The Grand Elder of the Flash Thunder Clan, his countenance twisted in a grotesque mask, was utterly devoid of the calm arrogance he had previously displayed. In the brief but savage skirmish, Wang Lin had assaulted him with a series of unforeseen and shocking blows.

Initially dismissive of Wang Lin, believing the mere deployment of the Fourth Heavenly Tribulation would be sufficient to obliterate him, the Grand Elder had been jolted awake in the throes of a life-or-death crisis, a sensation he hadn’t experienced in millennia.

Had he not, in a desperate gamble, willingly injured himself to shatter the last of his seals, unleashing the full force of the Fifth Heavenly Tribulation, the very initial impact would have left him grievously wounded, perhaps even annihilated his form and spirit!

The shockwave from the thunderous collision had engulfed him like a raging tidal wave, breaching his otherwise impenetrable defenses. In that vulnerable instant, crimson lightning had descended with terrifying force, plunging directly into the Clan Crest on his brow. To his horror, this lightning contained a trace of celestial power, causing his Clan Crest to tremble and crack, fissures erupting across its surface.

Adding to his nightmare was the bizarre and seemingly indestructible crimson sword-light. It had pierced through all resistance, cleaving through his chest, leaving a trail of spilled blood in its wake. Only the invocation of his Fifth Heavenly Tribulation had prevented a single thrust from leaving him drenched in cold sweat.

Furthermore, Wang Lin’s own primal lightning, infused with his will, permeated the aftermath of the clash, coalescing into countless thunderbolts that simultaneously attacked him from within and without. The result was a multitude of wounds across his entire being.

This was a lesson etched in blood. The Grand Elder now understood with chilling clarity that this youth was a formidable adversary. The unveiling of the Blue Dream Daoist’s Shield of Light and Shadow only served to further disturb his mind and ignite a storm of speculation!

Yet, all these things—the injuries, the invocation of the Blue Dream Daoist—served only to shock him, not to terrify. What truly filled him with dread was Wang Lin’s mastery of timing, his precise calculations, and the audacity and decisiveness of his methods!

“In the midst of that perilous, collapsing thunder, this man dared to deploy the Shield of Light and Shadow, launching an unforeseen and crippling counterattack,” he mused, his thoughts heavy. “Such a feat sounds simple, but those who can truly grasp and execute it flawlessly are few and far between! Even I might have hesitated!”

“To possess such ruthless cunning at such a young age…this individual is no nameless nobody in the Ancient Starry Sky. He should be renowned, yet I have never heard the name ‘Wang Lin’ before!”

“Who, in truth, is he?”

The Grand Elder of the Flash Thunder Clan, his face a mask of grim determination and growing ferocity, emerged from the chaotic aftermath. The murderous intent he now harbored for Wang Lin dwarfed what he had felt before. With a guttural roar, he raised his hands, pointing them skyward, and violently tore the air apart!

“Open the Ancient Thunder Realm!”

A deafening thunderclap, more earth-shattering than any before, echoed across the heavens, as if the very cosmos were unraveling. Before the Grand Elder, a colossal vortex materialized!

Its center was a void of absolute black, while countless bolts of lightning danced around its edges, swirling endlessly, hinting at a gateway to another world entirely!

This arcane art was bordering on the Third Step of Immortality—the power to draw upon the incense of worship!

Wang Lin, some distance away, his face pale, had suffered wounds of his own in the aftermath of his daring counterattack. Only the immediate deployment of the Realm of Calling Winds and Summoning Rain had prevented more grievous injury.

This was a brutal conflict, arguably the most formidable he had faced in his life. While Water Daoist, a Third Step cultivator, had failed to kill him, his retreat was due to the Lord of the Sealed Realm, not Wang Lin himself.

Thus, facing the Grand Elder of the Flash Thunder Clan, in a confrontation entirely of his own making, Wang Lin felt a surge of heat, a burning intensity!

His eyes blazed with the fire of battle!

*This* is the path of a cultivator, to embrace every clash, to fear none!

“If I cannot vanquish a Fifth Heavenly Tribulation cultivator, what hope have I of challenging a Third Step Immortal? How can I possibly hope to slay Water Daoist?” Wang Lin roared to the heavens, his hands forming arcane seals. A deafening rumble reverberated from within his very being, and the Ancient God star points on his brow whirled with increasing speed, including the newly formed Rule Star.

His cultivation surged, reaching its zenith. The crimson sword, long since returned to his side, now orbited his body, emanating a boundless aura of swordsmanship! Wang Lin’s gaze was sharp, unyielding. He would not allow the Grand Elder to continue his incantations. With a flick of his wrist, he surged forward!

The crimson sword cleared the way, and endless lightning erupted into existence around him. In the briefest of moments, Wang Lin became like a comet, swathed in a tempest of lightning, hurtling forward amidst the thunderous roar!

“The glimmer of a firefly dares to vie with the radiance of the moon?” The Grand Elder scoffed. He bit his tongue, spitting forth a mouthful of blood infused with the essence of his Fifth Heavenly Tribulation cultivation. The instant it left his lips, the blood was absorbed by the gargantuan vortex before him.

“Spirits of the Ancient Thunder Dragons, long since perished and lost to the sands of time! I, in the name of the Undying Sacred Thunder, call upon your scattered souls! By the blood of my lineage, I beseech you to reawaken your thunderous might from the void and descend once more upon the Ancient Starry Sky, rekindling your celestial powers of ages past!”

The instant the Grand Elder’s blood was absorbed by the vortex, a series of muffled roars, earth-shattering in their immensity, resounded from within. Though yet to fully emerge, they caused the very stars to tremble and quelled all other lightning in the cosmos!

As his words reached their climax, a thunderous cacophony erupted within the vortex, as if some immense entity were battering against its confines, eager to break free!

“Ancient Thunder Dragon… DESCEND!” The Grand Elder roared, his voice echoing with power. Once again, he tore at the air, and with a cataclysmic sound, the gigantic vortex spun in a furious frenzy. From its center, a horrifying sight emerged—

A colossal dragon’s head erupted from the swirling darkness. Its scales were the color of jade, and it thrummed with raw, untamed lightning. The moment it appeared, it unleashed a primordial roar, unique to the Ancient Thunder Dragons!

*ROAR!!*

Wang Lin, shrouded in lightning, was upon him. But in that instant, every bolt of lightning surrounding him shattered, falling from his control. Even he, faced with the roar of the Ancient Thunder Dragon, felt his body convulse violently, as if on the verge of exploding. Blood sprayed from his lips, and he was hurled backward, his eyes wide with disbelief!
“A complete Primordial Thunder-Wyrm!” Wang Lin recoiled, his face a mask of grim foreboding.

From within the churning vortex, a gargantuan dragon head, wreathed in primal fury and monstrous hunger, burst forth. Its length stretched for ten thousand leagues, each scale of its azure hide shimmering with trapped lightning.

Its emergence shattered the star-strewn void around it, as if its very movement threatened to unmake the world.

Had it been but a single Primordial Thunder-Wyrm, Wang Lin might not have been so alarmed. But as the first dragon cleared the swirling chaos, a second monstrous head emerged, roaring its defiance as it surged into the cosmos!

Two became three, then four… until finally, eight Primordial Thunder-Wyrms materialized before Wang Lin, filling the star-scape with their terrifying presence, a cataclysmic arrival upon this mortal realm.

Each of these Primordial Thunder-Wyrms possessed boundless power, their might beyond mortal comprehension. Now, with all eight unleashed, the very essence of lightning bent to their will.

“Devour him, you ancient leviathans!” The Grand Elder of the Flash Thunder Clan shrieked, his twisted grin a promise of agony. He raised a gnarled hand, pointing a trembling finger at Wang Lin. The eight Thunder-Wyrms unleashed a deafening roar, and like a stampede of celestial beasts, they charged from eight different directions, converging upon their hapless prey!

Their speed was a thunderclap, an inescapable doom. Before them, mere lightning held no sway, for these were Primordial Thunder-Wyrms, the mightiest emissaries of the heavens, entrusted with the very power of thunder!

With earth-shattering booms, they lunged, seeking to swallow Wang Lin whole.

An unending cacophony erupted as Wang Lin, with a defiant roar, spread his arms wide and grappled with the lead Thunder-Wyrm. His body convulsed as if struck by a million war chariots, and he coughed up blood, staggering back.

He managed but three steps before two more Thunder-Wyrms crashed into him, relentless in their assault. With each impact, Wang Lin spat out crimson gouts, his retreat forced and unending.

Even as he fought, he felt the dread approach of three more Thunder-Wyrms from behind, trapping him at the very heart of their circle. The full might of eight Primordial Thunder-Wyrms descended upon him, their ravenous jaws gaping wide.

A primal fear, a harbinger of oblivion, seized Wang Lin’s heart. His face was ashen, but his gaze held a maddening spark. His flesh was torn and bloody, yet he found himself unable to command even the smallest spark of lightning.

The power of these Primordial Thunder-Wyrms dwarfed even his wildest imaginings, far surpassing the single creature he had consumed so many years ago!

“These are fully grown Primordial Thunder-Wyrms! But such creatures are long extinct! These eight are not of flesh and blood, but coalesced souls! Yet even as spirits, their combined explosive force could utterly obliterate me! Even my Ancient God form, limited by my star-point power, might not withstand such an onslaught!”

“But it was by devouring half of a Primordial Thunder-Wyrm that I gained the seed of lightning! These eight spectral forms… if I could consume them, my mastery over thunder would surge to untold heights!” Wang Lin’s wounds deepened with each attack, his very essence on the verge of collapse, his physical form groaning under the strain.

“What to do?! Souls! Souls! These… these Primordial Thunder-Wyrms, though mighty in life, are now mere souls! I need a chance!” Wang Lin’s eyes, bloodshot and wild, gleamed with a strange light. He ceased his retreat, and as the eight Thunder-Wyrms opened their maws, preparing to devour him, he threw back his head and unleashed a roar that rivaled the Thunder-Wyrms themselves!

*HOOOOOWL!*

A vortex formed on Wang Lin’s brow, and from it extended his spiritual form, taking the shape of a Primordial Thunder-Wyrm itself, echoing the ancient beast’s furious cry!

His roar shook the heavens, and at its passing, the eight Thunder-Wyrms faltered, their attacks momentarily stayed!

“Kun-Ji Lash!” In that fleeting moment of hesitation, a spectral glow erupted from Wang Lin’s form – the Kun-Ji Lash, his constant companion since the very beginning of his cultivation journey, a mysterious artifact of unknown origin.

The Kun-Ji Lash, now interwoven with Wang Lin’s Dao, could grow or shrink at will. It expanded to ten thousand leagues, coiling around Wang Lin, and then, with a sound like the ripping of the very fabric of reality, it lashed out at the eight Primordial Thunder-Wyrms!