Harvesting Beasts is my Talent

Chapter 6

He stepped forward, his right hand suddenly wreathed in a crackling aura of violet electricity. He lunged, his fist descending like a falling mountain.

​BOOM!

​The impact buckled the bear’s thick hide. Simultaneously, the surging Thunder power surged through the beast's nervous system, charring fur and filling the air with the scent of ozone and burnt meat.

​The bear roared in agony, its eyes turning a vivid, blood-red. It went completely feral, swinging its paws in a chaotic frenzy that shook the very earth. Mo Fan didn't dare take a direct hit; he danced through the storm of blows, a blur of purple sparks.

​The bear had infinite strength but lacked agility. Mo Fan, however, was surgical. Every time he landed a punch, the lightning penetrated deep into the bear's internal organs, systematically shutting them down.

​After several minutes of high-intensity combat, the bear’s movements slowed. Its aura flickered.

​Finish it.

​Mo Fan leaped, putting the full weight of his 6,000-lb force into a final blow to the bear’s skull.

​CRACK!

​The massive creature twitched once, then collapsed into the dirt, dead.

​Mo Fan exhaled slowly, calming his racing pulse. "Tier-1 High-Grades are no joke. If that thing had landed even one solid hit, I’d be in the same state as Ruan Fe. I need more speed. If I could harvest a Wind Attribute talent, I'd be untouchable."

​He turned to harvest the bear's remains, but he stopped mid-motion. His senses screamed a warning.

​A figure emerged from the trees, clapping mockingly. "They say if you wear out iron shoes searching, you'll never find it—yet here you are. Mo Fan, I didn't think I'd get lucky so soon!"

​It was Lei Wuji.

​Lei Wuji wasn't just here for the trial points. His father, a Late-Stage Warrior who had helped clean up after the Earth Dragon hunt, had discovered a secret hidden deep in the dragon's lair: Ten-Thousand-Year Spiritual Essence.

​It was a legendary treasure capable of permanently upgrading a person's cultivation physique. If Lei Wuji secured it, he wouldn't just be a Warrior; he’d have a shot at becoming a Grandmaster. He had ditched his lackeys to claim the prize in secret, only to stumble upon his favorite target.

​Lei Wuji sneered, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "So, Mo Fan. Have you decided how you’d like to die?"

​"The Academy forbids students from killing each other," Mo Fan said calmly. "The penalty is the total abolition of your cultivation. You know the rules."

​"And who’s going to tell them?" Lei Wuji laughed, gesturing to the carnage. "Here’s the story: Ruan Fe fought the bear and died. You, the coward, tried to scavenge the kill while Ruan Fe was weak. I happened to pass by, saw your 'vile' betrayal, and executed the scum known as Mo Fan in a fit of righteous fury. The Academy won't punish me—they’ll give me a medal."

​He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "It’s a shame, really. I wanted you to live long enough to watch Shen Lang crawl to me. But dead men don't make for much of an audience."

​He sighed with fake pity. "We don't really have a 'grudge,' Mo Fan. In any other world, a genius like me wouldn't even notice an ant like you. But you’re the fiancé of my forbidden fruit, and you're a waste of space. Being her fiancé was your luck; being weak is your death sentence."

​"You're right about one thing," Mo Fan nodded slowly.

​Lei Wuji blinked, surprised. He chuckled, assuming Mo Fan was about to beg for mercy. "Realizing your place at the end? Smart, but it won't save—"

​"You misunderstood," Mo Fan interrupted, his voice like ice. "I meant that Shen Lang is my fiancée. And since you've expressed such... colorful intentions..."

​Mo Fan’s aura suddenly exploded outward, the air around him humming with violent enegy.

​"I have no choice but to ask you to die.”

​Before Lei Wuji could even process the shift in the atmosphere, a fist cloaked in crackling violet lightning descended like a tidal wave crashing against a fragile shore.

​The sight sent a jolt of pure terror through Lei Wuji. However, his instincts were sharp; he blurred backward like a phantom, his fingers closing around the hilt of his longblade. He drew the weapon in a single fluid motion, the steel flashing like a silver crescent as it swept through the air.

​But the terrifying blade-glow, capable of cleaving stone, met Mo Fan’s fist and shattered like glass.

​"What?!" Lei Wuji’s face contorted in disbelief. "You broke my Sky-Shatter Strike? You have the strength of a Late-Stage Disciple? And a Thunder Talent?!"

​He scrambled back, his voice rising in a frantic pitch. "This is impossible! You're the trash of the First Academy! Everyone knows you can't cultivate!"

​"What everyone 'knows' is often a lie," Mo Fan retorted coldly. His aura surged, his muscles coiling like high-tension springs. He didn't waste another breath, launching a punch that felt as if the Milky Way itself were collapsing inward.

​"So what if you’re strong?" Lei Wuji snarled, his eyes gleaming with a manic light as he dodged the blow. "I have a Wind Attribute! You can't touch me! You must have stumbled upon some ancient treasure to get this strong... Once I kill you, that providence belongs to me!"

​Lei Wuji leaned into his superior agility. He didn't trade blows; he orbited Mo Fan like a vulture, using his high-speed sword techniques to look for a gap. Mo Fan’s raw power was immense, but he found himself swinging at shadows.

​If the stalemate continued, Mo Fan’s stamina would eventually redline. Sensing the danger, Mo Fan didn't panic. He held his ground, his fists wreathed in violet arcs, parrying the steel blades with his lightning-reinforced skin.

​Then, Mo Fan saw his opening.

​As Lei Wuji attempted to pivot away from a heavy lunge, Mo Fan didn't just punch—he detonated. A jagged bolt of lightning leapt from his body, tracking the air like a predatory dragon.

​Lei Wuji was fast, but no man is faster than a lightning strike.

​Crr-ack!

​The bolt slammed into Lei Wuji’s chest, the destructive current overloading his nervous system.

​"ARGH!"

​Smoking and screaming, Lei Wuji was hurled backward, snapping a thick tree trunk before sliding into the dirt. He coughed up a spray of dark blood, his face turning a ghostly white. He stared up at Mo Fan, his pride shattered along with his ribs.

​"Impossible... losing to a loser like you..."

​