Chapter 113: Not Only Unafraid, But Actually a Bit Excited!?

The entire Thunder Pool was almost completely sucked dry by the Kui Ox.

All the thunder dragon souls were directly devoured by the Kui Ox; the sole remaining dragon soul, facing the Kui Ox's terrifying power, had no thought of resistance at all.

At this moment, Lu Zheng summoned Wu Tuohai and had him complete the final fusion step of the Thunder Prison Dragon Armor.

It was completed very smoothly!

With the third trial finished, the fourth trial's contents appeared before the two of them.

【Fourth trial: Unseal the Punishment Divine Sword!】

【Description: The Thunder Punishment God possesses two upper divine artifacts, one of which, the Punishment Divine Sword, is sealed in the deepest part of the Thunder Pool; breaking the seal and obtaining the sword completes the trial.】

These trials are clearly interlinked.

The first trial, crossing the Sea of Thunderstorms, is to restrict those with insufficient thunder affinity from entering; the second trial requires the examinee to possess a certain level of strength; the third trial tests one's control over thunder, and the Thunder Prison Dragon Armor it condenses is the key to delving into the Thunder Pool to obtain the Divine Sword.

But now it clearly doesn't require that much trouble.

Because the entire Thunder Pool has been completely devoured by the Kui Ox, not a single thunder dragon soul remains inside, and even the thunder energy is pitifully scarce.

If it weren't for the Thunder Pool's special magical array that continues to gather thunder power from the sky, it would already be empty.

However, Lu Zheng had indeed not noticed before that there was still a seal at the very bottom.

Wu Tuohai leapt into the Thunder Pool, saw the seal at the bottom, and channeled thunder power into it.

"Not good, my magical power is insufficient!"

Wu Tuohai suddenly spoke.

Lu Zheng immediately erected a Bridge of Magic Power between himself and Wu Tuohai, then continued to link the Kui Ox, and even summoned four divine pets: another Taotie, a Nine‑Headed Immortal Phoenix, and two others.

In the end, it didn't consume that much magical power; only Lu Zheng, the Kui Ox, and the three Taotie's magical power were sufficient.

The seal opened, and a divine sword flew out from beneath the Thunder Pool.

Wu Tuohai grasped it, then laughed, "The fourth trial is complete; the fifth trial is to master another upper divine artifact, the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison that imprisons evil demons!"

【Fifth trial: Master the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison!】

【Description: The Thunder God wields punishment, using thunder power to judge evil demons and sinful deities; mastering the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison that imprisons evil demons is required to become a true Thunder Punishment God!】

Lu Zheng and Wu Tuohai soon arrived before the so‑called Divine Thunder Punishment Prison.

It is a massive cage placed underground.

It looks as if an iron cage were embedded within a basin, rather peculiar.

Looking down from the ground, the cage, constructed like thunder chains, seems to have countless layers.

Inside, black, blood‑red, and gray auras permeate; the monsters within have not been completely slain and are still alive.

Lu Zheng said:

"This cage, like the Divine Sword, exists as a single entity. You try to master it first and see what difficulty arises; if you can't master it, we'll think of another way!"

Speaking thus, he linked the Kui Ox, Taotie, Nine‑Headed Immortal Phoenix, Baize, himself, and Wu Tuohai with a Bridge of Magic Power.

Wu Tuohai now follows Lu Zheng's commands completely; whatever Lu Zheng orders, he does.

After all, without Lu Zheng's help, he could not complete any of the current trial items.

A seat among the Upper Gods is not easily attained; only a monstrous prodigy can obtain it. An ordinary Lower God's seat might be reachable by a Saint‑level practitioner, but given the current situation, inheriting an Upper God seat requires at least half‑god peak strength.

Lu Zheng possesses true‑god‑level power, so he crushes everything in his path.

If it were someone else, say Xuanyuan Wuji, he could not achieve such smoothness and would most likely fail the trials.

While Wu Tuohai attempted to master the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison, Lu Zheng had already had the Kui Ox shroud the area with the Thunder Marsh domain, both to counter the potentially volatile thunder power and to use those thunder energies to restore magical power.

In fact, in such an environment, as long as the Thunder Marsh domain's passive effect is present and the thunder chains transmit thunder power, Lu Zheng will never lack magical power.

Connecting the thunder clouds in the sky or the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison on the ground via thunder chains can continuously draw thunder energy, converting it into magical power, even into experience for leveling up.

Just as Wu Tuohai tried to control the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison, the entire cage suddenly flickered, terrifying thunder power began to rampage, and the evil demons inside each let out painful, ferocious howls.

In the sky, an aura of immense pressure gradually formed.

Wu Tuohai shouted loudly, "To master the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison, one must first undergo Heavenly Thunder body refinement! Heavenly Thunder will descend immediately, and it will only cease when I fully master this prison or die!"

Lu Zheng's eyes brightened at the words.

"Fine! Don't worry, focus on mastering it, take your time, and let the Heavenly Thunder come even more fiercely!"

Wu Tuohai was stunned; he had warned Lu Zheng that if it truly failed, he could let him die and then escape.

But he didn't expect Lu Zheng to react that way.

Facing the world‑destroying Heavenly Thunder, how can you look not only unafraid but even a bit excited!?

Lu Zheng is not excited at all!

He was still pondering how to break the Kui Ox's 300‑level shackles, since advancing that one level into Saint rank requires an enormous amount of experience.

Unless he finds another half‑god to slay, now it's unnecessary.

As long as there is enough thunder power, not only can one level up, but perhaps the Kui Ox could rise ten or eight levels.

He actually hopes the Heavenly Thunder's strength becomes even greater, giving the Kui Ox a good feast! Before Wu Tuohai could react, the Heavenly Thunder descended.

Terrifying thunder, a single strike can slay an ordinary half‑god above level 450, and this is merely the most ordinary thunder among the Heavenly Thunders.

Eight Heavenly Thunders fell in succession, and the Kui Ox leveled up! All the thunder power was absorbed by its Thunder Marsh domain; Lu Zheng did not compete for it, since his level is currently capped, and despite accumulating so much experience, he still cannot level up and must wait.

The Kui Ox kept absorbing the Heavenly Thunder, and Lu Zheng was not idle either.

He wrapped the thunder chains around Wu Tuohai, helping him continue to raise his thunder affinity.

At first they thought thunder affinity wasn't a prerequisite, but after so many trials they realized that when thunder affinity is maxed, many trials become very easy.

Even this current trial, as Wu Tuohai's thunder affinity gradually rises, his mastery of the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison deepens.

After roughly three and a half hours, Wu Tuohai's thunder affinity reached 100%, successfully mastering the Divine Thunder Punishment Prison, and the Heavenly Thunder vanished.

The Kui Ox, just promoted to level 312, is still not satisfied!

It looks at Wu Tuohai, lets out a roar, its eyes full of anticipation.

Wu Tuohai, exhausted to the point of collapse, stared dazedly at Lu Zheng and asked:

「What does it mean？」

Lu Zheng smiled and said: "No ill will, I just want you to strike it with heavenly thunder again!"

(End of chapter)