Wu Long took a look at the three high-ranking mercenaries lying on the ground, as the pouch he held in hand fell to the floor.

‘Hmm… Lightning sure is effective in close combat… though it may prove even more useful as I learn to use it’

The Lightning Rune has finally started to make sense after Wu Long learned the trick. It’s uses at the moment were a little limited due to the sheer difficulty of control and lack of any experience with it, but he was rapidly making up that gap as there was practically no time he was not fiddling with it or the Water Rune.

Granted, it took a great amount of Spiritual Qi to produce enough charge to paralyze a Foundation Building Realm expert who was boosted by enhancement drugs, but the experiment was worth it.

‘And the Water Rune… is for now more useful as auxiliary but its uses should expand as well… though it has already proved to be quite an asset for Dual Cultivation’

A smile touched his lips.

What he found interesting is that he could use the Water Rune to ease control of the Lightning Rune. If he concentrated Water Qi in a path, that created a patch of air with elevated humidity levels, the Lightning Qi would travel that path much easier than through normal air.

But it also lost more of its strength along the way, though the difference was negligible for such volumes of energy, that loss was still something he thought of improving.

He could also feel that lightning could produce intense heat that could change the state of water under his control from liquid to steam or possibly mist. And though he required much more practice he was already getting some results.

Overall the two runes complimented each other well.

He also had a theory, that a Metal Rune did not answer the Lightning Rune’s summons because the Water Rune’s presence likely repelled it. Though if he got the Metal Rune first, it would have likely attracted the Water Rune.

He instinctively understood that the Runes of the Five Elements were in fact tied in their relationships unlike a Lightning Rune which was outside of the circle but it did not mean it did not have its own relationships with the other elements. This analysis was a result of his knowledge of Formations.

At present, the Wood Rune that would have been attracted by the Water Rune was likely to be repelled by the Lightning Rune’s presence, and the other two of the Five Elements did not have an affinity with both runes he had so he would have to actively search them out rather than them being summoned.

He had no doubt that the Lightning Rune, being outside of the circle of Five Elements was something he could get without relying on other runes because of its unique characteristic of existing only incorporeally. Fire could be said to be the same, but it’s constant state was also found in nature, with sun in the sky and volcanoes on earth.

So if he wanted to get another Dao Rune, his focus would have to be outside the five element runes.

‘As I thought, the most enticing is Wind…’

One of such elements was Wind, something he began thinking about ever since he finally started controlling the Lightning Rune. But it was tricky since he could not simply “catch” wind and refine it like he did with lightning.

“Wu Long, we’re done with these. And as you said, we kept that guy safe”

Feng Yi came up to him as well, pointing toward three of the mid-level mercenaries in the Revolving Qi Realm, and about a dozen of low-level ones who stood not far. As attention was brought to them, they took off their bamboo hats and bowed, and after receiving a head nod from Wu Long, placed another bamboo hats onto their heads, along with changing into a different cloaks and turned to leave.

“Thank you, Min’er, Yi’er. You both did great. As for these spies for Thousand Eyes, they can take care of themselves so we should get going our way as well, there is another place we can hit before they catch onto us”

Wu Long smiled toward the beauties and turned, leading them away.

“Were you always proficient with illusions? Not a single one of them noticed anything unusual until we took off the disguise…”

Feng Yi was still under impression from blending into the midst of enemies so easily.

“Haha, of course not, Illusion Arts is something that requires a special talent, one I do not have so I am usually quite bad with those.

But the beauty of talismans is the ability to seal a technique of another practitioner with their cooperation for later use, so Madam Liang willing to help us out is why this plan worked” .

Wu Long chuckled. He created a few useful talismans with Liang Yuhan, which diversified what he could do. And even though the number he created was limited, he was of the mind that results required investments.

If he was sure that feeding Annihilation Lightning to the Dao Rune would give a definite and substantial enough benefit, he would have done so already. Though now he had different plans for it.

“But… how did you do that? I saw you stopping that saber with bare hand… He is a full Major Realm above you and took a stimulant that made his aura almost one and a half times stronger.

I also heard of the stories about how you killed Revolving Qi Realm practitioners while being in Qi Gathering Realm when I met you a year ago…”

As someone who was only now witnessing Wu Long’s prowess first-hand for the first time, she could not get rid of the feeling of how insane his strength was for his level, at least in her perception while Shen Min already did not express much surprise.

“Hahaha, well, I practice far better techniques, and also strengthen my physical body separately from Qi cultivation. The fact I am a Dual Cultivator who is constantly receiving the benefits of that status while not having to bear the burden of it also plays heavily.

Given all that, it is usually no problem to classify me as one Major Realm above my actual cultivation base as long as I don’t slack off with that additional strengthening.

And then skills, techniques, experience and battle sense all allow me to use all the strengths of that to fill the gap to another Major Realm so fighting two Major Realms above should usually not be a problem wherever I go, be it here in this fractured world or outside”

Wu Long chuckled as he spoke, with Shen Min listening closely as well. Their three figures rapidly approaching another small town closer to the border with Jurong Kingdom.

“But… you cross more Major Realms than that…”

Feng Yi counted in her head, and from what she heard he could go entire four Major Realms apart since he was in the Qi Manifestation Realm when he fought Core Reformation Realm ancestors of the Wu Family, and it did not seem to be his absolute limit at the time.

Cultivation Realms were in general something not meant to be breached in strength across. Even a difference in Minor Realms was usually considered high, even though not impossible to breach with skill or experience as Wu Long once taught Hua Ziyan.

But Wu Long’s ability to jump Major Realms was anything but normal, which was true even for the outside world.

People who could fight one Major Realm above their own were considered proud sons and daughters of heaven, and would take up only a fourth of all cultivators, those who could go two Major Realms above were the chosen of heaven, and would only take up a handful among the previous group. Anything beyond that was an anomaly, which included Wu Long even in his past life.

In those extreme cases, the gap was so high that, speed, strength, range of abilities restricted to cultivation realms, resilience, and many more factors that decided prowess were simply impossible to breach even with incredibly vast gap of skill and experience. But there were indeed individuals who could.

Wu Long made a wry smile, as Shen Min’s ears perked up. She also never really heard how much higher his strength could go and why exactly it was happening.

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