Paying the Price

It truly was a treasure, a treasure that brought sheer delight! Without any hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing did not bother checking the attributes of the other items. "I want the Armor of Lightning." Sean Meade froze for a moment, then quickly guessed what he was thinking and said indifferently, "I advise you to reconsider. The only function of the Armor of Lightning is electromagnetic defense. Although its defensive strength is decent, its quality falls short of the top tier. The only reason it's listed here is that it's a piece of the Thunder God Set. "But you should know that trying to assemble a complete set is harder than obtaining a rule-based item." Sean Meade's words were a well-intentioned warning, telling Jumang that choosing the Armor of Lightning offered terrible value for money. In the past, Sean would have agreed immediately and given him no chance to back out. But now, Sean's opinion of Jumang had improved considerably, as he was one of the beneficiaries of Jumang's outstanding battle record. *This kid has rendered such great service for me. Showing him a bit of kindness is only right.* *Assembling a set isn't just hard—it's practically impossible...* Zhang Yuanqing shrugged. "But if one can actually complete the set, the payoff is even greater than a rule-based item. I have a gambling streak, and I'm willing to take a chance. Besides, you don't necessarily have to gather all of them to get set bonuses—two pieces or three pieces still trigger set attributes. Who knows, maybe I'll get another piece of the Thunder God Set down the line." Since Jumang had already put it that way, Sean Meade didn't bother trying to dissuade him further. "Sign here, and come back for me in half an hour." He pushed a confirmation form across the desk. The form stated that Jumang voluntarily waived the cash and materials reward, choosing one item from the six options instead. Without the slightest hesitation, Zhang Yuanqing picked up an oily-ink pen from the penholder, checked "Armor of Lightning" in the item selection box, and signed the name "Jumang." Putting down the pen, he backed out of the office. Just as he reached the door, Sean Meade's voice came from behind: "Tonight, the commissioner sent by headquarters will arrive in New York County. Winnie went back to the labyrinth villa, so you'll accompany me to receive her tonight." *The commissioner from Heaven's Punishment headquarters, that Chris Gustav?* Zhang Yuanqing's eyes brightened slightly. "All right!" Returning to the Five Elements Alliance support team's office area, he listened to Guan Ya and the others excitedly chatting about their rewards and spoils while waiting for Sean Meade's word, full of anticipation for the Armor of Lightning he was about to receive. "My mom asked me out to dinner tonight, saying she wants to see you." Guan Ya leaned in and lowered her voice. "She wants to get acquainted with the famous Jumang." *With 'our mom's' amorous nature, I'd rather pass...* Remembering the abnormal romantic peach luck from his astrological divination, Zhang Yuanqing shook his head hastily. "I'm busy." Fu Xue didn't know that Jumang was her son-in-law, Yuanshi Tianzun. For a handsome and talented young man, getting hit on by her was totally within the realm of possibility. Of course, Zhang Yuanqing considered himself a man of absolute moral integrity who would never let anything happen with Fu Xue, but since the stars had issued a warning about unnatural romantic luck, risks that could be avoided ought to be avoided. Guan Ya frowned. "She said she's bringing a friend along, a business partner. Fu Xue came here to talk business this time. If the deal goes through, that friend will be an investor, and her friend wants to get to know you." Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Who is her friend?" Guan Ya shook her head. "Then I'm not going. This lord isn't someone just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can meet," Zhang Yuanqing refused. "Tonight, I have to receive Chris Gustav with Sean Meade." Compared to his mother-in-law and her friend, meeting Chris was the real business. She was one of the Demon Lord's lovers and very likely held a key to the Demon Lord's treasure vault. Making contact with her was necessary. Half an hour later, Zhang Yuanqing headed to Sean Meade's office. Along the way, the Wind Mages he encountered—whether white chocolate or dark chocolate, whether blond-haired and blue-eyed or brown-haired with high noses—all bowed in greeting when they saw him, showing immense deference and warmth. Spirit realm walkers lived by the creed that the strong commanded respect. Inside the office, Sean Meade held a bright blue ball of lightning in his palm. "This is the Armor of Lightning. If you want to own it, you must first touch it." Zhang Yuanqing stared at the fist-sized lightning orb. Arcs of electricity danced across its exterior, while its interior blazed bright and fierce, exuding heat intense enough to warp the air. He stepped forward and reached out to take the lightning orb. Instantly, an unbearable, piercing pain flared through him as his palm charred at a speed visible to the naked eye. A fierce electric current coursed throughout his entire body, numbing his cells and causing his heart to spasm in agony. *Tsk, this sensation is quite thrilling...* Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory, stored the lightning orb inside to complete the ownership binding, and then brought it out again. The familiar numbness and stinging sensation surged back once more. It hadn't exempted him just because he was its master. [Lightning will paralyze the body.] This was the price of the Armor of Lightning. While wearing this armor provided solid electromagnetic protection, its owner would also be half-crippled. Even melee classes with powerful physiques would be affected. Only Lightning Mages with maxed-out lightning resistance could use it without any burden. With a thought from Zhang Yuanqing, the lightning orb transformed into a bright blue suit of lightning armor. His shirt was instantly incinerated to ash, and an intense wave of numbness and sharp pain hit him. From behind the desk, Sean Meade flicked his finger, shooting out a wind blade. The Armor of Lightning immediately projected a translucent electromagnetic barrier, blocking Sean's casual test. "The electromagnetic defense of the Armor of Lightning can withstand one attack from a level 7 Dominator. Two is the absolute limit, and a third will definitely shatter it," Sean Meade said. "Each time its electrical energy is depleted, it takes three hours to fully recharge. In high-intensity combat, a full charge will last at most ten minutes. If left fully charged and unused, it can stay powered in your inventory for half a month." Having finished, Sean Meade added, "You pay your own electricity bill. Heaven's Punishment won't reimburse you." Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing's heart skipped a beat. This attitude showed that the Armor of Lightning's power consumption was utterly terrifying—terrifying enough that Heaven's Punishment refused to foot the electricity bill. Moreover, the more the Bracer of Lightning was charged, the more powerful its Thunderburst became. Both items required electricity. If he added the Thunder God Seal that had been gathering dust in his inventory for a long time, the items requiring constant charging reached a total of three. The power consumption would be astronomical. *I can ask Winnie to help charge them. Besides, if I run into Lightning Mages in battle, their attacks can be absorbed by the items and converted into electrical energy, so it's not too bad...* Zhang Yuanqing's first reaction was to freeload whenever possible and never spend a dime. Bare-chested, Zhang Yuanqing left Sean's office, returned to the Five Elements Alliance office area, entered a bathroom stall, took out both the Armor of Lightning and the Bracer of Lightning, and chose to equip them. As the two pieces of gear covered his body, he, as their owner, immediately sensed the set bonus ability: electromagnetic cannon! After merging with the armor, the bracer's Thunderburst had evolved into an electromagnetic cannon. As for its power, that still remained to be tested. Zhang Yuanqing walked straight out of the bank building, turned invisible in a deserted spot, alternated between the Star Escape Technique and the Gale Gloves, leapt into the Dessen River, donned the Yin-Yang Robe, and eagerly dove toward the sea. Half an hour later, he arrived at a deserted stretch of ocean. Draped in the Yin-Yang Robe, Zhang Yuanqing leapt out of the water. Using his water manipulation ability, he stood atop the vast sea and put on the bracer and armor again. "Hss, this thing can only be used for ranged attacks; I can't wear it in melee combat..." Feeling the numbing shock and stinging pain of the lightning once more, he sucked in a sharp breath. After taking a few seconds to adjust, Zhang Yuanqing raised his right hand wearing the bracer, splayed his palm diagonally toward the ocean surface, and activated the electromagnetic cannon. *Bzz, bzz...* Electric arcs flashed violently all around his body, making him look like a bright blue ball of light. Immediately afterward, the lightning around his body surged toward his right arm, compressing continuously, compressing tighter and tighter... With a muffled hum, a bright blue beam of light one meter in diameter blasted forth, plunging straight into the ocean. Hundreds, thousands of tons of seawater vaporized in an instant. The sound of the boiling sea roared like thunder, and the pervasive steam engulfed a radius of a hundred meters, filling every breath with scalding air. Zhang Yuanqing's right arm hung limp and powerless, severely charred to the point where he would need items to recover quickly. Yet compared to the power demonstrated by the electromagnetic cannon, the pain of his charred right arm was nothing at all. He had mastered another Dominator-level skill—and an offensive skill capable of outright annihilating physically fragile Dominators, no less. Tremendous power, immense piercing damage, long attack range... This was a god-tier skill for sniping enemies from afar. *With just two items, they can assemble into such a potent electromagnetic cannon. If I collect the entire set, just how powerful will it be?* The Purple Gold Set, the Form and Spirit Annihilation Blade, the Chaos Oil Painting, and the Thunder God Set—he now possessed four items capable of fighting Dominators. Used properly, he could hunt Dominators down. Once he advanced to Dominator, when the functions of the Azure Emperor Jade Belt and Yata no Kagami could be fully unleashed, he would be even more unstoppable. His true body could wear the Purple Gold Set while his avatar wore the Thunder God Set. When one set's duration expired, he could swap to the Heaven-Worship Set. Ordinary level 7 Dominators would have no hope of battling him, and he could even stand toe-to-toe with level 8 Dominators. After his delight subsided, Zhang Yuanqing looked down at the dimmed armor and bracer, suddenly sighing: "Out of power..." *** At 2:00 PM. Wearing a baseball cap and a face mask, Tongtian Jiaozhu arrived at the health club run by Catherine. In the luxurious private suite belonging to the manager, he saw Catherine. The short, gray-haired beauty was bathing at that moment, leaning lazily against the edge of the pool. Mist rose from the steaming water, bringing out an intoxicating flush across her skin. Catherine had her eyes closed and her brows knit—not an expression of enjoying a bath, but one of terrible frustration. With her back to the private room's door, she said heavily, "We lost. A complete and utter defeat. After this battle, the Dominators of the Freedom faction will have no choice but to step onto the stage. Cocktail has already reported the details of the fight. That Jumang's strength exceeded our expectations once again. Losing to such a terrifying enemy is not your fault." "A loss is a loss!" Zhang Yuanqing said coldly. "In a faction war, Saints are merely pawns on the front lines; they cannot dictate the outcome. So what if the orthodox faction won? A bunch of Saints can be squashed with a single finger by a Dominator." Catherine shook her head. "Saints are the hope of the future, especially peak Saints, who are the reserve forces for Dominators. In each year's killing trial, some among those peak Saints advance to Dominator. "Our war with the orthodox faction won't end quickly. If it drags on for a few years..." She sighed. "A few years down the line, a glaring disparity in the number of Dominators will appear between the orthodox and evil factions. Right now, the Freedom faction has two choices: first, transfer more Saints to New York County to continue clashing with the orthodox faction. "Second, have the Dominators step in, escalating the conflict. "The higher-ups have already lost faith in the war between Saints. Of course, we could also break the rules and send Dominators to assassinate Jumang, but if we do that, the orthodox faction's Dominators will inevitably follow suit. It would be better to escalate the war directly and spare some Saints' lives." *Besides, once the conflict escalates, a Dominator killing Jumang becomes standard battlefield conduct rather than a cheap shot...* Zhang Yuanqing sighed inward; the astrological divination had already given him a warning. In the coming period, he would be the evil faction's primary target for retaliation. Fortunately, the acquisition of the Armor of Lightning had granted him another lethal trump card. A woman like Catherine, who knew only how to flaunt her charms, could be blown to slag with a single shot from the electromagnetic cannon. Thinking this, Zhang Yuanqing's gaze drifted over her slender, fair neck and smooth, rounded shoulders. Recalling the ecstatic pleasure of that night, he quietly abandoned the thought. *A vixen like this ought to be beaten to death with a club.* Sitting down on a rattan chair beside the pool, Zhang Yuanqing asked coldly, "What did you call me here for?" From Catherine's opening words, it didn't sound like she intended to reprimand him; it seemed more like she wanted to vent her frustrations on him, like those powerful bosses in television dramas who treated women as playthings. Now he, too, had become Catherine's plaything. Zhang Yuanqing would never allow anyone to treat him as a tool for venting. Catherine looked back with an enchantingly radiant smile and curled her finger at him. "Come here!" *Being a venting tool isn't necessarily out of the question...* Zhang Yuanqing held out for two seconds before quickly getting up and walking over. *Splash!* Catherine pulled him into the pool, pressing her fiery red lips against his. Before long, a men's long-sleeved shirt, pants, and boxers were floating on the surface of the water. Catherine was pressed up against the pool wall. Water splashed rhythmically, at times fierce, at times gentle. About half an hour later, Catherine, immersed in pleasure, opened her blurred, gorgeous eyes and remarked in surprise, "You're not lasting as long as last time." *Last time I was on pills!* Tongtian Jiaozhu gave a cold snort and launched into a second round of plowing. Another half hour passed. Although Catherine was still not satisfied with his stamina, his pace of thrusting was in no way inferior to last time. Resting her pointed chin on his shoulder, she giggled foolishly: "That's enough! I didn't summon you today just for pleasure." Zhang Yuanqing froze, an ominous premonition welling up in his chest.