Thunder Tribulation Approaches

At the first light of dawn, frost on the walls of the Capital of Blue Electric formed strange patterns, as though ancient Runes were quietly awakening. Yu Xiaogang stood atop the battlements, his ice-thunder eyes fixed on the east. Two forces slowly circulated through his meridians—lightning surged like an enraged dragon, while Ice Soul flowed like a frigid river. They intertwined, yet had not fully become one.

He was no longer the Yu Xiaogang of yesterday.

Since returning from the Eternal Frost Abyss, he had not only inherited the Ice God's will, but had also glimpsed an ancient truth during the trial: lightning and ice had originally shared the same source, both powers meant to cleanse the world. And he, the bearer of the Thunder Child's blood and the Ice God's Imprint, was destined to walk a path no one had walked before.

"Xiaogang." Bibi Dong slowly climbed the wall, her violet eyes holding less cold severity and more solemnity. "Last night, I sensed unusual activity underground. It wasn't a soul beast, nor was it a natural force... it was a man-made array."

Yu Xiaogang nodded. His fingertip lightly tapped the wall, and a thread of Ice Thunder Power seeped into the cracks, instantly returning a scorching, restless sensation. "It's the Thunder Attraction Array—using lightning as a lure to ignite the Earth Fire Vein. Once activated, the entire city will become a sea of flames within three breaths."

"Qian Daoliu's handiwork." Bibi Dong sneered. "He never intended to subdue us. He only wanted to destroy everything and rebuild afterward."

"But he forgot," Yu Xiaogang said, looking toward the city's homes with smoke curling from their chimneys, where children ran through the streets and soul masters trained in the martial grounds, "this isn't Spirit Hall's chessboard. It's the home countless people depend on to live."

He clenched the Hoe-Sickle and murmured, "I won't let tragedy repeat itself."

Deep within the Blue Electric Forbidden Ground, Yu Xiaogang and Bibi Dong found the underground Secret Chamber that had been sealed for a thousand years. Ancient thunder patterns were carved into the Stone Gate, and a damaged Jade Token was embedded at its center—it was a fragment of the Heaven Dou Secret Order left behind by Qian Xunji.

"So that's it." Yu Xiaogang activated the Jade Token with Ice Thunder Power, projecting a holographic image:

In the image, Qian Xunji and an old man in black robes knelt before the Heaven Dou Emperor. The old man held a token bearing the emblem of the Six-Winged Angel and whispered, "The Capital of Blue Electric contains the core of the Thunder Vein. If it refuses to submit, burn it with the Thunder Tribulation Plan, then rebuild it with Divine Grace. The people will naturally be overwhelmed with gratitude."

And that black-robed old man was none other than—Qian Daoliu.

"He planned this long ago." Bibi Dong's pupils contracted. "He doesn't merely want to Control soul masters. Under the pretense of 'fighting the abyss,' he intends to purge every force that refuses to obey, then ascend to the altar as a 'savior.'"

Yu Xiaogang fell silent. His fingertips brushed across the stone wall, and Ice Thunder Power seeped into it, unexpectedly stirring a resonance from a string of ancient inscriptions. The inscriptions emerged, recording an even more shocking truth:

"So... they need me." Yu Xiaogang gave a faint laugh. "Or rather, they need me dead."

"You can't go." Bibi Dong grabbed his wrist. "It's a trap."

"But if I don't go," Yu Xiaogang said as he looked at her, the reflection of the entire city mirrored in his ice-thunder eyes, "they'll use another method—perhaps tomorrow, perhaps the day after. Sooner or later, innocent people will die in my place."

He gently freed himself from her grasp and murmured, "Some roads must be walked alone."

Three days later, Yu Xiaogang appeared alone in Thundercloud Canyon—where the Earth Fire Vein was most active, and where the main eye of the Thunder Attraction Array lay. Deep within the canyon, nine thunder-patterned stone pillars formed an array around a crimson crystal core floating at the center, slowly absorbing thunder energy from underground.

"You've come." An aged voice rang out.

Qian Daoliu stepped out of the void, clad in the robes of the Six-Winged Angel. His white hair was like snow, but his eyes gleamed with an eerie golden light. Behind him stood twelve Red Cardinals, each holding a sealing Soul Tool. The array had already been activated.

"Yu Xiaogang, if you are willing to submit, I can spare your life." Qian Daoliu's voice boomed like a bell. "The new Spirit Hall needs a genius like you to fight the abyss together."

"Fight the abyss?" Yu Xiaogang sneered. "You even dared to use Yang Jun, dared to use his Ice Soul Heart to trigger the seal. When have you ever truly cared about this continent? You only want to become the next Qian Xunji."

"Foolish!" Qian Daoliu roared. "Without absolute power, where can absolute order come from? Without sacrifice, where can rebirth come from?"

He raised a hand, and the Thunder Attraction Array abruptly activated. Blinding lightning burst from the nine stone pillars, the crimson core hummed, and earth fire began to surge upward.

"Since you refuse to surrender, then—let your blood be the sacrifice for the thunder tribulation!"

Rather than retreat, Yu Xiaogang advanced. He raised the Hoe-Sickle high, weaving Ice Thunder Power into a net and forcibly cleaving apart a pillar of lightning. His figure flashed like lightning as he darted through gaps in the array. Every strike carried the entangling force of Blue Silver Grass and the freezing power of Ice Soul, carving out a path to survival amid the thunder.

"You dare use your flesh to resist the Thunder Attraction Array?!" Qian Daoliu was stunned.

"You forgot," Yu Xiaogang said, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, yet his smile remained calm, "my mother was the Blue Silver Emperor, and my father was Yu Yuanzhen. What flows through me is the purest blood of lightning. This array was meant to be under my Control!"

He suddenly drove the Hoe-Sickle into the ground. Ice Thunder Power spread like roots, instantly invading the heart of the array in reverse. The Thunder Attraction Array began to destabilize, a crack split open in the crimson core, and the earth fire surged backward, turning against the array itself.

"No—!" Qian Daoliu roared. The phantom of the Six-Winged Angel emerged, attempting to suppress it by force.

But at that moment, that cold, clear voice rang out once more within Yu Xiaogang's sea of consciousness:

In an instant, the Ice God's Remnant Will descended. A deep blue radiance erupted from Yu Xiaogang's eyes, and Ice Soul Power swept across the field like a tidal wave. Using the Hoe-Sickle as a conduit, he wove Ice Thunder Power into an Ice Thunder Sealing Array, completely reversing the Thunder Attraction Array.

Boom—!

Heaven and earth changed color as thunderclouds churned. The crimson core exploded, and the earth fire was forcibly driven back underground. Qian Daoliu was struck by Ice Thunder Power, the phantom of the Six-Winged Angel shattered, and he was sent flying backward, coughing up blood.

"This is impossible... you actually... fused divine power?!"

Yu Xiaogang stood amid the ruins, his clothes torn, yet his spine stood straight as a spear. "I am not a god, nor am I a chess piece. I am the Grave Keeper—what I guard is this land, and everyone unwilling to bow their heads."

Seven days later, the Capital of Blue Electric.

The city gates stood wide open as the people lined the streets to welcome him. Yu Xiaogang returned, dragging his wounded body, followed by the twelve captured Bishops, whose Soul Power had all been sealed by Ice Soul Power.

The Great Elder personally welcomed him at the gates and solemnly declared, "From this day onward, the Capital of Blue Electric will no longer rely on any force. We—we shall stand on our own as guardians."

Bibi Dong stood atop the city wall, watching him from afar. "You won," she said softly.

"There are no winners." Yu Xiaogang looked toward the Eternal Frost Abyss. "Qian Daoliu has lost, but the abyss remains. Qian Xunji's consciousness is still watching from somewhere. The true war has only just begun."

He returned before the Ice Tomb and erected a newly carved stone stele:

Late at night, he sat alone before the tomb, slowly pouring Ice Thunder Power into the stele. Suddenly, the inscription trembled faintly, and an extremely weak pulse of Ice Soul Power came through—Yang Jun's consciousness was awakening.

In the deepest reaches of the far north, within a forgotten ice cave, a crystal coffin slowly opened. Inside lay a youth identical to Yang Jun, his eyes tightly shut, yet an Ice Soul Heart beat within his chest.

A black-robed man knelt before the coffin and whispered, "Master, Yu Xiaogang has awakened Ice Thunder Power. The Thunder Attraction Array has failed."

Within the crystal coffin, the youth's lips moved slightly, producing a hoarse yet icy voice:

"Very good... the plan continues."

"But Yang Jun's true body is awakening. If he returns..."

"He will not return." The youth sneered. "Because—I am the true Ice God's Gravedigger."