- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 236
After all the calculations and strategies that left him severely drained, Blood Shenzi was just one step away from success. Yet, this unknown Foundation Establishment cultivator had turned his victory into failure, and Blood Shenzi felt a burning frustration.
He had to gamble one more time—if it didn’t work, he could always escape using the blood-escape technique.
“Lightning Style: False Darkness!”
As soon as the first wave of lightning attacks ended, Leo shadow clones immediately followed up with a second barrage, not giving Blood Shenzi any time to recover. Meanwhile, Leo discreetly took out a handful of military ration pills.
“I hope this works,” he thought.
Each of the 500 shadow clones had a limited amount of chakra. While they could handle lower-level techniques with ease, high-level moves like False Darkness could only be used about ten times. Once they had exhausted their chakra reserves, the shadow clones would disappear.
If the blood river wasn’t evaporated by then, Leo would need to rely on the military ration pills to recover his chakra and continue summoning clones. However, even with his enhanced body, there was a limit to how much his body could handle before breaking down.
This was a gamble. If he won, great. If he lost, he would use the teleportation scroll to escape with everyone.
“It seems I have the upper hand!” Blood Shenzi laughed triumphantly when he saw that, after ten rounds of lightning attacks, Leo shadow clones had vanished.
But his laughter stopped abruptly when he noticed Leo stuffing an entire handful of military ration pills into his mouth and summoning another 500 clones.
“Careful, Blood Shenzi! Don’t let the wind choke you!” Leo taunted as his clones prepared another wave of lightning attacks, and he nonchalantly took out more pills.
“I refuse to believe you have endless supplies of such powerful pills!” Blood Shenzi growled in disbelief, urging the blood river forward while muttering to himself.
Restoring true essence through pills wasn’t something that could be done easily, especially not at such a high level. The amount of true essence a Nascent Soul cultivator like Blood Shenzi had accumulated over a century was enormous.
The idea that a pill could instantly restore all that energy was unheard of. Even the rarest energy-restoring pills only increased a cultivator’s potential by enhancing the capacity of their dantian rather than directly refilling it.
Additionally, converting the pill’s energy into one’s unique true essence took time, something that was impractical during a battle.
That’s why Blood Shenzi was so shocked when Leo seemed to regain his power immediately after consuming the pills. He wasn’t the only one—behind Leo, the Seven Sons of the Cloud and the master alchemist, Lotus Fairy, were equally dumbfounded.
They didn’t know that Leo wasn’t recovering true essence but chakra instead. The military ration pills simply replenished his body’s energy, allowing him to draw more chakra.
“I won’t believe you have an unlimited supply of these pills!” Blood Shenzi snarled, pouring more energy into the blood river, trying to suppress the continuous lightning onslaught.
“Nascent Soul cultivators sure have an absurd amount of energy,” Leo mused as he swallowed his fourth handful of pills and summoned more clones. Blood Shenzi’s pale face showed signs of exhaustion, but he was still fighting, forcing Leo to push harder.
“My body’s starting to shake. I might not be able to keep this up,” Leo thought, realizing he was reaching his physical limit. He prepared to tell Chu Yuxiang to retreat and escape.
However, as he glanced at the recently recovered Lotus Fairy, an idea sparked in his mind, and he changed his approach.
Lotus Fairy might not be good in combat, and she had just been struck by Blood Shenzi, but as a master alchemist, she could create powerful pills. If she had pills to enhance physical strength, Leo body could become stronger, increasing his chakra reserves and allowing him to consume even more military ration pills to prolong his stamina.
And the best part? In the current situation, where he was protecting her and the spirit child, he could reasonably ask for these pills without appearing greedy.
“I can’t hold out much longer!” Leo shouted, feigning exhaustion.
“Brother Qingfeng, are you out of those miraculous pills?” Chu Yuxiang and the others looked desperate. Just when they had seen a glimmer of hope, it was dashed away, leaving them in an even deeper despair.
But they understood—Leo, despite being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, had fought a Nascent Soul-level opponent to a standstill. It was already beyond their expectations. Surely, such miraculous pills couldn’t be endless.
“No, it’s not what you think,” Leo explained, “Those weren’t pills for restoring true essence but rather secret medicine for my body. Ever since I can remember, I’ve had access to a unique technique that doesn’t rely on true essence but instead draws on a special energy tied to my physical body and soul. My earlier attacks, the clones, and the lightning techniques all use this power.”
He showed them another handful of military ration pills.
“My body has reached its limit, though. I can’t keep using the medicine to sustain my techniques.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions cleared up. It made sense now—how a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Leo could possess such extraordinary power. It wasn’t just raw strength; it was some kind of inherited secret technique.
Many ancient cultivators who had undergone the cycle of rebirth through disintegration and reincarnation left behind fragmentary memories of powerful techniques or abilities.
“Does that mean,” Lotus Fairy suddenly stepped forward, holding the spirit child in her arms, “if your body and soul were strengthened, you could continue using the medicine and casting lightning techniques?”
Leo hesitated for a moment, pretending to think, and then nodded. “I’ve never tested it before, but if my body and soul were enhanced, it might be possible to use more of the medicine and continue the lightning attacks.”
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