Ten Thousand Bolts Strike at Once

By the time the sun dipped to the horizon, only a faint half-arc of its outline remained visible.

“This concludes today’s proceedings. If you wish to enter our Black-White College, please arrive early tomorrow.” The black-haired middle-aged man on the prow of the boat spoke loudly. With a wave of his hand, the bronze mirror high in the air rapidly shrank until it was the size of a palm and fell into his grasp. The boat then automatically sailed back toward the shore.

He gathered the boat and stepped onto land.

The black-haired man looked at the bustling crowd of youths and nodded slightly. “Those with confidence usually come to seek entry on the very first day. Throughout the history of our Black-White College’s disciple recruitment, most successful candidates are selected on the first day.”

“Today, a total of nine hundred and sixty-two people passed the initial screening. But the number who will ultimately become true disciples of our Black-White College can be counted on one hand. So be cautious, be careful, and give it your all.”

“Yes!”

All nine hundred-plus answered in unison.

“Good.” The black-haired man nodded. “Follow me.”

He turned and walked deeper into the grounds.

Instantly, the throng of young cultivators followed. Ji Ning glanced back, noticing that there were still many people waiting silently by the lake. They were likely the relatives, friends, or servants of the nine hundred-plus candidates. Among them, a great white dog was silently watching this way.

…

The Black-White College was located within the West City district of Anchan City, covering an area of roughly nine hundred square li.

For an Immortal sect, that was considered quite small. But nine hundred square li… if compared to one of the countless minor worlds, such as Earth in his past life, it would be the size of a whole province. And Anchan City itself, where countless cultivators from the entire Anchan Commandery converged, was larger than an entire country from his previous life.

The size of a province – strictly speaking, the Black-White College wasn’t actually that small.

Within the Black-White College, there were even stretches of unbroken mountain ranges.

Under the group’s leader, Ji Ning and the others traveled a hundred li before arriving at a valley.

“Halt,” the black-haired man said.

All nine hundred-plus came to a stop.

“Rise,” the black-haired man bellowed.

Rumble~~~

The wide valley floor was several li in extent. Suddenly, shimmering watery ripples surfaced in the distance, directly forming a massive sealing formation. The sealing formation was enormous, enclosing not only the valley but also several surrounding mountain peaks. Naturally, the nine hundred-plus people were trapped inside.

“Whoosh…” “Whoosh…” “Whoosh…” The sounds of machinery rang out.

From a cave entrance on the mountainside within the sealing formation, massive phantoms began to fly out one after another. A total of eight hundred and ten phantoms soared into the air in succession before coming to a halt.

They were eight hundred and ten dragon heads, all with their mouths wide open, facing downward.

“It’s a puppet formation!”

“A formation of eight hundred and ten puppets!” Several of the young cultivators in the valley called out, their faces paling.

Swoosh!

The black-haired man shot into the air, flying directly to a position above the eight hundred and ten dragon heads. At the same time, five more figures flew out from the cave entrance on the mountainside. Including the black-haired man, there were now five men and one woman, all radiating powerful auras, looking down from above.

“Listen carefully,” the black-haired man shouted. “Soon, the puppet formation will begin its attack. Your task is this: withstand the assault, fly into the sky, and make it into the cave entrance beside us within the span of one incense stick. If you succeed, you are a victor. If you fail to fly into the cave within that time, you are not qualified to enter our Black-White College!”

The nine hundred-plus youths below were a mix of confident and fearful, some silently waiting.

“Chi.”

A stalk of incense appeared in the black-haired man’s hand, igniting instantly. At the same time, the eight hundred and ten dragon heads erupted with blinding azure light. From each dragon’s mouth, bolts of azure lightning shot forth, crackling and booming. Boom! Boom! Boom! Countless streaks of lightning rained down upon them.

Ten thousand bolts of lightning, striking all at once!

“It begins,” the black-haired man declared.

…

As soon as the dragon heads spewed lightning and the incense was lit, everyone knew it had started.

“Getting into that cave won’t be easy.” Ji Ning looked up, his mind quickly calculating. The eight hundred and ten dragon heads were clustered right next to the cave. To enter, one had to fly straight towards them, directly into the barrage. The bolts of lightning were striking the area below at random.

Down on the valley floor, the space was large, and each person would only be hit by a few. But as one flew toward the cave, the frequency of lightning strikes would increase exponentially.

“Bang!” Ji Ning wielded his Northsea swords, cleaving a bolt of lightning that came at him. Yuan force suffused the blades, helping to resist the electrical current.

“Strong,” Ji Ning noted, feeling his hand jolt from the impact. “The power of these lightning bolts is not to be underestimated.”

“Go!”

“Charge!”

“Now!”

Several figures immediately shot upward on flying treasures, mustering all their strength at once.

But the higher they climbed, the denser the lightning became.

They barely lasted the span of a single breath before they were half-way up. Pounded by the increasingly concentrated bombardment, they were forced to descend.

…

Above the dragon head formation, the six Primal Daoists of the Black-White College chatted amongst themselves.

“So, fellow Daoists, how many of these nine hundred-plus youths do you think will make it into the cave?” a long-bearded man asked with a smile.

A short, bald, fat man chuckled darkly. “Maybe not even one.”

“Surely not none. I’d say three to five will succeed,” a woman in white robes offered her assessment. “Look, that one charging up now seems fairly strong.”

The other Primal Daoists immediately focused their gazes.

A black-clad girl below shot into the sky. She was surrounded by whipping vines. As the lightning struck, the vines rose to meet it, parrying each bolt.

She quickly passed the halfway point, drawing closer and closer to the dragon head formation.

“Half the puppets,” the black-haired man said quietly.

Immediately, four hundred and five of the eight hundred and ten dragon heads pivoted to face the girl. In an instant, thousands of bolts of lightning converged into a concentrated torrent, smashing down upon her. Her vines thrashed wildly but were utterly useless.

Bang!

A great number of the vines exploded, and the black-clad girl plummeted from the sky.

“She couldn’t even withstand half,” the black-haired man said, shaking his head.

“Not a genius,” the white-robed woman agreed.

…

Ji Ning didn’t rush. He observed for a while, and when he saw that black-clothed youth—the one also practicing the Crimsonbright Diagram—get blasted down despite being extremely close to the dragon head formation after triggering the full assault, he understood everything.

“Down here, you get hit by occasional stray bolts. The higher you go, the more you get hit. If you rise past the halfway point, half the dragons will target you. When you’re closest, all of them will attack at once.”

“You have to withstand the full assault of all the dragons to enter the cave.”

“In such a tight space, even if two or three people team up, it won’t make much difference once every dragon is targeting them.” Ji Ning understood. In the final stretch, the area was so small that the ten thousand bolts of lightning would form a nearly saturated attack.

Lightning would fill the entire region.

You had to charge through. There were no shortcuts.

“Go!” Having realized there was no shortcut, Ji Ning willed a six-layered Water-Fire Lotus to form around his body, summoned a flying sword under his feet, and shot into the sky.

“Charge!”

“Go!”

At almost the same moment, eight other figures shot upward.

They, too, had been observing. After seeing the black-clothed youth’s full assault at the end, they knew there was no shortcut and chose to go all out.

“Charge.” The black-clothed youth, who had fallen halfway down, grit his teeth and, seeing the others charge, went up again.

…

The eight hundred and ten dragon heads were clustered together near the cave entrance. To enter the cave, one had to fly right through the center of them, guaranteeing an attack from all of them.

The six Primal Daoists looked down from above.

“These are the cream of the crop; they won’t hold back,” the black-haired man chuckled. “What do you say, fellow Daoists? Who among them will make it through?”

“That one controlling the azure dragon puppet,” the white-robed woman said, her eyes lighting up as she fixed on a white-robed youth standing on an azure dragon. He looked quite young, with a trace of shyness on his face, but his control over the dragon puppet beneath him was incredibly fluid, occasionally dodging or swatting away bolts of lightning.

“In our sealing formation, only a puppet one has personally refined can be used,” the woman said. “His control over the puppet is so seamless, it’s as if he and the puppet are one. In the Dao of puppetry, he is a true genius.”

“Yes.”

“Right.”

“Impressive.”

The others nodded in agreement. These Primal Daoists were no ordinary ones; they were Primal Daoists of the Black-White College. Naturally, they were extraordinary and had sharp eyes. They had immediately seen the white-robed youth’s astonishing talent in puppetry.

“What about the others?” the black-haired man asked.

“The others?”

“Nothing particularly stunning.”

“Just average.”

These Primal Daoists had high standards. Although the techniques displayed by people like Ji Ning were impressive, none of it felt truly breathtaking to them.

“Haha.” The black-haired man laughed out loud. “You lot bury your heads in cultivation and rarely come out to recruit disciples. You don’t know much. I, however, gather intelligence from all directions and know that among them is a true talent. Look, that one, the fur-clad youth surrounded by the blooming Water-Fire Lotus.”

“Him?” The other five Primal Daoists looked over.

“While the Water-Fire Lotus is clever, it’s not exactly stunning. What’s so special about him?” the white-robed woman asked, puzzled.

The black-haired man chuckled. “He wears furs, uses the Water-Fire Lotus, and wields a sword… it’s a nine out of ten chance that he’s the one called Ji Ning from the Wuyou Caverns. A young man who, at the early Zifu stage, already comprehended the ‘Domain of the Dao’.”

“A Domain of the Dao?” The other five Primal Daoists were shocked, and they all looked down at the seemingly ordinary and unremarkable Ji Ning.