Douluo Dalu 1: The Tang Family Rebel

Faced with Chrysanthemum Douluo, who was finally ready to get serious, Yun Chuan remained calm. With a composed expression, he said, "Elder Chrysanthemum, I know you've been holding back all this time and haven't been serious. If that's the case, you must wonder why I kept wasting soul power on attacks that clearly couldn't harm you, right?"

"Oh? Why is that?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked curiously, genuinely intrigued.

"Do you know how natural lightning is formed?" Yun Chuan asked, his tone distant, as if talking to himself.

Without waiting for a reply, he began to explain as though reciting from a book:

"Lightning occurs when positive and negative charges within clouds, or between clouds and the ground, attract each other and generate enormous friction with the atmosphere. This friction causes the air to heat up rapidly and expand, creating the loud sound known as thunder.

Lightning often accompanies thunderstorms, typically occurring in the afternoon or evening during summer, when warm air carries moisture upward to form cumulonimbus clouds. As these clouds accumulate charges, lightning is produced."

Chrysanthemum Douluo listened with a bewildered expression. He recognized every word, but the explanation sounded entirely foreign to him.

"So, what's your point?"

Instead of responding directly, Yun Chuan gazed toward the sky above. Chrysanthemum Douluo followed his gaze and noticed that the once-clear sky had grown overcast with a dense layer of cumulonimbus clouds.

"Strange. How did these clouds form so suddenly?" Chrysanthemum Douluo wondered aloud.

"This technique came to me as a spark of inspiration. Initially, I could only use it during stormy weather, as natural lightning is essential for its success. Manually creating storm clouds consumes too much soul power, making it impractical for most battles." Yun Chuan glanced up at the dark clouds overhead, then turned back to Chrysanthemum Douluo with a faint smile. "However, for the sake of passing this trial, it's worth the extra effort."

At that moment, Chrysanthemum Douluo noticed raindrops beginning to fall, and flashes of lightning flickered within the thick clouds above.

"Boom! Boom! BOOM!!!"

The sky was alive with thunder and lightning. Even a powerful Titled Douluo like Chrysanthemum Douluo felt a chill of fear facing the raw, unbridled power of nature.

"I call this move—Kirin" Yun Chuan announced.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a tiny ball of crackling electricity appeared in Yun Chuan's palm. He flicked it upward with his finger, and the small sphere of lightning shot into the storm clouds above, vanishing from sight.

At that moment, it was as though the heavens themselves had been provoked.

The storm clouds roared to life, and bolts of lightning began raining down with fury. Chrysanthemum Douluo, caught off guard, felt a surge of primal fear. Without hesitation, he activated his seventh soul skill—Martial Soul Avatar!

"BOOM!!!"

The lightning struck with relentless ferocity.

Even with his Martial Soul Avatar activated, Chrysanthemum Douluo was forced into a desperate retreat, dodging bolt after bolt of searing lightning. The terrifying power of these natural strikes was something he dared not confront head-on.

It felt as though the lightning had locked onto him, chasing him relentlessly across the sky.

"It's done."

On the ground, Yun Chuan smiled as he watched Chrysanthemum Douluo struggling to evade the relentless assault. His long-planned gambit had finally paid off.

"Kirin" was indeed formidable, but its power depended heavily on environmental conditions. It required stormy weather to unleash its full potential, and manually creating the necessary conditions was extremely taxing.

The earlier flurry of fiery attacks had been a deliberate strategy to heat the surrounding air and create the necessary updrafts for forming cumulonimbus clouds. Meanwhile, Chrysanthemum Douluo's defenses had inadvertently contributed, as his petal-based counterattacks introduced moisture and cold air—key elements for cloud formation.

"BOOM! CRACK!"

The storm clouds dissipated as quickly as they had formed. As the rain ceased and the last bolts of lightning faded, the once-black clouds turned white and began to scatter.

High in the sky, Chrysanthemum Douluo descended to the ground. His appearance was a far cry from his usual elegant demeanor. His hair stood on end, his skin was scorched in places, and he looked thoroughly disheveled.

"Elder Chrysanthemum, I concede," Yun Chuan said with a respectful bow, his tone tinged with amusement. "Thank you for holding back and giving me the chance to prepare this technique. Without your cooperation, I wouldn't have passed the trial."

"…What was that technique called?" Chrysanthemum Douluo finally asked after a long silence.

"Elder Chrysanthemum, I call it "Kirin" Yun Chuan replied. "The principle is to manipulate the environment to create storm clouds and harness the power of natural lightning. In truth, if you had landed on the ground earlier instead of staying airborne, you wouldn't have been so affected."

"That's easy for you to say!" Chrysanthemum Douluo cursed inwardly. When faced with the sudden downpour of lightning, instinct had taken over, leaving no time for strategic decisions.

If it had been any other Titled Douluo, they likely would have been gravely injured—or worse—after the first strike. The relentless barrage of lightning that followed would have reduced them to ashes.