CHAPTER 379: SUPREME ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE, PALE BLOOD HAND (4)

People in the past said that dragons bring rain.

Why were dragons associated with rain?

On a day when the rain poured heavily, Yi-gang felt as if he understood the reason.

Despite it being daytime, the sky was dark.

Thick cumulonimbus clouds had gathered.

From those black clouds, thunder roared, shaking heaven and earth.

Each time lightning flashed, they illuminated parts of the clouds.

The overwhelming mystery of nature stimulates human imagination.

What creates such mysterious phenomena?

One might wonder if some being swims through the clouds, bringing rain and lightning.

The flashing lightning looked as if something was swimming inside the clouds.

People might have thought that was a dragon.

Of course, this is a world where dragons truly live and immortals roam.

Yi-gang leapt into the thunderstorm.

He grasped a clue to enlightenment.

Though rushing into the rain drew attention, it was a risk worth taking.

「The priest’s power is not only psychokinesis.」

Zhang Sanfeng said so.

Yi-gang sought the clue to the Supreme Ultimate Technique in the Qi Control Sword Technique.

Because it was something uniquely special that others did not have.

But there was something even better to explore.

「To Taoists, lightning and thunder are powers of purification. Though the priest’s power originates from demons…」

After emerging from the cave, Yi-gang reached a place unseen by the wandering martial artists and summoned the power of the Heavenly Thunder Command.

Familiar energy surged through his entire meridians.

Yi-gang’s pupils turned deep blue, and his running speed increased sharply.

He ran through the forest like a streak of lightning.

He stopped running in a clearing without trees.

Looking up at the sky, the pouring rain made it hard to breathe.

「Look closely, what color is the lightning?」

Just then, lightning struck.

Yi-gang clearly saw it.

“It’s white…”

Yi-gang’s pupils shone with a blue-white color.

It was the same color as the fur on Cheongho.

But the lightning flashing in the sky had a different color.

“…No, it’s not just white.”

Can lightning’s color be described as only white?

White is light. It only appears white because of the flash.

Lightning burns the surrounding air as it strikes.

Around the pale lightning trail, the sky is tinged purple, with blue or red air scattered nearby.

「I have also seen many kinds of lightning. Traveling throughout the kangho I have witnessed many interesting things.」

Zhang Sanfeng shared the lightning he had seen.

「Lightning from a clear sky has a yellowish hue. Lightning that causes forest fires glows red. I’ve even seen green lightning.」

Lightning striking volcanic areas spewing lava is said to be green.

「What color was your lightning?」

At those words, Yi-gang summoned lightning himself.

Calling down lightning is, if anything, could be said is the next stage of the Heavenly Thunder Command.

Using the energy received from Gumiho and Blue-Eyed Mad Demon, he called lightning to the ground.

Go Yo-ja once admired it as the ‘Art of Thunder God Rotation.’

Lightning struck Death Blade’s sword, which was raised.

Naturally, Yi-gang was unharmed.

The lightning that struck him traveled along the sword and skin, dispersing into the grounded earth.

And Yi-gang’s eyes were wide open.

「What color was it?」

“Blue-white.”

The lightning summoned with energy and spirit power was a definite blue, as if painted.

Compared to the lightning seen earlier in the sky, it seemed like a child’s play.

「Exactly, I think… the lightning wielded by sorcerers or demons is merely an imitation.」

“Imitation?”

「Yes, real lightning is far more than that.」

Yi-gang thought.

Those struck by the lightning he summoned.

They did not die from the lightning.

The strong ones only flinched and stiffened as their skin burned but still managed to move their limbs.

He thought they overcame it with trained mind and body, but was that not the case?

「The lightning of Taoists and demons, and the true lightning of the Thunder God, are fundamentally different.」

Yi-gang caught a clue.

The power of the lightning he summoned.

It was a feat that only a very skilled sorcerer could attempt, borrowing the power of the great demon Heavenly Thunder White Tailed Fox.

But what if he advanced beyond that stage?

The real lightning that cannot be controlled by human power.

What if it were contained in a sword or in the movements of limbs?

That would truly surpass the ultimate.

Could it be called a supreme ultimate technique?

Yi-gang decided to test the enlightenment he had gained.

Grasp—

He stabbed Death Blade’s sword into the ground as if throwing it.

It was an ordinary blade, far from a treasured sword, but heavy with a metal hilt.

It was good enough to serve as a lightning rod.

Yi-gang planted the sword about a meter ahead and stood still.

The heavenly god who sends down lightning, the god, Leigong1.

To know how his own lightning differed from the god’s, he had to experience it firsthand.

Yi-gang raised the Heavenly Thunder Command to its peak.

Unlike before, his hair did not turn ashen.

「An interesting act.」

The voice of the Heavenly Demon, observing this phenomenon, was filled with interest.

Every Supreme Ultimate Technique is born from an Absolute master’s transcendence of human limits.

「To imitate a heavenly god with a human body.」

Even to the Heavenly Demon, Yi-gang’s attempt seemed special.

Expecting lightning to strike just because a sword is stuck in the ground is foolish.

Yi-gang guided the lightning himself.

Previously, calling down lightning using the energy of Thunderbolt White Fox was simple.

All he had to do was fill his body with lightning energy and resonate with the clouds above.

Energy would surge out of his body, and the power of lightning would strike the ground.

But now, he could not do that.

Yi-gang maintained the Heavenly Thunder Command and sharpened his senses.

His intangible energy spread in all directions.

From here, neither the Heavenly Demon nor Zhang Sanfeng could assist him.

Only the sounds of rain and thunder reached his ears.

Yi-gang also closed his eyes.

The intangible energy spread further.

His senses expanded accordingly.

The shape of raindrops falling, leaves shaking violently in the wind.

He felt all of it vividly, as if seeing and touching them directly.

But he did not feel the lightning.

‘I must think more about its essence.’

With modern knowledge, Yi-gang knew more about lightning than others in the Central Plains.

Lightning is a discharge phenomenon between the clouds and the earth.

Burst raindrops carry positive and negative charges, exchanging electrons in a complex way.

Yi-gang’s intangible energy finally soared to the sky.

He would summon lightning.

Not an imitation made with energy, but the true power of lightning.

And Yi-gang finally grasped something.

The thread of intangible energy reaching the sky connected to the storm of electric charges swirling in the clouds.

Death Blade’s sword stuck before him.

Flames were spurting from its tip.

It was a mysterious phenomenon. Despite the heavy rain, blue flames hissed from the empty sword tip.

Moreover, no heat was felt.

Seeing this, Yi-gang got goosebumps down his spine.

He vaguely recalled what it was.

It is a luminous phenomenon caused by excessive voltage in the air just before lightning strikes.

He had never seen this phenomenon before when summoning lightning.

At that moment, Yi-gang sensed a presence.

Because of the heavy rain, he noticed it late.

Turning around, a wandering martial artist who had been following Pale Blood Hand as a group leader stood with a dumbfounded expression.

Yi-gang withdrew his attention again.

It was already too late.

Yi-gang summoned Leigong’s lightning.

His vision brightened vividly.

In the dazzling sight, a loud boom belatedly brushed past his ears.

Yi-gang did not think he would die from electrocution.

The Heavenly Thunder Command is without a doubt a martial art that harnesses thunder energy.

His body, exerting the Heavenly Thunder Command at its peak, was unharmed even in the lightning storm.

The power of real lightning was indeed tremendous.

The air burned by it expanded, exerting amazing physical force.

Boom!

Yi-gang endured the shockwave passing like a wave.

Not only did he endure it, he sought to absorb that power into his body.

Barely holding onto consciousness, Yi-gang took a step toward the Supreme Ultimate Technique.

It was inevitable that Poison Flying Dagger, who tried to ambush Yi-gang, was electrocuted by the lightning flowing along the ground.

‘The lightning is striking like crazy.’

Pale Blood Hand thought so.

The lightning that struck just now had clearly fallen very close.

Everyone was startled by the explosive thunder and looked outside.

Pale Blood Hand realized he was trembling uncontrollably.

He was anxious.

‘I wish that guy would just get struck by lightning and die.’

Stories of martial artists dying from lightning strikes can often be heard. It’s not that rare.

How great it would be if Death Blade had been struck and killed by that nearby lightning.

This absurd hope stemmed from his anxiety.

One of his juniors muttered.

“Why isn’t that Poison Flying Dagger coming…?”

“I don’t know either, you idiot.”

Poison Flying Dagger, who was sent to deal with Death Blade, had not returned.

‘I told him to just come back if it was impossible…’

Could it be that he tried to ambush but ended up being defeated by Death Blade?

That would be the worst case.

An enraged Death Blade might come rushing for a fight.

And if a direct fight occurred, Pale Blood Hand’s chances of survival were slim, as Drunk Sword would not side with him.

His mind was troubled by such worries.

His junior sitting across him suddenly stood up.

“Uh… uh!”

Pale Blood Hand instinctively stood up too.

He already had his secret weapon, the Steel Hand Claw, on his hand.

Turning around, Death Blade had already appeared at the cave entrance.

He was carrying the limp Poison Flying Dagger on one shoulder.

It was clear that Poison Flying Dagger had been defeated instead.

“Damn it!”

Pale Blood Hand almost charged at Death Blade in desperation.

He barely stopped thanks to his keen eyesight.

Poison Flying Dagger’s condition was strange.

His body was blackened and burnt, with steam rising all over.

“What are you doing?”

Death Blade glared at Pale Blood Hand in disbelief.

Pale Blood Hand stammered and stupidly asked back.

“I was taking a dump, and this guy just followed me. Then he got struck by lightning and collapsed.”

“Li-lightning?”

Only then did they understand why Poison Flying Dagger was blackened.

Death Blade put Poison Flying Dagger down in front of Pale Blood Hand.

Poison Flying Dagger was unconscious.

He seemed close to death.

“I don’t think he’ll survive.”

“…Yes, th-thank you.”

Though half dead, he had brought Poison Flying Daggerback.

Pale Blood Hand gritted his teeth and reluctantly expressed his gratitude.

Death Blade shrugged and entered the cave.

Pale Blood Hand sighed deeply.

“Haah.”

He felt like kicking the convulsing Poison Flying Dagger a few times.

“Wh-what should we do with this bastard!”

“Why the hell are you acting like this after getting struck by lightning!”

But if he did that, his juniors would surely complain.

The heavens were indifferent.

‘Death Blade, that lucky bastard. How did the lightning…’

Even if lightning fell, it made no sense that it had hit Poison Flying Dagger, when Death Blade was a head taller than him.

Pale Blood Hand lost confidence in defeating Death Blade before reaching Sky Shattering Island.

‘No, anyway, I just have to avoid the Rectification Gang.’

So he changed his plan.

‘If I somehow hold out until Death Blade goes in first… then sneak in later by boat…’

He intended to avoid the Rectification Gang waiting at the Divine Demon Bridge.

Even he thought that was the best way.

Poison Flying Dagger eventually died with a scream that night.

They resumed their journey toward Sky Shattering Island.

But Pale Blood Hand’s misfortune did not end there.

Only one day remained until their arrival to Sky Shattering Island.

There, the wandering martial artists met a group.

They were coming from the Sky Shattering Island side.

Among them was a very familiar face.

“Oh, it’s my junior!”

A man smiled and waved at Death Blade.

He was a warrior of the Rectification Gang, whom Death Blade revered as his senior brother, with a long scar on his face.

And those he led were also Rectification Gang warriors.

“Lucky to meet you here.”

The man’s smirking gaze swept over the wandering martial artists and Pale Blood Hand.

1. TL/N: The god of thunder in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology and Taoism ️