A full year passed after entering the ancestral grounds, yet Lei Qi made no major moves. He remained in the "starting area" this entire time.
During that year, he had indeed encountered the puppets that resided here.
However, most of them were merely Fighter-level puppets.
But even though they were only Fighters, because they felt no pain and had no fear, they made excellent sparring partners.
At the very least, Lei Qi's combat skills and battle experience soared at an insane rate.
After a year inside the ancestral grounds, his cultivation had reached Nine-Star Fighting Master.
However, he also realized that the energy he could draw from cultivation here was no longer as abundant. And the longer he stayed, the more he understood that the main purpose of this area… was actual combat experience.
Every time he fought, he gained a huge amount of experience—something he could never obtain from sparring with Lei Dong.
Instead of heading toward the second layer, he continued exploring the first.
Zzzzt…
Zzzzt…
Lightning streaks filled the surroundings, occasionally dripping from the sky like glowing bolts crashing into the ground.
Even someone with lightning affinity would instinctively dodge these.
But for Lei Qi—who had been struck countless times—these first-layer bolts barely harmed him.
Wuuu!
Wuuu!
While he was searching for puppets to spar with, he happened to encounter two Fighting Master-level puppets, accompanied by more than thirty Fighter-level ones.
Good grief.
This wasn't a small group—this was basically a mob fight waiting to happen.
The numbers made his scalp tingle, but Lei Qi chose to charge straight in.
The puppets also noticed him and immediately surrounded him.
Lei Qi didn't defend.
Or rather—the Lei Clan had never been a defensive clan. They only understood how to attack!
In a few swift steps, he rushed toward the frontmost puppets and swung his fist—
One punch shattered a Fighter puppet's head.
Once the head broke, the puppet was instantly scrapped.
After destroying one, Lei Qi's leg crackled with lightning and he delivered a spinning kick, destroying a second puppet.
Bang! Bang!
But at the same time, attacks rained down on him.
These puppets hit extremely hard.
Fortunately, after enduring lightning tempering for a year, Lei Qi's physique had become far tougher. Even after taking that punch, he wasn't seriously affected.
Rumble!
He turned around, gathered lightning in his palm, and struck out quickly.
Two Thunder Seal Palms blasted out—two more puppets shattered.
In just a few breaths of time, he had already destroyed four.
However, the two Fighting Master-level puppets had already closed in.
"Lightning Whip!"
Against Fighting Master puppets, his physical strength alone wasn't enough.
This was the time to use battle skills.
After all, he was only a Fighting Master himself.
Swish!
Lightning condensed into a long whip. With a sharp crack, it struck one of the Master-level puppets' heads—
—yet unlike the Fighter puppets, its head did not shatter.
Boom!
The other Master-level puppet punched with lightning-charged force and sent Lei Qi flying.
He tumbled across the ground, sparks scattering as he rolled.
His body tingled numb—this was indeed very different from lower-rank puppets.
Lei Qi stood up again, but both the Fighter puppets and the Fighting Master puppets had already surrounded him.
He attacked again—destroying two more Fighter puppets—only to be punched back several steps by a Master-level puppet.
Even though he had braced himself, the punch still hurt.
If this continued, he would clearly be done for.
He didn't care much about rewards here,
—but if he was knocked out and sent back outside, where would his status come from?
Running was impossible.
These puppets would chase relentlessly, and escaping was neither easy nor smart.
Given the situation, there was only one choice left—
A full-force battle.
His gaze locked on the Master puppet he had struck earlier. The next second, Lei Qi dashed forward.
This time he ignored all attacks from the Fighter puppets.
"Thunderbolt Frenzy!"
Enduring the hits, he closed in on the Master-level puppet. A bright violet light shot from his fingertip—
BOOM!!!
The violet beam pierced directly through the puppet's head.
A muffled thunderous sound followed, and the puppet exploded into fragments.
But destroying a single Master-level puppet drained half of Lei Qi's Dou Qi.
Thunderbolt Frenzy was a Mid-Earth Rank battle skill—remarkably powerful. Lei Qi couldn't unleash its full might, but even a tenth of its power was terrifying.
However, the Dou Qi consumption was equally shocking.
As the puppet exploded, Lei Qi noticed a long spear lying among the fragments.
He suddenly remembered what Clan Leader Lei Ying had said—this place contained all sorts of techniques and treasures.
He hadn't expected them to be hidden inside the puppets!
And the reason the rest of the Lei Clan never came to collect these?
Anyone above Dou King would be forcibly expelled by the ancestral grounds. Even a Dou Saint couldn't stay long.
This place was truly a heritage ground for young prodigies.
Lei Qi rushed over and grabbed the spear. Then, spinning around, he hurled it—!
Swish!
Covered in Dou Qi and wrapped in lightning, the spear smashed into the nearest puppet, shattering its head instantly. Without stopping, it continued crashing forward—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five or six Fighter puppets were destroyed in a row!
Lei Qi was stunned.
Although the spear was empowered by his Dou Qi, the destructive power it produced was incredible!
"Good stuff!"
His enthusiasm ignited.
A longer weapon meant greater reach—and greater power.
Swinging the spear repeatedly, even without technique or refined form, he easily destroyed all the remaining Fighter puppets.
After just a short moment, only one Fighting Master-level puppet remained.
It had made him suffer earlier—there was no way he would let it go.
Bang!
But the puppet was decisive too. The moment he got near, it punched.
Lei Qi responded quickly, raising the spear horizontally to block.
After tanking the hit, he glanced at the spear—its shaft had slightly bent, but instantly straightened back into form.
"A good spear!"
With that praise, he thrust the weapon straight into the puppet's head—
BOOM!