13: Chapter 13 The Overbearing Undying Thunder Body

Time flowed silently during his focused Cultivation. When Zhang Wen slowly opened his eyes from his deep state, the sky outside the window was already tinged with a dim yellow.

He let out a long breath, his chest expanding and contracting with it, and the exhaled airflow even carried a faint crackling sound.

"Ah—" Zhang Wen stretched, his joints popping with a crisp series of cracks, as if countless tiny bolts of thunder were exploding inside his body.

He rolled his neck, feeling the surging power in his limbs and bones; it was an unprecedented sense of fullness, as if the pulse of thunder was hidden within every inch of his muscles.

The corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily. He recalled the fierce battle against the Frost Prison Demon Spider not long ago, where even using the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder left him in precarious danger.

But now, he had absolute confidence—if he were to encounter that monster again, he could tear it apart with just this Physical Body tempered by Thunder Power!

With a thought, Zhang Wen took a deep breath, suddenly dropped into a horse stance, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, and then shouted aloud, "Indestructible Thunder Body, activate!"

Before the words had even finished, dazzling Lightning Radiance erupted from his entire body!

At first, it was just fine electric arcs dancing on his skin, but in the blink of an eye, they converged into dark purple thunder rays, churning and rising like boiling magma.

Within a few short breaths, a thick layer of Thunder Qi wrapped around his entire body. The thunder patterns intertwined like chains and were arranged as tightly as scales; from a distance, it looked as if he were wearing a suit of battle armor forged from thunder.

"Hum—" The Thunder Qi vibrated slightly, emitting a heart-stopping pressure. The surrounding air was ionized, giving off a burnt smell, and the rubble on the ground was even made to hover slightly by the invisible thunder force.

Zhang Wen clenched his fist, feeling the power contained within it, and felt as if a single punch could shatter mountain rocks.

He tried raising his hand, and the Thunder Qi moved according to his will. Where his fingertips passed, the air was torn, leaving faint thunder marks. He then stomped his foot, and a ring-shaped thunder wave spread out, cracking the ground with fine fissures.

What was even more marvelous was that he could clearly feel the Thunder Qi was not only releasing power outwards but also slowly nourishing his Physical Body—the Thunder Power consumed during his earlier Cultivation was flowing back and replenishing along the connection between the Thunder Qi and his Meridians.

"Is this the power of an SSS-rank body-tempering Cultivation Technique..." Zhang Wen looked at his palm covered in Thunder Qi, feeling the might of its combined offense and defense, his eyes shining with excitement.

At this moment, he was truly like a mobile thunder fortress, possessing both an invincible edge and an unshakable defense.

Zhang Wen raised his hand to stroke the slowly flowing Thunder Qi on his arm, feeling the surging power hidden beneath that armor condensed from thunder, his eyes filled with awe.

The power erupted just a moment ago was merely the basics of the entry-level Realm of the Indestructible Thunder Body, yet this "basics" alone had increased his Physical Body strength several times over, even faintly enhancing the power of his Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder.

"This is only the entry-level..." he whispered, tapping his fingertip lightly on the Thunder Qi, causing the electric arcs to "crackle" and explode.

"If I can reach the proficiency stage, my Thunder Prison protection might be able to withstand high-level Spells; if I truly reach Major Achievement, perhaps I could contend against a Magic Treasure with my Physical Body alone. That scene..." Just thinking about it made his heart race, and the thunder arcs in his palm danced even more joyfully.

Composing himself, Zhang Wen dissipated the Thunder Qi around his body. The dark golden Lightning Radiance retreated into his body like a tide, leaving only a few fleeting pale golden patterns on the surface of his skin.

He lowered his head to brush the dust off his clothes and straightened his collar, which had been ruffled by the thunder force—the commotion from activating his Cultivation Technique had been significant, and if he returned home looking disheveled, he would inevitably be questioned by his parents.

He glanced at the sky. The afterglow of the setting sun was slanting through the broken windows of the factory building, casting long shadows on the ground.

Calculating the time, if he didn't return now, dinner would likely be cold. His mother would definitely be standing at the alley entrance, looking forward in anticipation, while his father, though he wouldn't say it, had likely already turned down the volume of his radio and was pricking up his ears to listen for movement outside the courtyard gate.

"Time to go back." Zhang Wen smiled, tucking the joy of his Breakthrough and his aspirations for the future deep into his heart, then turned and pushed open the rusty iron door.

The evening breeze from outside, carrying the scent of worldly life, blew in. He took a deep breath and walked briskly towards home, his back filled with the high spirits unique to a youth.

The security door opened with a "click." Zhang Wen had just poked half his head in when he was met with a gust of wind smelling of green onions—Wang Guihua rushed out from the kitchen holding a spatula, two grains of rice stuck to her apron, looking like a general who had just come off the front lines of the stove.

"Comrade Zhang Wen! You're finally back!" She slapped the spatula against the door frame. "Three more minutes, and your father, Zhang Jianguo, would have put your bowl of braised pork on the altar as an offering, saying if he waited any longer, the meat would sprout legs and run away!"

Zhang Wen shrank his neck and hurriedly changed his shoes. "Mom, I was just afraid that since your cooking is so good, if I came back early, I wouldn't be able to resist eating two extra bowls and would delay your grand weight-loss plan."

"Smart aleck!" Wang Guihua reached out and slapped the back of his head. As soon as her hand touched his hair, she hissed, "Why is your hair like you touched an electric socket? It's so frizzy it could be used to sow dandelion seeds! Which brat did you go touch a transformer with again?"

Zhang Wen's heart skipped a beat—he couldn't exactly say he had just activated his Indestructible Thunder Body and his hair had been fried by the Thunder Qi, could he? He could only laugh dryly. "Maybe... I just passed a barbershop, and the hair dryer at the entrance blew it?"

"Blow your ghost!" Wang Guihua glared at him and turned to walk to the kitchen. "Go wash your hands! Your father, Zhang Jianguo, was just betting with me, saying you must have gone to watch a movie with a girl, and the loser has to do the dishes—you better make it clear to your dad; my old waist can't handle scrubbing plates!"

Zhang Wen had just walked into the living room when he saw his father, Zhang Jianguo, holding a half-peeled garlic clove, his eyes wide round. "Son! Your mother is cheating! She clearly said just now you went to an internet cafe!"

"Dad, I went to..."

"Don't explain!" Wang Guihua came out carrying the braised pork and set the plate down heavily. "Eat! Whoever mentions doing the dishes again has to do them for three days!"

Zhang Wen watched his parents instantly switch into a battle mode of "whoever grabs the biggest piece of meat first wins." He looked down at his own hand, which still bore faint thunder patterns—well, he had just thought he was pretty cool for being able to tear apart a Demon Spider with his bare hands, but at home, if he was going to get his head knocked by his mom's spatula, he would still get knocked.

No matter how powerful this Indestructible Thunder Body was, it probably couldn't withstand the temptation of his own mother's braised pork.