Chapter 108: The Side Effect of Power
The Medicine Hall was quiet—too quiet.
Morning light spilled across the courtyard where Li Ming sat cross-legged, steadying his breath.
Qi flowed through him like calm thunder, smoother than ever since drinking the Azure-Scale Elixir.
At first, everything felt perfect.
Then—his dantian pulsed once. Twice. Too strong.
Bai Guo’s voice came from a nearby tree. "Descendant, why do you sound like a storm about to sneeze?"
Li Ming opened one eye. Sparks jumped from his arm. "I think... the elixir’s still doing something."
Lan Yue, standing guard, frowned. "You already refined it. Are you sure it’s not just your ego expanding?"
Before he could answer, a crackle of blue lightning spread across the ground, forming a small storm ring around him.
Leaves flew. The ground smoked.
Bai Guo yelped. "You’re cultivating by accident now?! That’s cheating!"
Li Ming gritted his teeth. "Not cheating—just... hard to stop!"
He forced his Qi to compress, drawing the thunder inward.
The storm ring shrank—then vanished with a sharp pop that left his hair sticking up like straw.
Lan Yue smirked. "Stylish."
"Not helping," he muttered, patting down smoke from his sleeve.
---
The Medicine Master appeared at the doorway, arms crossed.
"Interesting. Your body is over-absorbing the elixir’s residual essence. If you can’t contain it, your meridians might tear."
Li Ming blinked. "That sounds bad."
"It is," the Master replied. "So you’ll balance it the traditional way—through guided refinement."
"Training?"
"Endurance," the Master corrected. "You’ll channel the excess Qi into physical form. Use your body as a cauldron."
Li Ming sighed. "So basically... punch until I stop glowing?"
"Precisely."
---
Moments later, on the cliffside training ground, Li Ming’s fists were a blur.
Every strike released faint lightning trails that cracked the stone wall.
He moved like a storm contained inside skin—fast, loud, controlled chaos.
Each punch made his arms throb, but the glow faded bit by bit.
Bai Guo watched with wide eyes. "If this is ’refinement,’ I’m never drinking medicine again."
Lan Yue tossed him a towel. "He’s stabilizing. Look at the flow of Qi—it’s forming patterns instead of bursts."
With one final strike, Li Ming slammed his palm into the rock.
A perfect imprint glowed briefly, then vanished.
The thunder stopped.
The silence that followed was heavier than any roar.
Li Ming straightened, sweat dripping, but his aura now felt steady—dense and alive.
He grinned faintly. "Guess I passed the side effect test."
The Master, watching from afar, smiled just a little.
"Good. Now that your body can handle that power, it’s time to see what you can make with it."
Li Ming blinked. "Wait—what do you mean by make?"
The Master’s eyes gleamed. "A medicine that tempers thunder itself."
---
The inner chamber of the Medicine Hall pulsed with life.
Every breath of air shimmered with Qi, every flicker of light carried a faint charge. Rows of jade shelves gleamed under the glow of spirit fire, but all attention was fixed on the center — the bronze cauldron, carved with lightning motifs that seemed almost alive.
Li Ming stood before it, sleeves rolled up, focus razor-sharp. The medicine flame beneath the cauldron burned blue-white, hotter than any mortal forge. Inside, a rare blend of thunder herbs and beast essence simmered, the base for his newest creation — the Thunder Elixir.
The Medicine Master observed from the side, hands behind his back. His expression was unreadable.
"This concoction will test more than your skill," he said quietly. "If your Qi wavers even slightly, the reaction will destroy the medicine and your meridians both."
Li Ming exhaled slowly, lightning crackling faintly along his arms. "Understood."
He extended his hands over the cauldron, guiding the storm. Arcs of electricity danced from his fingers, threading into the mixture. The liquid rippled violently, colors shifting between deep azure and molten gold.
Focus. Control the pulse. Let the Qi breathe with the rhythm of your dantian.
That was the Master’s first lesson — to listen to energy, not dominate it.
Minutes stretched. The air thickened with pressure. Sweat ran down Li Ming’s temples as his Qi spiraled faster, twisting with the rhythm of the lightning essence. The cauldron responded, symbols glowing brighter with each pulse.
"Too unstable," the Master warned. "Ease your output!"
Li Ming gritted his teeth. "If I ease now, it’ll collapse."
The cauldron roared — lightning leapt from its rim, arcing across the room. Bai Guo squawked from behind the protective barrier. "Descendant! You’re cooking the whole hall!"
Lan Yue stood beside him, gaze locked on the scene. "No... he’s refining it directly with his internal Qi. He’s using himself as the conduit."
Inside the barrier, Li Ming steadied his stance.
The air vibrated like thunder before rainfall. His Qi flared — pure, steady, electric — coiling around the cauldron in a luminous spiral. The once-wild lightning began to calm, bending to his will, forming concentric rings of energy that rotated smoothly above the liquid surface.
The Master’s eyes narrowed. "He’s syncing with the cauldron..."
Li Ming closed his eyes, his voice barely a whisper. "Thunder... is never still. But it can learn to follow."
The mixture inside the cauldron responded — glowing brighter, rhythm synchronized with his heartbeat.
Then, just as the final pulse resonated, a faint clink echoed from his chest.
His jade necklace — the one that had always suppressed and enhanced his Qi — slipped loose, tumbling into the cauldron.
Li Ming’s eyes snapped open. "Wait—!"
The cauldron erupted in light.
A column of violet lightning shot toward the ceiling, shaking the entire chamber. The runes on the walls flared to life, forming a barrier that barely held the energy inside.
"Descendant!" Bai Guo shouted.
"Don’t interfere!" the Master barked. "Let him ride it out!"
Inside the storm, Li Ming stood unmoving, eyes blazing with focus. The Qi flooding from the cauldron poured straight into him — searing, raw, alive. It should’ve torn him apart, but instead it fused, coursing through every meridian like a storm reborn.
His heartbeat thundered.
Once.
Twice.
And then everything aligned.
The light dimmed.
The cauldron settled.
Floating in the air above it was a small glass vial — liquid swirling inside like molten lightning, its surface glowing faintly with the shape of the jade pendant now dissolved within.
The Master caught the vial midair, his expression unreadable. "A perfect synthesis," he murmured. "The Thunder Elixir — infused with refined jade Qi."
Li Ming sank to one knee, breathing hard. His aura burned brighter than ever, and his dantian trembled — then expanded.
The energy inside him surged, bursting past his limits — from the peak of Core Formation straight into the calm, immense flow of Nascent Soul Realm.
He opened his eyes slowly, lightning flickering within them.
Every movement hummed with silent power. The storm was no longer wild — it was his.
He managed a tired grin. "Guess I... mixed too much effort in."
The Master studied him, then nodded approvingly. "What you created today isn’t just medicine. It’s a fusion of lightning and will. A storm given form."
He turned toward the distant horizon. "And you’ll need it soon. The Sky Rift opens tomorrow at dawn."
Li Ming wiped the sweat from his brow, the faint glow of lightning still coursing beneath his skin.
"Then I’ll be ready," he said.
"Whatever’s waiting inside that rift... I’ll meet it head-on."
The Master’s gaze hardened. "You’ll need more than courage. The Lightning Wyrm has slain three Nascent cultivators before. This time—"
Li Ming cut him off, calm but fierce. "Then it’s about time someone returned the favor."
The storm outside rumbled, answering his words.
To be continued....