Liberation Feeling

With an idle flick of his fingers, Miao Ying retrieved the spatial rings from his slain enemies, claiming their treasures and resources for his own. It was the final insult to their memory, the last petty theft to round off their utter defeat. Their wealth would now serve to pave his road to greatness. It was only fitting.

Turning away from the pitiful scene, Miao Ying set off in a casual saunter, his steps unhurried and sure. There was no need to linger on these dregs any longer.

As he walked, Miao Ying sank his awareness into the seething ocean of Qi now roiling within his body, marveling at the radical transformation it had undergone. 

Where before there had been only a trickling stream, now he sensed a raging cataract, a frothing deluge of lightning and thunder that crackled through his every cell.

This was the power of the Speed As Supremacy Art, a powerful expression of the Heavenly Lightning Dao. By fusing the primal energies of the world's most iconic destructive force into one's body and soul, a cultivator could attain physical might and speed beyond mortal compare, transforming themselves into an avatar of the storm's fury.

Miao Ying knew this was only the beginning. The advanced stages of the art spoke of fusing fifteen whole streams of Lightning Qi into one's body and soul, a process that would require a foundation far stronger than what he currently possessed. And it was not something that could be completed all at once.

At the very peak, when a cultivator had merged 81 streams of thunder into their being and tempered their flesh in the fires of the heavenly tribulation, it was said they could move faster than lightning itself, their punches sundering mountains and parting seas.

Just imagining that lofty height sent a shiver of anticipation down Miao Ying's spine. To wield such power, to become the physical manifestation of the Heavenly Dao's judgement...it called to him like the sweetest siren song.

Alas, he knew it would not be a simple road. Even with his unparalleled talent, there were limits to how far he could push his current body. He estimated that at most, he could fuse four or perhaps five streams of lightning into his system before reaching a bottleneck.

At some point, he would reach a threshold where a Houtian Master's physique would be necessary to continue refining additional streams of lightning. But even with only one stream, his strength had already reached a level that most cultivators could only dream of.

But that was a trial for the future. For now, he would focus on honing the power already at his fingertips, pushing it to the absolute limit.

As Miao Ying walked, his thoughts spun ahead to the path awaiting him. He knew there would be countless battles lying in ambush, a never-ending gauntlet of heaven-defying freaks and ancient monsters greedily eyeing the seat of ultimate power.

Let them come. With the unstoppable might now surging through his veins and the insatiable hunger of his Devourer Rune, he would rampage through their ranks like an unchained force of nature, conquering all challengers in a rising crescendo of blood and thunder.

However, before he could truly embark on that lofty road, there was a more immediate goal that called for his attention.

Miao Ying's hand fell to the rough parchment tucked into his belt, unrolling it with a crackle. The detailed map showed the meandering ley lines snaking through the nearby region, with several locations circled in red ink.

According to the Blazing Sun Sect's mission intel, those spots marked the lairs of powerful demonic creatures, monsters that had absorbed the energies of the land for dozens of years to match the might of human Qi Establishment experts.

Miao Ying's lips curled into a lupine smile. It seemed his next set of stepping stones had been so graciously arranged already. 

The nearby Crystal Ice Snake was said to command frost Qi so potent that it could flash-freeze the blood in a cultivator's veins, encasing them in an icy tomb before they could even scream.

To any other Qi Establishment disciple, such a beast would be a nightmare incarnate, an unstoppable force of nature to avoid at any cost. But to Miao Ying, it sounded like the perfect way to blood his newly acquired powers.

The location wasn't far, nestled in a hidden valley where the geomantic energies of water and cold intertwined to birth a sub-arctic microclimate. 

Gathering his Qi, Miao Ying felt the golden lightning surge to his command, eager to be unleashed. With a flex of will, he siphoned a portion of that raging energy into his legs, streamlining his body into a living thunderbolt.

Then, with a trumpeting crack of ruptured air, he exploded into motion, ripping across the landscape like a meteor sheathed in actinic sparks.

The world blurred into smears of whirling color as Miao Ying pushed himself to greater and greater velocities, the haste of his passing scattering leaves from the trees and sending terrified spirit beasts scrambling to flee the supernal predator suddenly in their midst.

Miao Ying chuckled into the screaming wind, reveling in the pulse-pounding thrill of his impossible acceleration. 

This was the true meaning of freedom! 

To cast off the binds of mortal limits and soar beyond the boundaries of the flesh, to become one with the eternal tempest!

In seemingly no time at all, the lightning infusing Miao Ying's body dragged him to a shuddering halt at the cusp of the hidden valley. 

He had expected a jarring transition, but his Qi-enhanced physique absorbed the staggering deceleration with barely a tremor.

Smirking at this new evidence of his physical superiority, Miao Ying gathered himself and strode into the gloomy vale, his pace brisk and purposeful.

Immediately, the air temperature plummeted like a stone, frigid cold gnawing at any exposed skin with hungry fangs. Each breath instantly fogged into a glittering crystal haze as the moisture flash-froze mere inches from his face. Veins of hoarfrost crazed the stone underfoot, crackling with each step.

But Miao Ying paid the environmental hazards little heed. The thunderous cycling of his Qi kept the lethal cold at bay, filling him with a pulsing warmth that turned the icy gusts into little more than a mild breeze. Even the sizable icicles forming on his brows and lashes melted away in seconds, unable to find purchase.

As he ventured deeper into the frozen wasteland, a pressing silence engulfed Miao Ying, the utter absence of any wildlife skittering in the underbrush or birds winging through the wan light unusually eerie. But that suited him just fine. His senses were fixated on a far more enticing quarry.

Through the icy haze strangling the valley, Miao Ying glimpsed a glimmering shape nestled in the stony crook ahead, his supernal eyesight picking out details that would have been lost to any mortal man.

The Crystal Ice Snake lay coiled in a loose mound, every scale of its titanic body aglow with eldritch subzero power. Gorgeous and lethal in equal measure, the endless fractals of frosty light scintillating across its hide outshone any jewel or precious metal, a cold alien beauty to catch the breath and still the heart.

Miao Ying could taste the potency of the creature's icy Qi permeating the air, a stifling blanket of gelid pressure that would bring lesser cultivators to their knees in seconds. 

Indeed, the sheer magnitude of that power was confirmation enough — this was no ordinary beast, but a king among monsters.

Even immersed in its hibernation cycle, the snake was an undisputed tyrant in these parts, the apex predator of its own hidden world. Any other creature foolish enough to venture too close would swiftly be reduced to an icy statue, then shattered to glittering dust on an errant flick of that mighty tail. Not even other demonic beasts dared to contest its claim.

A direct confrontation would surely rouse the beast to terrible fury. But Miao Ying did not hesitate, he violently agitated his Qi, stoking the thunderstorm in his body to a riotous boil. 

With each throb of his thundering heart, screeching arcs of golden lightning etched themselves across his limbs in a crackling web, enwreathing him in a terrifying storm-shroud.

The very air around him began to hiss and warp from the unearthly heat pouring off his form, veins of electricity slithering across the ground in a spiderweb of destruction. Overhead, the wan yellow sunlight filtering through the dense mist flickered and dimmed, as if nature herself was cringing back from this looming eruption of violence.

Not even bothering to moderate his power, Miao Ying sprang forward in an almighty leap, cratering the frozen stone beneath his feet with the sheer explosive force of his take-off. 

In a heartbeat, he was hurtling towards the slumbering Crystal Ice Snake, trailing a lance of blinding plasma behind him like the tail of a murderous comet.

The serpent, perhaps roused by the stifling pall of baleful Qi polluting its sanctuary, lazily cracked open one milk-white eye, its gaze still fogged by the cobwebs of its deepest sleep.

Dilated pupils suddenly shrank to pinpricks as it registered the human missile rocketing towards it, lightning-limed fist cocked back to deliver a mountain-crushing blow.