Chapter 55: Sword Heart Erupts!

"Retreat, now!"

Bai Fangshan was greatly shocked.

The scale of the thunderclouds had expanded!

This was a sign that had never appeared before!

A thundercloud spanning dozens of miles was already the limit of what nature could normally produce; even a powerhouse at the Enlightenment Realm Ninth Layer would not dare claim the ability to survive it.

Now that it was expanding again on such a massive scale, even a Dao Merging Realm powerhouse would avoid it at all costs.

"How could this be?"

Xiao Xuan stared in stunned disbelief and retreated at top speed with Bai Fangshan.

By the time the thunderclouds stopped spreading, their scale had reached a full hundred miles.

In that central region, no human figure could be seen—only a dazzling pillar of blue-purple thunder.

Lin Feng still felt it wasn't enough; he raised his sword toward the heavens.

"Lightning-Drawing Art!"

In an instant, a bolt of lightning spread outward.

Within the dense black clouds, thunder roared; lightning pierced through the clouds and crashed down toward the ground in a frenzy.

One bolt, two bolts, three bolts!

One after another, in endless succession.

In the span of merely three breaths, ninety-nine bolts of thunder had come crashing down.

This stretch of earth trembled without cease; the surroundings had already become ruins.

If Lin Feng had not been protecting her, the place where Lin Xuan was taking shelter would likely have been transformed into a sea of thunder.

"One hundred bolts!"

As the final bolt of thunder fell, Lin Feng was thoroughly satisfied. The Lightning-Drawing Art had reached Small Success; by borrowing the naturally formed thunderclouds, Lin Feng had essentially completed his cultivation of the Lightning-Drawing Art.

Now the final step was to swallow all of these hundred bolts of thunder.

"Heaven-Swallowing Mysterious Art!"

Lin Feng activated his cultivation method, drawing in all of the thunder. The Lightning-Drawing Art drew the lightning, and the Heaven-Swallowing Mysterious Art swallowed it—forming a perfect closed loop.

"Clan Leader! Stop it already, Xuan'er is scared!"

Lin Xuan clutched her head, terrified beyond measure.

Sure enough, their Lin Family Patriarch was a complete freak.

What kind of decent person cultivates using thunderbolts?

In a flash, the hundred bolts of thunder brought down by the thunderclouds converged at a single point and were entirely swallowed. Boundless electric plasma entered Lin Feng's body, transforming into pure thunder-attribute Spirit Qi, stored within his dantian.

The entire process lasted three full hours.

Outside, Bai Fangshan and Xiao Xuan watched for three full hours!

"Such tremendous power—hundreds of bolts of thunder, and he swallowed them all!"

"What manner of person is this!"

"Could it be that a Sage has descended upon the world?"

Xiao Xuan turned pale with fright. Apart from a Sage, who could survive beneath such thunder?

"Later, come with your master to pay a visit." Bai Fangshan's old eyes blazed with brilliant light; he was determined to seek out this person's true appearance. If he could receive even a few pointers from him, the benefits would likely be boundless.

However, by the time all the thunder had been absorbed by Lin Feng—

The dense clouds in the sky had not yet dispersed when Lin Feng landed before the mountain cave.

Lin Xuan was already so shocked she was speechless.

The Lin Feng before her radiated an air of mystery everywhere. Though the thunder just now had not quite remade him from the ground up, his bearing had already been elevated to the utmost.

In every gesture and movement, he seemed like a towering Great Expert.

"Let's go. We're heading home."

Lin Feng was thoroughly satisfied. With the Lightning-Drawing Art now at Small Success and a hundred bolts of thunder swallowed into his belly, this would become his trump card.

"Clan Leader, you're not human!" Lin Xuan said with an excited face.

Lin Feng furrowed his brow, somewhat puzzled.

Realizing she had misspoken, Lin Xuan quickly said: "I mean, you're a god!"

"Even if I'm a god, I'm still your Clan Leader. Cut the nonsense and let's go, now!"

Lin Feng gave Lin Xuan's little head an exasperated pat, then swiftly took her away.

Only after the black clouds dispersed did Bai Fangshan and Xiao Xuan dare approach.

But they could no longer find any trace of Lin Feng.

"Eh? That Great Expert has left." Xiao Xuan said with some regret.

He too had wished to glimpse the true appearance of a Sage.

"What a pity—fated but not bound by destiny, unable to catch even a glimpse of the Sage's countenance."

Bai Fangshan shook his head, then turned to leave. But at that moment, he spotted a Jade Pendant left behind in a nearby mountain cave.

"This—could it be an item left behind by the Sage?"

Bai Fangshan reached out and grabbed it, examining it closely, but only saw the character 'Lin' upon it.

This was a personal Jade Pendant that every member of the Lin Family possessed.

"That Sage likely bears the surname Lin!"

A glint of sharp light flashed through Bai Fangshan's eyes; in his heart, the thought of going to investigate had already taken shape…

After returning to the Lin Family, the trade routes of Ziyun City had already been opened up.

Elder Lin Hai led people to drive away the troublemakers, and when those people returned to find their lair had already been raided, they naturally didn't dare come block the Ziyun City Lin Family again.

The Lin Family's transaction was completed smoothly, bringing in three hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Everything was developing step by step, and Lin Feng continued to lead ten Clan Members to Ziyun Mountain to cultivate.

In a few more months, it would be the day the Hundred Clans Assembly opened.

And the matter of Jinyun City had spread throughout all of Leiling Province.

The Ji Family had originally planned to test the waters again, but for the moment gave up that idea.

The Zhao Family behind the Pingtian Trading Guild had also, unusually, made no sound.

It seemed as if dark schemes were stirring in the shadows…

Two months later, Thatched Cottage Mountain.

Huang Ling'er, buried in the ground by Lin Feng and Lin Ya, broke out of the soil, her whole body filthy, looking utterly pitiful.

"Damned bastards!"

"How dare you treat me like this! I'll remember your faces!"

"Even if I have to dig up Leiling Province three feet deep, I'll find you!"

Huang Ling'er was furious beyond measure. The bells on her wrist shook rapidly, streams of Spirit Qi flying out as she cleansed the dust from her body, about to leave.

Just then, some sounds came.

A group of youths carrying heavy rulers on their backs were climbing up the mountain.

"Sister Lin Xuan, slow down."

Lin Ya sighed, his face full of helplessness.

Ever since returning from Jinyun City last time, Lin Xuan seemed to have become a different person.

In the past, she couldn't stand cultivating while carrying the Xuanzhong Ruler, but now Lin Xuan carried the Xuanzhong Ruler as if nothing were the matter, moving freely without the slightest pressure.

"Brother Lin Ya, can you handle it or not?" Lin Xuan said with a grin.

"Even a mere girl like me can carry the Xuanzhong Ruler and walk as if on flying feet—what about you? And they call you the Lin Family's number one genius!"

The moment these words came out, the faces of the many Clan Members behind them flushed red.

If even Lin Ya couldn't do it, weren't they all even worse?

"I—how could I not!"

Lin Ya gritted his teeth and ran a few quick steps, but the Xuanzhong Ruler on his back grew even heavier.

This was clearly the Clan Leader secretly manipulating things from the shadows!

Lin Feng was indeed hiding in a nearby tree, and it wasn't that he played favorites and didn't put pressure on Lin Xuan.

Rather, this girl had awakened her Martial Dao Sacred Body, her whole body brimming with inexhaustible strength, and her physique had been greatly enhanced.

The Xuanzhong Ruler could no longer satisfy her cultivation needs.

"I need to think of a new method."

Lin Feng was calculating in his heart, when at that moment he saw Lin Ya's breathing grow rapid. A brilliant light burst forth in his eyes, and then he quickly sat cross-legged, streams of Sword Qi spreading around him.

"Oh? A great eruption of Sword Heart?"

Lin Feng's gaze darkened—this genius of the Lin Family had broken through again!

Back then he had been given the choice to plant the Sword Heart in the Bitter Sea, and now the Sword Heart had taken root and sprouted, becoming a force to be reckoned with. Its eruption today was only natural.

But no matter how one looked at it, it felt extremely dangerous!

"Whoosh!"

A gust of swift wind swept in, and Lin Feng appeared beside Lin Ya.

"All of you, back off!"

Lin Feng's voice was low, and the surrounding Clan Members retreated one after another, leaving an area ten zhang long and wide.

Within this area, Sword Qi crisscrossed, and the biting cold wind scraped across people's faces like a blade.