The Mighty Mage
Chapter 281: Good News

Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Good News

The storm had quieted now, the sky above no longer crackling with energy.

Dark clouds still loomed overhead, but the worst of it had passed.

Gu Jin felt an odd sense of relief, knowing that she had made it through the one hundred strikes, albeit with the woman’s help.

She couldn’t quite believe it.

Her eyes fluttered shut as her body sank into a deep exhaustion.

The adrenaline that had kept her going during the tribulation had faded, leaving her utterly spent.

Every muscle in her body felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together.

The woman moved closer, sitting down next to her without a word.

She didn’t offer any comforting gestures, gentle touch, or words of reassurance, but her presence alone was oddly comforting to Gu Jin.

The woman exuded a quiet strength, one that made Gu Jin feel protected even in this weakened state.

For a long while, neither of them spoke.

The only sound was the soft wind rustling through the trees, a stark contrast to the chaos that had raged around them just moments before.

The silence stretched on, heavy but not uncomfortable.

Gu Jin’s breathing eventually slowed, her chest rising and falling rhythmically as she regained some of her strength.

After what felt like an eternity, Gu Jin found her voice again, though it came out as little more than a whisper.

"Why... did you help me?"

The woman didn’t respond right away. Her eyes remained fixed on the horizon as if she were searching for the right words. Finally, after a long pause, she spoke.

"I told you," she said softly. "You called me beautiful."

Gu Jin managed a weak smile despite her exhaustion. "That... can’t be the only reason."

The woman turned to look at her, her gaze piercing yet unreadable. "No," she admitted. "It’s not."

However, before Gu Jin could hear the real reason she felt a light enveloping her, followed by the woman’s exclaimed voice,

"Holy sh*t!"

Gu Jin was unconscious for a long time.

She didn’t know what had happened to her, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself in a yellow tent.

With difficulty, Gu Jin pushed herself from the ground using her palm.

Looking at her charred skin, Gu Jin was filled with bitterness.

Just then she heard, the space say,

"Congratulations master there are two good news for you."

Gu Jin without even hearing the space’s words replied in a tired and hoarse voice,

"Tell me the bad news first."

"No master! This time, I truly have two good news for you."

Gu Jin didn’t believe the space.

She would be a fool if she believed him.

The space felt helpless when it sensed Gu Jin’s emotion and started to tell her the good news,

"You have reached the intermediate rank of necromancy element."

Once the space mentioned her necromancy element Gu Jin instantly thought of the woman who had helped her.

However there were some more important matters that she wanted to look after and asked the space,

"That woman with brown hair...she said the tribulation was for strengthening my body...was she telling the truth?’

"Yes, master. I realized it later. Once your body was tempered completely, the striking stopped."

Gu Jin raised an eyebrow,

"Oh? Is that so? So tell me...how much my body has improved?"

"That...master I don’t know about that..." the space said in a sheepish voice.

"Hm? Fine. Tell me the bad news." Gu Jin pressed her temples and asked.

The space felt helpless,

"Master the second one is good news too! You have awakened your fifth element! It’s thunder!"

She sat there, staring at her charred skin, and for the first time since the tribulation, a flicker of hope ignited within her.

Thunder. One of the most powerful and destructive elements!

Her exhaustion faded as the thrill of her new power surged through her veins.

She couldn’t help but smile.

Not only had she survived the tribulation, but she had gained something far more valuable than just strength.

The thunder element was rare, even among the strongest mages.

"I really awakened the thunder element?" Gu Jin whispered to herself in awe, clenching her fist slightly as if to test the new energy that now thrummed within her.

Just then, the flap of the yellow tent shifted, and the brown-haired woman entered once more.

Her striking blue eyes immediately landed on Gu Jin, assessing her condition. Without a word, she tossed a small vial in Gu Jin’s direction.

Instinctively, Gu Jin caught it, though her body still ached from the strain of the tribulation.

"That ointment will heal your charred skin," the woman said, her tone as detached as ever.

"Apply it once a day, and in a week, you’ll be good as new."

Gu Jin looked down at the vial in her hand, her fingers tightening around it.

The woman had helped her again, even after the tribulation had ended. She was oddly touched, though she didn’t quite know why.

Perhaps it was because, for all her life, she had fought alone, relied on no one but herself, and here was someone who had stepped in—not once, but twice—to save her.

She glanced up, meeting the woman’s gaze, her voice soft but sincere.

"Thank you... really. I don’t know how I would’ve survived without your help."

The brown-haired woman’s expression didn’t change.

Her features remained cold, and distant, as if she had no interest in Gu Jin’s gratitude.

But something in her eyes flickered, a shadow of something deeper. It was gone before Gu Jin could even process it.

"What’s your name?" Gu Jin asked after a brief pause, her curiosity finally getting the better of her.

She had to know who this woman was, this stranger who had come out of nowhere and saved her life.

For a moment, the brown-haired woman seemed to hesitate.

Her lips parted as if she might answer, but then she closed them again, her face hardening.

She turned away, her back now to Gu Jin as she spoke, her voice colder than before.

"I have no intention of ever meeting you again." The words were sharp, and final, as if to sever any lingering connection between them.

"I don’t give my name to people I won’t see again."

Gu Jin blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift in the woman’s tone. "But—"

"Don’t misunderstand," the woman interrupted, her voice like ice.

"I only helped you because it amused me, not because I care. You called me beautiful, and that flattery intrigued me.

But I am not someone you want to know. I’m a scheming and evil woman. Remember that."

Gu Jin stared at her, speechless.

The woman’s words didn’t match her actions. If she was truly as heartless as she claimed, why had she bothered to help Gu Jin at all?

Why offer her the ointment, reduce the intensity of the lightning, and guide her through the tribulation?

The brown-haired woman seemed to sense Gu Jin’s confusion and gave a short, humorless laugh.

"Don’t look so surprised. I don’t owe you anything. I’ve done what I wanted to do, and now we part ways. It’s better this way, for both of us."

Gu Jin’s heart was filled with reluctance she didn’t want to part with the brown-haired woman.

Suddenly she had an idea and said,

"If you don’t mind, I would like to thank you for your help."

"Hm? No need, who knows I was the one who had scheme all of this all along." The woman said with an evil grin.

Gu Jin smiled sweetly but due to her charred skin, her smile looked ugly,

"Huh? You can summon thunder tribulations?"

The brown-haired woman was stunned,

"What? No-"

"Or else, how could you have schemed everything? The sole reason for my misery was thunder tribulation. If you are a scheming woman then you should then you should have been the one controlling the tribulation, right?" Gu Jin finished with a smirk, her tone teasing despite her battered state.

The brown-haired woman froze for a moment, her expression caught between surprise and amusement.

For the first time, the coldness in her eyes thawed ever so slightly, as if Gu Jin’s words had caught her off guard.

"You’re quick-witted, I’ll give you that," the woman muttered, her lips curving into a faint, crooked smile.

Gu Jin continued,

"As a gift, I can give you one of my competent subordinates. Its cultivation is at Super Rank, and it could only use earth element."

Without waiting for the brown-haired woman’s response, Gu Jin snapped her fingers and a black cloaked figure with a black mask appeared right in front of the brown-haired woman.

The brown-haired woman didn’t move at all and stared at the new figure with curiosity.

’Isn’t she scared that I will attack her? Or perhaps she is more powerful than me?’ Gu Jin wondered.

"What is this? As far as I can sense it...it is not human." The brown haired woman muttered.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.