Li Yundong stood unmoving amidst the raging thunderstorm, an immovable mountain. As if to further astound the onlookers, he gestured with his free hand toward the shattered teacup fragments, drawing them into his grasp mid-air, and then flung them toward the skylight opening!

As he threw them, a bolt of lightning struck down precisely between those fragments.

The crowd felt a sudden, blinding flash, like a firework exploding, and for a moment, every shard of the teacup shimmered brilliantly, tumbling ceaselessly in the void above.

But before the pieces could tumble far, another bolt of heavenly lightning descended, striking the periphery of the teacup fragments. This shockwave caused the shards to instantly draw together in the air.

The onlookers watched as if an invisible hand were manipulating the pieces, ensuring they never strayed beyond the skylight’s reach. And as the lightning continuously crashed around them, each shard, having avoided a direct hit, was instead imbued with the vital energy contained within the heavenly lightning. They appeared as if coated in a seven-hued glaze, dancing beautifully in the sky.

It was then that the cultivators inside the boat cabin finally understood: Li Yundong was actually manipulating the lightning strikes to batter the teacup shards, neither allowing the lightning to strike directly nor losing precise control over the area of impact!

This feat was a hundred times more difficult than what Chen Yunyan had achieved!

Ding Nan had followed Zheng Yuan for quite some time, but she had never imagined anyone could wield magic with such breathtaking elegance! Controlling heavenly lightning as if it were a mere pet! This was utterly sensational!

Zheng Yuan, too, stared dumbfounded at the tumbling shards beneath the skylight. He was so overwhelmed he didn't even have time to register anything else, completely unaware that his beloved disciple was gazing upon Li Yundong with an expression bordering on reverence for a celestial deity.

Wei Qing looked at Li Yundong with a vacant stare, involuntarily murmuring, "Heavens... this is impossible, isn't it? How can a person control the heavenly lightning with such subtlety? This is actual heavenly lightning, not just summoned thunder from a spell! How did he achieve this?"

Yue Sheng, hearing her words, subconsciously replied with shock plastered across his face, "No, this isn't true heavenly lightning. True tribulation lightning is uncontrollable by anyone! This is merely lightning simulated by Li Yundong's spellwork, except... it’s too real!"

All the cultivators present fell silent, staring blankly at the roiling lightning and dancing fragments at the skylight.

After an unknown length of time, as the final bolt of lightning slammed down, the shards seemed to be suddenly compressed and fused together by an unseen hand, instantly reforming into four perfectly intact teacups!

Li Yundong burst into laughter. He relaxed his upraised hands, and the surroundings brightened as the turbulent storm clouds overhead slowly drifted away, soon dissipating entirely until the sky returned to crystal clarity.

Li Yundong beckoned with his other hand toward the four suspended teacups. They obediently flew to him, arranging themselves in a neat row.

Setting the four cups on the tea table, Li Yundong picked each one up in turn, gently flicking the side of each with a finger. Each cup chimed with a crisp ding, radiating an aura of seven-colored light—truly dazzling and mesmerizing to behold.

The spectators stared wide-eyed at the cups. They couldn't grasp how Li Yundong had reassembled the broken pieces. How could he have controlled the lightning with such exacting precision?

None of the cultivators present were fools; they were seasoned connoisseurs of the Dao. They instinctively understood the vast gulf in difficulty between Chen Yunyan shattering the teacups with lightning and Li Yundong restoring them using the same force.

Zhou Qin had only recently embarked on the path and could not fully grasp the intricate mysteries of spell dueling. Seeing everyone else transfixed by Li Yundong, with Su Chan and Ziyuan beaming with joy, she dimly suspected Li Yundong had won, yet she couldn't help but ask Ziyuan anxiously, "Ziyuan, what is it? Tell me quickly, what happened? Did he win?"

Ziyuan’s face was alight with uncontrollable joy and admiration. She nodded: "He won!"

Zhou Qin’s eyebrows shot up. "How did he win?"

Ziyuan glanced at Chen Yunyan, who stood rooted to the spot, his face the color of ash, looking utterly shattered. She couldn't help a private sigh, thinking: If Yu was never born, why was Liang born? If this man hadn't dueled Li Yundong, he wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat!

Ziyuan sighed softly and explained to Zhou Qin in a low voice, "Chen Yunyan is actually a rare master of lightning control. Purely in terms of controlling lightning, perhaps no one besides Li Yundong is his match. He used water to guide the lightning, simulating a small-scale heavenly tribulation right here, controlling the bolts to shatter four water cups into powder. But Li Yundong also used water to draw lightning, using the moat of Dongwu City as a medium, summoning electricity that closely mimicked true heavenly lightning. Its scale and power were magnitudes greater than what Chen Yunyan managed!"

"You must understand, the greater the lightning's power, the harder it is to maintain precision! Chen Yunyan managed precise strikes because his lightning was small-scale! But Li Yundong simulated something close to true heavenly lightning—such immense power—and yet he maintained precision, exceeding Chen Yunyan's control! What terrifying, unbelievable lightning manipulation is that?"

Ziyuan glanced at Li Yundong with deep reverence, then continued, "Furthermore, destruction is always easier than restoration! Setting aside the rest, Chen Yunyan shattering the cups into dust implied a complete lack of vitality under the pressure of the heavenly lightning. But Li Yundong managed to repair them using that same lightning, implying that even within the mighty force of heaven's lightning, life can be nurtured. This perfectly aligns with the ultimate principle of our cultivation path: enduring tribulations to perfect the Dao! Therefore, if Chen Yunyan isn't blind or foolish, and if he retains even a shred of decency, he should concede immediately! Because their duel wasn't on the same level at all!"

Zhou Qin let out a breath and chuckled, following Ziyuan's gaze toward Chen Yunyan.

Now, not only Ziyuan and Zhou Qin but all the cultivators in the cabin were watching Chen Yunyan. Almost everyone silently concluded he had lost and was merely waiting for him to admit it.

Chen Yunyan’s body trembled slightly. He could not believe that after meticulous planning, he had still lost, and lost so completely that he was left with no room for argument or rebuttal!

His face was pale, his lips quivering, as if summoning all his strength to utter the words of concession, but the words felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, stuck just before his mouth.

As Chen Yunyan struggled, a man suddenly jumped up from the side, shouting loudly, "My senior brother won this round!"

The crowd looked over to see a cultivator from the Qingwei Sect. An uproar immediately ensued: "Are you taking us for blind fools? If your senior brother won this, I’ll eat these teacups!"

"Young man, stop messing around. A loss is a loss. Can the Qingwei Sect not afford to lose?"

Li Yundong recognized the man as one of the Qingwei Sect disciples who had conspired to ambush him at Tianlong Mountain. He smiled slightly and cupped his hands, "Esteemed Daoist friend, should you state your name this time?"

The man glanced at Li Yundong, momentarily subdued by his bearing. His cheeks flushed slightly, and he forced himself to say, "Is a name really that important? Let's discuss the current matter first!"

Li Yundong replied with a smile, "Oh? How so?"

The man stiffened his neck and argued, "My senior brother used small-scale lightning, while you used large-scale lightning—that’s inherently unfair! And you opened the skylight; that’s cheating! I, for one, am not convinced!"

After the man’s specious reasoning, his true colors showed: he simply couldn't stomach the loss!

Although the majority of the cultivators present held no goodwill toward Li Yundong—and many openly despised or envied the master of the Fox Charm Sect, surrounded by such beauty—they could not willfully deny the clear truth and call good evil.

Seeing the man stubbornly arguing, Li Yundong did not get angry. He turned to Wan Zhenyuan with a smile, "Sect Master Wan, you are the host. Give us an impartial judgment."

Wan Zhenyuan, deeply shaken by Li Yundong’s display of power, felt a surge of pride as Li Yundong treated him with respect. Stroking his beard, he declared, "This spell duel was a clash of titans, where both sides displayed extremely brilliant lightning control techniques. It is like comparing orchids to chrysanthemums—both exquisite in their own right. But as they say, there is no 'first' among scholars, nor 'second' among warriors; the same applies to cultivation duels. If I must differentiate, I believe True Man Li holds a slight edge!"

His words were diplomatic, granting Chen Yunyan a graceful exit while still delivering a verdict, offending no one. Some listeners nodded inwardly, admiring Wan Zhenyuan's shrewdness; others sneered inwardly, finding his penchant for hedging distasteful.

When Wan Zhenyuan finished speaking, Chen Yunyan seemed to visibly relax. Seeing his junior brother still puffing his chest out to argue, he sharply rebuked him, "Junior Brother, stop speaking. This round... I lost!"

Chen Yunyan cupped his hands toward Li Yundong, saying with reluctance, "True Man Li, magnificent technique. I am convinced!"

Li Yundong smiled faintly and returned the salute, "True Man Chen, your cultivation is commendable, but perhaps some of your efforts are misplaced. If you were to focus purely on the Dao, I believe you could still advance further!"

Had this been said by an elder or a seasoned master, Chen Yunyan would likely have bowed his head respectfully and listened obediently. But to Chen Yunyan, Li Yundong looked younger than him, yet was lecturing him in front of everyone with such an aged tone!

Furious, Chen Yunyan snorted inwardly. His expression grim, he gave Li Yundong a slight bow and returned to his seat.

Wan Zhenyuan chuckled and bowed to Li Yundong, "True Man Li, following the custom of the Lotus Gathering Assembly, it is now time for you to defend the arena! You will face challenges from various sects until you are defeated! However, you may rest briefly between rounds. Do you require a respite now?"

Zhou Qin, nearby, gasped and whispered, "What kind of rule is that? Isn't that forcing the issue? Why must the arena master accept challenges continuously? What if he exhausts his strength in the final bout and is defeated?"

Ziyuan offered a helpless smile. "It's a grueling, sequential challenge—that’s the nature of the Lotus Gathering Assembly! If you aren't strong enough to dominate everyone, you can’t take the prize artifact!"

Zhou Qin stared in shock, whispering, "That's too cruel, too unfair!"

Su Chan softly comforted her, "Sister Zhou Qin, don't worry. Yun Dong will be fine! He is incredibly powerful now!"

While the women whispered amongst themselves, Li Yundong on the platform smiled faintly. He did not answer Wan Zhenyuan, but instead addressed the cultivators of the assembled sects with a bow: "Which Daoist friend would care to offer guidance?"

All the cultivators were so awestruck and fearful of Li Yundong's recent divine display that no one immediately stepped forward. Everyone hoped someone else would be the sacrificial lamb so they could benefit later.

Seeing the silence, Wan Zhenyuan frowned slightly, then announced loudly, "By tradition, if no challenger appears within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, True Man Li wins automatically!"

The crowd stirred with agitation. No one wanted Li Yundong to walk away with the Immortal Brush so easily, yet they dreaded being the first to expend their vital essence against him, only to be picked off by the next challenger!

For a moment, everyone merely sized each other up, subtly urging others forward, perfectly embodying the spirit of 'better my friend dies than I do.'

When Wan Zhenyuan saw that the assembled sects were paralyzed by fear of Li Yundong, his brow furrowed deeply, and he shot a quick glance at Sun Baitian beside him.

Sun Baitian instantly understood the signal. He slowly approached the front of the stage and called out loudly, "True Man Li, your lightning control is formidable. I wonder how proficient you are with the Five Elements?"

Li Yundong smiled faintly, "Passable."

Sun Baitian laughed heartily. "That’s good to hear! I only know a little about the Five Elements. Come now, True Man Li, let us test our mastery of the Five Elements!"

Seeing Sun Baitian volunteer to fight, the cultivators of the other sects let out silent sighs of relief, a faint excitement stirring within them.

Li Yundong's lightning control had been terrifyingly abnormal. But no matter how strong one person was, they couldn't master every spell. How skilled was Li Yundong in the Five Elements? Sun Baitian was a venerable senior from the Gexuan Sect, already famous twenty years ago, and his specialty was Five Element combat!

If Li Yundong’s lightning control was horrifyingly abnormal, surely his Five Elements wouldn't also be abnormal, right?