Rainwater mixed with blood gushed out like a spring. Ling Yun was already too weak to move. His old wounds, which had not yet healed quickly, were violently damaged again. Ling Yun could only endure the excruciating pain. However, the boy bit his lip so hard that blood flowed from it, yet he stubbornly remained silent.
The captain roared angrily, "You cockroach, do you think you have superhuman abilities? Kneel down and beg for mercy, and I'll let you die a quick and painless death."
With a soft thud, the sword pierced Ling Yun's chest once again without resistance. At that moment, a bolt of lightning suddenly flashed, and in the dazzling white light, the captain suddenly saw Ling Yun's resolute smile, and his heart skipped a beat.
“I will never yield!” the boy said with a smile. The captain suddenly felt a tightness in the other man’s chest, and the sword could not be pulled out. Surprised, he stared wide-eyed and was utterly shocked. He didn’t know when, but Ling Yun’s chest had also turned into a steel-colored body, firmly fixing his sword inside.
Ling Yun suddenly raised his arm high, and a burst of silver light emanated from his palm.
With a deafening roar, a bolt of lightning, illuminating the entire world, roared from the dark clouds and struck Ling Yun without restraint. Millions of volts of electricity instantly passed through the bodies connecting the two individuals.
The captain screamed in agony as his entire body turned fiery red, his steel-like frame transforming into a furnace.
Chapter Ninety: The Price
The sword connecting the two men made a crisp cracking sound, snapping in two. Ling Yun, his body emitting blue smoke, collapsed to the ground, the nearly 5,000-degree heat instantly carbonizing his entire body. A powerful bolt of lightning blasted a charred hole in his palm, then traveled at the speed of light through the iron sword in his chest to the Steel Captain.
The torrential rain continued to pour down. Nothing seemed to have happened except for the captain's translucent statue, where fiery red liquid flowed slowly within it, like a bright, humanoid furnace in the darkness. It was the molten iron that hadn't yet solidified. Before the overwhelming power of nature, even the strongest were powerless.
A delicate, graceful figure suddenly emerged from the torrential rain not far away, gazing intently at Ling Yun, who lay motionless on the ground. The exceptionally fierce battle, and the young man's willingness to sacrifice himself to perish with the enemy, had deeply shocked her.
After a moment of silence, the figure stepped forward and bent down to check Ling Yun's aura. In truth, this was a pointless action; even if Ling Yun were ten times stronger, he would have no chance of survival after being struck by heavenly lightning. But for some reason, the figure had a nagging feeling that Ling Yun wasn't truly dead.
Upon seeing the barely recognizable boy, still emitting wisps of smoke, the figure hesitated for a moment. Then, it gently placed its jade-like right hand beneath Ling Yun's charred nose.
Suddenly, the figure's fingers swiftly withdrew, her body trembling in disbelief. The faint but steady breath she heard beneath Ling Yun's nose sent a jolt of shock through her. Despite the devastating force of the heavenly lightning strike, Ling Yun was still alive, not dead.
This was almost impossible, despite having witnessed countless life and death encounters. Yet, the bizarre situation before him still left the figure feeling bewildered.
Seeing Ling Yun's body move slightly, as if he was about to wake up, his figure gently took a few steps back, then gradually faded and disappeared into the drizzling wind.
The rumble of thunder echoed again from the horizon. The rain continued to fall, but it had lessened considerably compared to the torrential downpour that had preceded it.
Gradually, Ling Yun slowly raised his upper limbs, struggling to sit up from the ground. Shaking his head, his consciousness barely cleared before a tidal wave of pain overwhelmed his entire body. It was an unbearable, burning pain; even with Ling Yun's resilient nature, he couldn't help but groan. Just as he was about to bite his lip, his mouth suddenly went numb, and drops of cool rain fell directly onto his teeth. Half of his lip had been burned away by the intense heat.
He raised his two charred palms; his left eye could no longer see anything. His right eye could only see vaguely. His left hand was completely deformed, three fingers bent unnaturally towards the back of the palm, clearly broken. A piece of his right hand, along with his little finger, was missing from the edge; there was no blood at the wound, only a charred patch.
Even his hands were like this, so one could imagine what a monstrous sight he had become. But in just a moment, the excruciating pain made Ling Yun wish he could faint again, and he had no time to care whether he was handsome or not.
But at this moment, a question still lingered in his mind: Why am I still alive?
In his final struggle with the captain, Ling Yun was prepared to die with him. When he used magnetism to draw in the lightning, he never imagined he would survive; it wasn't artificially released electricity, but natural lightning. Tens of thousands of volts were a voltage that even the most powerful superhumans couldn't withstand.
Moreover, he was the main body bearing the lightning, while the captain was merely a conductor of the current due to his influence. But why had the captain been transformed into a blazing steel statue, while Ling Yun himself had survived? Although he suffered a near-fatal injury, as long as his self-healing ability remained, Ling Yun would eventually return to normal, especially since he possessed the Holy Healing Technique.
Pain and confusion alternated in Ling Yun's mind, leaving him in utter chaos. But ultimately, the pain prevailed. His strong body and exquisite mental field made him incredibly sensitive, so even pain was several times stronger than that of an ordinary person. This caused Ling Yun to feel a constant, searing pain, as if he were being roasted on a furnace, but he had no other choice but to grit his teeth and endure it.
His clothes were almost completely burned away, leaving only a charred, jet-black skin. His entire body was covered in countless cracks, like a multitude of tiny mouths. The edges of the cracks were charred skin, through which one could clearly see the dark red blood clots that had solidified from the high temperature and the pink, tender flesh that was rapidly growing back under the body's healing power—a truly horrifying sight.
Even more gruesome was the sight of his chest riddled with long, deep knife wounds. Several thin gashes pierced through his entire body. A normal person would have no chance of surviving such injuries. Yet Ling Yun seemed to still possess consciousness and the ability to move. It was, undeniably, a shocking miracle.
Ling Yun took a deep breath, and a flash of silver light from his mental energy field slowly circulated throughout his body. It seemed he had only suffered severe physical damage, but his supernatural abilities weren't completely depleted. Therefore, he immediately cast Holy Healing on himself. Like self-healing, Holy Healing possessed miraculous regenerative properties, so Ling Yun wasn't worried that the parts burned off by the lightning would become permanently disabled.
In reality, there are no disabled people among those with supernatural abilities. The supernatural arts used for medical purposes are not much different from those used for combat, and their miraculous effects far surpass modern medicine. No one can explain this miraculous phenomenon. Aside from natural causes and combat deaths, those with supernatural abilities never die from disease.
The Healing and Holy Healing Technique undoubtedly had a dual therapeutic effect; Ling Yun could feel a vigorous vitality growing vigorously deep within his body. This also alleviated his pain to some extent, albeit psychologically, but Ling Yun felt much better.
More importantly, no more enemies appeared, which meant that all the members of the Sky Eye Society were here and had perished at Ling Yun's hands. As long as tonight passed, Gu Xiaorou's injuries would heal, and the two of them would be in a safer situation. She could also return to school and continue her peaceful campus life.
Everything seemed fine. But Ling Yun felt no joy whatsoever; instead, he was gripped by immense fear and unease. He had a vague feeling that even if he had survived the heavenly lightning, he must have paid a heavy price. He just didn't know what that price was.
There's no room for luck in life; don't expect miracles to suddenly fall into your lap. Why should you be safe even if lightning strikes you and your enemy dies? If you survive, it only means you paid a price far greater than your life.
Ling Yun never indulged in wishful thinking about miracles. At least before gaining his superpowers, eighteen years of real life had taught him a harsh lesson. Miracles do exist in this world, and you have a chance, but the prerequisite is that you have to pay a price. Many more people don't even have the chance to pay that price. Ling Yun sighed deeply.
The rain stopped sometime ago, the inky black clouds gradually dispersed, and a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon; the morning of the seventh day was approaching.
Ling Yun struggled to his feet; he was extremely weak and could faint at any moment. But he had to go back, because he needed to protect Gu Xiaorou.
Chapter Ninety-One I Will Protect You
Gu Xiaorou leaned weakly against the sofa, her silver teeth biting her red lips so hard they almost bled, her starry eyes fixed on the spatial projection created by her magic.
The projection showed the gruesome scene of the colonel's sword piercing Ling Yun's chest, and the stubborn, smiling boy raising his hand to catch the lightning.
The scene froze, and the girl's heart sank.
Shortly after Ling Yun left, the girl regained consciousness. Upon discovering Ling Yun's disappearance, the clever Gu Xiaorou immediately realized that pursuit had begun. Clearly, Ling Yun had used a diversionary tactic, shifting the danger of the Heavenly Eye Society's pursuit onto himself; however, he didn't know what kind of expert the Heavenly Eye Society's pursuers were.
Although Ling Yun has become very strong, he is still far behind true masters. This means that Ling Yun may be in a very dangerous situation, and Gu Xiaorou is extremely anxious but helpless.
At this moment, aside from her extremely limited use of telekinesis, she was almost no different from an ordinary person. The Holy Healing spell was working at full power to heal her; the miniature barrier, which resembled a malignant tumor, was basically broken down. What remained was to accelerate the repair of her injuries. Because the old injuries had been left untreated for too long, the muscles in some of the wounds had atrophied, and healing would not be something that could be done in a short time.
The chronic illness that had plagued her for three years vanished in just seven days. Gu Xiaorou felt the long-lost power gradually returning to her body; at this crucial moment, she absolutely could not afford to fail.
Fortunately, she also possessed a telepathic ability that didn't consume too much of her special power. It allowed her to project the image of anyone she came into contact with onto a spatial plane within a certain distance. However, this required the person to be genuinely open and honest with her, which excluded the vast majority of those she came into contact with. Therefore, Gu Xiaorou almost never used this ability, rendering it practically useless.
While the Holy Healing Technique severely restricts supernatural abilities, it doesn't mean that no supernatural abilities can be used at all. Gu Xiaorou could only keep a close eye on Ling Yun's every move because of this.
When Ling Yun skillfully used transformation, timing, and luck to kill three privates, even Gu Xiaorou, who considered herself a veteran of countless battles, couldn't help but be amazed. Even those high-level experts who spent their days honing their killing techniques and slaying countless people might not be able to do this. Wisdom, courage, decisiveness, strength, and luck—these five elements are indispensable.
But when she saw Captain Steel appear, even the usually cold and strong girl turned pale.
Ling Yun... is he really dead?
Gu Xiaorou sat motionless on the sofa, as if she had lost her soul. A chilling, poisonous coldness permeated her heart. Even when she was being hunted and fleeing alone by the Heavenly Eye Society, Gu Xiaorou had never felt such despair and sorrow.
Yes, it was sadness. She didn't know when it started, but Ling Yun had unknowingly taken a place in her heart. This ordinary yet magical boy appeared in her world like a ray of fresh sunshine, driving away all the gloom in the girl's heart.