The sky began to rumble with thunder, lightning tearing through the clouds and staining the heavens with a deep purplish hue. Taiyang Leilong clung tightly to the Thunder Gathering Pole, his muscles locked in tension. His heartbeat echoed within his chest, remaining distinct even amidst the deafening roar of thunder. Sweat glistened on his face, trailing down his temples as his mouth hung open, drawing in quick, deep breaths. His eyes were tightly shut, whether from fear or anticipation, even he could not tell.
"Remember—do not let go of the pole," his mother reminded, her voice calm and steady despite the chaos above.
'I must not let go,' Leilong thought, forcing the words into his mind like a lifeline.
Then it came. I felt it before I heard it. It was as though a billion ants made of fire exploded across my skin, spreading from my fingertips to the soles of my feet, then surging upward to the crown of my head. The pain was indescribable—unexplainable, intolerable, unbearable. I could not move. I could not scream. My body remained frozen, locked in place by agony. Then, mercifully, my mind went blank.
Unconscious.
Blissfully so.
Until—
BOOM!!!
The sound detonated inside my head. My eardrums ruptured, a sharp wetness spilling from my ears as blood poured down the sides of my face. My eyes snapped open, and with them, my consciousness returned in full. My mouth opened, and from deep within my chest erupted a scream so raw it barely sounded human.
"Haaaaaaaa!!!!!"
"Raaaaaaaa!!!!!"
Spiritual energy surged from the pool, flooding into my body. It wrapped around my shattered senses, mending torn flesh, soothing scorched nerves, forcibly stitching me back together. The pain receded, leaving behind a dull, trembling ache. My breathing slowed. My scream faded into hoarse gasps. I lifted my gaze, searching for my mother, desperate for reassurance—some sign that the worst was over. I found my answer.
"You are doing well. Eight more times, and you are finished," she said, her voice steady, carefully devoid of emotion. My heart sank.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. It's just pain. I must overcome it. I am Leilong—the Thunder Dragon!
Taiyang Leilong steeled his heart. The sky rumbled ominously, flashing with a sinister glow. The thunder above sounded like mocking laughter, as though the heavens themselves were sneering, telling him that he was nothing and would ultimately amount to nothing.
I gritted my teeth and held onto the pole with everything I had. My muscles tensed, veins bulging along my arms. The sounds from above teased the incoming onslaught—of lightning, of pain.
Then it came.
The same as before. A brief moment of immense, excruciating pain. Moments later, the blissful period of unconsciousness followed, making the agony even more terrible than the previous strike.
BOOM!!!!
The sound exploded inside my head, condemning my newly recovered eardrums to the same fate once more. My body shattered under the impact. My hair stood on end, and a mark of lightning was etched across my torso—so intricate it could have been mistaken for the work of an enlightened artist. But I did not scream this time. I held it in. Spit poured from my mouth, snot leaked from my nose, my tears evaporated instantly under the extreme heat. Veins on my head popped one by one from the strain. But still, I held it in.
The Thunder Pool did its work. Spiritual energy surged into my body, repairing all that had been damaged, reinvigorating my flesh, steadying my spirit, and restoring my state of mind.
His body trembled, his hand shaking, almost slipping from the pole—but he recovered, barely. His mind slowed, growing hazy. Even the Thunder Pool could not grant willpower.
The lightning returned, cruelly familiar. This time, I remained conscious—regrettably so. For the first time, I felt the full extent of the pain. Hah… hah… hah… I drew deep, ragged breaths, wishing, for a fleeting moment, that I had never existed.
Then something within me broke. It was not physical. It was something deeper—something that made me who I was. My sense of self. My will. The thunder sought to invade my mind, to corrupt it, to remake me in its own image.
A few years earlier, at Tiangyan Yeilun's Residence.
"Senior Sister, how was the baptism? Tell me about it," Leilong asked.
"What do you want to know?" Leiyun smiled as she sipped her tea, her eyes briefly flicking toward the go board as she pondered her next move.
"Was it as painful as they say? How many times does the lightning strike?" Leilong asked calmly as he moved his piece on the board.
"Hmm… the pain isn't really the problem. You only truly feel it two or three times. It's something else that's the real difficulty." She paused, then giggled slyly. "As for how many times? Hehe… that's a secret."
Leilong glanced at his sister for a moment before calmly moving another piece. "I've won. Again."
"Hmph!" She snorted, immediately launching into complaints.
The present.
Could it be that the true purpose of this baptism is to resist the mental influence while receiving its benefits? Leilong thought.
I smiled. I might not be good with physical pain, but my sense of self was unbreakable. People had always thought I was strange. Even my parents said my attitude did not fit that of a thunder cultivator. They had tried countless ways to mould me into what they believed a thunder cultivator should be like. But I always said the same thing: Thunder is used by me. I am not used by thunder. How could it dictate my personality? It couldn't… or so I thought.
The fourth came.
Boom!!!
This time, I endured it. My teeth were clenched, my face stoic, my gaze sharp. My resolve hardened as anger rose from the depths of my soul. I believed myself strong. I believed my will to be iron—unbendable.
Then came the fifth.
Boooom!!!!!
My teeth ground together. I lifted my head toward the sky and roared. I was angry. Angry at the heavens that dared to strike me. Angry at myself for my weakness. Angry at my mother for subjecting me to such torture. I turned toward her and screamed, words spilling from my mouth without restraint, my eyes red, spit flying, my face burning with rage. I was about to let go of the pole—about to attack her—
When a voice hammered into my consciousness.
"LONG'ER!! YOU MUST OVERCOME!!!"
I snapped out of it.
Hah… hah… hah… hah… Deep, ragged breaths escaped my mouth. Memory flooded back—what I had just said, what I had almost done. No… no. That's not me. What came over me?
I looked toward my mother, wanting to speak—wanting to apologise—but before I could, she spoke first.
"Focus. You are almost there," she said, her voice carrying more emotion than usual.
I gritted my teeth and focused, preparing my mind for the incoming onslaught. Then it came.
The Sixth.
Boooom!!!
This time, I focused on my mind, ready to combat the corruption. I felt it—a foreign will wanting to change me. It yelled at me,
"THUNDER IS RAGE, THUNDER IS ANGER, THUNDER IS WRATH, LET LOOSE YOUR RESTRAINTS AND BECOME THUNDER!"
The Thunder Gathering Pole gave up a resonant hum, whether supporting the voice or supporting me, I didn't know. I struggled with the will, trying to push it out, trying to overcome it, but it was futile. I yelled,
"Thunder is what I say it is!"
The pole hummed again. Hmmm… I felt the will weakening, and I wrested control of my mind back. But I didn't rest, for I knew the next was coming.
The Seventh.
It struck, but it was strangely quiet—too quiet. I then realised I was standing in a pitch-black void, and in front of me was a person, a person who felt strangely familiar. I then realised it was I—albeit a twisted version of myself. I stared, waiting for it to make a move, and it did.
"YOU ARE WEAK!"
His voice sounded—no, it exploded.
"PATHETIC!"
He spoke again, his voice resounding like thunder. I felt a sharp pain at my forehead. I gripped my head and staggered, but soon stood erect, staring straight at him and said calmly,
"I will overcome you, and you will bend to my will."
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
He started laughing, the sound booming in my head, my mind becoming hazy. Then he disappeared from my vision, leaving a faint trail of lightning which I traced above my head. My head snapped up to see him above me, a wide grin stretching ear to ear. His right hand gathered lightning into the form of a spear, the lightning a very deep shade of purple, forming a twelve-foot spear. Then he pointed at me and roared,
"DIE!"
The spear moved. The moment I tried to block, I looked down. All I saw was a bloody hole where my torso should have been. I blacked out. I fell, like into an infinitely deep abyss, and thought to myself,
I have tried my best. I fought to the very end.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
Ha ha ha…
What an anticlimactic ending. I wonder what I will reincarnate as… I didn't acquire much virtue in this life. Sigh…
Stand up!
Hmm? Did I hear something?
Wake up!
Hmm again? Am I hallucinating before death?
Overcome!
Then…
Boom!!!
I felt an explosion in my mind. I saw a scene that would remain with me for life. The clouds parted; the sky was a clear and brilliant blue. From an infinitely high space, I saw a bolt of lightning as thick as a mountain strike down toward me. I felt no pain—only warmth. Then came the sound.
Boom!!!
It sounded like thunder, yet it was distinct. It didn't bring pain to my ears. It sounded commanding, demanding respect, full of awe, mystical, as if announcing itself. And it was. The name imprinted itself onto my consciousness:
HEAVENLY THUNDER OF IMPERIAL COMMAND.
"My son, you must succeed," Tianyang Xuanjing muttered. She clenched her fist so hard her fingernail dug into her flesh, but there was no blood—only purple sparks.
"Mom, Leilong is strong. He would succeed. Let us believe in him," Leiyun said as she approached her mother.
All of a sudden, the sky turned clear. The storm clouds and lightning disappeared, followed by a strange, overbearing feeling of oppression from above.
"Quick! Activate the sect protecting array!" Xuanjing yelled. Before they could react, a massive blue bolt of lightning struck down—not on the pole, but directly on my body. Yet there was no damage.
Boom!!!!
The name imprinted itself on the consciousness of all who witnessed it:
HEAVENLY THUNDER OF IMPERIAL COMMAND.
I slowly awakened. As I opened my eyes, they were now a bright blue. My mind was serene and peaceful, but with it came a hint of arrogance—of being above all and below none, as if all were mine to command. Then I spoke the name:
HEAVENLY THUNDER OF IMPERIAL COMMAND.
Boom!
The final thunder struck, grander than ever. With it came a proclamation from the heavens:
LO AND BEHOLD THE ONE OF THUNDER, HOLDER OF IMPERIAL COMMAND,
DOMINATOR OF REALMS.
The thunder faded.
The pain was gone.
The fear was gone.
What remained was certainty.
Tianyang Leilong looked at his hands. They were steady. At some point, his hair had turned white, his eyes a brilliant blue. The scar of lightning remained—it did not heal like other scars. It faintly glowed blue, coiling around his torso, stretching toward his neck, ending on his left cheek. It branched toward his left hand and stopped at the back of his palm.
He looked at his reflection in the water, then at his mother and sister, and smiled.
Nine Profound Thunder Grotto Heaven.
Leiyan's eyes narrowed.
"…Heavenly acknowledgement?"
His gaze pierced through layers of space, descending toward the Hundred Peaks Immortal Rivers.
"A descendant? …Qi Condensation?"
Silence followed.
Within a casual wave of his hand, thunder law descended invisibly. The fluctuations were hidden. Cause was cut. Effect obscured. Memories rewritten. The countless cultivators listening to his sermon blinked, unaware that anything had happened—so did everyone else in the world, except those of the same rank as himself.
I must restrain those old guys, he thought.
What a headache.