Chapter 203: Call Thunder (4K)

The young temple attendant fainted for a moment before slowly regaining consciousness.

She lay on the ground, dazed for a while, then remembered Zheng Fa's voice, glancing nervously at the towering statue and speaking cautiously: "Lei Shen, are you there?"

"I am here."

The young temple attendant shuddered again, but this time she did not faint; instead, her face lit up with fervent reverence: "Lei Shen, you've finally manifested!"

But Zheng Fa could hear her inner thoughts murmuring:

"Oh no, oh no, if I'd known Lei Shen would manifest, my father should've taught me what offerings to make… wait, it's not his fault—apparently my grandfather taught him… no, Lei Shen just woke up, he probably doesn't know…"

Zheng Fa found her hypocrisy amusing.

"What is your name?"

"Me? My name is Xiao Qing." The young temple attendant said.

"What is your surname?"

"Surname?" Xiao Qing looked confused: "What's a surname? I'm just Xiao Qing."

Zheng Fa understood—this world was likely vastly different from the outside.

Moreover, everyone in Half-Mountain Town might well be descended from the same ancestor.

"Do you know the Thunder Sect?"

"Thunder Sect?" Xiao Qing's face brightened, as if relieved Zheng Fa wasn't scolding her for stealing offerings: "Everyone in town knows about it…"

"The leader of the Thunder Sect is said to have suffered a strange illness for over a decade—then he gained control over heavenly thunder and founded the Thunder Sect. No one in the entire town dares disobey him."

Control over heavenly thunder…

Hearing Xiao Qing's words, this man was clearly not a fraud.

It was clear Xiao Qing was talkative; without Zheng Fa needing to ask further, she continued:

"But he's not a good man." Xiao Qing fumed: "Half-Mountain Town survives entirely on gathering mountain goods and fishing. Now the river with the most fish has been seized by the Thunder Sect. Those who gather mountain goods must give up half their basket—or even nine-tenths—to them. They're heartless—yet the Thunder Sect's leader used to gather mountain goods himself!"

Zheng Fa was already aware of this—he had come here last time mostly to observe his own fief.

In the Heavenly Stele Realm, at least within Zheng Fa's fief, the people relied on only two sources for food—mountains and wetlands.

Or rather, due to the constant, dense lightning storms, endless rain fell year-round.

Whether plains or basins, all became lakes and marshes; only the mountain ranges remained temporarily untouched.

His fief contained only these two terrains.

The mountains held mostly fungi, some edible plants, and small animals; large animals were rare—nature simply couldn't sustain them.

The wetlands teemed with fish and aquatic plants—such as the material for Xiao Qing's clothing, likely woven from fibers of an aquatic vine.

From Xiao Qing's account, the Thunder Sect had already seized control of Half-Mountain Town and begun collecting taxes…

"What else?"

"There's more…"

Xiao Qing's face suddenly turned ashen, fear etched across her features; her lips trembled, and she could not speak.

Only one thought in her mind made Zheng Fa wonder if he'd misheard:

"They… eat people."

Seeing Xiao Qing's terror, Zheng Fa fell silent—

He had always thought the Xuanwei Realm was terrible, but under the current celestial sects' rule, eating people was at least officially forbidden.

Yet here, he heard those two words.

At that moment,

A middle-aged woman entered the temple, carrying two garments, similar to the coarse cloth Xiao Qing wore.

"Yun Sheng?" Xiao Qing stood up and addressed the newcomer: "You've come to worship Lei Shen? Let me tell you—"

She was about to speak of Lei Shen's manifestation.

"Xiao Qing," the woman—thinner than Xiao Qing, her face sallow, lips covered in gray-white dead skin—cut her off: "Look, do you want these two garments?"

Xiao Qing glanced at the clothes in her hands and recognized them.

"These are Xia's, aren't they?"

"Yes, they're hers."

"She doesn't want them anymore?"

"She was taken by the Thunder Sect."

Xiao Qing stared blankly before speaking:

"Taken? Why did they take Xia?"

"They say the sect leader is becoming a god, and they're celebrating." Yun Sheng's voice held no trace of sorrow.

"Celebrating."

Xiao Qing understood.

She stared at the two garments and whispered: "When Xia comes back…"

"She won't come back." Yun Sheng thrust the clothes into Xiao Qing's hands: "I keep them at home, but seeing them… I just think of her. You're about the same height as her…"

She left without finishing her sentence.

From the moment she entered the temple to when she left, she never once looked at the statue.

Xiao Qing held the two garments, staring at them for a long time before gently placing them on the altar.

She hugged her knees, sitting beside the altar's base, as if speaking to Lei Shen—or perhaps muttering to herself: "Since childhood, Xia has always taken care of me."

"She used to come here every day to make offerings to Lei Shen—you know, she was afraid I'd go hungry."

She paused, then suddenly spoke: "Lei Shen, do you know? Everyone knows—when the Thunder Sect takes women, they torture them for amusement. If they're young girls, they… eat them."

"Some who lost family come here to make offerings—they weep bitterly, begging Lei Shen to manifest and avenge them. When you don't appear, they beg me."

"My father, my grandfather, my grandfather's grandfather… generation after generation have been temple keepers. They thought I had a way to make Lord Lei Shen manifest, that I could uphold justice—but I have no such way. I can't even remember when Lord Lei Shen last appeared."

"Later, they came to understand. Fewer and fewer people came to this temple… while more and more went to the Thunder Sect."

"I shouldn't think poorly of Lord Lei Shen," Xiao Qing looked up at the statue, her tone tinged with anger: "If I weren't the temple keeper, I might have been eaten long ago. But I still want to ask…"

"Lord Lei Shen, are you just watching helplessly?"

…

The silence of Zheng Fa's temple was shattered.

A group of burly men approached the temple.

In the center of the group, sixteen men carried a middle-aged man. He was not physically imposing, yet none of them dared to look him in the eye.

Behind them followed a vast crowd.

Dark and dense, nearly ten thousand strong.

Most of them were extremely emaciated, their cheekbones sharply raised, yet their eyes burned with more fervor toward the middle-aged man than the burly men did.

The light in their sunken eye sockets burned like will-o'-the-wisps.

Xiao Qing heard the commotion outside and walked to the temple door, staring at these unexpected guests.

"What do you want?"

Her voice trembled; she dared not even look at the middle-aged man—she feared him more than she did the statue.

"Our Lord today ascends to godhood—this temple must belong to our Lord!"

A burly man at the front shouted loudly.

"This is Lord Lei Shen's temple!" Xiao Qing widened her eyes and rebuked: "How dare you offend Lord Lei Shen?"

"Lei Shen? A false god!" the burly man sneered. "The god inside this temple vanished years ago. Only our Lord is the true god of this age!"

"Today, we shall smash this false god's statue and turn this place into the Thunder God Temple!"

Xiao Qing grew even more anxious, blocking the doorway as if to stop them.

…

Zheng Fa, upon the statue, watched the burly men.

There were fewer than a hundred of them, yet their presence was overwhelming—their most intimidating feature was their massive, muscular frames, in stark contrast to the emaciated townsfolk.

It clearly showed their prosperity, their ample nutrition, their constant access to meat.

Know that though the Heavenly Stele Realm was riddled with wetlands teeming with fish and shrimp, fishing was perilous—whether by riverbank or boat, one risked being struck by lightning.

Fishermen could only fish on days when thunder ceased and rain paused.

But such days were irregular and rare; one could barely catch enough fish to fill one's own belly, let alone feed a family.

Thus, in the Heavenly Stele Realm, severe protein deficiency was the norm.

These men…

Zheng Fa glanced at the burly men and felt disgust; he simply directed his spiritual sense toward the middle-aged man seated on the high platform.

This must be the so-called Thunder Sect's sect leader.

Beneath his spiritual sense, Zheng Fa saw clearly—the man's body held faint spiritual energy, but no traces of any cultivation technique.

Such a condition had appeared before in the Xuanwei Realm:

Xiao Xianzi was an example—she ate a certain thunder-type spiritual fruit and, if she survived, gained cultivation without ever entering the Dao.

Earlier, Xiao Qing said this man had gone into the mountains to gather herbs; he must have had some strange encounter there.

His years-long illness afterward was likely the fruit's energy digesting within him.

Now, his spiritual energy was not strong—barely at the first or second level of Qi Condensation—but to the people of Banshan City, such power seemed divine.

What made Zheng Fa find him even more suspicious was that, whether intentionally or not, he had divided his followers into two tiers with vastly different treatment…

Greatly increasing their loyalty.

…

"You're Xiao Qing, aren't you?" the Thunder Sect leader spoke. "This temple was built by Banshan City to worship Lei Shen. Now that I have ascended to godhood, this temple rightfully belongs to me."

"Lord Lei Shen has manifested!"

Xiao Qing shouted angrily.

"Manifested?" The leader smiled lightly. "I've checked the records. Your line of temple keepers has deceived Banshan City since its founding—this statue has never manifested once!"

"…"

"We offer daily worship, yearly prayers—yet this wooden, clay idol has never stirred!"

Zheng Fa couldn't help but sigh.

What he said was likely true…

The Heavenly Stele had only recently emerged; the old Lei Shen had vanished long ago.

Even the Divine Enshrinement Hall had mentioned the phrase "Immortals and gods unseated."

This statue… was likely an ancient relic of faith, but in Banshan City, there had been no divine manifestations for ages.

Clearly, this sect leader was cautious—he had checked whether the temple was worth provoking.

"And I!" the leader declared loudly, "By Heaven's decree, I command the thunder—I am the new Lei Shen!"

With that, he gently clasped his hands, and sparks of lightning flickered at his fingertips.

Seeing this "miracle," his followers all fell prostrate, shouting fervently:

"Lei Shen!"

"Lei Shen!"

"Lei Shen!"

Though their bodies were weak, their cries were fierce—the roar of ten thousand voices surged like a storm, forcing Xiao Qing, standing at the temple door, to stagger back two steps.

"Did you see that?"

"This... is the true heart of Banshan City!"

"I am the god of Banshan City!"

The Lei Ting Sect arrived at the temple in great force, drawing many residents of Banshan City.

They followed behind the crowd, surrounding the temple, their gazes fixed on Seeing Xiao Qing.

Seeing Xiao Qing's face seemed to show some fear.

Before her stood thousands upon thousands of Lei Ting Sect members, while she was alone.

She looked around at the crowd, as if seeking help.

These people were not from the Lei Ting Sect; on the contrary, most of them had suffered oppression from the Lei Ting Sect.

Some had their fishing grounds seized by the Lei Ting Sect.

Some had their mountain goods robbed.

And in some families, daughters had gone away and never returned.

But those she looked at either turned away coldly or lowered their heads with a hint of shame.

The Lei Ting Sect disciples gradually closed in; at their head were dozens of burly men, towering in stature, while Seeing Xiao Qing, appearing as a girl of only thirteen or fourteen, looked even more insignificant.

"Once I ascend to godhood, everyone in the Lei Ting Sect shall enjoy peace and happiness!"

Behind this group, the Lei Ting Sect Master chanted softly; hearing his words, the eyes of these burly men filled with excitement.

Their gaze upon Seeing Xiao Qing grew even more fierce.

As if looking at food.

Seeing Xiao Qing trembled, clasping her hands to her chest; she seemed unsure of herself, yet also as if longing for something, gazing at the statue and praying:

"Lei Shen above, your divine might is vast."

"Today, a believing woman offers a sincere prayer."

"May heavenly thunder descend to punish evil and uphold good."

"May you teach the world, your divine grace blessing all."

Her body was weak, and her tone very low.

Yet the Sect Master seemed to hear her; he laughed loudly: "Deluded and unrepentant! I am the true Lei Shen!"

Having spoken, bolts of lightning surged from his body, giving him an air of solemn sanctity.

"In the future, I shall command the thunder! Let the clouds, rain, and lightning of the heavens all obey my orders!" He pointed at the sky, speaking with great vigor.

Hearing him say this, the believers' eyes grew even more fanatical.

"Command the heavenly thunder!"

"Command the heavenly thunder!"

"Command the heavenly thunder!"

In the sky, a magnificent golden lightning bolt descended from above.

This Lei Guang illuminated the entire Banshan City, making people involuntarily squint.

The heavenly thunder rushed straight toward the finger the Sect Master had pointed at the sky, revealing the Sect Master's terrified and stunned face.

As the Lei Guang flashed, the Sect Master's figure was already gone.

Those disciples looked left and right, searching for a long time but finding no trace of their Sect Master.

"This heavenly thunder..."

"It must have been summoned by the Sect Master! Didn't the Sect Master say? He can command the heavenly thunder!"

"Then what is this ash?"

"..."

"The Sect Master has become a god!" Among the burly men, some quick-witted individuals, seeing the situation was wrong, thought fast and spoke up: "The Sect Master has shed his mortal form and become the Lei Shen!"

"As long as we properly worship the Sect Master, we too shall become gods in the future!"

Another flash of Lei Guang passed, leaving behind a pile of black ash on the ground.

"..." The burly men nearby exchanged glances and ran backward, showing not the slightest desire to become gods.

(End of this chapter)