Chapter Twenty: Heavenly Thunder Slays the Demon

Thunder crashed from the heavens, and Chen Fan’s eyes suddenly brightened.

With his sword held high and aided by the glow of his movement technique, he tore through the swarm of beasts and quickly reached the spot where the lightning had just flickered. Having grasped the Intent of Lightning, he could clearly sense the immense residual electrical power in the air, much of which was currently being conducted into the earth.

He raised his hand, his blade pointing forward, and countless arcs of lightning swirled around the steel. Guided by his mastery of the lightning intent, all the massive residual electrical energy in the air converged upon his sword.

He swung. A blue-purple sword aura, several yards high, slashed horizontally. Like a spiraling vortex, the energy rippled outward!

*Sizzle!*

Any beast that touched the sword aura was instantly reduced to shredded meat, a pungent smell of charred flesh wafting through the air. In the wake of that single strike, every beast within a ten-yard radius of Chen Fan had been utterly annihilated.

"What terrifying power!"

By merely guiding the energy, the lethality of this strike had far exceeded his own limits.

"With that water-controlling ape-beast around, diving into the river would be suicide. But if I can kill it, the other beasts won’t be able to stop me in the water..."

Lightning flickered in Chen Fan’s eyes. In a direct confrontation, there was still a gap between his strength and that of the ape. However, with the current thunderstorm, if he could leverage the power of the lightning, he might just have a fighting chance. Yet, the strike he had just unleashed had exhausted all the electrical energy swirling around him.

"A single bolt of lightning carries staggering power, but most of it dissipated directly into the ground. I need more lightning to strike..."

He looked up at the horizon, his brows furrowing. Although the sky was thick with dark clouds and faint flickers of electricity suggested another bolt was gathering, the plains were vast; no one could be certain where the next strike would land.

Chen Fan’s mind raced as the ape-beast gradually closed in, now less than two hundred yards away. The more dangerous the situation, the faster his thoughts moved, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck.

A few days prior, he had saved several martial academy disciples in this vicinity, and he recalled a bronze statue standing on the plains. It was over ten yards tall, holding a sword toward the sky—the perfect lightning rod!

In his past life, Chen Fan had learned about the phenomenon of point discharge in middle school and understood the principle of lightning rods. Being on an open plain, the probability of a bolt striking this statue would be significantly increased.

He gazed toward the east, but alas, he could only see the endless sea of beasts; even through the pouring rain, dust and mist hung everywhere, obscuring the statue's location. He did not hesitate, his body suddenly darting forward!

It wasn't long before he spotted the massive bronze statue in the distance. It was gargantuan, and having just been trampled by the beast tide, it remained miraculously undamaged. Chen Fan’s movement technique was still active, and he seized the opportunity to put distance between himself and the ape. But before he could truly shake it off, the talisman in his hand turned to ash.

The glow around him vanished instantly!

"Lightning Step!" Chen Fan didn't have time for despair. He surged his internal energy, his body turning into a streak of lightning as he pressed forward.

Yet, his speed was still several notches slower. The distance he had opened up began to shrink. In truth, in open terrain, the maximum speed of his "Lightning Step" would have surpassed the ape's limit. But here, the ground was choked with beasts, preventing him from reaching his peak speed, and thus, he could not outrun the creature.

When he was still two hundred yards from the ape, he finally reached the statue. The dark bronze surface was already crackling with faint electrical energy, clearly having been struck by lightning many times before.

The power of lightning is horrific—millions of volts capable of generating extreme heat. It did not destroy the statue only because the bronze was a conductor, and the base was grounded, instantly channeling the energy into the earth. What Chen Fan needed to do was use his Intent of Lightning to subtly guide and draw out that massive energy when the next bolt struck, turning it into a weapon.

As Chen Fan pondered, the surrounding beasts began to close in once more. "I cannot let these beasts destroy the statue!" Chen Fan’s body became a streak of lightning again, his sword dancing as he guarded the statue, reaping the lives of the beasts around him in the blink of an eye.

More beasts swarmed in. The giant ape, surrounded by a shroud of water, was drawing ever closer. Two hundred yards seemed far, but at the creature's speed, it wouldn't take long. Chen Fan took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the sky. The clouds were heavy and lightning danced in the heights, but it refused to strike. Point discharge was a scientific fact, but it was still a matter of probability—what were the odds it would strike exactly this statue?

As the ape pressed closer and the beast tide surged, Chen Fan’s internal energy began to wane, and his anxiety grew. Even as a natural lightning rod on an open plain, the chance of being struck remained low.

"I cannot wait passively..."

After clearing the area with a "Jade Rainbow Piercing the Sun" technique, Chen Fan suddenly turned and leaped with extreme speed. He scrambled up the giant statue, climbing along its sword arm until he stood at the very tip of the bronze blade!

He stood tall, one hand pointing his own sword toward the heavens. Blue lightning flickered over his body, then surged into his blade. He swallowed the Earth-grade Jade Jasper Restoration Pill he had been holding in his mouth and took a deep breath.

"Whether I live or die depends on whether my Intent of Lightning can summon the true heavenly thunder."

He held his black sword high. "Sword-Nurturing Stance—"

Lightning crackled violently on the blade as he accumulated his energy. A black sword-light emerged, wreathed in electricity. At that moment, the beasts surged forward, some crashing directly into the statue, while the ape was now only thirty or forty yards away. A shroud of water swirled around the creature, ready to be unleashed.

Just as the statue began to sway and the ape closed in with every passing second, Chen Fan became strangely calm. His mind accelerated, and the world seemed to slow down. In this life-or-death moment, he entered a unique state!

As his internal energy surged, the sword-light grew and shot toward the heavens. The dense clouds collided, and lightning branched out across the sky like the veins of a tree...

Leveraging his Intent of Lightning, Chen Fan gathered the lightning-attribute energy from the surrounding air, triggering a domino effect. Finally, where the clouds were thickest, a blue bolt of lightning, vast as a towering tree, slammed down.

*BOOM!*

The lightning arrived in a heartbeat, striking Chen Fan’s body instantly. The sword-light in his hand surged, his hair stood on end, and destructive power flooded his body. Yet, under his control, he did not let it ground into the statue; he forced it all to condense before him.

Every ounce of electrical energy gathered on his blade.

*Crack.*

In an instant, countless fissures appeared on his black sword. Even a treasure-grade weapon could not withstand the accumulation of heavenly thunder. Chen Fan’s mind raced; he could feel the sword crumbling bit by bit... Simultaneously, he felt the searing agony in his muscles and skin. He remained incredibly clear-headed, struggling to control the lightning intent, his entire body trembling violently as he stared at the ape, now only ten yards away.

Although it was still a distance, Chen Fan knew... "I cannot wait for it to get any closer!"

In that split second, Chen Fan’s perception sharpened. He could feel the destructive power of the lightning; even with his intent supporting and guiding it, his body could not hold up for even a single breath.

He swallowed the Jade Jasper Restoration Pill. The internal damage caused by the electricity began to heal, while his *dantian* flooded his limbs with fresh energy. A true Earth-grade pill, indeed!

Chen Fan’s gaze was sharp. Aiming at the giant ape ten yards away, he unleashed the bloated, towering sword-light.

"Heavenly Thunder: Sword Aura Eroding the Heavens!"

The sword-light, almost entirely composed of lightning, slashed down. Extreme white light engulfed the surroundings. In an instant, the beasts nearby were reduced to ash. The massive bolt shattered the life of every creature within ten yards and struck the ape.

*BOOM!*

The white light flashed and faded. The ape’s body was instantly cleaved in two by the sword aura. A massive trench, far exceeding ten yards, appeared on the ground, and the great bronze statue collapsed with a roar.

Amidst the blinding white light, a figure dashed out—it was Chen Fan.

Lightning flashed around him, and he moved in a zigzag pattern, crossing a hundred yards in a heartbeat to plunge into the river.

*ROAR!*

Beasts followed him into the water, but they were instantly sliced into chunks by his sword aura, their remains swept downstream by the turbulent current. Other beasts, seeing the water turn blood-red, retreated; few dared to follow.

Meanwhile, electricity crackled around Chen Fan, spreading through the water. Water was highly conductive. Using his full strength and his lightning intent, he electrocuted the pursuing beasts, their bodies floating to the surface. In a moment, the river turned crimson.

After dealing with the pursuers, Chen Fan immediately used a breath-holding technique, diving to the riverbed and letting the swift current carry him downstream! With the effects of the pill, he felt his energy returning and his wounds slowly mending.

The river was fast, and Chen Fan let the current take him. Being small, he was impossible to track once he entered the depths, even as other beasts kept jumping into the river from the banks. He held his breath for half an hour until he reached his limit, only then daring to surface for air...

By then, the dark clouds had unleashed a torrential downpour. There were few beasts left on the banks. Chen Fan let out a sigh of relief. He didn't climb ashore immediately, but instead stayed in the riverbed, drifting for another two or three hours until a massive water gate appeared before him. Only then did he finally emerge.

This was the border between the Western Wilds and the Great Qian Empire, guarded by heavy troops to prevent beasts from invading via the Qingling River. The beast plague had been quelled here days ago; the border was far safer than the area around Qiyun Mountain.

Seeing the border guards and confirming his safety, the exhaustion and mental fatigue finally hit him. As he entered the military camp, Chen Fan stared into the void before him and suddenly burst into laughter.