Li Shiming felt his injuries rapidly healing and focused his attention on the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ in his hand.
Strengthened by top-grade fourth-grade refining materials, âThousand Thunder Tempered Gold,â the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ was currently undergoing a transformation of heavenly earth energy, a reward granted by heaven and earth for surviving the artifact tribulation.
On the surface of the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammer,â a strange imprint appeared. With the experience from his avatar, Li Yuanba, the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ was one of his innate treasures. Through the Wood Thunder Nascent Soul, he sensed the condition of the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ and detected the function of the strange imprint.
This peculiar imprint was the âThunder Rule Imprint,â a rule imprint generated under the influence of heaven and earthâs reward on forty million thunder attack formations and as many as 480 million thunder runes.
The original forty million thunder attack formations and 480 million thunder runes were concealed and could not be detected on the surface of the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammer.â
He sensed the presence of an artifact spirit inside the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammer.â
He transmitted the âYuqing Thunder Scriptureâ to the artifact spirit through a mysterious connection, along with detailed explanations of the âYuqing Thunder Scripture.â
During this time, Li Shiming had also been studying his avatar Li Yuanbaâs lifebound flying sword Xingyi, discovering details about the spirit treasure artifact spirit. With the âSoul Control and Treasure Breeding Secret Methodâ given by the Sword Elder, his research on the spirit treasure artifact spirit had reached a completely new level.
Artifact spirits possess their own innate talents, which are related to spirit treasures and rule imprints.
For instance, the sword spirit of Li Yuanbaâs lifebound flying sword Xingyi possesses talents in both sword cultivation and speed.
The sword cultivation talent stems from Li Yuanbaâs practice of the âSky-Surging Sword Intent Technique,â and Xingyi itself being Li Yuanbaâs lifebound flying sword, while the speed talent is due to the âSpeed Rule Imprint,â a heavenly reward granted when Xingyi survived the spirit treasure tribulation.
In contrast, Li Shimingâs âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ has only one talent, which is the Thunder talent.
Whether it is the âYuqing Thunder Scriptureâ he cultivated or the âThunder Rule Imprintâ on the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammer,â they all point to the same thunder aspect.
It cannot be said whether having more or fewer talents mastered by the artifact spirit is better, as their combat styles are completely different, making them incomparable.
Xingyiâs combat style involves long-range flying sword attacks, while the Heavenly Strike Thunder Hammer is mainly used for performing thunder skills, never for striking people. Moreover, thunder skills themselves are already fast when executed. When it comes to a true comparison, it depends on the cultivation level of the cultivators using the two spirit treasures.
Li Shiming was about to absorb the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ into his body when his keen senses detected something amiss. Without any hesitation, he executed âIn a Blinkâs Distance,â disappearing from his spot and reappearing twelve thousand meters away.
At the location where he had stayed, a bolt of lightning was erupting, spreading rapidly in all directions. If he had been a step slower, he would have been engulfed by the lightning.
Although he didnât sense any danger, he mobilized twenty brains to bring âIn a Blinkâs Distanceâ to its utmost limit, continuously executing âIn a Blinkâs Distanceâ without any pause.
His danger perception didnât detect any threats, but judging from the power of the lightning that appeared at his initial position as relayed by his lifebound treasure IBMz15, the lightning power was at the Great Cultivator level.
The absence of sensed danger only highlighted the significant trouble he had encountered.
A Great Cultivator lurking nearby was far more terrifying than a Great Cultivator who made their presence known.
He didnât even have the thought of checking the identity of the opponent; his only desire was to quickly distance himself.
"How is it possible, a mere Nascent Soul Middle Stage youngster, how could he escape my ambush!" A figure emerged from the sea, his body flickering with electric light, performing thunder escape in the sea.
Due to the sea waterâs significant impact on a cultivatorâs divine sense and perception, the cultivator intentionally employed a concealing secret technique. Combined with his higher level than Li Shiming, this allowed him to approach undetected by Li Shiming.
If it werenât for Li Shimingâs reaction and the constant readiness of his lifebound treasure IBMz15âs connected brain for âIn a Blinkâs Distance,â he might not have been able to dodge the previous dark thunder attack.
When the electric light on the figure dissipated slightly, revealing his face, it was indeed Great Cultivator Duan Zhang from the Yuqing Sect.
After returning from the Dongqi Continent, the Yuqing Sect had been managing the affairs of the Beiyan Continent, aiming to quickly resolve sect matters to gather strength for counterattacking the Dongqi Continent.
This time, Great Cultivator Duan Zhang was out on a mission. Previously, the three Nascent Soul Middle Stage Thunder Cultivators, Gan Tuo, Li Gang, and Kang Miao, had come out together. This mission was substantial, involving not only these three Nascent Soul Middle Stage Thunder Cultivators but also a dozen more.
When Gan Tuo, Li Gang, and Kang Miao faced danger, they activated their distress signals.
Li Shiming hadnât considered this at that time; it wasnât because he was careless, but because he was in a relatively deep part of the ocean, with not much communication array coverage.
Even if the three Nascent Soul Middle Stage Thunder Cultivators did transmit a distress signal, with the aid of a communication array, by the time support from the Yuqing Sect arrived, the battle would have long been over, and he would have already left.
However, he never imagined that not only were there more Thunder Cultivators than just Gan Tuo, Li Gang, and Kang Miao near the Yuqing Sect, but even Great Cultivator Duan Zhang was present.