Lei Huanying stood proudly in the air, exuding arrogance. His entire body crackled with radiant lightning, as if he were a God of Thunder gazing down upon the mortals beneath him.
He commanded as if issuing orders to mere servants, fully convinced of his superiority. After all, in the world of martial arts, strength dictated authority.
And he was stronger than Lin Changqing.
Lin Changqing was expected to submit. Anyone weaker than Lei Huanying would find resistance futile.
Under normal circumstances, Lin Changqing would have already yielded.
After all, Lei Huanying could kill him in three moves. There was no logic in opposing someone so overwhelmingly powerful.
But this time...
Lin Changqing remained silent.
"Hmm? Why aren't you obeying?" Lei Huanying's patience wore thin as he coldly demanded an answer.
"Haha," Lin Changqing chuckled, shaking his head. "I would have, had I been the one who started this war."
"What?" Lei Huanying narrowed his eyes. "What kind of nonsense is this? If not you, then who?"
"He indeed cannot make that decision," a calm voice interrupted. "Because that authority belongs to me."
A figure stood tall, hands clasped behind his back—Xiao Chen.
"You?" Lei Huanying was momentarily taken aback. In his eyes, Lin Changqing was the rightful leader of Tianyang Prefecture. Lin Changqing had initiated this conflict. Xiao Chen was just a name, a minor figure hardly worth considering.
Yet now, Lin Changqing deferred to him?
"Ridiculous! What gives you the right to decide?" Lei Huanying sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.
Xiao Chen met his gaze, unfazed. "Because I hold the power to eradicate the Sky Thunder Clan. Is that reason enough for you?"
Lei Huanying's expression darkened.
Below them, the battlefield raged. The Sky Thunder Clan was already at a disadvantage, desperately struggling to hold their ground. If not for Lei Huanying's sudden arrival and his formidable strength, they would have been annihilated by now.
Xiao Chen swept his gaze across the battlefield before issuing a single command.
"Do not spare anyone."
"Yes, sir!" The warriors from the allied households roared in unison, launching a relentless assault. The Sky Thunder Clan's forces crumbled, their screams echoing through the city as blood painted the streets.
"How dare you!" Lei Huanying's eyes blazed with fury. "You're courting death! If that's what you wish, I'll grant it!"
Thunder roared as Lei Huanying moved, the sky trembling under his power.
"Die!" he bellowed, unleashing a massive bolt of lightning toward Xiao Chen.
Boom!
The heavens split apart as the lightning descended, crackling with destructive force.
Yet Xiao Chen merely laughed.
He did not dodge.
The lightning struck him directly.
"Fool!" Lei Huanying sneered. His attack was powered by the Mighty Thunder Skill, an upper-level Yellow Rank technique that, when amplified by the heavens, could rival a Xuan Rank martial art.
Even a warrior at the sixth level of the Xuanwu Realm wouldn't dare take such an attack head-on.
How could Xiao Chen possibly survive?
Lin Changqing's face paled in shock. Had Xiao Chen just courted death?
The battlefield fell silent. All eyes were fixed on the spot where Xiao Chen had been struck.
And then—
A chilling voice rang out.
"Devour the Thunder."
The lightning that had engulfed Xiao Chen did not dissipate. Instead, it flowed around him, condensing into an intricate suit of thunderous armor.
A figure adorned in lightning stepped forward.
"What?! You absorbed my thunderbolt?!" Lei Huanying's voice trembled in disbelief.
Thunder was a force of the heavens, untamable and destructive. Even he could only wield it temporarily, not absorb it. Refining it was impossible.
Yet Xiao Chen had done just that.
"This?" Xiao Chen tilted his head. "This is nothing."
His Thunder Sacred Method was not just a lightning-based technique—it was a power that surpassed the heavens themselves. Absorbing thunder was a mere trifle.
Lei Huanying gritted his teeth. "I refuse to believe this!"
Summoning every ounce of his might, he roared as he unleashed a barrage of thunderbolts in a frenzied assault.
Boom!
The sky erupted in a deafening explosion, crackling with devastating power.
Yet Xiao Chen remained unfazed.
"Devour."
With a single word, he opened his mouth.
And swallowed the thunder whole.
The battlefield stood frozen in horror.
Lei Huanying's pupils shrank. This was no human—this was a monster!
Before he could react, Xiao Chen moved. His figure blurred as he shot into the sky like a storm, his fist tightening.
The remaining thunder coalesced in his grasp, forming a weapon of pure destruction.
The sky darkened. Only Xiao Chen remained illuminated, his lightning-infused figure radiating a divine brilliance.
He raised his hand, lightning crackling fiercely.
"You enjoy wielding thunder, don't you?" Xiao Chen's voice was calm, almost mocking.
A deep sense of dread settled over Lei Huanying.
Instinct screamed at him to flee.
But before he could move—
Xiao Chen's lightning transformed into an ancient spear, pulsating with unfathomable power.
Boom!
The air trembled as the Thunder Spear was hurled forward with devastating speed.
"No—!" Lei Huanying's desperate scream echoed through the heavens.
For years, he had slain countless warriors with his Thunder Power, basking in his supremacy.
Now, for the first time, he felt the terror of being struck down by the very force he once wielded.
Desperately, he unleashed his final trump card.
"Three Thousand Lightning Skill!"
"Mighty Thunder Skill, block it!"
He poured every ounce of his power into defense.
But against the might of heaven and earth—
It was futile.
Poof!
The Thunder Spear pierced through him effortlessly, ignoring his defenses like they were paper.
A gaping hole, as wide as a bowl, was torn through his chest.
Not a single drop of blood fell.
Lei Huanying froze, staring down at his wound in stunned disbelief.
For years, he had killed in the name of thunder.
And now, he had been slain by thunder itself.
"Is this... my destiny?" he murmured, eyes wide with bitterness.
His body plummeted from the sky, crashing to the earth with a resounding thud.
His lifeless gaze remained fixed upon the heavens.
What goes around comes around.
And in the end, he was the one who paid the price.