"Junior Brother Wang," Ji Jinglei began. "I will now explain in detail the eight key points and nine common mistakes to watch for when practicing the Palm Thunder Technique."
"First point," he said, "never infuse too much Mana or make the Thunder Ball too large. The Palm Thunder’s energy is incredibly volatile. The larger the Thunder Ball, the more control it demands. It becomes easier to lose control and cause an explosion, which is extremely dangerous."
Ji Jinglei’s eyes were half-closed as he did his best to recall the key points his old man had taught him, narrating them one by one. Luckily, he hadn’t been beaten with the training whip for nothing. All the key points were etched in his mind.
After reciting all eight points of knowledge and nine common mistakes from start to finish, Ji Jinglei slowly opened his eyes.
Ji Jinglei’s pupils constricted. His face, illuminated by a purple glow, was a mask of pure shock and horror.
He saw Wang Xiu standing directly opposite him, hands held apart as if cradling something. Floating between them was a crackling Thunder Ball over two meters in diameter—taller than a man.
"Is this right?" Wang Xiu asked, looking at Ji Jinglei with a curious expression as he held the enormous Thunder Ball.
Ji Jinglei was completely stupefied.
You call this a Palm Thunder? This is a goddamn Sky Bombardment Cannon! You’re only at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment, where in the world did you get so much Mana?
Ji Jinglei’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. Even for him, a cultivator at the first realm of Core Formation, condensing and maintaining such a massive Palm Thunder would require him to drain his Dantian of Mana and tread on thin ice the entire time.
No, that’s not right! I couldn’t maintain a Palm Thunder this massive at all. Forget two meters in diameter; if it exceeded three feet, the Thunder Ball would have exploded right in my hands.
"Put it down!" he shrieked. "Put it down!"
Then, his eyes widened in panic. "No, wait, don’t put it down! You can’t put it down!"
Watching Wang Xiu hold the Thunder Ball, Ji Jinglei was frantic, on the verge of tears. What defines a teacher? A true teacher not only guides their student’s cultivation but also helps them resolve any crises that arise when their practice goes awry.
Take the Palm Thunder Technique, for instance. If Ji Yan were guiding him, he could have snatched the unstable Thunder Ball away the moment it started to go wild, absorbing and neutralizing its power. At the very least, he could have sliced open the void and contained the explosion in a small, isolated space, ensuring no one nearby was harmed. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet
But Ji Jinglei was only at the first realm of Core Formation. If this two-meter-diameter Thunder Ball truly went berserk, forget about absorbing it; if he didn’t dodge fast enough, the blast would kill him.
For a split second, Ji Jinglei’s first instinct was to run.
But when he saw the unwavering calm and trust in Wang Xiu’s eyes, the leg he had started to lift felt as if it were shackled by a thousand-pound boulder. He couldn’t take the step.
Junior Brother Wang trusts me so much. How can I possibly abandon him and flee?
What’s there to be afraid of? Being shattered to pieces is just death. I’m all in!
Ji Jinglei swallowed hard, a flicker of resolve in his eyes. "Junior Brother, just keep the Thunder Ball stable. I’ll handle it."
With that, Ji Jinglei slowly approached Wang Xiu. He reached out toward the massive Thunder Ball, preparing to use his own mastery of Thunder Techniques to forcefully neutralize it.
The instant his palms touched the Thunder Ball, Ji Jinglei felt a powerful repulsive force and a violent energy roiling within. The surface of the sphere distorted slightly, looking as if it might detonate at any second.
In that moment, a cold sweat drenched Ji Jinglei’s entire body.
Thankfully, it seemed that fate, or perhaps providence, was on his side. The Thunder Ball eventually stabilized. It didn’t erupt.
Ji Jinglei took a deep breath and focused his entire being, circulating the Palm Thunder Technique to absorb the thunder power from Wang Xiu’s hands.
As Ji Jinglei absorbed the thunder power strand by strand from Wang Xiu’s palms, the two-meter Thunder Ball began to slowly shrink.
At the same time, the strands of thunder power surging into Ji Jinglei’s body didn’t simply dissipate. Instead, they began to circulate along a series of unique pathways, growing stronger with each cycle before finally settling in his Dantian, where he absorbed them completely.
This...! This is the circulation path for the Palm Thunder Technique, but it’s far more profound than the one I understood before.
Ji Jinglei’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
Junior Brother Wang was right! How can you see a rainbow without experiencing the storm? I am the proverbial golden-scaled fish that transforms into a Dragon when it meets wind and rain! To survive a great disaster! I’ve actually achieved a breakthrough in a life-or-death crisis! My understanding of the Palm Thunder Technique has deepened! The Child of Fortune... who else could it be but me?!
As he absorbed the very last strand of thunder power, this ninety-eighth young master of the Thunder Sect was suddenly overcome with surging ambition and the conviction that he could now roam the world unopposed.
Of course, smugness aside, he was still floored by Wang Xiu’s ability to conjure such a massive Palm Thunder.
"Junior Brother," Ji Jinglei said, wiping the cold sweat from his face. "Have you practiced the Palm Thunder Technique before? How did you manage to form a Thunder Ball so smoothly?"
Wang Xiu smiled. "I’ve never studied it, but as soon as I tried, it felt very easy to control. I think there are two reasons for that."
"What reasons?" Ji Jinglei asked, his curiosity piqued.
Wang Xiu said, "First, Senior Ji Yan once gave me a vial of Tribulation Thunder Fluid. He said it could significantly increase a cultivator’s affinity for thunder-attribute Spiritual Energy."
Ji Jinglei nodded slightly. The Tribulation Thunder Fluid was a treasure nurtured by the Heavenly Tribulation Valley, and it did indeed have the Yi Jing Washing Marrow effect of enhancing one’s aptitude.
But wait. I’ve had a drop of Tribulation Thunder Fluid before too! Why wasn’t my talent enhanced so dramatically? Was the fluid I drank fake? Was my father’s love for me... watered down?
The suspicion arose in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. His father might give him a fake, but he would never give a fake to his ninety-ninth sister, Ji Zidian. From what he knew, even Ji Zidian had been extremely cautious when first learning the Palm Thunder Technique, never daring to be careless, let alone trying to make a ball that big on her first attempt.
Thinking of this, Ji Jinglei couldn’t help but ask, "Junior Brother Wang, what’s the second reason?"
Wang Xiu beamed. "The second reason, I believe, is that a great teacher produces an outstanding student. I don’t have any particular talent for Thunder Techniques; it’s all because you’re such a good teacher, Senior Brother."
"Somehow," he continued, "while listening to you explain the essence of the Palm Thunder Technique, I understood everything with exceptional speed and ease. It was as if the heavens themselves were guiding my hands."
"It makes sense, too," Wang Xiu added thoughtfully. "Since you could so easily neutralize my Palm Thunder, your own mastery of the technique must have already reached a state of perfection, transcending the mundane and entering the sacred realm, right? With a master as proficient in Thunder Techniques as you guiding me, it’s only logical that I would advance quickly!"
Ji Jinglei stared blankly.
After a long pause, a flush crept onto his face. "Of course!"
He puffed out his chest, looking immensely proud.
[Detected someone bragging. Congratulations to the Host for gaining Mana +16.]
Wang Xiu asked innocently, "With your exceptional talent, Senior Brother, you must have mastered the Palm Thunder Technique on your very first try, without a single mistake, right?"
"Ahem." Ji Jinglei’s face turned an even deeper shade of crimson. "Of course!"