Within the chaotic and violent sword intent and lightning, more than a dozen figures sat cross-legged. Their auras were all powerful as they silently comprehended the aftershocks of the spar between two peak Golden Core realm cultivators.

Lightning blazed around Lei Yongtao, and the thunder drifting through the air surged toward him under his pull, pouring into his body.

"Hiss... ngh... this feels good!" Lei Yongtao's face twisted as he let out low grunts from time to time, occasionally groaning before shouting in exhilaration.

He was in both pain and pleasure. Lei Yongtao had already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm and was half-way to the Golden Core realm, able to break through at any time. However, driven by higher ambitions, he refused to form an ordinary Golden Core and sought to achieve the Six Thunder-Pattern Golden Core, which was why he had delayed until now. The rule fragments he obtained earlier had increased his chances, but failure was still very much possible.

Mu Jianli and Lei Xiyuan had been verifying the Dao of the Nascent Soul realm, and the lingering Dao resonance filled Lei Yongtao with wild excitement. This was his opportunity. As long as he could comprehend Lei Xiyuan's Nascent Soul realm Great Dao and use her as a guide, his path to forming the Six Thunder-Pattern Golden Core would be clear of obstacles. The only problem was that it hurt like hell. Even with his thick nerves, he could not help but cry out in pain, his expression twisted.

"Hiss! Damn, this hurts!" Lei Yongtao shouted as the lightning around him suddenly burst outward in a dazzling explosion. The thunder scattered through heaven and earth surged toward him even faster.

Many Lei Family cultivators nearby felt the increasingly violent aura and opened their eyes.

"This guy..."

"Damn, wasn't he in seclusion trying to form his Golden Core? Why is he here?"

"Damn it, what a freak..."

The surrounding Lei Family cultivators, feeling the increasingly violent lightning in the air, were all speechless. Their talent was decent and they were all at peak Foundation Establishment realm, but compared to a freak like Lei Yongtao, they still fell far short. This was a man with a 70% to 80% chance of forming the Six Thunder-Pattern Golden Core, hailed as the number one genius of the younger generation in the Lei Family beneath Lei Xiyuan. The cultivators exchanged helpless glances and stood up. They had no choice but to move elsewhere.

Lin Zheyu also felt the lightning in the world grow more turbulent. He opened his eyes in surprise and looked at Lei Yongtao, who was bathing in lightning, shouting, cursing, and occasionally letting out satisfied groans. His expression turned somewhat strange.

This guy really has a serious masochistic streak!

With this guy drawing in the purple lightning, it's easier for me to comprehend Mu Jianli's remaining sword inten.

He stood up, stepped forward, and in a flash appeared about thirty steps away from Lei Yongtao.

Sword intent and lightning intertwined, gathering here under Lei Yongtao's active pull. The pain he felt was not mainly from the lightning. As someone who cultivated lightning power and comprehended lightning rules, he could better endure it. The real source of pain was Mu Jianli's lingering sword intent, which was simply too overwhelming.

"Hm?" Suddenly, Lei Yongtao let out a soft exclamation, his cursing abruptly stopping.

He felt the sword intent from Mu Jianli weaken considerably. Looking up and following its flow, he discovered Lin Zheyu sitting cross-legged not far away. The sword intent he had drawn in and separated from the lightning was now being actively pulled by Lin Zheyu, surging toward him instead.

"Tsk, tsk..."

Lei Yongtao clicked his tongue, grinned, and continued immersing himself in comprehension.

***

Time passed quietly, and in cultivation, the passage of time went unnoticed. In the blink of an eye, seven days had gone by. The power of the raging sword intent and lightning began to wane. Starting five days earlier, some cultivators had already been unable to endure it and left with pale faces. Very few could last the full seven days under such conditions. Including Lin Zheyu and Lei Yongtao, there were only four left.

The phantom of saber intent around Lin Zheyu grew increasingly solid, enveloping him within. As his saber intent strengthened and the sword intent weakened, the remnants left by Mu Jianli could no longer harm him. A faint layer of the power of rules surrounded the saber intent, and the space beyond it seemed distorted. Neither sword intent nor lightning could approach it in the slightest.

Lin Zheyu let out a long breath. The moment his eyes opened, a sharp gleam of saber light flashed within them before vanishing. The powerful saber intent around him disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed.

"What an unexpected gain. But calling this technique Heaven-Splitting Slash no longer fits. It would be better to name it Seven Absolute Sabers..." Lin Zheyu murmured softly.

With a shift of thought, the name Heaven-Splitting Slash in his mind blurred for a moment. When it appeared again, it had become Seven Absolute Sabers.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 285]

[Skills: Earth Shrinking Technique (Perfection), Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Seven Absolute Sabers (Second Stage: 15%), Primordial Golden Body (Second Stage: 100%)]

Lin Zheyu looked at the data in his mind. Seven Absolute Sabers had reached 15% of the second stage. This technique was created with Heaven-Splitting Slash as its foundation, incorporating insights gained from Mu Jianli's sword intent to form seven powerful saber moves. It was not yet fully perfected. It was a technique he created by using Mu Jianli's sword intent as guidance, taking the Dao resonance he had comprehended as the core, and integrating all of his martial cultivation knowledge.

Currently, he could only execute the first move, which was the refined and optimized version of Heaven-Splitting Slash. The remaining six moves were newly created after gaining inspiration from Mu Jianli's sword intent and his deeper understanding of Dao resonance. Once he could unleash all seven moves, Lin Zheyu was confident that his offensive power would rival that of a Golden Core realm expert.

Should I spend some Origin Force to perfect this technique first? Lin Zheyu pondered.

The benefit of doing so would be gaining a powerful offensive method quickly. He would no longer be as he was before, possessing immense strength but lacking attacks to match it, leaving him helpless against opponents weaker than him but rich in defensive and survival techniques.

No, not yet. That old bastard will come looking for me within a year at most. I need to conserve my Origin Force and use it where it matters most. When I next enter the demon god barrier to compete for rule fragments, using Origin Force to comprehend them while improving Seven Absolute Sabers will be the most efficient choice, thought Lin Zheyu as he shook his head slightly and dismissed the idea.

Thunder erupted from the clear sky. A terrifying roar came from the heavens as silver lightning suddenly struck down. Lin Zheyu snapped out of his thoughts, startled. Looking up, he saw the bolt heading straight for Lei Yongtao's head.

"Hahaha! It's stable. It's finally here!" Lei Yongtao's eyes snapped open as he looked at the descending lightning, arrogance blazing within them. He stared at it with disdain and burst into wild laughter.

Violent lightning burst from Lei Yongtao's body. Under the clear sky, dark clouds rapidly gathered into a massive storm. Thunder roared, and lightning flashed. Laughing wildly, Lei Yongtao reached out and grabbed the incoming bolt. The invisible, powerful lightning was seized like a snake in his grasp and compressed into a sphere between his hands.

"A mere tribulation. What is there to fear?" Lei Yongtao shouted as he shot upward into the storm clouds.

Standing still and enduring the tribulation was not his style. He intended to take the fight to it!

"Tribulation lightning!" a cultivator cried out upon seeing the storm clouds.

To summon tribulation lightning before even forming a Golden Core. Such talent was astonishing.

"Who would have thought a family like the Lei Family could produce both a peerless genius like Lei Xiyuan and a top talent like Lei Yongtao. As long as one of them grows fully, the Lei Family will soar," a cultivator in green robes stood and muttered as he watched Lei Yongtao charge into the storm.

The man beside him, sensing the fierce lightning forming in the clouds, scoffed, saying, "Heh, a sixfold tribulation and a six-pattern Golden Core—nothing remarkable." However, the seriousness in his eyes revealed his caution.

"You're all talk. Who knows what luck Lei Yongtao had? He initially only had a Five Thunder-Pattern Golden Core, yet he's undergone such a transformation," the green-robed cultivator added, with a note of envy.

"Hmph, it's just a six-pattern Golden Core. My goal is seven patterns or higher. Six patterns are nothing!" the other cultivator snorted.

The green-robed cultivator shrugged and did not bother arguing further. He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the storm clouds. Lei Yongtao had entered the thunder-filled skies alone, where the roaring of lightning mixed with shouts of pain and furious curses echoed across the heavens.