Xiaoping stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the pulsating dark crystal. He could feel the raw, dangerous energy radiating from it, a threat to everything he and his friends stood for.
"Get back!" Xiaoping told his friends, his voice firm. "I need to do this alone."
"Xiaoping, no!" Kai yelled, "It's too dangerous!"
"He's right," Li Wei said, "That crystal is feeding on dark magic, it's too volatile."
But Xiaoping shook his head. "My lightning is different. It's the opposite of this darkness. I have to try." He thought of his parents, and the scroll, and all the lessons Headmaster Lin had given him.
He closed his eyes, focusing on the deep hum within him. He didn't just feel the lightning; he became the lightning. He envisioned the diagrams from the ancient scroll, the intricate dance of positive and negative charges, the controlled chaos of a true storm. He remembered Li Wei's stillness before the strike, Elara's whispers of air currents, and Jian's steady grounding.
When he opened his eyes, they glowed with an intense blue-white light. Electricity crackled around his body, making his hair stand on end. His Thunderous Aegis flared, not just as a shield, but as a living extension of his will.
The shadowy leader, seeing Xiaoping's transformation, sneered. "A futile display, lightning child! Your power is but a spark compared to the darkness within this crystal!"
Xiaoping didn't reply. He took a deep breath, and with a guttural roar, unleashed his full power. He didn't just send a bolt of lightning; he became a conduit for a true, raw storm.
Blinding arcs of blue-white lightning erupted from his hands, feet, and even his eyes. The air filled with the deafening sound of thunder. The lightning surged towards the dark crystal, not in a single beam, but in a swirling, chaotic vortex of pure energy.
The cloaked figures around the crystal screamed as the lightning washed over them. Their dark magic flickered and died, and they crumbled into dust. The shadowy leader tried to shield itself, but the sheer force of the storm was too much. Its cloak disintegrated, revealing a shriveled, corrupted form that screamed in agony as the lightning consumed it.
The lightning slammed into the dark crystal. For a moment, the two powers clashed, a violent struggle of light against darkness. The chamber was filled with blinding flashes and deafening roars. The crystal pulsed wildly, trying to resist, but Xiaoping's storm was relentless.
Finally, with a shattering crack that shook the entire academy, the dark crystal exploded into a million shimmering fragments of light. The eerie green glow vanished, replaced by a soft, warm light that spread through the chamber.
Silence fell, broken only by Xiaoping's heavy breathing. He stood amidst the debris, still crackling with residual energy, but exhausted. The storm within him had raged, and it had won.