Chapter 28: The Tide Has Turned
Si Chen stared down at the spear in his hand — formed entirely from blinding, crackling thunder — and fell briefly into a daze.
During the process of condensing it just now, that feeling had returned.
A sense of dominion that felt as though it had always been his, like a kind of sovereign authority.
It was the same as when he had once listened to Third Uncle describe Spiritual Roots, felt that something was missing inside his body, and then the Spiritual Root had simply grown on its own.
The raging thunder in his hand was as docile as a part of his own body. With a single thought, it naturally shaped itself into the most perfect form for killing.
At the same time, a faint, familiar resistance stirred deep within him — a sign that this new "toy" was still slightly too heavy for his current physical body.
It was nowhere near as severe as when he had first cultivated his Spiritual Root, but it was a reminder nonetheless: his Body Tempering cultivation had to continue.
This body still needed to be forged stronger.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
* * *
Above Wanggu City, a deathly silence had fallen.
Everyone who had seen the Spear of Thunder held their breath.
The madness and triumph on Lü Yan's face froze solid.
He was the closest, and so he felt it most clearly.
The oppressive force radiating from that thunder spear was absolutely not the kind of power a Foundation Establishment Cultivator should possess!
"Heretical tricks!"
He could not admit it — dared not admit — that he felt fear before a junior at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Lü Yan suppressed the inexplicable unease in his heart, let out a furious shout, and his Spiritual Energy erupted once more. His deep-blue Daoist robe billowed like waves, and his entire figure transformed into a streak of flowing light, charging ferociously at Si Chen again!
He refused to believe that a mere Foundation Establishment junior could turn the heavens upside down!
Faced with this rage-fueled strike, Si Chen no longer dodged. Instead, he snapped his wrist and wielded the thunder like a true spear, meeting Lü Yan's incoming sword-qi head-on!
Boom——!
The thunder spear and the sword-qi collided with a deafening roar.
Blinding arcs of lightning and scattering sword-qi plowed through the already-ruined buildings around them once more.
Lü Yan felt a domineering, overwhelming force travel up through his sword blade, numbing his arm and deepening the shock in his heart.
This thing condensed from thunder was actually sturdier and more powerful than many true Magical Artifacts!
The two separated the moment they clashed, then immediately engaged again at even greater speed.
Lü Yan's sword techniques were seasoned and ruthless, his Spiritual Energy vast and surging. Every sword strike carried the imposing pressure of a Core Formation Stage cultivator, seeking to overwhelm through sheer force.
But Si Chen's figure moved like a phantom. The Thunder Smite Flash allowed him to make the most exquisite evasions within the narrowest of margins.
The thunder spear in his hand moved as he willed it, like an extension of his own arm. Wherever his mind directed, the spear tip arrived — his style broad and sweeping, without a single flourish.
Every collision with the spirit sword sent tiny arcs of electricity leaping toward Lü Yan, forcing him to split his attention to ward off the corrosive bite of the thunder.
Clang!
Boom!
For a time, the sounds of Spiritual Energy explosions and the howling of thunder were unceasing.
The two fought from mid-air down into the ruins, then back up into the sky again, leaving devastation in their wake.
Whether it was the Qi Refining Stage cultivators or the several Core Formation Stage powerhouses watching, all of them were left utterly dumbstruck.
"He… he can actually hold his own against Elder Lü in close combat to this extent?"
"What kind of technique is that thunder spear? I've never heard of anything like it!"
"He… is he really at Foundation Establishment?"
As for the combatant himself, Lü Yan was both astonished and furious — he couldn't gain even the slightest advantage in a direct confrontation?!
After another fierce exchange, the two separated once more.
"You little beast, resorting to nothing but devious tricks!" Lü Yan ground his teeth, his Daoist robe scorched black in several places, his hair disheveled — a thoroughly wretched sight.
Si Chen glanced at the thunder spear in his hand, its radiance still blazing, then looked at Lü Yan in the distance, who appeared to have lost his mind.
Then he made a move that left everyone gaping once again.
He drew his arm back, his body coiling like a fully drawn bow, and then hurled the Spear of Thunder at Lü Yan with explosive force!
Whoosh——!
The thunder spear left his hand, its speed more than double what it had been before! It seemed to truly transform into a bolt of lightning rending heaven and earth, arriving before Lü Yan in an instant!
Lü Yan's soul nearly left his body. From that thunder spear, he sensed a lethal threat.
He dared not take it head-on. Casting aside all pretense of a Core Formation Stage cultivator's dignity, he threw himself sideways with every ounce of his strength, his figure reduced to utter wretchedness.
Rumble!!
The thunder spear grazed his Daoist robe and struck the top of an uninhabited tower far behind him.
Bang!
The tower was struck as though by a true bolt of heavenly lightning. Its upper half was instantly reduced to dust, while the lower half erupted in roaring flames, lightning crackling and flickering within.
Through the billowing smoke and dust, the tower collapsed with a thunderous crash!
All of Wanggu City seemed to tremble faintly with the impact.
A wave of even louder gasps erupted from the watching crowd.
Condensing thunder with bare hands, hurling a spear to destroy a tower — was this truly something a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could do?
Lü Yan, who had narrowly escaped disaster, turned to witness the scene and felt his scalp go numb.
If that spear had landed squarely, he would have been lucky to escape with his life!
But before he could even catch his breath, he sensed that heart-chilling surge of thunder once more from behind.
He spun around sharply. Si Chen was calmly raising his hand, electricity gathering anew in his palm. Within a single breath, a second identical Spear of Thunder had already taken shape!
Lü Yan's mind reeled.
How was he supposed to fight this?!
While Lü Yan was on the verge of collapse from shock, Si Chen's mind was perfectly clear.
The thunder spear was devastatingly powerful, but its consumption of Spiritual Energy was equally terrifying. If not for the extraordinarily solid foundation he had built — his internal Spiritual Energy far more abundant than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator — he would likely be drained dry after three or five uses.
He quietly estimated: throwing at full force like this, he could probably manage a few dozen more times.
Then he'd need to rest a while before doing a few dozen more.
"Once this is settled, I need to raise my cultivation level."
That thought crossed his mind, but his hands didn't slow for even a moment. With a flick of his wrist, the new thunder spear tore through the air once more!
Lü Yan was furious and terrified in equal measure, forced to dodge again. He tried to close the distance, hoping to use his Core Formation Stage cultivation and close-quarters combat experience to crush Si Chen.
But Si Chen gave him no such opportunity.
The Thunder Smite Flash kept him at a consistently safe distance, and the Spears of Thunder flew from his hand in an unbroken stream, as though they cost him nothing at all.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The ruins around them grew ever more devastated under the relentless bombardment of thunder spears.
Lü Yan scrambled desperately through the sky filled with lightning, stretched to his limits on all sides.
The tide had completely turned.
The sword-qi he occasionally managed to slash out was always dodged with ease by Si Chen at even greater speed, or simply shattered mid-air by a newly condensed thunder spear.
His Daoist robe was in tatters. His hair and beard had been singed into curled, blackened wisps. His face and arms bore numerous bloody burns from stray arcs of electricity. He looked utterly wretched.
Not a trace remained of a Core Formation Stage Elder's dignity.
The onlookers below, who had begun in shock, had gradually gone numb.
They watched the blue-grey-robed young man hurl spear after spear of devastating thunder with an expressionless face. They watched Elder Lü — who had dominated Wanggu City for years — be driven to the point where there was no path left in heaven or earth.
The sight before them shattered everything they thought they knew.