I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Spirit Beast Mountain, Heavenly Battle Peak.

Every mountain has its rules, and the rules of the Spirit Beast Mountain Sect clearly stipulate that all disciples, whether inner or outer disciples, or even miscellaneous disciples, can only engage in sparring and combat within the area belonging to the Heavenly Battle Peak.

This is mainly to prevent disciples from accidentally killing or maiming their opponents during sparring matches and then being unable to explain themselves.

However, when engaging in duels at Tiandou Peak, not only must a contract be signed beforehand, but a notary must also be hired to supervise the proceedings.

Zhou Tai was signing the contract at that moment.

After he posted the bounty, many people applied. After he selected them, he finally chose a handyman disciple with the seventh level of Qi Refining.

This man, named Liu Tong, is over seventy years old and possesses a mid-grade first-tier magic weapon. He also has considerable experience in sparring with others.

After signing the commitment letter, Zhou Tai and Liu Tong entered the fighting arena together. The notary in charge of supervising them was an outer disciple with the cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Senior Brother Liu, my lightning-attribute spells are quite powerful, so you'd better be careful."

Before making his move in the arena, Zhou Tai gave his opponent another reminder.

Although signing the commitment letter meant that even if he accidentally killed the other party, he would only need to pay a sum of spirit stones in compensation, he certainly didn't want that to actually happen.

"Don't worry, Junior Brother Zhou, I will be on guard."

Liu Tong, whose hair and beard were both white, spoke while simultaneously casting hand seals and a protective spell on himself.

He didn't have the luxurious magical artifacts and equipment that Zhou Tai possessed. He didn't even plan to take out his own mid-grade first-tier attack magical artifact, lest it be damaged in a collision.

However, despite practicing earth-attribute techniques, his defensive spells were quite good.

He made hand seals, and in just over ten breaths, he cast two protective spells on himself.

Looking at Liu Tong, who was covered in stone armor and protected by an earthen-yellow light shield, Zhou Tai raised his hand and patted the storage bag at his waist. A pale green wooden shield flew out and bloomed with a green glow, turning into a light screen to protect him behind it.

Then he quickly made a hand seal and pointed, and a blue-white arc of lightning pierced the air and struck the light barrier in front of Liu Tong.

That earthen-yellow light shield was a first-tier mid-grade defensive spell, Earth Element Shield, known for its defensive power. It could withstand several attacks from first-tier mid-grade offensive spells like Fire Serpent.

However, it dimmed considerably in an instant under the attack of the low-grade first-tier lightning attribute spell, Thunder Arc Finger.

This startled Liu Tong, who dared not hold back any longer and hastily launched a counterattack.

Zhou Tai only saw his opponent make a hand seal and point a finger, and a ball of yellow light immediately landed at his feet, instantly turning the soil beneath his feet into a sand pit, where his legs sank to his knees.

His expression changed slightly, and he quickly pulled his leg away and moved to the side.

Unexpectedly, a suction force in the mud and sand gripped his legs tightly, making it impossible for him to move.

"Oh no, this isn't a trap spell, it's quicksand!"

Zhou Tai's heart sank; he knew he was in trouble.

The effects of the Earth-Trapping Technique and the Quicksand Technique are very similar; both turn hard ground into mud and sand to trap the target.

However, the Earth Trap spell is a low-grade first-tier spell, and the mud and sand it creates are not much different from ordinary mud and sand, making it relatively easy to break free.

The Quicksand spell is a mid-grade first-tier spell. The sand it creates has a suction force, making it difficult for the target to break free by brute force.

Zhou Tai is now trapped by the quicksand technique, making him a sitting duck. Liu Tong on the other side certainly won't let this opportunity to shoot him pass by.

He made a hand seal, and the pebbles and soil on the ground seemed to be drawn towards him, quickly gathering into a huge rock the size of a water vat.

"go!"

With a shout, Liu Tong waved his hand, and the boulder hurtled towards Zhou Tai.

Given the size of that boulder, if it were to actually hit someone, it would surely turn them into a bloody pulp on the spot.

Seeing this, Zhou Tai had no choice but to temporarily abandon his idea of ​​escaping and fully activate the Azure Cloud Shield, a first-grade high-quality defensive magic weapon, to thicken the light barrier protecting him slightly.

boom!

The boulder struck the verdant light curtain, causing the radiant glow to dissipate layer by layer, soon leaving only a thin layer.

Fortunately, the boulder had exhausted its force and rolled to the ground, turning into a large amount of gravel and soil.

Seeing this, Zhou Tai originally intended to take the opportunity to release the Fire Cloud Pouch to trap Liu Tong as well, thus creating a chance for himself to escape.

But then I thought, using magical weapons to bully others wouldn't really help me hone my combat skills.

So he decided not to rush out of the sandpit, but instead cast a spell, preparing to clash with Liu Tong.

Although he had not cultivated for nearly as long as Liu Tong, he was still very fast at casting his signature spells.

In just a few breaths, he completed the spell, and with a wave of his hand, a thick bolt of blue-white lightning struck Liu Tong.

At the same time, Liu Tong's spell was completed, and a fire snake shot towards Zhou Tai like an arrow.

Boom! Boom!

Two explosions rang out one after the other, but the results were quite different.

Zhou Tai was protected by a first-grade high-quality magic artifact. Although the flames formed after the Fire Serpent Technique exploded turned into a sea of ​​fire around him, they could not harm him in the slightest.

Liu Tong, on the other hand, was not as lucky as him.

The earth elemental shield disintegrated and vanished instantly under the attack of the Thunder Serpent Dance. Although Liu Tong inside was still protected by a stone armor, he was still inevitably penetrated by the power of lightning through the gaps, which shocked him so much that his hair and beard stood on end and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.

Seeing this, Zhou Tai was both surprised and delighted.

This was the first time he had used the Thunder Serpent Dance to attack another cultivator, and he hadn't expected it to be so powerful.

It should be noted that the stone armor on Liu Tong's body was no ordinary armor; it was formed from the first-tier high-grade earth-attribute spell, Stone Armor Technique. Even if he used the Silver Star Sword, a first-tier high-grade magic weapon, he could not cut through the armor with a single sword strike.

The stone armor is still on Liu Tong's body, but Liu Tong is now injured.

This shows that the lightning power generated by lightning-attribute spells is not only powerful, but also has a penetrating effect that can penetrate anywhere.

No wonder thunder talismans are so sought after by cultivators!

However, with Liu Tong injured, he couldn't press his advantage any further, so he immediately stopped and asked, "Senior Brother Liu, are you alright? Perhaps you should rest for a while?"

"Ahem, I am incompetent, please forgive me, Junior Brother Zhou."

Liu Tong certainly didn't want to continue fighting. After all, he was already old, and continuing to fight while injured would shorten his lifespan.

Compared to the victory reward promised by Zhou Tai, personal safety and lifespan are more important.

"Let's call it a day then."

Zhou Tai nodded and immediately unleashed his magic to break free from the shackles of the quicksand spell.

Although today's battle was brief, it allowed him to see his shortcomings.

If he had reacted faster and left the spot before the quicksand spell took effect, he wouldn't have been so easily trapped and wouldn't have had to face that powerful falling rock spell.

This is combat experience, an experience that cannot be learned or mastered solely through books and oral accounts from others. Only through personal experience can one know how to respond correctly.

After the two left the arena, Zhou Tai paid Liu Tong two low-grade spirit stones as a basic sparring fee, and added another low-grade spirit stone as a medical fee because Liu Tong had suffered minor injuries.

In the following period, Zhou Tai would arrange a battle with someone every half month, and he would try to challenge cultivators who practiced different attribute techniques and mastered different spells.

Through sparring and exchanging blows with these training partners, his combat experience grew rapidly.

More than a year later, Zhou Tai only needed to rely on the Azure Cloud Shield magic weapon to defeat a Qi Refining Stage 7 outer disciple who also possessed a Tier 1 high-grade magic weapon.

His Thunder Serpent Dance and Thunder Strike Technique are no less powerful than those first-tier high-grade spells of the five elements, and their casting speed is even faster.

By this time, he had fully understood how to leverage his strengths and conceal his weaknesses.

That day, Zhou Tai received a message from Aaron Kwok.

After reading the message, he muttered to himself, "Is Fatty Guo about to reach Foundation Establishment? I hope he succeeds!"

Aaron Kwok possesses the aptitude of three spiritual roots and is currently under sixty years old. With the assistance of a full set of foundation-building spiritual objects, his success rate in foundation building is not low.

However, the success rate of foundation building is sometimes hard to predict.

With a lightning-based spiritual root like Zhou Tai, theoretically, the success rate could reach 60-70% with the assistance of a full set of foundation-building spiritual items.

However, sometimes bad luck or insufficient personal experience can lead to a failure rate of 30% to 40%.

Such things are common even in a major sect like Spirit Beast Mountain; if you encounter one, you can only accept your bad luck.

As a friend, Zhou Tai certainly hoped that Aaron Kwok would succeed, so that he would have a Foundation Establishment stage friend, which would make things easier for him in the sect in the future.