The Power of Lightning — Lightning Seal!

"Speaking of which, Xu Bing," the cigarette-chewing young man drawled, "aren't your tastes a little *complicated*? Sure, the girl's pretty, but whether she's actually, you know... *capable* — that's a whole other question."

"I'm with him on that."

"There are plenty of pretty girls at that school — rich families, easy to scare, easy pickings. Why get so hung up on this one..."

"What the hell do you know?" Xu Bing shot the group a withering glare. "That's called having taste."

He was still brooding over how lowbrow his crew was when he looked up and spotted a teenage boy in a black shirt walking toward the pavilion, expression stone-cold.

*Hm. That face is kind of familiar...*

*Holy shit — speak of the devil. Isn't this the girl's neighbor? Her big brother?*

*Perfect. I've been itching to teach this punk a lesson for months — always getting in my way. And now he walks right into my lap. The whole crew's here today too. Time to show this little hero what happens when you play the white knight.*

"Boys, grab your weapons!" Xu Bing shot to his feet, eyes locking with Mo Fan's icy stare.

The denim-jacket guy, the cigarette smoker, the beanie-hat guy, and the puffer-jacket guy all leapt to their feet and glanced around—

"Bro... we didn't actually bring any weapons," the cigarette smoker muttered weakly into Xu Bing's ear.

"Who the hell needs weapons for some kid? Just beat him half to death — Brother Zhao Kunsan gave the order himself. Whatever happens, it's on him!" Xu Bing slapped the talkative underling on the forehead, seething.

The cigarette smoker looked deeply aggrieved. *You're the one who said grab weapons...* So that was just bravado.

"Well, if Brother Zhao Kunsan gave the word... heh heh heh." The puffer-jacket guy ripped off his jacket, revealing a white tank top — and an obscenely muscled physique beneath.

Mo Fan regarded the five so-called Blue Bear Gang thugs with the contempt one reserves for animals.

"Hmph. Let me be straight with you, kid." Xu Bing's mask finally cracked. "A girl like your sister — *me* being willing to look at her is the blessing of several lifetimes. You think everyone's like me, willing to overlook the fact that she's a... a... *cripple*? What does a cripple have to be so high-and-mighty about? Someone's actually willing to have her — she should be burning incense and counting her blessings!!" He jabbed a finger at Mo Fan.

After all this time, Xu Bing's patience had long since run dry.

Look at him — good-looking, well-connected, a real somebody in the Guangchi district. If Ye Xinxia followed him, she'd at least eat and drink well, with lackeys running around after her.

"Exactly! Know when you've been given a gift!"

"Call him brother-in-law like a good boy right now, and we'll go easy on you out of family courtesy — just need to settle accounts for Zhao Kunsan and Mu Bai," the tank-top muscle man said. "Keep being stubborn and we'll break your legs. You can share a wheelchair with her."

Those words hit Mo Fan's chest like a fist.

He glanced at the pavilion.

In the center sat a lone wheelchair, its surface scattered with playing cards.

He had already reached the edge of his fury when he saw those pieces of filth using Ye Xinxia's wheelchair as a card table. Now, after Xu Bing's vile words on top of it, Mo Fan felt his chest about to burst open.

*Cripple??*

*Cripple????*

*I, Mo Fan, swore an oath — whoever dares say that about Ye Xinxia again will live to regret being born.*

"Stop wasting time on this punk — just beat him!"

"I've got this one myself. Boys, step back." The tank-top muscle man began cracking his knuckles, each joint popping in turn.

Mo Fan watched them in silence. His eyes had gone somewhere past cold.

What the street thugs had failed to notice was the violet streak of lightning fury reflected deep in his pupils — the Star Trail, coiled with immense power, transforming under Mo Fan's rage into a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"You really think I'm still the same Mo Fan you could walk all over?"

A restless force crackled in the air around him, like a company of fully-armed soldiers holding their breath for the general's command.

"Perfect. Let something lower than animals have a taste of lightning."

The roar tore from his throat. In that instant, all seven Star Motes snapped into alignment — forming the Star Trail, channeling every ounce of power within his Lightning Element Stardust into his right arm.

**Crackle——**

A blinding arc of lightning coiled around Mo Fan like a serpent and vanished in a flash. The next instant, all the restless lightning energy in the air converged frantically onto his right arm with a piercing, keening shriek.

"What the—?!"

"What *is* that?!"

"Why is everything around him snapping and crackling like he's being electrocuted?!"

"This kid... God, he's a *mage*!!" Xu Bing — the most worldly among them — had the word out before the thought had fully formed.

They were notorious throughout the Guangchi district, sure — but thugs lived and died by their fists and feet. Before a real mage, they didn't even rank as small fry.

"How can he *possibly* be a mage?!"

All five stood white with terror.

In their world, punching a dent into a tree was the pinnacle of raw strength. They had never seen a living person wrapped in crackling arcs of electricity, the surrounding area transformed into something like a blown high-voltage substation — an invisible pressure crushing down until every nerve in their bodies buzzed.

"Power of Lightning — *Lightning Seal!!*"

The ritual was complete. This time, Mo Fan had truly executed the basic-level skill — Lightning Seal.

He thrust his arm upward, palm facing the sky.

Every arc of lightning crackling in the surrounding air let out a sharp, keening cry — like elemental warriors clad in violet armor, drawing their blades the instant the order came down.

"Destroy them!" Consumed by rage, Mo Fan commanded the obedient lightning on pure instinct.

He snapped his fist shut.

Wave after wave of arcing lightning was fully Released, surging madly toward where Xu Bing and the muscle man stood.

The arcs crashed down from above. Each strike fell like the lash of a monstrous whip, slamming both men into the ground — and scorching serpentine marks into the earth beneath their bodies.

**Crackle — crackle — crackle——**

Xu Bing and the muscle man were flattened. One moment they'd been strutting around like they owned the world; the next, their backs were flayed open — charred on the outside and raw within.

They tried to scream, but no sound came out. The residual power of the Lightning Seal coursed through their bodies like living serpents, and with each pulse both men convulsed in agonized spasms.

**Thud!!** At the sight of that terrifying, demonic power, the cigarette smoker's knees gave out entirely. He crumpled to the ground and began shaking uncontrollably.

The denim-jacket thug stood rooted to the spot, every thought vacated from his skull — a statue in human clothing.

As for the beanie-hat man: he was still standing, untouched by the Lightning Seal — but his jeans were soaked through from the waist down, dripping all the way into his shoes.