A few days later, in the late afternoon, the sun was setting behind the mountains.
RUMBLE
The first thunder of early spring echoed across the sky, jolting Yang Yunhai from his cultivation in his solitary dormitory.
"I didn't think it would really come," he muttered in delight. In a flash, he jumped off the bed and dashed toward the door.
"Xiaohai! It's thundering outside—what are you doing?!"The village chief, who had been calling the children indoors while leaning on his cane, was startled to see Yunhai rushing out.
"Grandpa, I want to run an experiment!" Yang Yunhai shouted as he sprinted into the courtyard.
At worst, I'll die again. Not like it's my first time!
RUMBLEThe sky exploded with thunder again. The black clouds briefly lit up, but no lightning struck.
"Huh… he's okay?"The chief paused in confusion, only to see Yang Yunhai's eyes suddenly light up with anticipation. Without hesitation, Yunhai sat cross-legged in the courtyard.
"Xiaohai, what are you doing?!"The chief's face changed. Sitting out there during a storm clearly meant one thing—cultivation. But that was far too dangerous!
BOOM!Just as he worried, a thick bolt of lightning shot down from the clouds, striking Yunhai directly on the back while he meditated.
It felt like a million needles piercing his flesh, followed by a searing heat rushing through his body."Tsss!"Veins bulged on his forehead from the pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
He desperately channeled his spirit power, driving the scorching energy through his meridians.
BOOM!Another bolt hit.
His mind went blank.
THUD!His body collapsed backward. A black scorch mark formed beneath him.
"Boss!"The children screamed in panic.
"Xiaohai!"The village chief's face turned pale. He looked up anxiously—lightning snakes danced in the clouds above, but none came down again.
He sprinted over and dragged Yunhai by the collar to shelter under the eaves.
The children immediately surrounded them. With the chief's help, they flipped Yunhai over to check his condition.
"Boss—!"Gasps of horror followed.
From head to toe, the blood vessels close to Yunhai's skin were bulging dark purple. Even worse, his skin had turned rough and white-edged—like dried bark peeling from a tree.
The chief's eyes reddened. He quickly lifted Yunhai and pressed his ear to his chest.
"Puh... puh…"The heartbeat was slow and faint, as though it could stop at any moment.
"Quick, kids! Help me carry him inside!"
Some lifted his hands, some his feet. Together, they carried Yang Yunhai inside and laid him on the bed. The chief sat beside him and listened again.
"Thump… thump…"His heartbeat had steadied—slow but strong.
The chief let out a breath of relief. "Go on, children. Your Big Brother Yunhai is going to be fine. He just needs to rest."
The Next Morning – Inside the Dormitory
"Tsss…"A painful groan broke the morning silence.
Yang Yunhai winced as he opened his eyes. Just shifting slightly sent pain coursing through every inch of his body. His muscles were tight, stiff. His meridians felt torn.
Since awakening his Martial Spirit, he had become aware of his inner meridians through soul power.
"Damn… Actively drawing lightning while cultivating hurts way more than passively taking a hit. I couldn't even take two strikes. Was it because I absorbed too much residual lightning energy into my body?"
He pondered this possibility.
Choosing not to move, he shut his eyes and carefully examined his internal condition.
Moments later, he opened his eyes in surprise.
"It worked?!"Though faint, he clearly sensed a slight increase in his soul power.
"Let's see if my Martial Spirit changed…"Suppressing the pain, he carefully raised his right hand. Morning light illuminated the dried, bark-like skin on his arm.
"What the ?!"He stared, stunned.
Frowning, he summoned his Martial Spirit.
A Blue Silver Grass vine appeared in his palm. Visually, it hadn't changed much—except the leaves, once soft and slightly drooping, now stood upright and rigid, resembling hardened wood.
"Why does it look like it's been electrocuted stiff?"He reached out with his other hand and touched it.
Definitely harder—no longer flexible.
Yunhai fell silent.
He didn't think this was a good thing. His thoughts turned to a certain tragic soul beast: Thunder Warden Vine.
This plant-type beast was infamous for self-destructing between 20,000 to 50,000 years of cultivation. Few ever reached beyond 50,000.None had survived to 100,000.
Why?
Aside from the world's natural suppression, Yunhai believed the issue lay within the beast itself.
All living beings, especially plant-type soul beasts, carried some degree of life energy—some more than others.
Blue Silver Grass, for example, had varying levels: ordinary, king, and emperor—each with vastly different life force potential.
The Thunder Warden Vine, on the other hand, was a hybrid—a plant with life attributes mixed with volatile lightning attributes.
Its tragic fate stemmed from this imbalance.
Its physical form simply couldn't withstand the constant accumulation of lightning energy. The life attribute was too weak; the lightning, too strong. The result—internal collapse and explosion.
The same could happen with other extreme-element soul beasts too:
Too much fire = spontaneous combustion.
Too much earth = petrification.And so on.
"So… is my Martial Spirit unbalanced now because I absorbed too much lightning at once?"
"Life energy is gentle. Even excess only makes one more energetic—at most, you're just extra 'vigorous' at night."He smirked.
"But lightning? One misstep, and boom. Instant Thunder Warden Vine ending."
"Or worse... maybe my life energy got pushed out entirely, and now my Martial Spirit is pure lightning."
"But it's not a real soul beast. There's still hope."
He sighed and recalled his Martial Spirit.
"Forget it. Life energy is too valuable to throw away."
Right now, he was only showing early symptoms: stiff body and spirit. Nothing irreversible—yet.
As long as he avoided drawing lightning again and trained normally, his life attribute should recover in time.
"I should cultivate somewhere with plenty of Blue Silver Grass. That'll help restore balance faster."
With steady cultivation, both his body and Martial Spirit would gradually heal.
He finally muttered to himself:
"So… my Martial Spirit is basically a budget version of the Thunder Warden Vine?"
Then he chuckled."But I do have one advantage."
Unlike soul beasts, humans could enhance their Martial Spirits by absorbing soul rings and spirit bones—especially from beasts rich in life energy.
Like the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone. Or perhaps even…
"The emperor itself? The herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well… those are plants too."
"Maybe… I should try?"
He paused, then refocused.
If life-type soul beasts were more common among plants, and his Martial Spirit was a plant too, then absorbing similar rings would not only boost his life force, but also improve toughness and durability.
A control-type path seemed ideal.
"What kind of plant-type soul beasts would best suit my early soul ring combinations?"
"Also… if thunder follows me while training outdoors on cloudy days… what happens if I'm absorbing a soul ring during a storm?"
A chill ran through him.
Could he control it? Could he avoid disaster?
Yang Yunhai sank deep into thought.