"Then let's compete in Heavenly Lightning Body Tempering!"
"Whoever can last longer in the Lightning Mimicry Environment wins. How about it?"
Yu Tianheng said with confidence. When it came to tempering his body with lightning, he had absolute confidence.
He had been a regular in the Lightning Mimicry Environment for years.
No one understood the power of lightning better than he did.
At that moment,
Yu Tianheng's gaze fell on Zhou Tong. As long as Zhou Tong agreed, he could put the other man in his place fair and square, and crush his arrogance.
That way, he could put this thorn in his side down while keeping up appearances and preserving his good image. It was killing two birds with one stone.
Everyone else looked at Zhou Tong, their faces full of mockery and disdain.
They wanted to see if he dared accept the challenge.
If Zhou Tong refused, that would prove he was afraid. They could then use Yu Tianheng's reputation as an excuse to take the opportunity to crush this commoner brat.
The more arrogant Zhou Tong was now, the harder they would make him pay.
They would make every day feel like a year for him until he was too ashamed to stay at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
If Zhou Tong accepted the challenge, Yu Tianheng would slap him down hard and teach him that there was always someone stronger, and a higher sky beyond the sky.
Under everyone's burning, complicated gazes, Zhou Tong slowly uttered a few words.
"I accept the challenge!"
"But I have a condition!"
As soon as he said this, everyone present laughed.
The kid had fallen for it after all.
Now they could just sit back and enjoy the show.
Every face wore a knowing expression.
It was as if Zhou Tong's defeat were already a foregone conclusion.
What surprised them even more was that Zhou Tong had actually proposed a condition.
Did he think he could win?
What a naive idea.
"What condition?"
Yu Tianheng was only too happy to oblige.
If Zhou Tong wanted to set terms, then let him.
He was going to win either way.
"If you lose, you'll pay me a million Gold Soul Coins."
"If I lose, I'll leave Heaven Dou Royal Academy immediately."
Zhou Tong spoke in a clear voice.
If Yu Tianheng dared challenge him, he had better be ready to pay a sufficient price.
"Then, please."
A smug smile touched Yu Tianheng's lips as he spoke coolly.
"After you."
Zhou Tong replied.
"Then let's go in together!"
Yu Tianheng said.
"Let's go!"
The two of them entered the Lightning Mimicry Environment together.
The moment he stepped into the Mimicry Cultivation Environment, Zhou Tong was stunned by the scene inside.
It was an undeveloped valley.
Thunder-attribute plants grew everywhere: Lightning-Struck Wood, Thunderous Bamboo, Purple Thunder Vine, and more.
If he cultivated here, his cultivation speed would improve by at least twofold.
This environment was an enormous boon to cultivation.
He could also absorb precious lightning power and increase the lightning potency of his Martial Soul.
It was practically a dream cultivation ground.
Feeling the thunder elements in the air, he sat cross-legged on the spot and waited for the lightning to appear.
Before long, a crowd gathered outside the Lightning Mimicry Environment, all there to watch the spectacle.
Then the voice of the Soul Master managing the Lightning Mimicry Environment rang out.
"The Lightning Mimicry Environment is about to begin releasing Heavenly Lightning."
"Countdown: 20."
"19."
"18."
At that, Yu Tianheng sprang into action. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon possessed him in an instant, and his Soul Power erupted.
His muscles swelled, blue scales sprouted across his body, and his arms became thick dragon limbs. His fingers turned into sharp claws, transforming him into a humanoid blue tyrant dragon.
Two yellow and one purple Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet, slowly ascending to hover around him.
Yu Tianheng was now a Soul Elder of the thirty-fifth level.
He glanced back at Zhou Tong, his eyes full of disdain.
Now he had torn off his earlier hypocritical mask and bared his vicious fangs.
A thirty-fifth-level Soul Elder against a Soul Grandmaster like Zhou Tong—he had the advantage!
He wanted to see just how long this lowly commoner Soul Master could withstand the power of Heavenly Lightning under the full boost of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul.
"Senior Brother Tian Heng, you're awesome!"
"Teach Zhou Tong a little lesson!"
"Daring to cause trouble at Heaven Dou Royal Academy—he should take a good look at himself first!"
Seeing Yu Tianheng flex his muscles, everyone outside the Mimicry chamber grinned triumphantly.
With Yu Tianheng's strength, dealing with Zhou Tong would be a piece of cake.
They couldn't wait to see Zhou Tong make a fool of himself.
Yet Zhou Tong showed no sign of alarm. Instead, he calmly summoned his Martial Soul, the Thunderous Hell Vine.
A blue-gold vine as thick as a forearm grew straight up from the ground. It rooted itself in the earth and reached a meter above Zhou Tong's head, becoming a tree more than two meters tall.
At the same time, one yellow and one purple Soul Ring floated up from beneath his feet, slowly rising to hover in front of him.
Zhou Tong sat cross-legged and ignored the crowd's chatter as he began cultivating.
The whole place fell silent at the sight.
Those who had mocked Zhou Tong so arrogantly earlier all fell quiet.
Every eye fixed on Zhou Tong's Second Soul Ring.
A purple Second Soul Ring!
A thousand-year Second Soul Ring!
That was a purple Soul Ring that only a Soul Elder could absorb!
This commoner brat had already obtained one!
Everyone sucked in a shocked breath.
Unbelievable!
Yu Tianheng was so astonished that he gaped, unable to believe his eyes.
Zhou Tong's Second Soul Ring was actually a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
He had underestimated Zhou Tong.
But he quickly put the thought aside.
Zhou Tong was only a Soul Grandmaster, while he was a thirtieth-level Soul Ancestor, one rank above Zhou Tong. He had the overwhelming advantage.
It was only a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. He had one too.
He still had the advantage!
Yu Tianheng quickly regained his composure.
Before long, the dense power of Heavenly Lightning began to gather above the valley, drawn from the thunder-attribute plants growing within it.
Dark clouds filled the sky. Lightning bolts about as thick as a pinky finger fell from above, striking straight toward Zhou Tong and Yu Tianheng.
Yu Tianheng calmly received the lightning with his Dragon-Transformed body. Each bolt tempered his physique, and his Soul Power rose as well.
"That kid won't last long."
Yu Tianheng said coldly. Then he turned to look at Zhou Tong, and his expression froze.
The lightning descending from the sky was being absorbed directly by Zhou Tong's Martial Soul.
"What kind of Martial Soul is that?"
"It can actually absorb the power of lightning?"
"My Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul can only draw out a little lightning power, but his Martial Soul is actually devouring the lightning?"
Yu Tianheng felt that everything he understood about the world had come crashing down.
There was actually a Martial Soul that could absorb lightning power so efficiently.
It was a monster.
His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was the number-one Beast Martial Soul in the world, with control over lightning as its specialty.
Even he couldn't devour lightning power directly. He could only refine a tenth of it.
But that Martial Soul of Zhou Tong's could do it with ease.
Before you continue