Chapter 129: The Fourth Core

A breeze gently passed by, rustling the leaves of the forest right in front of us. Although the forest was nearby, it seemed so far due to the Imperial Rabid Human in front of us. Now with its flaming SpineSword, the Imperial Rabid Human continued its onslaught by swinging it around like a maniac. The surrounding area was already filled with flames but now it burned even more intensely. There was no stopping the Imperial Rabid Human. All that we could do was get out of the way as it tried to hit us with its attack.

Equipped with his Wind Daggers, Liu Zhi tried to stall the Imperial Rabid Human by sending a couple of wind blades towards it. However, as soon as it touched the flames, the Wind Blades disappear before even hitting the rabid human. Who would’ve thought that Wind is disadvantageous against fire.

As for Wu Yan and Blade, they were trying to find an opening by circling the Imperial Rabid Human. Blade had the Fire Element while Wu Yan had the Ice Element… and yet, they couldn’t attack the Imperial Rabid Human due to the sea of flames surrounding it. It was like it came out of an inferno, leaving everything burned to ashes as it moved forward.

“Just give me a few minutes. My Qi Cores are unstable right now.” I gritted my teeth in frustration as I let out a fake promise.

“Don’t worry, we won’t leave you behind.” Blade said as he tried to attack the Imperial Rabid Human with his own Fire… Well, it was the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

As for Wu Yan, no matter how much Ice she released, the Imperial Rabid Human just melts it. The difference in combat power was just too much, just like the gap of heaven and earth.

With the help of the System, I tried to stabilize my Qi Cores as fast as I can, hoping that no one would suffer any injuries before I could finally move. It was a bit of a dilemma for me since making a move would make my Qi Cores explode, probably killing everyone in my vicinity. And if I didn’t move, I would just be a burden to them.

That’s why I decided to stabilize my Qi Cores as fast as I could.

I felt ten thousand needles puncturing my body as I tried to stabilize my Qi Cores. Now that I’m nearing a breakthrough, it was becoming more and more challenging to keep my focus. The reason why I was feeling the torture of needles on my body was that I absorbed too much energy at once, which ultimately led me to speed up my cultivation. If I were a normal person, I would’ve died ten times over by now.

But I endured the pain.

“Yongrui, if you need a health potion just tell me. I can buy it for you from the shop.” Hui-ying advised.

“No thanks, I can take it.” I responded as I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth.

I know that I can’t lose consciousness now. A momentary lapse of relaxing would mean certain death to everyone and I can’t afford to do that. Right now, I have to stabilize my Qi Cores… that’s the only thing that matters.

Nothing else matters.

Suddenly, a powerful surge of Qi Energy erupted from my body, making me almost vomit blood. For a moment, I thought that one of my Qi Cores erupted but to my relief, they were all still intact. I don’t know if it was the Imperial Rabid Human who attacked me with that Qi Energy or it came from someone else. All I know is that the Qi Energy was probably not mine and so I don’t really need to take notice of it.

“Raaaargh!” The Imperial Rabid Human screamed as one of Wu Yan’s ice spike squarely hit its chest.

Because of that, the Imperial Rabid Human became agitated even further. Suddenly, it began targeting Wu Yan as it swung its SpineSword.

It took all of Wu Yan’s strength to try to dodge everything but soon enough, fatigue overcame her and she was hit with the flaming SpineSword. Wu Yan uttered a groan before falling unconscious in front of me.

Even with a comrade fainting in front of him, Blade didn’t waver. He continued to distract the Imperial Rabid Human by shooting Fire Balls towards him. As I said before, it may look stupid but I could feel Blade’s desperation.

And during this time, Liu Zhi continuously fired Wind Blades towards the Imperial Rabid Human even though it doesn’t have any effect. His Qi Energy was getting depleted but he ignored it. Sweat continuously trickled down his head, making him look like he came out of the shower.

<Ti-ring!>

<Congratulations!>

<You have unlocked the Fire Element!>

<You have received additional rewards from the System>

<Generating rewards… >

<Ti-ring!>

<Congratulations! You’ve reached level 28!>

Because of the notification, I almost lost my concentration. Fortunately, Hui-ying was there to keep me on track. “Yongrui, get it together!” She half-hissed, half-screamed in my head.

I felt my blood boiling as my heart rate increased twofold. My eyes felt like they were going to pop up and a throbbing headache suddenly attacked my head. Adding to that, my consciousness was slowly slipping away as soon as I heard the notifications. Even though I heard Hui-ying that I should get it together… my body wouldn’t listen to me anymore.

“Yongrui! Yongrui! You can’t give up now! You just got the Fire Element! That means you have another Qi Core in your body! You can’t succumb to your new element! Wake up, Yongrui!”

No… I can’t do this anymore. I’ve reached the end of my rope. No matter how much I tried to scream and tell my body to remain awake, it wouldn’t listen to me anymore. That momentary pause in time felt like an eternity as my eyes slowly closed. From the gaps between my eyelids, I could see Liu Zhi’s party, desperately fending off the Imperial Rabid Human in front of them.

Curse that rabid human. It’s his fault I was reduced to this state! How dare a lowly being like you attack me and get away with it! You’ll pay for this… no, I’ll make you pay for this tenfold.

I tried to wake myself up by threatening the Imperial Rabid Human in my head hoping that it would fill me with determination and make me wake up.

But to my disappointment… it was all for naught. My consciousness was slowly slipping away like five fingers holding on for dear life by the edge of the cliff.

It was at that moment, I knew I messed up.

This is it. Who knows when I’ll wake up as a conscious rabid human once again. I guess it’s time to accept my life as a mindless rabid human right now. It won’t hurt, right? Besides, there’s a chance that my reawakening might happen again.

I’ve done my best, but nothing seemed to work anymore. I guess I’ve had enough second chances for my whole life. Although I’m grateful for it, I still wished to live just a little bit longer. I still haven’t experienced what real romance was like after all. The closest thing that happened to me when it comes to romance was when Natalia zealously bit on my neck as she passionately trapped me in her embrace… and even then she was already a mindless rabid human so it doesn’t really count as romance.

As for Wu Yan, I still haven’t reciprocated her feelings since I want to make sure that she really likes me. And now, that’s probably too late. I guess this is the heavens asking me to pay my dues after wasting all my second chances.

<Notice: Virus has taken over your body.>

<Berserk mode is now a >

…..

Shiiiiiiiiing!

Fwooooooshhhh!!!

A cold bright light enveloped me, or rather, my soul as I was about to slip into unconsciousness. For some reason, that bright light gave me warmth and relaxation, and somehow, it calmed down my Qi Cores to a minuscule extent. However, that moment of rest was more than enough for me to get my bearings back and stabilize my Qi Cores. With the help of the warm yellow light surrounding me, my Qi Cores started to stabilize one by one.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Even my third Qi Core wasn’t darting so much like before, making it easier for me to stabilize all of them at once. As for my Fourth Core, it took a few seconds before I could finally grasp its form. Whoever owned that warm yellow light, I am eternally grateful. I didn’t know who my benefactor was since my eyes were closed but I could tell that it wasn’t anyone belonging to my party.

“Young man, are you all right? That was so close, right? It was a relief I made it in time.”

That voice

I immediately opened my eyes after recognizing the voice of my benefactor. And lo and behold… it really was her!

Master Shi Yanmei!

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