LIGHTNING AND MEMORIES
1199 Words
Chris found a floating platform on the fifth continent, guided by the system. He prepared the location carefully for his breakthrough.
He sat outside the floating house with his legs crossed. The void sun had already set, giving way to a cool evening breeze. Two days had passed since his arrival. His body was now fully recovered, and his aura surged with renewed vitality.
[The Expedition Team of the Lion Clan Has Entered the Void]
[1 Month Until They Arrive at the Fifth Continent]
[100 Foundation Building Cultivators. 300 Qi Condensation Disciples. 3 Core Formation Elders. 1 Golden Core Expert]
“Hmmm. I expected more, but oh well,” Chris muttered. “They won’t see what’s coming. Especially that old man who beat me last time just because he was stronger.”
He closed his eyes. His core Qi surged slowly out of his body as he began to levitate off the ground.
Earlier, he had swallowed the Sovereign Core Pill. The overwhelming power it contained had barely been suppressed. His heart had completely merged with the Void Heart, and his dantian was now flooded with energy threatening to explode at any moment.
The Naija [Nigeria] youth exhaled, his breath visible like mist. He began circulating his cultivation techniques at full power. His aura exploded outward like a grenade.
Thunder rumbled across the sky as dark clouds gathered rapidly. Sweat formed on his face and arms. Within minutes, his new brown robe was completely drenched.
Days passed in a blur. He relentlessly compressed his Qi into his dantian, slowly transforming it into liquid form.
One week and two days later, the floating platform had become a pool of sweat and stench. Chris groaned through gritted teeth, refusing to stop.
After one week and three days, the false golden core finally shattered.
The Heavenly Tribulation clouds appeared. White lightning crackled violently across the void night, as if tearing the sky apart.
[Alert!]
[12 Lightning Strikes Preparing to Crash Down on Host in a Few Seconds]
[Warning: The Pain Will Be Both Physical and Mental]
“Doesn’t matter, System. I’m ready,” Chris replied through clenched jaws, veins bulging on his forehead, arms, and neck.
[Host Must Endure to Successfully Breakthrough]
The dark clouds expanded menacingly. The first lightning strike slammed down, sending a massive shockwave rippling outward from the floating platform.
The Naija youth forcefully exhaled, his breath visible like cigarette smoke.
“Bring it all! I will tank it without falling!” he declared, eyes still closed. Small sparks of lightning danced across his body.
His body levitated higher into the atmosphere as a golden aura began leaking from him.
The second lightning strike was fiercer than the first. Chris smiled. His Void Heart was already absorbing the lightning’s energy and the heavenly laws engraved within it, refining them before sending them through his meridians into his forming golden core.
[Golden Core Formation at 30%]
The third strike came like an unchained storm. He bit down hard on his lip.
The fourth struck with the force of a nuclear explosion. The impact forced him downward slightly.
[25x Recovery Activated]
[No Pain, No Gain Engaged]
He chuckled softly. “Bring everything. This one na child’s play compared to the hardship wey I pass through for Naija." [This is child's play compared to what I went through/experienced in Nigeria]
He floated even higher.
The fifth strike’s power was reduced once again by the Void Heart. The sixth strike landed, and blood began dripping from his nose onto the platform.
The seventh strike fell.
“Promise me… you will live for both of us,” his mother had whispered, bleeding and at death’s door, the light fading from her eyes.
“I promise, Mom. I prom—”
“Du-du-du-du-du-du.”
Another round of bullets tore into the room. Chris collapsed to the ground, bleeding heavily.
“Mom!” he roared, pressing his hand against his bleeding stomach.
The eighth lightning struck.
“We are sorry, sir. But we lost your dad.” The nurse’s voice was cold as she delivered the news, then quietly the door shut behind her.
Chris laughed bitterly, tears falling from his eyes as he sat beside the bed. His father’s body was already growing cold and stiff.
“All because I didn’t have money to pay for your medical bills… and I refused to break the law,” he whispered. “You ended up dead. Forgive me, father.”
His voice cracked like a sad flute as he cried softly, hugging his father’s lifeless body.
The ninth lightning struck. Tears rolled down Chris’s face even though his eyes remained tightly shut.
[Golden Core Formation at 80%]
The tenth strike descended like a mountain falling from the sky. Thick, sticky blood leaked from his ears.
He grunted, biting the inside of his mouth until blood flowed.
The eleventh lightning struck.
Li Yan’s memories flooded his mind. Chris gritted his teeth, fists clenched so tightly they trembled. More tears escaped his closed eyes.
He saw Li Yan’s village destroyed by the Lion Clan after they tried to break free from their rule. He witnessed both of Li Yan’s parents being slaughtered and violated by Elder Sung and Senior Yang.
Li Yan had screamed in agony and tried to end his own life, but he was captured, restrained, and his memories sealed by a secret technique known only to the Grand Elder, Yang, and the Ancestor.
He was turned into a slave, disguised as an outer disciple. Night after night, he was violated by senior disciples, beaten half to death by morning, and healed by afternoon only to suffer again.
Six months later, he was used for a cruel experiment. For weeks, he was cut open, healed, and tormented with fire. The endless pain, rage, and near-madness eventually shattered the memory seal.
Deemed a failure, he was thrown back into s*****y. One night, as a male senior attempted to violate him again, Li Yan drove a blade into the man’s neck and hid the body.
He began planning his revenge, but days later he was framed and chased for many kilometers until he reached the Void Mountain, where he died from extreme exhaustion and thirst.
Chris clenched his fists until his nails drew blood from his palms. The painful memories continued slamming into his mind.
Finally, the twelfth and last lightning struck. His body absorbed the entire force of the bolt.
His golden core condensed and formed completely, a majestic dragon face engraved upon it.
Chris exploded with a powerful roar. His eyes turned golden as a massive wave of Qi shot outward like a tsunami, causing the entire fifth continent to tremble.
Golden markings on his body transformed, forming a mighty dragon with four eyes and six horns.
The Naija youth’s voice thundered across the sky. His white pupils turned fully red. The void sky above shifted into a blazing mix of crimson and gold.
His overwhelming energy forced all low-level beasts across the continent to their knees.
Chris took one step forward. A stairway of light formed beneath his feet in the air. He stared at his clenched fist, eyes burning with cold fury.
*They will pay.*
- Writer
