Wang Lin’s nascent soul, freed from the mortal coil of Yu Fei, drifted slowly away, his discarded husk floating into the star-strewn abyss behind him. Before the assembled Flash Thunder Clan, Wang Lin stood wreathed in crackling lightning, a celestial thunderbolt incarnate.

His voice, though calm, echoed with power, and as he spoke, the boundless thunder domains encompassing the sixteen celestial spheres of the Flash Thunder Clan erupted in a deafening roar, as if answering his call!

Witnessing this spectacle, the eyes of a towering man guarding the hallowed sanctuary narrowed with alarm. Even with his seasoned cultivation, he could not deny the oppressive weight of Wang Lin’s lightning dominion, a force that threatened to suffocate him.

“So, you are not of our Flash Thunder lineage!” boomed a voice, the words emanating from the Immemorial Thunder at the heart of the sanctuary, a colossal face materializing within the crackling energy that bridged heaven and earth.

“Daring to trespass upon our lands and threaten our existence with such paltry power? You are the height of arrogance!” the face sneered, its voice a peal of thunder that threatened to drown out the roar of the storm-wracked cosmos.

Wang Lin’s nascent soul floated amidst the stars, the drifting currents of light concealing and revealing the shape of a dragon. He remained unmoved by the Flash Thunder Clan Elder’s bluster, his eyes glinting with frigid resolve. He raised a hand, his fingers aimed at the face coalesced within the Immemorial Thunder, and spoke in a voice as cold as the void, “Dare you face me in the Thunder Realm?”

He sought no stratagems, no veiled deceptions. Wang Lin had come for a reckoning, a confrontation.

Every action he had taken, every sacrifice he had made, had been in preparation for this battle. Thus, he had abandoned Yu Fei’s flesh, liberated his nascent soul, and enticed the Flash Thunder Clan Elder to reveal himself. Wang Lin was certain that the Elder’s mastery of thunder, normally a shield against scrutiny, would now lay bare the true nature of his soul.

He had used his corporeal form as bait, a lure to draw out the Flash Thunder Clan’s most formidable champion, their Great Elder, for a duel to decide their fates.

As the words left his lips, Wang Lin retreated with blinding speed, becoming a streak of lightning streaking through the cosmos, his power so vast that none dared to intercept him.

The towering guard outside the sanctuary’s perimeter contemplated pursuit, even as nine distinct auras erupted from the sacred temple, each locking onto Wang Lin with malevolent intent.

These nine auras belonged to celestial cultivators teetering on the precipice of decay.

“A contest of power… so be it!” the thunderous voice reverberated, and the Immemorial Thunder itself stirred with violent force. The colossal face contracted, coalescing into a human figure that shone with the incandescent glory of ten thousand suns. With a single stride, he emerged from the depths of the sanctuary.

The figure resembled a man of perhaps forty years, his eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, his thin lips hinting at a nature both critical and unforgiving. Lightning danced across his form as he advanced, breaking free of the sanctuary’s confines.

“Hail, Great Elder!” the towering guard cried out, bowing low. The assembled Flash Thunder Clan echoed his reverence, their eyes alight with fervent zeal.

The Great Elder was their god, the apex of all power within the Flash Thunder Clan. He was the object of their boundless veneration, their unwavering devotion. To them, the Great Elder *was* the heavens.

Even the nine auras that had been stalking Wang Lin now materialized as nine figures of varying ages, each offering a deferential bow.

“This upstart conceals secrets of great value to me. Furthermore, that with his cultivation dares to venture into the Flash Thunder Clan’s domain is unlikely to be acting alone. Remain here and safeguard the clan. I shall ascertain his true strength!” the Great Elder spoke with icy detachment, his hands clasped behind his back as he began a deliberate advance.

His pace was unhurried, yet with each stride he traversed vast distances, as if the very fabric of the cosmos contracted before him.

Wang Lin sped onward, his form a roaring torrent of energy, yet within moments he wheeled about. The Flash Thunder Clan Elder, with but two steps, had erased the gulf between them, leaving his homeland far behind. Now, a mere hundred paces separated them.

They were far from the Flash Thunder Clan’s sanctuary, surrounded only by the echoes of thunder. No other being existed within the reach of the eye.

“The Thunder of Tribulation, the Thunder of Spiritual Perception, and even the Immemorial Thunder comparable to our own clan’s sacred energy… Indeed, you possess something that has piqued my interest. This is why you were so confident that I would appear.” The Great Elder’s expression betrayed nothing. He had lived for eons, and his mind was a labyrinth of cunning. He saw Wang Lin’s machinations with crystal clarity.

“You are no match for me. Summon your allies.” The Great Elder’s voice remained neutral, betraying no hint of emotion. It was the calm before a tempest.

Even as he spoke, he raised his right hand and swept it through the air. Instantly, the star-filled void shuddered, and a colossal vortex took form at the whim of his gesture. From the heart of this churning abyss, a bestial roar resounded.

One by one, thunderous, lightning-wreathed dragons burst forth from the vortex. One, two, three… until nine hundred and ninety-nine such beasts raged into existence, their bodies stretching for ten thousand lengths. They swarmed across the firmament, crackling with unfettered energy, and surged towards Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed. This was the first time he had confronted a cultivator in the Fifth Decay of Heaven and Man. He was not as powerful as one in the Third Step, but he was the most powerful being under the Third Step! The sight of the Elder conjuring almost a thousand lightning dragons with a mere wave of his hand was nothing short of earth-shattering, transcending the boundaries of mere spellcraft!

He had no time to ponder the implications. The thunderous legion was upon him. Retreating with haste, Wang Lin wove hand seals, and his nascent soul radiated lightning, forming a circular barrier of searing energy.

As the ring materialized, Wang Lin thrust his hands forward with all his might, proclaiming in a voice of frost, “By my command, let the lightning of Heaven and Earth be inverted, and turned against its masters!”

As his hands thrust outward, the ring of energy exploded outward in a cataclysmic surge, rippling through the cosmos from Wang Lin’s center. As each enraged dragon came into contact with this energy, it momentarily faltered, its draconic eyes betraying confusion and conflict.

Wang Lin stabbed his fingers through the air, singling out several dragons. The lightning wyrms faltered, their eyes glazed with confusion. Then, with violent jerks and spasms, they broke from the influence of the Great Elder, and started tearing apart the fabric of space where the Great Elder stood!

This sudden turnabout immediately threw the Great Elder’s spell into disarray, but a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes.

“Intriguing, truly intriguing!” He spoke as he wove another sign with his right hand, pointing into the heavens, “By the authority vested in me, Great Elder of the Flash Thunder Clan, Servant of the Sacred Thunder, I command the lightning of heaven and earth to heed my will, to crush all before it!”

As his words echoed, the thousand dragons surrounding Wang Lin erupted in a cacophony of lightning, bellowing in a frenzied rage as they renewed their assault. Even those briefly turned against their master now struggled against Wang Lin’s dominion, their wills enslaved by the Great Elder’s command!

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

The dragons rained down like celestial thunderbolts, assaulting Wang Lin’s nascent soul, forcing him into a desperate retreat. Aetherial cracks spread across his form!

Each blast of lightning carried with it the will of the Great Elder, searing his nascent soul and threatening to usurp his control!

This was a phenomenon Wang Lin had never before encountered, a direct assault on his very essence. As the onslaught intensified, he retreated ever faster.

The unfolding events played out with impossible speed, yet as Wang Lin fled for several thousand lengths, his expression twisted with sudden realization. Without hesitation, he coughed out a breath of his very life force, his nascent soul shrinking with astonishing speed.

As he altered his course, a weathered hand emerged from the void he had just occupied, slamming down with the fury of a collapsing star!

Though Wang Lin had evaded the attack, the passage of the elder’s hand had brushed against him as he fled, sending tremors down his very being and leaving him deathly pale.

“You are swift… but for how long can you flee?” The Flash Thunder Clan Elder emerged from the disrupted space, his face still placid, as he regarded Wang Lin with a glint of ridicule.

“Is this what you meant when you said you would claim my Flash Thunder Clan’s Immemorial Thunder, and obliterate our very existence? If this is the limit of your ability, then you shall fail!”

Wang Lin remained silent, his nascent soul elongated to take the form of an Ancient Thunder Dragon, his scales shimmering with celestial light, he twisted, wriggled, and sped off at the end of space!

The Great Elder chuckled, his right hand flipping over. Hundreds of the remaining dragons roared and tore through the emptiness, the noise deafening. Such a terrifying sight could make the souls of the dead tremble!

An Ancient Thunder Dragon fled, and behind it chased hundreds of lightning storms, with a middle aged man strolling behind!

“You intend to flee into the Limitless Thunderstorm, and there to borrow the power of thunder to battle me… but before me, all the thunder beneath the sky is but an extension of my will! How can you steal even a drop!” the Great Elder called out, his voice clear and commanding.

Wang Lin, maintaining perfect silence, unleashed the full extent of his speed, nearing the churning, roaring vortex of the Limitless Thunderstorm.

As Wang Lin’s nascent soul drew near, the maelstrom responded with increased ferocity, the roar of thunder reaching new heights!

At that moment, a thousand lengths deep within the churning storm, a figure was seated cross-legged within a sphere of pure lightning, eyes now opening, a frigid glint of malicious intent shining within!

“You ancient wretch, you are finally here!”

As his eyes opened, the endless storm, the guardian of the sixteen celestial spheres, started to boil, as if a king had awoken from his slumber, and started to unleash the full power of the storms!