Chapter 170: The Death of the Thunder God

Like a galaxy‑upside‑down waterfall, its grandeur is magnificent, the roar never ceases, and mist fills the sky.

This should have been a perfectly ordinary scene, yet now it appears extraordinary; anyone present would be shocked speechless.

The waterfall, with a drop of three hundred meters, now shows a bizarre sight. At a hundred meters above its base, it is completely cut off, revealing a smooth, pitch‑black cliff that has never seen sunlight. The falling water, all above the hundred‑meter mark, scatters and rushes, forming a water curtain over thirty meters wide, causing the pool below to constantly ripple with splashing droplets.

Behind the water curtain, a vaguely dragon‑like figure can be seen, standing directly beneath the falls, its body constantly twisting and turning as if performing an ancient war dance, a blue‑golden spear wildly brandished in its hand. This is Yu Tianyun, who wields the Blue Lightning Tyrant Spear.

Yu Tianyun stands on the round stone, continuously executing the Soul-breaking Spear Technique, his vigor radiating outward, like a blue dragon coiling around his body. With each thrust, the falling water in the air rises a bit: the distance climbs from one hundred meters to one hundred thirty, one hundred sixty, one hundred ninety, two hundred ten meters.

Within the water curtain, a faint terrifying blue lightning can be seen, rising like a blue dragon and lifting the waterfall.

The dreadful scene continues; when the waterfall is thrust upward to two hundred forty meters, for an instant the figure of Yu Tianyun below the falls pauses, all his movements condensing into a final point, and he stops abruptly.

Boom~

A thunderous blast erupts, all the blue lightning at that moment coalesces in an Explosion, turning into a blue dragon that soars upward; the massive waterfall, pouring down, suddenly shatters into scattered droplets, unable to reconvene, becoming a spray of water. The three‑hundred‑meter drop vanishes from sight in an instant.

The massive blue dragon emits a powerful roar, as if bellowing to the heavens, also displaying its terrifying might.

Yang Wudi stands quietly at the edge of the pool, watching this magnificent scene, his face unruffled, as if indifferent, as though he deems it entirely natural.

However, he feels a slight sentiment inside; when did he cause the waterfall to reverse and vanish? Perhaps when he broke through to Soul Saint! He was about fifty or sixty then.

Yu Tianyun is only just seventeen, his soul power at level sixty‑eight, and creating such a scene seems perfectly normal to him.

He knows Yu Tianyun hasn't used his full strength, merely warming up, not worth making a fuss over.

Then Yu Tianyun sheathes his spear and stands, lightly leaping to the shore; not a drop wets his garment.

At this point, a month has passed since he cultivated the Great Sumeru Hammer, and the elite tournament of the continent‑wide Advanced Soul Master Academy will begin in ten days.

The reason he remains here is that Yang Wudi let him comprehend his own Blue Lightning Tyrant Spear.

In just a month, he has become thoroughly familiar with his Blue Lightning Tyrant Spear; although it is not a martial soul, it has achieved a mind‑link akin to one.

He gazes at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Spear in his hand, brimming with confidence. If this were a martial soul, it would surely be top‑tier and capable of continual growth.

At this moment his sixth Soul Ring still bears only two golden patterns, because over the past year his physical condition has not improved significantly. Yet he is confident that once his physique reaches god‑level, this Soul Ring will upgrade to a million‑year span. He senses that then his Blue Lightning Tyrant Spear may become a true Divine Artifact! Boom~ The halted waterfall finally collapses, restoring the incessant roar and mist.

"Grandfather, let's go back!" Yu Tianyun's long spear flashes golden light, vanishing within his body; the entangling red and black hues on his body, and the six Soul Rings, each in turn, also recede inside him.

His first Soul Ring also evolved to the hundred‑thousand‑year tier, as during this month he happened to encounter two thunderstorms. Naturally he would not miss such an opportunity; releasing the first Soul Ring, he plunged recklessly into the thunderclouds, safely absorbing massive heavenly thunder, and his first Soul Ring consequently broke through the hundred‑thousand‑year barrier.

However, when the first Soul Ring reached the hundred‑thousand-year mark, Yu Tianyun was suddenly startled.

Perhaps it was due to the faint Thunder God bloodline contained in the Thunder‑roaring Yanyu Vine; at that moment, he obtained a piece of information.

Yu Tianyun speculates that this information is likely the Thunder God's extreme resentment at death, deeply imprinted in the bloodline and passed down through the Thunder‑roaring Yanyu Vine.

Originally Yu Tianyun thought the Thunder God died in the great battle of the Dragon God, but that news revealed hidden circumstances, making him more wary of the Divine Realm; the gods there are not as harmonious as imagined, but fraught with danger, prompting him to abandon the idea of inheriting a divine throne to become a god.

Inheriting a divine throne could easily be manipulated, forcing actions against his will, and those gods, in Yu Tianyun's view, are not benevolent; he dares not gamble nor entrust his fate to others.

That information told him that the Thunder God, as a first‑rank god, oversees judgment in the Divine Realm, a function stemming from the judgment authority embedded in his divine power. The Asura God also possesses this judgment authority; thus the Thunder God's existence undeniably hinders the Asura God, and dividing authority would weaken the Asura God's divine power. This was what the Asura God explained to the Thunder God as he lay dying.

In Yu Tianyun's past‑life words, this is a 'Dao struggle.'

Through past‑life memories and fragments of the Thunder God's recollections, Yu Tianyun knows that the Divine Realm contains three major camps: the Destruction faction, the Good‑Evil faction, and the Asura God faction. The Thunder God is one of the few who belongs to none of these camps; likewise, the Life Goddess also belongs to no camp, though she wields God‑King power, is the wife of the Destruction God King, and excels at healing. Many gods in the Divine Realm have benefited from her, and thus afford her varying degrees of respect.

However, the Thunder God has no patron and no popularity in the Divine Realm; as a law‑enforcing deity, he is universally disliked, and he is especially impartial, giving no favor to anyone, unlike the Asura God who grants favors to those close to him.

Their political views also clash, leading to frequent disagreements with the Asura God, though the Asura God never shows it; outwardly they appear to have only a difference of opinion, not a real feud. The Thunder God doesn't overthink, believing the Asura God merely disagrees, both acting impartially for the Divine Realm.

This stems from Divine Realm rules: publicly the Asura God cannot act overtly, but secretly Yu Tianyun believes the Asura God definitely intends to eliminate the Thunder God.

Sure enough, when the great Dragon God war began, the Thunder God was betrayed. Before the battle, the Asura God loudly praised the Thunder God's strength, saying it was not inferior to the God King.

This made the Thunder God feel as if he had found a confidant, instantly regarding the Asura God as a beloved friend, forgetting all prior grievances.

Thus, he pounded his chest, vowing that he alone could defeat the two great Dragon Kings.

The other four God Kings and a host of first‑rank gods, seeing the Thunder God's bravery, were delighted and offered no counsel. After all, if the Thunder God bore more pressure, they would bear less, and he was not close to them; thus they, like the Asura God, continuously praised the Thunder God. The Thunder God, brimming with confidence, leapt ahead of the two armies' ranks, declaring he would duel the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.

The two great Dragon Kings are not easy‑tempered; the Thunder God's demand appeared as provocation and contempt to them, instantly igniting their fury. The two Dragon Kings obliged the Thunder God's request, joining forces to confront him.

To the gods' slight surprise, the Thunder God was indeed quite powerful; although not on par with a God King as the Asura God claimed, he was far superior to ordinary first‑rank gods, and did not falter against the combined assault of the two Dragon Kings, which greatly surprised the Asura God who had been watching the battle.

Thus, when they were all exhausted, the Asura God silently approached the Thunder God's side, claiming to offer assistance. The Thunder God instantly let his guard down, and was then pierced by the Asura God, slain with a single sword, his soul shattered and his divine throne completely broken, with no chance of restoration; at the same time the two Dragon Kings were also easily dealt with by the Asura God.

After receiving this information, Yu Tianyun couldn't help but remark, "No wonder they're hammer‑wielders, similar to the hammer users of the Clear Sky Sect, all iron‑clumsy."

Yu Tianyun guesses that afterward the Asura God probably said the Thunder God's courage was commendable, that he single‑handedly challenged the two great Dragon Kings, buying time for the other gods, but ultimately perished, his divine throne shattered, and the Asura God has now avenged the Thunder God by slaying the two Dragon Kings.

Regarding the Thunder God's death, Yu Tianyun thinks it was sufficiently foolish, feels no sympathy, only a bit of disappointment.

After all, the divine throne that best suits him is the Thunder God's; he once even imagined using the special ability of his first Soul Ring to reunite the Thunder God's throne, and since the Thunder God is already dead, he would no longer be manipulated, making it the perfect fit.

But now it seems impossible; the Thunder God's divine throne has been completely shattered by the Asura God, unable to coalesce.

As for inheriting other divine thrones, he finds them unreliable; setting aside the combat power after inheritance, currently on the Douluo Continent only two gods could be inherited: the Asura God and the Sea God.

The remaining Rakshasa God is a pervert and already has a candidate, while the Angel God is dead, leaving only a lost divine thought that is passed down to a thousand families of women.

As for why Yu Tianyun knows the Angel God is dead, he deduced it from his past‑life memories; otherwise he wouldn't have stood by as the Sea God and Asura God schemed against Qian Renxue, nor would the Angel God's shattered throne have emerged.

He truly cannot commend the character of the Sea God and the Asura God; he suspects the Angel God's death is linked to those two.

After all, the Angel God's authority—justice, sanctity, judgment—overlaps greatly with that of the Sea God and Asura God; perhaps the two colluded to kill him.

Of course, the greater possibility is that the Asura God acted alone; after all, the Asura God has a record, and the fewer who know of such deeds, the better, lest the opposing Destruction God learns of it and uses it as leverage.

If Yu Tianyun chooses to inherit the Asura God's throne, he cannot guarantee he won't be manipulated, or that hidden risks won't remain; moreover, his deep ties with the Dragon races and the Thunder God deter him from gambling.

From his past‑life memories he knows that after Tang San became a god, he appears before everyone in the form of the Sea God, and unless absolutely necessary he will not wield the Asura God's power; Tang San himself said he fears it would affect his personality and divine mind, which is fairly typical.

The Sea God is relatively better, but Yu Tianyun despises that the Sea God's throne is only a first‑rank god. Nonetheless, he plans to send his wives to Sea God Island to take the Divine Examination and try their luck.

Thus, perhaps the only option before him is to create his own divine throne; he remains confident, noting that Yun Ming, twenty thousand years later, is only a half step from success, and his own accumulation is far deeper than Yun Ming of the same age.

Yun Ming possesses only nine hundred‑thousand‑year Soul Rings, whereas he has three major Soul Rings that can grow to million‑year, god‑level tiers, and his seventh, eighth, and ninth Soul Rings will each be at least hundred‑thousand years. How could he lack confidence? Though he does not intend to inherit the Asura God's throne, he still plans to go to the City of Slaughter, where the blood‑flesh energy is the optimal material for his fifth Soul Ring's evolution, and he harbors no psychological aversion to killing Evil Soul Masters.

Although his fifth Soul Ring also involves the Evil God, Yu Tianyun does not know whether the Evil God is watching, and even if it is, he does not wish to inherit the Evil God's throne; compared to the Evil God, he would rather inherit the Asura God's throne.

Because he knows the Evil God is ten times more disgusting than the Asura God or Sea God! He does not want to endure tragedies like the princess's movement or the raging flames.

Getting back on track, this time Yu Tianyun's first Soul Ring broke through to the hundred‑thousand‑year level, a great boost for him. His resistance and control over thunder and lightning have increased markedly, and the damage from heavenly thunder has greatly lessened; he even feels he may be about to awaken a domain, possibly his martial soul's innate domain.

But it seems something is still missing; the awakening is not complete, which may require him to spend some time truly comprehending it.

Yu Tianyun felt his martial soul might have evolved, but it might also not have evolved, since his martial soul on the surface was still a Blue Electric Tyrannosaur, only his lightning attribute was obviously stronger.

Yu Tianyun also didn't know whether the original Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Weapon Soul had an innate domain, but his grandfather Yu Yuanzhen had already reached the 98th level of cultivation and still hadn't awakened a domain. However, it could also be due to personal aptitude, as a Soul Master may awaken a domain when breaking through to Title Douluo.

Of course, this doesn't mean the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Weapon Soul is weak without a domain; its attached Dragon Transformation is already comparable to a domain. In terms of amplification, it is far more formidable than a domain, but its range is inferior to a domain, limited to oneself.

As for the strengthening of his martial soul's lightning attribute, Yu Tianyun felt it was related to the Soul Rings he had absorbed.

After all, besides the sixth Soul Ring, he had always been absorbing lightning-attribute Soul Rings, especially the first Soul Ring, which was a Thunderous Yama Hell Vine possessing the Thunder God's bloodline.

As for other Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Soul Masters, compared to the lightning attribute, they value more whether the Soul Ring possesses a dragon bloodline.

Only a Soul Ring with a dragon bloodline can promote the generation of Dragon Transformation; for them, Dragon Transformation is more cost-effective than enhancing the lightning attribute.

According to Soul Master theory, a Soul Master absorbing Soul Rings that match themselves can continually strengthen their martial soul, so his martial soul likely also underwent a change. As for whether it is ultimate lightning, he truly doesn't know; he only knows his lightning is very strong, far stronger than that of an ordinary Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Weapon Soul, which may be the result of his insistence since childhood on following the path of lightning.

Of course, all this has little to do with the immortal herbs he previously absorbed; those immortal herbs he absorbed were not the kind that promote martial soul evolution, each acting respectively on the body, spiritual strength, and soul power.

As for whether it has evolved, Yu Tianyun doesn't really care; as long as he can become stronger, isn't that enough? Even a god-level martial soul like a six-winged angel still gets hammered.

(End of chapter)