Chapter 1398: Who Deserves Her

"What's going on here?"

It took a moment for the elder in golden robes and the second elder to regain their composure. Their eyes were wide with utter disbelief.

Having lived for several hundred years, they had witnessed countless lightning tribulations and undergone many themselves. Each time, it had instilled panic, fear, and dread. But this thing before them, resembling a mere puff of smoke—what on earth was it?

"Could it be that it gathered for a long time but didn't release?" After a prolonged silence, the second elder couldn't help but inquire.

"Do you think undergoing a lightning tribulation is like constipation...?" The golden-robed elder's mouth twitched.

A lightning tribulation was the will of the Heavenly Dao punishing trespassers, its purpose being to establish heavenly might and instill reverence in all living beings. Whenever it accumulated, it was bound to unleash a furious power. Yet, the tribulation above Luo Xuanqing's head had been gathering for a considerable time, only to produce such a meager disturbance.

"I suspect this is just a prelude. Soon, it will unleash a much more powerful, undefendable lightning... Huh? What in the world is happening now?"

Just as they were speculating, their eyes widened again, wearing an expression of disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost. The second elder hurriedly looked up at the sky and immediately saw the lightning, which had originally spread across a diameter of over ten kilometers, now churning continuously as if convulsing.

After several consecutive twitches, it suddenly trembled, as if vomiting, and a figure was expelled from the dark clouds. It was precisely the young man who had rushed into it earlier.

Upon being ejected, the young man became enraged, pointing at the vast lightning tribulation and gritting his teeth. "Brat, you've gotten quite bold! How dare you spit me out? Do you believe I won't kill you...?"

After speaking, he roared and charged towards the dark clouds in the sky. However, before he even got close, the lightning, which had instilled fear in everyone, recoiled in terror...

*Zzzt!*

It fled, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye, completely gone.

"He scared the lightning away?"

The golden-robed elder and the second elder exchanged glances once more. The intense shock nearly made them lose control of their power and emerge from their invisible state. They had previously believed this fellow was seeking death by rushing into the lightning, certain he would perish. But now, seeing him stand with his hands on his hips, cursing the lightning, while the latter not only dared not resist but fled like a stray dog... only then did they understand. It wasn't that Luo Xuanqing's lightning tribulation was ineffective; it was that this seemingly unremarkable fellow was simply too formidable.

"This person is a true talent; we must recruit him into our Luo Clan!"

After the initial shock, the golden-robed elder instructed. Although the person's actions were inconceivable and astonishing, the Saint Son Hall, as the continent's gathering place for geniuses, made it plausible for someone with a special ability to defy heavenly tribulations to appear. They absolutely had to find a way to recruit such a genius into their clan for thorough study.

"Yang Xuan's disciple might not come to our Luo Clan, though..." The second elder shook his head. Yang Xuan was the Grand Elder of the Master Teacher Pavilion Headquarters. His students were almost certain to join the Master Teacher Pavilion; how could they possibly go to other clans?

"That's true..." The golden-robed elder's face was filled with regret. Although he truly wished for this person to join their clan, he lacked the courage to contend with the Master Teacher Pavilion Headquarters.

"Just report this matter to the clan head. The little princess has already returned, so we should also hurry and not delay the Elder Council."

After much thought, finding no other solution, the golden-robed elder said no more, waving his hand.

"Understood!" The second elder nodded. With a gentle sweep of his hand, a massive teleportation array seemed to appear before them. They stepped into it and immediately vanished, as if they had never been there.

***

After half a day of scolding, Zhang Xuan's anger was far from subsiding, yet he had no recourse. With such a massive lightning tribulation, under normal circumstances, he should have been able to fully replenish the *zhenqi* within his body. However, with the gourd, the vine, and the clone causing trouble, he only managed to replenish half of it.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. It seemed he could only wait for his brother-in-law's supreme-grade spirit stones to arrive before finding another solution. The first time the *zhenqi* in his dantian was replenished, it required the purest power. But once it was fully depleted and needed to be replenished again, it wouldn't be as troublesome. It was like conquering new territory for the first time: once successful, defending it afterward would be much easier, and the demands on spirit stones wouldn't be as high. For this very reason, when his *zhenqi* was first replenished, it required treasures far superior to supreme-grade essence spirit stones. But after being depleted, absorbing spirit energy from ordinary spirit veins would be sufficient for full replenishment.

After his frustration subsided, he looked down and saw the gourd once again lying smugly in his dantian, wiggling its bottom occasionally, as if demonstrating its power to him. The clone had also returned to the folded space, stretching and belching, looking utterly sated. As for the vine, it behaved more normally, limp as a whip, lying motionless in his storage ring.

"What kind of things are these...?" Zhang Xuan was speechless at their actions. Others with the ability to devour lightning tribulations would undoubtedly shock everyone and be envied. Yet, anything that casually appeared from his side could do it, leaving him as the weakest one.

He felt utterly aggrieved. When would he ever be able to show off some prestige?

"Sigh, I'm truly too ordinary..."

He let out a sigh. His disciples, his girlfriend, his clone... it was bad enough that they were stronger than him. Now, even a random gourd he picked up was so heaven-defying. If his heart weren't strong enough, he would have died of shame long ago.

"Teacher Zhang..."

Just as he was feeling utterly stifled, he heard a voice from not far away. He turned his head and saw Luo Xuanqing, who had somehow appeared before him, his face filled with shock. He had initially thought the other party could only scare away his own lightning tribulation, but he never dreamed that he could do the same for others' tribulations as well. With such an ability, finding him during a tribulation would surely guarantee a 100% success rate, wouldn't it?

"Brother Luo..."

Sensing his thoughts, Zhang Xuan swayed slightly. His previously somewhat rosy complexion instantly turned pale. "I used a special secret art, similar to the method I used to help you with your bloodline combustion. It cannot be used lightly. I hope, Brother Luo, you won't spread this or reveal it..."

"..." Luo Xuanqing's eyebrow twitched. If he was going to lie, he should at least be more sincere. To turn pale beforehand... that was a bit too theatrical. Seeing the other party's expression, he understood that Zhang Xuan didn't want this matter revealed. He secretly praised him, feeling that he was just as low-key as himself, and immediately asked no further questions.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhang, for helping me overcome this lightning tribulation. Otherwise, I would surely have met a terrible end this time..."

He sighed, still filled with lingering fear. In his haste earlier, he had triggered the lightning tribulation without considering the consequences. Only when the lightning appeared did he realize how terrifying the Void Refinement tribulation was. If Zhang Xuan had arrived even a moment later, he very likely would have been struck dead on the spot, unable to escape even by using his bloodline power.

"Brother Luo, weren't you planning to undergo your tribulation within the Saint Son Hall? Why suddenly... what exactly happened?" Frowning, Zhang Xuan inquired.

"I came to find my younger sister; I wanted to ask if what Zhang Feng said was truly accurate..." Luo Xuanqing shook his head. "Never mind, let's not talk about it..."

"The little princess, she..." Seeing the other party stop mid-sentence, Zhang Xuan became anxious. "Where is she? She wasn't injured, was she?"

"Injured?" Luo Xuanqing shook his head. "How is that possible? My sister refined the Still Void Pearl. If she were to truly unleash her power, even Father couldn't do anything to her... No one in the Luo Clan can harm her in the slightest anymore." He sighed, then suddenly raised his head with a wary look, gazing at the young man before him. "Why are you asking all this?"

"I..." Zhang Xuan was speechless.

"I'm warning you, although our relationship is good, and I acknowledge your abilities, it's best you don't harbor any intentions towards my sister..."

"This... why?" Zhang Xuan couldn't hold back any longer, his brows furrowing. "You should know that she doesn't want to marry the young genius from the Zhang Clan..."

"I know she doesn't want to, but it's the best choice..." Shaking his head, Luo Xuanqing looked somewhat disheartened. "Alright, let's not discuss this topic anymore."

"But..." Zhang Xuan was anxious.

"There are no 'buts.' I actually have something I need to trouble you with." Luo Xuanqing looked over.

"Brother Luo, please speak freely. As long as I can do it, I will not refuse." Hearing that the other party had a request, Zhang Xuan looked at him. He knew his brother-in-law was a straightforward person who wouldn't trouble others lightly. If he was asking, it must be something difficult.

"Help me investigate who it is that made my sister openly defy the clan and insist on being with him." His eyes flashed, Luo Xuanqing said.

"This..." Zhang Xuan's mouth twitched. He hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively, "What do you plan to do once you find him?"

"What do I plan to do?" Luo Xuanqing gnashed his teeth. "If I don't break all three of his legs, then I'm not surnamed Luo!"

"..." Zhang Xuan's veins throbbed on his forehead.

"What's wrong?" Seeing his unusual expression, Luo Xuanqing looked at him.

"Nothing, just curious. Since you dote on your sister so much, and this person is someone your sister likes... why do you want to hit him?" Filled with doubt, Zhang Xuan was puzzled. Since the person before him was a doting brother, he should be happy if his sister found happiness. Why would he want to attack himself?

"No reason! I just feel he's not worthy of my sister..." Luo Xuanqing snorted.

"Not worthy? You haven't even met him, so how do you know he's not worthy?" Zhang Xuan was unconvinced. He thought it made perfect sense to say that the arrogant young genius was unworthy of his sister, but himself... surely he was qualified! Regardless of other points, he was countless times stronger than that young genius.

"Hmph, no man is worthy of her. None of them." His eyes flashed, Luo Xuanqing snorted.

"But... your sister will have to marry someday, won't she? You can't possibly keep her by your side for your entire life..." Zhang Xuan didn't understand what his thoughts truly were.

"Anyway, I just feel no one is worthy of her, not to mention the person she likes is reportedly not even very strong..." Luo Xuanqing said.

"Not very strong?" Zhang Xuan couldn't help but look over. "Did she say who the person she likes is...?"

"Of course she did..." Luo Xuanqing suddenly turned his head, emanating killing intent.