Chapter 07
Hoyun focused his mind on his lower dantian.
Then, a vast blue sky unfolded before his eyes.
White clouds floated high in the sky, reigning over the world.
“Heavenly Thunder King’s True Skill — Thunderclouds condense, yin and yang collide. Energy gathers in the dantian as lightning, and the king’s presence dominates all thunder.”
Hoyun slowly recited the incantation of the Heavenly Thunder King’s Divine Art.
Immediately, in the thunderclouds, yang and yin energy began to clash violently.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Crackle!
The opposing energies at their peak rubbed against each other, generating intense electric pressure.
The white clouds instantly turned into black storm clouds, charged with white lightning.
Snap! Crackle-crackle!
“Ugh! Old man Gondae! Now what do I do?”
Hoyun shouted urgently, and the Heavenly Thunder Sword responded leisurely.
—Keep amplifying the thunder energy.
“What?”
—I said leave it alone.
“What does that even— Ugh!”
Crack! Sizzle!
As they spoke, the thunderclouds transformed completely into storm clouds.
The thunder energy within the clouds raged wildly, as though the space was too tight for it.
Losing control, Hoyun panicked and yelled out,
“Hey! Are you trying to kill me? I know you hate me, but this is your revenge!?”
What the hell?
“I asked for a cultivation technique, and you try to kill me instead? You bald-headed sword!”
You disrespectful brat! Just die already!
“I am dying, you cursed old man!”
Rumble!
Now, the thunder energy was completely out of control, rampaging however it pleased.
The energy had gone out of control—
And that meant one thing: Qi deviation.
“Uwaaaah!”
As Hoyun desperately struggled to regain control,
A thunderous shout from the Heavenly Thunder Sword rang out.
Hey you idiot! I said to let it be!
“Shut up! You murder-sword! Am I your second sacrifice now?!”
Just trust me, will you? You can’t control thunder energy anyway!
“What?”
You don’t control it — you guide it!
“What kind of nonsense—”
Recite the incantation! Now!
Urged by the Heavenly Thunder Sword, Hoyun resumed chanting the incantation of the divine art.
“Heaven and earth revolve, yin rises and yang descends. Clouds gather, winds and thunder roar. Fire and water of the heavens and earth merge. Mind and body become one and channel the heavens. Breathe and absorb, reach the core of thunder…”
Rumble!
Crackle!
The clouds were no longer visible.
What appeared now was a massive cluster of intertwining lightning bolts—a solid mass of electricity.
“Dantian ignites the skies. Thunderlight splits stone, power bursts forth. The divine might of the King surges through the heavens. Thunder bursts from the palm, shaking heaven and earth. Lightning balances into the blade, one slash pierces the firmament…”
Hoyun recited the rest desperately.
What would happen next, he didn’t know.
If he died, so be it.
“Heaven and earth harmonize in divine lightning. Thunder roots deep, divine energy flows. One thunder strike reshapes the world. All thunder gathers and destroys impurity.”
The incantation ended.
A brief moment of silence.
Then—Thunder.
BOOM!
CRACK!
With a sound that shook heaven and earth, a white bolt of lightning shot down from the clouds.
…Am I dead?
Well, I’ve already died once before.
It wasn’t that big of a deal.
Though, maybe… it’s a bit—
Regretful?
Well done. That was the Guiding Thunder.
“Huh? Old man Gondae, you died too? Can swords die?”
What are you talking about? The Backward Thunder will come soon. Be ready.
“Huh?”
Still dazed, Hoyun observed what was happening within his dantian.
The thunder energy, freed from the clouds, branched out like upside-down tree limbs and painted the sky.
Then—
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning, far stronger than before, shot upward from below in a straight line.
Buzz!
Sizzle!
The returning bolt recharged the clouds, brightening them with energy.
“…Huh? Oh?”
Hoyun’s eyes widened as he felt the clear increase in thunder energy.
The Guiding Thunder slowly clears a path, and the Backward Thunder surges through it. That cycle is the full revolution of the Heavenly Thunder King’s Divine Art — First Thunder, Then Lightning.
With the Heavenly Thunder Sword’s explanation, Hoyun tried another full cycle.
Rumble!
Crash!
Again, lightning struck and then returned.
Once more.
And again.
Buzz!
With each full cycle, the thunder energy grew bit by bit.
The once wild and uncontrollable energy began to follow Hoyun’s guidance like a tamed lamb.
Flash!
Hoyun opened his eyes.
Silence.
He was still seated cross-legged, the Heavenly Thunder Sword resting across his knees.
But Hoyun knew something inside him had changed.
He raised his right hand and gazed at it.
A faint white spark jumped out.
Sizzle!
Faint, but unmistakable.
It was Thunder Qi.
