The Thunder Ancestor raised his head and gazed calmly into the void. A vertical eye opened between his brows, as though stars revolved and universes were born and destroyed within it.
A moment later, he withdrew his gaze and lowered his head in thought.
Then his eyes fell on Yu Tianqing.
"Though you carry my token, I see that you have not cultivated my school's methods. Why is that?"
Since the Thunder Ancestor had asked, Yu Tianqing dared not hide anything and could only tell him the truth.
"My soul transmigrated here from a planet called Blue Star. This token was a gift from a Daoist priest. It's something that has accompanied me since birth, and I never understood its origins. Only after meeting you today, Heavenly Venerable, did I learn what it was for."
The Thunder Ancestor nodded.
"Since you have a predestined connection with my Divine Firmament, I shall grant you a stroke of good fortune. I see that you possess a lightning spiritual root with both yin and yang attributes, yet your cultivation has gone astray. I expect that is also because of this world's Heavenly Dao."
"Since you were born in this world, your cultivation must follow its rules. I shall impart to you the 'Jade Pivot Precious Scripture' and the 'Supreme Divine Firmament Jade Pivot Five Thunder Judgment Art.' You must cultivate diligently, and it may not be impossible for you to ascend in this world."
A lightning spiritual root? Ascension?
Hearing those somewhat familiar terms, Yu Tianqing was so moved that he nearly shed tears. The Heavenly Venerable was far too generous.
"Thank you for your gift, Heavenly Venerable!"
Yu Tianqing bowed deeply toward the sky, but remembering that this was the Douluo Continent, he steeled himself and spoke.
"Heavenly Venerable, as far as this disciple knows, the gods of this world have made a habit of interfering with the lower realm. This disciple is confident of becoming the strongest in this world, but I will inevitably be targeted by the evil god above..."
This was Peerless Tang Sect. The Douluo Continent had already become Great God King Tang's back garden.
He had little patience for faking his death for ten thousand years and waiting for the next great age...
Since the Heavenly Venerable's incarnation had come in person, he might as well trouble the venerable elder.
As the saying went, since he was already here, they couldn't let the Heavenly Venerable come for nothing.
Yu Tianqing looked up at the Thunder Ancestor in the sky and saw him nod thoughtfully.
"No wonder. When I examined the workings of heaven just now, I sensed a gaze watching the south of this world. Presumably, that is the evil god you spoke of."
"This world is not under my Thunder Ministry's jurisdiction, after all, and I have come only as an incarnation, expending considerable divine power along the way. If I rashly attack a local god and disturb this world's balance, innocent people will inevitably be harmed."
"If you are willing to wait, my incarnation will return to Yingyuan Mansion and muster an army of the Thunder Ministry to conquer this world and bring it under Yingyuan Mansion's inspection and governance."
"It will simply take some time. For the Thunder Ministry to attack an outside domain, documents must be submitted and approved by the Heavenly Court before the troops can set out. They also travel more slowly than I do, so they should arrive in about ten months."
Black lines flashed across Yu Tianqing's mind. Ten months was three hundred days, which corresponded to three hundred years on the Douluo Continent. No one could say what Great God King Tang might do to him during those three hundred years.
By then, the daylilies would have gone cold.
As though understanding his predicament, the Thunder Ancestor offered another solution.
"Since you have the ambition to become the strongest in this world, I shall act on your behalf and gravely injure that evil god. Though I cannot wipe him out completely, it will be enough to keep him recuperating for more than ten days."
"This is the only chance of survival I can secure for you. What do you say?"
The Thunder Ancestor smiled at Yu Tianqing as he waited for his answer.
On one hand, he could lie low for three hundred years and wait for the Thunder Ministry's heavenly soldiers to launch their campaign.
On the other, he would have only ten years before fighting his own way into the Divine Realm.
The Thunder Ancestor hoped the young man before him would give him a satisfactory answer.
"Disciple asks the Heavenly Venerable to act. I will not fail to live up to your great kindness."
It was good for young people to have ambition.
The Thunder Ancestor nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to the Ice and Snow Empresses. The Ice Empress had already assumed human form and was being held in the Snow Empress's arms.
Yu Tianqing and the Thunder Ancestor had not concealed their conversation from the two beasts. Knowing that the god before them was merely an incarnation yet possessed such power, even the violent Ice Empress abandoned the thought of forcibly seizing the ten thousand year profound ice marrow.
"Heavenly Venerable, please pardon my sister and me and allow us to leave."
The Thunder Ancestor looked at Yu Tianqing, apparently asking for his opinion.
"Wait," Yu Tianqing said, stopping them.
"You little brat, don't push your luck!"
The Ice Empress flew into a rage, but the Snow Empress held her back, signaling for her to hear Yu Tianqing out first.
"I know where there's ten thousand year profound ice marrow. It should be very helpful to you, but I won't give it away for nothing. Give me a year to prepare, and I'll exchange ten thousand year profound ice marrow for your help. I wonder if you would agree, Snow Empress."
"You want us to help an ant like you?"
The Ice Empress was already shaken, and hearing this demand only made her angrier.
How could the dignified Two Empresses of the Far North become a human's hired muscle?
"Very well. I swear in the name of ice that this matter ends here. Bing'er and I will not make things difficult for you.
"As for the ten thousand year profound ice marrow, one piece will purchase the help of either Bing'er or me on one occasion. That is fair and just.
"If I break this oath, may the Ice God strip me of everything I possess that is of ice."
The Snow Empress calmly swore her oath and beckoned with one hand. A token that looked as though it had been formed from the purest snowflakes appeared and flew toward Yu Tianqing.
"With the Snow Empress Token, you can come find me in the core region. The Soul Beasts of the Far North will not attack you."
"All right, then I have nothing else."
Yu Tianqing accepted the token and bowed slightly to the Snow Empress, secretly delighted.
One piece of ten thousand year profound ice marrow for one occasion of help.
It seems the Snow Empress has no idea how wealthy I am. She really has wandered into an imperial household by mistake.
The Two Empresses of the Far North are two great Pals too!
The Snow Empress nodded and bowed respectfully to the Thunder Ancestor before slowly leaving with the Ice Empress.
"Since this matter is settled, sit cross-legged. Once I have imparted the cultivation methods to you, I shall take my leave."
"Heavenly Venerable, may I call upon your honored name again in the future?"
"When you have attained three parts cultivation, I shall have seven parts awareness; when you have attained ten parts cultivation, I shall watch over you at all times."
"Remember, thunder is formed when the two Qis of yin and yang unite. When you cultivate, you must keep the yin and yang within your body in balance. Yin alone cannot give birth; yang alone cannot grow."
"Calling me forth this time has also consumed the yin and yang Qi within your body. When I leave, there will be a backlash..."
At this point, the Thunder Ancestor suddenly looked into the distance. He extended a hand and calculated on his fingertips for a moment, then shook his head with a strange smile.
"So be it. This too is your fate. Since this is the path you chose, I only hope you will not fail the people at your side."
The Thunder Ancestor's words were shrouded in clouds and mist, leaving Yu Tianqing unable to make head or tail of them.
Riddlers are so annoying, come on.
While Yu Tianqing was grumbling inwardly, a flash of golden light shot from the Thunder Ancestor's hand toward the crown of his head, and a torrent of information entered his spiritual sea of consciousness.
These were the two scriptures imparted to him. They were profound and unfathomable, and he would need to study and comprehend them carefully.
Seeing Yu Tianqing enter a cross-legged meditation, the Thunder Ancestor transformed into a bolt of lightning and sped high into the sky.
On the snowy ground in the distance, a pink figure was following a Far North Ice Plains Wolf, running toward them.
The Divine Realm, Sea God Hall.
A man with long blue hair watched the Divine Realm Core before him, his eyes bright and wreathed in purple light.
In his sight, a frail ten-year-old boy was being bullied by servants, yet Tang San remained unmoved, a smile even playing on his lips.
Just then, a bolt of lightning rapidly grew larger in his vision. Its searing light blinded him, and with a bang, it exploded.
"Ah, my eyes!"
Tang San covered his eyes with his hands, blood flowing between his fingers.
"Third Brother, what's wrong?"
A woman in a pink dress immediately came to his side and asked in concern.
Tang San rolled on the ground in pain. That bolt of lightning had been able to hurt him, and among those in the Divine Realm with such strength...
He clenched his teeth and forced out a vicious sentence through them.
"Destruction, you have no martial virtue! You actually launched a sneak attack!"