Regarding the Celestial Clan, Lu Yuan had long made up his mind.
They were enemies, mutually incompatible as fire and water. Now that they had crossed paths again, he naturally would not hesitate in the slightest.
Enemies had to be suppressed with absolute force. This was not to say Lu Yuan was tyrannical; rather, he knew very well that the Celestial Clan had always harbored designs against him, wishing nothing more than to eliminate him, merely restrained by their current lack of strength and opportunity.
That was the only reason they had bided their time—waiting for the ideal moment. If, for instance, Lu Yuan were ever gravely wounded one day, the Celestial Clan would never let him off.
Since they had met here, he might as well eliminate them directly! Why leave a threat alive? He had already resolved to collect on past debts and was prepared to kill.
The Celestial Clan wielded the power of wind and thunder, similar in some respects to the Yinglong. Such a clan was formidable indeed, possessed of immense strength and ranked among the top hundred in the starry domain. Yet what set them apart was that their power was even more violent and terrifying; after all, thunder was one of the most explosive forces in heaven and earth.
Opposite him stood four figures of the Celestial Clan, wind-and-thunder wings spread behind them, wreathed in endless arcs of lightning. It had to be said that their appearance was truly imposing, resembling gods out of legend.
They were in the Saint Realm as well. Lei Zhong and the others were all Saints, possessing powerful bloodline talents that were naturally horrifying when brought to bear.
*Rumble—*
In an instant, an intimidating scene unfolded. Endless leaden clouds gathered, blotting out the firmament. Across the void, tens of thousands of lightning bolts surged forth, tearing through the cloud cover. In a flash, the clouds across the sky were obliterated. Below, the seawater surged a thousand meters into the air, driving the sea beasts to flee in terror.
Seeing this, even the Yinglong was shaken and prepared to step forward. It sensed how formidable this power truly was. Unwilling to let Lu Yuan face it alone, and despite knowing that its current condition made holding them off difficult, it hesitated very little. Thunder wielded destructive might, and their foes were masters of that path.
"No need. I alone am enough."
Right then, Lu Yuan spoke, his expression as calm as ever, and stepped forward. Unwilling to waste time, he simply advanced.
As he took that step, a killing intent of the utmost intensity radiated from his person, accompanied by an overwhelming surge of terrifying might from within his body. Beside him, the Great Sun Smelting Furnace hummed into motion, exuding scorching heat that brought the sea below to a boil. His aura flared into a torrent, surging wave upon wave in resonance with his radiant golden vitality.
Left with no choice, Lei Zhong and his clansmen stepped forward without hesitation. There was clearly no time for them to deliberate. The Celestial Clan Saints, as well as the sequence Lei Zhong, knew all too well that at the same cultivation level, their opponent's combat prowess was terrifying. If they did not strike now, would they simply wait for death?
"Strike!"
"I refuse to believe you are truly invincible!" Lei Zhong roared, the power of thunder erupting from his body in an instant.
Under the Celestial Clan members' control, the myriad lightning bolts across the void converged, illuminating the sky. They coalesced into a colossal thunderbolt that seemed capable of piercing heaven and earth. Pouring all their strength into the lightning, they directed it straight forward.
Lu Yuan, however, did not seem to take it to heart. Facing that immense, apocalyptic thunderbolt, he lightly raised his hand.
Jade Emperor Orthodox Heavenly Thunder Art!
He would counter thunder with thunder!
Bearing the name of the Jade Emperor, the technique was naturally extraordinary. Majestic, grand, and supremely yang, it seemed to embody the will of Heaven itself—a true manifestation of channeling the power of heaven and earth.
Yet unlike the Celestial Clan's display, the lightning Lu Yuan summoned was different.
*Rumble—*
Endless thunder converged across the heavens, condensing into a lightning dragon almost instantaneously. At the same time, an even more formidable power coalesced within it.
Facing the Celestial Clan, Lu Yuan gave a slight wave of his hand. The lightning dragon's body abruptly expanded to a thousand meters as it surged outward!
The two thunderbolts collided, setting off blinding light!
*Rumble—*
Violent thunder roared with deafening intensity. A thunderous crash shook the heavens and earth, followed by a heavy drone. Heaven and earth trembled; the space itself seemed shattered as the sea below churned wildly under the shockwaves.
Led by Lei Zhong, the four Celestial Clan Saints were thrown backward, each coughing up a mouthful of blood, their auras instantly withering.
"How... how is this possible? In a pure contest of lightning, our Celestial Clan lost outright without gaining the slightest upper hand?" Lei Zhong stared in utter disbelief at the effortless defeat of their combined attack.
Controlling wind and thunder was an innate power of their clan. Yet here, in their strongest domain, they had suffered a complete and crushing defeat. Lei Zhong found it truly difficult to accept.
A strong sense of crisis gripped Lei Zhong and the others. This presence was far too dreadful, leaving the surrounding world in a state of sheer fury. They had no way to escape.
Even so, the Celestial Clan members refused to resign themselves to death. Roaring in fury, they mobilized their internal energy, determined to fight again.
"A desperate struggle to the end!"
Arcs of lightning continually surged from their bodies as their wind-and-thunder wings beat frantically.
"I am a sequence of the Celestial Clan, a chosen pride valued by my clan!" Lei Zhong shouted in alarm, terrified to his core and desperate to seize any chance of survival. Though he knew these words might not sway his opponent, he hoped they would at least give Lu Yuan pause.
Just as Lei Zhong had feared deep down, Lu Yuan did not so much as knit his brow upon hearing this. He spoke serenely: "A sequence? It is not as if I have never killed one. One more makes no difference."
With that, he raised his hand again, and thunder once more gathered across the heavens.
It was all too late. Setting aside that Lu Yuan had already broken into the Demi-Saint Realm, even when he had been merely in the Saint Realm, he could have effortlessly crushed them.
Slowly, he brought his hand down.
In that moment, he stood like a deity, pronouncing the death sentence of the four Celestial Clan Saints!
Chapter 256