From that day onward—
Li Zhexian sought nothing but the sword.
His heart and soul were wholly devoted to the Thunder Valley, driven nearly to madness.
Each day, he endured the tempering of the Purple Evil Lightning, all for the sake of seizing that elusive thread of Thunder Sword Intent.
Time and again, he staggered from the valley, his body battered and broken, just short of fainting.
Elder Yu Jinghan accompanied him for two days.
When he saw that Li Zhexian still grasped the limits of life and death, he sighed and left.
The entire Blue Lightning clan witnessed Li Zhexian's stubborn determination.
The Thunder Valley, which made even lightning-attribute Spirit Masters tremble at the thought of it, had become a daily trial for Li Zhexian
He would always stumble out of the valley with his scorched body after exhausting his very last ounce of strength. Then, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling would either carry or help him back to his residence.
The name of Sword Wine e once again echoed throughout the Blue Lightning Clan.
People marveled at the sharpness of his sword, and were shaken by the resilience of his body.
But what the younger generation admired most was the unyielding stubbornness in his very bones.
However—
Li Zhexian was, in the end, made of flesh and blood.
The Nine Heart Begonia and the Wine Martial Soul could heal his physical injuries, but they couldn't mend the toll on his mind and will.
A month passed, and Li Zhexian had become thin and gaunt.
That night—
Not only Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, but also Yu Tianheng and his five companions gathered in the courtyard, bitterly trying to persuade him.
But their efforts had little effect.
Li Zhexian's hair was withered, his face sunken, and his skin dull.
Besides going to the Thunder Valley, he spent all day staring blankly at that single grass seed in his palm.
In this state, where could one find the handsome young man in the white robe?
Even the Thunder Douluo, Yu Yuanzhen himself, had been alarmed.
After seeing Li Zhexian's condition, he merely left behind a single line:
"Without madness, there is no life.
This trial, only he himself can cross."
Yu Tianheng and the five others sighed and left. In the small courtyard, only Li Zhexian, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lingling remained.
Dugu Yan walked behind him and massaged his arms.
Ye Lingling knelt in front of him and massaged his legs and feet.
The Purple Evi; Lightning was too overbearing, often causing Li Zhexian's tendons and muscles to twist and stick together.
Although the Nine Heart Begonia could heal his injuries, they were still used to massaging his body, hoping to ease his pain even a little.
Ye Lingling lifted her cool, delicate face, staring into Li Zhexian's eyes—
Eyes that had once been bright as stars, but were now vacant and unfocused.
For an instant—
She seemed to glimpse that white-robed youth who had once said to her:
"You don't have to please anyone."
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Ye Lingling quickly wiped them with the back of her hand, but she couldn't wipe them away.
Dugu Yan noticed her distress and cast a look of concern.
Ye Lingling bit her lip, voice trembling with a sob:
"When… when will Li Zhexian get better?"
Dugu Yan's eyes also reddened. "Soon, soon... brother Zhexian is the most incredible swordsmanship genius; he will definitely comprehend the sword!"
...
The next day.
Li Zhexian once again stepped into the currents of Purple Evil Lightning.
He was like a single lonely boat in a raging sea, about to capsize at any moment.
"It's still not working!"
"I still can't comprehend it!"
Only when he was comprehending the sword would Li Zhexian regain his awareness of the outside world.
But today, once more, it was in vain. His body's limits drew close again.
He could feel his body groaning in agony.
The will that had been forged in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the Wind Eye—after a month beneath the Purple Evil Lightning, was now at the very brink of collapse.
"Destruction!"
"Always destruction!"
"What intent does this thunder truly carry?!"
"I can feel it—right there—only a membrane away!"
"That barrier, heavy as a mountain yet thin as a cicada's wing—why can I not pierce through?!"
Li Zhexian was so unwilling. That feeling of being within arm's reach yet so far away tormented him.
"I can't continue like this!" ! Going back every time I'm on the verge of death will only make me accustomed to a safety boundary!
If I don't truly experience a desperate situation, how can I force out my potential?!"
In his dim eyes—
Suddenly burst forth two rays of brilliant light.
Like embers about to extinguish, blazing one last time.
He would stake himself upon death for the chance of rebirth!
This time, there would be no retreat!
Half an hour later.
The Purple Evil Lightning surged across Li Zhexian's body, swallowing him whole.
His skin split apart inch by inch, until he was nothing but a blackened husk.
His head hung limp.
Drops of blood, crackling with violet arcs, dripped from his charred lips.
A month of tempering had given him staggering resistance to lightning.
Even his blood now lingered within the Purple Evil Lightning, not instantly vaporized.
"The Fourth Realm of the Sword…"
"Is it truly… so impossible to comprehend…?"
Blood dripped onto the scorched ground.
Just as his consciousness was about to sink into darkness, his body nearly collapsing—
That seed Elder Yu Jinghan had called the "one that never sprouts" slipped free from his burned and tattered robes.
The grass seed fell directly into the pool of blood. In this blood, there was the power of lightning, the auras of ice and fire, and also Li Zhexian's fanatical stubbornness.
A miracle occurred at this moment!
The instant the grass seed touched his blood—
A faint glimmer of green light seeped from the cracked shell.
That fragile glow was not extinguished by the Purple Evil Lightning.
Instead, nourished by thunder and blood, the black husk began to split.
A tender sprout, slender as a hair yet brimming with boundless vitality, stubbornly broke forth—born of death itself.
At the same time, outside the valley, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were burning with anxiety. "The time has long passed!"
"Why hasn't Li Zhexian come out?!"
Dugu Yan's beautiful face was pale. She gritted her teeth and said, "Lingling, go and notify the Blue Lightning clan! I'm going into the valley to find Brother Zhexian!"
She knew she couldn't go deep into the Purple Malice Lightning region, but she didn't care about anything else.
Ye Lingling also knew this was not a time to argue. Dugu Yan was indeed more suitable to enter the valley than she was, a support-type Spirit Master.
Immediately, she was about to go find a Blue Lightning Clan elder.
But just then, Yu Tianxin quickly stepped out from behind a nearby hillside
His brows were furrowed, his face edged with urgency.
"The situation is critical! Not a second can be wasted! I will summon the clan elders right away!"
As he spoke, he had already placed a bone flute to his lips and blew a sharp note. The high-pitched sound pierced through the rolling thunder.
A few seconds later, flashes of lightning appeared from all directions.
Both the younger disciples of the Blue Lightning Clan and the deep-breathed elders gathered at once.
Even Yu Tianheng and his companions rushed out from the mimicry training ground.
"What has happened?!" Yu Jinghan asked in a low voice. "This Thunder Flute must not be blown unless it is a life-or-death situation."
Yu Tianxin said urgently, "Sword Wine might be in trouble! He's been in the valley for longer than his usual limit, and he still hasn't come out!"
At these words, everyone gathered at the valley entrance turned pale with fright.
Rumble!
A vast sea of thunderclouds rolled down.
Yu Yuanzhen descended, shrouded in the might of ten thousand thunders.
He swept his gaze across the valley and, without a second thought, waved his large sleeve.
The lightning within the valley was suppressed, parting into a path of relative calm.
Yu Yuanzhen stepped forward.
"Follow me into the valley and find Sword Wine!"