The Dao Sovereign of Shennong

"The thunder elemental force here is so heavy, it's terrifying," Zhao Xing stared ahead.

The thunder elemental force in this place was no longer just dense; it gave off a suffocating heaviness.

Looking from the outside, it didn't seem that bad. But once you actually entered the Thunder Zone, it felt as though the air was too thick to breathe.

"Unless I draw energy from the earth veins, all the energy in the air has been completely pushed out by the thunder elemental force—there's not a drop left to absorb."

"Even within the earth veins, only a small portion of energy remains, and it's mixed with a significant amount of thunder element."

After just a few steps, Zhao Xing noticed his hair floating upward, as if lifted by static electricity.

"Run!"

His speed instantly increased. Zhao Xing knew that the area he was in was about to be struck by lightning—he had to leave quickly.

"Whoosh~"

With a strong push off the ground, Zhao Xing leapt through the valley like a monkey.

As soon as he leaped away, a bolt of lightning struck where he had just stood.

Without a sound, the lightning buried itself into the stone, and the thousand-pound boulder crumbled into dust.

"How terrifying. It's far stronger than my own lightning techniques. The two forms of lightning techniques I've comprehended are utterly insignificant compared to this overwhelming force."

Zhao Xing's scalp tingled—literally. He could feel the next strike of lightning closing in.

"Cloud Summoning!"

Zhao Xing pointed a golden finger to the sky, casting a spell to form a cloud overhead.

The clouds spread out, and his Cloud Devouring Technique began gathering the cloud energy.

But then something strange happened.

The cloud Zhao Xing had summoned quickly turned into a dark purple-black cloud.

Thunder and lightning began to surge within it, flashing madly, as if it was about to explode.

"What's happening? I didn't even use any lightning spells…"

Sensing danger, Zhao Xing immediately jumped out from under his own cloud.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion followed as the thundercloud burst, sending lightning bolts flying in all directions. Zhao Xing let out a muffled grunt, his internal energy reduced by a tenth.

"This is the first time I've lost control of my cloud technique."

"No, this isn't going to work. Charging through head-on like this isn't a viable option."

Originally, Zhao Xing had hoped that his Cloud Devouring Technique would allow him to pass through the Thunder Zone quickly. Now, it seemed that idea was a bit naïve.

"Whew~"

He increased his speed, searching the valley for a safe spot to hide.

Before long, he found a section of dividing rock.

The rock was wedged into the mountain, stretching out for dozens of meters with a thickness of seven or eight meters—forming a natural shelter.

"Any rock that can exist in the Thunder Zone isn't ordinary. This one, in particular, is magnetic storm stone, a material used by the Tiangong Workshop to make weapons and mechanisms."

Zhao Xing swiftly flew over and tucked himself beneath the magnetic storm rock as the thunderstorm raged on.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom!"

The thunder never stopped, and lightning rained down from the sky as if it were a storm of bolts.

It was a relentless barrage of heaven's fury.

Now that he was temporarily safe, Zhao Xing reflected on what had just happened.

"When I used the Cloud Devouring Technique, it automatically absorbed the thunderclouds from the sky."

"In an instant, it reached its limit."

"The reason the cloud burst uncontrollably was precisely because of this."

Zhao Xing quickly pinpointed the issue.

The Cloud Devouring Technique could indeed absorb cloud energy—its ability to cut and devour cloud energy was exceedingly strong.

But against something as terrifying as the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool, even the Cloud Devouring Technique couldn't handle it.

The thunderclouds were too heavy. As soon as Zhao Xing's cloud condensed, it reached its limit and exploded.

It was like inflating a balloon to its maximum capacity in one second—inevitably, it burst.

"Let's try again."

Sheltered beneath the rock, Zhao Xing cast his spell again, sending a golden light into the air to summon a cloud on the same level as himself.

This time, he was much more cautious, compressing the cloud to its absolute limit.

A cloud about eight meters wide slowly formed.

The Cloud Devouring Technique was at the eighth transformation, which was the highest level Zhao Xing could currently control. While he couldn't yet make a cloud appear in the palm of his hand, that was something old Shennong officers had perfected over decades of grueling practice, focusing on just one lightning and cloud technique.

How long had Zhao Xing been practicing? From the time he obtained the Path Transmission Scroll to reaching the eighth transformation of his techniques, it had only been three or four months.

"Even though I've compressed it to the extreme and I'm controlling it with all my might, it's still unstable." Zhao Xing observed the trembling cloud.

It wobbled, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

"An eight-meter cloud is barely stable, but if it gets struck by lightning, it will still shatter."

"Let's see how many bolts it can take."

Zhao Xing directed the cloud toward the Thunder Zone.

"Boom!"

A bolt of lightning struck the cloud.

In an instant, the cloud expanded from eight meters to sixteen meters.

"Compress!"

Sensing the impending collapse, Zhao Xing concentrated fully, compressing the cloud back down to ten meters.

Then a second lightning bolt struck.

The cloud expanded to twenty meters.

Again, Zhao Xing compressed it.

When the third bolt hit, the cloud swelled to thirty meters.

"Boom!"

The fourth strike shattered the cloud entirely.

"It's still no good. With just the Cloud Devouring Technique, I can only withstand three lightning strikes."

"But that's relying solely on the cloud technique for defense."

"I have more than just the cloud technique."

Zhao Xing cast Cloud Devouring again.

Once more, an eight-meter-wide cloud appeared.

"Crack!"

A bolt of lightning struck, swelling the cloud to seventeen meters.

But this time, Zhao Xing made his move.

"Lightning Summoninging!"

Within the cloud, a bolt of lightning discharged straight into the ground.

Buzz~

The cloud instantly shrank back to its stable eight-meter size.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

More lightning bolts struck the cloud.

But each time, Zhao Xing used Lightning Summoninging to discharge the lightning into the ground, maintaining the stability of his cloud.

"With Lightning Summoninging perfected, I can dissipate the lightning energy within the cloud and control where it discharges."

Zhao Xing smiled. Now, he could walk through the Thunder Zone.

This was the power of combining multiple techniques!

If he had only mastered the eighth transformation of Cloud Devouring, he wouldn't have been able to handle the sheer weight of the thunderclouds. One casting would have caused an immediate explosion, making it impossible to survive for long.

But with Lightning Summoninging fully mastered, the problem was solved.

That's the benefit of broadening one's mastery of different techniques.

If his Lightning Summoninging were any weaker, like below the seventh transformation, discharging the lightning energy through the technique would have been impossible.

"Time to move."

Zhao Xing stepped out from under the rock and continued down the valley.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Thunder boomed, and the dense lightning strikes made it certain that he would be hit.

But each time lightning struck, Zhao Xing's Cloud Devouring technique absorbed it.

Once absorbed, Zhao Xing would immediately use Lightning Summoninging to discharge the energy into the ground through his cloud.

"Boom!"

Lightning scattered, smashing into nearby rocks.

But it never touched the cloud-protected Zhao Xing.

"Walking through the Thunder Zone with clouds overhead, scattering lightning everywhere... this looks pretty cool."

Zhao Xing glanced around, summoning a gust of wind to protect himself from the flying debris.

"I better move quickly."

"When the three suns fully shift from their positions, the power of the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool will intensify even more."

In a place like this, Zhao Xing's luck didn't matter.

The odds of being struck by lightning were one hundred percent!

Luck only plays a role when there's a chance involved. In a place like this, where survival depended solely on strength, no amount of luck would save someone without the power to survive.

With the path forward secured, Zhao Xing had the luxury of observing the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool as he moved.

This area was also the perfect place to study lightning techniques.

The naturally occurring and terrifying lightning was so dense that each flash was like a tutorial on lightning techniques, right in front of Zhao Xing's eyes.

As he walked, discharging the lightning, his understanding of lightning techniques deepened without him even realizing it.

Back at the Lava Plains...

"Cough, cough…"

Zhuo Li took off his wide-brimmed hat, revealing a soot-streaked face as he greedily gulped down the cool air around him.

With each cough, the fire toxins quickly left his body.

"I finally passed the third barrier. If not for my training in the Yin-Yang True Self Scripture, which strengthened my internal organs, I would have been severely weakened even if I did manage to pass the Lava Plains."

Zhuo Li glanced back.

Normally, the Lava Plains wouldn't have given him this much trouble.

But the person ahead of him had turned the Lava Plains into a living hell.

Yet, seeing so many people still stuck behind the third barrier gave him some solace.

At least he had made it through!

"The person who cast that spell must be quite powerful. I'll have to challenge them if I ever get the chance," Zhuo Li thought.

He didn't hold any grudges against the person who made things difficult.

If given the opportunity, he'd have done the same thing.

"Hmph, only mediocre people complain."

"If you can't even pass the Lava Plains, you might as well be eliminated now."

"Fewer people means fewer resources to split during training."

If you couldn't even make it to the reporting station for training, you might as well turn around and go home!

"I need to speed up. I can't let Huo Lianlie down."

With that, Zhuo Li picked up his pace.

At the edge of the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool, where the clouds were thinner...

Li Feng tiredly patted the ice off his straw raincoat and tossed aside his burnt hat.

"Smack!"

The hat hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Not far from the hat lay Yu Chunwu, his raincoat completely burned away, exposing large patches of charred flesh.

He Yu and Peng Ran were frozen from the waist down, unable to move at all.

Yang Yang sat cross-legged a short distance away, meditating to heal his wounds. His entire body was drenched in blood, with his skin seeping fresh crimson, looking utterly terrifying.

As for the rest of the group, they were already sprawled on the ground, unconscious and out of the fight.

"Li Feng," Yu Chunwu, He Yu, Peng Ran, and Yang Yang all glared at Li Feng.

"I admit defeat. We weren't strong enough. Do what you will," Li Feng glanced at them, "You fools didn't even realize you were being used. I don't know how you managed to become Shennong officers in your previous armies."

He then laughed bitterly at himself. "I'm an idiot too, letting myself get so worked up. I played right into his hands."

Now that he had calmed down, Li Feng realized how impulsive he had been.

But he didn't regret it.

He had been in the Ten Sun Cave Heaven's outer garrison long enough to make a name for himself, and that had brought envy.

In situations like that, only by winning a fight could you make others listen to you.

Otherwise, no explanation would matter.

"What do you mean, we were used?!" Yang Yang asked, confused.

"Hmph, think about it. Who benefited the most?" Li Feng dismissed them, breaking the ice beneath his feet and walking toward the valley.

Yu Chunwu, He Yu, Peng Ran, and Yang Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

When Zhao Xing had escaped Li Feng's Blood Cloud Technique and entered the valley, they too had realized they'd misunderstood Li Feng.

But by then, everyone was too angry to stop.

Li Feng wasn't going to lower himself to explain, and they weren't going to beg for forgiveness.

It was like war—once it started, only a decisive outcome would allow for any talks.

"Damn, we were played like fools. I'll remember what that guy looks like, and when we get to the Shennong Monitor, I'll make him pay," He Yu growled.

"Aren't you more concerned about how terrifying Li Feng is?" Yu Chunwu's voice was calm. He didn't care about Zhao Xing using such underhanded tactics—if anything, that just meant Zhao Xing wasn't very strong. What concerned him was Li Feng's power.

"We all teamed up against him, and he still wasn't seriously hurt. He's the real opponent to watch out for."

"He really is terrifying," Peng Ran licked his lips, a glint of battle lust in his eyes. "I've been wanting to fight him for a while. If not for you three, I wouldn't have had the guts to challenge him. I didn't expect him to be this strong."

Each of them was proud, and having all been geniuses in their own regions, they couldn't help but feel excited upon encountering someone even stronger.

As for who had tricked them into fighting Li Feng... did it really matter?

To Peng Ran, it didn't. Even without that person's meddling, they likely would have ended up fighting Li Feng anyway.

Of course, they'd still make sure to settle the score with that person when the time came.

"Gentlemen, I'll be heading off now. See you at the Shennong Monitor!" Yu Chunwu, the first to recover, stood up and cupped his hands in farewell.

"See you later," the others replied, their spirits lifted somewhat by the shared battle experience.

Yu Chunwu was the strongest of the group, and he had earned their respect.

After he left, Peng Ran ignited flames on his body, burning away the ice encasing him. "Brothers, I'm off as well. Until we meet again."

"Until we meet again."

[Three Suns Shift from Position, Thunderstorms Rage!]

Zhao Xing's Calamity Repelling Almanac trembled slightly in his pocket, alerting him to the shifting of the three suns. He immediately sought out a safe spot.

At this moment, the power of the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool would increase. Besides, he had already crossed most of the zone, and after using Lightning Summoninging to discharge the thunder, his energy was nearly depleted. He needed to rest and recover.

"After passing the Lava Plains and the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool, the road ahead should be smooth. Only thirty more li to go before reaching the stable region of Yang City."

"Once I cross the city boundary, the Shennong Monitor will only be about ten li away."

After passing the Lava Plains and navigating the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool or the Gale Wind Mountain Range, the terrain would become much more forgiving.

The shorter, more difficult routes saved time compared to the longer ones with fewer challenges.

"My two self-created lightning techniques have also improved over the last ten li or so."

While they hadn't reached a breakthrough yet, they were close.

"Not only can I refine my lightning techniques here, but I've also sensed faint signs of treasure in this area. That's the benefit of Derivative Three Fortune... perhaps one of the treasures is nearby. This place will definitely be worth revisiting in the future," Zhao Xing mused.

The Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool harbored many natural treasures within its stormy grasp.

However, Zhao Xing wasn't going to divert his attention to treasure hunting at this time. The region's landscape was somewhat different from what he remembered in his previous life, and while he could feel something, now wasn't the time to get distracted.

Reporting to the Shennong Monitor was the priority. Besides, his current strength was insufficient. It took all his focus just to walk through the zone safely—searching for treasure here would be suicidal.

"Earth Vein Consolidation!"

Zhao Xing partially buried himself in the ground, drawing energy from the earth veins.

The human cultivation version of Earth Vein Consolidation allowed him to draw strength from the veins and recover quickly.

Though the energy within the veins was mixed with heavy thunder elemental force, causing a tingling numbness in his body, Zhao Xing endured it, as he had no other choice.

"Hmm?"

As he was recovering, Zhao Xing sensed something through the movements of the earth veins—something was approaching at high speed.

In the violet-hued veins, which flowed like rivers, Zhao Xing 'saw' a human-shaped figure, also violet, rapidly tunneling through the earth.

"What? Moving through the earth veins? Is that… Earth Escape from the Profound Earth Techniques?"

Fissure Technique, Earth Palace Technique, Earth Vein Consolidation, and Profound Earth Techniques were known as the four sacred earth arts.

Zhao Xing had dabbled in the first three, but he hadn't yet learned the Profound Earth Techniques.

Of the four sacred arts, Profound Earth Techniques was the most advanced and the hardest to master.

He hadn't expected to see someone using Profound Earth Techniques here!

"The recruits are all at the ninth level, yet someone's already mastered Profound Earth Techniques to such a high degree? Geniuses really are everywhere," Zhao Xing thought, impressed.

Up until now, he had been the one astonishing others. Now it was his turn to be amazed.

Given the violent thunder energy surging through the earth veins in this area, only someone using Profound Earth Techniques could move through it.

And their mastery couldn't be shallow—at least two Profound Earth Techniques at the seventh transformation or higher would be required to traverse such a hostile environment.

As Zhao Xing noticed the figure, the person tunneling through the veins also sensed Zhao Xing's use of Earth Vein Consolidation.

"Someone's using Earth Vein Consolidation to recover their energy in the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool?" Zhuang Ziqing was equally surprised. "Interesting. Doesn't he fear the disruption of his energy flow?"

Both of them sensed each other's presence in the violent earth veins, but neither stopped to make contact or probe further.

Once Zhao Xing had rested enough, he charged out of the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool in one burst of energy.

As the sky opened up ahead, the dark storm clouds gave way to a bright, clear sky.

"Whew~" Off in the distance, Zhao Xing saw a spiraling green whirlwind, moving rapidly toward him.

"Riding the wind calamity? They must have come from the Gale Wind Mountains—another expert."

"I only just got promoted and haven't yet learned many of the Shennong officers' specific techniques. It puts me at a disadvantage… I wonder what my ranking will be?"

"I entered at the Hour of the Rooster, and now it's the end of the Hour of the Pig. I need to hurry."

With a glance at the Calamity Repelling Almanac, Zhao Xing quickly cast a spell, summoning a cloud beneath his feet. He rode the cloud, using the wind to propel himself toward Yang City.

Before long, he crossed the city boundary, with the distant figure of Yang City now in sight.

"Whew~"

After crossing the boundary, Zhao Xing noticed more people appearing around him.

People were rushing from all directions, using their best techniques to race toward Yang City.

"Shennong Monitor is in that direction!"

With a surge of momentum, Zhao Xing sped across the clouds.

Behind him, people chased with all their might, and Zhao Xing pushed himself even harder.

"Whoosh!"

With a gust of wind, Zhao Xing and another figure simultaneously arrived at the Shennong Monitor.

In the large square of the Shennong Monitor stood a massive mirror displaying the rankings of the trainees as they reported in.