The bronze bell hanging from the eaves chimed softly in the wind, its sound like faint thunder. The three characters "Technique Pavilion" on the door plaque were solemn and weighty, sending ripples through the silence. Countless thunder-attribute cultivation methods, martial arts, secret records, and battle techniques were hidden inside. It had stood guard here since the era of the Thunder Saber Sect, weathering three hundred years of wind and rain, yet the thunder patterns seeping from the cracks between the bricks and stones still flickered without end like writhing snakes.
Chu Ning stood before the Technique Pavilion, the breeze stirring his blue robes. Just as he stepped over the final stone stair, Little Snow Fox suddenly poked its head out from his arms. Its nose quivered, and its ears stood erect. The ancient thunderous aura radiating from the pavilion inspired instinctive awe even in a Spiritual Beast.
"Don't be afraid." He rubbed the fox's ear tip, a flicker of lightning flashing and vanishing from his fingertip. "After today, there will be nowhere here that you or I cannot set foot in."
He raised his hand, thunderlight shifting across his palm as he pressed it against the thunder-patterned mark at the center of the bronze door.
"Boom—"
The grinding sound of the bronze door pivot was like muffled thunder rolling through the earth's veins. Purple lightning spilling from the gap blasted spiderweb-like scorch marks across the ground. The force of the blast swept up Chu Ning's sleeve, revealing the cracked skin on his forearm from the backlash of Baleful Intent. This door was testing whether the new master was qualified.
An ancient, condensed thunder-attribute spiritual force, carrying a faint sense of oppression, surged into his face. Mixed with dust and the fragrance of aged wood, it flowed into Chu Ning's nose.