Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water-Chapter 315: The Tempest Beckons

The wind sliced past Lassim as he streaked through the sky. His mastery of [Tempest Steps], enhanced by the sharp currents of lightning mana that surrounded him, propelled him forward towards his destination. Each step through the air left faint traces of his fused mana, the sparks dissipating as quickly as they formed.

High above the southern continent, the world stretched out in a breathtaking panorama. Below him lay the rugged terrain of the Shatterspires, a jagged mountain range veined with natural lightning-conductive minerals. The region emitted faint residual lightning mana, as if a prelude to the Tempest’s Cradle, which lay further ahead.

Lassim glanced at his communication disc, its holographic display chiming with a response notification. Earlier that morning, he had sent a concise message to his Master, Volten, thanking him for sending Dara so quickly to heal them, and informing him of his plans to train at the Tempest’s Cradle.

Lassim: Master, I’ve departed for the Tempest’s Cradle to prepare for the Elder’s Summit. Thank you for sending Healer Dara—Rlyis and Eno would not have survived without her aid.

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The response had only come just now after a few hours of flight towards the southernmost tip of the Southern Continent where the Tempest’s Cradle was..

Sect Master Volten: A wise choice. Focus on your training and I’ll inform the head Elder at the head office there of your incoming arrival. I look forward to seeing what improvements you’ve made and the attack style you come up with.

He stored away the communication disc safely in his magic pouch. The faint outlines of floating islands appeared on the horizon, their edges shrouded in mist and illuminated by distant flashes of lightning.

Below them, a midair docking station came into view, bustling with activity. Lassim descended gracefully, landing on the platform without breaking stride.

The ferry station was alive with movement. Disciples in violet robes of all different kinds of accents worked alongside attendants to prepare mostly adolescent Thunderbirds that looked a lot like Zaphy, minus the golden and void-like feathers. Despite being adolescents, the massive avian mounts flared their wings each time they prepared for take off with a new disciple or two on their backs, electricity dancing across their plumage.

Lassim caught sight of a younger disciple that looked to be in the Spirit Growth stage struggling to secure one of the Thunderbird’s harnesses. The bird let out a sharp squawk, its wings flapping in irritation as the disciple fumbled with the straps.

"Need a hand?" Lassim asked, approaching.

The boy looked up, startled, before his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, uh—Personal Disciple Senior!" He scrambled to bow.

"No need for that," Lassim said with a faint smile. "You should get on before your mount leaves without you."

He reached for the harness, his hands deftly securing the straps in place. The Thunderbird immediately settled, its feathers smoothing as it gave a low, contented chirp.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" the boy exclaimed with relief.

Lassim nodded, glancing around the station. A middle-aged man with a grizzled beard approached, wiping his hands on a cloth.

"You’ve got a good way with the Thunderbirds," the man said with a thick, gruff voice. "Harrik’s the name—I oversee this station. You heading to the Cradle?"

"Yes," Lassim replied. "Just wanted to confirm I’m on the right path and I head to the right island. I wasn’t told there were many different ones."

Harrik motioned toward the largest floating island in the distance. "That’s your destination. The supporting islands are all chunks off the largest one, at least based on the original records when the last chunk broke off. Tempest’s Cradle’s village area is actually impossible to miss once you’re close enough—look for the lightning veins in the clouds surrounding it. They’ll lead you to the lightning rods that protect the village facilities we have built. Be careful though, Spirit Ascendent. If you’re planning on flying yourself without one of the Thunderbirds, keep steady; the winds can be quite unpredictable near the outer barrier."

Lassim nodded. "Appreciate the advice."

As he prepared to take off again, Harrik called after him. "Good luck up there! The Cradle’s no easy place to train, even for someone of your level."

With a faint smile, Lassim launched back into the sky.

As Lassim followed the trail of the Thunderbirds that had taken off at regular intervals before him, the main island of the Tempest’s Cradle loomed ahead. It was a vast island, much larger than he anticipated—probably larger or at least equivalent in size to the Myriad Spirit City and Academy areas combined—suspended in a swirling vortex of storm clouds.

Violet bolts of lightning in all sizes danced along its edges, illuminating the dense canopy of the special Storm Leaf Trees that covered its surface and made this region famous. The trees pulsed with faint blue and violet light, their charged leaves forming an almost ethereal glow against the storm-darkened sky. They looked identical to the shape Master Daxion had shown to him all those weeks ago now.

Lassim slowed his flight as he approached the island’s edge, feeling the increasing intensity of the winds and swirling storm berate his approach. Lassim could see the protective energy barrier formed by the trees shimmered like a veil, crackling with static as it repelled the strongest winds and lightning strikes down below, making him understand exactly why so many Array Masters and defense technique specialists would choose to study them.

Carefully, he maneuvered through the storm winds, the air around him tingling with concentrated lightning mana that made him feel energized. He followed Harrik’s suggestion and soon found the familiar Lightning Sect architecture with the lighting rod style buildings and a bustling of sect disciples moving about.

He landed just beneath a sign that read, "Skybound Dock" on a reinforced stone platform lined with defensive arrays that he could read. He carefully admired the craftsmanship of the arrays as disciples moved purposefully around him between the platform and the nearby village up ahead, all of their robes bearing the Lightning Sect’s signature violet colors. Several paused to glance at Lassim, their expressions mostly curious but recognizing it was presumably his first time at the Tempest’s Cradle as everyone always had similar reactions to this natural lightning resource.

A young woman on the dock quickly approached Lassim, her violet robes marked with the bronze accents of an Outer Sect disciple. She bowed deeply. "Personal Disciple Lassim, welcome to the Tempest’s Cradle. My name is Rime, and our Resource Manager had me wait here for your arrival. Are you here for training?"

"Yes," Lassim replied. "I’ll be staying for a few months."

"Understood," Rime said, motioning for him to follow. "Please, come this way to the Administration Hall. We’ll record your arrival and assign you quarters."

Lassim followed Rime’s footsteps, admiring the sensation of being inside this constant and gigantic storm. It felt even better than being in the central region of the desert where the Lightning Sect Headquarters were. He wasn’t quite sure the reason why there was such a difference, but possibly do to how stagnant the Headquarters’ storm was, just constantly building and sitting unmoving in the sky above, where this one felt more free and flowing due to its swirling nature. It unknowingly put a gentle smile on his face as his progenitor marks slowly absorbed the surrounding lightning and water mana in the air underneath his martial attire.

As they walked, Rime gestured toward the village ahead, "This here’s Skybound Village," she began, pointing out the details with a practiced hand as if she’d done this before.

"It’s just beyond the dock, laid out to be as efficient as possible and not take up too much space of the natural resources. We didn’t want to clear out too many of the natural trees and I’m told they originally hired additional nature elementalists to come help relocate a majority of the trees to maintain the barrier but leave room for the buildings. Don’t worry too much about the buildings losing some of the protection though. They look like they’re just modest stonework, but they’re heavily reinforced with lightning-conductive materials. Keeps the buildings standing when the storm decides to get a little too nasty."

She then gestured more as they passed a few other key structures, "We’ve got your indoor meditation halls, a set of quartermaster’s and merchant run supply depots, indoor and outdoor training grounds—they’re all spread out across the village, but still pretty confined to this one area. You’ll find most disciples moving between them, either gearing up for their next session or cooling down after getting knocked around a bit. Everything’s placed so you’re never far from what you need."

Her easy smile widened as she added, "If you’re ever bored of these comforts, feel free to brave the main island or any of the surrounding ones. You’ll find beasts all the way up to the Spirit Transcendent stage roaming around in those regions if you get tired of smacking training constructs all day. There are missions in the Admin Hall where you can escort lower ranked cultivators that are training here into those other regions since you’re a Spirit Ascension stage cultivator. Just something else for you to consider if you’re too bored someday. Ah, we’re already here!"

The Administration Hall, a circular building at the heart of the village, stood taller than the rest. Its walls were etched with intricate but familiar lightning patterns and dense arrays to protect it and shift the lightning bolts to designated poles and channels within its structure. Its entrance was flanked by rows of actual and carefully manicured Storm Leaf Trees that shimmered brightly.

Inside, the air was cool and charged with energy. A stern-faced elder sat behind a wide desk, surrounded by shelves of scrolls and mana-infused crystal tablets.

"Rime, this must be Personal Disciple Lassim then, yes?" the elder said, his tone formal as he looked up and then stood up from behind his desk to approach. "It’s an honor to have the Sect Master’s personal disciple here. I was only informed of your coming, but no other details. I assume you’ve come to train?"

"Yes," Lassim replied. "I plan to work on a personal project of mine until the Elder’s Summit."

The elder nodded, retrieving a crystal tablet from the desk. He handed it to Lassim, its surface glowing faintly. "This contains a map of the island and works just like most communication discs. Sect Disciples at the rank of outer sect and above are qualified to their own personal quarters while here. The others must find their own lodgings in the wilderness or the barrack style rooms. Your specific assigned quarters are marked here. If you require additional resources or guidance, feel free to consult me or the other senior disciples at your level stationed in the village."

"Thank you," Lassim said, accepting the tablet.