Chapter 46: Lightning Storm
Boom! Crack!
"Run! It’s a lightning storm!" an inner disciple shouted at the outer disciples who were self-studying martial arts from the martial comics.
Nearly six months after the Rainbow Alliance Meeting, the Celestial Dragon Sect faced its first disaster.
"It’s a lightning storm," Elder Shen declared, his voice filled with concern. "We must evacuate everyone to the safety of the sect’s shield spell and immediately inform the sect leader. We also need to dispatch a team down the mountain to check on the villagers nearby. The intensity of this storm suggests that Sect Leader Yan may have achieved a significant breakthrough in her closed-door cultivation."
One after another, bolts of lightning rained down upon the revered Celestial Dragon Mountain, a sight of fury that could shake the heavens. Ancient and towering trees that were once giants guardians of the woods were reduced to smouldering charcoal as animals fled in terror, their cries lost in the chaos. Each lightning strike felled pines that lived for hundreds of years, sending them crashing into their brethren, igniting a catastrophic chain reaction. The forest, once a sanctuary of tranquillity, now uprooted itself in a desperate dance of destruction.
The colossal upheaval of trees left the riverbanks exposed and vulnerable. Enormous clumps of loose soil, no longer anchored by the trees, cascaded into the once gentle river. Choked with debris, the gentle river turned violent as its waters swelled with the displaced earth. Landslides roared down the mountain’s slopes, obliterating the serene landscape, roads and severed paths that had connected villages for generations.
Unable to follow its usual course, the river took over the low-lying lands in a misdirected torrent. Floodwaters surged and swept everything in their path, including fertile fields that the farmers had poured their sweat and hope into. Not even the trench dug for spring flooding helped to curb the wild waters.
Anji was carried into the building for safety by Gu Ying, who had settled nicely into her new job as the youngest princess’ assistant. The lightning storm struck ten times, and each time it touched the earth, a deafening clap of thunder accompanied it.
"Stay indoors for now," Zhao Ruiting advised her younger sister and the servants. "Father and Mother are investigating the situation, and the Elders are checking on the villagers below the mountain. The sect will be very busy from now on, Anji. Your shifu must have broken through!"
Without her parents present, Zhao Ruiting was now in charge of managing the sect internally. The disciples had all been evacuated safely and accounted for. However, there was not enough lodging for the outer disciples who had been taken into the sect for temporary protection. Hence, the oldest daughter of the Celestial Dragon Sect left to talk to the logistics department.
During a tribulation, the lightning storm could last for up to an hour for every level of cultivation base. Yan Ping was already a Divine Core cultivator. Anji had never seen a tribulation before, but the amount of lightning that pelted their mountain terrified her. Would her father have to tolerate this amount of heavenly trials when he finally attained the Supreme Core as well?
For ten hours straight, the lightning storm persisted. Even when there wasn’t a single rain cloud in the sky, the sun was nowhere to be seen. Strong winds shook the mountain like a hurricane, circling the Celestial Dragon Mountain like a protective barrier. Yan Ping’s tribulation lasted longer than Zhao Mingfeng thought it would. He counted the number of lightning strikes. There were a total of a hundred lightning strikes, both big and small. It was said that when Yan Ping’s teacher ascended, she endured a total of one hundred and eight lightning strikes.