Four-Nine Thunder, Skin of Thunder

Over the next two months, with Bi Ji's participation, Yu Hengqing no longer had to worry about being unable to recover from his injuries, even though the intensity of the lightning within the clouds increased every time he performed his technique.

[Second God Trial: Thunder Body Tempering]

[Progress: 42/49]

Looking at the nearly completed trial, Yu Hengqing estimated the current strength of his physical body.

I can handle five lightning strikes without issue, but if I want to take on seven, I'll have to take a risk.

Yu Hengqing reconsidered; since Bi Ji was here to heal him, why not take that risk?

He had clearly noticed that the frequency of the thunderclouds appearing had decreased recently; the last time one had appeared was a week ago.

"Leiyi, please do your best to repair my Thunder Armor later. I intend to attempt to draw seven bolts of lightning and complete the second God Trial in one go."

In the spiritual space, Leiyi was pondering how to convert his skills into self-created soul skills.

Hearing that Yu Hengqing wanted to draw seven bolts at once, he did not object, merely nodding slightly.

He was well aware of whether Yu Hengqing could withstand seven bolts of lightning. He had avoided risks before to play it safe, but now that they had Bi Ji as a safeguard, taking an occasional risk was acceptable.

Moreover, no one knew when the next thundercloud would appear.

If he couldn't finish it this time, a great deal of time would be wasted, especially since Yu Hengqing's cultivation speed had yet to recover.

With Leiyi's consent, Yu Hengqing walked toward the camp to inform Bi Ji and the others of his decision.

"Oh, the junior has finished his cultivation and returned!"

Dugu Yan, who was busy concocting poison, looked up the moment she heard movement and saw Yu Hengqing entering.

Over these past two months, Dugu Yan would come to Thunder Valley to spar with Yu Hengqing whenever she had free time, relying on the power of his lightning to purge the toxins accumulated in her body.

It was Dugu Bo who had told him about the cleansing properties of his lightning after learning about the Soul Core method.

Now that the toxins were no longer accumulating, Dugu Yan had undergone a complete transformation.

Her shoulder-length deep purple hair had turned a lighter shade, and the sharp, aggressive edge she once possessed had softened.

"Not quite, I have something to discuss with Senior Bi Ji."

Although Bi Ji had become Yu Hengqing's guardian, she spent most of her time away from Thunder Valley, and Yu Hengqing naturally guessed that she had gone out to heal other soul beasts.

"Alright, then I won't disturb you."

Seeing that Yu Hengqing needed to find Bi Ji, Dugu Yan buried her head back into her work.

Ever since the toxins in Dugu Yan's body began to diminish, Dugu Bo had stopped keeping secrets regarding his poisons.

As long as Dugu Yan was capable of mixing them, Dugu Bo would teach her, which left her feeling both delighted and miserable.

After the brief chat, Yu Hengqing headed toward Bi Ji's tent.

As he reached the entrance, a fresh, medicinal fragrance drifted out, brushing past his nose.

"Yu Hengqing, come in!"

Before Yu Hengqing could speak, Bi Ji's voice invited him inside.

He lifted the curtain and stepped in, his eyes falling upon a pile of ordinary medicinal herbs neatly arranged on the table.

Turning his head, he saw Bi Ji busy slicing some herbs.

"Senior Bi Ji, I intend to complete my God Trial in one go later. I need to trouble you to stand by and be ready to treat me if necessary."

Although Yu Hengqing was curious about why Bi Ji had started learning human medicinal methods, completing the trial was the priority; other matters would have to wait.

"You still need seven bolts to finish, don't you? If you do it all at once, there is a high probability you will be severely injured."

Bi Ji set down the herbs, looking at Yu Hengqing with a puzzled expression.

Not long after she had arrived, Bi Ji had offered to help him complete the trial, but Yu Hengqing had politely declined.

"The frequency of the thunderclouds is decreasing. I'm afraid that if I delay any longer, I'll just be wasting time."

"Very well, let's go then. It's about to thunder."

At these words, Bi Ji stood up, washed her hands, and followed Yu Hengqing out of the tent.

Reaching the open ground, Yu Hengqing immediately summoned his martial soul and began to condense the power of lightning within his body.

Standing to the side, Bi Ji grew serious, circulating her soul power to be ready to support him at any moment.

After more than two months of practice, Yu Hengqing's Lightning Attraction Technique had become exceptionally proficient, and he finished gathering the lightning power in just a few breaths.

The thundercloud overhead seemed to have grown accustomed to his presence.

Faced with his technique, the cloud was no longer as sensitive as it had been at the start; it ignored him for the moment, silently accumulating its power, preparing to strike him dead in one blow.

When the thundercloud fully formed, a bolt of lightning as thick as a human arm instantly struck Yu Hengqing.

However, protected by the Thunder Armor condensed from Cangming Lightning, the strike achieved nothing, failing to even singe a hair on his head.

Seeing this, even Bi Ji, who had seen many talented soul masters, could not help but exclaim.

"To be able to condense the Thunder Armor so solidly in just two months—you are truly worthy of being the successor of the Thunder God."

After absorbing the first bolt of lightning, Yu Hengqing immediately summoned the second.

The second bolt was noticeably thicker than the first; when it struck Yu Hengqing, the mere splash of lightning blasted a bowl-sized black crater into the ground.

Hmm, as expected, the current Thunder Armor has absolutely no problem resisting lightning like this.

Confirming that the Thunder Armor had not sustained the slightest damage, Yu Hengqing continued to cast the Lightning Attraction Technique.

The third bolt failed to shake the Thunder Armor, and the fourth bolt still failed to move it.

When the fifth bolt, as thick as a human arm, struck Yu Hengqing, the Thunder Armor finally developed some cracks, but they were repaired by Leiyi in the blink of an eye.

Before drawing the sixth bolt, Yu Hengqing paused to check the progress of his trial.

[Thunder God Trial, Second Trial]

[Completion Progress: 47/49]

"Senior Bi Ji, I will have to trouble you for what comes next!"

With that, a bolt of lightning as thick as a calf slammed violently into Yu Hengqing.

This time, the previously composed Thunder Armor was shattered by a third; had Leiyi not been constantly patching it up, the armor likely would have sustained even more damage.

Yu Hengqing circulated his soul power to its limit, and the damaged sections of the Thunder Armor were repaired bit by bit.

[Completion Progress: 48/49]

As the Thunder Armor was being repaired, Yu Hengqing looked up at the thunderclouds, where lightning continued to churn.

He began to feel once more that something he didn't know about was hidden within Thunder Valley; otherwise, the recent phenomena simply couldn't be explained.

Just as the last crack in the Thunder Armor was mended by Yu Hengqing's soul power, the seventh bolt rushed toward his face in an instant.

This seventh bolt was as thick as a thigh, and the moment it touched Yu Hengqing's body, the Thunder Armor began to crack in various places.

Within the mental space, Leiyi had already utilized all the energy he could muster, yet he still could not repair the Thunder Armor in time.

"Sigh, as expected, converting my own energy into soul power is far too inefficient, and Yu Hengqing's body currently doesn't allow me to store soul power—it really is a dilemma!"

The seventh bolt struck Yu Hengqing for less than half a second before he was sent flying by the powerful blast, slamming violently into a large tree nearby.

The moment he hit the ground, Yu Hengqing coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the Thunder Armor on his body had long since dissipated.

Bi Ji stood beside Yu Hengqing, exerting her own soul power to continuously heal his internal organs, which had been knocked out of place by the impact.

[Thunder God Trial, Second Trial: Thunder Body Tempering]

[Completion Progress: 49/49 (Completed)]

[Releasing reward now: Skin of Thunder]

The moment the reward was successfully granted, a thin layer of lightning armor emerged upon Yu Hengqing's skin.

[Skin of Thunder: Automatically generates lightning armor on the surface of the skin, reducing physical damage by 10%. Can be enhanced through the power of lightning obtained via the God Trial; for every additional bolt refined, the effect increases by 10%.]