The three sat beneath the cliff, quietly waiting for the rain to stop.
Watching the silken curtain of rain outside, Chen Tianyuan grew drowsy and simply leaned against the rock wall for a nap.
But before he had slept long, a thunderbolt descended from the sky and struck the top of the cliff directly above them.
The tremendous crash jolted Chen Tianyuan awake. He looked at Yan Shaozhe, then at Cai Mei'er, utterly bewildered.
Yan Shaozhe frowned. He had checked carefully before they came here; there were no trees above them. Why would lightning strike this spot?
Just as he was puzzling over it, a second bolt followed on the heels of the first.
Boom!
The savage power of lightning poured down unchecked, even shaking the cliff. A few more strikes would surely bring it down.
The situation was so strange that even Yan Shaozhe, a level 95 Super Douluo, dared not venture out to investigate, lest the heavenly lightning lock onto him.
After those two bolts, thunder still rumbled in the sky, but the lightning subsided. It seemed there would be no more strikes for a while.
The fierce wind began to die down, the downpour weakened, and even the dark clouds began to disperse.
The three could not help breathing sighs of relief, but in the very next instant, a lightning dragon, stronger and more terrifying than the previous bolts, poked its head out of the dark clouds.
As though guided by something, the lightning dragon did not hesitate for a moment and once again plunged straight down above them.
The violent impact spread throughout the mountainside. The sturdy cliff collapsed with a thunderous crash, and Yan Shaozhe grabbed Chen Tianyuan. In an instant, all three appeared more than ten meters away.
As they gazed at the ravaged mountainside, the culprit that had drawn the heavenly lightning came into view.
It was actually a plant, shaped like a vine, as thick as a wrist and more than a meter long. Its entire body was purplish gold, its surface covered in fine lightning patterns, with arcs of electricity flickering over them.
Yan Shaozhe proved worthy of his position as dean of the Martial Soul Department, recognizing the peculiar plant after only a few glances.
"This is... a Thunderclap Hellvine!"
Cai Mei'er frowned. "It's a plant-type Soul Beast?"
Yan Shaozhe nodded and stepped closer to examine it carefully, saying, "I once read about this plant in an ancient book in the academy's collection."
"According to legend, Thunderclap Hellvines were born from the lingering power left behind after the Thunder God fell, and they carry his bloodline. Their cultivation is slow before they reach a hundred years, but once they pass that mark, they can actively draw heavenly lightning to rapidly increase their age..."
He paused before continuing, "But everything comes at a price. Although Thunderclap Hellvines can rapidly increase their age through heavenly lightning, once they reach twenty thousand years, there's a very high chance they'll explode because they can no longer withstand the savage power within them. That's the main reason they're so rare."
Faced with such a powerful Soul Beast whose attribute matched his, Chen Tianyuan was naturally sorely tempted. He immediately asked, "Dean Yan, how old is this Thunderclap Hellvine?"
Yan Shaozhe shook his head. "I can't tell. After all, this is my first time seeing one."
Sensing the lightning aura emanating from the Thunderclap Hellvine, Chen Tianyuan felt an itch of longing in his heart. He promptly asked, "Then can we take it back and have the Great Ancestor determine its age?"
Yan Shaozhe hummed in agreement. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Even if it can't serve as your first Soul Ring, we can plant it at the academy and let you absorb it later."
With that, Yan Shaozhe got to work.
His powerful soul power sliced through half the rock wall as easily as cutting tofu, exposing the Thunderclap Hellvine's roots. Yan Shaozhe lifted it, along with the massive block of stone, in one hand.
The three hurried back to Shrek Academy through the rain that night.
The following day.
The morning air was bitterly cold, carrying the earthy tang of rain-soaked soil.
Inside the Sea God Pavilion, Mu En studied the Thunderclap Hellvine before him, carefully examining the details of its markings. No one spoke; even the air seemed to fall silent.
A few minutes later, Mu En slowly said, "It seems your luck was quite good. You actually found a plant-type Soul Beast as rare as the Golden Tree."
Chen Tianyuan was undoubtedly the most eager among them to hear the answer. He looked at Mu En and asked impatiently, "Great Ancestor, can this Thunderclap Hellvine serve as my first Soul Ring or not?"
Mu En nodded with a soft chuckle. "By my estimation, this Thunderclap Hellvine is around eight hundred years old. But your attributes are a perfect match, so absorbing it shouldn't be too difficult."
At those words, Chen Tianyuan nearly jumped for joy.
At Mu En's signal, Chen Tianyuan severed the Thunderclap Hellvine with a dagger. In the next instant, a yellow Soul Ring appeared before him.
Chen Tianyuan sat cross-legged and, following the method Yan Shaozhe had taught him, used his soul power to draw the Soul Ring over his body. Then he began absorbing and fusing with it.
An eight-hundred-year Soul Ring was beyond what many Soul Masters could obtain even for their second ring, yet Chen Tianyuan could take it as his first. The credit belonged to those pieces of ten-thousand-year whale glue.
With Mu En standing guard, the absorption went smoothly and was completed in less than an hour.
After he fused with the Soul Ring, the level-ten bottleneck that had held Chen Tianyuan back disappeared, and his soul power rose with the tide, climbing straight to level 13.
Part of that was soul power he had cultivated himself, while the rest came from absorbing the Soul Ring.
Feeling the ultimate lightning surging within him, Chen Tianyuan was itching to find someone to spar with.
Mu En patted his head and said with a chuckle, "Silly child, look. What's this?"
Perplexed, Chen Tianyuan followed Mu En's gaze and saw light gleaming within the lower half of the severed Thunderclap Hellvine's rootstock.
With a casual beckoning gesture, Mu En drew that half of the Thunderclap Hellvine into his hand.
Then he infused it with soul power, and a knuckle-sized bone shimmering with purple light separated from it.
Chen Tianyuan asked curiously, "Is this a Soul Bone? Why is it so small?"
Mu En handed the Soul Bone to Chen Tianyuan and said, "This is an external soul bone. It should be for a finger."
"An external soul bone!" Chen Tianyuan was stunned beyond measure.
External soul bones were even rarer than Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings because they could grow, evolving as a Soul Master's strength increased.
Under Mu En's guidance, Chen Tianyuan fused with the external soul bone directly. He gained no Soul Skill, however, instead obtaining the Thunderclap Hellvine's most important innate ability: absorbing lightning to temper his own body.
Chen Tianyuan opened his eyes and let out a heavy breath. He looked at Mu En. "Great Ancestor, I think I can absorb heavenly lightning now too..."
Mu En frowned and hurriedly examined Chen Tianyuan's condition, but found nothing unusual. In the end, he could only attribute it to an acquired innate ability brought about by absorbing the Thunderclap Hellvine's Soul Ring and Soul Bone.
After learning that Chen Tianyuan had obtained a Soul Ring, Bei Bei insisted on having a Soul Fight with him.
Left with no choice, Chen Tianyuan agreed.
On the Soul Fighting Arena, Bei Bei crooked a finger, signaling for Chen Tianyuan to attack first.
The corner of Chen Tianyuan's mouth twitched. He immediately activated Martial Soul Possession, and a yellow Soul Ring lit up beneath him.
"First Soul Skill, Hell Thunder Sky-Rending Claw!"
A streak of purple lightning shot out at his cry and lashed straight into Bei Bei.
The fundamental difference between ultimate lightning and ordinary lightning lay in its tremendous penetrating power. When the gap in soul power level was small, it could even be said to ignore defenses.
The instant the lightning whip touched Bei Bei, he was sent flying backward.
Bei Bei rose, grimacing in pain, and complained, "You're actually going all out!"
Chen Tianyuan was about to explain, but Bei Bei threw fair play to the winds and launched a sneak attack.
The Soul Ring beneath Bei Bei lit up, and he shouted, "Thunder Dragon Claw!"
Seeing this, Chen Tianyuan's lips curled upward. "Sorry, my Martial Soul has lightning immunity!"
Before you continue