Their palms met, and waves of energy erupted.

On one side, Ge Honglin unleashed his Purple Sky Divine Thunder. Purple serpents of lightning danced across the sky as the Dharma Aspect behind him—a figure that was neither fully man nor bird—unleashed a piercing might.

On the other, Zhang Zhizhen seemed to embody the Celestial Dao itself. Tribulation clouds filled the sky, shooting out arcs of silver lightning.

The two Powers of Thunder and Lightning clashed, brilliant and dazzling.

One was from the Qi Clan, bearers of a powerful Bloodline and the true origin of the Thunder Skill.

The other wielded a formidable art, honed through constant evolution and forged between life and death.

They were the representatives of the new and the old!

CRACKLE!!

The scalp-tingling sound of lightning filled the air. The two fighters met and parted in an instant, both driven backward.

The crowd clearly saw that Zhang Zhizhen had been pushed back nearly twice as far as Ge Honglin.

Clearly, Zhang Zhizhen had been at a disadvantage in that exchange.

The Qi Clan possessed the blessing of their Qi Veins, granting them a far vaster Magnetic Field Power. In a direct confrontation, it would be difficult for someone of Zhang Zhizhen’s strength to gain the upper hand.

"It’s over. When it comes to the Thunder Skill, you’re no match for me."

Purple lightning flashed in Ge Honglin’s eyes. His expression was cold and sharp, his face filled with immense confidence.

As a descendant from the origin of the Thunder Skill, and possessing a powerful Bloodline far different from ordinary people, he held an overwhelming advantage in Magnetic Field Ability. He couldn’t imagine any reason he would lose.

"Let me show you the true Thunder Skill!!"

Ge Honglin took a deep breath, pushing the Qi Veins in his body to their absolute limit.

From the giant Dharma Aspect behind him, streams of talismans formed from the magnetic field flowed out, coalescing in the air into purple Thunderballs. An immense amount of power was compressed within each one.

One...

Two...

...

Ten!!

Ten Thunderballs, formed from arcane talismans, arranged themselves like a divine halo, circling behind the Thunder God Dharma Aspect that was neither fully man nor bird.

He had broken past the supreme number of nine. At this moment, Ge Honglin was like a true Sovereign of thunder and lightning.

Everyone present could feel that frenzied power.

Standing to one side of the high platform, Yu Guanhai’s expression changed slightly.

’To use a move of this caliber... I hope nothing goes wrong!’

’Even if we can’t reach an agreement with the government, I don’t want their people to perish here.’

’For one, it would have terrible repercussions. For another, it would weaken the forces we have to face the Celestial Demons.’

However, seeing the Great Clan Elder standing nearby with no reaction whatsoever, he couldn’t help but relax slightly.

’With him here, nothing unexpected should happen.’

"This is it. The match is about to be decided."

Below the stage, Zuo Xi said to Zuo Xian, her face filled with alarm.

The other Spirit Guardians felt the same way.

’The true Thunder Skill, is it?’

Facing the terrifying orbs of thunder, Zhang Zhizhen’s expression remained unnaturally calm.

"It seems you don’t know what the true Thunder Skill is at all!!"

Zhang Zhizhen’s eyes suddenly flew open. Instead of trying to dodge, he erupted with lightning and charged straight at Ge Honglin.

’He’s mad! Absolutely mad!’

The Spirit Guardians in attendance stared, their mouths agape and their expressions dazed.

Ge Honglin was slightly surprised by his opponent’s reaction and felt a faint sense of foreboding.

But he quickly suppressed that feeling.

’From every angle, there was no reason for him to lose!’

His figure shot forward, meeting Zhang Zhizhen head-on as he thrust out a palm.

BOOM!!

The ten Thunderballs behind him shot forward with the motion of his palm, their power pouring out in a mad, unrestrained torrent.

Thunder Skill—Ten Directions Annihilation!

The two figures collided. The ten Thunderballs exploded, and a vast ocean of purple lightning instantly engulfed the area. The magnetic field descended into chaos as arcs of electricity even began to creep toward the audience below the stage.

VMMM!!

Just then, the Great Clan Elder made his move. With a light wave of his sleeve, the Glow of the Hazy Moon enveloped the platform, preventing even a single spark of lightning from escaping.

However, it also meant the crowd could only see a storm of violent purple lightning; the true details of the collision were impossible to perceive.

But judging from the spectacle, everyone could tell that the Purple Sky Divine Thunder held the absolute advantage. Zhang Zhizhen’s silver lightning was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed the match was decided.

The next moment, however, the crowd witnessed a peculiar sight.

From within the violent ocean of purple lightning, a dazzling flash of silver suddenly appeared. And that silver light was expanding at an incredible speed.

The feeling... was as if the purple lightning was being devoured by the silver.

’This is...’

The expressions of the crowd tensed.

BOOM!!

In the next instant, the silver lightning expanded to its limit, leaving not a trace of the purple. Then, just as quickly, the silver lightning began to recede.

The scene finally became clear.

A pitch-black tribulation cloud hung in the air, with silver serpents of lightning shuttling through it.

Beneath the cloud, Zhang Zhizhen was gone. In his place stood a towering, silvery-white Giant Spirit God.

This Giant Spirit God’s entire body was formed from silvery-white lightning. It wore majestic full-plate armor and held a long spear made of the same silvery-white lightning, exuding an unparalleled might.

And now, the spear in the Giant Spirit God’s hand was pointed at Ge Honglin. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Ge Honglin’s gaze was dazed, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief. The purple lightning that had wreathed his body was gone; even the golden glow of his Liuren Divine Armor had dissipated.

The spear in the Giant Spirit God’s hand was less than an inch from his brow, its immense power threatening to annihilate his body at any moment.

"Why?"

Ge Honglin slowly raised his head and asked.

He didn’t understand. In that last exchange, he had clearly held the absolute advantage at the start. He’d believed his Thunder Skill could easily shatter his opponent’s defenses. But just as his attack was about to land, he was shocked to discover something incredible. The moment his Thunder Skill’s power made contact with his opponent’s magnetic field, it was instantly assimilated.

It was as if his opponent was the true Sovereign of lightning. The Purple Sky Divine Thunder he commanded had betrayed him the instant it touched his foe, like a soldier seeing their true king.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before.

His opponent’s power was clearly not as great as his own, so how could he have done this?

CRACKLE.

The Giant Spirit God composed of silvery-white lightning began to slowly dissipate, eventually vanishing completely to reveal Zhang Zhizhen’s form.

He didn’t look as unscathed as one might have imagined. His face was slightly pale, and fine beads of blood seeped from his pores.

But his expression remained perfectly calm. He looked his opponent directly in the eyes and said:

"If we were talking about pure power, you are indeed stronger than I am. But your mistake was trying to compete with me in the Thunder Skill."

"Do you know what makes thunder... thunder? What will it contains? And how that will should be wielded?"

"Your Thunder Skill is merely a ’Skill.’ For you, there may be ten million such Skills."

"But for me, the Thunder Skill is my everything. The will of the Thunder Skill... is my ’Dao’."

"When a Skill strikes a Dao, the roles of offense and defense are naturally reversed. Your lightning can only become my strength. How could it possibly defeat me?"