Wang Qi’s field of research on Earth was theoretical physics. His understanding of electricity extended as far as his understanding of electromagnetism, among the four fundamental forces. He lacked practical knowledge about electricity and how to prevent an electric shock.
Wu Shiqin’s move put him in a bind.
Raising electric potential would put the two of them in a contest of Celestial Hymn Odyssey. [Hardly useful.]
[Thunder Cell, maybe?] Dubbed the bane of all electric and thunder attacks. I can manage just the hand, let alone a whole arm.] ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⁂𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⁂𝕟𝕖𝕥
As it stood, Thunder Shield was a good choice. However, its effectiveness was limited to ancient cultivators and demons who shared his level of cultivation. It got nothing on modern cultivators. The mere act of Wu Shiqin raising the voltage would cause it to break down.
Wu Shiqin didn’t wait for him to turn things around and attacked. Her entire body shone a gaudy blue, and lightning snaked from her hand.
Wu Shiqin dodged immediately. Shifting Step was good at messing up with the opponent’s judgment of his direction through direct observation. [She won’t know which way I’ll take the next step.]
The confidence was shattered when Wu Shiqin’s strike didn’t explode as it hit the ground, but instead burrowed through.
In most cases, when a cultivator unleashed an electric strike, it would just explode on contact to interfere with their adversary. Wu Shiqin, on the other hand, had her sights on the ground! She aimed to turn her attack into a brief step voltage!
The lightning bolt’s effect was weaker than when she aimed for a step voltage around herself. At best, the attack would freeze Wang Qi’s legs for a moment, enough for Wu Shiqin’s other attacks to do the job.
The research trial worked wonders in motivating Wu Shiqin to study the Celestial Element Series.
Wang Qi jumped on instinct, only to react immediately. In the air, he had no support, like a sitting duck. He operated his mental art, using his kinetic energy to turn upside down in the air so he could reach out with his right and press the ground.
Before he touched the floor, his hand glowed green—the Thunder Cell.
It canceled out the difference in electric potential around Wang Qi, protecting him from harm. It was then that another lightning strike came for him. Wang Qi was forced to strain his right arm, jumping around the place with one hand.
“Crap, I should’ve known better than to practice Thunder Cell with my hand just because of my bad tastes. In this scenario, at least, a golden right foot trumped some girl picking hand. And yes, I know that gold has low electric resistance.”
Wang Qi felt his position was awkward. He could practically hear the sound of his image shattering in the minds of the students.
As a last resort, Wang Qi used his idle left hand to throw a wave at Wu Shiqin. She had seen their power in the trial and focused all her electricity into one point before slamming it into the wave.
The matter wave and lightning collided, with the first distorting under the influence of the electromagnetic field but causing it to fluctuate.
The Grand Ripple Enigma was based on wave-particle duality, a cultivation method that saw all matter as ripples and waves. However, in its initial stage, it only represented the wave-particle duality of electrons. Consequently, electromagnetic cultivation methods affected the electrons.
Wu Shiqin’s defensive action gave Wang Qi some breathing room. He was back to assessing the way to win.
Kiting with wave blades would do the job, but that’s using the cultivation method’s nature to bully her. Hilbert, the Arbiter of Arithmetic, had previously informed him about this, and Wang Qi was determined not to repeat the same mistake. More importantly, Wu Shiqin had worked extra hard to challenge him. He couldn’t fall back on Grand Ripple Enigma to finish the match, because Wang Qi believed it to be no different than using a geometry formula to solve a problem demanding calculus so it can test a student’s level. This wasn’t fighting, but fleeing.
Wang Qi’s integrity was low most of the time, but in these rare cases, he didn’t want a quick fix.
The wave blade didn’t buy him much time. Wu Shiqin renewed her attacks, and Wang Qi was back to one-hand hopping.
He was forced to launch another wave at her.
The same old lame schtick.
Wu Shiqin was forced to lash out with electricity again, looking a bit excited at him.
[I finally got you to go all out.] Wu Shiqin gathered her spiritual power, ready to strike at the panting and nearby one-hand-hopping target.
[Wait, nearby?When did he get so close?]
Wu Shiqin’s senses warned her of something bad, just as Wang Qi grinned.
She was decisive, shooting him with her planned attack.
Wang Qi beat her to it. Wang Qi exerted more force on the ground with his right hand and leapt higher. The minute the hand left the ground, Wu Shiqin’s vision went white.
“Lights out!” Wang Qi chuckled in mid-air.
The Celestial Element Series included the Four Heavenly Origins, as well as the possibility of inferring a light-based electromagnetic wave. It served as the foundation upon which Unified Arts Maxwell built Harmony Coalition, bringing Thunderous Pavilion and Brilliance Palace together. Celestial Hymn Odyssey, of course, included the light aspect as well.
Wang Qi could release a blinding light, but the biggest flaw with this tactic was that the light built up instead of an instant flare of light. While fast, it wasn’t enough to fool Wu Shiqin’s vigilance.
This was why Wang Qi sent that second wave blade—to keep his right hand pressed on the ground for as long as possible.
Wu Shiqin fell for it, and her eyes were blinded by the piercing light. Wang Qi capitalized on this chance to jump in the air.
Robbed of sight, Wu Shiqin resorted to charging an electric field to protect herself, but to no avail. Wang Qi was in the air, away from the ground, raising his electric potential to the extreme.
As he swooped down at Wu Shiqin, he adjusted his posture. The two clashed hard, and Wang Qi seized her hands behind her, pressing her into the ground while making sure he didn’t touch the floor.
His electric potential exceeded Wu Shiqin’s, causing her to experience an electric shock. Wu Shiqin’s instinct was to increase her own electric potential, only to find that she was in contact with the ground. Raising it above Wang Qi’s would exhaust her spiritual power before she could fight him off.
She had no other choice but to say, “I give up.”