The sudden turn of events left the scene dead silent.
No one expected that Yang Ling, who just moments ago was reaping enemies on all sides, would have his heart pierced in the blink of an eye.
Qi power rapidly drained from his body; Yang Ling knew he wouldn't survive. Determination and resolve appeared on his face.
"Blood Burning!"
A deep, unwavering voice rang out.
Boom!!!
In an instant, Yang Ling was ablaze with thunder and lightning.
The Shadow Feline realized something was wrong and immediately tried to retreat.
However, lightning travels so fast—Shadow Feline froze, then was entirely enveloped in blinding lightning.
Zzzt zzzt zzzt~~~
In his final moments, Yang Ling burned the last of his bloodline power, amplifying the thunder's might severalfold and dumping it all out in one go.
The raging current blew through the Spiritual defense.
The Shadow Feline's whole body convulsed, black smoke curling from its fur, and it screamed in agony.
Yang Ling clutched onto the Shadow Feline with all his might. His skin cracked inch by inch, like a shattering glass figurine, but his eyes showed no regret or fear—only the calmness of one prepared to die.
The tragic sight weighed heavily on every heart present.
A long moment later—
Thud~~
Yang Ling collapsed to his knees; not a single patch of skin on his body remained whole, and his form was shriveled—a withered mass of flesh and bone, his once-fitting armor now hanging loosely from his frame.
His blood was nearly spent.
The Shadow Feline hunkered on all fours, black wisps rising from its body, twitching now and again.
"He's not dead yet!"
Xiao Yunlong clenched his fist. Suddenly, a wave of hot blood surged in his chest; he could not bear for a hero's final stand to end in failure.
No matter that this powerful Shadow Feline still had strength remaining; no matter that the foe was a Tier Four Beast Spirit Warrior; no matter that charging forth could mean his own death—
He was determined to deliver Yang Ling's final blow.
Just as Xiao Yunlong was about to take his first step, suddenly a gunshot rang out beside his ear.
Bang!!!
The Armor-Piercing Incendiary Bullet spun wildly down the rifling, tearing through the scalding air.
The Shadow Feline sensed death closing in. Ordinarily, evading the shot would have been easy, but now, numbed by the baptism of lightning, his body would not move.
Forced to the limit, he could only muster the last traces of Spiritual energy to shield his head.
The bullet slammed into the Spirit Shield. Guided by a mysterious force, the armor-piercing warhead ripped through and burrowed into his brain.
Bang!!!
The head exploded, high-energy fuel roaring to life.
Qin Tian slowly lowered his rifle, watching as two deep blue, almost purple, light spheres floated into his body, overlaying the pale-blue [Shadowbone Physique] and [Shadow Jump] talent spheres.
Whoosh~~
A light breeze blew past.
Everyone's gaze now fell upon Qin Tian.
Xiao Yunlong turned toward Qin Tian, agitated.
Qin Dadi and Liu Zhaozhao were both full of shock—the Xiaolong Rifle had belonged to Huang Xun; they knew well its maximum firepower.
At the right range and with special ammunition, it could breach a Tier Two Spirit Shield, but provided no hope against Tier Three or above.
Though the Shadow Feline was gravely wounded, his Spiritual energy nearly exhausted, Tier Four was still Tier Four.
Under normal circumstances, even with Armor-Piercing Incendiary Bullets, Qin Tian shouldn't have been able to penetrate the Spirit Shield.
Yet Qin Tian had succeeded.
This left them deeply shocked—and puzzled.
"Sheer luck."
Qin Tian slowly stowed his weapon.
Just now, he'd used [Burning Embers Critical Strike], and happened to trigger a high critical effect, hence the one-shot kill.
There really was a bit of luck involved.
"He's that Sharpshooter!"
"Wow, the Shadow Feline actually got blown away in one shot."
"It even broke the Spirit Shield—did he use a Rune Spear?"
Nearby soldiers whispered among themselves, gazes brimming with awe and curiosity.
"Eh? Where's he going?"
Just then, everyone saw Qin Tian walking toward the Bloodline Martial Artist.
Rip~~
Qin Tian tore a large piece of cloth from a tent and gently draped it over the Bloodline Martial Artist. His face remained expressionless, and he didn't utter a word, but everyone could feel the respect in his heart for a hero.
For a moment, the crowd fell into silence, bowing deeply toward Yang Ling.
"Qin Tian."
The Earth Dragon Team's three members approached, complex emotions in their eyes, yet also a trace of comfort.
As they spent more time together, they saw more and more "humanity" in Qin Tian.
Compared to a cold, ruthless war machine, they preferred comrades who were passionate and compassionate.
"Mm."
Qin Tian nodded. Yang Ling's sacrifice—pulling the Shadow Feline to his death—deeply moved him. On the battlefield, even someone as strong as a Tier Four Bloodline Martial Artist could still fall easily to the enemy.
He fully realized his own growth and progress were insignificant before true masters.
Covering the Bloodline Martial Artist was both to show respect and preserve the hero's dignity—and to seize an opportunity for himself.
[Name] Purple Thunder Bloodline (Blue)
[Type] Passive Talent
[Introduction] Those with the Purple Thunder Bloodline possess tremendous affinity for the Thunder Element, able to absorb Spiritual energy and condense purple lightning. Damage to evil and darkness-based beings increased by 200%, resistance to electricity increased by 300%. The process of condensing purple thunder also tempers the physique.
Mysterious power coursed through Qin Tian's body; as he raised his head, he seemed to glimpse thunder elements dancing in the air above him.
The feeling was intimately familiar,
When he'd acquired [Shadowbone Physique], he'd sensed omnipresent darkness elements as well.
Only, lacking a Spiritual Ability Cultivation Technique, he'd been unable to absorb those elements into himself.
"Looks like I should prioritize Spiritual Ability Cultivation Technique," Qin Tian thought silently.
Yang Ling and the Shadow Feline were both Tier Four powerhouses, possessing bronze-level bloodlines.
As for talents, the Shadow Feline held one extra: [Shadow Jump].
In skill, the Shadow Feline's crude, instinctual fighting style was clearly no match for Yang Ling's Lively Gun Skill.
Overall, Beast Spirit Warriors were superior in terms of innate abilities, while human Spiritualists held an absolute advantage in technique—each had their strengths.
After the Shadow Feline died, Qin Tian's area fell quiet, but elsewhere in the military camp flames rose high—intense fighting raged on.
Some soldiers received orders and immediately set out to reinforce other areas.
Earth Dragon Team was told to remain in place and protect logistics supplies.
Just when everyone thought the chaos would drag on, a dazzling streak of light shot down from the sky, carving a white-hot arc through the dark and finally hovering directly above the camp.
Next moment, radiance poured forth, and an enormous light sphere slowly rose into the night, like a newborn sun, illuminating several kilometers around as if it were daylight.
Zzzt zzzt zzzt~~~
The burning light fell upon the Shadow Cat, Spirit Cat, and Shadow Feline alike, like acid—fur sloughed away in sheets, large tracts of bloody skin laid bare, leaving Beastmen shrieking in pain and writhing on the ground.
By contrast, the human soldiers were reinvigorated—even their wounds began to heal rapidly.
"That's… a High tier Spirit Mage."
Xiao Yunlong gazed at the sky, eyes shining with excitement.
Spirit Mage~
Qin Tian looked up as well, staring at the blazing light sphere overhead, his longing for Spiritual energy surging to the extreme.