The Rat Cultivator

Chapter 160: Black Water Profound Thunder

Wu Yuan sighed, his mood spoiled by the serpent’s hesitance. He looked up at the brooding storm clouds, his face a mask of dissatisfaction, and shouted.

“The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake has already graced us with his presence! Why are you still hiding in the clouds like a shy bride?!”

“Heh.”

A cold sneer echoed from the thunderheads.

“I knew it. How could that senile beaver control a Soul-Scourging Demon Fiend? There was a real demon pulling the strings all along.”

Despite the Black Water Flood Dragon Snake’s tough words, his heart sank. He could sense the aura radiating from Wu Yuan—condensed, heavy, and terrifying.

This rat is not weaker than me.

But greed still ruled his mind. His Demon Sense swept frantically across the lake, searching for the golden prize.

Wu Yuan shook his head, continuing his provocation. “What are you waiting for? Come down and fight! You won’t find the Sinking Gold Carp by staring.”

The serpent gritted his teeth. “Return the carp to me, and we can discuss terms!”

“No terms,” Wu Yuan replied, his face expressionless. “Come down. Fight me. Win, and you might find them. Leave, and I will eat every last one of them before you cross the horizon.”

The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake roared, his eyes burning with fury. “You are courting death!”

BOOM!

The sky tore open.

The pitch-black thunder within the clouds liquefied, coalescing into heavy, dark droplets that gathered into a roaring river. It poured down from the heavens, a waterfall of electrified black water aimed directly at Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan looked up at the descending calamity.

“Black Water Profound Thunder,” he murmured, analyzing the technique even as it threatened to annihilate him. “Impressive authority.”

The ‘Black Water’ carried a bone-chilling cold capable of freezing marrow, while the ‘Profound Thunder’ burned with a white-hot intensity. The two opposing forces twisted together, creating a paradox of destruction.

Wu Yuan didn’t dodge. He couldn’t.

The hidden Earth Wave Water Suppression Formation required active maintenance from his subordinates. If he moved, the technique’s area of effect would incinerate his hidden troops and shatter the formation nodes. He had to be the lightning rod.

“Good,” Wu Yuan grinned, his blood boiling with excitement. “Let’s see what a Flood Dragon can do.”

He surged his Qi and Blood, his aura erupting like a volcano. A crimson spear of vital energy shot up from his body, meeting the falling river of black thunder head-on.

CRASH!

The world turned black and white.

Wu Yuan was instantly submerged in a sea of lightning. The thunder hammered against his Qi and Blood barrier, seeking any weakness. Even with his Barbarian Beast physique, the pain was immediate. This was a technique the serpent had spent minutes charging, amplified by the natural weather conditions. It was a city-killer.

The barrier shattered. The lightning touched his skin.

But then, something strange happened.

Wu Yuan’s skin rippled like water. It didn’t burn; it flowed.

Thanks to the [Touch of Profound Spiritual Perception], Wu Yuan’s skin had developed a mind of its own.

When a high-voltage bolt approached, his skin sensed the incoming ‘sting’ and hardened instantly, concentrating Demon Power to block it. When a lower-voltage current hit, his skin sensed the ‘tingle’ and softened, twisting to disperse the energy harmlessly.

He had trained for this. For a month, thousands of rat demons had bombarded him with techniques while he stood blind and deaf, relying only on touch to survive. He had been blasted into hamburger meat daily until his body learned to react faster than his mind.

A massive depression formed on his chest, catching a pool of liquid lightning. Gold light flashed from his abdomen—his digestion system breaking down the invasive energy—as he scooped up the [Black Water Profound Thunder] fluid and splashed it aside.

The lake water froze into black ice, then exploded.

Wu Yuan stood in the center of the crater, steaming but whole. His wounds knit together as fast as they appeared.

High above, the Black Water Flood Dragon Snake panted, staring down with hope. That had to hurt him. That was my strongest breath.

Then, he saw a red glow pierce the black fog.

A spear of crimson blood-energy tore through the lingering smoke, shooting straight for his head.

“What?!”

The serpent twisted, his massive tail whipping around to deflect the projectile. Deep blue Demon Power coated his scales as he slammed into the blood-spear.

Crack.

The spear shattered, but the serpent winced. The scales on his tail had fractured.

Impossible! He took a direct hit from the Profound Thunder and countered immediately? What is this monster made of?

Below, Wu Yuan tore through the remaining lightning mist, revealing his grinning, fur-covered face.

“Brother Snake! The appetizer is over!”

“Let’s move to the main course!”

Wind Walk Technique.

Wu Yuan vanished into a breeze.

In the blink of an eye, he materialized directly above the serpent’s head, his claws raised high, burning with red energy.

“Petty tricks!”

The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake didn’t dodge. His ferocity flared. He surged Demon Power into his single horn, turning it into a glowing obsidian spike, and thrust upward to meet the claw.

CLANG!

The sound of metal on metal rang out like a temple bell.

The serpent’s head was knocked backward, his neck muscles straining. But Wu Yuan was sent flying, tumbling through the air from the recoil.

Wu Yuan corrected his spin with the wind, his arm numb.

Strong, Wu Yuan noted. Dragons rule the waters for a reason. Even as a half-breed, his raw physical strength rivals mine. And he has the advantage of flight leverage.

The Black Water Flood Dragon Snake didn’t give him time to think.

“Rushing Torrent Flood Dragon Spear—Horn Thrust!”

The serpent’s horn detached, elongating into a massive black spear engraved with flowing water runes. It shot toward Wu Yuan, carrying the weight of a collapsing ocean.

Wu Yuan watched the incoming projectile, his eyes shining with battle lust.

“Well met!”