196: Only the weak follow the rules; the strong exploit bugs.

The two hundredth step.

It was also the end of the Heaven Rank steps.

There was no thunder here.

Only a platform.

In the center of the platform, a ball of light floated.

Inside the light ball, an ancient rune could vaguely be seen slowly rotating.

The aura emanating from that rune was ancient, vast, and carried a sense of majesty that judged all living beings.

[First Trial Clearance Reward: Law of Thunder Dao Fragment]

[Effect: Enhances comprehension of the Thunder Law, increases the probability of breaking through the A-rank Bottleneck.]

The Secret Realm's prompt sounded.

Lin Yuan stood at the edge of the platform, panting heavily.

Although he treated thunder like food, the pressure of this final stretch was indeed immense.

It was suppression from the Law itself, not something that could be offset by mere energy.

"Good stuff."

Lin Yuan stared at the ball of light, drooling.

Dao essence!

This was hard currency that couldn't be bought with money.

If he could comprehend this thing, his thunder might even evolve again.

Lin Yuan rubbed his hands, walking over impatiently.

He reached out.

Towards the ball of light.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch it.

Buzz!

A light screen popped open.

[Detected that the trial participant did not reach the summit through conventional means.]

[Detected that the trial participant contains foreign Divine Thunder aura.]

[Re-evaluating reward qualification...]

The voice echoed above the platform.

Lin Yuan's hand froze in mid-air.

"What does that mean?"

He was unhappy.

"What do you mean 'unconventional means'?

"I climbed this tower with my own ability, how is that not conventional?"

Lin Yuan patted the light screen, making thudding sounds.

"Open the door!"

"Don't force me to get rough!"

"I have a bad temper, and this sword has an even worse temper!"

He pulled out god slaying with a backhand.

On the sword body, Geng Metal Divine Thunder and Abyssal Tribulation Thunder intertwined, emitting crackling explosions.

As if to respond to his threat.

The light screen flickered twice.

[Evaluation complete.]

[Trial participant Lin Yuan, although his actions are erratic and his methods crude, he...]

[Conforms to the True Intent of Thunder.]

[Reward issued.]

The light screen dissipated.

The ball of light slowly descended, floating before Lin Yuan.

"That's more like it."

Lin Yuan put away his sword, wearing a

He reached out and grabbed the ball of light.

Immediately after.

Boom!

A massive stream of information rushed into his mind.

No text, no images.

Only a feeling.

It was the destruction when thunder exploded, the vitality when spring thunder awakened insects, and the majesty when judging evil.

Lin Yuan closed his eyes.

The thunder within him began to boil.

Crack.

Like the sound of an eggshell breaking.

Lin Yuan's aura began to climb.

The surrounding air began to distort, and tiny electric arcs danced on his hair.

[Divine Body Evolution Progress increased by 25%]

"Hoo..."

Lin Yuan exhaled a breath of turbid air.

As soon as this turbid air left his mouth, it transformed into a bolt of lightning, blasting a shallow pit in the ground.

"Awesome!"

He clenched his fist.

"Is this the chance to Breakthrough to B-rank that Drunkard mentioned? He didn't lie to me after all."

Just then.

The entire giant tower began to shake.

[First Trial ended.]

[Summit Reached By: Lin Yuan.]

[Second Trial Channel activated.]

Amidst the rumbling vibrations, the platform beneath his feet began to disintegrate.

A sense of weightlessness struck him.

It didn't last long; after about three seconds, Lin Yuan's feet touched solid ground again.

"Cough cough..."

He waved his hand to dispel the dust in front of him, and his vision gradually cleared.

This was a circular corridor suspended in the Void Realm.

In the center of the corridor was a huge deep pool, a thousand zhang in circumference.

The pool water was silvery-white, its surface calm and waveless.

[Second Trial: Thunder Pool Fishing]

[Rule: 'Thunder Spirits' are nurtured deep within the Thunder Pool. Capturing Thunder Spirits yields 'Thunder Marrow'.]

[Time Limit: Three hours.]

[Victory/Defeat Judgment: Ranked by total mass of Thunder Marrow obtained, last place eliminated.]

Several lines of large golden characters appeared above the deep pool, then transformed into specks of golden light and dissipated.

"Fisherman's delight?"

Lin Yuan walked to the edge of the pool and peered down.

The Thunder Pool was bottomless, and some shadows could vaguely be seen swimming rapidly in its depths.

Buzz—

The space behind him rippled.

Four disheveled figures successively tumbled out.

Wei Qing stumbled upon landing, almost losing his balance.

His face was bruised, and his left arm hung unnaturally by his side, clearly indicating an unhealed fracture.

King Kong was even worse, his skin pockmarked as if gnawed by a dog.

Shadow Fiend was the weakest, barely able to maintain his human form.

Only Zero, still clutching her taped-up stuffed bear, was completely unharmed, save for a bit of dust on her feet.

"Oh, you've arrived, everyone?"

Lin Yuan turned around, leaned against the railing, and enthusiastically waved.

He pointed at Wei Qing's broken arm.

"It seems Kunlun's medical standards aren't that great. How about I give you two more hammers? Traditional Chinese Medicine believes in 'no destruction, no construction.'"

Wei Qing's cheek twitched, his chest heaving, utterly exasperated.

Fight?

He couldn't win.

Curse?

This kid's mouth was even more venomous than his sword.

"Lin Yuan..."

Wei Qing suppressed his anger, his voice hoarse.

"Don't get too complacent too soon."

"The first stage was just a contest of brute Physical Body strength. This second stage tests precise control over energy and..."

Clatter.

Five ancient-looking fishing rods appeared out of thin air, falling in front of everyone.

Interrupting Wei Qing's spellcasting.

Lin Yuan bent down and picked up his own.

The material seemed to be some kind of beast bone, cool to the touch. It had no fishing line, only a complex 'Spirit Guiding Rune' carved on the rod tip.

[Angler's Rod: Infuse spiritual power to form a line, use your Mental Energy as bait, and lure Thunder Spirits.]

"Another one of these old-fashioned settings."

Lin Yuan weighed the fishing rod, a look of disdain on his face.

"No rebar or aircraft carrier arresting cables? How am I supposed to fish with this?"

He looked at Wei Qing, shaking the bone stick in his hand.

"Is this what you mean by 'precise control'?"

Wei Qing snorted coldly, ignoring Lin Yuan's mockery.

He picked up his fishing rod, walked to the farthest corner from Lin Yuan, and sat down cross-legged.

Holding the rod with one hand, he infused spiritual power.

Buzz.

A golden beam of light shot from the rod tip, submerging into the Thunder Pool.

King Kong and Shadow Fiend also found their spots and honestly began

After all, this round had an elimination system for the last place, and no one wanted to be the unlucky one kicked out.

Only Zero.

She walked to Lin Yuan's side, about two meters away.

She placed the stuffed bear on the ground, then, imitating the others, extended her fishing rod into the pool.

But she didn't inject any spiritual power.

She just left it there, dry and lifeless.

"It's starting already?"

Lin Yuan looked at the four people around him who had entered

The beam of light extended, but after entering the water for only three meters, he felt a huge resistance.

The liquid thunder was extremely viscous; trying to control the spiritual power thread to move within it was harder than picking up a glass marble coated in dish soap with chopsticks.

"Too inefficient."

Lin Yuan tried for two minutes, then decisively reeled in his rod.

At this rate, it would be a question if he could even catch one in three hours.

This kind of work, relying on luck, wasn't for him.

"Hey."

Lin Yuan poked Zero next to him with his fishing rod.

Zero turned her head, her big eyes blinking.

"Lend me something."

Lin Yuan pointed to the stuffed bear in her arms.

Zero immediately hugged the bear tightly, shrinking back warily.

"Don't be so stingy."

Lin Yuan pouted.

"I want to borrow the strap you use to tie the bear."

A red ribbon was tied around the stuffed bear's neck, looking very sturdy.

Zero hesitated for a moment.

She reached out, untied the ribbon, and handed it to Lin Yuan.

"Return it."

"Don't worry, what's borrowed will be returned, and borrowing again won't be difficult."

Lin Yuan took the ribbon and tested itstoughness.

It was actually woven from the sinews of some high-grade exotic beast, impervious to water and fire, and an excellent insulator.

"Good stuff."

Lin Yuan praised.

Then.

To everyone's shock, he tied one end of the ribbon to the railing.

The other end was tightly wrapped around his waist.

He tied a dead knot.

"What is he doing?"

Shadow Fiend in the distance couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Wei Qing opened his eyes, glanced at Lin Yuan, and sneered.

"Grandstanding."

"If he dares to go down, I'll stand on my head..."

Splash!

Wei Qing hadn't even finished his sentence.

The figure had already leaped over the railing.