The King of Black Fog

"That's a real expert," someone had said, "from what I've heard, the 'Little Martial Saint' has defeated three players who had broken through their limits head-on."

There was a hubbub below.

Li Changzhou too felt surprised.

Unlike the others who only knew that those who had broken through their limits were strong, he himself had fought such experts face to face in Prague.

With an ability in effect, a C-level skill 'Rooster Feather Shaking' had almost killed him.

However, that was because he knew he had teammates and had chosen to meet force with force. If it were one-on-one with his rich set of skills, he completely could have chosen a different method.

But that was just dealing with one player who had broken through their limits.

Yet this 'Little Martial Saint' actually managed to beat three?

And there's the Shepherd mentioned by the nuns, the owner of the 'Evangelical Book,' 'Bible·Pope.'

The world is so vast; indeed, full of experts.

Li Changzhou was not intimidated, he had also grown stronger since Prague—undersea training, 'Black Death God's Descent,' and the 'Honey Pot World.'

Even so, he couldn't help but consider whether 'Earth Tunneling' and 'Photo Transmission' overlapped too much in their effects, and the latter came with the side effect of dropping 'Intelligence'—whether he should switch to a skill for rapid close combat to complement 'Black Death God's Descent.'

But then again... It was 'Earth Tunneling' that had allowed him to dig a hole in the 'Canyon' instance and avoid direct exposure to the claws of those flying beasts.

Dilemma!

Every time he thought about having to make such a tough choice whenever he changed skills, Li Changzhou felt even more conflicted.

He once again wished in his heart, 'Genius with the Unlimited Skill Bar, true powerhouse, where are you? Come and conquer me, the BOSS, already!'

"Another is a woman with no title. Unlike the 'Little Martial Saint,' she is not showy, and few people understand her."

"Both of these are surely those who have learned to think while still being 'fetuses.' It's certain there are many more, and counting those overseas, the number would double."

"It's possible that among those present here, there might be players capable of learning to 'think' as well."

"Master, does one need to have a high Intelligence to learn this?" someone asked.

Everyone was curious about the answer to that question.

"There's no absolute connection with Intelligence," Master Huang answered, "To my knowledge, that Little Martial Saint has an Intelligence of only 6, but he has a talent for martial arts and combat, having won many first places in various military competitions."

"You were all ordinary people before and unaware of your talents in this domain. Anyway, just give it a try."

Saying this, Master Huang stood up, took a scroll from his game bag, and tossed it toward the center of the stage.

The scroll unfurled, over three meters in height, hovering in the air without touching the ground.

On the scroll was only a dense mass of clouds, almost like spilled ink; the clouds churned, and occasionally, a bolt of purple thunder struck down.

A living painting!

"This is the thought I gained when I first returned to the past, during that period," Master Huang said, stroking his goatee and looking at the scroll, "Earth once had such a time, it was practically another world, where power was known as True Qi, and learning new thoughts was called 'Visualization.'

"I won't elaborate on the story of the instance here; it's all written in the book, for those interested to read."

"Let's continue with 'thought.'

"Do you know about the Xingyi Sect? Some martial artists imitate fierce animals to gain formidable combat power, like Tiger Form, Wolf Form, Snake Form, Mantis Form, and so on."

"In modern times, with the ferocity of firearms, there are also moves like Cannon Fist, and techniques pertaining to spears."

"My thought goes a step further, imitating the forces of nature. It's from the 'Five Books,' the 'Thunder Book.' It's both a thought, a Practice Skill, and at the same time, a skill that doesn't occupy a Skill Slot; a Combat Skill."

Master Huang suddenly twisted his body and swung out a palm.

A Gale roared like tangible waves, rushing through the aisle below the stage like a cannonball.

The players seated along the aisle were thrown into chaos, and some were blown away.

With a loud crash, the tightly locked door at the end of the aisle was blown off its hinges by the Gale and sent flying three meters away.

The audience gasped, standing up and widening their eyes in shock.

This was from nearly a hundred meters away, with just an ordinary palm strike, no skill used!

Even Li Changzhou, who had experienced a Strength of 10 points, couldn't help but be astounded.

Sending a Qi blast a hundred meters out was one thing; with effort, he could do it too, but the fact that it could still knock people over after a hundred meters, and even blow a heavy door off that not even a grown person could easily move, was something else entirely!

On the stage, Master Huang was catching his breath, some beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Taking a moment, he looked out into the eager eyes of the audience and said, "Unleashing the body's potential in an instant, this is the 'Thunder Book.'

"The 'Thunder Book' has both a Practice Skill and a Combat Skill."

"For practice, you accumulate Thunder Power without releasing it, awaking your own potential, growing your ability."

"Let me add a word about the ways to increase one's ability, any method can enhance ability, reading and traveling the world are possibilities, but the fastest way is by clearing instances; the most stable method is through the 'Practice Skill' in one's thoughts."

"And Combat Skills, it's what I just demonstrated, using the momentum of Thunder Power to unleash all the potential in the body in a split second!"

"Now, I will teach everyone this thought process, those who are interested can learn from me."

Everyone sat upright, their hearts pounding with anticipation.

Some had sweaty palms, some clenched their fists tightly, while others grasped the backrest of the chair in front of them, eyes filled with expectation.

The lights of Ming'en Hall illuminated the passionate faces.

"The first step in learning the 'Thunder Book' is to visualize the 'Thunder Map' in your mind."

"Everyone, first clear your minds and imagine the shape of the thunderclouds in the Visualization Map."

Master Huang also closed his eyes, visualizing the dark clouds while explaining.

All eyes in the audience were fixed on the three-meter-long 'Thunder Map.'

"Gather strength, gather strength, and keep gathering strength, you must not have any distracting thoughts, as they would prematurely release the power of the thunderclouds."

"Don't be too clever by thinking this is like inflating a balloon, by using the feeling of blowing up a balloon to visualize the thunderclouds, what you would learn is the idea of inflating a balloon, not the 'Thunder Book'."

"Remember!"

"Beginners cannot afford a single misstep, nor lack the slightest bit, this 'Thunder Map' is personally drawn by a peerless powerhouse, only by visualizing it can we, the low-level players, mimic the power of thunder."

"Only by learning the 'Thunder Map' to perfection, with the thoughts of thunder in your head stirring the potential in your body, otherwise it's just a distraction."

"With sufficient gathering of energy, the Thunder will come naturally!"

Master Huang ceased talking, and began to slowly gather energy himself.

For most people below the stage, let alone visualizing the thunderclouds and gathering energy, it was difficult to even keep their thoughts clear.

Modern people are bombarded with too much information, which can be seen as being knowledgeable but also as having cluttered thoughts.

However, everyone still silently tried, unwilling to give up the opportunity.

Thankfully, they had the map, and soon, a few managed to get into the zone, but as soon as they found it simple, these distractions immediately scattered the power of the thunderclouds completely.

Learning from their mistakes, when they entered the zone again, they controlled their thoughts.

At that moment, the thunderclouds in the 'Thunder Map' rolled, and the Purple Thunder crashed down.

Uncontrollably, their visualized thunderclouds also began to roll, and in an instant, distractions grew wildly like weeds, tearing the thundercloud to pieces.

The thunderclouds they had so painstakingly accumulated vanished into thin air.

This time they tried a different approach, choosing not to look at the Visualization Map and follow their own rhythm instead.

But they immediately found that without the 'Thunder Map', they couldn't even enter the state of visualization.

At that moment, Master Huang suddenly opened his eyes, his body shook, and with a "boom," his body emitted a sound like thunder.

Can the human body actually make a sound like thunder?!

He took a long breath, his face flushed, and his forehead was wetter and sweatier.

"The thunder in the mind, channeling down the spine, stimulating the whole body, that is the entrance," he spoke slowly, "Holding the Thunder without releasing is Practice Skill, releasing it naturally is Combat Skill."

"Master," someone couldn't help but ask, "are there no other tricks to it?"

"Yes, I can't even visualize the thunderclouds!"

"I can visualize, but after a while, other thoughts pop up in my head, and as soon as they do, the thundercloud dissipates!"

"The lightning in this picture, it keeps distracting me!"

The crowd voiced their issues, turning Ming'en Hall into a cacophony of sounds.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, another peal of thunder, four or five times louder than Master Huang's.

For the people in Ming'en Hall, due to the proximity, this thunderous sound was no different from natural lightning striking.

Many felt their scalps tingle for a moment, their instincts making them afraid of the sound, as if actual lightning had struck nearby.

After calming their emotions slightly, everyone looked towards the source of the thunderous sound.

In a corner of Ming'en Hall, Li Changzhou opened his eyes, took a deep breath, his face slightly red.

"Young man, come up here!" Master Huang's tone sounded almost as if he was initiating a fight, and Li Changzhou accepted the challenge gladly.