Chapter 11686 — Even Cao Kuang Himself Could Not Control It

The Administrative Headquarters Building.

The assembled upper echelon was, for a moment, collectively stunned.

"Isn't this paradigm one of Cao Kuang's graduation projects? What was this move called again? I remember it caused quite a stir back then, didn't it?"

"Lightning Flash."

"Yes, that's the one—Lightning Flash. The move was so powerful that even Cao Kuang himself couldn't control it properly. He even went into seclusion for three whole months because of it."

"And it's only been three days—he's already mastered it?"

The upper echelon buzzed with discussion, until they finally arrived at a unanimous conclusion: "Cao Kuang is trash."

As the originator of the paradigm, it was only natural that he'd have taken a few detours. But here was a candidate who hadn't even entered the Heavenly Dao Academy yet, and in just three days he'd achieved what it had taken you three months of seclusion to accomplish—if you're not trash, then who is?

Of course, that was just a joke.

Anyone who graduated from the Heavenly Dao Academy was a monster among monsters—terrifying existences who could walk the world sideways with impunity. How could the word "trash" possibly apply to them?

Cao Kuang was certainly no trash. But one thing was certain: this Wei Zhao was absolutely a monster.

King Di Xuan stared blankly at the scene, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He opened his mouth instinctively, but for a moment could not think of what to say.

Nominally, he had suffered a loss at Wei Zhao's hands before, but he had never truly taken Wei Zhao seriously.

Back in the Sinful Borderlands, if that so-called ancestor of Wei Zhao's hadn't suddenly appeared, then with Wei Zhao's own meager strength alone, he could have toyed him to death with a single finger.

It was merely a question of whether he cared to exert himself.

But in this moment, for the first time in his life, King Di Xuan felt a threat coming from Wei Zhao himself.

Never mind anything else—if Wei Zhao had truly mastered Lightning Flash, then although his absolute strength was still insufficient to place him on equal footing, he could genuinely threaten him now.

After all, the power of Lightning Flash was no joking matter.

Beside him, Shi Wushuang's eyes were shining, and she was so excited she kept clenching her fists.

"My judgment really is excellent!"

Back at the scene.

The Sovereign of Song snapped out of his daze. "That Lightning Flash of yours doesn't seem to be the original version?"

He and Cao Kuang had been in the same cohort, and he knew the entire process of Cao Kuang's development of Lightning Flash inside and out. The Lightning Flash Wei Zhao had just unleashed was somewhat weaker in raw power than the original, but it activated more abruptly and was far more stable.

Which of the two was superior was hard to say—but this was Wei Zhao's first encounter with Cao Kuang's lightning paradigm, and he had actually managed to improve upon it, all in the span of a mere three days.

The implications were truly chilling to contemplate.

Wei Zhao made no attempt to hide it. "Just a small modification."

It wasn't that he had deliberately set out to alter it—the original Lightning Flash was simply too volatile, with too great a risk of losing control. It truly did not suit his temperament.

Sacrificing thirty percent of the power in exchange for a shorter wind-up and more perfect control—at least by his reckoning, it was a worthwhile trade.

Moreover, it wasn't as though Wei Zhao couldn't use the original version.

"…"

The Sovereign of Song stared at him, speechless.

A small modification, was it?

That single detail alone revealed such a profound understanding of the essence of power that it sent a chill down his spine.

After a long pause, the Sovereign of Song said darkly, "If that fellow Cao Kuang ever comes back, the first thing he'll do is either kill you or kowtow to you."

Wei Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Then again, one Lightning Flash stripping away a full layer of his opponent's True Mandate had actually surprised him somewhat.

Channeled through his human-shaped amplifier, the might of Lightning Flash far surpassed any lightning-attribute rule power—the two were not even on the same order of magnitude.

By Wei Zhao's estimate, if his opponent took Lightning Flash dead-on, at least two layers of True Mandate should have been stripped away—a layer and a half at the very least.

Yet the result was exactly one layer, no more and no less.

Which meant that even though he'd caught the Sovereign of Song off guard, the man had still been able to maintain control in time—and beyond that, how much of it was deliberate restraint was impossible to say.

"You've already passed. Aren't you stepping down?"

The Sovereign of Song looked at Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao glanced at Ye Yinxiao beside him. "We're a two-person team. We need two layers of True Mandate."

The crowd erupted.

Ye Yinxiao's face showed gratitude.

She had indeed sought Wei Zhao out to form a team, but throughout everything just now, she hadn't even lifted a finger, let alone contributed anything.

From beginning to end, it had been a one-man show entirely by Wei Zhao.

Under the circumstances, if Wei Zhao had simply ignored her and stepped down, that would have been entirely justifiable.

But he had still looked out for her.

For a moment, the others were left with mixed feelings—some couldn't help but secretly regret not having decisively latched onto Wei Zhao's coattails earlier.

Now that Wei Zhao had mastered a trump card like Lightning Flash, if they joined forces, helping them strip away an extra layer of True Mandate would surely be no trouble at all.

Unfortunately, saying so now was clearly too late.

Wei Zhao asked, "Instructor, is this acceptable?"

The Sovereign of Song said flatly, "I said before, you may use whatever methods you see fit. Working together is naturally permitted as well. If you're so inclined, you could even help everyone else clear it all in one go—then no one would need to be eliminated."

At those words, Di Liankong's heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, the others began to stir.

At this moment, if Wei Zhao so much as called out, they would latch onto his coattails without the slightest hesitation.

Fortunately, Wei Zhao did no such thing.

"You flatter me, Instructor. I still have that much self-awareness."

Wei Zhao assumed a starting stance, exchanged a glance with Ye Yinxiao, and immediately launched his assault.

Unexpectedly, Ye Yinxiao still showed no intention of stepping in. She remained standing to the side, and the field was still a one-on-one between Wei Zhao and the Sovereign of Song.

"This woman's skin is way too thick, isn't it?"

That was everyone's first reaction.

Honestly, even if you're latching onto someone's coattails, even if you truly can offer no substantive contribution, you should at least step onto the field—if only to cheer and add some momentum.

No matter what, that would still be far better than standing on the sidelines waiting for a free ride, wouldn't it?

This posture was that of a complete bloodsucker.

The key point was, if you were devastatingly beautiful, that would be one thing—at least when you pressed your soft, delicate body against Wei Zhao, that could count as a form of payment.

But your looks aren't up to par either.

At this moment, everyone's greater puzzlement was: "What on earth does Wei Zhao see in her?"

As everyone puzzled over this, Ye Yinxiao suddenly began to croon softly.

Di Liankong and the others exchanged glances—they had heard no sound whatsoever, yet the situation on the field abruptly shifted. Wei Zhao's movement speed had instantly more than doubled!

From Wei Zhao's perspective at that moment, a melody of incomparable intensity resounded in his sea of consciousness, and his entire being resonated with it on instinct.

The most direct result was that Wei Zhao's movement speed began to surge across the board!