In an instant, Serena Yan felt that Ryan Ling had completely transformed—his whole body glowed with golden light, and several electric dragons roamed inside him. The scene was like the Thunder God descending to earth, as dazzling as it gets.
Under the glare of the lightning, Ryan Ling’s physique became especially imposing. His muscles turned rock-solid; where he’d once been fairly slender, now his chest and abs stood out, making him look like a total muscle beast.
Watching this, Serena couldn’t help but swallow. This kind of ripped guy was exactly her dream. She’d fantasized more than once about a hunk like this barging into her room at midnight, but it was always just wishful thinking—until now, when the real thing was right in front of her.
But right now, Ryan couldn’t care less about all that. There was only one thing on his mind: absorb more lightning and master lightning-element sorcery.
And cultivating lightning-element sorcery was a lot like his wood-element Immortal Arts—he had to absorb thunder and convert it into his own power. The process looked epic from the outside, but for Ryan, it was pure agony.
If he hadn’t already mastered wood-element defenses, trying this would’ve been insanely risky.
Honestly, if any seasoned lightning cultivator saw this scene, they’d probably be scared half to death—this was straight-up defying the heavens.
Even with Ryan’s monster-level defenses, he still couldn’t stop his whole body from twitching in pain.
“Hold on, Ryan! You’re doing great—about half the thunder’s already absorbed, and you’re slowly turning it into your own power. Just take it step by step and don’t rush!” The Ghost Elder piped up from inside, but he didn’t dare show his face; his whole soul was hidden away.
What was happening now wasn’t just a couple stray lightning bolts—it felt like the full force of a thunderstorm.
Down below, even as Serena Yan was fangirling hard, she was totally shocked. Ryan Ling was playing with fire—his power was amazing, but lightning’s destructive force was on another level. Every bolt hitting him was like a full-power strike from a top Yellow-Tier Void Realm expert, and there were hundreds, maybe thousands, crashing down at once. That kind of force? Forget Profound-Tier, even Earth-Tier Void Realm fighters would get blown to bits instantly.
Before, Serena thought Ryan’s max was grabbing thirty-plus Yellow-Tier Void Realm guys at once. But now? His strength was like the ocean—endless. He was tanking the equivalent of a thousand Yellow-Tier full-power hits. Calling it ‘terrifying’ doesn’t even start to cover it.
And with every thunderbolt that slammed down, Ryan just kept getting stronger!
This was straight-up godlike!
Right now, she already knew Quentin Qin had broken through to Earth-Tier Void Realm, and all of Jinling was hyping him up. Ryan’s reputation was instantly overshadowed, and a bunch of people who’d backed Ryan started switching sides—after all, to most folks, Earth-Tier Void Realm was just too OP, and hitting it at twenty-five? Genius among geniuses.
But if those people could see Ryan right now, they’d probably die of shock. Maybe he wasn’t Earth-Tier before, but now? He’s totally surpassed it.
“Yeah, just keep steady—your Immortal arts are almost done. Once you absorb all the thunderclouds, you’ll nail it!” Watching Ryan’s wild transformation, the Ghost Elder was shaken to his core.
This insane breakthrough wasn’t just about his defenses—it was about his rare filial devotion. His parents suffered for ten years; what’s a little pain for him?
……
“Bro, what’s up with Purple Gold Mountain tonight? All this thunder—think there’s a monster or something?”
“Come on, get real! Today’s the day—Quentin Qin just broke through to Earth-Tier Void Realm and shocked all of Jinling. People, ghosts, monsters—everyone’s here to pay respects. Who’d dare cause trouble? Stop overthinking!”
“True that—Quentin Qin’s a total prodigy. So young, already Earth-Tier Void Realm. Jinling’s going nuts, and the Qin Family’s throwing a seven-day feast. We better hurry or we’ll be stuck with scraps!”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
Right then, two Void Realm cultivators happened to pass by Purple Gold Mountain. They saw the thunder and clouds but just shrugged, chatted a bit, and moved on.
Lucky for them they didn’t check it out. If they’d gone in, they’d be toast. Ryan’s lightning arts had hit peak power—at the summit, it wasn’t just lightning bolts anymore; actual thunder dragons were weaving through the sky, swirling around Ryan like he’d tamed them.
Serena was totally stunned now, just staring blankly at the scene like she was dreaming.
Today, Ryan had completely conquered her. Sure, she’d first been attracted to him by lust—she was a Fifth-Rank Spirit Officer, after all—but now, after witnessing this earth-shaking spectacle, all her pride was gone. Even if Ryan told her to lick his toes, she’d gladly kneel for him.
That’s what real power looks like!
“Ryan, you’re almost there—your lightning arts are about eighty percent complete. Now visualize a weapon in your mind and test out its power!” The Ghost Elder saw he was ready.
“Alright, I’ll try!” Ryan focused, and a giant battle-axe flashed into his mind. Suddenly, he was holding a thunder-wreathed axe—no question, it was forged from pure lightning. Its killing power was just like a real weapon, and the energy it packed was nearly at Dao Artifact level.
“Chop!” Ryan didn’t hesitate—he swung the thunder axe down hard. The axe crashed into the ground, and the whole Purple Gold Mountain shook. Minutes later, a ravine several meters wide and a hundred meters long split open in the distance.
“Is he even human? He’s basically a god!” Down below, Serena plopped right onto the ground, too stunned to get up.
“Nice, that was just a test run—worked great! The championship’s as good as mine!” Ryan grinned. His defense and offense were both maxed out, and his Foundation-Building Stage had been boosted by all that thunder. He was totally confident he’d win.
Earth-Tier Void Realm? Please, that’s trash compared to him.
With cultivation finished, the thunder finally stopped after almost three hours—and then came the pouring rain.
“Ryan, over here—come take shelter!” Seeing Ryan fly down from the summit, Serena called out right away.
Ryan didn’t hesitate and headed straight into the tomb-keeper’s hut. It was chilly outside with the night rain, but inside Serena had already built a fire. She’d even roasted some beef jerky and set out two bottles of wine, clearly ready to celebrate his big win.
“You really thought of everything, huh?” Ryan glanced at Serena. This woman would make a killer housekeeper—she ran the Yan Family like clockwork, so managing his stuff would be a breeze.
“Of course! I’ll make sure you’re always comfy from now on!” Serena said, handing him the wine and swaying her sexy hips as she brought him a piece of meat.
Ryan couldn’t help swallowing—he hadn’t realized Serena had changed into something sexy. Seeing her pale skin, he felt his heart start to race.
He reached for the meat, but Serena pushed his hand away. “No way—didn’t I say I’d serve you? How could I let you do it yourself? Here, let me feed you!”
Ryan smiled and gulped down the meat from Serena’s hand. She went to get more, but Ryan wasn’t about to let her leave—he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Serena squealed, pretending to be scared.
“What do you think? I’m done with beef—I want your meat now!” Ryan said, sliding his hand down to her hips…