A hundred meters—under normal circumstances, Evan Chu could have crossed that in the blink of an eye. But here in the Thunder Pool, every step forward felt brutally exhausting. Sweat as big as beans poured down his face, and "skinless and fleshless" was the best way to describe his current state.
Relying on sheer willpower, Evan Chu finally reached the spot Luna had described. At this moment, not only was the thunder on the ground terrifyingly strong, but the bolts falling from the sky were even more fearsome. These weren't the thick, bucket-sized bolts he'd seen before—now, each strike was only as thin as a finger, yet every single one sliced a massive wound into his body.
His wood element regeneration couldn't keep up with this destruction at all. By now, a full third of Evan's muscles had simply vanished—if it were anyone else, they'd be long dead. Only he was still miraculously alive.
"Is this place actually going to let me break through to the Seventh Layer of the Starforge Body?" Evan wondered. If that really happened, he couldn't even imagine the consequences.
"You think the Starforge Body breaks through just because you want it to? The Seventh Layer isn't nearly as simple as you imagine. Wait until you reach the Saint Martial Realm and see if you get a chance. For now, you'd better focus on how to get that Thunder Spirit Pearl!" Luna snapped impatiently.
Evan glanced at the scene ahead. The thunder striking his body barely registered anymore—he'd gotten used to the pain. Not far in front of him, a purple pearl floated quietly in the air, surrounded by dazzling multicolored lightning.
Evan knew this was the Five-Element God Thunder. He hadn't expected it to look like this, and couldn't help feeling excited—after paying such a steep price, finally seeing the Thunder Spirit Pearl made it all worth it.
He started inching toward the Thunder Spirit Pearl, every step making his whole body tremble. The thunder in these last few meters was even stronger, forcing a painful groan from him despite his stubborn resolve.
By now, Evan was completely covered in lightning, but oddly enough, the numbness had disappeared. All that remained was pain so deep it pierced his soul. After enduring this agony, he finally reached a point just one meter from the Thunder Spirit Pearl.
If not for the Five-Element God Thunder, he could have just reached out and grabbed the Thunder Spirit Pearl. But now, he didn't dare—if that Five-Element God Thunder was as terrifying as he feared, he'd be finished.
He was torn inside, but time waited for no one. His muscles were vanishing fast, and his bones were being snapped one by one by the thunder's power. If every bone in his body got broken, he wouldn't even be able to stand—let alone grab the Thunder Spirit Pearl.
Gritting his teeth, Evan made a ruthless decision and shot out his arm to grab the Thunder Spirit Pearl. The instant his fingers touched the Five-Element God Thunder, an agony like he'd never felt before exploded through him, and his entire body was instantly flooded with multicolored lightning.
Even with Evan's iron will and superhuman endurance, this thunder power was enough to knock him out cold.
The Five-Element God Thunder rampaged through his body, destroying muscle, bone, meridians, and organs all at once. If anyone had witnessed this scene, they'd never forget it for the rest of their life.
By now, every bit of muscle left on Evan's body was charred black, his pale-gold bones turned pitch dark, and his organs were a mess—completely shattered. To put it bluntly, Evan was utterly dead. Dead beyond dead.
Minute by minute, time ticked by. Evan had no awareness of his own condition. But suddenly, something strange happened: from his shattered dantian, a light identical to the Five-Element God Thunder flared up, instantly flooding his entire body.
At the same time, his whole body actually started floating. The light grew brighter and brighter. Though the Five-Element God Thunder still crackled all around, under this sudden five-colored glow, it seemed much weaker.
Countless bolts of thunder surged toward Evan, crackling nonstop. The most incredible thing was that his charred body began to change—lost muscles started growing back, shattered bones and torn meridians slowly knit themselves together.
It looked almost exactly like the breakthrough phenomenon of the Starforge Body. If Evan were awake, he'd probably think he'd just advanced to the Seventh Layer—but that wasn't the case.
Now, even his eyes flickered with electricity. When everything finally healed, the five-colored glow slowly faded away, leaving Evan lying motionless on the ground. The Five-Element God Thunder had vanished, and only the ordinary lightning around kept pouring into his body.
He had no idea how much time had passed before he finally woke up. By now, all the pain in his body was gone, replaced by an indescribable power. Looking at his perfectly restored body, Evan laughed, "What the hell happened? Did I really break through to the Seventh Layer of the Starforge Body without even realizing it? Otherwise, why can't any of this lightning hurt me anymore?"
"Evan, you really are one lucky bastard. I don't even know what to say—you actually managed to forge a Thunder Spirit Body under these conditions. Yours is way stronger than that guy's, because you used the Five-Element God Thunder to refine it. That thunder can even destroy Da Luo Golden Immortal-level beings!" Luna said, her voice trembling with excitement.
"Thunder Spirit Body? Is it really that awesome? I told you, since I've mastered the power of the five elements, the Five-Element God Thunder wouldn't hurt me. Wasn't I right?" Evan grinned.
"Right? Yeah, right—what a joke! The odds of surviving that are one in ten thousand. I seriously don't know what to do with you. Now, there's no lightning in the Thunder Pool that can hurt you anymore. Not even the Nine-Heaven Divine Thunder—it can only serve as an energy source for you now," Luna said.
Evan didn't say anything more. He quickly grabbed the Thunder Spirit Pearl, smiling as he looked at it. "Getting this Thunder Spirit Pearl was no joke. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. I wonder how that guy is doing now—it's about time I taught him a lesson."
"Evan, now that you've formed the Thunder Spirit Body, you're a one-in-ten-thousand existence—even rarer than your Pure Yang Constitution. At this point, the Thunder Spirit Pearl isn't much use to you anymore. As for Thundershift, I can't teach you that yet—your realm isn't high enough. But you can absorb the thunder here and use it for your own attacks," Luna explained.
Just then, a bolt of red lightning appeared in the sky. It didn't strike down immediately, but started drawing in all the other lightning overhead. The sight made Evan's heart skip a beat.
"Is this lightning trying to get revenge on me for taking the Thunder Spirit Pearl?" Evan muttered.
"That's the Nine-Heaven Divine Thunder—its power is absolutely terrifying. If my physical body hadn't been destroyed back then, I'd have had to run for my life if I ever faced it. But you, even though your realm is still low, have a Thunder Spirit Body forged in Five-Element God Thunder. If you can withstand this strike, you'll gain another terrifying attack skill," Luna said...