Yincloud Island was one of the many islands under the jurisdiction of the Water God Temple. Something strange had happened here at some point in the past, leaving the island perpetually shrouded in dense, dark clouds that blocked out the sun. Of every ten days, eight were spent in drizzling rain, and the air was unbearably damp.
Though He Pu's cultivation had only reached the peak of the Shenyou Realm, he was skilled at managing relationships. Despite his modest strength within the Water God Temple, he had secured himself a steward's position.
Now he oversaw the day-to-day affairs on Yincloud Island. Rain fell in a steady drizzle, the weather as miserable as ever. He Pu cursed the heavens under his breath while directing the men under his command to unload supplies delivered by ship.
These supplies were all destined for Water God Island, meant to support the elite Disciples of the Temple in their Cultivation and daily lives.
When no one was watching, He Pu quietly slipped two spirit stones from among the supplies into his pocket. He then put on an innocent expression and continued directing the crew.
"Steward He! Steward He!" A shout suddenly came from nearby. He Pu turned his head to see one of his subordinates, a Disciple nicknamed Cuttlefish, waving at him.
"What?" He Pu snapped irritably. He was already on edge from his petty theft, and being called out like that nearly gave him a heart attack.
The Water God Temple enforced strict rules. Even as the steward of Yincloud Island, if his embezzlement were discovered, he'd be lucky to be merely expelled—worst case, they'd break both his arms and legs.
"Steward He, there's a suspicious little black dot over there. Is someone flying toward us?" The Disciple had a weasel-like face. Cuttlefish wasn't his real name—just a nickname people had given him that had stuck so thoroughly that no one remembered what he was actually called. Nowadays everyone just called him Cuttlefish.
"Someone?" He Pu narrowed his thin, elongated eyes and peered in that direction. After a moment, he chuckled. "Some fool who probably doesn't know about the secrets of our Yincloud Island. Leave him be—let him find out what our heavenly wrath feels like."
"What if he dies?" Cuttlefish asked with a hint of worry.
"If he dies, he dies. What's it got to do with me?" He Pu snorted coldly. "Flying straight toward Yincloud Island without even knowing about its secrets means he's obviously no acquaintance. A thousand men like that could drop dead for all I care." He glanced up at the overcast sky and cursed, "This wretched heaven—truly won't let a man live."
Hearing this, Cuttlefish found the logic quite sound and stopped worrying about the stranger. Instead, he craned his neck with eager anticipation, wanting to see just how miserably this person would meet his end.
His figure transformed into a streak of light as he rapidly approached Yincloud Island.
There were quite a few people below who seemed to have noticed him. They were standing along the shore, pointing in his direction and saying something—but it was too far, and between the howling sea wind and the crashing waves,
A moment later,
In the next instant,
The force was tremendous—it drove his body downward, nearly sending him plunging into the sea.
His entire body tingled as though electrified. His hair stood on end, bristling with static.
The Wind Thunder Wings seemed to have absorbed a great deal of lightning energy, storing it in the scapula on the right side of his back.
Below, the crowd let out a collective gasp that quickly died in their throats. Every face wore an expression of utter disbelief as they stared blankly at
That bolt of lightning had been as thick as a man's arm, and yet apart from making his hair stand up, the kid seemed completely unharmed. It was almost impossible for them to accept.
Yincloud Island's uniqueness lay not only in its perpetual shroud of dark clouds but also in the tremendous lightning power harbored within them. Normally the clouds wouldn't discharge lightning on their own—it was only triggered when a living creature drew near.
This made Yincloud Island, situated at the outermost perimeter of the Water God Temple, not just a logistics transfer point but also a natural defensive barrier.
Anyone who flew over without knowing the truth would receive a brutal baptism of lightning.
Even the Elders of the Water God Temple couldn't withstand that kind of heavenly might.
Every six months, the Temple's Elders would use special methods to release the accumulated lightning power from the clouds. Otherwise, if it built up too much, it might erupt one day and destroy the entire island.
He Pu remembered that the last time the Elders had purged the lightning was only a few months ago. After accumulating for that long, the lightning power in the clouds should have reached a level that would make even Transcendence Realm cultivators give it a wide berth. So why was that kid perfectly fine?
In his bewilderment, lightning bolts continued to descend from the clouds in rapid succession, striking like spirit serpents emerging from their dens, fangs bared and claws extended. No matter the angle, every bolt found
Crack, crack—the sounds rang out ceaselessly, and the blinding white flashes lit up the sky so brilliantly that no one could keep their eyes open.
He Pu squinted, trying to see, but could make out nothing at all.
No one knew how long the spectacle lasted. It wasn't until the bolts from the clouds grew sparse and their power diminished significantly compared to the start that the crowd could once again make out the situation in the sky.