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The night sky, already dark, grew even more oppressive under the roiling storm clouds.
Yet amidst the suffocating gloom, a single streak of light tore through the shadows, illuminating the world beneath the tempest.
"Xiao Ming, you can do this!"
A thousand words condensed into one sentence—Blue Silver Empress's unwavering support.
Gently caressing her swollen belly, she watched Lin Yongming's retreating figure but did not follow. She wouldn't risk burdening him now.
It wasn't late—only past seven—but the hundred-mile blanket of storm clouds made the world feel like midnight.
The villagers of Thunderstorm Village had all retreated indoors, doors bolted tight against the unnatural weather.
"What is he trying to do?!"
Only the hidden observers—Wuhun Palace's shadow guards and Sea God Island's Aidi—remained, their eyes locked onto Lin Yongming's movements.
Had Lin Yongming looked up, he would've seen the storm's epicenter: the skies directly above the Lightning-Struck Tree.
Bolts of lightning writhed within the clouds, their flickering radiance unnervingly alive.
"The village chief and A-Yin were right. This thousand-year-old tree really does draw thunderstorms to itself."
Leaping onto the tree's crown, Lin Yongming stood firm, feeling the primal might of nature bearing down on him—a pressure unlike anything from Title Douluo or even gods.
This was the wrath of heaven itself.
"I see it now…"
His voice was a whisper, lost to the wind.
"The light dancing in the darkness. The vibrant glow, the eternal radiance—it's alive."
"Yes. It moves. With every pulse, it burns brighter than the sun."
"This… is the true Fluctuation of Light. It has pierced the darkness before my eyes and dispelled the shadows in my heart."
Tilting his head toward the storm, Lin Yongming tore off his eyepatch.
His once-blind eyes, now wide open, shimmered—first pitch-black, then blazing with light.
"Fear it. Face it. Understand it. Master it."
"Embrace it with your very flesh."
CRACK—BOOM!
Thunder roared like an angered dragon, and lightning lashed down, as if insulted by his defiance.
"Come at me!"
"Thunder Judgment Sword!"
Six soul rings erupted around him as Lin Yongming unleashed his martial soul, his body crackling with electricity.
"What the hell is he doing?!"
The hidden watchers gaped as Lin Yongming—now a living bolt of lightning—leapt toward the storm itself.
"Purple Lightning Thunder Wings!"
"Heavenly Thunder Wave Sword!"
With this strike—the strongest of his life—Lin Yongming poured every ounce of his soul power into the blade.
"Let me see… Can this Fluctuation of Light finally shatter the darkness that's plagued me for eighteen years?"
BOOM!
The collision was cataclysmic.
Lin Yongming met the lightning—the light he'd spent his life chasing—and for the first time, his world wasn't black.
It was blinding white.
"Hahaha… I found it. I finally found it!"
He laughed, bathed in radiance.
"This is the Fluctuation of Light. No matter how deep the darkness, no corner can escape its reach."
But to the hidden observers, the scene was horrifying.
A metallic tang filled the air—blood.
Lin Yongming's skin blackened, then split, his body drenched in crimson. Yet he showed no pain, his expression eerily serene.
The light engulfing him had grown too bright to see clearly, but if they'd looked closer, they'd have noticed something miraculous:
His wounds no longer bled.
Instead, they glowed ice-blue.
The Tome of Fluctuations in his mind surged with golden-blue energy, wrapping around him like a second skin.
Unaware, Lin Yongming had fallen into deep enlightenment.
BOOM!
More lightning struck—only to be absorbed by the Tome and refined into pure power.
For over an hour, the three spies could only watch, dumbstruck, as Lin Yongming hovered midair, letting the storm ravage him.
Then—
"Hah… So that's how it is."
A laugh echoed across the heavens.
"Wrong. I was wrong about everything."
Lin Yongming's mirth faded into grim realization.
"My entire path was a mistake."
The truth hit him like a thunderclap.
With the Tome of Fluctuations and the Emperor's Legacy, he should've never absorbed soul rings from beasts.
He should've comprehended the Fluctuations and condensed his own soul rings, breaking free from this world's constraints.
But blinded by his knowledge of "Douluo Dalu's" rules, he'd assumed hunting spirit beasts was the only way.
That first Century Swift Thunder Leopard's soul ring had shackled him.
Each subsequent ring had only deepened his ignorance, distancing him further from true enlightenment.
If not for his epiphany during the Sea God Island crisis, he'd never have touched the Gate of Lightning's secrets today.
"How stupid. How utterly blind."
Lin Yongming cursed himself, bitter laughter tearing from his throat.
Even now, having reached level 70, he couldn't rejoice.
BOOM!
The storm wasn't done.
Another wave of lightning gathered above.
"Soul Sage realm—BREAK!"
With a roar, Lin Yongming summoned his six "stolen" soul rings—foreign power he'd never truly owned.
"Condense!"
Hurling the Thunder Judgment Sword skyward, he let the next bolt strike it.
Eyes shut, he channeled the Tome of Fluctuations, drawing its energy inward.
Then—a halo of light materialized around him.
His first true soul ring, born of his own comprehension.
Ding!
The Thunder Judgment Sword sang midair, as if celebrating.
"How is he still alive?!"
The observers trembled.
But Lin Yongming paid them no mind, wholly focused on his evolution.
The newborn soul ring's age climbed rapidly:
1 year… 10… 100… 1,000… 10,000…
"99,000 years. This is a real soul ring—not stolen from some beast's lifetime of cultivation."
"Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring—ASCEND!"
With a final surge, the ring turned crimson.
CRACK—!
A peal of thunder shook the continent.
From the heavens descended a thirty-meter-tall figure, its ice-blue form wreathed in lightning.
The Voice of Thunder resonated across the world.
"Hmm?!"
In the Wuhun Palace, Qian Daoliu's eyes snapped open.
"What… was that sound?"
"A god's birth?"
Bo Saixi bolted upright in her bed, staring toward the mainland.
Every Title Douluo on the continent turned as one, sensing the disturbance.
"A sword cleaves the void. A god descends upon the mortal realm. This boy… has pierced the laws of heaven itself."
The Thunder God's remnant will emerged from the Thunder God's Heart, awestruck.
"Incredible. Absolutely incredible. It took me a millennium to grasp divine ascension through faith, yet he's unraveled the truth at eighteen. Within a century, he'll forge his own godhood—surpassing even my peak."
"Remarkable."
The Sea God's remnant will materialized beside him, equally stunned.
The two deities exchanged wry glances.
"Thunder God, what now?" the Sea God asked.
"No matter. He's found his path, but his unborn son can still inherit my throne. I've waited this long—I can wait a little longer."
"And you, Sea God?"
"The same. He already has another son—likely born by now. The true heir the Goddess of Life spoke of… is probably that child."
"Ah! So that's why you stopped summoning your true self. Life intervened."
"Obviously. Don't pretend the God of Destruction isn't backing you too."
"Tch. Back to sleep."
The Thunder God's will vanished.
"Same."
Left alone, Aidi groaned from his pocket dimension.
"Sea God's grace… I can't even get close now. What the hell is happening?!"
The three spies remained frozen, utterly lost.
Meanwhile, Lin Yongming gazed at his Martial Soul True Body—a colossal ice-blue avatar shaped by the Fluctuation of Light.
"Thunder God's Descent—Judgment!"
His glowing eyes locked onto the storm.
The giant, bearing his likeness, gripped the Thunder Judgment Sword and slammed it into the heart of the tempest.
BOOM—!
The heavens split apart.
For one blinding moment, night turned to day.
The clouds scattered, revealing a sky full of stars.
"Good. The energy's dissipated. Any more, and I'd have exploded."
Retracting his avatar, Lin Yongming caught the returning sword.
Though the storm would reform in time, the worst had passed.
"Wait—since when did he have a hundred-thousand-year soul ring?!"
"Did you see that?!"
The Wuhun Palace spies finally got a clear look at Lin Yongming.
His clothes had vaporized.
His hair had turned ice-blue.
And around him spun seven soul rings:
Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black… and Red.
His soul power had skyrocketed to level 75, surpassing both Blue Silver Empress and Bibi Dong.
"What the hell happened tonight?!"
They clutched their heads, minds fraying from sheer confusion.
Lin Yongming, now calm, surveyed Thunderstorm Village from above.
"So this is what home looks like…"
Then—
"Wait. I can… see?"
He blinked.
"I CAN SEE!"
Laughter burst from his lips, only to morph into a sob.
Eighteen years of darkness—over.
Though his Mind's Eye had served him well, true sight was incomparable.
Then a chilly breeze brushed his legs.
"…Oh."
Glancing down, he realized—he was naked.
"Hopefully only those three saw."
Diving back to the Lightning-Struck Tree, he yanked a set of light-blue robes from his storage belt.
"Wait, three?"
His newfound perception revealed Aidi's presence in the void.
"No matter. I can finally see A-Yin!"
Excitement surged as he imagined Blue Silver Empress's face—no longer limited to anime references.
He sprinted home, leaving the Lightning-Struck Tree bare once more.
"We need to report this to Elder Ghost at Wuhun Palace."
"But will the Pope even believe us?"
"Who cares? We'll tell the truth."
Lin Yongming's heart pounded as his house came into view.
There, silhouetted against the doorway's light, stood a figure—waiting.
"A-Yin…"
Emotion choked him.
This woman had stayed by his side for ten years, never once despising his blindness, following him through every trial without complaint.
Memories flooded him—her laughter, her tears, her unwavering faith that one day, he'd see her smile.
Tears welled in his newly restored eyes.
Wiping them away, he broke into a run.
Blue Silver Empress's hand flew to her mouth as he emerged from the darkness.
"Xiao Ming! Are you alright?!"
Her voice was music.
Her face—more radiant than any light he'd ever known.
In that moment, Lin Yongming realized:
No Fluctuation of Light could ever compare to the sight of her smile.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 290 (finished story) on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 40 power stones I will publish the next chapter.