Thunder Tribulation Body Tempering, Ultimate Sacred Dragon

Having made up his mind, Yu Yuanchen's gaze hardened as he walked step by step toward the lone peak that bore the Thunderclap Nethervine. He no longer concealed his aura. Instead, he actively released fluctuations of his lightning-attribute soul power, like a lighthouse lit upon a dark sea, clearly announcing his presence.

The dormant Thunderclap Nethervine atop the peak was immediately disturbed. The deep purple thunder clouds at its crown churned violently, radiating thoughts of displeasure and warning. It showed no courtesy toward this insignificant creature that had interrupted its accumulation of power in preparation to challenge the heavenly barrier.

"Sizzle—!"

A streak of Ultimate Thunder identical to the previous one tore through the sky, carrying a pure will of destruction as it crashed down!

Yu Yuanchen had been prepared, but this time, he did not choose to defend with all his strength or evade. Instead, he kept his defenses at a critical point while fully opening his senses to "welcome" the lightning!

"Boom!"

The lightning struck his body, and terrifying destructive energy instantly flooded his limbs and bones! His Dragon Scale Armor flickered erratically, his Lightning Strike Robe shook violently, and excruciating pain swept through his entire body like a tide, as though every cell were being torn apart and carbonized. He let out a muffled groan, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth once more. His body trembled slightly, but he forcibly steadied himself and did not retreat!

His spiritual power was focused to the utmost, like the most precise instrument, analyzing every trace of power contained within that lightning. He clearly "saw" the destructive core capable of annihilating everything, but he also caught it—the instant when the power of destruction reached its peak and the old structure was completely shattered, a faint yet incomparably tenacious new life quietly sprouted from within! Like green shoots emerging anew from the charred trunk of a lightning-struck tree!

"So that's how it is... Life is not opposed to destruction. It lies at the end of destruction—the end of the old order and the beginning of a new one! Destruction itself is the ultimate form of 'purification,' clearing away the obstacles for new life!"

After one bolt of lightning, Yu Yuanchen had suffered minor injuries, but an unprecedented brilliance erupted from his eyes! He immediately sat cross-legged, swallowed medicinal pills, and circulated his soul power and qi and blood to heal his injuries while digesting the precious insight he had gained through pain.

Once his injuries had recovered and he had returned to peak condition, he rose again and summoned the second bolt of Heavenly Thunder!

During this time, the Thunderclap Nethervine seemed to sense something. It sent him a thought, saying that it could cooperate with Yu Yuanchen in helping him comprehend Ultimate Thunder, but if he succeeded, he would have to do something for it. Otherwise, it would no longer tolerate his provocation. If Yu Yuanchen provoked it again, it would spare no effort to kill him. Moreover, if it failed to undergo tribulation, it would self-detonate its remaining body and leave nothing behind for Yu Yuanchen.

Yu Yuanchen agreed helplessly. After all, agreeing would still bring him immense benefits compared to gaining nothing at all. He also stated that he would only help if it was within his ability; once his life was endangered, he would prioritize saving himself.

The Thunderclap Nethervine agreed as well.

And so, a long-lasting cultivation session that bordered on self-torture began.

At first, he only dared receive one bolt of Heavenly Thunder at a time, after which he needed several days to repair his body and digest his insights. As he gradually became familiar with the laws governing the conversion between destruction and life within Ultimate Thunder, and as his physique and soul power slowly strengthened under repeated lightning tempering, the frequency he could endure began to increase.

From one bolt at a time, to two, then three... He remained beneath the peak like a devout ascetic, continuously enduring the Thunder Baptism from its summit. Again and again, his body was struck until his skin tore open and he was charred black, only to be reborn time after time with his powerful recovery power and the aid of medicinal pills. His mind hovered again and again at the edge of destruction and new life, becoming increasingly resilient. His understanding of the essence of thunder also became clearer and clearer, as though he had seen the sun through the clouds.

Time silently passed amid the thunderous roars and the quietness of his breath regulation. In the blink of an eye, nearly a year had gone by.

By now, Yu Yuanchen could withstand the continuous bombardment of nine bolts of Ultimate Thunder at once! He stood amid the lightning, electric snakes still darting around his body and wounds covering him, yet his gaze was like a boulder tempered through endless ages—calm and profound. His body seemed to have developed a degree of resistance to lightning of this level, and his recovery speed had greatly increased as well.

His comprehension of thunder had also reached a critical point.

The five Nature Transformations—Heart's Ascendancy, Spleen's Heaviness, Lung's Agility, Kidney's Nourishment, and Liver's Growth—had long circulated harmoniously within him along with his qi and blood circulation. Yet he had always been stuck at the final step, unable to perfectly fuse them with thunder's inherent nature of "destruction."

Until this day, when he actively summoned lightning once more and no longer limited himself to nine bolts, allowing the Thunderclap Nethervine atop the peak, seemingly enraged, to draw down countless bolts of deep purple lightning that poured over him like a waterfall—within that boundless Sea of Thunder, beneath the extreme pressure of feeling as if he would be completely annihilated in the next instant, realization suddenly struck him!

"I understand! The key to fusion is not forced blending—it is conversion!"

"The essence of thunder is energy, the manifestation of law! Destruction is its outward appearance, while life is contained within. Ascendancy, heaviness, agility, nourishment, growth... they are all its different 'forms' under different circumstances! The key is to find a core 'node,' a 'one' that can control all changes!"

"Wherever my will reaches, Attribute Conversion follows! I want my thunder to be Extreme Yang and Extreme Hardness, capable of destroying all things; yet also Extreme Yin and Extreme Softness, capable of nourishing life! It can be as heavy as a mountain or as light as the wind! With a single thought, various changes exist in one heart!"

At the instant of this epiphany, the five circulating Nature Transformation powers within his body, the soul power surging through his meridians, and the true meaning of destruction and life that countless lightning strikes had driven deep into his bone marrow suddenly found that crucial point of balance and conversion!

"Buzz—!!!"

A vast aura beyond description, as if it had touched the laws of the World Origin, erupted from Yu Yuanchen's body! The blue arcs of lightning around him transformed completely in that instant into a deep, noble Purple-Gold that seemed to contain All Mysteries of Thunder Between Heaven and Earth!

Ultimate Thunder had been achieved! This was Yu Yuanchen's own Ultimate Thunder, not an Ultimate Attribute forcibly shaped through heavenly materials and earthly treasures or a heaven-defying opportunity, but a path he had attained through his own comprehension and cultivation.

At that moment, Yu Yuanchen seemed to have pushed open the door to a new world! His senses became incomparably sharp. The wandering lightning elements between heaven and earth felt an intense affinity and reverence toward him, and with the slightest movement of his mind, he could summon lightning power from several miles around! He saw the deeper structure of energy, the subtle and dynamic balance and conversion between destruction and life. His thunder was no longer limited to a fixed nature. It had become a Living Embodiment of Law that could change as he wished!

Nearly a year of Thunder Purgatory had not only allowed him to attain Ultimate Thunder. The countless lightning strikes containing a trace of Heavenly Tribulation Law Power also brought him an unexpected gift.

The strand of "Thunder God Power" within him, originating from the Thunder Spirit Soul Ring, had spent the past year like parched land receiving sweet rain, crazily and greedily absorbing the faint yet genuine fragments of Thunder Law contained within those bolts of Heavenly Thunder. Quantitative Change Causes Qualitative Change. The instant he achieved Ultimate Thunder, this strand of Thunder God Power, now grown by an unknown number of times, suddenly collapsed and condensed. In the depths of his dantian, it finally formed an incomparably complex Law Imprint that flickered with eternal Purple-Gold lightning!

The moment this imprint formed, it automatically flew out and fused into the origin of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul! At the same time, beneath the skin at the center of his forehead, a tiny yet unmistakably clear Purple-Gold lightning rune of the same origin quietly appeared. Like an inborn Divine Rune, it added a measure of mystery and majesty to him.

This was not a Divine Examination Imprint, but proof that he had condensed himself, representing his initial contact with Thunder Law! Through this imprint, he could comprehend the deeper Thunder Law contained within. However, the laws were vast. At his current realm, he could barely comprehend a trace of their outermost surface. To delve deeper, he would likely need to reach Titled Douluo, or even a higher realm.

Combining his own experience with the original work, Yu Yuanchen also came to understand the relationship between the Thunderclap Nethervine and this plane. The plane recognized its status and ability to control Heavenly Might. The Heavenly Thunder it summoned inherently carried a trace of Law Power, which was the source of its strength. Yet the plane absolutely would not tolerate its act of "stealing" the origin. That fifty-thousand-year heavenly barrier was the absolute Forbidden Zone established by the plane. So long as it did not cross that line, they could coexist peacefully. But once it tried to cross it, what the plane sent down would not be a trial, but total eradication—endless Heavenly Thunder until it was blasted apart.

"Ultimate Thunder has been achieved, and my cultivation level has reached its critical point!" Yu Yuanchen felt the surging power within his body. Nearly a year of arduous cultivation, aided by the dense lightning elements here and repeated breakthroughs at the edge of life and death, had already brought his soul power to the Peak of Level Sixty-Nine! At this moment, with the vast assistance brought by achieving Ultimate Thunder and triggering a resonance with Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, the bottleneck of Level Seventy melted away instantly like thin ice beneath sunlight!

"Boom!"

His soul power surged like a breaching river, rushing into a far more Vast World! Level Seventy! Soul Sage!

And an even greater transformation followed immediately after!

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Bloodline within him, already boiling from his attainment of Ultimate Thunder, was completely ignited at this crucial moment of breaking through to Soul Sage and undergoing a Leap in Life Level! The Law Imprint fused into his Martial Soul provided the most crucial spark of "divinity"!

"Roar—!!!"

A dragon roar far more majestic and ancient than before, as if it had come from the Mythological Era, rang from Yu Yuanchen's body and pierced the sky! The Martial Soul behind him manifested involuntarily. That deep-blue Dragon Shadow twisted, expanded, and transformed violently amid Purple-Gold lightning!

Its Dragon Body became more slender and perfect, its scales completely turning a deep Purple-Gold. The runes naturally engraved upon them seemed to come alive, flowing with the Glow of Law. Its Dragon Horns were imposing, as though forged by thunder. When its Dragon Eyes opened and closed, Purple-Gold lightning gleamed tangibly within them, carrying the detached sanctity of one who could Look Down on All Beings. No longer were simple electric snakes wrapped around its body, but miniature Purple-Gold Thunder Clouds that constantly underwent Life and Death!

Thunder Sacred Dragon! No longer a Temporary Evolution Form, but a true, stable—Super Martial Soul! It had completed its Leap of Life!

Moreover, an ordinary Thunder Sacred Dragon was already sufficient to rank among Super Martial Souls. This one possessed an Ultimate Attribute that even ordinary Thunder Sacred Dragons might not have, along with a trace of divinity. With all these factors combined, it was enough to rival the God-Tier Martial Souls of the Six-winged Angel and the Sea God.

At the same time, the Fifth Soul Ring beneath his feet—the one that granted him the Purple Lightning Domain—shone brilliantly at this moment! The Domain Power that had originally been attached to the Soul Ring seemed to break free from some Invisible Restraint, thoroughly fusing with the origin of his Thunder Sacred Dragon Martial Soul and the Law Imprint before ascending into—the Heavenly Tribulation Sacred Dragon Domain.

From this day onward, this domain was no longer merely a Soul Skill. It had become his—Innate Domain! Like the Angel Domain of the Six-winged Angel and the Blue Silver Domain of the Blue Silver Emperor, it became a part Innate to the Martial Soul! It would continuously grow and expand along with his cultivation level, and might even evolve at certain crucial Cultivation Nodes in the future, producing even greater power! It was far beyond comparison with a Fixed Growth Domain granted by a Soul Ring!

Yu Yuanchen felt the transformative changes within his body, the Ultimate Thunder that moved as if an extension of one's arm, the vast power of the Thunder Sacred Dragon Martial Soul, and the Innate Domain fully integrated with his Martial Soul. His heart was full of high spirits!

The Ultimate Sacred Dragon had descended to the world; the Soul Sage was about to rise!