4: Chapter 4 Soul Power Fusion, Chaos and Thunder

In the evening, Su Chen dragged his exhausted body back to the dormitory.

But he did not rest.

The day was for practicing control; the night was for consolidation and... courting death.

He sat cross-legged on the ground and guided a wisp of Chaos Thunder Dragon power to his palm.

A hazy gray current of Chaos enveloped purple-blue electrical arcs, slowly rotating in his palm.

"The old man was watching during the day, so it wasn't easy to mess around. But now..."

Su Chen's lips curled into a grin as he recalled his reckless maneuvers from the previous night.

"Lightning Style: Rasengan, condense for me!"

Imitating a certain blonde from his memories, he attempted to rotate and compress the lightning power in his palm at high speed.

The idea was beautiful, but reality was harsh.

The moment the lightning power began to accelerate, it instantly spun out of control.

Zzzzt!

With a crisp crackle, the ball of Soul Power exploded directly in his hand.

Su Chen's whole body convulsed, his hair standing on end like an electrocuted Super Saiyan.

Puff...

He exhaled a puff of black smoke, his entire body going numb.

"Damn, this thing even deals recoil damage?"

Though it hurt a bit, Su Chen discovered that after being struck by his own lightning, his body's resistance to thunder seemed to have strengthened by a tiny fraction.

"Eh? Is this... Lightning Tribulation Body Tempering?"

"As long as it doesn't kill me, I should just keep shocking myself?"

A bold idea emerged.

Others feared Qi Deviation when cultivating, but here he was, literally electrocuting himself.

If outsiders knew about this, they'd probably call him a 'ruthless man'—or rather, someone even more extreme than that.

Over the next few days, Su Chen completely let himself go.

During the day, he practiced control under Mu En's supervision, being criticized until he felt utterly worthless.

The moment he returned to the dormitory at night, he began his various ways of courting death.

Lightning Orbs, Lightning Whips, Lightning Knives...

Without exception, they all backfired and exploded.

Electrical flashes sparked in the dorm every day, and the smell of burning never dissipated.

One night, just as Su Chen had once again electrocuted himself until he was charred on the outside and tender on the inside, Mu En's aged voice rang out behind him without warning.

"Disciple, what are you doing?"

Su Chen jerked in fright, nearly detonating another ball of lightning.

Sporting an afro from the blast, he turned around sheepishly: "Mas... Master, I... I'm researching derivative uses for my Spirit."

Looking at his miserable state, Mu En did not scold him, but spoke slowly.

"Your Chaos Thunder Dragon Martial Soul indeed has infinite potential."

"But you are taking the wrong path."

Mu En's gaze became profound, as if he could see through everything in the world.

"The core of Chaos Power lies in devouring; the core of Thunder Power lies in destruction."

"Individually, both these powers are top-tier. But if they cannot be reconciled and you let them grow wildly within you, they will eventually backfire, tearing you into pieces."

Mu En's words were like a heavy blow, leaving Su Chen's head ringing.

He looked down at his palm, which was still emitting wisps of smoke, and fell into deep thought.

"Master, I understand."

Su Chen nodded solemnly.

Mu En looked at him, his cloudy eyes betraying no emotion: "It is good that you understand. Get some rest early."

With that, he leaned on his cane and, with a hunched back, disappeared step by step into the night.

After seeing Mu En off, Su Chen turned back into his room and locked the door behind him.

Understanding was one thing, but he still had to experiment.

This time, he changed his strategy.

He no longer tried to make the two collide directly. Instead, he first mobilized a strand of lightning power as thin as a hair to serve as the core.

Then, he separated an even weaker wisp of Chaos Power and extremely slowly moved it to cover that strand of lightning.

Not devouring, but enveloping.

One minute.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Slowly, a wondrous scene occurred.

Under the gentle encirclement of the Chaos Power, that violent lightning power actually quieted down significantly.

The originally overbearing Chaos Power also restrained its devouring nature, obediently clinging to the periphery of the lightning power to form a thin gray membrane.

Though still fragile, there was finally a sign of fusion.

"It worked!"

Su Chen was overjoyed.

However, at the critical moment when the fusion was about to stabilize.

An accident occurred once more.

A wisp of stray, turbulent energy left over from when he had shocked himself earlier suddenly surged into that fragile bundle of fused power.

Boom!

The two powers he had worked so hard to soothe rioted again, even more violently than the first time.

Pfft!

Su Chen could no longer hold it back; he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and collapsed backward, hitting the floor hard.

"Sigh, haste makes waste."

"Fusion requires slow, meticulous effort. One must never rush for success."

Su Chen smiled bitterly.

He had almost killed himself; he had definitely been too impulsive this time.

...

From that day on, Su Chen became completely disciplined.

He no longer pursued the forced fusion of the two powers. Instead, he followed Mu En's teachings and returned to the basics.

Every day, he did only one thing.

And that was basic Soul Power control.

Condensing Chaos Power into a needle, then dispersing it into a mist.

Weaving lightning power into a net, then tightening it into a thread.

The process was dry and tedious.

But Su Chen's heart became calmer than ever before.

Day after day, regardless of the weather.

In the blink of an eye, a year passed.

Su Chen was now seven years old.

On this day, he was cultivating cross-legged in his room as usual.

The Soul Power within him was like a gentle stream, flowing slowly through his meridians.

As the Soul Power completed its thirty-sixth cycle.

Su Chen's body jolted slightly.

An even more massive surge of Soul Power erupted from deep within his dantian, instantly flowing through his entire body.

Breakthrough, Rank 20!

Su Chen slowly opened his eyes, a faint flash of electricity vanishing within his pupils.

He wasn't ecstatic; he simply stood up calmly and pushed open the door.

Mu En was lying on a lounge chair in the courtyard with his eyes closed.

"Master."

Su Chen walked to his side and called out softly.

Mu En's eyelids flickered as he slowly opened them.

Those cloudy eyes looked at Su Chen, unperturbed.

"My Soul Power has reached Rank 20!"

Su Chen said.

"Mm."

Mu En's response was just a single word, as if he had long expected it.

Su Chen was also accustomed to this. He paused and voiced his thoughts.

"Master, I've made up my mind."

"My second spirit ring must come from a thunder-attribute Spirit Beast, and the more powerful, the better."

He raised his hand, a small electrical snake dancing at his fingertips.

"In my Chaos Thunder Dragon Martial Soul, Chaos Power is internal and all-encompassing, making it suitable as a foundation. Thunder Power is external and peerlessly overbearing, making it my strongest current means of attack."

"So, I want to make the 'thunder' advantage even stronger first."

Su Chen's logic was very clear.

Since he couldn't achieve perfect fusion yet, he would push one aspect to the limit first.

He would first turn himself into an emotionless 'Lightning Lord'.

Mu En listened quietly, and a hint of approval finally appeared in his dim eyes.

"Having your own ideas is good."

Supporting himself with his cane, he slowly, inch by inch, stood up.

"Since you've decided, then go prepare."

"In the Star Dou Great Forest, there is a Thundering Marsh. The Spirit Beasts there should have what you want."