The boundary between the Outer Ring and the Inner Zone wasn't marked by a fence. It was marked by fear.
One step back, the forest was noisy with birds and wolves.
One step forward, it was a graveyard.
Silence.
The trees here were twisted, their bark black and scorched. The air smelled of ozone and burnt hair.
Kaelen stepped across the line.
The hair on his arms stood up. Static electricity crackled along his skin.
> **[Environmental Hazard Detected]**
> **[High Voltage Area.]**
> **[Recommendation: Don't get hit.]**
"Helpful," Kaelen muttered.
He gripped the **Nameless Slab**. He didn't drag it anymore. He held it ready.
He walked for a mile. The scorch marks on the trees got bigger. Some trees were split down the middle, still smoking.
He came to a clearing.
It was a natural amphitheater of rock. In the center sat a throne made of white bones—beast bones, human bones, huge skulls.
Sitting on the throne was the King.
**The Thunder-Spine Ape.**
It was twenty feet tall. Its fur was silver, standing on end like needles. Arcs of blue lightning danced between the spines on its back. It was eating a Stage 5 Bear like it was a chicken wing.
**[Target Analysis]**
> **Name:** Thunder King.
> **Rank:** Beast King (Peak Stage 9).
> **Attribute:** Lightning.
> **Threat:** Extreme.
This beast was equal to Kaelen in cultivation. But beasts had natural advantages: thicker skin, infinite stamina, and innate magic.
The Ape stopped chewing.
It sniffed the air.
It turned its massive head. Its eyes were glowing blue orbs of pure electricity.
It saw the tiny human standing in its court.
It didn't roar. It didn't charge.
It grinned. A disturbingly human expression on a monstrous face.
It raised a finger.
*CRACK-BOOM.*
A bolt of lightning, thick as a tree trunk, shot from its fingertip.
It moved at the speed of light. Dodge? Impossible.
Kaelen raised the Slab instantly. Block? Maybe.
*KA-BLAM.*
The lightning hit the Slab.
The metal conducted the electricity instantly. It traveled down the handle. Into Kaelen's arms.
"GAH!"
Kaelen was blasted backward. He flew fifty feet, crashing through a petrified tree.
He landed in the dirt, smoke rising from his body.
His **Mythic Flesh**—immune to steel, immune to fire—was twitching. His nerves were frying. **Iron Skin** could stop a blade, but electricity ignored skin. It cooked you from the inside.
> **[Damage Detected]**
> **[Nervous System Shock: 15%]**
> **[Paralysis: Active.]**
The Ape laughed. A deep, guttural sound. *Hoo-Hoo-Hoo.*
It stood up. It thumped its chest, sending sparks flying like fireworks.
Kaelen lay in the dirt. His hand twitched.
Then he stood up.
He spat out a mouthful of blood. It sparked blue on the ground.
"Spicy," Kaelen rasped.
He looked at the Slab. The metal was glowing red hot.
"You like throwing lightning?" Kaelen asked.
He rolled his shoulders. The paralysis faded as his **Heaven-Devouring** cells ate the foreign energy.
"Let's see how you handle gravity."
Kaelen charged.
The Ape looked bored. It raised its hand again. Another bolt.
Kaelen didn't block this time.
**Phantom Step.**
*SNAP.*
He vanished.
The lightning hit the dirt where he had been standing.
Kaelen appeared in the air, level with the Ape's face.
"**Meteor Strike.**"
He brought the 600-pound slab down.
The Ape was fast. It raised its forearm to block. Its fur hardened into steel needles.
*CLANG.*
The impact created a shockwave that flattened the surrounding trees.
The Ape grunted. Its knees buckled slightly.
But it didn't break.
Its fur was as hard as **Mid-Grade Spirit Weapons**.
The Ape roared. It opened its mouth.
**Thunder Roar.**
A sonic boom mixed with lightning blasted point-blank into Kaelen's face.
Kaelen was launched into the sky.
He spun in the air, righting himself.
"Tough," Kaelen admitted as he fell back down. "And fast."
The Ape jumped. It met him in mid-air. It clasped its hands together for a double-fist slam.
Kaelen smirked.
"System. **Weight Manipulation: Max.**"
He poured every ounce of his Qi into the Nameless Slab.
The Slab, usually 600 pounds, suddenly became heavy with the concept of the Earth.
**Weight: 10,000 lbs.**
Kaelen swung the impossibly heavy weapon.
The Ape's eyes widened. It tried to pull back. Too late.
*CRUNCH.*
The Slab hit the Ape's fists.
The sound was sickening. The bones in the Ape's hands shattered. The sheer mass of the weapon drove the beast out of the sky.
*BOOM.*
The Ape crashed into the rocky ground, creating a crater ten feet deep.
Kaelen landed on the edge of the crater. He was panting. Manipulating that much weight drained his Qi rapidly.
"Round 2?" Kaelen asked.
The Ape climbed out of the hole. Its hands were mangled. But it was angry now.
Real anger.
The spines on its back began to glow blinding white. The sky above the forest darkened. Storm clouds gathered in seconds.
The Ape wasn't just shooting lightning anymore. It was calling the storm.
**Domain: Thunder Hell.**
Bolts of lightning began to rain down randomly around the clearing.
The Ape roared, and the lightning converged on its body. It healed its hands. It covered itself in armor of pure plasma.
Kaelen looked at the walking natural disaster.
"Okay," Kaelen gripped his sword.
"Now it's a fair fight."