Chapter 215: Chapter 215, Thunder Surge Blade (2)

BOOM!!

The sound that seemed to precede Lin Yi’s complete awareness, even as his senses were finely tuned to the environment.

He then registered the tenth impact just as the noise reverberated through the air. For the better part of an hour, he had been meticulously clearing a route through a dense gathering of territorial beasts, monsters of the mid-level tier who had, for reasons known only to themselves, decided that this particular stretch of terrain leading to the distant mountain range was their domain to guard.

His approach had been deliberate, each movement calculated to avoid any unnecessary show of force or any action that might attract more attention than a lone traveler simply removing an obstruction would naturally incur.

The ninth strike of his blade had put an end to the last of the immediate threats, a swift and decisive movement that left the path momentarily clear. The tenth, however, had followed through, not finding a beast to meet its edge, but instead biting into the unyielding stone surface of the path itself.

The Thunder Surge Blade, which had been a gunmetal grey just moments before, began to glow with high intensity. It wasn’t a gradual transition, slowly building in luminescence; rather, the shift was immediate, almost violent in its suddenness.

The deep, dark surface of the blade instantaneously transformed, rippling with a vibrant electric blue that surged from its hilt all the way to its sharpest tip in a single wave of energy.

It then stabilized at this brilliant hue, the vibrant color pulsed with a life of its own. The internal energy within the weapon, which had for so long lain dormant, a sleeping power merely held in reserve, was now strikingly present, awake, and actively organizing itself.

It moved and arranged with the precise purpose of something that had been anticipating this very moment, this exact form of release, for an unimaginably long time, its patience finally rewarded by Lin Yi’s actions.

From the glowing surface of the blade, a small, vibrant ball of lightning emerged, shimmering with raw power. It was surprisingly compact, no larger than a man’s closed fist, yet it commanded an undeniable presence.

Then, the orb ascended gracefully into the air, settling to hover directly in front of Lin Yi, approximately at the height of his chest. It emitted a soft, continuous crackling sound, like distant thunder, a mix of contained electrical discharge.

Then, with a slow, deliberate rotation, the small sphere of crackling energy surveyed its immediate surroundings, taking in the rugged terrain and the vast, open sky with an almost sentient curiosity, as if absorbing every detail of the world it had just entered.

Then, quite distinctly, its luminous presence seemed to focus entirely on Lin Yi, its crackling energy patterns subtly shifting to convey a direct, undeniable gaze. It was an uncanny sensation, feeling observed by something so utterly alien, an entity of pure, unbound electrical force.

"Little one," a voice emerged from the crackling orb, clear and distinct despite its otherworldly origin. "Tell me, are you truly the one who has awakened me from my long slumber?"

Lin Yi, despite the profound strangeness of the situation, maintained a composed demeanor. He met the intense, concentrated focus of the lightning orb with his own steady gaze.

"Yes," he replied, his voice calm and even, betraying little of the surprise he felt within.

The ball of lightning responded not with words, but with a sudden, sharp intensification of its crackling, a rapid series of pops and snaps that quickly resolved into an undeniable burst of mirth. It was a genuine, unrestrained sound of amusement.

The laughter was authentic, without a trace of pretense, radiating from an entity that truly found the current circumstances amusing rather than merely performing a show of joviality. The little orb pulsed with heightened energy, its bright blue glow intensifying with each crackle.

"How can this possibly be?" it questioned, its voice carrying an air of delighted disbelief. "You are merely a human, a straightforward, whole human being, standing there firmly on two legs, complete with all the expected appendages."

"You must indeed possess remarkable strength, little one, for a being of such simple human form to have successfully reached and awakened me in this manner."

"I indeed awakened you," Lin Yi said, but he then reiterated how he did so. "Upon receiving this blade, I was told the tenth strike will awaken a lightning sword spirit, I don’t think the whole ordeal was anything but difficult."

"Good," the lightning orb declared, its tone imbued with an easy approval. It sounded genuinely pleased, as if discovering a kindred spirit. "Like your strength, your words, you see, is inherently honest. There is no pretense or deception within it, merely raw truth. I hold a deep respect for anything that is honest."

It then began to rotate slowly once more, its luminous form shifting to examine Lin Yi from a slightly different perspective. This inspection was not idle; it held the attentive, searching curiosity of someone encountering a truly intriguing individual for the very first time, meticulously noting every detail as if filing them away for future reference.

"Now, little one," it continued, "what precisely is the extent of your current cultivation?"

"Level 230," Lin Yi stated simply, offering the precise numerical value without elaboration.

For a brief but noticeable moment, the ball of lightning went utterly still. It was a relative stillness, of course, for its baseline crackling continued. However, its previous rotational movement ceased entirely, an abrupt pause that indicated a sudden shift in its internal processing.

"Interesting," it finally remarked, breaking the silence as its rotation slowly resumed. "You are merely twenty levels away from the monumental stage of Ascension."

It paused again, a short pause.

"That, little one, is far from insignificant. In fact, it is quite remarkable, truly impressive." A renewed burst of crackling energy emanated from it, now with an added undertone of excitement. "And, I must admit, it bodes rather well for me too."

"Why would that be good for you?" Lin Yi inquired, his curiosity piqued by the lightning orb’s sudden, self-interested declaration, prompting him to seek clarification.

"Because, you see, I have resided within that very blade for an exceedingly long time," it explained, its voice imbued with a cheerful, almost matter-of-fact frankness, utterly devoid of any lingering bitterness, yet clearly desiring recognition of its prolonged confinement.

"The existence of sword spirits, as it happens, is quite different from that of mortals or cultivators. We are simply unable to cultivate experience in the conventional sense, unable to accumulate the points that lead to leveling up. The heavenly dao, the supreme cosmic order, created us as we are, defining our essence, and in its infinite wisdom—or perhaps, lack thereof, from my perspective—it then determined that the path of traditional leveling was simply not intended for us. We exist, certainly, and we develop our inherent powers and understandings in various other intricate ways, but the rigid path of cultivation does not deign to grant us any points whatsoever."

"Ruthless, in my humble view, is an apt description of this arrangement. However, I must confess, the heavenly dao has never seen fit to inquire about my personal opinions on the matter."

"So, if you cannot advance on your own, it follows that you are unable to enter the Middle Domain independently," Lin Yi concluded.