathered attic of the Lin family’s dilapidated home groaned with faint, rhythmic creaks.
Astride a rotting wooden desk pushed flush against the wall, the oil lamp had long since guttered out. Its solitary wick flared with a dying ember of crimson before dissolving completely into the pitch-black void.
Downstairs, the house was so profoundly still that the steady ticking of a worn pendulum clock echoed in cadence with Xiao Mo’s soft, tranquil breathing. After more than two months of daily treatments using Mind-Condensing Essence and rare medicinal herbs procured from the black market with bounty coin from slaying wilderness monsters, the congested meridians in his little sister’s legs had mostly been reopened. Just this afternoon, Xiao Mo had managed to grip the edge of the table and support herself steadily on her slender legs for half a minute without any outside assistance.
As for their father, Lin Hai, he had already fired up the rattling engine of his magi-truck at three in the morning, taking on an early-morning freight run hauling raw ore across the mountain pass to scrape together living expenses for their household.
Up in the cramped attic—barely spacious enough to accommodate a frayed straw mattress—Lin Feng sat cross-legged, motionless as a carved stone effigy.
Every instructor and student at Feng Lan Magic High School, from his homeroom teacher Kang Mu to the scheming patriarch of the Ling Clan, Ling Zhuofeng, as well as arrogant scions like Ling Bai and Li Peng, remained utterly convinced that Lin Feng was nothing more than an impoverished youth who had gotten extraordinarily lucky by awakening the Fire element. Even after spending two grueling summer months hunting madly in the wild under the persona of the mercenary battle-mage “Fan Shen,” harvesting enough beast souls to refine and temper all seven Fire Stars to Tier 4—unlocking the fearsome “Scarlet Flame: Dual-Fold Burst” that doubled his destructive power—in the eyes of Bo’an City’s aristocratic circles, he was still merely an upstart destitute of foundational clan resources.
Yet, Lin Feng’s magical realm was far from limited to that blazing crimson inferno.
Deep within his spiritual sea of consciousness, the other half of his arcane dominion remained cloaked in fathomless darkness: the violet-black Lightning Stardust!
Lin Feng kept his eyes shut, his consciousness descending deep into inner vision.
Before his inner eye, the boundless expanse of his sea of consciousness stretched vast, several times broader than that of any ordinary Basic-tier mage his age. On the left flank, the Fire Stardust surged like an active caldera of molten magma. Having devoured monster souls, the seven crimson Stars had completed an extraordinary metamorphosis, each celestial speck radiant with a deep scarlet-gold luster, coiled like a caged dragon ready to detonate into a sea of all-consuming flame at a moment’s notice.
On the right flank, however, reigning over a far more desolate and enigmatic abyss, rested the Lightning Stardust.
It was an ominous, churning nebula where tempestuous thunderclouds rolled and roiled like the violent swells of an ocean storm. Far removed from the pale lilac hue of standard Lightning mages, Lin Feng’s lightning possessed a bewitching, abyss-dark violet tinge—deep and somber as an eternal night, yet imbued with the primordial, annihilative majesty of an ancient sovereign beast.
Sinuous arcs of violet-black lightning coiled and flickered between the starry dust clouds. Under the ceaseless nourishment of the Primordial Dragon Pendant, pure droplets of spiritual dew fell steadily into the stardust, cleansing and expanding every inch of his spiritual domain. Moreover, the brutal crucible of life-and-death skirmishes fought in damp, stench-ridden sewers and primeval wilderness forests beyond the city walls had forged Lin Feng’s mental fortitude to an uncanny resilience.
At this moment, the seven Lightning Stars were orbiting slowly around their central axis.
No longer were they the faint, fragile sparks from when he had first awakened them two years ago. Now, they were plump, dense spheres resembling polished spheres of dark violet lapis lazuli, their surfaces etched with razor-sharp lightning patterns. The volatile Lightning mana gathered within was so swollen it threatened to burst through their translucent outer shells, radiating a prickling electromagnetic hum that sent phantom tremors of numbness across Lin Feng’s flesh.
This was the absolute pinnacle of Basic Tier Rank 1!
In humanity’s system of magic, the Basic Tier was divided into three distinct levels. Rank 1, “Serpent Trail,” merely required linking the seven Stars into a single linear trajectory, unleashing a lone tendril of electrical energy that slithered along the ground like a venomous viper hunting its prey. But reaching Rank 2, “Frenzy Trail,” demanded an exponential leap in complexity. The seven Stars had to intersect and weave into a three-dimensional geometric matrix, compressing the raw magical energy until it detonated into dozens of concurrent lightning arcs, blanketing the battlefield in an inescapable net of devastation.
An ordinary Lightning mage aspiring to break through from Rank 1 to Rank 2 typically required two to three years of grueling, ascetic meditation and dozens of extortionately priced Lightning Magic Crystals. Many spent their entire lives stranded at this threshold; the Lightning element was notoriously wild and unruly, where the slightest lapse in concentration would cause the volatile mana to backlash, scorching the caster’s sea of consciousness into cinders.
Yet tonight, Lin Feng intended to shatter that barrier with his bare hands!
Hum——!
Against Lin Feng’s chest, the slate-gray Primordial Dragon Pendant pressed flush to his skin suddenly flared scalding hot. A profound, ancient cyan vigor silently seeped through his flesh, coursing straight up between his brows and enveloping his entire sea of consciousness. It cast an absolute stillness over his mind, calming his spirit like the unrippled surface of a thousand-year-old glacier.
Begin.
He issued the command within his soul. His formless mental intent materialized into seven luminescent reins, plunging straight into the churning vortex of the violet-black tempest!
The first Lightning Star let out a shrill screech as the mental tether snapped around it, dragging it relentlessly into the primary nexus of the arcane formation. A searing streak of violet-black brilliance rent the sea of consciousness! The second Star followed in rapid succession, its spark roaring to life. The third and fourth fell into lockstep, interlocking to forge a resolute triangular foundation as thunderous reverberations boomed in his mind.
By the time he seized the fifth and sixth Stars, the tempestuous mana surged into a frenzied riot. The mutated lightning element fought back like an untamed, raging dragon refusing to yield its neck to the yoke. It twisted and bucked violently, lashing out with sharp electrical shockwaves that tore straight into Lin Feng’s central nervous system!
The youth’s frame shuddered imperceptibly. Beneath his thin linen shirt, corded muscles locked taut, and blue veins bulged across his temples in violent pulses. A searing agony, like thousands of white-hot needles plunging into his brain tissue, threatened to tear his focus apart. Yet his expression within the void remained unyielding, cold as forged steel. Compared to looking down the blood-soaked talons of Savage Wolf beasts and Poison-Clawed Apes in the dark sewers, this measure of pain was hardly worth batting an eye!
Roar——!
Within the Primordial Dragon Pendant, the phantasmal shadow of an ancient celestial dragon seemed to sense its master’s unbreakable resolve, letting loose an inaudible yet soul-shattering roar. A primordial draconic pressure crashed downward, instantly subduing the feral tempest. The violet-black lightning shrank in terror, its rabid resistance crushed flat into the abyss. In an instant, the fifth and sixth Stars snapped cleanly into place, blazing with brilliant radiance.
Now, only the seventh Star remained—the fiercest, most volatile core that served as the keystone to ignite the entire Rank 2 matrix. If his mental intent wavered for even a fraction of an instant, the previous six Stars would shatter like brittle glass, triggering a catastrophic internal mana detonation!
Holding his breath, Lin Feng compressed every remaining shred of his spiritual willpower into a piercing, spear-like lance, driving it ruthlessly down upon the seventh Star!
Lock in for me!
A silent roar echoed through his soul.
Boom——!
A muffled detonation, like thunder cleaving a clear azure sky, shook the foundations of his consciousness. The seventh Star was forcefully driven into the final nexus. All seven Lightning Stars spun at a dizzying, breakneck velocity, trailing ribbons of violet-black lightning that wove across the void, carving out a breathtaking, branching Star Orbit shaped like a fractal thunderbolt!
Mana cascaded through his stardust like a thundering waterfall, flooding every meridian and capillary throughout his body. The threshold of Basic Tier Rank 1 shattered into dust!
Basic Tier Rank 2: Lightning Strike - Frenzy Trail was officially unlocked!
Lin Feng’s eyes snapped open.
In the pitch-black attic, his pupils ignited with a chilling, eerie violet-black gleam. Rising smoothly from the frayed straw mat, he lifted his right hand toward the empty air.
He had no need to chant clumsy incantations syllable by syllable like the pampered scions of the academy. Hardened by the blood and gore of real wilderness battlefields, his casting time to chart a complete Star Orbit had been whittled down to pure instinct: less than half a second!
Crackle... Sizzle-snap——!
Space itself seemed to warp around his palm and fingertips. Dozens of thick, thumb-sized violet-black lightning arcs detonated into being, tearing through the darkness like a brood of ravenous electric serpents breaking free of a millennial seal! The sharp, metallic tang of ozone flooded the cramped room in an instant.
The violent lightning arcs split and intertwined, branching into a lethal web of electrical tendrils that stretched across three full meters, engulfing almost half the attic in a crackling dome of destruction. The air hummed with a piercing, high-pitched screech, radiating an oppressive aura of annihilation so suffocating that the surrounding air felt instantly bone-dry and parched!
This was Frenzy Trail! Once hurled upon an adversary, this sprawling web of lightning wouldn’t just pulverize armor—it would tear through flesh and muscle, reducing the enemy to charred paralysis in a maelstrom of electromagnetic agony!
Yet far more terrifying than the sheer lethality of the spell was Lin Feng’s microscopic precision and control.
Inside this cramped room cobbled together from weathered wooden planks, rotting timber, a wobbly desk stacked with yellowed textbooks, and a tattered window curtain hung barely two inches away from the raging electric serpents.
Lin Feng’s right fingers flexed and rippled, undulating in fluid harmony like an unseen maestro plucking invisible harp strings. As if granted sentience, the ferocious violet-black serpents twisted and snaked through the tight gaps, skimming right along the polished edge of the desk and tracing the contours of the wooden wall without singeing a single speck of dust or burning so much as a stray thread on the curtain!
His micro-manipulation of elemental force had attained an uncanny, transcendent mastery!
“Disperse.”
Lin Feng rotated his wrist, his fingers curling into a tight fist.
Whoosh!
The colossal electric web collapsed inward in an instant. Dozens of feral serpents vanished obediently into his palm, dissolving without leaving a single trace. The attic settled back into tranquil silence, leaving only lingering residual warmth and the faint, acrid scent of ozone drifting lazily through the room.
Lowering his gaze to his open palm, Lin Feng’s lips curled into a sharp, predatory smirk.
Dual Elements advancing in tandem:
Fire Element: All seven Stars upgraded to Tier 4—”Scarlet Flame: Dual-Fold Burst,” unleashing twice the thermal fury and destructive concussive force of standard fire magic, incinerating anything in its path!
Lightning Element: Basic Tier Rank 2—”Lightning Strike: Frenzy Trail,” mutated violet-black lightning packing area-of-effect devastation alongside absolute paralytic suppression!
With such terrifying capital in hand, what did Han Yi and the high-grade Magic Armor that the Ling Clan had painstakingly equipped him with amount to? Patriarch Ling Zhuofeng arrogantly believed that with the clan’s boundless wealth and political influence, he could manipulate every outcome in Bo’an City, treating Lin Feng like an insignificant ant to be crushed underfoot at his leisure. But that old schemer could never fathom that the “ant” in his eyes had long transformed into the deadliest predator in the shadows, baring its fangs and sharpening its talons in the dark!
Creak...
From the bottom of the wooden staircase, hesitant footsteps broke the quiet.
Lin Feng withdrew his aura instantly, turning toward the attic door.
The wooden door parted slightly, revealing Xiao Mo’s petite figure. She was clad in a simple beige knit sweater, carefully carrying a small wooden tray bearing a steaming bowl of white rice porridge and a clean cotton towel. She was no longer bound to that cold, steel wheelchair. Though her legs remained slender and her gait held a slight tremor, each step she planted upon the timber floor carried far more strength and confidence than ever before.
“Brother, I heard the wind howling up here... Haven’t you slept yet?”
Xiao Mo tilted her head up, her eyes clear and luminous as autumn waters as a gentle, tender smile blossomed on her lips.
Lin Feng quickly hurried over, taking the wooden tray from her hands and guiding her to sit on the edge of the mattress. “Why aren’t you resting a bit longer? The sun isn’t even fully up yet. Why strain your legs climbing the stairs?”
“Today is your big day, Brother.”
Xiao Mo shook her head softly, her delicate hands reaching out to smooth the collar of Lin Feng’s jacket. She glanced toward the clean, neatly pressed blue-and-white school uniform of Feng Lan Magic High School hanging from a wooden peg on the wall:
“Before Dad left with the truck, he specifically told me to make sure you had a hot bowl of porridge before heading out. He said... no matter what happens today, in his heart and mine, you’ll always be the best.”
Lin Feng accepted the steaming bowl of porridge, feeling the soothing heat seep from his palms and warm his entire chest, driving away the chill of the night mist and the ruthless schemes of the outside world.
He had stepped into this world of magic, braved ferocious beasts in the untamed wilderness, and become a thorn in the side of the aristocratic Ling Clan for one purpose alone: to protect the smiles of those he loved and defend this humble sanctuary. Whoever dared to trample upon his family would be reduced to ash under his flames and lightning!
Lin Feng lifted the bowl, finishing every spoonful in hearty gulps. The sweet aroma of fresh grain, mingled with the unconditional devotion of his family, infused every fiber of his being with boundless vitality.
“Xiao Mo, have faith in me.”
Setting the empty bowl down, Lin Feng gently ruffled his sister’s soft hair. “Today, all those who looked down on us, who forced Dad to bend his knee, who sought to crush our future beneath their heels... they will repay every single debt, with interest.”
Xiao Mo looked up at her brother. In her bright eyes, there was not a shred of doubt or fear—only absolute, unshakeable trust: “Mm! Dad and I will be waiting at home for your victory!”
Dong... Dong... Dong...!
Right at that moment, from the heart of Bo’an City, the solemn, sonorous toll of the ancient clock tower rang out. Its heavy chimes echoed through the damp morning mist, stirring the sleepy border city awake.
Simultaneously, along the jagged horizon of Mount Cang Lei, the gray mist began to part. A blood-red sun crested the rocky peaks, casting brilliant, razor-sharp shafts of dawn light through the attic window, illuminating Lin Feng in a wash of radiant gold.
The hour had arrived!
The Annual Graduation Tournament of Feng Lan Magic High School—a grand spectacle drawing the city’s nobility, high-ranking officials, merchant syndicates, and military elites—had officially begun! Reaching the milestone of halfway through his first year at the peak of Basic Tier, Lin Feng was poised to dominate the annual graduation tournament.
Lin Feng rose, pulling the Feng Lan Magic High School uniform down from the peg and slipping it on. The crisp blue-and-white uniform fit his tall, lean frame impeccably. Hidden beneath his inner shirt, the Primordial Dragon Pendant rested against his firm chest, pulsing with a deep, steady rhythm.
He adjusted his collar and walked to the attic window.
The fiery crimson sunrise painted half of his chiseled, resolute face. Deep within his obsidian eyes, an icy glint gleamed like a freshly drawn blade—void of fear, carrying only the lethal calm of an apex predator stepping into his hunting grounds.
“Ling Zhuofeng... Han Yi...”
Lin Feng’s lips parted slightly, his voice dropping to a frigid murmur: “The stage you built with such care... I’m coming to smash it to pieces!”
Turning on his heel, he strode down the wooden steps, pushed open the front door, and stepped into the dawn mist of South Street.
Bathed in the fiery glow of the morning sun, the youth’s upright silhouette cut through the light, marching straight toward the central arena of Bo’an City!