Translator: CinderTL
"Boom!!"
The sky was overcast with dark clouds, and lightning flickered.
A force of suppression enveloped the entire island. Two Mermaids of different ages poked their heads out from the corner of a turquoise lake, trembling.
"Sister Lili, Eaglefall Island looks so terrifying."
The younger Mermaid appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, with fair skin and stunning beauty.
This was the natural advantage of the Merfolk. Aside from the legendary Elves, few races could rival them in appearance.
The Mermaid called Lili nodded subconsciously, her eyes filled with concern as she gazed at the dark clouds and lightning. In her hand, she held a shiny silver coin, as if it had just been polished.
Why had that lord asked them to temporarily live on Eaglefall Island and wait for his arrival?
Did he have ulterior motives? And what about his Familiar, that terrifying Giant Octopus, which had instructed them to search the area for glowing objects or coins dropped by humans?
Such peculiar preferences were truly baffling.
"Sha!!"
Suddenly, a roar echoed.
The two Mermaids shuddered and quickly turned their heads to look.
A massive, deep-blue octopus had surfaced in the lake at some point, revealing half of its skull-shaped head.
Its emerald-green eyes, larger than an average human, rolled and stared directly at them, as if it had heard their thoughts, sending a chill down their spines.
Although it hadn't harmed them in the past ten days, the unfamiliar environment still left them uneasy.
"Sha!!"
The roar came again, and the Giant Octopus continued to gaze in their direction.
The older Mermaid, Lili, felt a pang of suspicion, but soon she realized something was wrong.
It's not looking at us! The thought flashed through her mind, and she instinctively turned to look behind her.
The island's sparse forest and the ring-shaped terrain gradually rose from the center, with low hills obstructing the view.
But just then.
"Thud!"
"Thud!!"
"Thud!!!"
Heavy footsteps approached steadily. The two Mermaids, like startled birds, quickly submerged, leaving only half of their heads exposed as they peered toward the low hills.
"Sha!!!"
An excited roar rang out, and they froze for a moment, sensing a tone of respect and eagerness.
A strange guess surfaced in their minds, and soon.
Boom!! Thunder roared above the lake, and a silver streak of lightning flashed across the sky.
A golden reflection caught their eyes, and when they focused, they saw a figure clad in golden armor standing atop the hill.
"It's him!"
The two Mermaids' eyes narrowed.
Their tension eased slightly, but in the next moment.
Crash!!! A corner of the hill was shattered by a powerful stomp, and the figure in golden armor leaped into the air, soaring toward the lake.
The two Mermaids widened their eyes, utterly confused.
Until the next second.
"Gata!"
"Sha!!"
A command echoed in their souls, and the Giant Octopus quickly raised its thick tentacles to the surface of the lake, forming a makeshift bridge. The figure used it as a foothold as he descended, propelling himself forward.
Boom!! At that moment, the thunder in the dark clouds grew louder.
Then, to the astonishment of the two Mermaids.
Crack!! A bolt of lightning struck down, heading straight for the lake.
A sense of mortal danger surged in Chen Feng's heart as he hovered mid-air, his expression grave.
After receiving Gata's notification, he had rushed here in the dead of night, entering the dream for the second time.
The deep-blue Talent Light Orb hovered a few meters above the lake, just as he had guessed. Everything seemed to be in order.
But.
Crackle!! The lightning was swift, already upon him.
Although he had sensed something strange and dangerous about the thunderclouds upon arriving at Eaglefall Island and had activated his Steel Bones in advance for protection.
However, he never expected it to actively attack him like this.
Boom!!! Instantly, the lightning struck, and black light erupted.
The dispersed energy was channeled into the water, causing two Mermaids to widen their eyes, their hair standing on end, and they fainted on the spot.
"Sha!!!"
Unconcerned by this, Gata was merely following orders to unleash its power, raising its tentacle and hurling it upward.
The surface of the golden armor flickered with electric sparks, interwoven with Black Flashes.
Chen Feng's blood and qi surged, knowing that if it weren't for the Azure Armor absorbing most of the impact, he might have already been injured.
But even so, he felt his body stiff and numb, needing to rely on Gata's strength to leap up and seize the light orb.
Boom!! Thunder rumbled again, and silver serpents danced as the thunderclouds raged.
Unfazed, Chen Feng used the momentum to leap again, reaching out toward the floating light orb that was now within arm's reach.
Five meters, three meters, one meter... Crackle!!!
Another bolt of lightning struck, even more powerful than the previous one.
Below, Gata's emerald-green eyes widened, its body frozen, unable to help.
Until the very end.
Hum!!
Golden light erupted, and white ash filled the air.
The solid Holy Shield Colossus, its entire body adorned with golden patterns, folded its wings and took the brunt of the attack for Chen Feng.
Boom!!! Silver-blue light clashed with golden light.
The silent yet resilient Holy Shield Colossus plummeted into the lake, creating a massive splash and waves.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Chen Feng murmured a silent reassurance in his heart, sensing that the Colossus had sustained some injuries.
Boom!! Thunder roared once more, and electric light gathered, ready to strike again.
Chen Feng's eyes shone brightly as he hung in mid-air, now out of tricks.
Crackle!! Lightning struck again, and Gata below widened its eyes, now showing signs of fear.
But unexpectedly, Chen Feng suddenly smiled, his fingertips brushing against the deep blue orb.
Hum!!! In an instant, the lightning vanished, and the dark clouds in the sky churned and rolled.
A howling wind arose out of nowhere, stirring ripples across the lake and lifting dried leaves and ground debris in the distance.
This strange phenomenon surprised Chen Feng as the deep blue light orb before him suddenly shattered, transforming into a whirlwind that surged into his body.
His body began to fall, losing its center of gravity.
In that instant, it felt as if the world had frozen.
Panel notifications rapidly appeared.
[You have obtained the Talent Light Orb: Wrath of the Storm!]
[A Sequence Talent left by an Extraordinary One—a blessing from the Storm God!]
[Talent fusion successful!]
[Effect 1: Your mental strength is permanently increased by +10!]
[Effect 2: You can consume mental energy to unleash the Wrath of the Storm, intimidating others' mental will and affecting part of reality!]
[Effect 3: This talent passively grows, its effects positively correlated with your mental will!]
All the panel information flashed before his eyes, and the celestial phenomena in the sky abruptly dissipated.
The howling wind and dark clouds vanished in an instant.
His falling body was about to plunge into the lake when, at the last moment, a deep blue tentacle swiftly approached, gently catching him and allowing him to stand steadily on the lake's surface.
"Wrath of the Storm?"
Gradually regaining his senses, Chen Feng ignored the external changes and instead focused on feeling the changes within himself.
[Willpower: 54.2→64.2]
His willpower attribute surged dramatically, surpassing his previously strongest attribute, constitution.
There wasn't much change in his thought processes, but he could clearly sense a significant transformation in his spirit.
It was as if he had gone from being a ball of cotton to a block of steel.
Moreover, he vaguely felt that he had touched a certain limit, just a step away.
"The Pinnacle Realm?"
He suddenly recalled the words Zhou Wuren had mentioned before.
He didn't dwell too deeply on this, as his focus was now entirely on his newfound talent.
"It can intimidate the minds of others, even influencing reality to some extent."
In a moment of clarity, he essentially understood the effect of this talent.
At the same time, he realized why Eaglefall Island had previously made people feel a sense of power suppression.
It all stemmed from the so-called Wrath of the Storm, which was essentially mental intimidation.
Whether it was him or those who had come here before, they had all been subjected to immense mental pressure, leading to errors in controlling their bodies and making everything feel unusually strenuous. This had indirectly been mistaken for a direct physical force suppression.
"In other words, activating this talent would intimidate all enemies within its range, regardless of friend or foe."
"Those intimidated would faint, their condition would deteriorate, or their minds might even be directly destroyed."
His eyes grew brighter as Chen Feng even thought of a crucial point.
If he used this skill against cyborgs, could he directly suppress and kill them, bypassing the so-called consciousness revival and rebooting? The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He turned his gaze to Gata.
The other's emerald-green eyes stared back, seemingly puzzled.
"Let's test it."
"Sha?"
Boom!!! A powerful will erupted, and the Wrath of the Storm reappeared in the world.
In an instant.
Boom! Gata's consciousness was struck, causing his tentacles to droop as he staggered and swayed.
Chen Feng's eyes shone brightly, but he quickly withdrew his mental energy.
"Sha!!"
Gata regained his senses, his eyes filled with fear and grievance as he spoke.
After some communication and reassurance, Chen Feng learned the full extent of the attack's power.
Gata's experience was similar to his own when he first arrived at Eaglefall Island—feeling as though all his strength was suppressed, his spirit violently shaken, and nearly losing consciousness.
"Even effective against fifth-tier creatures… though the cost is high."
"At full power, I can use it a maximum of three times in a short period, and it can't be sustained for too long."
"Against anything below the fifth tier, it's much easier."
Chen Feng roughly concluded from his experiments.
The stronger the enemy, the greater the cost of intimidation.
The longer the duration, the greater the cost, and afterward, he would need to rest his mind to recover.
Still, Chen Feng was quite satisfied.
Additionally, the passive growth of his talent also surprised him.
Unlike Azure Armor or Steel Bones, it didn't require him to actively seek nourishment.
As long as his spirit improved, the power of his intimidation talent would automatically grow stronger.
"Indeed, no matter what the talent is."
"In the end, it's still tied to my own strength."
Shaking his head, Chen Feng increasingly understood that while talents were a trump card, they shouldn't be overly relied upon.
They were merely tools for combat, not the most fundamental powers like his physical body and spirit.
"Sha!!"
Gata suddenly spoke, and Chen Feng was momentarily stunned.
Looking in the direction of the movement, two Mermaids were floating up and down in the lake, their eyes rolled back, appearing unconscious.
He understood Gata's inquiry—how to handle these two Mermaids, whether to wake them up or not.
"Wait until I leave. It's better they don't know about certain things."
Even if the scattered electric sparks hadn't knocked them out, he would have intervened to ensure they remained unconscious.
After all, his state and actions would seem strange to anyone.
Even if they couldn't see the Talent Light Orb, they would surely speculate endlessly.
"Keep an eye on them and wait for my message."
Chen Feng gave Gata a few final instructions, planning to make another trip to Banli Port.
Earlier, he had left the Mermaids here because Gata needed to help guard the appearance of the light orb, just in case.
Now, if the timing was right, he wouldn't mind letting them assist in escorting him away to Merman Bay in exchange for the Blue Heart Stone.
"Sha!"
Gata nodded repeatedly, its large eyes rolling around.
It even extended a tentacle to gently touch Chen Feng's palm, like a fawning puppy.
Chen Feng was about to leave immediately, but soon, he sensed something.
He noticed that one of Gata's tentacles, hidden underwater, was clutching a slightly shiny silver coin.
It seemed to have slipped from the Mermaid's hand.
"Where did this come from?"
He asked, suspecting that Gata had raided a merchant caravan.
"Sha!!"
Gata responded with a hint of grievance, reluctantly floating the tentacle to reveal the coin.
It had many scratches and some signs of decay, with a bit of green algae at the edges.
It looked like it had been submerged in water for a long time, recently salvaged and barely polished to a shine.
"Oh, you had them find it for you?"
Chen Feng was surprised. He hadn't noticed before that this octopus had a fondness for such trinkets.
"Don't worry, I won't take it."
He shook his head, leaving the coin untouched. Gata's eyes rolled again, clearly relieved.
The next moment.
"Next time I come, I'll bring you a few."
With those words, Chen Feng was already on the shore, waving his hand.
The watching emerald eyes widened in shock, followed by cheers and fawning calls.
"Sha!!"
The sound echoed, and Chen Feng smiled slightly.
Naturally, he was in a good mood after obtaining the Talent Light Orb. Without Gata's protection and timely reminders, he might have missed it again.
Buzz! Immediately, the Holy Shield Colossus, which he had retracted the moment he fell into the lake, reappeared, slowly solidifying before him into the massive size of a small hill.
Its surface bore some damage and scars, but it wasn't a big issue—it was already beginning to repair itself.
Beyond that.
"Eaglefall Island might need a name change in the future."
Chen Feng stood by the lake, looking up at the sky.
The oppressive force enveloping the island was growing weaker. The Holy Shield Colossus flapped its stone wings, forcefully breaking through the resistance, hovering at a low altitude.
Chen Feng suspected this was because he had obtained the Wrath of the Storm.
The island's oppressive power originated from it, so taking it away would naturally cause the residual force to weaken and dissipate.
With that thought, he leaped up, landing on the giant's shoulder.
Whoosh!!
The stone wings flapped, stirring up a fierce wind.
Ripples spread across the lake, and small stones and wood chips rolled about.
Swoosh!!! The gray-white figure cut through the sky, flying higher and higher, straight out of the island.
All suppression vanished at that moment, leaving only the vast expanse of sea and sky.
(End of the Chapter)
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