Resonance in the Restricted Books Section, Thunder Pact

The silence of the Kamar-Taj Library seemed to have had its balance disrupted by Lin Ye's question about the "Restricted Books Section." Even the magical energy flowing through the air appeared to freeze for an instant. The older apprentice's expression grew more reverent, with even a trace of barely perceptible fear.

"Mr. Lin Ye, the Restricted Books Section is no trivial matter." The apprentice lowered his voice further, as though afraid of disturbing something. "What is stored there is not evil, but knowledge and sacred artifacts whose power is too immense or whose properties are too extreme for ordinary mages to comprehend, much less wield. Forced contact can result in mental damage at best; at worst, it may trigger unforeseeable disasters, or even turn someone into a vessel or coordinate for certain ancient beings."

He cautiously glanced toward the Restricted Books Section. "Without the Sorcerer Supreme's personal permission and protection, no one dares set foot inside. Even the masters only enter together when absolutely necessary."

Yet Lin Ye did not withdraw his gaze from that direction. The faint, peculiar resonance with his Thunder Origin had not weakened because of the apprentice's warning. Under his intensely focused perception, it instead became clearer. It was a subtle tremor... as though something that had lain dormant for ages had finally encountered its own kind.

"I understand." Lin Ye did not press the matter and merely nodded. Yet his desire to explore had already been thoroughly stirred. He could sense that the thing might not be a danger to him, but an opportunity.

For the time being, he suppressed the impulse and continued reading in the open area. However, the call from the Restricted Books Section lingered like background noise, making it difficult for him to fully immerse himself in the basic theories before him.

About an hour later, space in the courtyard rippled faintly, and The Ancient One appeared. She seemed to have just finished reinforcing the Dimensional Barrier. A faint weariness lingered on her face, yet her eyes remained clear and profound. She immediately sensed Lin Ye's presence and... the direction toward which his attention was subtly drawn.

She dismissed the apprentice with a wave, then slowly walked over to Lin Ye's side. Following his gaze toward the Restricted Books Section, she did not seem surprised.

"You sensed it?" The Ancient One's voice was calm, betraying no emotion.

"Yes." Lin Ye did not hide it. "A very faint resonance. It seems to share the same origin as my power."

The Ancient One fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking. "In the third row of the Restricted Books Section, inside the seventh energy-isolation cabinet, there is a sacred artifact fragment called Lightning-Struck Wood. According to the records, it was the sole remnant left behind when an ancient dimensional lord, long since extinct and known for wielding Thunder, failed while attempting to reach a higher level. His core origin fused with a divine tree growing in a dimensional rift, and both were shattered by Eternal Thunder. It contains a trace of the most fundamental Thunder Law, but it is also filled with the madness and resentment of that lord at the moment of his fall."

She looked at Lin Ye. "Over countless years, Kamar-Taj has had no shortage of masters who tried to study it, purify it, or even destroy it. Yet no one was able to truly draw upon its power. Instead, some were injured by the lingering madness of its will. It is like a silent seed of Thunder, waiting for someone... someone who may never appear, who can truly resonate with it."

Lin Ye's heartbeat quickened slightly. A fragment of a dimensional lord's Thunder Origin? It was practically made for him!

"I want to try." Lin Ye looked at The Ancient One, his gaze firm and confident. "The nature of my power may be able to soothe, or even absorb, its lingering will."

The Ancient One stared deeply at him without answering immediately. She was weighing the risks. Lin Ye's power was indeed unique and formidable, but that fragment was far too dangerous. If it went out of control, it might not only destroy Lin Ye, but even cause severe damage to Kamar-Taj and Earth itself.

After a long while, she slowly said, "I can grant you access and personally protect you. But you must promise me that the moment you feel unable to control it, you will give up at once. I will forcibly seal it."

"Agreed." Lin Ye accepted without hesitation.

The Ancient One said no more. Her hands formed a complex seal, and a beam of golden light shot toward the entrance of the Restricted Books Section. The invisible, powerful barrier slowly opened a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through. A more ancient, violent energy fluctuation, carrying an aura of annihilation, seeped out from the opening.

Lin Ye took a deep breath. [Thor Form] silently activated around him as he stepped inside.

The energy environment within the Restricted Books Section was completely different from outside, more chaotic and oppressive. There were no bookshelves here, only isolation cages floating in midair, formed from different kinds of energy. Within them were sealed objects of every shape: a bleeding eye, a rusty broken sword radiating endless sorrow, a book sewn from unknown skin that turned its own pages...

His target was clear—the energy cabinet emitting the fluctuation that made his heart tremble.

It was a cube-shaped cabinet formed entirely of transparent energy, its walls flowing with countless intricate sealing runes. At its center floated a section of dead wood about an arm's length long, blackened like charcoal and seemingly ready to crumble at any moment. It looked utterly unremarkable, but in Lin Ye's perception, it contained Thunder power as vast and violent as a star! And deeply hidden within it was a towering resentment and unwillingness!

That was it!

Lin Ye stepped before the energy cabinet and extended a finger, lightly touching its wall.

Bzzz!

The sealing runes on the energy cabinet instantly lit up, attempting to block the outside contact. But The Ancient One maintained the passage from outside, suppressing most of the seal's resistance.

From Lin Ye's fingertip, a thread of highly condensed yet incomparably pure and gentle lightning energy slowly seeped in. Like a probing tendril, it lightly reached toward the piece of Lightning-Struck Wood.

The instant the two came into contact—

BOOM!!!

It was as though countless bolts of Thunder exploded inside Lin Ye's mind! Fragmented images flooded in wildly!

In the endless void, a Thunder Giant towering over heaven and earth roared, drawing down the Thunder of countless universes as it tried to split some invisible barrier apart. Yet it was ultimately swallowed by an even more terrifying, backfiring sea of chaotic lightning... The giant disintegrated within the lightning sea. Its core origin merged with a strange ancient tree that happened to be growing within a dimensional fissure, and together they were carbonized and shattered beneath extreme light and heat... leaving behind only this final fragment, carrying its last strength and will as it drifted between dimensions until Kamar-Taj eventually collected it...

The anger, unwillingness, and pursuit of Thunder's ultimate might at the moment of its fall crashed against Lin Ye's consciousness like a tidal wave!

At the same time, the primordial Thunder power contained in the fragment seemed to have found an outlet and surged madly toward Lin Ye!

"Guard your heart! Guide it!" The Ancient One's shout rang out from outside like a great bell, carrying the power to calm the mind.

Lin Ye let out a muffled groan, lightning blazing in his eyes! [Soul Barrier] operated at full force, resisting the mental assault of that lingering will! At the same time, he released partial control of his body and guided the primordial Thunder power flowing into him into his own energy cycle!

This was not plunder, but something more like assimilation and inheritance!

His lightning power originated from the rules of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit granted by the system, while the power within this fragment was a manifestation of the most primordial Thunder Law born within this universe! The two shared the same origin, yet each possessed its own strengths!

At this moment, through this wondrous contact, they slowly began to merge and complement each other!

Lin Ye could feel his perception of lightning becoming sharper and deeper! Many advanced applications of lightning that he had previously only vaguely understood—such as creating life, purifying souls, and even accelerating or halting time at its most superficial level—flooded into his consciousness as though they were instinct!

After sensing Lin Ye's equally pure Thunder Origin, one with greater "vitality" and "potential for growth," the violent will within the fragment gradually calmed. Its unwillingness and resentment seemed to find a new resting place, slowly integrating into Lin Ye's power system and becoming part of him!

No one knew how much time passed. The charred surface of the Lightning-Struck Wood fragment began to peel away layer by layer, revealing an interior like violet-gold crystal glass, radiating a gentle yet powerful Thunder fluctuation. It no longer resisted. Instead, like a weary bird returning to its forest, it slowly floated up and merged into Lin Ye's palm. In the end, a faint violet-gold mark, like a natural lightning pattern, formed on the back of his hand.

The energy cabinet's glow dimmed, and its seal automatically lifted.

Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes. His aura had become even more restrained, yet deep within his pupils, Thunder seemed to be born and extinguished with the creation of the universe. He felt that his command over Thunder had entered an entirely new, unprecedented realm.

[Ding! Successfully fused with the ancient Thunder sacred artifact fragment, "Lightning-Struck Wood."]

[Rewards:]

[1. [Thunder Law Insight (Intermediate)]]

[2. [Primordial Thunder Affinity]]

[3. Unlocked advanced lightning application knowledge: [Life-Rekindling Thunder], [Soul-Purifying Thunder], [Thunder Flash: Time Lag], and more.]

[4. Obtained sacred artifact mark: [Thunder Pact].]

The Ancient One looked at the mark slowly fading from the back of Lin Ye's hand. Sensing the deeper, more harmonious aura of Thunder around him, a complicated glimmer flashed through her eyes before finally turning into a soft sigh. "It seems it has finally found its true master. Congratulations, Lin Ye. Your power has now truly touched the edge of 'law.'"

Lin Ye clenched his hand, feeling the new power flowing endlessly within him and responding as easily as his own limbs. He nodded to The Ancient One. "Thank you for making this possible, Master."

This trip to Kamar-Taj had yielded far more than he had expected.

However, just as he was preparing to leave the Restricted Books Section, the Orb of Agamotto at The Ancient One's waist suddenly began to shake violently once more without warning!

Within the orb, the image of the Endless Bone Graveyard, which had just settled down, appeared again. But this time, there was no mad impact—only... a suffocating silence! Within that silence, a pair of incomparably enormous, hollow eye sockets stared coldly beyond the orb, as though piercing through endless dimensions to fall directly upon Lin Ye... or rather, upon the purer aura of Thunder Origin he now emitted after fusing with Lightning-Struck Wood!

A cold, ancient will, as though formed from the friction of hundreds of millions of bones, laboriously pierced through the Dimensional Barrier and echoed in their minds like a curse:

"...The... aura... of Thunder... traitor... inheritor... shall... eventually... return... to... silence..."

Lin Ye and The Ancient One's expressions changed at the same time!

He had fused with the sacred artifact and greatly increased his strength, but he had also drawn the direct attention of an even more ancient, more terrifying existence!

(End of Chapter)