Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Non-elemental Ability

Early in the morning, Theron was already pacing restlessly in front of Sane and Kaelen’s tent area.

His sharp nose caught a hint of an ambiguous scent mixed within the myriad of complex odors in the air, making him feel that arriving at this hour was a bit tactless.

But he couldn’t be blamed; he had been in a beastified state for too long, and his rationality was starting to show signs of deterioration. After learning the news that a beastman’s source ability could be restored, he had tossed and turned all night, rushing over early in the morning to sit and wait.

Sane said the success rate was very low, but even if it meant death, Theron had to try. It was better to die while still retaining the consciousness of a beastman than to become a wild beast, turning around to attack his family and loved ones.

Theron tactfully lay prone a good distance away, not wanting to disturb the young couple. However, he didn’t have to wait too long; Sane had woken up and was preparing breakfast. Seeing Theron from afar, Sane waved to signal Theron to come closer and said:

"Did you come alone? Didn’t you call anyone from your family to come with you?"

Theron scratched the ground under his paws. He could no longer speak human language, and beastmen couldn’t understand wild beast growls. Fortunately, he had studied hard recently and could use writing to express his intentions.

[I didn’t tell anyone. If I succeed, consider it a surprise gift for them. If I fail, please tell them I’ve returned to the green forest; that way, they will grieve a little less.]

Sane looked at the scribbled handwriting on the ground with a complex expression. Theron was just an ordinary beastman with low combat power, so the chance of teaming up with Sane was zero. But since they were from the same tribe after all, Sane felt very sorry for Theron. Theron was also innocent, accidentally dragged into the political war between Obsidian and Cipher, becoming the first chess piece to be discarded.

"Rest assured, Kaelen said that even though he isn’t a hundred percent certain, he at least won’t let you lose your life."

Theron nodded and found a spot not far away to sit down, not disturbing Sane as Sane prepared breakfast for his mate. He didn’t have to wait too long before the two of them came back out. Kaelen had even thoughtfully prepared a portion of roasted meat for Theron as breakfast. Theron felt very awkward. Just as he was about to refuse, Sane seemed to understand Theron’s thoughts and said:

"Eat up, who knows, it might be your last meal."

Theron: "..."

Kaelen: [...]

Kaelen couldn’t hold back and smacked Sane on the head: [If you don’t know how to speak, then keep your mouth shut!]

The group left the tribe as if going to work daily, and upon reaching an unpopulated area, they immediately changed direction, heading to the designated location. Jaxon, Nyx, and Collins were already waiting there. Talon didn’t participate due to his old age.

Upon arriving, choosing a flat empty plot of land, Kaelen began using the specialized color powder of the Priests to draw a Five Elements Bagua formation. At each point of the five-pointed star, he placed the magical stones he had collected from the Sub-Beasts in the tribe, all of which had been purified using his Wood-element ability. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

[Step into the center and close your eyes. When a strange energy enters your body, try your best to absorb it. If you feel your body rejecting it, you must stop immediately.]

Theron nodded, nervously stepping into the formation, and closed his eyes. Kaelen began to form hand seals, controlling his ability to guide the spiritual energy to envelop Theron, while simultaneously awakening the energy within the magical stones, letting them run along the points of the star and rush toward Theron.

In an instant, five brilliant colors appeared on Theron’s body. The red of the Fire element, the gold of the Metal element, the green of the Wood element, the blue of the Water element, and the brown of the Earth element. Winds rose from all directions, sweeping up blinding dust, and tree branches swayed with the gale. The clear blue sky suddenly turned pitch black, and the rumbling of thunder could be faintly heard behind the layers of clouds.

Sane’s group was battered by the wind so much that they had no choice but to shield their eyes with their arms, yet they couldn’t help but try to open their eyes to observe the anomaly. They could no longer see Theron; the colors swirled around him, forming a tornado.

Kaelen’s forehead broke out in cold sweat, waves of a metallic sweetness rose in his throat, and a mouthful of blood wanted to spurt out, but he forcefully swallowed it back down. He could feel the spiritual energy surging violently within the formation; he absolutely could not stop at this moment.

Inside the formation, Theron’s entire body was covered in blood, and he curled up from the intense pain. Within his body, countless energies were warring against each other; they were as sharp as knives slicing into his flesh, making him hurt so much that he just wanted to pass out. However, a voice kept echoing in his head, reminding him to persevere.

[Hang in there! Just a little bit more! Don’t give up! For Papa, for Daddy, for Cael, and for Mie too! You must not give up!]

Theron struggled to open his eyes; blood flowed across his eyes, bringing endless stinging pain. He tried to stand up but fell back down, repeating the process over and over again. This tearing sensation was even more intense than when he was tortured by Moharm’s poison. That’s right, he still hadn’t taken revenge on those bastards.

His two front limbs pushed against the ground to stand up, followed by his two hind limbs. A low growl emanated from Theron’s throat, initially just a soft grumble, but later transforming into a sky-shaking leopard roar.

Mie, who was spinning yarn, jolted and looked up at the sky, not even realizing when the spindle had fallen from her hands. The people enthusiastically working couldn’t help but look up as well, murmuring among themselves:

"Oh, why are the dark clouds rolling in, and there’s thunder too, is it about to rain?"

"It’s probably going to rain, hurry and pack things inside."

Everyone dropped the work in their hands, hurriedly gathering up the animal skins and fabrics. Over in the new valley, they also stored away all the dried pottery blanks and draped smooth animal skins over the newly made ones. Talon stood in front of the meeting tent, looking worriedly toward the forest.

Far away by the forest, when Theron let out that resounding roar, Kaelen’s ability was repelled, and a massive surge of spiritual power pushed him backward for a dozen consecutive steps. The mouthful of blood that he had been suppressing in his chest could no longer be held back, spewing out as he coughed. Sane didn’t have time to think and hastily shifted into his beast form, coiling around Kaelen and using his body to shield Kaelen from the wave of spiritual power. On the other side, Nyx and Collins were also protected by Jaxon’s massive tiger form.

Thunder and lightning crashed violently; the spiritual energy spiraled like a vortex. In the midst of the whirlwind, an orb of light rose from the center of the formation, hovering in mid-air. A powerful bolt of lightning struck directly down onto the orb, and crackling currents of electricity instantly appeared on its surface, with electric sparks occasionally seen zipping back and forth.

Kaelen seemed to have forgotten his fear of Sane’s beast form, clinging onto the cold snake scales and trying his best to peek out. Seeing this, Sane loosened his tail slightly so that Kaelen could observe more clearly, but still didn’t let a single wind blade touch Kaelen’s body.

Crack! Boom!

One bolt, then another bolt of lightning struck the orb of light consecutively as everyone waited in suspense. Right after the ninth lightning bolt struck, a rainbow suddenly appeared in the sky, the dark clouds dissipated, and the wind stopped howling. The colorful energies transformed into small spheres, spinning round and round the orb of light, wanting to dive in but getting deflected away. The orb of light slowly descended, shrinking and elongating.

When it touched the ground, the light slowly faded away, revealing a tall figure standing upright with a bowed head.

Kaelen nervously dug his fingers into Sane’s tail, while Jaxon was more direct, tentatively stepping closer. A hoarse call came from the tiger’s mouth: "Theron?"

The person in front slowly raised his head, eyes still closed, and a golden pattern appeared on the center of his forehead, looking like a lightning bolt striking down from the sky. He suddenly opened his eyes; the brilliant light around his eyes dispersed, and he regained his senses.

Theron blinked, looking at the surrounding scenery, then raised his two hands to examine them, unable to hold back a smile:

"It succeeded? I’ve returned to human form, Uncle Jaxon!"

Jaxon immediately shifted into human form, stepped forward to joyfully grasp Theron’s shoulders, and said, choking back sobs, "It’s good that it succeeded, it’s good that it succeeded. The Beast God blesses us!"

"The Beast God blesses us!" Nyx and Collins also happily placed their hands on their chests, bowing their heads to the high heavens, and then turned to Kaelen: "Kaelen, you truly are the messenger sent down by the deity to save our tribe!"

Kaelen... Kaelen had already fainted dead away. Due to extreme energy depletion combined with being terrified by Sane’s beast form, the moment he relaxed his body, he trembled like a leaf and then collapsed in a faint. Sane’s snake body stiffened for a moment, after which he hurriedly shifted into human form, catching Kaelen’s falling body.

Nyx immediately ran over to check; after observing very carefully, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "He’s fine, just sleeping." He gave Sane a meaningful glance, then turned to Theron and asked, "How do you feel about your body? Is there anything wrong?"

Theron felt it out for himself for a moment, then said, "I feel very healthy, but there is an extra, very strange power inside my body. It feels like something wants to escape..."

Zap! Boom!

A bolt of lightning shot out from Theron’s waving hand, grazed past Jaxon’s head, and dashed straight toward a nearby ancient tree. The ancient tree, thick enough for three people to embrace, was just like that blasted with a hole piercing straight through from one side to the other.

Everyone: "..."

Holy crap, another one with Divine Energy!