The Blood of Youth – CH 038

Chapter 38: Summon Thunder From The Ninth Heaven, A Crane Among The Clouds

Lei Yunhe caught Lei Wujie’s sword with his two fingers.

“I once used a single finger to break Cangshan! I once used two fingers to break Qian Kun!”

These arrogant-sounding words would have been preposterous coming out of anyone else’s mouth, but from Lei Yunhe, they just came out naturally because he was just stating a fact. That year, he went alone to challenge Qingcheng Mountain. Over a hundred priests tried to stop him, but he used just one finger and broke open a path up the mountain. He used another two fingers to lift the entire roof of Qian Kun Hall and met Zhao Yuzhen, who was cultivating his sword in seclusion.

“I have a brother who saw your sword and said the most beautiful martial art in the world is the sword. I want to see it too.” Lei Yunhe faced the Daoist spiritual master and raised three fingers.

That was the last legend that Lei Yunhe left in the martial world. Nobody knew the outcome of that duel. After the third finger move, Lei Yunhe left the mountain on his own, and Zhao Yuzhen continued cultivating his sword in seclusion, but Lei Yunhe vanished from the martial world.

Lei Wujie’s excitement coursed through his whole body. Yes, he’s finally seen it; he’s seen the Thunderclap Fingers! Even for members of the Lei Clan, the Thunderclap Fingers was considered legendary. One finger to break Cangshan, two fingers to break Qian Kun. Even though Lei Yunhe’s name was taboo, the story of his Thunderclap Fingers was one of Lei Wujie’s favorite stories from the martial world, and now, the legend was right in front of him!

He had a chance to fight the legend!

Lei Wujie roared furiously. Although the Murderous Dread sword was being clamped by two fingers, its offensive power remained unabated. Lei Yunhe was forced to retreat several steps, and the explosion coming from the sword reverberated like explosive thunder!

“Good! You have the same aura as Lei Hong when he was young!” Lei Yunhe laughed loudly and suddenly released his fingers.

The Murderous Dread sword was no longer restrained, so Lei Wujie shouted again. He waved his long sword, and the sword aura burst as a beam of red light aiming for Lei Yunhe. Lei Yunhe did not retreat this time. Instead, he moved forward and raised one finger again. With this move, the sword aura diminished, and he raised another finger.

Two fingers to break Qian Kun!

Lei Wujie caught the scent of death at that moment. Even though he was beaten close to death several times in the Khotan Kingdom, not once was the scent of death so strong. It was said that when a person dies, his entire life flashes in front of him like a revolving lantern. At this moment, scenes of the past flashed before Lei Wujie’s eyes.

A middle-aged scholar in gray robes asked him, “You’re a member of the Lei Clan. What is the most powerful weapon under Heaven?”

“Uncle said it’s gunpowder,” the young Lei Wujie replied, chewing his fingernails.

“Then which is the most beautiful?” the middle-aged scholar asked again.

Lei Wujie shook his head, puzzled. “What is beauty?”

“You know that gunpowder is very powerful, but do you know about swords?” The middle-aged scholar did not give him an answer and continued to ask.

Lei Wujie shook his head again.

“Would you like to see a sword?” The middle-aged scholar asked again.

Lei Wujie nodded this time.

“Alright!” The middle-aged scholar’s melancholy was swept away in an instant, and his entire face lit up. With a wave of his sleeve, a red light scattered from within his sleeve. Lei Wujie shook his head as he saw a red-colored sword fly into the sky, and that beam of red light dyed the entire cloud layer red.

“Is that beauty? Is that a sword?” Lei Wujie was transfixed.

“Do you want to learn the sword?” The scholar said slowly as the long sword plummeted and inserted itself in front of Lei Wujie.

Lei Wujie stepped forward and held the sword, his voice trembling. “Yes!”

“I’m not going to die yet. I’m still going to take my sword and travel to all sorts of places!” Lei Wujie recalled the words of that peerless talented monk, and the images flashing before his eyes like a revolving lantern disappeared instantly. The two Thunderclap Fingers were already on the verge of striking his chest. His first sword aura was already broken, but why couldn’t he raise a second one? Lei Wujie swung his sword again, and this time, there was no explosive thunder from the sword, but the beam of red light surged instantly!

Lei Yunhe was taken aback and sighed. The aura in Lei Wujei’s eyes was so very familiar to him. “This feels just like us back then.” Lei Yunhe suddenly withdrew one of his two Thunderclap Fingers, leaving the other one, which he swiped across lightly and suppressed the beam of red light.

Lei Wujie retreated quickly, and at the same time, he threw out all the thunderbolt pellets he had on him.

Lei Yunhe, on the other hand, retreated leisurely, and in one step, he’d arrived next to the window. He opened the window slowly and looked up at the clouds. He sighed again. “It’s been a long time since I saw such youthful spirit. The martial world hasn’t changed, after all, and I’ve shut myself in this tower for too long.”

Lei Wujie was drenched in sweat and panting heavily. The Garuda phantom behind him had completely collapsed, and the red in his eyes was gradually fading. His Blazing Arts was also broken by that single finger.

“Then let me also recall that youthful spirit.” Lei Yunhe closed his eyes, and suddenly, he raised his left arm towards the sky.

“Let me recall that power!” Lei Yunhe murmured.

The sky turned overcast in an instant!

“What’s going on?” Tang Lian, who was observing at the bottom of the tower, was shocked.

The page boy, Fei Xuan, pinched his fingers together and calculated furiously. “Why? Why is this happening? Why did the sky change suddenly?”

In contrast, the waiter in the teahouse was not even surprised. He was just grumbling to himself, “This is the second time it’s gone overcast today. Is this rain coming or not?”

Sikong Changfeng did not speak, but the spear behind him gave off a startled cry.

In Snow Moon City, many of the elders came out of their own halls and looked up at the sky thoughtfully.

Luo Mingxuan was in the midst of being punished when his master suddenly walked out of the hall. He said in bewilderment, “Shifu, what’s there to see? It’s just the sky being overcast.”

Although she had already passed the age of thirty, Luoxia Fairy still had the face of a youthful girl. She said obliquely, “It’s not just the sky being overcast. In a while, there’s going to be lightning and thunder.”

As soon as she spoke, the sky filled with the rumbling of thunder. It sounded like ten thousand horses galloping, the vibrations reverberating in everyone’s ears. Lei Yunhe stood at the window, basked in the seemingly imminent storm, and for a moment, he looked like an immortal.

Lei Wujie was already dumbfounded. “This is a divine immortal!”

“Hey kid, thanks to your good fortune, I’ve re-entered the Unfettered Heavenly Realm,” Lei Yunhe uttered something completely ridiculous.

“Huh?” Despite the situation in front of him, Lei Wujie did not feel any fear, because he didn’t sense any killing intent coming from Lei Yunhe. Instead, it was a feeling of… Yes, exactly the word that Lei Yunhe used: unfettered and free!

“Thunder, rise!” Lei Yunhe shouted.

The sky rumbled, and the rain poured down.

“Thunder, fall!” Lei Yunhe raised his left hand and shouted again.

A sudden thunderbolt fell from the Ninth Heaven! Fell right into Lei Yunhe’s open hand!

“I used the thunderbolt from the Ninth Heaven to shake the universe, and with one finger, I split open ninety thousand miles of sky!” Lei Yunhe waved his left hand lightly, and the thunderbolt in his hand looked like a toy.

Tang Lian could no longer tell if he was drenched by rain or by sweat. Everyone thought that after what he experienced at the border, his level of cultivation had already surpassed the tower guardian elder, but looking at what was happening now, how could he compare to that thunderbolt from the Ninth Heaven? And what about Lei Wujie on the fifteenth floor? He turned his head and said to Sikong Changfeng anxiously, “Third Shizun!”

“Why? Now that your friend is in danger, you’re calling me Third Shizun?” Sikong Changfeng was not worried and slowly raised his voice towards the Tower of Ascension. “Congratulations, Yunhe-xiong, for reentering the Unfettered Heavenly Realm! But, this Tower of Ascension… also cost a lot of money to build. I beg Yunhe-xiong to grant mercy. If this thunder really strikes, the Tower of Ascension will be destroyed.”

“Third Shizun!” Tang Lian said anxiously, “Don’t you know the situation? How could you be worried about the Tower of Ascension!”

In the tower, Lei Yunhe laughed and said, “What if I just want to strike down the Tower of Ascension? What are you going to do about it?”

Sikong Changfeng thought for a long time but only added three more words, “I’m begging you…”

“Bleah.” In the end, it was his only daughter, Sikong Qianluo, who vocalized what everyone else was thinking.

“Hahahaha.” Lei Yunhe looked into the sky and laughed loudly. He waved his left hand and flung that thunderbolt back into the sky. The dark clouds dissipated, and the storm receded. The entire event appeared to be an illusion. He turned his head and looked at Lei Wujie. “You’re thinking of getting to the sixteenth floor, then bringing that person back to see your shifu?”

Lei Wujie nodded, but he was clearly going to fail the fifteenth floor.

Lei Yunhe seemed like a completely different person, and his eyes brightened as if he was a youth once again. “Very well. When the time comes, I’ll also go and meet Lei Hong. I want to ask him something.”

“Ask him what?” Lei Wujie was puzzled.

“Does he fucking think I’m dead? Is he so fucking reluctant to see me?” Lei Yunhe suddenly spewed out a mouthful of vulgarities, and all of that immortal aura disappeared.

“Huh?” Lei Wujie was stunned.

Lei Yunhe couldn’t be bothered with him any longer, and he looked out the window again and shouted, “A-Li!”

Suddenly there was a sharp screech, the sound mournful and unnatural! Everyone looked up to see a ginormous yellow crane flying out from Cangshan Mountain. It soared into the sky, broke through the clouds, and suddenly landed right outside the Tower of Ascension. Lei Yunhe stepped out of the window and onto the back of the yellow crane. The yellow crane screeched loudly and circled a few times around the Tower of Ascension.

“Divine immortal! It’s a divine immortal!” The people in Lower Pass City fell to their knees, prostrating in awe.

Sikong Changfeng turned his head and asked Tang Lian, “Back then, I held my spear and stood on the roof of the Tower of Ascension. Did I also possess such style?”

Tang Lian snorted and deadpanned, “Not even half of it.”

“Sigh, I admit defeat. The world calls me the Spear Immortal, but I don’t even have the authority to summon the wind and call forth the rain and ride off on a crane.” Sikong Changfeng sighed out loud.

On the other hand, the scholar, Li Fansong, and the page boy, Fei Xuan, were so shocked their eyes were bulging. Fei Xuan pointed at the yellow crane, looked at Li Fansong, and his voice trembled as he stammered, “Little shishu, is—isn’t that…”

Li Fansong raised his hand to stop Fei Xuan from saying more as he shook his head slowly.

“A-Li, you’ve been waiting for me to leave the tower. Has it been a long wait?” Lei Yunhe stroked the yellow crane on its head.

The yellow crane seemed to respond with a long wailing cry.

“I once used a single finger to break Cangshan, and I once used two fingers to break Qian Kun. But my third finger failed to break the Azure Empyrean sword, and I even lost my arm. Now that I’ve returned to the Unfettered Heavenly Realm, shall we go meet that Azure Empyrean sword again?” Lei Yunhe murmured to himself. He didn’t wait for the yellow crane to respond, and he patted its wings gently. “Let’s go. Go to Qingcheng Mountain.”

A sea of clouds rolled over the sky, and the yellow crane released a long cry. That was how Lei Yunhe rode a crane like a divine immortal and headed towards the west.