Huang Shi hit the dirt hard, landing flat on his face. He could taste the dry, bitter soil in his mouth as it crunched between his teeth.
His face burned with anger, and he was ready to jump up and yell, but then he saw Bai Xinyue. She was looking down at him with eyes as cold as ice, her face completely still.
Alright, I'll let you win this round, Bai Xinyue!
Huang Shi grumbled to himself. He stood up slowly, brushing the dust off his clothes. He tried to act cool, like the fall didn't hurt at all, and began to look around the strange place they had reached.
RUMBLE
A heavy sound shook the ground beneath his feet. He looked up, and his heart skipped a beat. Thick, black clouds filled the sky as far as he could see, blocking out all the light.
Inside those clouds, bright blue lightning crawled like snakes, lighting up the dark with scary flashes. The air felt thick and heavy, and suddenly, he felt very, very scared.
Shit, I need to get struck by lightning if I want to form my first hint of Calamity Sunfyre Lightning, but this is gonna hurt like hell, isn't it?
When Bai Xinyue saw the expression of fear on Huang Shi's face, she became even happier as she thought inwardly:
This bastard has given me my first loss in quite a long while. It's good that I can take my revenge!
After staring at the sky for a couple of moments, he finally grit his teeth before turning back around to face Bai Xinyue and asked her a question.
"Alright, Lady Bai, how do I make sure I get hit by the lightning?"
Bai Xinyue, who still had that smug look on her face, gave a smile as she spoke with a bit of schadenfreude.
"Well... I have a treasure with me that is perfect for situations like this…"
Bai Xinyue waved her hand with a quick, smooth motion, and a small paper talisman suddenly appeared between her fingers.
She closed her eyes for a second, sending a stream of her own spiritual energy straight into the paper.
A bright, silvery-white light exploded from her palm. The talisman began to glow so brightly it was hard to look at. Suddenly, she tossed it toward the ground.
As soon as it hit the dirt, a giant glowing formation appeared on the floor right under Huang Shi, trapping him in the very center.
The formation was shaped like a large octagon with eight sharp corners. Inside the lines, strange symbols and runes began to crawl and glow with that same silvery-white light.
Huang Shi tried to step out, but he felt a strange, heavy pull. It was a unique kind of attractive force that kept him glued to the spot.
Hmm? Attractive force? Why would it—
Huang Shi's face twisted into a look of pure horror as he looked straight up. The sky was changing. The blue lightning in the clouds began to rush toward the space right above his head at a scary speed.
It looked like hundreds of glowing blue snakes were huddling together, twisting and coiling until they formed the shape of a massive, angry lightning dragon made of pure energy.
FUCK! THAT TALISMAN WAS A LIGHTNING ROD!!
Before he could even react, a huge bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck him where he stood, causing a massive explosion of azure light.
BOOM
Huang Shi staggered in place as his body trembled. He felt a wave of numbness wash over him. In fact, it seemed as if he couldn't move his body for a few seconds because of that lightning strike.
Not to mention the pain.
That hurts like a motherfucker!
Huang Shi wanted to scream, trying to voice a complaint, but before he could do anything, more lightning strikes started to bombard the place where he stood. This time, it was three lightning strikes at the same time.
RUMBLE
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Huang Shi finally fell down on his knees, his expression full of pain. The lightning was rampaging through his body like a train hitting a human.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Huang Shi started to panic. His Cinderveil Robes were starting to prove useless, and his skin showed signs of being singed. This time, he was finally able to scream.
"AHHHH! BAI XINYUE!! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?! I JUST WANTED TO GET HIT A BIT!! WHY ARE THERE SO MAN—"
Once again, before he could finish his speech, more lightning gathered in the heavens. It was as if the sky had been enraged that he was still standing after that bombardment; a total of ten bolts of lightning gathered in the dark clouds.
Shit, shit, shit... ten lightning bolts. I'm definitely gonna get fucked.
Bai Xinyue, on the other hand, continued to smile. A playful and slightly wicked thought crossed her mind, and she spoke up, her voice ringing out over the sound of the thunder.
"Don't worry, Huang Shi! You won't die. I'll fix you up if I notice that you're in critical condition. For now, I suggest you sit down cross-legged and circulate whatever cultivation technique you're doing, unless you want to stay here being hit by lightning all day."
Huang Shi shivered, but this time it wasn't just from the electricity in the air; it was pure rage. He gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached, vowing to himself that he would get back at her for this humiliation.
Woman! I swear to god, if I don't smack your ass until it becomes red one day, I won't be Huang Shi!
Despite his anger, he knew she was right. He had to focus or he would just be a human lightning rod for nothing. Huang Shi forced himself to take deep, shaky breaths, trying to push the panic out of his mind.
He ignored the stinging smell of his own singed hair and the smoke rising from his skin as he sat down cross-legged on the burning, blackened ground.