Chapter 196: Realization: Heaven

Ahead.

The rolling dust in the air gradually dispersed.

The short mountain, completely flattened, emitted a pungent smell of charred debris.

"Huh—"

Guhe exhaled a long breath.

The violent thunder elements slowly receded from his body.

He turned around and walked toward Lin Mo and the others.

Everyone involuntarily held their breath.

Too strong.

Who could withstand that annihilating spear!

Guhe walked up to Lin Mo.

He looked at Lin Mo, a faint smile on his lips.

"How was it, Lin Mo?"

"How does the technique 【Heaven's Punishment·Thunder God Spear】 feel?"

Guhe stroked his beard, his tone tinged with reflection:

"You saw the power of this technique, but its difficulty is equally hellish."

"Thunder energy is inherently uncontrollably violent; forcing it to compress demands an insane level of mental control and elemental finesse."

"Do you… have the confidence?"

Hearing Guhe's question,

Lin Mo's expression remained calm, but his heart stirred slightly.

How did it feel?

Xiao Lei said, a complete mess…

Hmm…

But he certainly couldn't say that out loud.

He still had some emotional intelligence.

Lin Mo's expression turned serious as he met Guhe's gaze.

"Principal."

"I… will try."

Upon hearing this answer,

Guhe's smile deepened, his eyes brimming with anticipation.

"Good!"

"Go!"

With that, Guhe stepped back several paces, leaving the field to Lin Mo.

Behind.

Zhang Daoyuan nudged Xu Wenchang beside him, lowering his voice.

"Old Xu…"

"Do you think… Lin Mo can perfectly replicate it this time?"

"This is the hardest single-target thunder technique— even the Principal spent years just barely mastering it."

Hearing this,

Xu Wenchang rolled his eyes.

"Old Zhang, why do you always say useless things? Just watch."

…

Ahead.

Lin Mo took a few steps forward.

Then he took a deep breath.

All eyes locked tightly onto Lin Mo's back.

Lin Mo stopped.

"Xiao Lei, go."

In his skill bar,

the 【Lightning Strike】 skill flickered faintly with thunderlight.

As Lin Mo raised his right hand,

BOOM—!!

In an instant,

the dark sky was torn open again!

Thick thunderclouds reformed once more!

Their momentum was no less formidable than when Guhe had unleashed it moments ago.

Zizalizila!

Countless thick lightning arcs rolled like furious dragons within the clouds.

Then,

BOOM—!!

Amidst the thunderclap, a colossal phantom of the Thunder God emerged from the clouds.

The Thunder God's eyes gleamed with supreme, world-dominating authority.

"Come."

Lin Mo's lips curled slightly as he grasped the air with his right hand.

The sky's lightning surged wildly, rushing furiously toward the heavens.

Violent thunder elements raged through the air, tearing countless blackened fissures.

Suddenly,

the previously chaotic lightning ceased its rampage and began collapsing inward, converging into the Thunder God Spear.

The thunder elements wove themselves together voluntarily.

Compared to the spear Guhe had just formed,

the Thunder God Spear above Lin Mo's head was vastly more restrained.

All the thunder energy was perfectly compressed within the spear's shaft.

Only a single, pure thread of lightning, like a coiling dragon, quietly danced around its surface.

Calm.

Yet radiating an annihilating dread that made souls tremble.

…

Behind.

Everyone sensed something was off.

Fang Lei widened his eyes, scratching his head:

"Huh?"

"Why does it feel… like Lin Mo the Demon King's spear isn't as violent as the Principal's just now?"

Li Xue'er also looked puzzled.

"Yeah…"

"It seems much quieter now—even the thunder sounds softer."

Meanwhile,

Guhe, standing at the front, was the most stunned.

He stared fixedly at the spear in midair—so restrained it bordered on impossible.

"How is this possible…"

"Such violent thunder elements…"

"How could they possibly be controlled to this degree?"

"This… this is exactly the perfect form I've dreamed of for this technique!"

As Guhe's mind reeled in shock,

Lin Mo, far away, moved.

He thrust his right hand forward sharply.

"Xiao Lei, smash it!"

The Thunder God phantom behind him mirrored the motion.

BOOM—!!!

The Thunder God Spear vanished from its spot.

Its speed had clearly surpassed sonic velocity; to the onlookers, it left only a blinding streak of pure white light piercing heaven and earth.

In an instant.

BOOM——!!!!

The lightning spear slammed hard into another low hill.

At the instant it struck the hillside.

The lightning spear pierced clean through the entire hill in a terrifying, unstoppable fashion.

Immediately after,

the hyper-compressed lightning elements detonated violently within the hill's core!

Blinding lightning light instantly swallowed the entire low hill.

When the glow faded,

ahead,

the massive low hill had been utterly flattened.

Not only that,

a terrifying, bottomless crater remained gouged into the ground!

…

In Lin Mo's vision, a system prompt popped up.

【Congratulations! Your skill "Lightning Strike" has been successfully evolved and unlocked the high-grade Lightning skill: Heavenly Punishment — Thunder God Spear (Lv. )!】

【Heavenly Punishment — Thunder God Spear (Lv. ): Condense violent lightning into a spear, lock onto a single target, and hurl it. Inflicts extreme piercing damage. This skill ignores 70% of the target's defense. Upon hit, applies "Paralysis" and causes lightning splash damage to surrounding targets. Cooldown: 5 minutes.】

Looking at the skill description on the panel,

Lin Mo couldn't help but feel his heart leap.

Damn…

No wonder they say this is the strongest single-target divine technique!

Ignores 70% defense!

Sure, my Earth skill 【Dead Thorn Rock Spear】 also has armor-piercing effects,

but this is Lightning!

Lightning is inherently the element with the highest burst damage.

On top of that extreme burst, it ignores 70% of the target's defense.

This thing…

One hit, and even gods and demons are erased!

Lin Mo inwardly praised:

"Well done, Xiao Lei."

"You never let me down."

【"Lightning Strike" remained coldly aloof: "Fine."】

After praising Xiao Lei,

Lin Mo didn't forget to address his other two elders.

"Xiao Huo, Xiao Tu."

"You saw that, right?"

"That's the result of hard work."

"You two need to work hard too. Stop wasting time on petty rivalries. Keep striving for enlightenment — you'll grow stronger over time."

"When that day comes, high-grade? Even ultra-grade and forbidden spells will be yours."

Hearing this familiar empty promise,

inside the skill bar,

【"Fireball" snorted: "Hmph! I'll never lose to this show-off and that little brat! I'll become a forbidden spell!"】

【"Earth Shield" nodded vigorously: "Wahhh… Brother's right! Master, don't worry — I, your second brother, swear to defend you with my life! I'll work hard and grow stronger!"】

…

Gu He drew his gaze back and fixed it once more on Lin Mo.

Why?

Why could this kid control lightning to such an extent?

That was thunder.

The most violent thunder!

For all these years, I've studied day and night, trying to suppress it with immense spiritual force — yet I've never achieved such perfection.

Gu He's breathing grew increasingly rapid.

No.

Not acceptable.

If I don't understand this today, I'll never find peace in this lifetime.

Even if I must humble myself and beg a first-year student for answers,

I must know!