"Trying to run?"
Seeing the blood-red bat soaring desperately, wings in tatters, scraping against the wind in an attempt to flee the bounds of his plant domain, Yunchuan's expression remained calm. He calmly raised his right hand.
Sparks crackled.
Blue arcs of electricity danced across his palm—first small and agitated, then larger and more volatile, streaking and snapping into the air around him like lightning looking for release.
He narrowed his focus, drawing the arcs inward, stabilizing the chaos bit by bit.
The thunder fought him—raw, primal, demanding control.
But under his guidance, the current bent.
And within seconds, the chaotic electric torrent slowly began to condense—refined into a smooth, blazing shape.
By the end, a sleek, cobalt-blue spear glowed boldly in his hand.
Constructed entirely from lightning.
This was a manifestation of one of the four elemental attributes embedded in the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer: thunder and lightning.
Refined through years of training, Yunchuan had developed it into a self-created soul skill:
◈ Thunderclap Spear ◈
It wasn't merely energy shaped like a weapon—it was power forged for piercing velocity.
He tightened his grip.
"In terms of speed, thunder has no rival—and you…"
He raised the spear overhead, body leaning into the throw with perfect first-lance form.
"…are crawling like a wounded beetle."
Crack.
A burst of light ripped through the sky—
And in the blink of an eye—
轰!
The sky exploded.
Far ahead, the airborne bloodwing bat shrieked just as the bolt hit its mark.
A spear-sized thunderbolt detonated across its body with devastating precision. The air thundered. The ground shook. A local storm burst into being in one swift breath.
The target zone turned white with lightning.
At its center—an expanding vortex of electric fury.
The batsoul master had no time to dodge.
He didn't cry.
He didn't make it that far.
The next instant, all sight of him was lost within the blazing electric storm.
Above the forest, a miniature sun was born—burning blue-silver, fierce and blinding.
"...Too easy," Yunchuan murmured—but then narrowed his eyes.
The spear had landed. No doubt.
Too clean.
Too quiet.
And that... was exactly the problem.
It was too easy.
Yunchuan's instincts flared.
He extended his spiritual sense through the domain again, letting it cascade through the vines, the leaves, the wind around him, probing the nearby ridgelines, trees, and pockets of soil and rot.
And yet—he found nothing.
No heartbeat. No soul force flicker. Not a trace.
It seemed legit—the target had been reduced to ash.
And still... a deep unease lingered.
Night fell.
The forest returned to silence.
Even the moon stayed hidden tonight.
Hours passed.
Until—
Subtle sounds.
Like something soft rustling the soil beneath the wreckage of the old tree.
Then—
A hump of earth bulged under the shattered stump.
From it…
A tiny red creature with leathery wings barely wider than a rat emerged—eyes glowing, ears twitching.
A tiny blood bat.
It scanned the darkness.
Seeing nothing, it exhaled with relief.
"...So close."
"Good thing I planted my true body beneath the tree beforehand." Its scrape of a voice barely carried. "The one that died in the sky—just a clone."
He clambered out, shook off the last of the dirt, and glowed softly. In moments, the rat-sized bat transformed into a thin, cloaked man.
Human again.
His sixth soul skill—Death Substitution.
A unique defensive move. It allowed him to create a living, breathing clone, transfer all soul power and consciousness to it, while his real body lay dormant like a husk.
If the clone died?
His energy and will would return.
The ability could be used only once every year—but in exchange, it almost guaranteed survival once activated.
"I'll stay here hidden for a few days… recover some strength. When Spirit Hall lowers its guard…"
He licked his lips.
"I'll drain every farmer in the region to fuel my next evolution—"
A calm, male voice cut in before he could finish.
"I'm afraid that won't be happening."
It was gentle. Almost amused.
But to the bloodbat's ears, it was the sound of the sky cracking.
He whipped around.
There—just meters away.
A shadow in white. Standing atop the roots of a massive tree.
Black-haired. Calm-eyed. Arms behind his back.
Cloudlight illuminating him. Lightning still flickering faintly around his body.
"Y-You… Yunchuan—Holy Son... you—you're not—!"
The bloodbat's words tripped over themselves.
He remembered everything. The spear. The blast. The annihilation.
His clone should've died cleanly—
Yunchuan smiled calmly.
"I waited. I knew you wouldn't die that easily."
The bloodbat soul master's heart crashed into panic.
But before he could blink—
SNAP.
Blue sparks surged across Yunchuan's limbs, furious and crackling like chained thunder restrained by human will.
Then—
He vanished in a flash of light.
"—Thunder Body," Yunchuan whispered.
No one heard him.
They only saw the afterimage.
In a blink, he was in front of the now fully-exposed bat soul master.
A fist charged with lethal voltage smashed forward—
The man barely raised an arm—too slow.
BAM!
The punch crashed into his face. Skin ripped. Blood sprayed.
Fangs shattered.
Then—
Another flash.
A second strike to the chest, this time from behind.
A third. To the spine.
Then the leg. The temple. The ribs.
Each blow powered by speed far beyond human motion.
Each layered in electricity that left nerves screaming, muscles locked, and coordination broken.
One combo. Ten hits. Thunder-driven violence.
Then Yunchuan leapt backward.
Lightning bursting across his body.
He spun mid-air. Electricity arcing from every limb.
"This one's new…" he muttered to himself.
"...Lightning Thunderclap Fist."
He raised his right hand.
A sphere of blue lightning converged in his palm, crackling softly—
Then launched forward.
The ball of thunder rolled like a meteor across the forest, aimed straight at the stunned soul master.
The bloodbat couldn't move.
Too slow.
Too late.
BOOOOOOM!
The spherical bolt landed—and exploded with divine rage.
Electricity surged outward in a dome of pure devastation, setting tree trunks ablaze and charring everything they touched.
The forest lit with blue fire.
Silence fell slowly, broken only by the occasional sizzle of leftover arcs clinging to bark.
At the center—
Only ash.
"Phew…"
Yunchuan exhaled, cooling his limbs and retracting his aura.
That had felt… refreshing.
Like shaking off the rust.
"A clone dies, and you want to lie low till things cool down? You think I haven't studied your kind?"
He dusted off his sleeve.
"Let this one… be the real ending."
(End of Chapter)