Chapter Eighteen: The Eighty-Second Heavenly Thunder

"Brother Tang, what’s going on with Senior Zhang? He seems like a completely different person. Has he really gone mad? Last time I saw him, he was perfectly normal," Hua Ruoxue asked Tang Yi as they ate.

"Maybe. Didn’t he just cross a heavenly tribulation yesterday? And now he’s like this. I wonder if the ordeal scrambled his mind," Tang Yi speculated.

"That can’t be. I’ve never heard of anyone going insane after a tribulation," Hua Ruoxue replied, unconvinced.

"I don’t believe it either, but there’s no other explanation," Tang Yi shrugged.

"Come on, let’s go. The negotiations should be wrapping up by now," Tang Yi said to Hua Ruoxue after finishing his meal.

...

After much discussion, the two sides finally reached a preliminary agreement, and that evening they held a modest banquet to celebrate.

"Brother Tang, I’ve discovered a secret," Lu Zhengyang leaned in and whispered as the banquet began.

"Oh? What secret has you so excited?" Tang Yi asked, seeing the gleam in Lu Zhengyang’s eye.

"Heh, earlier, around dinnertime, I passed by Senior Zhang Sanfeng’s room and noticed the door was open. I heard some strange noises inside, so I took a peek. Goodness! Senior Zhang truly lives up to his reputation—he was pacing all over the room, not only the floor but also the tables, chairs, walls, and even the ceiling. And he was moving fast! As I was watching, he suddenly fell straight from the ceiling and lay motionless on the floor. I was about to help him up, but he just shook himself and stood. Then he saw me and said—"

"'What are you doing here? It’s very rude to enter without knocking, isn’t it?'" Tang Yi finished for him.

"Amazing, Brother Tang! You’re a mind reader! You even knew exactly what he said. My admiration for you—"

"Enough with the flattery. I’m no mind reader; I’ve heard him say that several times already. Where is he now?" Tang Yi interrupted.

"Over there," Lu Zhengyang glanced around and spotted Zhang Sanfeng drinking at a table.

"Going mad at every mealtime... That sounds oddly familiar. Hmm, Zhang Sanfeng, Zhang San-mad... So it’s true after all. How amusing! Hahaha..." Tang Yi chuckled, clearly delighted by something.

"Brother Tang, what’s so funny?" Hua Ruoxue asked.

"Oh, nothing. Zhengyang, after the banquet, bring Zhang Sanfeng to my room. I need to talk to him," Tang Yi said, stifling his laughter.

"Sure thing—no problem at all! Cheers!" Lu Zhengyang shouted, downing a large gulp of wine.

"You call this wine good? One day, I’ll get you all some real wine to taste," Tang Yi scoffed at the drink, looking at Lu Zhengyang with open disdain.

...

"Ah, Brother Sanfeng, come in, have a seat," Tang Yi called out warmly as Lu Zhengyang led Zhang Sanfeng into the room, where Tang Yi was enjoying tea with Hua Ruoxue.

"I wonder, Brother Tang, what’s so important that you called me here so late?" Zhang Sanfeng asked, puzzled.

"Please, have a seat, Brother Sanfeng. I’ll explain in a moment. Ruoxue, you must be tired—go get some rest. Zhengyang, you should escort her," Tang Yi said.

Once they had left, Tang Yi silently willed the door shut with a thought. His telekinetic powers had grown even stronger after leveling up.

Zhang Sanfeng, who had greatly increased his cultivation after the tribulation, now found Tang Yi even more unfathomable—more so than the five old masters, which made him wary.

"So, Brother Tang, what’s this urgent matter?" Zhang Sanfeng asked, declining the tea.

"Brother Sanfeng, I suspect you’re unwell," Tang Yi replied bluntly after taking a sip of tea.

"What? Why do you say that?" Zhang Sanfeng’s brows furrowed in displeasure.

"Let me check your pulse first," Tang Yi said, taking Zhang Sanfeng’s wrist. Zhang Sanfeng instinctively tried to pull away, but found himself unable to move—at least not quickly. Any attempt at a swift motion made him feel as if he were bound by invisible force.

"Don’t you feel a strange energy rampaging inside you?" Tang Yi asked after checking his pulse.

"Do I? I haven’t noticed anything unusual," Zhang Sanfeng replied after circulating his energy.

"You really don’t feel it? Well, let me show you," Tang Yi said, placing his right hand on Zhang Sanfeng’s chest, then morphing it into a claw and pulling back. A threadlike energy, glowing faintly blue, coiled in Tang Yi’s palm. The energy itself was colorless and transparent, but Tang Yi had made it glow for better observation.

"What is that? How bizarre. It came from inside me? Tang Yi, you’re not playing a trick, are you?" Zhang Sanfeng stared in disbelief at the thing in Tang Yi’s hand.

"Would I joke about this? If I’m not mistaken, this is the eighty-second heavenly thunder," Tang Yi explained.

"Eighty-second thunder? That’s impossible! I went through the highest-level tribulation: eighty-one bolts, no more, no less. How could there be an eighty-second?" Zhang Sanfeng protested.

"Maybe you did something so egregious that the heavens couldn’t overlook it and sent you one extra bolt. Yes, I’d say that’s quite likely," Tang Yi teased.

"Impossible. I’ve never committed any heinous acts. Perhaps it’s related to my cultivation technique, but even that seems unlikely. From ancient times to now, there’s never been mention of an eighty-second thunder. Even the legendary Sun and Moon Divine Art’s tribulation never exceeded that number," Zhang Sanfeng replied.

Just then, Tang Yi noticed the energy thread in his hand begin to stir, as if it possessed life and consciousness.

"Could this be a form of life?" a thought struck Tang Yi, and he used his psychic abilities to try to communicate with it.

"Who are you? Why have you trapped me here? Let me go!" a clear, childlike voice echoed in Tang Yi’s mind.

"Who am I? I’d like to ask you the same. Why are you inside my friend, wandering about and making him act so erratically?" Tang Yi responded, conversing with the energy thread through thought.

"I... I... my name is..."