Thunder rolled across the eastern sky like the heartbeat of a sleeping god.For days, Li Shen and Mei Lian followed the lightning's path, moving through storm-wreathed cliffs where even birds dared not fly. The air shimmered with energy — not natural thunder, but something older, deeper.
They were nearing Mount Tianlei, the Mountain of Heavenly Pulse.
According to Elder Xu Wen, it was where the Nameless Master first defied the heavens — channeling the world's Qi to inscribe the Codex's third verse. Now, legend said, the mountain's heart still beat with that same forbidden rhythm.
But not all legends sleep quietly.
The climb was brutal. Rain lashed their faces, wind clawed at their robes, and every step was a battle against gravity. Lightning coiled across the peaks, striking the stone with divine fury.
Mei Lian steadied herself on a ledge, panting. "The storm feels alive."
Li Shen's gaze drifted upward. "It is. The mountain breathes."
As if to answer, a bolt of lightning tore through the clouds — but instead of fading, it split into a hundred glowing veins that crawled across the sky like serpents. The air trembled. A sound like a drumbeat pulsed through their bones.
Thump.Thump.Thump.
"The Pulse of Heaven," Mei Lian whispered. "It's real."
Li Shen felt the vibration deep in his chest — the same rhythm as the mark on his palm. He touched it unconsciously, and it flared with light, resonating with the storm.
"It's calling to you," Mei Lian said, her voice uncertain.
Li Shen's jaw tightened. "Or warning me."
They reached the summit at dusk.
The top of Mount Tianlei was not solid stone, but a vast plateau of floating shards — massive rock fragments suspended in the air, connected by bridges of pure lightning. In the center hovered a colossal sphere of crackling light, within which a scroll-shaped silhouette pulsed slowly like a living heart.
The third fragment of the Void Codex.
Mei Lian stared, awed. "It's… alive."
Before they could approach, a voice boomed across the sky.
"Who dares disturb the heart of Heaven?"
From the storm descended a figure clad in robes of thundercloud and silver — The Guardian of the Pulse. His face was weathered, his eyes twin storms. In his hands, he held a staff tipped with a spinning ring of lightning.
Li Shen bowed slightly. "We seek the truth of the Codex. Nothing more."
The Guardian's eyes flashed. "Then you seek death. The Pulse does not reveal itself to mortals."
He struck the ground with his staff. Bolts of lightning erupted outward, splitting the plateau into rivers of light. Mei Lian leaped back, deflecting a strike with her sword, the air singing from the impact.
Li Shen drew his blade, channeling his Qi through the mark on his hand. The sword shimmered with shadowlight — neither dark nor bright, but something in between.
"I don't want to fight," he said. "But I will."
The Guardian's voice thundered. "Then face Heaven itself!"
Lightning descended in torrents. Li Shen moved through them, his movements guided by instinct — the rhythm of the storm matching the rhythm of his heart. Each strike he deflected sent shockwaves through the air, yet the Guardian moved effortlessly, his every gesture a dance of celestial fury.
Mei Lian joined the fray, her Qi forming petals of blue light around her blade. Together, they weaved through the storm, countering strike after strike, until the plateau itself began to crumble beneath the force of their clash.
The Guardian raised his staff. "Enough!"
A massive bolt struck the ground between them, sending both flying backward. Li Shen landed hard, his sword skidding away.
As he struggled to rise, the Guardian's staff pressed against his chest, lightning crackling around it.
"You cannot master what you do not understand," the old warrior said. "The Codex is not yours to wield."
Li Shen met his gaze — and for a brief instant, saw sorrow behind the fury.
"Then teach me," he whispered.
The Guardian hesitated. "Teach you?"
"Yes," Li Shen said. "Teach me how to listen to the Pulse — not command it."
The Guardian's eyes softened, just slightly. Then, slowly, he withdrew the staff.
Lightning dimmed. The storm's roar softened into a low hum.
"Very well," the Guardian said. "If your heart is true, the Pulse will reveal itself. Step forward."
Li Shen rose shakily and approached the glowing sphere. As he neared, the mark on his palm flared again, synchronizing perfectly with the rhythm of the storm.
He reached out.
The moment his fingers touched the light, the world dissolved.
He stood in an endless sky, surrounded by streaks of lightning forming vast, shifting patterns. In the center stood the Nameless Master, cloaked in stormlight.
"My student," the voice said. "You walk the edge between being and void. Do you seek to master Heaven… or to understand it?"
Li Shen swallowed hard. "I seek balance."
"Balance is illusion," the Master replied. "Only the void is real — where all things are one."
The lightning converged on Li Shen, filling him with unbearable light. He screamed — not from pain, but from revelation. For an instant, he felt everything: the breath of the wind, the heartbeat of the earth, the pulse of the heavens.
When the light faded, he was back on the mountain. The Guardian stood before him, eyes wide.
"You heard it," he said. "You truly heard the Pulse."
Li Shen looked down at his hands. Lightning danced along his skin, then sank into his veins, merging with the dark glow of the void within him.
"The third verse has accepted you," the Guardian said. "But be warned — each verse binds you closer to the Codex. Too close, and you will cease to be yourself."
Mei Lian rushed to his side. "Li Shen?"
He turned to her, eyes glowing faintly with lightning. "I'm all right. But I understand now."
"Understand what?" she asked.
"That the Codex doesn't create balance…" He looked toward the storm. "It erases it."
Thunder rumbled in the distance — and through the lightning's reflection, he saw something moving far below the clouds: a sea of red banners marching north.
Mei Lian followed his gaze. "The Crimson Sect."
Li Shen sheathed his sword. "Then we're out of time."
The Guardian stepped aside, his staff lowering in respect. "Go, Seeker of Void. But remember — Heaven never forgets those who defy it."
As Li Shen and Mei Lian descended the mountain, lightning followed them like a living shadow — whispering promises of power, and the echo of the storm's ancient heart.