The air outside the dicine Hall warped like heat above a forge.
Every spirit beast in a hundred ters went silent.
The wind, the birds — even the Qi in the air — froze.
Then ca the thunder.
A single streak of lightning tore through the sky, splitting the clouds apart.
The mountain shook as a pillar of blue light erupted from the dicine Hall, reaching toward the heavens.
Lan Yue shielded her face, robes fluttering violently. "That’s... impossible!"
Even the dicine Master, normally calm as stone, stared in disbelief.
"That’s not Core Formation energy..." he muttered. "That’s—Nascent Soul Qi!"
Inside, Li Ming floated half a ter above the ground.
Lightning circled his body like a living storm — calm, precise, yet fierce enough to make the air hum. His skin glowed faintly with threads of gold and azure.
The elixir still shimred within his veins, rging into his core.
He opened his eyes.
Two arcs of lightning flashed across his pupils, and for an instant, the entire hall seed to breathe with him.
"...Mid-stage Nascent Soul," he whispered.
The words didn’t sound like pride — just disbelief.
---
The dicine Master stepped closer, his gaze sharp but awed.
"To break through two entire realms in a single night... boy, that pendant of yours must have contained the essence of a small spirit world."
Li Ming exhaled slowly, controlling the residual energy swirling in his ridians. "It wasn’t intentional, Master. I only ant to refine a recovery elixir."
"Intentional or not," the man said, his tone a mixture of respect and wariness, "you’ve crossed a threshold few reach before the age of fifty. You are no longer just a cultivator. You’ve beco a storm given form."
Li Ming lowered his hand, sparks still flickering across his skin. "Then I’ll need to learn to control it — before it controls ."
Bai Guo peeked from behind a pillar. "Descendant, you look like a divine tribulation with legs."
Xue Yan laughed under her breath. "At least he’s our tribulation."
---
Li Ming walked out of the hall.
The sect had gathered — elders, disciples, even outer mbers staring at the pillar of fading light above him.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Did he just... break through Nascent Soul?"
"That’s impossible — his Qi feels like thunder incarnate!"
"He’s only been cultivating for a few years!"
Wu Jian appeared near the front lines, his face unreadable.
For a long mont, the two said nothing.
Then Wu Jian smirked faintly. "Guess I’ll have to train ten tis harder now."
Li Ming nodded. "Then don’t fall behind."
The Sect Master stepped forward, voice steady but eyes gleaming with approval.
"Li Ming. Your growth defies common sense, but so did every cultivator who touched heaven. You’ve earned a place among the sect’s future pillars."
He turned to the disciples. "Rember this day! The Azure Sky Sect rises higher — not through pride, but through progress!"
The crowd erupted into cheers that echoed across the mountains.
---
Later that night, the sect quieted.
Lan Yue found Li Ming sitting at the edge of the cliff, lightning still faintly crackling around his fingers.
She sat beside him silently for a while. The night wind was cool; stars shimred like silver dust.
"You should rest," she said softly. "That kind of breakthrough... it drains even the strongest cultivators."
"I know," Li Ming replied, staring at the horizon. "But my Qi feels... alive now. Like it’s listening."
Lan Yue turned to him, studying his calm expression. "You’ve changed."
He smiled faintly. "Maybe. Or maybe I’m finally catching up to the world I’ve been chasing."
They sat there quietly — just the wind, the stars, and the faint sound of thunder rolling deep within the clouds.
Lan Yue looked at him again, her tone quiet but firm.
"Then keep chasing it, Li Ming. But don’t forget why you started."
He glanced at her — and for once, didn’t reply.
Only the soft hum of lightning answered in his stead.
----
The training field behind the dicine Hall shimred with dense Qi.
Golden herbs swayed in the wind, glowing faintly under the morning sun.
Li Ming stood in the center, eyes sharp, aura calm — yet terrifyingly deep.
The mont he’d drunk the finished elixir, his cultivation surged.
Now, his Qi pulsed with thunder — refined, not wild.
The dicine Master stepped forward, sleeves fluttering.
"Good. You’ve stabilized faster than I expected," he said.
"But power without precision is like dicine without asure. Let’s test how much you’ve really learned."
Li Ming drew his sword, lightning sparking across the blade.
"Test, huh? Guess that ans no holding back."
The Master smiled faintly. "Precisely. Begin."
---
The world cracked with thunder.
Li Ming vanished — a blue streak cutting through the air.
His blade ca down in an arc, carrying the weight of his newly strengthened Qi.
The Master raised a single hand.
With a flick, a wave of green light — pure life force — t the blade, dissolving the strike with effortless grace.
Li Ming twisted midair, flipping behind him.
"Thunderflow—Eight Strikes!"
Blades of lightning shot forward like spears.
The Master didn’t dodge. He tapped the ground with his foot.
From the earth, roots of glowing jade burst upward, absorbing every bolt before they touched him.
The roots withered instantly, yet the Master didn’t move an inch.
He looked at Li Ming calmly. "Fast. Strong. But you’re wasting Qi."
Li Ming grit his teeth and charged again, sword blazing.
"Then I’ll use it better!"
---
Their energies clashed — green against blue.
Lightning carved deep scars into the ground while the Master’s Qi nded them just as fast.
The air filled with steam and power, waves of energy rippling outward.
The Master suddenly stepped in, palm glowing.
"Herbal Qi Art — Reversal Bloom!"
A massive lotus of light blood beneath Li Ming, its petals swirling upward.
For a mont, the ground felt alive — then the petals exploded, knocking him into the air.
Li Ming twisted, landing hard on one knee.
His clothes were burned at the edge, but his grin didn’t fade.
"Didn’t expect a healer to hit that hard."
The Master smiled slightly. "dicine heals, but it can also purge."
---
Li Ming’s aura flared again — sharper this ti.
His eyes focused, and the lightning around him grew calm instead of wild.
Each breath pulsed with balance — storm and silence combined.
He raised his sword slowly.
"Thunderflow Art... Heaven’s Current."
The blade humd.
A single arc of pure lightning extended from its edge, cutting across the air with perfect stillness.
The Master’s eyes glead.
"Good... now you’re using Qi, not burning it."
They t in the center again — one channeling storm, the other life.
Each impact was clean, beautiful, deadly precise.
Finally, both paused, standing face to face, Qi fading around them.
The Master lowered his hand. "Enough."
Li Ming sheathed his sword, breathing evenly.
"You’ve passed," the Master said. "Not because you won — but because you learned to control your strength. Rember that balance. Power gained through accident ans nothing if you can’t guide it."
Li Ming nodded. "Then I’ll keep guiding it until it answers to completely."
The Master gave a small, approving nod.
"Good. From now on, you’ll assist in my experints. A cultivator who can balance poison and dicine... is one who can touch true life."
Bai Guo called from the roof, flapping his wings lazily.
"Translation: you’re stuck doing dicine chores again, descendant!"
Li Ming sighed. "Figures..."
Still — he smiled faintly, looking at his hand as faint lightning coiled around his fingers.
For the first ti, his thunder felt alive — steady, not destructive.
And that ant one thing:
he was ready for what ca next.
To be continued...
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