The Nine Trials, Trial One: Thunder God

"Welcome to the Thunder God Temple, my successor."

A fragmented phantom drifted out from the stone pillar in the center of the hall, its voice like a thunderclap that made Su Zhen's eardrums ache.

"This is the Thunder God Temple? Then you are the Thunder God?"

Su Zhen looked around at the ruins and broken walls, feeling a sense of disbelief. The Thunder God had fallen during the ancient War of the Dragon Gods, and everything he possessed in the God Realm had long been buried in the river of time. Yet, the remnant soul before him claimed this was the palace of a god who had been dead for countless ages.

"I am not the Thunder God, merely a lingering wisp of his divine consciousness. Sensing the appearance of someone qualified to inherit the Thunder God's divine position, I have brought you here."

The remnant soul slowly recounted its identity, its tone carrying endless regret and loneliness.

"What are the qualifications to come here?"

Su Zhen looked at the remnant soul and asked the question weighing on his mind.

"Evolve your own thunder attribute to the level of Soul-Extinguishing Black Thunder, and obtain a soul ring containing divinity."

After the remnant soul finished speaking, Su Zhen condensed black thunder in his palm; the lightning, radiating a ghostly glow, crackled in his hand. He had completed the cultivation of the black thunder back when he consumed the Immortal Herb at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Spring. As for the divinity, it came from the Evil God aura of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. He hadn't arrived here immediately after absorbing the soul ring, but he had been summoned after absorbing the inner core. Su Zhen surmised that all the divinity of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger must have been stored within that core.

"Young man, place your hand on the Thunder God Pillar. It will provide you with all the requirements for inheriting the Thunder God's position."

The remnant soul pointed to the stone pillar in the center of the hall, urging Su Zhen to step forward.

Su Zhen retracted the thunder in his palm, walked to the Thunder God Pillar, and placed his right hand upon it.

BOOM!

The moment his hand touched the Thunder God Pillar, a terrifying wave of air rippled outward from the pillar as its center, and simultaneously, a brilliant red light shot into the sky.

"Successor meets the assessment criteria. The Nine Trials of the Thunder God are now initiated."

A line of text formed from scarlet lightning appeared on the stone pillar. The characters were obscure and difficult to decipher, belonging to no language on the Douluo Continent, yet the moment they entered Su Zhen's eyes, he understood them instantly.

"Nine Trials of the Thunder God, First Trial: Use the External Soul Bone to draw down the lightning of the nine heavens to temper the physique. Requirements: No soul skills or defensive barriers allowed; use only a pure physique to draw the lightning and cleanse the meridians. Time limit: five years. Reward: Complete thunder-transformation of the martial soul, full immunity to thunder attributes, and awakening of Thunder Perception. Failure penalty: Meridians shattered, martial soul degraded."

The scarlet text rapidly reorganized, presenting all the details of the first trial before Su Zhen.

The moment Su Zhen finished reading, his Sorrow of the Thunder Spirit possessed him automatically. The scarlet text transformed into two streams of light that dove into his External Soul Bone and his glabella respectively, leaving a scarlet lightning mark between his brows.

"My successor, now that you know the content of the trial, you may leave. Once you complete the first trial, the content of the second will be revealed."

Before Su Zhen could react, the remnant soul waved its arm, and he lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the Star Dou Forest.

"The Thunder God's inheritance, is it? How does it compare to the Sea God?"

Su Zhen touched the lightning mark on his brow. A grand path now lay before him; he only needed to complete all the trials to reach the hundredth level and become a god.

"Xiao Zhen, the Lord wishes to see you."

Di Tian appeared before Su Zhen in an instant. His spiritual power constantly patrolled the entire Star Dou Forest, ensuring he could find Su Zhen the moment he appeared.

Led by Di Tian, Su Zhen arrived once again at that pearly-white space, where Gu Yuena had been waiting for a long time.

After bringing Su Zhen there, Di Tian turned and left. He had sensed the aura of the Thunder God on Su Zhen, which proved that Su Zhen had accepted the Thunder God's trial. Although he was very curious about the details of Su Zhen's trial, his curiosity had to take a backseat to the Lord's commands.

"You saw him?"

Gu Yuena's cold voice drifted over. Although she did not explicitly state who, Su Zhen understood she meant the Thunder God.

"No, there was only a wisp of his divine consciousness there."

"Sigh, I never expected that someone so brilliant and talented back then would end up in such a state."

"During the War of the Dragon Gods, he erupted with the strength of a quasi-God King while only at the level of a first-tier god. If he had been given a few more hundred years, he would surely have added another God King to the God Realm."

Gu Yuena slowly recounted the great achievements of the Thunder God, a trace of loneliness appearing in her eyes as she spoke.

"Since you have gained his recognition, strive to complete all the trials. I will have all the soul beasts and resources of the Star Dou Forest lean toward you—resources even more precious and terrifying than before."

After Gu Yuena finished speaking, she waved her hand to dismiss Su Zhen, leaving her alone in the pearly-white space.

"Asura, in the end, will that abomination you brought in prevail, or will Su Zhen, whom the Thunder God and I have cultivated with all our might, prove superior?"

A faint voice echoed in the pearly-white space.

Su Zhen stood on the shore of the Lake of Life, surrounded by five great fierce beasts, their eyes overflowing with questions.

After briefly explaining the Nine Trials of the Thunder God and the content of the first trial to the fierce beasts, Su Zhen turned his gaze to Di Tian at his side.

"Senior Di Tian, I am in urgent need of medicinal herbs for body tempering and healing for my first trial. Could you help me gather them as soon as possible?"

"No problem. I will have all the soul beasts over ten thousand years old in the entire Star Dou Forest help you collect them."

Di Tian replied. He only mentioned beasts over ten thousand years old because only they possessed sufficient intelligence to distinguish herbs; the ten-year, hundred-year, and thousand-year beasts lacked the intellect to be of much use.

"Then I thank you in advance, Senior."

Su Zhen bowed to Di Tian and walked to a nearby clearing to begin the first trial of the Thunder God.

Above his head, the Touch of the Thunder Spirit manifested, and a streak of scarlet light shot out from it, reaching high into the sky in the blink of an eye to begin gathering the surrounding thunderclouds.

Su Zhen stood beneath the layers of thunderclouds, adjusting his state to the peak, gazing at the terrifying sea of thunder churning in the center of the clouds.

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning as thick as a water barrel struck straight down, landing on Su Zhen's body. The violent thunder exploded across his skin instantly. He endured the intense pain, using his spiritual power to guide the wisps of lightning to course through his meridians.

The moment his spiritual power touched the lightning, the violent energy surged along his spiritual power into his sea of consciousness, paralyzing it entirely. His spiritual power, usually as responsive as his own limbs, felt like a clay ox entering the sea, unable to stir up even a ripple.

Su Zhen utilized every ounce of his mental energy to extract a strand of lightning no thicker than a hair from the thunder covering his skin while in a paralyzed state, guiding this lightning into his meridians to begin tempering his body. With every meridian the lightning traversed, Su Zhen's physique grew a fraction stronger, yet the pain he endured increased exponentially.

When Su Zhen finally guided the lightning through his entire body, his mind was on the verge of collapse, and the lightning dissipated after that single cycle.

As Su Zhen intended to extract another strand of lightning from his skin, his vision went black and he fell backward; the lightning on his skin vanished quietly the moment he lost consciousness.

Bi Ji flashed behind Su Zhen to catch him, her right hand condensing emerald-green soul power to infuse into his body and heal his wounds.

Under Bi Ji's treatment, Su Zhen slowly drifted back to consciousness. All his physical injuries had healed, but his mind remained trapped in the numbness of the lightning, and it took an hour of meditation to suppress the numbing sensation in his sea of consciousness.

Su Zhen dared not rest; after swallowing the Body Tempering Herb prepared by Di Tian, he once again entered the trial of the First Trial of the Thunder God.

Using his External Soul Bone to condense a sea of thunder, guiding the lightning from his skin through his meridians, falling into a coma, and continuing the trial—Su Zhen spent five years slowly enduring this hellish torture.

Over these five years, the lightning Su Zhen extracted grew thicker and thicker, and the frequency of his comas decreased; by the fifth year, he was already able to guide an entire bolt of lightning into his meridians for tempering without losing consciousness.

Su Zhen opened his eyes, countless lightning patterns covering his entire body; with every movement, lightning surged, making him appear like a god of divine retribution walking among mortals.

The moment Su Zhen completed the final tempering, the lightning pattern between his brows shone brilliantly, and a screen of light appeared before his eyes.

"First Trial of the Thunder God completed. Distributing rewards: Martial Soul Thunder Transformation, Thunder Attribute Immunity, awakening Thunder Perception."

The light screen transformed into a red glow that enveloped Su Zhen's entire body, beginning the reward transformation.