Rain poured like shattered glass, slicing through the courtyard. The earth was already mud, the banners drenched and whipping in the wind.
Lin Dong stood rooted in the center, golden light coiling around his palm like a living flame. He didn't mean to summon it — the rune simply answered the chaos around him, pulsing in rhythm with the thunder.
Across the courtyard, Lei Li dismounted in a single, fluid motion. Lightning crawled along his arm like a serpent. His grin was sharp, predatory.
"So it was you."
He stepped closer, boots sinking into the wet soil. "The boy with no standing, no cultivation worth naming — and yet you dare touch a power like that?"
Lin Dong's pulse hammered in his ears. He could feel the Lin disciples gathering behind him, their fear like static in the air. He wanted to speak, to explain — but his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
Lei Li raised his hand. The sky seemed to answer.
"Let me show you what happens when lightning meets dust."
He thrust his palm forward.
A streak of blue-white lightning ripped through the air — blinding, deafening.
BOOM!
The shockwave threw Lin Dong backward. He hit the ground hard, pain flaring through his ribs. The rune flared in response — and something inside him snapped.
Suddenly, time slowed.
Every raindrop hung suspended, the world awash in golden haze. He saw the lightning crawling toward him, slow as breath — and the rune moved.
It spread from his palm to his veins, carving glowing lines through his skin.
He didn't think — he reacted.
He raised his arm and caught the lightning.
The world screamed.
For a heartbeat, the courtyard became a storm of gold and blue.
When the light cleared, Lin Dong was still standing — trembling, smoke curling from his fingertips, eyes burning with a color no one had ever seen.
The Lei warriors staggered back. Even Lei Li looked stunned.
"Impossible…" he whispered.
Lin Dong lowered his hand slowly. The rune's glow faded, but its echo thrummed through the ground. His voice, when he finally spoke, was raw but steady.
"If you came to take what's mine — you'll have to bleed for it."
The air trembled.
Lei Li snarled, drawing his blade.
"Then bleed first!"
He lunged — but Lin Xiao appeared like a flash of shadow, intercepting the strike with his own sword. Sparks exploded as steel met steel.
"Enough!" Lin Xiao's voice thundered. "This is not a duel, this is an insult!"
The Lei warriors surged forward, shouting. The Lin guards met them halfway. Steel clashed, banners tore, rain turned crimson.
At the heart of it all, Lin Dong stood motionless — watching as his family fought for his mistake.
His chest ached. His father's silhouette blurred through the storm, blade cutting through three men before one struck him from behind.
Something broke inside Lin Dong.
"Stop—!"
The rune erupted again, brighter this time — no longer gold but molten white. The storm answered him.
Lightning slammed into the ground in a circle around him, driving both clans back. For a moment, silence. Then wind roared outward from the boy, sweeping away weapons and warriors alike.
When the light dimmed, Lin Dong collapsed to his knees, gasping. Steam curled from the ground. Dozens lay unconscious.
Only Lei Li remained standing, drenched and shaking with rage — but his eyes no longer held arrogance. They held fear.
He took a step back.
"That power… isn't human."
Before he could say more, Lin Zhentian's voice cut through the storm:
"Enough blood has been spilled! Take your men, Lei Li — and tell your clan that the Lin will not bow."
Lei Li hesitated, jaw clenched — but the smoldering courtyard and the trembling boy at its center told him enough.
He spat onto the ground.
"You've made enemies of the wrong storm."
He turned and signaled the retreat.
The Lei riders vanished into the rain.
Lin Xiao ran to his son, kneeling beside him.
"Dong'er… what have you done?"
Lin Dong tried to speak, but darkness crept into his vision. The last thing he saw before collapsing was the faint, fading glow of the rune — pulsing gently like a heartbeat.