Time bled by, and the thunder’s assault only swelled.

Ease faded to strain; I fought to breathe under the storm’s hammer.

Lightning nearly smashed the cliff again and again.

Reflex kept me alive; each strike, I intercepted in time.

Dizziness crept in first; my stamina was half gone, my spirit drained.

Without that nap before tackling the sixth layer, I’d already be down.

The thought chilled me; a cold sweat pricked my spine.

Hang on—ten more minutes and the thunder will stop.

I kept talking myself through it, swinging the Shattered Light Sword.

Sword arts flashed, blocking thick bolts that fell like a monsoon.

This wave covered the sky, dense as rain on a typhoon night.

Stand under a true deluge and the skin stings, fever follows.

What of rain made of lightning—countless bolts pounding like iron hail?

If my guard slipped, that thunder-rain would take me—fall or electrocution.

Not happening; lightning clung to the Shattered Light Sword like hungry vines.

I gathered Sword Aura, shook it loose, and kept the blade alive.

Careless here means instant death.

It took grit; two, three high-tier arts, and the storm broke.

Ha—so tired.

From the trial’s start, I’ve burned sword arts without pause.

My body ached, my head swam, fog thick as winter river mist.

Sword arts fuse swordsmanship and Sword Aura; the wonder defies quick words.

Perfectly merging aura into form eats focus like fire eats oil.

No choice; basic arts are useless unless my swordcraft reaches its peak.

Forget the distant peak—focus on now. Clear the Nine Cold Labyrinth first.

While my thoughts drifted, sheets of lightning gathered again.

Silver light braided the sky; violet bolts quaked; thunder rolled like drums.

Near or far, the sight was apocalypse—radiant and terrifying.

Tension knotted my gut; I clenched the Shattered Light Sword.

Sweat beaded my palms like dew on winter bamboo.

In the heights, lightning kept pooling, folding, and fusing.

Clouds thinned under the glare.

A thread of sunlight slipped through, wove with the blazing arcs,

and birthed colors that kept shifting like a dragon’s scales.

Power kept spilling from that mass of lightning.

Air cracked; clouds shredded; mountains and forests below fell in swathes.

The cliff under me held under Sword Aura, but it wouldn’t last.

I could feel it like a storm smell before rain.

Rumble, rumble!!

Thunder tore the sky, and I couldn’t just stand there.

I breathed deep, raised the Shattered Light Sword,

and drank lightning elemental energy to forge fresh Sword Aura.

I poured it all into the blade.

In half a heartbeat, the gathered lightning fused to one.

It became a colossal, razor-sharp spike, a pressure that crushed air.

It dropped at a speed barely visible, collapsing space around it.

I’ve seen that collapse before; I kept calm and waited my moment.

When it closed to a hundred meters, I twisted and cut.

Sword Aura surged from the swing.

Heavenly Thunder: Sword Qi Storm!

A tornado of Sword Aura and lightning burst around me.

It speared sky and earth, a pillar you could see for miles.

It had wind’s speed and thunder’s rage; together it magnified the art.

The Sword Qi Storm swelled severalfold.

If I opened the Sword Domain, it’d swell even more.

But I had to save strength; wasting power here was folly.

This was enough to break that falling spike.

Boom—!!!

The tornado met the spike, and the world bucked.

The roar aside, the backlash alone was ruinous.

The sky tore a hole; nine-tenths of mountain and forest turned ash.

The cliff under me trembled on the brink.

I split focus, hardened Sword Aura, and kept my foothold alive.

It was brutal work.

Two or three minutes later, both storm and spike ran dry.

Their shapes thinned and drifted apart.

Ha—wore me out.

The spike was gone; that crushing weight lifted; I breathed easier.

A minute or two more and the thunder ends.

Probably no more surprises, right?

I half joked to myself.

Turns out I was naïve.

An even stronger lightning gathered in a blink,

and became a colossal greatsword a hundred meters long.

Arcs coiled round its body; sparks danced like fish in rapids.

Its edge gleamed with cold light; the guard wore ancient sigils.

It looked like a peerless divine blade fallen from a myth.

Not good!

Relief vanished; only tension and resolve remained.

This had to be the final strike. I had to stop it.

I dropped all thought of saving strength and hurled my blade skyward.

Sword Domain—open!

Hum, hum!!

A clear sword-cry rang, and gold washed the world.

The sky filled with swords born of Sword Aura.

Some stood, some lay; some long, some short; some thick, some thin.

Forms shifted like reeds in wind.

The Shattered Light Sword flew back to my hand.

I didn’t hesitate; I drew pure aura and energy from the domain.

I readied one of my strongest arts; otherwise, I’d never hold.

I took a deep breath, gripped tight, and raised the blade high.

Destruction Invisible Sword!!!

A titanic sword appeared, so vast its outline blurred.

A gale rushed out and whipped my hair like storm grass.

Right then, the lightning greatsword finished forming.

It fell point-first, with a force words couldn’t carry.

I threw everything into the swing.

The Shattered Light Sword led, and the Destruction Invisible Sword cut.

It slashed toward the falling sword of lightning.

Boom!!!

The two blades met, and heaven and earth cracked.

Void shattered; the ground broke in waves.

To keep my one foothold from annihilation, I suffered.

With the Sword Domain’s blessing, I barely walled the cliff off.

I pushed the backlash aside and held on.