On the small hill,
A figure in a dull white robe gazed into the distance. The three giant flesh-and-blood behemoths, even shrouded in the gray fog, were still clear.
A kind of madness, self-destructive madness, surged into his mind.
Fang You bit his tongue.
In his eyes, he saw the fallen figures of investigators, small, yet so great.
The emanating light of faith, in his eyes, was an even more brilliant flame.
"Your efforts will not be in vain."
Faith transformed into tinder.
Lightning sparked from Fang You's palm, life energy continuously pouring out.
His previous palm lightning could only output one unit of life energy; injecting this much was the limit. But now, two units, three units, four units were continuously injected.
Particles of faith also surged from all directions, becoming tinder that burned fiercely.
These streams of faith continued to be poured in, amplifying the power of this strike, making it stronger and stronger. The amplification of burning faith was far from its limit.
But Fang You found he was reaching his limit; if he continued to amplify, he would lose control.
His not-so-strong mental power could not control this violent lightning.
Unless he unleashed it right now.
But it wasn't enough!
"With just this much power, it might not even kill one flesh-and-blood giant, let alone three."
In his palm,
The lightning grew brighter and more radiant.
It was like a giant blue light bulb, shining under this dim sky.
Suddenly, a golden light, brighter than this, bloomed. The dullness on the white robe of the lamp fire had completely faded, replaced by a brilliant golden light!
A golden light that seemed to dispel some of the gray fog!
—Beacon State!
"Releasing lamp fire energy into Beacon State will greatly enhance the wearer's mental power, personal resistance, and also provide lamp fire defense."
In an instant, Fang You felt his mind become incredibly clear. The roars of the flesh-and-blood giants ringing in his ears, the madness constantly assaulting his reason, all felt like a gentle breeze.
His mental power surged, and he could see the flowers, grass, and trees around him as if with his eyes. The three flesh-and-blood giants, hundreds of meters away, appeared even clearer in his vision.
He had an intuition that if he threw the palm lightning, he would definitely hit his intended target.
The palm lightning, originally incredibly violent and almost beyond his control, became incredibly docile at this moment.
Or rather, his own power had increased, firmly restraining this violent streak of lightning.
It could still be stronger!
Faith poured in, tinder burned fiercely, and the fire of faith grew increasingly intense.
The flesh-and-blood giant, which had just taken a step, suddenly stopped, slowly turning its head to look into the distance.
There, a golden beam of light shone, like a lighthouse.
...
"Wh-what is that?"
The sky was shrouded in dark clouds, and eerie roars echoed incessantly. The world before them gradually turned ashen, on the verge of falling into an abyss.
At this moment, a golden beam of light shot up, as if trying to break through this decaying world.
Some investigators at the outer edges raised their heads. In the golden beam, a figure could be vaguely seen.
Clad in a white robe, lightning in his palm.
Noble beyond measure.
"Is... is it a miracle?"
"What kind of miracle can break through such darkness?"
Master Ma turned his head.
Director Zhou, his skin already burnt red, lay on the ground, looking as hard as he could.
An Jianyou's eyes lit up upon seeing the beam of light, and the fear in her heart faded. "Is it Mentor?"
She clasped her hands together, and a small particle of light emerged from her chest, larger than those of other investigators, drawn to drift into the distance.
...
"Beacon State, so it has such an effect?"
"It's not entirely a side effect."
The white robe, suffused with golden light, almost formed a golden circle around him. Within the circle was golden light. It was extremely difficult to move within the circle, but simple actions like raising a hand or kicking a leg encountered no resistance.
The golden light blazed, and the three giant flesh-and-blood behemoths, all three pairs of eyes fixed on him, had already taken several steps, causing the ground to tremble.
Fang You also raised his hand.
The brilliant lightning and golden light intertwined. This strike was the power of faith, a power injected with nine units of his life energy and amplified countless times!
It was also the power of the expert-level palm lightning and the lamp fire white robe!
All powers united!
Following his instinct and intuition, he raised his hand and sent the brilliant lightning into the sky.
RUMBLE—!
A dazzling, thick bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, like the wrath of the gods, unleashing a magnificent divine power.
The lightning exploded! In an instant, the central area of the gray fog turned into a sea of blue-purple lightning.
Arcs of lightning, like giant pythons, darted everywhere, flipping over the earth, shattering stones, and biting into the three huge and terrifying figures, tearing, destroying, and annihilating them inch by inch.
RUMBLE~!
The lightning sea roared, the brilliant blue light almost blinding those who watched the scene.
They stood dumbfounded.
Only in the central area of the gray fog, near the lightning sea, a figure in a black overcoat was pulling another person and fleeing with all their might.
The lightning exploded behind them, as dazzling as fireworks.
Black Saber pulled Master Ma, not looking back.
After a long, long time,
The roars in his ears disappeared, and the stinging pain in his mind was gone. When Jiang Tingqiu groggily got up and looked into the distance,
The raging lightning sea, the terrifying malevolence... had all vanished.
All that remained before him was a shattered area, about a hundred meters in diameter, like a region repeatedly ravaged and devastated by some force.
Jiang Tingqiu was stunned.
A ray of sunlight fell on his face. He looked up and found that the gray fog that had shrouded the sky had dispersed at some point.
Warm sunlight shone down.
There were no more figures of malevolence on the ground.
Jiang Tingqiu froze, rubbed his eyes, and after a moment, a look of ecstatic joy appeared on his face.
"Old Zhou! Old Zhou, wake up, we've won!"
Jiang Tingqiu's gaze swept around, searching for the brother in the black coat. He couldn't find him.
But he remembered the miracle just now! That golden beam of light!
He abruptly turned his head and looked towards that spot.
The golden beam of light had long since vanished. He saw a figure in a white robe flash and disappear from his sight.
A few hundred meters away,
Fang You used his remaining life energy to activate 'Lightless' state, forcing himself to focus and glance at his phone.
Black Saber brother had returned, almost at the limit of his deployment time... that's why he dared not let Black Saber brother appear too early; he had timed the deployment to avoid Black Saber brother's time expiring at a critical moment.
Brother's condition was not good; his life energy was more than two-thirds depleted, and he had sustained not minor injuries.
Lightning damage, from being caught in the blast.
Fang You looked at himself.
He didn't need to check his stats; he knew his own condition was also very poor. No physical injuries, but his life energy was almost depleted... and that was secondary; his whole head was spinning, as if a needle were constantly pricking it.
He held on.
Using the small electric scooter he had hidden in a corner, he sped along in Lightless state, finally returning home.
He opened the door, closed it.
With a *splat*, he collapsed onto the sofa. He cast one last look at his phone. He couldn't hold on any longer. His eyelids closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.