The Prodigies War

After thinking about it, Lin Xun still shook his head and said honestly, “No.”

“No?!” The figure in the cage seemed to lose his calm a little. “Think again, has Jun Huan really not said a single word about me?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Senior,” replied Lin Xun.

The man leapt to his feet and fiercely grabbed on the bars of the lightning prison. “Impossible! How could Jun Huan be so heartless? You must have forgotten! Think again, think long and hard!”

If one listened to his voice carefully, one could tell that he was pleading.

Lin Xun was dumbfounded. This person, who is god-like despite having wounds all over, seems to harbor some deep feelings for Senior Sister Jun Huan, doesn’t he…?

However, he ultimately said, “All she gave me was a mental map of a ‘Mount Heedless.’”

The man said anxiously, “What did she say at the time? Tell me all the details.”

Lin Xun replied, “Senior, I never got to meet with her during the period before I came here. In fact, the one passing the map to me was my Senior Brother Li Xuanwei.”

“Is that so…” The man fell into a daze. He sat down paralyzed as though all of his strength had been drained, looking incomparably forlorn and despondent.

However, he soon pulled himself together and slapped his thigh with a laugh. “Jun Huan and I once entered the Ancient Immortal Forbidden Zone together and then we explored Mount Heedless together.

“Since her map was passed on to you, it means she still remembers what happened back then even if… even if she never mentioned me…”

As he said that, his voice became heavy again, and his expression was bleak.

Lin Xun finally dared to conclude that this imprisoned man was so deeply in love that he was still being trapped by love!

The man inhaled deeply and said in a gentle voice, “Little Friend, since you are Jun Huan's junior brother, you are not an outsider. It is fate that we meet here, while I am still sane. So can you…tell me a bit about Jun Huan?”

“Sane?” Lin Xun keenly noticed that something was amiss.

The man sighed, “A long time ago, after I was trapped here, I suffered a severe ‘dao injury’ that has led to my mind becoming muddled and my consciousness going completely absent…

“I was able to wake up this time because your arrow stimulated me, but as long as this cage of lightning law power remains, it won't take long for me to fall back into that muddled state…”

Lin Xun scanned the radiant lightning cage and asked, “It cannot be broken?”

The man shook his head, “Unlike that of outside, this is a lightning dao power unique to the Ancient Immortal Forbidden Zone. It’s beyond mysterious and powerful and not one bit weaker than the taboo great dao power distributed throughout the Ancient Nebula Road.”

Lin Xun couldn't help but gasp.

The current, well-informed him was all too aware of the horror of the taboo power distributed in the Ancient Nebula Road. With such a comparison, one could imagine how extraordinary the lightning dao power of the Ancient Immortal Forbidden Zone was. 𝙧�

The man suddenly said with a self-deprecating attitude, “Back then, I, Emperor Faded Lightning, was second to none regarding my attainments on the path of lightning, and no one in the nebula could be my match. Even Jun Huan had nothing but praises for me….

“Who would have thought that after entering this forbidden zone, I would actually be defeated by the lightning dao that I am most familiar with… A ginormous irony, don’t you think?”

Emperor Faded Lightning!

Crowning the nebula on the great dao of lightning!

Lin Xun was so shaken that he struggled to believe this.

Indeed. A supreme being so powerful that he was worshiped as an Emperor of Lightning had lost to the dao power he was most knowledgeable of. If this got out, who wouldn’t find this ridiculous? Who would dare to believe it?

“Let’s not talk about those old stories,” sighed the man. “Little Friend, can you tell me about Jun Huan now?”

Lin Xun thought for a moment, and then related to the man his encounter with Jun Huan when he had been traveling through the nebula.

“Haha, Jun Huan is still roaming worlds as a man like she did back then. With her skill, not to mention you, even some Emperor experts cannot see through the fact that she is a woman.”

The man’s booming laughter was filled with joy, and he glowed with an indescribable vigor as he seemed to be recalling the beautiful silhouette that haunted his dreams.

“When I became her friend, nothing could describe my surprise either because how could there be such a beautiful and outstanding man in this world, right? Later on, after a long journey in each other’s company, I finally found out that Jun Huan was actually a woman…”

His voice carried reminiscence, and his expression was all smiles. “You have no idea how utterly excited and happy I was. There was a voice in my heart that said, ‘How lucky you are to be able to meet the love of your life on the long road of the dao…’

“But…” His smile was replaced by thick bitterness as he continued, “Jun Huan only saw me as a brother, a friend who she could confide in…”

I knew it! Lin Xun thought.

This was probably what they called ‘the falling flowers are yearning for love, but the heartless brook ripples on.’ One might be able to understand a tiny bit of that saying by taking a look at this once-mighty Emperor Faded Lightning.

He had been trapped here for forever with numerous wounds and his consciousness withering away. Yet, the moment he regained some clarity, the first thing he thought of was Jun Huan and not how to get out of the cage…

He was simply a love-struck man!

“I’ve made a joke of myself.” The man seemed to also realize that he had overshared and changed the subject, “I don’t have much time left. Before you leave, my little friend, I have something to give you.”

A glistening electric arc swept out like a small, snow-white snake and slowly transformed into a mark.

“I certified my dao in the primeval era after painstakingly cultivating the dao of lightning. Although I walked a beaten track, I had found my own unique lightning path by the time I became an Emperor. When I broke through to the ninth realm of the Emperor Stage, there was no longer anyone in the nebula who dared to compete with me in the dao of lightning.”

His voice was permeated with conceit and superiority.

“This mark embodies the Great Faded Lightning Scripture that I single-handedly created, as well as some of my experiences and understanding during my quest for the dao. It will be my gift to you, and no matter whether you decide to study it yourself or pass it on to someone else, I would be glad that my knowledge and skill won’t be cut off. ”

Saying that, he gazed at Lin Xun earnestly and solemnly. “I hope that you will accept it.”

Lin Xun's heart trembled. He said, “Senior, do you think that you’ll never be able to get out of this cage?”

The man shook his head. “There is not enough time. This period of clarity is about to drain my last bit of energy. Once my consciousness falls back into the muddled state again after this, without any surprise…I won’t be able to ever wake up… ”

Lin Xun took a deep breath and said, “I’d like to try something.”

“You?” The man said, “Not to put you down, but I know better than you how supreme and powerful this lightning law power is. If you think that you can break it by virtue of some Emperor-grade treasures…”

He phrased it euphemistically as if afraid of dampening Lin Xun’s spirits.

Halfway through, though, his voice came to an abrupt end. His pupils dilated in shock. “This is…Bodhi wood?”

Lin Xun had taken out a piece of charred Bodhi wood at some point. He nodded and said, “Before I came here, my Senior Sister Ruo Su had told me that this Ancient Immortal Forbidden Zone housed a grand dao power of lightning and thunder that has never been seen in the outside world, and perhaps it would be able to spark life in this Bodhi wood.”

“Ruo Su? I remember her. She is the most low-profile among the disciples of Fangchun Mountain, therefore her existence is known by few people. But anyone who does know her, without fail, would be awed by her style,” sighed the man. “Even Jun Huan speaks of her with admiration and respect…”

Then, he suddenly realized the problem. “Wait, as far as I know, Ruo Su has never been to the Ancient Immortal Forbidden Zone. How could she know about the power of thunder and lightning here? Could it be…”

Lin Xun laughed, “I've only just come to realize this as well. It means that Senior Sister Jun Huan must have told her about it.”

The man became emotional, his voice trembling, “So…so it was Jun Huan who navigated you here… She…she still remembers and cares about me… ”

Lin Xun couldn't help but say, “Senior, this is only an attempt. I’m not sure if this Bodhi wood can really help get you out of there.”

The man laughed out loud with indescribable joy, “Hahaha, that's enough! So what if I can't get out? As long as Jun Huan still thinks of me, I can fall here forever and still have no regrets!”

Emperor Faded Lightning, a hegemon that had once shaken the Ancient Nebula Road, was laughing like a child at this moment.

Even Lin Xun had to lament that ‘love’ was truly something insoluble. Whether it was a humble mortal or a powerful Emperor, no one seemed to be able to avoid this hurdle.

Suddenly, the man issued a muffled grunt. He looked like he was suffering from immense pain, but he was still laughing, “In all these countless years, today is the best day ever!”

There was no time for lamentation as Lin Xun saw that the man was not in the right condition and showing signs of a muddled consciousness.

Without delay, he threw the Bodhi wood at the sky-blotting torrent of lightning bolts.

KABOOM!

Right away, the ocean of lighting was like a shark that had smelled blood, emitting an earth-shattering rumble as it surged toward the Bodhi wood.

The piece of scorched wood was struck to bits in the blink of an eye. Even the strand of taboo tribulation power sealed in it was all wiped out!

Lin Xun was somewhat caught off guard. Did it really fail?

“To be reborn in nirvana, one must transcend oneself in destruction. That is the dao of lightning.”

The man's voice echoed, majestic as a stirring bell.

“Spring thunder awakens hibernating insects. The quintessential mysteries of the lightning path lie in destruction and rebirth. Watch closely, little friend.”

When these words dropped, a faint touch of green started congealing under the impact of the churning storm of thunder and lightning. It was extremely inconspicuous.

However, with the passage of time, the tender green deepened little by little, spreading an ineffable breath of life along with it. That breath of life was also extremely indistinct at the start but soon became rich after!

Lin Xun could not help but be attracted. It resembled the beginning chaos period, or a new life after breaking out of the shell. His frame of mind shuddered as he witnessed this wondrous metamorphosis from utter destruction.