Chapter 424: Two thunderstorms clash

Right now, Yun Ping facing his own father, he had no use for battle formations. However, he could still apply the concepts of the Six Stratagems to a duel. Some called this 'When Your Horse Is Slain'. That being said, he knew that his father had mastered those concepts before him and he had more secret and complex techniques.

'Thunder Breaking Wall' was a martial art revolving around the concept of lightning and thunder. According to the legends, their progenitor had fought against a Blue Ravenous Bat, a powerful 9-core demonic beast. During their fight, all his companions were killed and he almost died himself as he was struck by lightning with each attack from the terrible beast. At some point, the demonic beast even took him in its claws and brought him higher than he had ever been able to fly before. In the moment just before he was going to die, he suddenly got enlightened. All his movements got imbued by the very lightning that was destroying him from within.

Although he survived the fight and created this martial art, this encounter took a huge toll on him. And he died a few years later despite being relatively young for a Spirit Warrior. Thankfully though, most of his techniques were passed down from generation to generation. They were even improved upon and slowly refined on the battlefields, adding more and more to it and turning it into a complete system for the soldiers of the Yun family. Almost every technique one could require during war was present in this 'Thunder Breaking Wall'.

Yun Ping and Yun Po both stood with the usual 'Silent Thunder' stance. With 'Demon's Bane' in hand, Yun Po attacked first.

'Flashing Thunder'!

In an instant, he was to the left of his son. Although Yun Po had restricted his own cultivation to only be as strong as a 2nd-grade Mortal Warrior, he had decided not to pull any punches. Since Yun Ping's left arm was missing, his left side was clearly weaker. It would necessarily take him longer to defend against any attack coming from this side. Of course, during a war, his opponents would try and target his weaknesses. Yun Po had to show the audience that his son wasn't weak and couldn't still fight on real battlefields.

'Impassable Fortress'!

As he had no time to dodge the incoming attack, Yun Ping resolved himself to block it with everything he had. Using his only arm, he raised his spear as his muscles were bulging. Both of his foot sank into the ground and his articulations got locked into position. When the stabbing spear of his father reached him, Yun Ping quickly moved his own spear to block 'Demon's Bane'. 'Eternal Rampart' and 'Demon's Bane' collided with a roaring thunder. Even the sky above began to be disturbed. Thankfully, Yun Ping was strong enough to deviate the attack but it still grazed his flank.

Now that his father's spear was out of the way, Yun Ping tried to counter. 'Falling Mountain'! His spear moved in a large circle and fell with all its weight added to Yun Ping's strength toward Yun Po's skull.

'Roaring Tempest'!

Without any hesitation, as soon as his attack failed to connect, Yun Po changed his strategy. 'Demon's Bane' swirled in the air. Small sparks appeared all over the weapon and even crackled over Yun Po's hands. With this rotation, 'Eternal Rampart' was thrown to the side. Unable to fully control the momentum, Yun Ping decided to go with the flow. This way, he was able to get away from his father before he could press on with another attack.

Before Yun Ping could come to his senses, he heard many echoes all around him.

'Thunderous Echo'.

By stabbing repeatedly with 'Demon's Bane', Yun Po had drown the entire courtyard in a perpetual sound attacking the internal ear of his opponent. Combined with the sudden movement of Yun Ping earlier, his son was completely disorientated. Some young cultivators around the platform even got dizzy despite not being the target.

'Impaling Lightning'!

From 'Demon's Bane', several bolts of lightning were sent toward Yun Ping. Unable to defend in time, he received four of them directly in his torso. Thankfully, his 'Impassable Fortress' was still active and the lightning was barely able to penetrate his flesh. If his father had used his full cultivation though, Yun Ping would have been dead at that moment. But he would have been unable to do anything from the start anyway...

In order to lessen the blow, Yun Ping still tried to stop the other bolts of lightning with 'Halting Thunder'. His spear stabbed toward some of the bolts of lightning he couldn't dodge. However, the lightning coiled around his spear like a snake and tried to enter his body nonetheless. His father's mastery of 'Thunder Breaking Wall' was just way above his even if he restricted his cultivation.

'Tempest Guard'!

Finally Yun Ping fully manifested his Qi with this technique. All around him, powerful winds and crackling thunderous bolts of lightning appeared in a swirling motion. Through their force, the lightning bolts sent by his father got sucked into a small tornado and disappeared within Yun Ping's own technique. Right now, his entire body was enveloped with raging thunderous winds.

Watching the mighty figure of his son, Yun Po had a strong feeling of pride swell within his chest. Since the beginning, he had truly gone all out. Yet, his son had valiantly resisted. Although he had barely been able to retaliate, it seemed like he was about to and Yun Po couldn't wait to see that for himself. And he was proud that everyone could see the result of his son's relentless efforts. Since his injury, he had suffered to regain his strength and he had never lost his will.

'Ethereal Bolt'!

Yun Ping combined the raging winds around him with his own spear and stabbed in the air. The clouds above the Yun residence were beginning to turn black. No one in Qingyun City was worried as they knew about the martial art exhibition. Every time the Yun family showcased their techniques to the fullest, the clouds would show the sign of an incoming storm. But within the residence, everyone was stunned by that show.

Among the crowd, Cao Yun was the only one without any surprise. After all, he had trained with Yun Ping already and he knew how far he had progressed. However, the elders were amazed as they had been convinced Yun Ping would never break through again and that he would stay crippled all his life. That amazement soon turned into joy, with a tinge of shame. The future of their family was ensured but they had slandered such a valiant boy...

Behind Yun Ping's back, a dozen spears made of lightning materialized. They all flew through the air. Following different trajectories, they all went toward Yun Po. At first, he intended to dodge but he saw something in Yun Ping's spear that changed his mind. There wasn't just Qi Manifestation in this technique. Right now, he wasn't absolutely certain but he could feel a trace of Spear Aura. As such, he decided to face it head-on just to be sure.

'Halting Thunder'!

Contrary to his son, his stabbing motions all aimed at the critical points of every single lightning spear. Although he stopped them all, Yun Po could feel their residual strength still trying to attack him as electricity was coursing through his 'Demon's Bane'. Damn, he could even feel it in the air all around him. And he was now certain, his son was close to forming his Spear Aura but he wasn't quite there yet.

Of course, Yun Po had known that his son had been spending a lot of time training beneath the Major Hall. He had had his suspicions but now he was certain of it, Guai Mo had helped train his son and it had been greatly effective. With that in mind, Yun Po's doubts concerning Guai Mo quickly evolved as well as his very perception of his own son. For weeks now his son had talked about what Cao Yun had told him. General Yun wasn't an idiot. Although he had a hard time believing some things, he had decided to trust his son anyway. But he had yet to talk to Guai Mo directly. Today, he would correct that.

'Quaking Spear'!

Yun Ping used all of his strength and smashed 'Eternal Rampart' in the ground. Throughout the courtyard, arcs of electricity coursed toward Yun Po. The very ground was shaking as though a cavalry was charging. And the electricity itself sometimes looked like many ferocious beasts unleashed toward their enemy. High in the sky, electricity was also coursing through the clouds. Now, the sky right above the platform was completely black as if night had fallen. But the sun was still very high and bright in the sky.

'Walls of the High Palace in the Sky'!

All around Yun Po, golden walls were erected. They formed a complete palace that almost hid his figure. But they were made of electricity and lightning so they were translucent enough to see him despite their thickness. All of Yun Ping's electric arcs came crashing down on the walls. Small tears appeared here and there but nothing was strong or powerful enough to completely take down this palace.

'Rumbling Skies'!

While protected within his lightning palace, Yun Po swirled his 'Demon's Bane' around. Some of the layers of his own palace got swallowed by his motion. Before long, the interior of the palace was crumbling and all the Qi Manifestation was being turned into a raging vortex of lightning. As it rose in the sky, the clouds also struck down. Several bolts of lightning fell down toward Yun Po and fed his spear. Even his arms were now imbued with electricity as his flesh was slowly burning but he didn't mind at all. With his cultivation, his skin was able to heal almost as fast as it was burned. With his proficiency in 'Thunder Breaking Wall', lightning wasn't scary at all. Besides, the Yun family had a bit of demon blood coursing through their veins, like their skin showed. As such, they healed a bit faster than other humans.

Of course, no one was able to heal as fast as Cao Yun with his special blood. But even for a Spirit Warrior, Yun Po was healing fast. Unfortunately, demons could heal even faster on a battlefield.

As his father was getting ready for his most powerful attack yet, Yun Ping decided to brace himself for what was to come. Yun Po was using the golden palace to protect himself while he was slowly turning it into a terrifying storm that would come crashing down on Yun Ping. Thus, his son had no way of stopping him. His attacks would never be able to destroy the golden palace before his father was ready. Instead, he decided to prepare himself. This was a technique he still wasn't too sure about but he did not doubt. In fact, he wasn't even thinking. Right now, he was completely focused on this fight. This was the opportunity to show his valor to his entire family. And he was going to do so no matter how much pain he had to endure in the process. He would show her strength and resilience, and he would also uphold the honor of his father.

On the other hand, his father was also fully engrossed in this fight and wanted to test his son to the limit. In fact, he had almost forgotten about the bewitched audience. Now that he had sensed traces of Spear Aura in his son, he was trying to push him further and further. Maybe he could really manifest it during this fight. Even a glimpse of Spear Aura would astonish everyone. And they were already engrossed in the fight.

'Crimson Lightning'!

Some of the lightning from the dark clouds above fell down toward Yun Ping. His very Wei Qi got charged in electricity as it began to curse and crackle all over his body. It wasn't so powerful that it was burning his skin or his flesh, but enough that he could feel his muscles spasm under its effect. Then, his Wei Qi slowly sent that electricity coursing throughout his very body. In particular, it went into his bloodstream. Before long, his very blood was charged in lightning and more Qi. A golden and crimson hue was enveloping Yun Ping.

Unbeknownst to him, his left arm even began to appear in the form of red and golden lightning. It was extremely faint but Yun Po saw it. This was a mixture of Spear Aura and Qi Manifestation. But for a split second, he clearly saw his son's left arm blink into existence before disappearing again. Most of the audience didn't catch it but the elders did. The family heads also saw it as well as Governor Jiahe and Cao Yun. Although it had been short-lived, in that moment Yun Ping had used Spear Aura for sure.

With this surge of electricity, Yun Ping's strength was heightened like never before.

All the Yun family was fully absorbed in the fight. Everyone in the residence had stopped moving, knowing that the storm was coming down. One final move would decide the fate of this fight. The elders could see every subtleties of the battle distinctly while the younger generation had to use all their senses not to miss any major move. Even some middle Mortal Warriors had a hard time following everything.

In that moment, the opinion of everyone on Yun Ping had changed for the better. His character and courage had never been doubted. But because of his injury, some thought he was now unfit to someday lead their family. Now they were feeling guilty. Considering his current strength, they could imagine how much effort he had spent to recover his full vigor. Instead of forsaking him, they should have helped him.

Anyway, Yun Po's final attack was ready as a small storm was now above his head. His 'Demon's Bane''s rotation was about to end, and his attack would be unleashed.

On the other hand, Yun Ping was also ready to face it with his full might.