The mountain range surrounding the City of Thunder was even more eye-catching as bright flashes of light could be seen in the sky every few minutes which was followed by the sound of loud thunder.
The clouds covering this mountain range were even denser and darker as no natural light of the sun could be seen from the mountains.
As Long Chen flew upwards, he was able to see charred marks on the ground and burnt trees.
Instead of being worried, Long Chen smiled as he flew towards the peak of the mountain.
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It took Long Chen five hours to reach the top of the mountain.
"Alright, Time to get to work" Long Chen muttered as he got to the top.
He found a clean place as he sat there.
"A perfect place to help me with two things... Learning the Thunder blade and Earthly Monarch Effect." Long Chen muttered softly as he looked around.
" Hmm, You look like you are somewhat anxious..." Xun said to Long Chen as she appeared behind him.
"Who wouldn't be anxious. Facing thunder is a scary thing, even for people with a strong physique. " Long Chen muttered as he looked towards the clouded sky.
He sat on the ground as he thought about the cultivation method of the Earthly Monarch Effect. The skill needed two things... Firstly hurting the body again and again with the lightning... which Long Chen wanted to do though facing the lightning of this mountain range. The second thing it needed was for a cultivator to follow the cultivation method closely. Although the second thing was easy to achieve, it was the first thing that worried Long Chen.
"The lightning won't fall on me the way I want, whenever I want...I must make it fall on me... The Thunder Blade compliments the cultivation of Earthly Monarch Effect...I didn't know about it when I chose it but now that I know, I'm glad I chose Thunder Blade." Long Chen let out with a smile.
Long Chen sat down on the ground as he tried to comprehend the Thunder Blade. He stayed like that for over three hours as he tried learning that skill. There was lightning essence everywhere in the atmosphere which helped Long Chen by a lot.
Five more hours passed as Long Chen finally opened his eyes.
"Thunder Blade!"Long Chen let out loudly as he pointed his finger towards the sky and slowly brought it down. Long Chen noticed a flicker of lightning in the sky but it was too weak as it soon disappeared before even forming completely.
Long Chen closed his eyes again as he tried thinking about what went wrong. Long Chen kept trying again and again as he kept failing although there was a slight improvement each time.
Just like that, two days passed as Long Chen kept trying to succeed. It was the evening on the third day when Long Chen tried one more time.
"Thunder Blade!" Long Chen roared loudly as he pointed towards the sky and moved his finger downwards towards the tree on the front. Unlike the previous time, the sky brightened as a strong lightning bolt formed in the sky and fell on the tree. The tree turned into ashes as soon as the lightning fell on it, soon it was followed by a loud thundering sound.
"Success!" Long Chen stood up excitedly as he gazed towards the ashes of the tree.
"Such strong skill!!! Too bad that it consumed a lot of my Qi" Long Chen muttered as he smiled.
" Again! Thunder Blade!!!" Long Chen roared again as he pointed towards the sky and moved that same finger towards another tree nearby. Again a thunderbolt formed amongst the clouds and fell on the tree Long Chen pointed at.
Long Chen sat down on the ground as he smiled. He closed his eyes as he lay down and finally rested after working hard for three days.
Long Chen had already noticed that this whole mountain range was empty of people and beast, especially the peak of the mountain, so he didn't need to worry about any beast or humans. He rested without much worry. The only thing that still somewhat worried him was the natural lightning bolts that could fall on him, but that was what he wanted either way.
Long Chen rested for two hours as he lay on the ground. After resting, he sat up.
"Time for the main event" Long Chen muttered in a serious tone as he looked towards the sky.
" Thunder Blade! " Long Chen muttered softly as he pointed towards the sky, he finally moved his finger as he pointed towards himself.
A thick lightning bolt formed in the sky.
Long Chen utilized his Demon Monarch physique to the fullest as he tried to rely on just the defense of his body.
The lightning moved towards Long Chen and soon fell on him.
"Aaaaaaaarrrrhhhh!!!!" Long Chen roared loudly in pain as soon as the lightning struck him. It was much worse than he had expected. His body feels like it was going to burn as electricity passed through his bones and veins. He couldn't move his body in the slightest.
Long Chen became unconscious as he fell on the ground.
Long Chen opened his eyes after 5 hours and all his eyes could see were the dark clouds in the sky. He couldn't help but remember the feeling of being struck by lightning.
"It was much worse than I had expected... without the effect of Demon Monarch Physique, I might even be dead. Thunder blade is really strong..." Love chen muttered with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Do you want to stop?" Xun appeared again as she asked.
" Stop? I'm just getting started" Long Chen let out with a thoughtful look on his face. Xun couldn't help but smile as she heard his words.
"Thunder Blade! " Long Chen let out loudly as he again used his martial skill on himself. Another lightning bolt fell on him as he again went unconscious.
Every time Long Chen woke up, He would use his martial skill on himself. Long Chen kept going through the same thing but he could feel that the pain he felt was decreasing with time.
After three more days, Long Chen was finally able to face the lightning without losing his consciousness which further boosted his morale.
Long Chen kept hitting himself with Thunderbolts again and again for two more days. By this time, he was able to walk even when being hit by lightning. From walking, he went on to run as he felt like his speed was over a hundred times faster than before. Although the lightning still hurt him, the pain was bearable now as Long Chen's resistance to lightning increased.
Long Chen kept cultivating the Earthly Monarch Effect which increased his speed and defense. Long Chen's efficiency and understanding of the Thunder blade also kept increasing the more he used the skill.
It had been over nine days since Long Chen had entered this mountain range and he felt like the difference between his abilities before and after this trip was miles apart.
"Tomorrow is my birthday and you are still not coming out? You're a bad guy you know that?" Long Chen muttered with a smile as he talked to the egg.
Long Chen put the egg back in his storage ring as he went to sleep.
Long Chen woke up early morning the next day as he began Cultivating. He had already reached the late 9th stage of Gold Core Realm in these nine days and he was now just a step away from the peak of 9th stage Gold Core Realm. Long Chen cultivated for over three hours before he stopped his Qi cultivation and began his Demon Monarch Physique cultivation. He cultivated like that for two hours before he stopped.
After his Cultivation, Long Chen stood up.
He again began using Thunder Blade on himself as he cultivated Earthly Monarch Effect.
Time passed quickly as the evening arrived. Long Chen sat down and began eating the fruit he brought out from his storage ring.
Long Chen brought out his mysterious egg after he finished eating.
'Soon it will be the next day, my birthday will be over. I still remember how good my 16th birthday was… Mom… Dad...I miss you' Long Chen thought about the birthdays he celebrated with his family on Earth as he began feeding his Qi to the Mysterious Egg.
As Long Chen was lost in thoughts, a strong lightning bolt was being formed in the sky which began falling towards Long Chen.
The lightning fell on top of him and the egg abruptly. Long Chen had experienced the lightning at least a few hundred times in the last few days so he wasn't much affected but he couldn't help but be worried for the egg which was also struck by lightning along with him.
"Are you fine?" Long Chen let out as he looked at the egg for any signs of damage but he saw nothing.
Long Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief but his expressions soon turned grave as a cracking sound came.
Long Chen noticed that cracks were starting to develop on the surface of the egg which kept enlarging.
Soon the shell of the egg was turned to pieces as Long Chen finally saw what was inside...