After many long hours of research, and after spending hundreds of primeval stones on the researcher , Jian Long's efforts finally began to bear fruit.
He discovered numerous examples in nature of living creatures, materials, and even Gu worms capable of storing lightning.
Along the border between the Central Continent and the Southern Border, there existed a species of Metal Dragons that inhabited a land plagued by endless thunderstorms. These dragons deliberately absorbed the lightning that struck their bodies, storing its energy within themselves before releasing it later in battle. However, the region was extremely dangerous, and the dragons themselves were immensely powerful, making it extraordinarily difficult to obtain even a single corpse for study and dissection.
In the western region of the Southern Border, there was an entire mountain composed of mysterious purple crystals whose origin remained unknown. Whenever one of these crystals was shattered, it released a burst of lightning. This immediately caught Jian Long's attention, prompting him to order a batch of the crystals from a merchant. They were expected to arrive the following day.
He also found records of a species of white wolves living atop Mount Baiyun, one of the towering peaks surrounded by vast plains of white clouds.
These wolves could generate and discharge lightning without relying on any Gu worms, causing people to originally call them Lightning Wolves.
However, after several of them had been captured for research, scholars discovered that their ability to produce lightning gradually weakened while they were in captivity. At the same time, their white fur slowly fell away until they became completely bald.
From then on, they became known as Bald Wolves instead.
This discovery immediately piqued Jian Long's interest, and fortunately for him, he learned that the species was actually available in the beast market, making it a relatively accessible research subject.
Of course, these were only a few examples.
Throughout his research, he encountered dozens of other creatures and materials capable of storing lightning. Unfortunately, most were either so rare that obtaining them was practically impossible, or their properties simply did not suit the purpose he had in mind.
As for Gu worms...
He found nothing worth mentioning.
Because the Lightning Path was still a young and incomplete Path, nearly all of its development had been devoted to offensive power, while every other aspect remained primitive and underdeveloped.
As a result, Jian Long failed to find a single suitable Gu worm capable of storing lightning.
...
At the same time, on the opposite side of the city, within the Gu Master Battle Arena...
A young man with golden eyes and long, curly black hair stood atop a small rock rising from the middle of a vast lake.
His gaze remained fixed on the water's surface, his eyes constantly scanning for even the slightest disturbance.
Then...
A massive column of water erupted from the depths of the lake, twisting like a gigantic serpent as it lunged toward him, attempting to swallow him whole.
Fortunately, the youth had been prepared.
The instant he sensed the movement beneath the water, he sprang aside and landed lightly on another rock before the attack could reach him.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he muttered,
"This isn't fair..."
On paper, he held the advantage.
His aptitude was Grade B, while his opponent possessed only Grade C aptitude. His primeval sea was larger, and his primeval essence recovered more quickly.
Logically, his opponent should have been the first to exhaust his primeval essence.
Yet reality was the complete opposite.
The one forced to worry about running out of primeval essence was himself, not his opponent.
The reason was simple.
The arena itself was a water environment.
And that environment granted his opponent, a Water Path cultivator, an overwhelming advantage.
Instead of spending primeval essence to create water through Gu worms, his opponent merely manipulated the vast quantity of water already filling the lake.
As a result, his primeval essence consumption was dramatically reduced, while the young man still had to pay the full cost for every technique he used.
Nor was this advantage unique to the Water Path.
The surrounding environment was one of the most important factors in battles between Gu Masters.
Every Path possessed an environment in which it flourished.
The Fire Path reached its greatest potential amid blazing infernos.
The Wood Path thrived within dense forests the Light Path became strongest under intense illumination.
Meanwhile, the Dark Path grew increasingly dangerous the deeper the surrounding darkness became.
In many battles choosing the battlefield was just as important as the strength of the Gu Master himself.
The young man's grumbling was abruptly cut short by the explosive sound of water erupting behind him.
He spun around instantly.
The moment he did, his eyes widened.
His opponent had activated a Transformation Path Gu, taking on the form of a hybrid between a human and a shark.
Bursting out of the water like a spear released from a bow, the transformed Gu Master lunged at him, opening his powerful jaws lined with razor-sharp shark teeth, aiming to sink them into the young man's shoulder.
But the young man's reaction was even faster.
In an instant, he hardened his entire body, covering himself with a thick layer of turquoise crystal.
The shark's teeth crashed against the crystalline armor with a harsh scraping sound, yet failed to pierce it.
Because the attacker had committed all of his momentum to the bite without securing the young man with his hands, his fangs slid across the smooth crystalline surface. He lost his balance and plunged back into the lake.
The young man himself nearly stumbled into the water from the force of the collision, but he managed to regain his footing at the last moment.
Without wasting even a second, he turned toward the spot where his opponent had disappeared beneath the surface and thrust out his hand, releasing a bolt of lightning into the lake.
He intended to exploit water's natural conductivity, using it to electrocute his submerged opponent.
But...His opponent sneered inwardly.
The instant the lightning entered the water, he manipulated the surrounding currents, redirecting the electric discharge before it could reach him.
The bolt dispersed harmlessly throughout the lake the young man cursed inwardly.
During the course of this battle, he had already consumed the vast majority of his primeval essence.
Only about a quarter of his primeval sea remained ,If this continued His defeat would only be a matter of time.
Lightning Bolts were the young man's most powerful offensive technique.
However, the primeval essence remaining in his aperture was only enough to fire two more bolts.
Even if both struck his opponent directly, he doubted they would be enough to decide the battle.
So..He needed an attack that consumed far less primeval essence.
His eyes swept across the arena, searching for anything he could exploit.
Then...He spotted a small archipelago of rocky outcrops on the right side of the lake.
"There!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he dashed toward it and leaped onto the nearest rock.
But the instant he was airborne, the lake behind him exploded.
His opponent burst from the water like a predatory beast, lunging from behind with jaws wide open, aiming to tear into his shoulder once again.
The young man twisted his body in midair with astonishing agility, using the momentum of his spin to deliver a powerful kick to his opponent's neck.
The blow landed squarely.
His opponent's trajectory was thrown off, and he crashed back into the water between the rocky islets.
The moment the young man landed on the rock, he waved his hand, unleashing a volley of crystal arrows toward his opponent.
The latter effortlessly dodged every one of them before bursting out of the water once more at an even greater speed, attempting another bite.
The young man narrowly avoided the attack...
But he lost his balance ,and fell into the lake ,His opponent's eyes lit up.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
The instant the young man entered the water, he stepped into his domain.
Within the lake, his speed and strength reached a level that would make even a Rank Three Gu Master struggle to fight him.
Nor did he fear lightning attacks in the slightest.
He knew his opponent possessed no Gu capable of insulating him from electricity.
If lightning were discharged into the water, both of them would be electrocuted.
Confident in his advantage, he shot forward at incredible speed, like a shark that had scented blood.
But just before he reached his prey...the young man's face suddenly transformed into that of a bat.
An ear-piercing shriek erupted from his mouth, rippling through the water.
"A sound attack?"
His opponent sneered inwardly.
"That won't affect me much."
But...In the next instant, the crystal arrows embedded throughout the rocky islets suddenly exploded with growth.
Stimulated by the sonic waves, the crystals expanded at an astonishing rate, intertwining with one another until they formed a dense forest of crystal pillars that engulfed both of them.
His opponent's eyes widened ,Only then...did he realize that the arrows had never been aimed at him.
They had been aimed at the rocks all along the young man was unable to speak beneath the water...
And yet, his opponent could have sworn he saw him smile, as if saying—
"I've won."