Lanke Chess Edge-Chapter 343: On Behalf of My Master, I Ask the Heavens

“Bang, bang, bang, bang…”
The thunderous roar caused the large bowl of braised pork knuckle on the table to shake violently. After a while, the quiet room began to fill with sound again, but this time no one dared to talk about monsters anymore.
There was an old saying: don’t gossip about people during the day, don’t gossip about ghosts at night. At this moment, the old village chief’s house was observing a similar superstition.
The Niu Kui Mountain Range stretched for over two hundred li, crossing the border of Desheng Prefecture, passing through Dingyuan Prefecture, and brushing past Tianyue Prefecture. As the expanse covered by the thunderclouds in the depths of the mountains grew, some supernatural entities frequently gazed in the direction of Niu Kui Mountain.
In Ning’an County and Baoshun County of Desheng Prefecture, Chengze County and Caiming County of Dingyuan Prefecture, and Dakang County of Tianyue Prefecture—all the large counties relatively close to Niu Kui Mountain—golden statues of deities appeared in the City God Temples of their county towns. All the City Gods of each county appeared on the highest point of their temples, watching the rolling thunderclouds deep within Niu Kui Mountain.
Of these counties, Ning’an County was the closest to the center of the thunderstorm.
“Boom…”
As dawn broke, another bolt of lightning of extraordinary power cleaved down from the thunderclouds, striking Niu Kui Mountain like a sharp sword.
At the top of the City God Temple in Ning’an County, the old City God Song Shichang stood solemnly, looking at Niu Kui Mountain with a heavy expression, saying nothing.
“Your Honor, this lightning doesn’t seem to be from an ordinary thunderstorm. It might be a supernatural sign from heaven an earth. Either a supreme treasure has appeared in Niu Kui Mountain, or something extraordinary has happened! It’s even possible that a terrifying demon is about to attain enlightenment!”
The head official of the Yin-Yang Bureau advised the Old City God, deeply concerned.
“Yes, these thunderclouds are indeed unusual, and they do resemble some kind of tribulation cloud, but the might of heaven is unpredictable in such a situation!”
At this moment, in the distance, silver lightning danced like snakes in the distance. Some peals of thunder roared loudly, while others were weaker. Some of the thunderclaps were so powerful that even ghosts and gods felt immense pressure.
The Old City God subconsciously glanced in a certain direction in the county town. At this moment, after nightfall, the visibility was very low due to the dark clouds and heavy rain, but a faint, ethereal light still flickered in one corner of town.
In that direction lay Ju’an Pavilion.
“But there’s no need to worry too much. That gentleman resides in Ning’an County, and he frequently visits Niu Kui Mountain. If there were truly some evil entity in the mountain about to achieve a crucial breakthrough in its cultivation, how could it possibly escape that gentleman’s discerning eyes?”
The Martial Judge on the other side stroked his beard.
“Who knows, perhaps it is even related to him!”
“Could it be that red fox? No way, that fox’s cultivation level is far too low, isn’t it?”
“How dare we criticize the actions of such beings? Even if that gentleman is calm and serene, you all must be careful with your words!”
“Yes, let’s not discuss this further.”
…
At this moment, at the foot of Dragon Rock Island in the southeast corner of the Northern Sea, Ji Yuan lay on his side in the guest wing, resting. His eyes were lightly closed, his eyelids constantly twitching. With his mind focused, the mountains and rivers of his inner world appeared in a misty state.
Ji Yuan was in a state between dream and reality, a special state that had occurred several times before. In a daze, he felt a spiritual connection with Niu Kui Mountain in western Ji Province.
His gaze seemed to pierce through mountains and rivers, revealing the scene there: rolling leaden clouds, flashing lightning, and rumbling thunder.
Strangely, in other parts of Niu Kui Mountain, and even in the surrounding villages and counties, the places shrouded in dark clouds experienced both thunder and rain, but here, there was only wind and thunder, no rain.
Lightning bolts swirled and flowed within the clouds, some below, some above, some inside, some emerging from the void, converging from all directions at the center of the thunderclouds, brewing into twisted and unpredictable charged mass of lightning.
“Crack… Boom…”
A white light accompanied by a deafening roar filled the sky as a bolt of lightning struck down from the thunderclouds. It twisted and flashed as it touched a spot on the mountain in an instant.
“Roar—“
As lightning illuminated the deep mountains, a roaring beast faced the sky, seemingly transforming into a beam of ghostly light as it charged towards the thunder.
“Boom…”
A storm of lghtning surged through surrounding mountains and forests, darting like silver snakes across the mountainside cliffs and ridges.
‘What courage! He didn’t even try to dodge the lightning tribulation!’
Ji Yuan, witnessing this scene in a daze, couldn’t help but admire it in his mind.
Cultivating meant defying the heavens, and lightning was a symbol of divine power. Plants, animals, and birds in particular feared lightning. Spirits that had awakened their intelligence would instinctively hide and seek refuge during thunderstorms, as if they had a deep-seated fear rooted in their souls.
When a spirit or monster, especially a demon, was about to gain power, its location would often attract thunderstorms, sometimes even out of season, as if their actions were against the will of Heaven.
However, even with such terrifying lightning, it was still merely weather. True demons possessed considerable intelligence and didn’t necessarily have to be struck by lightning when it was at its strongest. They could easily avoid it to consolidate their cultivation. By the time their cultivation stage was complete, their aura would be much calmer, and the lightning tribulation would be much weaker.
At that time, they could find a more suitable place to withstand the lightning, and then it would be much safer.
But Lu Shan Jun was clearly not like that. Ji Yuan knew his tiger very well; rather than saying he didn’t know when to advance when to retreat, it was more accurate to say he was extremely confident and proud.
On Niu Kui Mountain, on the platform where Ji Yuan lectured to Lu Shan Jun, a hairless giant tiger lay prostrate on a disc-shaped boulder, gazing at the sky. The tiger had many scorch marks on its body, but they seemed to have no effect on it.
However, only three true tribulation lightning bolts had struck, each stronger than the last, and the thunderclouds in the sky continued to expand.
“Rumble…”
“Rumble…”
“Rumble…”
Ordinary lightning bolts continued to fall, occasionally striking the tiger, but the tiger neither dodged nor avoided them. Although he was in some pain, he knew that, compared to the real test, ordinary lightning was merely a tickle.
“Roar–“
The tiger’s roar echoed throughout the mountains, making the already fierce winds rage even harder. The clouds in the sky seemed even heavier. Looking up from the promontory, it felt as though the clouds were swirling and converging towards the center.
At this moment, the charred skin on his body felt itchy and painful, but Lu Shan Jun couldn’t care less.
“Crackle… Crackle…”
In the sky, dark clouds gathered and thunder rumbled, the crackling of electricity clearly audible even on the ground.
Lu Shan Jun’s pupils contracted as he noticed that the central lightning was faintly tinged with blood, sending a chill down his spine.
‘Run away, run away, run away…’
This thought rose uncontrollably, but the tiger’s facial expression grew increasingly ferocious and terrifying.
“Heh…heh heh…”
The tiger snarled, revealing pale white fangs and sharp teeth. The beast bared its teeth threateningly at the sky, its sharp claws snapping out, its skin rippling like waves, its muscles bulging out menacingly.
The next moment, the tiger’s four paws slowly lifted off the ground, and a gust of wind swirled around him as he rose several dozen feet away from the platform. Lu Shan Jun, who should not have been able to fly yet, rose up as if stepping on thin air, and roared fiercely at the blood-red lightning that was about to fall from the sky.
“Roar–“
“Crack… Boom…”
The thunderbolt struck almost simultaneously with the tiger’s roar, piercing straight through the ominous wind that enveloped the tiger and struck its body.
“Boom…”
The tiger was directly slammed onto the platform below by the crimson lightning, which not only coiled around it but also enveloped the entire platform.
Immediately afterwards, another bolt of blood-red lightning struck down, directly hitting the tiger on the promontory.
“Crack… Rumble…”
“Awooooo…”
Lu Shanjun let out a bloodcurdling scream.
At this moment, all the beasts in Niu Kui Mountain were silent. The birds had retreated to their nests, and countless animals tried their best to hide in places that could shelter them from the wind and rain, trembling in the face of the thunderous might.
Hu Yun also huddled in his fox den, which was located halfway up the mountainside on a high peak. Besides the warm nest in the center, there were two entrances, one large and one small, one facing Ning’an County to one side and the other facing the depths of Niu Kui Mountain on the other.
Hu Yun was looking through the cave entrance toward the depths of Niu Kui Mountain, anxiously watching the lightning strikes. However, from his perspective, he couldn’t see the crimson lightning; instead, it looked like ordinary lightning.
Shan Jun, Shan Jun, please don’t get hurt! The Master isn’t here. If anything happens to you, no one can save you!”
“Awooooo…”
A tiger’s faint scream rang out. Hu Yun trembled and his red fur bristled.
…
On the platform, Lu Shan Jun lay halfway on the boulder. Half his face was charred, his body covered in patches of unscathed skin. In some places, the charred skin peeled off bit by bit with the electric arcs on his body. His body would tremble from time to time, and streaks of tiger blood seeped out from his wounds. It was a truly devastating sight.
“Heh…heh…heh heh heh…”
Half of Lu Shan Jun’s lip was charred and fell off, so his fangs were exposed. He propped himself up on his forelimbs and looked up above his head again. The patches of charred skin mixed with the blood dripping from his head fell one after another, revealing deeper layers of stripes beneath the flesh. His tiger eyebrows were more prominent and longer, and his nose was narrower and longer…
The sixth bolt of True Lightning was brewing in the sky. This lightning twisted and changed in Lu Shan Jun’s vision, its color also shifting uncertainly, appearing both blue and red…
“Even if I misjudged the power of your tribulation lightning, even if I, Lu Shan Jun, am to perish here today… I will not… I will not disgrace my master…”
The tiger trembled as it struggled to its feet, shaking off the blood.
Even though he had already grasped the mysteries of enlightenment and was only one step away from it, Lu Shan Jun was somewhat defiant. However, when he looked at the lightning in the sky, he felt an overwhelming sense of inescapable danger, as if even fleeing back into the cave would be futile.
“A man that understands the Tao in the morning, can die content in the evening…
1
Hah…”
The tiger straightened its cold body, its gaze coldly fixed on the thunderclouds in the sky. The remaining monstrous energy in his body surged, and his aura reached its peak since the tribulation started. It was not a tiger’s roar, nor a fierce cry, but rather a shout that seemed to be howling towards the sky.
“On behalf of my revered master, I ask the Heavens: who commands the thunder?”
“…Who commands the thunder?”
“…Who commands…?”
Lu Shanjun’s roar echoed throughout Niu Kui Mountain, and reverberated between heaven and earth.
T/n: imagine surviving 6 direct lightning strikes and still having enough spite to literally give a middle finger to the sky. Legend.
朝聞道，夕死可矣 Quote by Confucius