Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Dragon’s Roar Echoes Through the Heavens

Gu Yongwang, a villager of Xugou, was sitting at home with his wife and child, watching television, when suddenly thunder rumbled across the sky. His six-year-old son, startled, shrank into his arms.

“That’s strange,” his wife muttered, still knitting. “The weather report on TV just said it would be clear tonight around Qiantang.”

Gu Yongwang glanced at the screen. “It’s summer—thunderstorms come and go. The forecast is often off.”

His wife frowned. “But when I went out just now to pour out the footbath, the moon and stars were clear, not a cloud in the sky.”

“Maybe you just didn’t see clearly,” Gu Yongwang replied indifferently.

She set her knitting needles down and pinched him. “You’re the one who can’t see clearly.”

Suddenly, lightning cracked again, startling even Gu Yongwang this time.

“Why does it feel like the thunder and lightning are right on top of us?” he said, hurrying to turn off the television. “Quick, unplug everything in the house.”

Outside, the wind howled, battering the windows with relentless force, while the sound of rain drummed heavily against the glass and roof. His wife gazed out at the deluge, muttering, “It’s like a tornado hit.”

All across Xugou and the neighboring villages, people were silently watching the sudden storm rage outside.

…

Bai Yanxi, however, was not sleeping as Wu You had thought. Instead, he sat upright, listening to the storm, his eyes half-lidded and unfocused.

“Nine and five, the soaring dragon in the heavens, a great person reaps fortune.”

…

Inside the room, Wu You had entered observation mode.

Electric arcs danced before his eyes, lightning weaving around him like silver serpents, and in the depths of Shiniu Mountain, the rain fell so densely it resembled a river pouring from the sky.

Lightning struck again and again without pause, each bolt lashing the azure-scaled Ao Guang, wrapping his form in dazzling arcs. The river below, the Qinglong, reflected the electric fury, the water flashing in countless places as fish, shrimp, and crabs floated belly-up to the surface.

With a mighty sweep of his tailfin, Ao Guang hurled water into the air, carving meter-deep craters in the riverbed.

Using the recoil, Ao Guang surged upstream through the torrent, straining toward the low-hanging rain clouds, drawing even more thunder down upon himself.

…

The storm was far from normal. In Xugou, nearly every villager pressed against their windows, staring out at the sky. Lightning struck in rapid succession, all concentrated deep within Shiniu Mountain, so frequent it seemed to turn night into day.

The apocalyptic scene drove the elders to pray fervently at home, seeking divine protection.

The old village chief, Shen Haomin, nearly seventy, watched the tempest from his window. “It must be the Thunder Mother seeking out evil, or the Thunder Lord striking down monsters.”

His son, amused, replied, “Dad, you’re a government official. You can’t really believe those superstitions?”

“Superstitions? Is that what you call it? So when I’m gone, you won’t honor me either?”

“That’s not what I meant, Dad.”

“Then what did you mean?”

…

While the villagers buzzed with speculation, even the Qiantang Meteorological Bureau was on high alert. The observation center was busier than ever, with streams of data pouring in but no answer for the sudden storm.

“The center is deep in Shiniu Mountain, southeast of XS District,” a technician reported. “Wind speeds at the core over level ten, with a thirty-kilometer radius. It’s clear everywhere else.”

“What about the cause? Any findings?” the bureau chief asked, eyeing the satellite cloud map.

“Still under investigation. We’ve ruled out any tropical storm from the sea.”

“Keep monitoring. Issue an orange alert for heavy rain.”

“Yes, sir.”

…

High above, the azure-scaled Ao Guang plunged into the clouds, absorbing every bolt that struck him, his scales shimmering as he tempered his body and spirit. Under observation mode, Wu You could sense both the pain and exhilaration coursing through the beast.

Ao Guang’s blue scales burned ever brighter, his body swelling under the relentless thunder. Twenty meters long, then twenty-five, thirty...fifty meters. His form grew thicker and more majestic with each passing moment.

It was close—so close!

Wu You could feel the power building within Ao Guang, barely contained. The dragon lashed and twisted through the clouds, each swing of his mighty tail sending thunderclaps booming through the air.

Lightning split the sky, bathing the world in white.

And then came a roar—ancient, metallic, resounding across the Shiniu Mountains.

…

Wu You leapt from his bed—success!

A system message appeared at once:

System notification: Thunder Azure Dragon Ao Guang has successfully transcended the mortal realm. Congratulations on obtaining your first Silver-tier creature.

Alchemical Creature: Thunder Azure Dragon, Name: Ao Guang

Innate Abilities: Wind and Thunder, Water Manipulation, Demonic Power

Skills: Deluge, Storm Calling, Dragon Flight, Tail Whip, Constrict

Base Rating: Silver—initial (trainable, lacking transcendent energy materials)

Additional Evaluation: A primordial beast, towering above the mundane world.

Even as Wu You reveled in this breakthrough, the system delivered yet another surprise.

Notification: Permission unlocked—Divine Demon Power

Description: Allows temporary utilization of the power of Silver-tier and above creations, limited by mental strength.

The explanation was clear, and Wu You’s excitement soared. He wondered if this ability could be used within Beast Mountain.

…

As Ao Guang’s transformation ended, the violent storm clouds swiftly dispersed. The residents of villages around Shiniu Mountain could finally rest easy, though the Qiantang Meteorological Bureau was left in a frenzy.

At dawn, villagers emerged for morning exercise and work, exchanging stories of hearing a dragon’s roar amid the storm, with some claiming to have seen a true dragon soaring through lightning-filled skies.

Youngsters from the village posted vivid accounts on major forums, describing the night’s tempest and dragon’s call, complete with photos of lightning.

One post stood out in particular, not only recording the precise timing of the storm, but also featuring a photograph that seemed to show a dragon-shaped creature entwined in lightning, ascending into the heavens.

For a time, the internet and the Qiantang region buzzed with debate—some thrilled, some skeptical, others explaining it all away as natural phenomena.

The “Dragon Soaring over Shiniu Mountain” event became the hottest topic of conversation among the local people.