CHAPTER 1: I'm too old for this...
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To the east of the capital of Lushan Province, above the Chijing Mountain area,
a mass of dark clouds was gathering rapidly.
Usually there would be nothing out of the ordinary on a late summer day, but this time the clouds were moving strangely, spiraling and leaving a large empty space in the center.
From the ground, one couldn't see what was inside that vortex, but it was as if the sky itself had opened up.
The wind had picked up, becoming stronger by the second.
The branches of the trees began to bend under its force, while the distant rumble of thunder could be heard.
And there, inside a cave dug into the side of the Mountain, unaware of the chaos brewing above him, a man sat before an ancient furnace.
His face hidden by shadows, his hands gripping tongs and a hammer with precision.
Each strike echoed like a deep thud within the cave.
In front of him, a piece of glowing metal shone with a reddish light, while strange spiritual symbols floated in the air around the furnace.
The wind seeping in from outside carried with it the sound of thunder and the acrid smell of sulfur, but the man didn't seem to notice.
His gaze was fixed on the object he was forging, as if nothing in the world could distract him.
"Looks like it's about to start… I need to hurry," he muttered under his breath.
Zhu Rong had spent the last hundred years of his life locked away in this cave, working on his ultimate masterpiece.
He hadn't taken a single break since he began, and today, finally after so long, he was almost done.
All that was left was one final touch, and he would at last complete the most powerful of all his works,
a Divine Grade weapon.
Hearing the rumble of the sky growing louder, he stopped hammering the piece of iron.
With a gesture of his hand, he wrapped the freshly forged metal in spiritual energy, and with another flick, he lifted two more objects placed not far from his work table.
From the look of them, one was a black hilt, made of some unknown mineral,
while the other was smaller, pure white in color, its surface smooth like marble, without a single flaw.
He didn't waste any time as he raised his gaze toward the ceiling of the cave and released part of his cultivation.
CRACK!
The walls of the cavern began to tremble as a crack spread across the entire ceiling.
Soon the crack widened and through it the cloudy sky could be seen.
Zhu Rong looked up at the sky with a serious expression, starting to float up toward it.
Flying up, he saw the swirling cloud vortex rumbling nonstop,
a silent warning from the heavens.
He stared at it with a calm look, and shook his head.
"It seems the ancient texts were right. The heavens truly do not allow the birth of anything that dares challenge their dominion."
He sighed as he calmed his mind, preparing for what was about to happen.
The spiritual energy within his body began to accelerate, converging entirely into his dantian,
while at the same time a whitish hue began to cover both his hands.
He didn't seem bothered by this as he made a gesture with both hands, swiftly bringing them together.
As if pulled by an invisible force, the metal piece, the hilt, and the white crystal moved together, all pointing to the same spot.
At the same time, the rumbling sky, which had begun to release an invisible pressure on the area, wasted no time acting.
From the swirling black clouds, a multicolored light shot out, followed by a massive lightning bolt that cracked the air and descended toward the ground at a devastating speed.
Rumble!
The sky above Mount Chijing was filled with blinding light, while a terrifying sound could be heard miles away.
At that moment, just after the lightning struck the point where the three pieces had gathered, another incredible phenomenon occurred.
The white crystal, positioned between the hilt and the metal piece, emitted a strong white light, and soon, the tribulation lightning, symbol of Divine Judgment, began to lose intensity, while the white light of the crystal grew stronger and stronger.
Before this scene, which would have caused any normal person to die of shock and would have made any cultivator doubt their own eyes, Zhu Rong, who had been observing the scene with a stern and impenetrable face, changed expression.
His lips curled into a cheeky, almost mocking smile, and a gleam of madness and satisfaction shone in his eyes.
With a loud laugh that rumbled like thunder above Mount Chijing, he said:
"Did you really think I hadn't anticipated your interference? Ridiculous!"
He said as a series of unknown emotions flickered in his eyes, which were now fixed intensely on the sky.
"I've spent centuries crafting high level weapons, but none of them have ever reached the divine grade.
I thought it was an impossible goal to achieve with my current abilities, but then I realized it wasn't me who was lacking,
I was missing a suitable element, an element superior to all others, an element that transcends the normal concepts of the world," He said as his gaze shifted to the tribulation lightning, which was now almost completely gone.
Seeing the white crystal now emitting an intense violet light, he said:
"And it seems I've finally found that element."
As if triggered by his words, the white crystal, now taking on a new hue, began to tremble, and small arcs of violet lightning started to emerge from it, shooting toward the other two pieces.
The lightning enveloped them, pulling them together, and in an instant, the three fragments fused into one.
A sizzling violet light covered the three objects, distorting their original shapes, while a muffled roar echoed all around.
The shape of what they were becoming slowly took form,
at first a vague outline, then becoming more defined.
The three distinct figures disappeared, replaced by a single, slender and menacing form.
A blade.
The light surrounding the weapon gradually dissipated, revealing the shape of a sword that seemed capable of piercing the sky itself.
Seeing the weapon he had devoted all his efforts to for the past 100 years finally completed, a lost emotion, one he thought he would never feel again, began to take root in him.
"I did it, I finally made it, i..."
But it seemed the Heavens were not willing to let him enjoy the moment.
At that very instant, an even deeper rumble split the air. The clouds above Mount Chijing darkened, and from the depths of the sky, countless lightning bolts ignited.
In the next moment, a series of sudden beams of light pierced the clouds and began to fall down like a luminous rain on the entire area of Mount Chijing.
You could phrase it like this for a more natural tone:
Zhu Rong barely managed to raise his gaze to see what was coming, before murmuring one last sentence.
"Haa, I'm too old for this sh..."
That day, the entire Chijing Mountain area vanished from the face of the world, and a saying was passed down from then on:
"One Strike at the Heavens, a Thousand Bolts in Response."
***
To the northeast of the city of Qiyan, in the area of the Qingyun Academy, a young man slowly opened his eyes.
He felt his mind wrapped in a spiral of sensations and thoughts, all too confusing to give them any meaning.
His vision was blurred, and the whiteness around him seemed to dance like mist.
He felt he was lying on a solid, wet, but warm surface, which seemed to welcome and comfort him, like a mother cradling her child.
"Is this the heaven?" he wondered.
Gradually, his mind began to focus on the scene, and he finally realized there was someone else here with him.
In front of him, there could be seen two pinkish mountains, smooth as silk, almost too perfect, followed higher up by a delicate neck upon which rested a refined, mature face.
A face, beautiful and feminine, that seemed to radiate an indescribable serenity.
Seeing this scene, he began to feel more and more sure that he was paradise, until he saw the expression of the figure in front of him.
An expression that had nothing angelic about it,
her gaze was murderous.
For a moment, he thought he had seen that face somewhere before, but the confusion that enveloped him made him unable to remember.
'Maybe I'm not in paradise, but in hell?' he thought to himself, an ironic smile on his lips.
"Well, it's a hell I don't mind too much."
But he didn't have much time to think, as the next moment, a sharp blow to the face caused him to lose consciousness.