Mo Fan staggered as he arrived near the outer edge of the Enforcement Hall, his steps uneven and his breathing still unstable, his entire body feeling hollow as if something fundamental had been torn out of him, because the backlash from the Demon Element had not just injured him, it had directly crippled his cultivation, dragging his Fire and Lightning from peak Intermediate level three perfection all the way down to level three beginning, while his Shadow and Summoning had fallen even further, collapsing from level two to level one, leaving him with a strength that was still formidable, but no longer overwhelming.
His expression darkened.
"…Damn it," he muttered under his breath, clenching his fist as he felt the unfamiliar weakness in his body, the kind of weakness he hadn't experienced in a long time, yet even so, his gaze lifted instinctively toward West Lake, toward the sky, toward the overwhelming pressure that had already begun forming there.
Mo Fan stared at the causeway in astonishment, his eyes sweeping across the gathered Royal Guards and Judges of the Magic Court, each of them radiating an aura far stronger than his current state, a gathering of power that was rarely seen even once, let alone in such numbers, making it clear that this was not a simple operation but something far more calculated.
The Black Totem Snake rose from the lake, its massive form radiating hostility as it sensed the killing intent directed toward it, and with a single movement it unleashed a violent gust of wind that tore through the causeway, ripping apart willows and sending water crashing across the land like a storm had descended, yet even that display of power did nothing to stop what was about to happen.
"Activate the Lightning Punishment!" Luo Mian's voice rang out again, sharp and decisive.
Mo Fan appeared inside the formation, standing right beside the Black Totem Snake as the violent lightning chains continued to lash across the lake, each strike tearing into the Totem's massive body while the nine halberds above relentlessly channeled destruction from the sky, and even being there for a single moment made it feel as though his entire body would be torn apart by the overwhelming residual energy that saturated the air.
One of the halberds reacted instantly, splitting off a terrifying surge of lightning that descended directly toward him with unstoppable force, yet Mo Fan did not move or attempt to evade it, instead raising his head calmly despite the destruction rushing toward him, his eyes steady as he spoke a single word under his breath.
"…Belle."
Within his spiritual world, Lightning Belle opened her eyes, and this time there was no hesitation or uncertainty in her movement, as a burst of lightning erupted from Mo Fan's body and surged upward to meet the incoming strike, not dispersing it but colliding with it directly, and in that instant, the nature of the lightning changed, not stopping or vanishing but bending unnaturally, as if it had encountered something that it was fundamentally meant to obey.
Lightning Belle emerged from the surge of energy, her form expanding rapidly, no longer the small unstable spirit from before but not yet fully complete either, as her body sharpened and took shape while faint cracks of instability still flickered across her form, yet even so, the authority she exuded was already enough to disturb the surrounding lightning, causing the chains closest to Mo Fan to tremble.
She raised her hand, and instead of attempting to destroy the formation outright, she began pulling from it, drawing only a portion of the lightning toward herself as strands of purple energy peeled away from the halberds and chains, flowing into her body like nourishment, causing the halberd above Mo Fan to flicker as its intensity dropped slightly, though it did not collapse entirely, and the rest of the formation remained fully active.
The remaining halberds continued channeling lightning from the Star Palace above, their overwhelming power still descending upon the Black Totem Snake, which remained trapped and bound within the formation, still being struck repeatedly as it struggled violently, its immense body crashing against the pillars only to be lashed again by the lightning chains that showed no sign of weakening beyond the small portion that had been absorbed.
At that moment, Zhu Meng's expression changed subtly, not because the formation had failed, but because he felt something deeper shift within himself, something he could not immediately understand, as his Lightning Soul Seed trembled violently within his body before a thin stream of lightning energy was silently drawn out of him, completely unnoticed by the others, flowing upward and merging into Lightning Belle's form as though it had been reclaimed by its true origin.
Zhu Meng staggered slightly, his expression flickering with confusion as he frowned, unable to comprehend what had just occurred, only sensing that something was off, that his lightning felt weaker and less responsive than before, yet with the massive formation still active above the lake, he had no time to dwell on it, and so the realization of what he had lost did not fully register in his mind.
Above the lake, Lightning Belle continued absorbing the surrounding energy, not devouring the entire formation but drawing in enough of its power, along with the lightning from the mages and the stolen essence of Zhu Meng's soul seed, to stabilize her existence completely, as the cracks in her form disappeared and her previously unstable aura solidified into something far more refined and overwhelming, marking the completion of her true birth as a lightning elemental spirit.
Yet even as she reached this state, the sky did not quiet, and the Star Palace still blazed above as the remaining halberds continued their descent, their destructive power still raining down upon the lake and the Totem Snake, making it clear that while the balance of power had shifted, the battle itself was far from over.
Below her, Mo Fan stood, breathing heavily as his injured body strained under the pressure, his cultivation reduced and his strength diminished compared to before, yet his gaze remained fixed upward, because even though Lightning Belle had awakened and claimed part of the lightning as her own, the punishment had not ended, and what remained was still more than enough to destroy everything in its path.
"Lightning Punishment Formation-The Seal of Nine Laws! It's a Lightning Element Super Magic. Once it's fully established, its power is strong enough to trap a Ruler-level demon beast. Councilman Luo Mian and Councilman Zhu Meng have long prepared for this. They have been planning to kill the Black Totem Snake all along," said Leng Qing, who was standing beside him.
The lightning struck the Black Totem Snake like merciless whips. The Black Totem Snake had just gotten rid of his most important layer of defense recently, thus he was experiencing tremendous pain. Each bolt of lightning left a deep wound on his body.
He did not give up. He opened his mouth wide and bit on one of the lightning halberds, trying to break it into pieces. However, the lightning turned out to be stronger, penetrating his throat and entering his esophagus. It electrified his inner organs and dealt a great blow to him.
An ordinary Commander-level demon beast would simply be shattered into pieces by the powerful blow. However, the Skyscraping Snake was still able to gather his strength and tore at the lightning halberd once again. In the end, the shock from the lightning paralyzed him, but he was reluctant to give up.
He was infuriated like a tyrant, glaring at the two humans who were responsible. He wanted to escape from the formation just to swallow them into his stomach!
He grew more savage as more wounds began to appear on his body. He was utterly fearless, even if he was facing the extremely destructive Lightning Spell. He wanted to destroy everything, to destroy the lightning that dared to infuriate him!
"Stop it now, I beg you please, stop it!" Tangyue pleaded desperately.
Each time the Black Totem Snake was struck by a lightning bolt, Tangyue could sense her heart being struck by a great blow.
"Begging for mercy?" Councilman Zhu Meng blurted out coldly. He glanced at the terrifying people in the distance who were gathering at the shores around the lake and pointed with his finger. A rather huge crowd had already gathered there.
"Why are you doing this!" snapped Tangyue.
Councilman Zhu Meng was expressionless. He opened his mouth and uttered with a thunderous voice facing the busy city, "People of Hangzhou City, this is the snake beast that appeared before in the city. He is also the source of the plague. He is now residing in West Lake. Unfortunately, some people treated him as a god, thus insisting on protecting him! Today, I, Zhu Meng have decided to eliminate him once and for all to prevent disasters like this from happening in the future. If you agree with me, please let me hear your voice!"
Zhu Meng's voice was extremely clear, as if it had spread to every little corner in the city. He had used some Magic that Mo Fan had never seen before.
On the other side of the lake, although the Su Causeway was quite a distance away from the shore where the crowd was, as the number of people increased, the crowd suddenly became rather obvious from the distance. Their faces were filled with astonishment, although most of them were still overwhelmed with fear of the unknown beast.
The crowd consisted of students of Magic Schools, ordinary businessmen, old folks who were passing by, normal civilians and quite a number of Magicians who were pursuing justice. They could not believe such a gigantic beast had been residing so close to their city. If they had not seen it with their own eyes today, they would never have believed it to be the truth.
The crowd was terrified and furious. They felt like someone had lied to them, someone who could not care less about their lives!
"Kill him! We have to kill him!"
"How could we possibly let something like that to stay in West Lake. Kill him now!"
"So he is the cause of the plague! He is a great threat to us!"
The voices of the crowd stacked upon one another, echoing across the lake loud and clear at the causeway.
"No, that's not the truth. He's not the cause of the plague. He's actually the guardian of the city. You can't hurt him!" Tangyue screamed loudly on Su Causeway.
However, her voice alone was no match against the voices of the crowd. Even if her pleading could be heard by the people, they would not show any hint of mercy. Their hearts were overwhelmed with fear and anger. Similar to Councilman Zhu Meng, they only wanted to drive the beast away from their city.
The protests grew louder gradually...
The Black Totem Snake was covered all over with cuts and bruises. His unyielding gaze began to show a hint of fatigue.
He was getting too weak. He was already suffering a punishment from the law of nature due to the ecdysis, and now he was trapped within the destructive lightning formation established by the humans. He no longer had the same spirit of trying to break free from the formation. The lightning bolts continued to strike him recklessly.
He could hear the voices of the crowd coming from the shore. As a matter of fact, he was not too bothered. He endured the pain from the shock of the lightning and slowly turned his head around toward Tangyue.
Tangyue was kneeling helplessly on the edge of the causeway. She seemed extremely tiny in comparison to the rage of the crowd.
If it weren't for her, the Black Totem Snake would never have left the safest hiding spot during his weakest period.
He had existed for many centuries, thus he was surely more intelligent than humans. He had total trust in her, and yet...she had let him down!
Seeing the bruises and wounds on the Black Totem Snake's body, whose eyes displayed a hint of fatigue and disappointed, she felt like he was asking her, why had she let him down!
Tangyue was full of tears. There was nothing she could do. She was surrounded by Magicians who were stronger then she was, and the shore was crowded with people demanding the death of the snake. What could she possibly do?
Mo Fan clearly heard her sobs. Similarly, there was nothing Mo Fan could do.
The people of the city were already trapped by the fear of the snake and the plague. Once they found the source of the plague, they would only follow their instincts.
Councilman Zhu Meng was doing something that perfectly suited their requests. Mo Fan believed that he would soon obtain the support of the people of Hangzhou City. No one would care about the despair that one woman was currently suffering.
"Careful, he's trying to barge out with brute force!" yelled the Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing.
Mo Fan collected his thoughts and saw that the Black Totem Snake, still being tortured tremendously by the lightning, trying to poke his giant head out from the formation.
The wild lightning bolts struck his head fiercely, and yet he continued to charge forward as if he were already numb.
He extended his head as close as possible to the causeway. The Judges of the Magic Court and the Royal Guards quickly backed off. Despite being trapped within the Lightning Punishment Formation, the Black Totem Snake was still very intimidating!
As the people assumed that the Black Totem Snake was desperately trying to break free with his last effort, he slowly moved his head toward Tangyue who was kneeling on the ground in despair...
The snake gently hissed, poking his tongue out from his mouth.
The tip of the tongue appeared in front of Tangyue and gently fondled her face.
Tangyue was stunned.
The tongue was extremely gentle, like a father trying to wipe the tears off her face.
Tangyue raised her head, glancing at the giant head. She stared into the snake's eyes, which had a gentle look despite the pain and torture he had suffered, before glancing at the tongue which had fondled her face gently. He was trying to comfort her!
At that instant, Tangyue completely broke down and burst out in tears!