"Be careful!"
Zhang Shiyao shouted nervously when she saw the terrifying size of the Crimson Feather Chicken King.
But her concern was clearly unnecessary.
In a head-on clash, Bai Qiu's Darksteel Heavy Spear collided with the creature's massive beak — the impact resounded through the air.
Bai Qiu stood firm and unmoved, while the Crimson Feather Chicken King staggered backward repeatedly, the tip of its beak cracking under the force.
It stared at the much smaller human before it, a flicker of fear flashing in its eyes.
In a contest between creatures, that first exchange often decided the victor — and without a doubt, the human before it far surpassed it in raw strength.
Moreover, that pitch-black spear was something it could never hope to block head-on.
If not for its beak being the hardest part of its body, it would have been crippled — or worse, dead — from that single blow.
Bai Qiu had intended to spar a few rounds with the Crimson Feather Chicken King, but he hadn't expected it to be so fragile.
A few more exchanges and it might die before he could even test out his Noble Phantasm.
That wouldn't do.
He wanted to see what kind of power his Noble Phantasm could unleash.
With that in mind, Bai Qiu decided to restrict the monster's movements first with his bow and arrows, and then activate his ultimate skill.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
The Crimson Feather Chicken King spread its massive wings, flapping them violently.
Its feathers began turning crimson — a clear sign that it was about to unleash a skill!
But change always came faster than plans.
Though the sight of it charging up in place looked almost comical, Bai Qiu didn't let his guard down — in fact, he had been waiting for this very moment.
"Noble Phantasm: Spear of Converging Mana!"
As Bai Qiu's shout echoed, the skill icon in his Noble Phantasm slot flared brightly.
In the next instant, his consciousness was pulled into another space...
"Gather all that is life and will."
A faint red mist seeped from Bai Qiu's body, radiating outward from beneath his feet.
The grass around him bent and collapsed under the unseen force.
"Break through the spine of the heavens. Let the killing intent that hangs above all be unleashed — now!"
With those words, all the mana surrounding Bai Qiu surged violently, converging into his Darksteel Heavy Spear.
The sheer density of energy twisted the very air around him.
Meanwhile, within a strange void, Bai Qiu's consciousness awakened.
From a third-person view, he saw himself chanting and wielding the spear — watching his own body perform the Noble Phantasm invocation.
The mana within him was surging like a storm.
Just an hour ago, he could barely control a trickle of it through meditation.
Yet now, in the instant of activating his Noble Phantasm, nearly 80% of his total mana erupted from within, flooding into the Darksteel Heavy Spear.
The remaining 20% gathered in his heart, pulsing steadily.
He felt like a spirit, silently observing the flow and turbulence of his own mana.
He could still hear every word his outer self chanted, every movement executed — it was almost like… a tutorial sequence for beginners.
All the feathers on the Crimson Feather Chicken King had turned crimson now.
A massive surge of fiery energy gathered within its abdomen, rising rapidly.
It slowly opened its beak, inhaling deeply until its entire body swelled with heat and power.
Almost simultaneously, its Flame Breath collided with Bai Qiu's mana-infused spear!
The mana spear cut straight through the fiery torrent, the redirected flames blasting out to both sides and scorching the rock walls.
Tall weeds ignited instantly, reduced to ash in the blink of an eye.
In the next instant, the Darksteel Heavy Spear, glowing with faint crimson light, pierced straight into the Crimson Feather Chicken King.
The impact was instantaneous — its fiery breath halted midstream.
From the point of impact, the monster's entire body exploded outward, dissolving into fragments of flesh and a rain of blood before vanishing entirely!
The spear didn't stop there — propelled by the lingering mana, it shot forward and slammed into the valley wall over ten meters away, blasting out a massive crater with a thunderous boom.
.........
Zhang Shiyao, who had been watching the entire battle, was filled with awe and disbelief.
The process of Bai Qiu unleashing his Noble Phantasm was far too fantastical — to her, it looked just like watching someone use an ultimate move in a game: dazzling, powerful, and over in mere seconds from charge-up to impact to victory.
Too strong!
Not only did he emerge completely unscathed, but his "ultimate" had completely overpowered the Crimson Feather Chicken King.
The leftover energy from the strike alone was enough to blast a massive crater into the stone wall.
As waves of residual energy flowed back into his body, Bai Qiu quickly gained a deep understanding of his own Noble Phantasm.
By channeling 80% of his internal mana through special circuits and expelling it from his body, then using an incantation to draw in external mana and infuse it all into his spear — he could unleash a single unstoppable thrust.
The damage output was roughly based on (Character Attributes + Weapon) × Mana Power.
After killing a target, the remaining mana infused within the spear could be reabsorbed.
Bai Qiu clearly felt that defeating the Crimson Feather Chicken King had consumed only about 30% of his total mana.
After the system's guided "tutorial mode" ended and control returned to him, the leftover mana that wasn't immediately reclaimed had blasted apart the valley wall — consuming another 60% of his total mana.
When he finally reacted and began drawing the scattered mana back in, he managed to recover only about 10% of the overflow.
In other words, he had recovered roughly 8% of his total mana.
Zhang Shiyao, unaware that the system had temporarily taken over during the battle, saw Bai Qiu standing motionless after releasing his Noble Phantasm and grew worried — was that skill actually damaging to his body?
Then came the familiar system chime:
Ding!
Defeated Crimson Feather Chicken King — EXP +800
Obtained: Precious Chicken Meat ×10
Crimson Feather ×100
Rare Crimson Feather ×10
Precious Crimson Feather ×3
Precious Crimson Beak ×1
Fire Crystal ×1
Skill: Flame Imbue (D-rank) +1
Item: Flame Card (D-rank) +1
Mana Manipulation (D) Proficiency +1500
Spear of Converging Mana (C-rank) Proficiency +5000
Spear of Converging Mana (C-rank)
Consumes 80% of the user's mana, gathers it externally, and channels it into the spear through an incantation — delivering the strongest possible thrust.
Instantly kills any target whose Strength is below C+.
After defeating the target, the dispersed mana can be partially recovered.
Cooldown: 1 hour.
Requirement: Total mana must exceed 80%.
Bai Qiu only glanced briefly at the system notifications before ignoring them.
The true understanding forming in his mind was far more valuable than any text prompts.
During the Noble Phantasm activation, he had come to fully grasp how mana flowed within his body.
Now, when he used Mana Manipulation, it no longer felt blocked or sluggish.
As long as he directed mana along the correct internal circuits, his control over it grew smoother and more precise with each passing moment.
Before using the Noble Phantasm, he had been completely ignorant about mana — like an infant just beginning to babble and crawl.
But after experiencing the Noble Phantasm, it was as if he had instantly grown from an infant into a young adolescent.
He still needed time to adapt to his new "body," but the progress he'd made was monumental — he had taken a massive shortcut on the path of mastery.