Chapter 709

Wu Family Village, Wu Family Training Ground.

The hour of Chou to Yin (4 a.m.), when utmost yin turns to yang.

The sky was thick with dark, pitch-black clouds; a faint metallic odor lingered in the morning wind, foretelling a thunderstorm.

Wu Ba bared his upper body, muscles coiled like ropes, legs slightly crouched in horse stance, assuming the Baji Quan posture.

With his physique, this stance made him resemble a guardian golden statue.

Yet now, he trembled all over, every hair on his body standing erect.

“What are you afraid of?!”

Wu Zhuang, standing beside him, roared in anger, his bristling white beard and whiskers standing on end.

“The Five Thunder Strike is Hua Guang’s strongest martial art—if you can’t learn it, what’s the point of inheritance?!”

“Come, step the Dipper, form the seal, follow my chant!”

“Heavenly Five Thunder Master, earthly Five Thunder General… By the decree of our ancestor Hua Guang, destroy evil, dispel calamity, swiftly as the law commands!”

As Wu Zhuang spoke, he stepped the Dipper, formed the hand seals, and chanted.

Unlike a sorcerer’s ritual, he used only one hand to form the seal, while simultaneously assuming the Mountain-Crushing stance.

Boom boom boom~

As the incantation took effect, thunder rumbled in the sky.

Wu Ba heard it, shuddered violently, looked up at the heavens, fear flashing in his eyes.

Zzzt~

At the same time, electric arcs sparked along Wu Zhuang’s arm.

He spun sideways and slashed his palm toward the empty air to his left.

CRASH! The rammed-earth wall collapsed instantly, its power rivaling that of a divine fire gun.

“Good…”

Sha Lifei wanted to cheer, but feared interrupting—he swallowed the word halfway.

Li Yan, however, remained grim-faced.

The thunder in the sky was not summoned by Wu Zhuang.

Such a scale of sorcery required a large altar, perfect timing, favorable terrain, and human harmony—even the most accomplished cultivator could not achieve it alone.

They chose this weather to help Wu Ba sense it better.

But clearly, Wu Ba’s condition was off.

“Come!”

After the demonstration, Wu Zhuang turned and roared.

Wu Ba clenched his teeth, blood-red fury flashing in his eyes, forcing himself to step the Dipper, form the seal, and chant:

“Heavenly Five Thunder Master…”

Puff!

As soon as he uttered the word “Thunder” in “Heavenly Five Thunder Master,” black blood gushed from his throat, and the ground beneath his feet cracked with a sharp snap.

At the same moment, a thunderclap split the sky—and lightning struck directly down.

Luckily, Li Yan had prepared in advance; the moment he sensed the thunder aura, his Soul-Stealing Thunder Rope shot out like a whip.

The falling lightning was immediately absorbed by the rope.

To those around, it appeared only that Li Yan suddenly raised his hand, a twenty-meter-long bolt of lightning coalesced, then vanished.

Since absorbing the Thunder Aura, Li Yan had been able to slowly condense lightning—he no longer sought out thunderstorms to replenish it.

By sheer coincidence, his Thunder Aura was now fully replenished.

But to others, it looked entirely different.

Wu Zhuang’s face first showed shock, then anger; he growled, “Fine. You teach it.”

Clearly, he believed Li Yan was showing off, using thunder magic to overshadow him.

“Senior, you misunderstand.”

Li Yan shook his head, stepping forward with a grave expression, “I did not summon the thunder.”

He pulled a healing pill from his sleeve and shoved it straight into Wu Ba’s mouth, “Don’t force it—your internal organs will be damaged.”

Wu Zhuang now noticed Wu Ba’s condition, frowned, and said, “Injured right after casting thunder magic?”

Before he finished speaking, he realized—he shook his head and sighed, “I was mistaken. Your bloodline is likely incompatible with thunder arts.”

Everyone understood the implication.

Wu Ba was a human-xiao, born of a mountain xiao abducting a woman.

Human-xiao cannot reproduce; after the Xuan Sect eradicated the mountain xiao in Shennongjia, they left these descendants to fend for themselves.

Even without incident, this lineage was doomed to extinction.

Wu Ba’s very existence here was pure coincidence.

He possessed innate divine strength, derived from his mountain xiao bloodline—but he was still a “monster,” inherently suppressed by thunder.

Forcing cultivation would only injure him.

One misstep summoning heavenly lightning, and he’d be reduced to ash.

“Forget it, forget it!”

Sha Lifei immediately cried out, “We won’t learn this thunder art—those two moves are enough!”

Unexpectedly, Wu Zhuang didn’t get angry—he paused, then said, “Very well. Show me ‘Secret Strike’ and ‘Counter Strike’ again.”

“Yes!”

Wu Ba’s injury was minor; after taking the spirit-pill, he had already recovered. At once, he rose.

He stepped the Dipper again and chanted: “I cleanse my body with the sun, refine my truth with the moon… All evil and filth, swept clean by water, swiftly as the law commands!”

Upon finishing the chant, he clenched his fists and slammed them downward—his muscles swelled instantly.

Li Yan could sense a surge of aura swirling around him, like an iron statue in a temple.

Boom!

Before he could speak, Wu Zhuang struck—his palm slammed into Wu Ba’s chest.

A muffled thud echoed—Wu Ba didn’t budge an inch.

“Good!”

Wu Zhuang nodded approvingly, then shifted his stance, lowered into horse stance, and suddenly thrust his elbow upward.

Thud! Wu Ba’s massive body flew backward, crashing through the rammed-earth wall.

From the dust, Wu Ba emerged, dusty and disheveled—but unharmed.

“Excellent.”

Wu Zhuang finally smiled in satisfaction, “Heaven’s balance is natural: your innate strength makes ‘Secret Strike’ stronger than others.”

The ‘Secret Strike’ technique was a vital part of Hua Guang’s martial arts, focused on defense.

Like hard qigong, once activated, it reinforced the body with aura, rendering it impervious to blades and spears.

Hearing the praise, Wu Ba’s face broke into a simple, foolish grin. He stepped the Dipper again, formed the seal, and chanted:

“Heavenly Thunder Lord, earthly Yama God, master and general rise together… Counter Strike turns the enemy’s blow against himself, swiftly as the law commands!”

No sooner had he finished than aura surged again around him.

Wu Zhuang struck without hesitation, his fist moving with deceptive lightness.

Once a peak contender, even with restrained power, he was still at the pinnacle of hidden force.

Yet the instant his fist struck Wu Ba, the aura around him flowed, muscles trembled, and the force rebounded outward.

The ground beneath Wu Zhuang trembled, dust spraying—he effortlessly dissipated the recoil.

“Good!”

Li Yan could no longer hold back his praise.

This was Hua Guang’s ‘Counter Strike’ technique.

Similar to his Immortal Seal Art, but achieved through sorcery.

Less flexible, but a vital survival technique in critical moments.

Even Wu Ba’s face showed a flicker of delight.

The transmission of teachings took longer than expected—they spent four full days.

Even so, this was the first time ‘Counter Strike’ succeeded.

“Of course.”

Wu Zhuang wasn’t surprised—he shook his head in disappointment, “Your talent suits ‘Secret Strike’ and ‘Counter Strike’ best. But ‘Five Thunder Strike,’ ‘Shadow Strike,’ ‘Summon Four Spirits,’ and ‘Still Body Spell’—you’ll make no progress in this lifetime.”

Wu Ba grinned foolishly, “Enough. More than enough.”

“Not enough!”