Chapter One: The Robbery!

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Across the vast lands of Shenzhou, thunder and fire rained from the heavens!

A massive meteor from beyond the skies streaked downward, and just as it hovered above the continent, it suddenly shattered into countless fragments, cascading toward the earth!

These shards, moving at breathtaking speed, even sparked flames as they tore through the upper atmosphere.

From a distance, they resembled blazing balls of fire!

“Sis, it’s the Thirty-Year Heavenly Thunderfire! Our chance has come!”

In the slums of Divine Wind City, a raggedly dressed boy burst into a dilapidated thatched hut, excitement brimming in his voice.

But the woman he called sister turned pale at his words, hastily setting aside the arrow shaft she was carving.

“Tulu, you’re not thinking of going after thunderstones, are you? Don’t do anything reckless!”

“Don’t worry, sis, I’ll just look around outside. Nothing will happen!” Tulu grinned, scratching his head.

“No!” Lin Ru’s heart sank at his reassurance, and she glared at him sternly.

“Oh, come on! Trust me, sis. I have to go now, or it’ll be too late!” He dashed out before she could stop him.

“Tulu!” Lin Ru called after him, but he was already gone.

She couldn’t help but frown at the scene. Rising to her feet, she sat back down, hesitated several times, and finally sighed, settling herself once more.

Heavenly Thunderfire was indeed a rare opportunity, but not everyone could grasp it…

Still, at worst, he’d get a scolding. There shouldn’t be any real danger.

Shaking her head, she picked up the arrow shaft and resumed her work.

Meanwhile, after leaving home, Tulu ran eastward, excitement burning in his chest. His goal was clear—Thunder Mountain on the city’s eastern edge!

Many others in the city were doing the same, for the Heavenly Thunderfire was a chance for all of Shenzhou, arriving once every thirty years and sweeping across the entire continent!

The fallen thunderstones were precious beyond compare—not only aiding cultivation, but also restoring a cultivator’s spiritual power. They had essentially shaped the current structure of the immortal world.

“If I can just find one, everything will change for me and my sister!”

“I will find a thunderstone!”

Watching the crowds pouring out the city gates, Tulu gritted his teeth, then turned away, choosing a rarely trodden path.

He didn’t think much—just felt a surge of excitement!

In places like Divine Wind City, cultivators had already set up formations to collect the thunderstones, but even those couldn’t sweep up every last one. Some stones would always escape.

And those overlooked fragments—those were the ones he sought!

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He was sprinting toward Thunder Mountain because that was where the city’s lord had set his formation.

Around the formation’s perimeter, thunderstones were even more likely to fall.

But before he reached Thunder Mountain, he abruptly stopped, his eyes lighting up.

At his feet lay a blue stone, about the size of a fingernail, shining with a faint azure halo.

“This is…!”

“A low-grade thunderstone! Fantastic!”

Tulu was overjoyed, but just as he bent to pick it up, a burly man with a fiery red beard charged over.

“Out of the way!” the man roared, swinging a fist at Tulu.

“What!” Tulu looked up, startled, and before he could react, he glimpsed a shadow and felt a heavy blow. Numbness spread through half his body as he was sent flying.

“A low-grade thunderstone? Ha! Today’s my lucky day!” The red-bearded man strode to where Tulu had fallen, snatching up the stone with a triumphant laugh.

“I saw it first!” Tulu shouted, struggling to prop himself up, glaring at the red-bearded brute.

The man sneered, “Street rat, the ten-mile radius around Thunder Mountain belongs to the Gongsun family. Think you can scavenge here? You don’t even know whose territory this is!”

“What!” Tulu’s eyes widened in shock.

The Gongsun family—the ruling clan—had claimed the entire ten-mile area? He’d never heard of such a thing!

As for searching beyond ten miles, he didn’t even need to think about it. By the time he got that far, others would have picked the area clean.

While his mind raced with these worries, he didn’t notice the red-bearded man silently approaching.

“Kid, better luck in your next life!”

With a shout, the brute struck Tulu on the head.

No!

The thought barely formed in Tulu’s mind before darkness swallowed him and he lost consciousness.

“Hmph!”

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The red-bearded man gave a cold laugh, toying with the thunderstone in his hand before carefully stowing it away. After one last icy glance at Tulu, he grabbed the boy by the hair and dragged him toward Thunder Mountain.

At the entrance to the mountain’s rear slope, the man tossed Tulu through the gate, then turned to leave. But before he could go, an aged voice called out behind him.

“Ding San, how many is this now?” An elderly steward, his hair half silver, approached from a short distance away.

“Ma—Master Steward!” The red-bearded man stiffened, his face growing uneasy.

He was, in truth, a servant of the Gongsun family, but the ten-mile claim was his own fabrication, just a ploy to keep the thunderstone for himself. He hadn’t expected to be caught by the steward.

“Master Steward, I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“Oh?” The steward drew out the sound, his eyes narrowing.

Ding San shivered, then feigned sudden realization. “Ah, yes, I remember now! Reporting to you, Master Steward, this is the third one. They were hoping to try their luck in the rear mountains, so I gave them a chance.”

As he spoke, he quickly produced three low-grade thunderstones, presenting them to the steward. “They wanted you to have these, Master Steward. Please accept them.”

“Nonsense!” The steward’s expression chilled as he waved the stones into his keeping, though his tone was stern.

“Though the rear mountains are outside the grand thunder formation, they are still the domain of the City Lord’s manor. How dare you allow outsiders to trespass?!”

“Yes, yes, you’re right, Master Steward.” Silently cursing the old fox, Ding San bowed repeatedly, then pulled a small pouch of thunderstones from his robe.

Only then did the steward’s expression soften.

Meanwhile, Tulu, who had been tossed into the rear mountains, slowly regained consciousness. His mind was muddled at first, and he gazed blankly up at the brilliant blue sky.

But after a moment, clarity returned.

He tried to rise, but a sharp, agonizing scream escaped his lips.

From the waist down, it was as if his body had been smashed by stone—nothing but excruciating pain, with no sensation at all beyond it.

As the pain tore through him, his mind buzzed, and he slipped once more into darkness.