Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

"Big brother!"

"I'm begging you!"

"Would you just update already!"

"What's the meaning of constant replays?"

"Playing once every few months, and each time only half an hour?"

"Although they're all grand scenes, isn't that too short?"

"It's my fault, I won't criticize the short duration anymore, please, just update!"

"How can that be enough for anyone to watch, even foreigners will think we look down on it, come on, update, give everyone an update!"

Days passed, and the live broadcast had long ended, now there was only replay, repeating over and over amidst the collective grievances.

Although the scenes were grand, and the content superb, with many details to delve into, the incessant replay over several days inevitably grew tiresome. More importantly, the whole affair was without beginning or end, whether it was the Black Lotus Sect or Mingxiao Taoist Temple, both shrouded in too much mystery, the strong desire for knowledge made people yearn for answers, yearn for updates.

Update, update!

In the midst of the cries of the masses...

"Whoosh!"

The screen jumped, the replay ended, and the live broadcast resumed.

"?"

"What the heck?"

"Did it really update?"

"Elder, I love you!"

"Big brother, how come it's you?"

"Where is Elder Shi, isn't he streaming?"

"It's not that martial arts are bad, but studying magic gives me a broader sky."

"Why are you standing so high up?"

Watching the live broadcast, viewers were baffled to see a figure standing at the peak, solid as a rock, and while they were astonished, they were also somewhat disappointed.

It's human nature to crave novelty, and this moment was no exception. After witnessing the heart-stopping, majestic display of Thunder Series Divine Power, the audience couldn't help but look down on martial arts, feeling a gap.

As the comments said, it's not that martial arts are inferior but that magic offered a vaster sky.

In response, on-screen, the Martial Artist remained silent, preparing to wait.

Wait for what?

"Boom!"

The audience was astonished. Before their questions could be voiced, a loud explosion sounded, thunder roared.

"Rumble rumble!"

The heavens shook, lightning flashed and thunder roared, with dark clouds colliding and scattering in a myriad of sparks, demonstrating the power of heaven and earth.

"This...?"

"Thunder again?"

"What's going on?"

The viewers were likewise puzzled and didn't understand what was happening.

At that moment, the Martial Artist began to move, circulating his Yuan Skill.

"Body Refinement Perfection, Gang Yuan Condensing Spirit, the magic has a Yuan Spirit, Unity of Heaven and Man!"

"Martial Scripture Manuscript, Body Refining Chapter—Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Great Skill!"

"One must reach Body Refinement Perfection and attain the Divine Gang Realm before using this, else there's the risk of death."

"Using the power of Divine Gang, achieve Unity of Heaven and Man, draw upon the heavens to call thunder, temper and forge the body, enhancing Yuan Skill!"

"This is the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Great Skill!"

"As for thunder, it is the pivot of heaven and earth, creation is limitless, it can bring life or death, be Yin or Yang, it is the source of destruction, as well as the beginning of creation, a direct display of the tremendous power of heaven and earth."

"To cultivate this skill, to temper the body with heavenly thunder, and using the power of thunderbolts instead of spiritual energy for cultivation, not only significantly enhances physical strength, but also improves the Martial Path Gang Yuan, and one can even step onto the Path of Cultivation and Qi Refining to achieve Immortal Path Power."

"Cultivators grasp the creation of heaven and earth, delve into the mysteries of the sun and moon, and whether it's the Martial Path or the Immortal Path, one must use the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit as a foundation in order to steadily cultivate and make great strides."

"However, nowadays, with Yuan Qi scarce and spiritual energy tenuous, conventional methods can hardly satisfy the needs of cultivation, thus one must resort to extreme methods, summoning heavenly thunder to replace the ordinary spiritual energy."

"By this method, Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering, whether it's Martial Path or Immortal Path, can satisfy the requirements. But heaven's power is unpredictable, and thunder is hard to control; this method of cultivation is extremely dangerous, with one misstep possibly leading to the destruction of both body and soul, leaving not even bones behind. How to choose requires careful consideration."

"Ordinary people who wish to cultivate must start gently and gradually, first with common electrical currents to temper the body, until it adapts to handle the electricity, then gradually upgrading to heavenly thunder..."

As the Martial Artist moved, subtitles explaining the skill appeared on the screen.

"Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering?"

"This...!"

The viewers were even more stunned, eyes wide with shock.

Cultivators hurried over and were also taken aback at this scene.

"Drawing the heavens to call thunder?"

"There's actually such a skill?!"

"This man truly has guts as big as the sky!"

"He dares to summon heavenly thunder with just Body Refinement Perfection?"

"Heavenly thunder, with such power, how can a mere Body Refinement Martial Artist control it?"

"Not to mention a Body Refinement Martial Man, even Foundation Establishment Golden Core, or even Nescent Soul Ancestors, would not dare to cultivate this way!"

"Leading astray, with ulterior motives!"

As the Martial Artist stood on the summit, activating his Yuan Skill and drawing in the heavenly thunder, all the cultivators who rushed into the chat room were shocked.

Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering?

This kind of skill was not unheard of; since ancient times, there had been madmen who attempted similar feats, especially after the Immortal Realm Divine Kingdom closed itself off, and the Cave Heaven Blessed Lands shut away from the world, with the spirit energy of the mundane world growing scarcer.

More people, in desperation, tried this method, hoping to break through the impasse, continue their cultivation, and even achieve the Great Dao.

But until this day, such methods were never widely used, even rarely transmitted.

"Why so?"

"Because it's perilous, extremely perilous!"

"How can human effort possibly control the thunderbolts of heaven and earth?"

"Nine out of ten who practice such techniques will turn to ash under heavenly thunder, and the surviving one percent, despite their luck, have their Dantians shattered and meridians completely destroyed by the thunderbolts, relegating them to a cripple's fate, ending up just as dead in their beds."

"Such is the might of heavenly thunder!"

"Common cultivators, let alone Golden Core and Nascent Soul practitioners, are terrified of it like a tiger, daring not to touch it lightly."

"Even if one miraculously succeeds once, it changes nothing, for you cannot be lucky every time. The gains from one such stroke of luck are insufficient to sustain cultivation; it's a technique that must be used continuously."

"Thus, those who walk by the river cannot avoid getting their shoes wet. Nearly all who practice this technique end up as dust."

"Only one in ten thousand with a Thunder Spirit Root has a fraction of a chance to succeed, but it's just that, a mere chance."

"Unless one has a Thunder Spirit Body, how can mere flesh and blood withstand the wild force of thunderbolts?"

"Therefore, such a technique has not flourished, to the point of vanishing altogether!"

"How could a technique with a ninety-nine percent mortality rate possibly become popular?"

"But now..."

"There stood a Martial Artist at the very peak, invoking Divine Gang, achieving Unity of Heaven and Man, and drawing in thunder and lightning."

"Boom boom boom!"

"With flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, a bolt split the sky, striking the mountaintop and descending into the body of the Martial Artist."

"In an instant, amidst the flicker of thunderbolts and without being charred to a crisp, the Martial Artist's movements caused electricity to race through his limbs and body, tempering his flesh, meridians, and bones, until it turned into streaks of lightning that sank into his Dantian below, transforming into pure Yuan Skill."

"Through Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering, his Inner Yuan was enhanced."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Seeing this scene, everyone in the live-streaming room fell silent."

"Only after a long while did reactions start to appear."

"This..."

"You have too much faith in us!"

"Just say you want me dead, there's no need to beat around the bush!"

"I was saying, how could a normal person cultivate such a fearsome physique?"

"So the Madman Big Brother actually draws in lightning too; I wonder what his relationship with Elder Shi is?"

"This is seriously misleading the youth. If someone tries to imitate you and gets struck by lightning, resulting in death, what will you do?"

"Are you dumb? Didn't they say you need to reach Body Refinement Perfection and condense Divine Gang before you can cultivate? What eligibility do you have to be misled?"

"Thunder and lightning of heaven and earth are beyond human control; a slight mishap can result in death."

"Who told you to start with high intensity? Do you understand the concept of progressing from shallow to deep? If you can't handle heavenly thunder, can you not even handle a home electric current?"

"I shall seek guidance from Lord of Thunder; thanks for the reminders, fellow Daoists. I'm off to buy a generator and will begin my journey on the Immortal Path tonight."

"..."

"The noise in the live-streaming room continued unabated, but the Martial Artist paid it no mind, still drawing in heavenly thunder for cultivation, and began to disseminate the technique."

"Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Great Skills!?"

"In the office of the director of Longhai Security Bureau."

"Watching the streamed technique, Nie Hailong's brows furrowed deeply and remained so."

"Although martial techniques like the War God's Immortal Body had been previously disseminated, that was a conventional method of Body Refinement that was practically risk-free if followed gradually."

"On this matter, Nie Hailong was quite authoritative, for federal agencies immediately established related programs at the first transmission of the technique, involving a group of scientific researchers and Martial Artists in experiments. They did not encounter anything amiss; on the contrary, they reaped many benefits, greatly enhancing the martial strength of the federal forces."

"This Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Great Skills was different."

"Despite both Shi Jian and the Martial Frenzied Rascal having demonstrated that thunder can indeed be controlled."

"However, the gap between individuals can sometimes be greater than that between humans and dogs."

"Just because they could practice it did not mean others could too."

"More importantly, there's the risk factor— from federal agencies to major forces, who would dare let a Divine Gang Martial Artist take such a risk? If they get struck dead by lightning, what then?"

"Furthermore..."

"Director, the dissemination of this technique seems to carry an urgency about it," the assistant said gravely. "Could it be that his confrontation with the Black Lotus Sect made him aware of something?"

"..."

"Nie Hailong watched the live stream in silence."

"If the assistant could see it, obviously he could too."

"If previously, the dissemination of the War God's Immortal Body was indeed a gradual promotion of martial cultivation, the sudden release of these Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Great Skills carried an urgency and tension."

"What made him so urgent, so anxious to spread such an extreme technique?"

"Nie Hailong was not sure, but he felt an increasingly unsettling premonition."

"The storm is brewing," he sighed, turning to his assistant. "He's made it clear: only those who have perfected Body Refinement and condensed Divine Gang can draw in heavenly thunder. But it doesn't mean that it can't be cultivated before that, as long as we start shallow and progress deeper.
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Draft a training plan immediately and report it to the headquarters; recruit a batch of newcomers to cultivate using ordinary electrical currents."

"Having said that, he looked back at the live streaming with a firm resolution, 'In this situation, we urgently need more power!'"

"Yes!"

"The assistant nodded and was about to leave when a flash of inspiration struck: "Director, Qianjin's medicine aids martial cultivation and significantly enhances physique. Shouldn't we provide him the materials to concoct a batch of medicines to go along with this plan?"

"Hmm!?"

"Nie Hailong's eyes hardened, then he replied, 'Good idea. Carry it out. Draft the plan and apply to the headquarters immediately.'"

"Yes!"

"..."