Chapter 34

By this point, Shang Xia had more or less figured out the reason for what was happening.

The Thunderbird, without a doubt, was the king of the mutated swift colony that Shang Xia and his companions had encountered, and it had a vast harem within that colony.

The reason the Thunderbird could become the king of the swift colony was because it possessed the power of thunder.

At the same time, it seemed that the mutated swift colony had a certain longing for the power of thunder, which might also be a significant reason why the Thunderbird could maintain such a large harem.

However, the situation had now taken a turn. A mutated swift that Shang Xia had captured not only detected a familiar thunder aura from him but also received the baptism of thunder power multiple times.

It's important to note that in the mutated swift colony, only other female mutated swifts had the privilege to be "graced" by the Thunderbird's thunder power.

However, the Thunderbird's thunder power was limited, and its harem was too large. Even if the Thunderbird wanted to treat all its mates equally, it would take several dozen days to go through them all.

If the Thunderbird was worried about its thunder power being drained, this time would be even longer.

But now, the mutated swift that Shang Xia had captured found that the thunder bath it had longed for months was something it had enjoyed multiple times in recent days.

On one hand, it had been unsatisfied for months, while on the other, it received abundant and high-quality thunder power multiple times a day, even surpassing the Thunderbird's.

Was there any doubt about which to choose?

Even a fierce creature like the mutated swift did not hesitate to abandon its male mate and, like a "new love," chose to follow Shang Xia, just to frequently receive a small portion of the thunder essence from him, enjoying its own thunder bath.

This was also why, after Shang Xia fell asleep, the mutated swift did not take the opportunity to escape but even fought and stood against the Thunderbird to protect Shang Xia.

The situation over the next two days confirmed Shang Xia's suspicions.

Despite no longer restraining the mutated swift, the bird remained steadfastly by Shang Xia's side.

Strangely, not only had the captured mutated swift been completely tamed, but the Thunderbird had also been lingering around Shang Xia for two days.

At first, Shang Xia thought the Thunderbird might still be trying to lure its mate back.

He couldn't help but think, "After several days, this bird is still trying to get back one mate, ignoring its vast harem? Isn't it afraid that the other mutated swifts in its harem will disperse because they don't receive the thunder power?"

However, Shang Xia soon realized that wasn't the case. Although the two birds communicated frequently, the mutated swift often initiated the conversation with a series of chirps, to which the Thunderbird only responded with a few reluctant chirps.

How could this be the way to coax one's harem back home?

However, the Thunderbird, though it followed Shang Xia, did not pose any danger.

Seeing this, Shang Xia didn't bother to waste energy on the bird and let it follow him for two days.

Now, after finally calming the agitated mutated swift, Shang Xia looked at the Thunderbird with a thoughtful expression.

"Do you have something you want to ask of me?"

Shang Xia's question wasn't a random thought; the Thunderbird's behavior over the past two days was too strange.

"Chirp—"

The Thunderbird responded with a series of chirps, but Shang Xia couldn't understand them.

The mutated swift, however, became agitated again, flying around Shang Xia, its feathers suddenly fluffing up and then settling down, only to fluff up again.

Shang Xia suddenly understood that the mutated swift was mimicking the thunder bath it received in his palm. He guessed, "You mean this bird also wants a thunder bath?"

The mutated swift immediately chirped excitedly, and its feathers settled down, no longer mimicking the fluffed-up state.

"Chirp—"

The Thunderbird on the tree branch let out two short chirps, seemingly expressing dissatisfaction or complaining about the mutated swift's interference.

The mutated swift suddenly turned in mid-air and scolded the Thunderbird, its chirps filled with anger and frustration.

The Thunderbird responded with two quieter chirps, clearly at a disadvantage.

Shang Xia thought for a moment, and a surge of electricity gathered in his palm, forming a ball of thunder essence. He then looked at the Thunderbird.

Unexpectedly, the Thunderbird flapped its wings, turned its head to the side, and showed a look of disdain.

Shang Xia laughed in frustration but understood the reason.

The ball of thunder in his palm was similar to what the mutated swift received during its thunder bath.

The Thunderbird, being a creature of thunder, naturally found such a small amount of thunder essence unimpressive.

"Chirp—"

The mutated swift chirped softly, sounding somewhat cautious.

Shang Xia had his own plans and wouldn't argue with a bird. As his inner energy surged, the ball of thunder in his palm expanded, turning from a pale gold to a richer, reddish hue.

The Thunderbird immediately turned its head, jumping forward on the branch, but then quickly regained its haughty demeanor.

Ha, is this what they call "mouth says no, body says yes"?

Shang Xia found it amusing and increased the intensity of the thunder in his palm, turning it into a bright red glow.

This time, the Thunderbird couldn't maintain its haughty attitude and dove straight toward Shang Xia's palm.

Unexpectedly, Shang Xia suddenly closed his hand, and the thunder in his palm disappeared.

The Thunderbird let out a loud, dissatisfied chirp, flapped its wings, and tried to return to the branch but found itself trapped in a sticky, viscous air, unable to move.

Shang Xia walked calmly to the Thunderbird, which was now hovering at chest height.

Shang Xia opened his palm in front of the Thunderbird, the rich, golden-red thunder essence flowing, like a precious delicacy to the Thunderbird.

"I have the thunder essence, but why should I give it to you for free?"

Shang Xia didn't care if the Thunderbird understood and continued, "If you want it, what can you offer in exchange?"

At such close range, the Thunderbird had no chance of escaping from Shang Xia.

This was different from the forest, where a female warrior, Yan Ming, was also present to assist.

The Thunderbird was now in a state of panic, chirping wildly.

Shang Xia, with a calm expression, circled the Thunderbird, closely observing this extraordinary creature known as the "Thunder Spirit."

Shang Xia hadn't forgotten that this bird had taken advantage of him when he was being pursued by the female warrior Yan Ming.

Now that the bird was in his hands, Shang Xia felt that not plucking its feathers, gutting it, and roasting it was already a favor to the mutated swift, Yan Nier, whom he had tamed.

Hmm, after completely submitting to Shang Xia's thunder power, he had named the mutated swift "Yan Nier."

"Chirp—"

Yan Nier, perched on his shoulder, gently pecked Shang Xia's earlobe, as if pleading.

Shang Xia smiled and once again extended his open palm in front of the Thunderbird. The rich thunder essence immediately calmed the Thunderbird's panic.

"Such a glutton!"

Shang Xia muttered to himself, and the thunder essence in his palm transformed into a writhing electric snake, moving toward the Thunderbird's mouth.

The Thunderbird, not knowing what courtesy was, simply extended its beak and snapped, swallowing a quarter of the electric snake. Another snap, and half of the thunder essence was gone.

The Thunderbird let out a loud chirp, its body enveloped in thunder, seemingly on the verge of a significant transformation, just one step away.

The Thunderbird turned to swallow the remaining thunder essence, but Shang Xia quickly closed his hand.

"Chirp—Chirp—"

The Thunderbird chirped loudly in protest.

Shang Xia tapped the bird's head, which was surrounded by thunder, and scolded, "What are you chirping about? If you want the rest, you need to help me find the owner of these things!"

Shang Xia had already noticed that the Thunderbird was on the brink of a significant transformation.

In the past, for the Thunderbird to advance, it had to fly into a thunderstorm during a storm.

If successful, it would undergo a fundamental transformation, which was the origin of the Thunderbird being called the "Thunder Spirit."

However, more often than not, it would fail, and in the violent thunder, it would be reduced to nothing.

Now, Shang Xia possessed the power of heaven's thunder, which could serve as a catalyst for the Thunderbird's evolution. More importantly, the thunder power was under his control, meaning the risk of the Thunderbird's evolution could be minimized.

Shang Xia then threw a small pile of debris at the Thunderbird's feet.

These were items Shang Xia had collected from the battle traces left in the area, belonging to the students of the Tongyou Academy.

Among them were items deliberately buried by his sixteen classmates from the Bing House, who had not yet advanced to the Extraordinary stage.

Although the battle traces had been erased due to the changing terrain, the buried items remained.

Shang Xia wasn't sure if the Thunderbird had a sensitive sense of smell to track down the people through the residual information on these items.

But the Thunderbird's vision was undoubtedly powerful, and Shang Xia's true intention was to have the Thunderbird investigate the surrounding area to find the whereabouts of his possibly captured classmates.

Moreover, if he could truly tame this Thunderbird, Shang Xia would have more than just one Thunderbird at his disposal.

Don't forget, this Thunderbird controlled a vast colony of mutated swifts.

Shang Xia had already planned to control the entire colony of mutated swifts after taming Yan Nier.

---

Chapter 2, remember to follow!