Chapter 128: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Airplane

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A sharp, piercing sound of wind being torn asunder descended from the sky, echoing in all directions. In an instant, Tang Mubai returned to the space above the mudflats. The overwhelming aura he carried, even without being actively released, compressed the air around him, forming a semi-circular shockwave.

The remaining Water Demon Rats, their bodies coated in a thin, translucent film, had just attempted to rush forward when they were shredded by the invisible hurricane generated by his rapid descent.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

For a moment, the air crackled with the sounds of exploding firecrackers.

[Vitality +18]
[Vitality +17]
[Vitality +22]
[Vitality +19]
[Vitality +20]
...

The recovery notifications flashed rapidly in his mind. Tang Mubai’s gaze was like a torch; he unleashed his Grandmaster-level pressure, enveloping the entire mudflat.

"Squeak~!!!"

The three giant Water Demon Rats sensed it immediately and let out shrill, terrified screams. Their two-meter-long bodies scattered, desperate to flee.

But it was too late.

The "Cloud-Rolling Hand," which had been gathering momentum throughout his descent, shrouded the area, covering all three giant Water Demon Rats.

"BOOM!!!"

It was as if a thunderclap had detonated, the rolling sound waves spreading far and wide. The massive palm print, reinforced by his internal energy, struck with a single blow, causing the three giant Water Demon Rats to explode simultaneously. Flesh and blood splattered across the ground. The terrifying force even carved a massive crater into the mudflats, a hundred meters wide and forty to fifty meters deep. Countless mud, soil, stone fragments, and animal bones were flung into the air.

[Vitality +210]
[Vitality +205]
[Vitality +213]
...

The recovery notifications flashed again. Tang Mubai stood in mid-air, maintaining his Master-level pressure to block the falling mud, gore, and blood, savoring the sheer power of that descending palm strike.

...

"Just now... what was that?"

On a stretch of water about five or six hundred meters outside the perimeter of the mudflats, Fang Lin and his group stared in the direction of the mudflats, their mouths agape, stunned into silence.

"That thing that fell from the sky just now—was that a person?" the handsome young man with sharp brows and keen eyes murmured.

"Is... is that a Grandmaster?" Fang Lin whispered.

"That goes without saying, it has to be a Grandmaster!" Gao Lianhu, a burly man with well-developed muscles, swallowed hard, his voice filled with excitement. "Only a Grandmaster could possess such immense power!"

"Uh, could it be a Xiantian expert?" Zhou Hailong asked weakly.

Gao Lianhu didn't speak; he simply looked at him as if he were an idiot.

"A Xiantian expert’s presence would be even stronger, and besides, a Xiantian expert wouldn't need to go to such lengths," a crisp female voice chimed in from the side.

"True. If it were a Xiantian expert, leveling that entire area would be a simple matter."

"By the way, there aren't any King-level non-human lifeforms in Restricted Zone No. 9, right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, a Grandmaster appeared. Any existence that requires a Grandmaster to make such a grand display to eliminate it cannot be weak."

"That’s true. It seems we need to be more careful."

"..."

The group discussed in hushed tones aboard their makeshift speedboat. It wasn't until the handsome young man with sharp brows and keen eyes waved his hand sharply that he whispered, "Alright, everyone, silence. There is 'Star-Pattern Grass' in the woods ahead. Prepare to harvest!"

"Understood!"

...

Above the mudflats, Tang Mubai looked at a new notification that had just popped up in his mind, the corners of his mouth twitching.

[Would you like to consume 8,600 years of lifespan to upgrade "Sky-Dancing Flight Technique" to the seventh level?]

Ever since he had deduced the "Sky-Dancing Flight Technique" and consumed 100 years of lifespan to master the first level, this mysterious movement technique had remained stagnant, with no further prompts. Now, suddenly, he could upgrade it straight to the seventh level—for the cost of 8,600 years of lifespan!

By obliterating the Water Demon Rats, Tang Mubai had gained 8 years of lifespan. Added to the 4 years gained from the demi-humans he killed in the underground space of the Youxing Building, and the 6 years remaining from the惠民 (Huimin) Plaza recovery, Tang Mubai’s accumulated lifespan had successfully exceeded ten thousand years, reaching 13,008 years.

The system’s prompt to spend 8,600 years now seemed to have been prepared for this moment!

Of course, with over thirteen thousand years of lifespan, spending eight thousand six hundred still left him with a surplus. That wasn't the issue. The problem was, what criteria was the system using to trigger the prompt? If it were just a matter of total lifespan, he had already possessed over seven thousand years previously. Even if he couldn't reach the seventh level, surely he could have upgraded to the second or third? Yet, the system had provided no prompts, and no "+" sign had appeared on the interface.

This time, the sudden notification clearly meant he had triggered something!

"'Sky-Dancing Flight Technique'... 'Flight'... Yes, flight! Could it be because I actually 'flew' just now?"

Tang Mubai was astonished. It seemed that after obtaining the "Sky-Dancing Flight Technique," he had simply treated it as a slightly superior movement technique. It was only just now, when he flew a thousand meters into the sky in one go, that it happened for the first time!

"So, to upgrade the 'Sky-Dancing Flight Technique,' I have to trigger it in reality?"

"Just like the three divine abilities—'Temperature Control,' 'Pressure Control,' and 'Toxin Control'—they were all triggered before the system provided the prompt to upgrade them with lifespan!"

Thinking of this, Tang Mubai recalled the "Taiji Heart Scripture." This martial art, also deduced, was the same as the "Sky-Dancing Flight Technique"—no prompts, no "+" sign. It seemed the reason was likely the same! Although Tang Mubai had operated the "Taiji Heart Scripture" several times to collect baleful energy and maintain his "Grandmaster Hong" persona, he had never truly delved into or experienced the profound mysteries of the scripture itself. That was why the system hadn't prompted him.

"So the system is so 'humanized' that it only provides prompts and upgrades if I experience it myself?" Tang Mubai felt speechless.

After a while, he shook his head and accepted this lesson. He activated the "Sky-Dancing Flight Technique"—

Swish!

[Would you like to consume 8,600 years of lifespan to upgrade "Sky-Dancing Flight Technique" to the seventh level?]

"Yes!"

Hum~

His body trembled. An invisible sensation washed over him in an instant. When it subsided, Tang Mubai’s mastery of the "Sky-Dancing Flight Technique" had reached the seventh level. If the first level had a maximum ceiling of two thousand meters above ground, the seventh level allowed him to reach an altitude of 50 kilometers!

In other words, Tang Mubai could now fly into the stratosphere with his physical body alone!

He couldn't quite fly shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun just yet, but flying alongside an airplane was no problem at all!

"Tsk," Tang Mubai couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as he sensed the mysteries of the seventh-level "Sky-Dancing Flight Technique."

Those 8,600 years of lifespan were well spent. Flying alongside a plane—surely even a Xiantian expert couldn't do that?

After a long time, Tang Mubai suppressed the excitement in his heart. He glanced at the mud slowly flowing back into the giant crater, his figure flickered, and he shot straight into the sky!