Firefly Journey

Chapter 193 Seeing Mountains as Not Mountains (10)

Lin Yuanran closed his eyes again.

He wanted to hide something, such as embarrassment and his troubled mind.

The girl landed and easily released her grip. Lin Yuanran felt weightlessness, then suddenly opened his eyes and steadied himself.

"Where were you just now...?"

Lin Yuanran's tone was somewhat resentful, but definitely not blaming.

Thinking about the position he had just been in, he wondered if he had been... being carried in a princess carry? It was a rather strange feeling, to be honest.

Feng Ling said, "You're pretty useless."

Lin Yuanran was completely confused: "You mean, I can't beat the Golden-backed Mantis and its minions?"

"Otherwise what?" Wind Chime raised an eyebrow. "Look, I already did it."

Is she showing off?

Lin Yuanran was stunned. "You were already stronger than me. You failed to advance your cultivation, yet your cultivation level is the same as mine. And among those at the same level, there are very few who can defeat you. At least, I haven't seen any yet!"

Lin Yuanran remained silent because even though Feng Ling was being sarcastic, she was stating the facts, and he couldn't find a way to refute her.

Wind Chime added, "Remember how you felt just now."

"what?"

"It's the feeling of facing death and wanting to rise from the ashes."

Lin Yuanran frowned and began to carefully recall what had just happened. The wind chimes ignored him, and he was chased by the golden mantis. The feeling of escaping death was still quite exciting when he thought about it now.

At that moment, Lin Yuanran did feel a change inside his body. He was someone who had received nine years of compulsory education, and he knew that thing was called an adrenaline rush.

But this world...

Alchemy technology is still in its infancy and in the exploratory stage. It would take at least several hundred years to decipher the structure of every organism.

"It seems so."

Lin Yuanran stretched out his hand and traced his thumb on his index finger.

"Just a little?"

Lin Yuanran was at a loss for words. He interpreted Feng Ling's "rebirth from the brink of death" as the survival instinct that erupts when people encounter danger.

This will to survive seems to be related to magical power.

Why is she asking this...?

Before Lin Yuanran could ask any further questions, the repelled golden-backed mantis returned with a vengeance, followed by a large horde of magical beasts.

However, the current monster horde is no longer as powerful.

Because there was a girl standing next to Lin Yuanran.

The female praying mantis had never experienced ore snatching and knew nothing about wind chimes. All she knew was that no matter how powerful the human in front of her was, she had to kill him.

Feng Ling didn't explain to Lin Yuanran for the time being. She said softly, "You'd better stay away."

Lin Yuanran wisely stepped back to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Faced with the horde of monsters led by the Golden-backed Mantis, Fengling's expression remained unchanged, even exuding a leisurely air.

"The wandering dark clouds in the sky are an ominous sign before a storm. In the name of Julius, I hereby deliver divine punishment!"

As the wind chimes began to chime softly, the dim and quiet sky suddenly brightened, and a booming sound erupted from the clouds.

Miracle. Thunder String Severing the Prison!

Wind Chime was too lazy to fight slowly. To deal with the Goldenback Mantis, she could just use strong methods to suppress it directly. Taking it step by step was simply a waste of time.

Boom!

A violent bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking the magical beasts and causing the entire forest to howl in agony.

Even the most powerful golden-backed mantis was not spared. Its skin was blasted open by the violent lightning, leaving it torn and bleeding. Under the bombardment of multiple lightning bolts, it could not even stand up.

Its once-proud golden wings were now shattered and leaking air from all sides.

It tried to stand up, but it couldn't, so it despaired.

The wind chime hummed.

The pace of bombardment in the Thunder Zone is accelerating.

A few minutes later, all that remained were charred corpses scattered on the ground.

This also includes the golden-backed praying mantis.

Lin Yuanran crawled over and gave him a thumbs up: "You're amazing!"

“I know.” Wind Chime withdrew her supernatural powers and said calmly, “But I have to tell you about your matter.”

"What's wrong with me?"

Fengling began to explain: "This little matter of the crystal mine can be easily handled. The reason I brought you here is partly because I was bored by myself."

On the other hand, it was Cassius who asked me to help you improve your strength again in a short period of time.

After discussing it with him, we both felt that people often unleash unprecedented potential in life-or-death situations, and might even get a promotion because of it.

"I knew you had a reason for abandoning me..." Lin Yuanran muttered softly.

"What did you say?"

"It's nothing," Lin Yuanran changed the subject. "To be honest, I did have some insights just now. But isn't the teacher being too hasty? I haven't even consolidated my second awakening yet, so I can't possibly try to become a third awakener again in such a short time."

Feng Ling said, "Don't rush. In fact, I was quite surprised that you succeeded in your second awakening on the first try. The subsequent awakenings are far more complex than simply advancing from the first to the second awakening."

Don't expect to achieve it overnight. Cassius told me that I'd better try to reach the third awakening before the academy competition.

Even though failure is highly probable, getting a new profession is still good. They say the rules for the academy competition are completely different from the qualifying rounds; it's no longer a ring match, nor is it a simple turn-based system.

Instead, all participants are thrown into a virtual space to complete specific tasks, and a final winner is determined.

Lin Yuanran seemed to be deep in thought.

Isn't this just like those fantasy novels from the original world, where you enter some kind of secret realm, then fight fiercely and cunningly to finally obtain an opportunity?

Lin Yuanran had a plan in mind, and said half-jokingly, "Then I'll have to stick close to you then."

Feng Ling frowned, looking disgusted, and said, "It depends on my mood."

Lin Yuanran said, "The academy competition is just a few days away, so I'll try to break through to the third awakening. It just so happens that I took a career guidance potion before, so it doesn't matter if I fail, I can just treat it as a part-time job."

During his second awakening, Lin Yuanran never expected to succeed on the first try. The effects of the "Space Mage" medicine are still lingering in his body to this day.

If he succeeds, all the better. Becoming a third-level awakener in less than a year of exploring the extraordinary path is practically a myth; he doesn't think he can do it. If he fails, it's alright too. At least he'll have a secondary profession. Mr. Blair just happened to have given him a divine skill; practicing it wouldn't be bad. Maybe it could even provide a chance to return home.

Fengling took a few steps and arrived at the corpse of the golden-backed mantis. After examining it for a moment, she acted swiftly, plunging the white, smooth arm into the mantis's back.

Wow!

The golden-backed praying mantis immediately gushed out green blood, a rather gruesome sight. Wind Chime, however, seemed unfazed. When she stretched out her hand again, she held something in it.

That's the spine of the golden-backed mantis, also known as its "main tendon".

Lin Yuanran was completely stunned by Feng Ling's actions. In the original world, when a praying mantis dies, it randomly drops a "wire," which is actually a parasite called a horsehair worm that lives by attaching itself to a host.

Surprisingly, the giant praying mantis in this other world also has this thing inside its body, except it's not a parasite, but rather a part of its body.

Lin Yuanran, puzzled by the girl's behavior, asked, "What's wrong with you?"

The wind chime twirled the golden-backed mantis's main tendon a few times, like twirling a stick, and said, "Aren't you lacking a suitable offensive magic weapon?"

Lin Yuanran was immediately moved: "You have to give this thing to me..."

Wind Chime nodded: "I'll find a craftsman to work on it later; it should make a pretty good staff."

Lin Yuanran almost burst into tears: "You've been so good to me, I have no way to repay you..."

Fengling turned her face away, no longer looking at him: "No, I'm just worried that you'll hold us back during the academy competition."