A persistent ringing echoed in Li Huowang's ears. He suddenly lost all sensation in his body and convulsed helplessly as he sank into the water.
"Huo... Huo..." Several blurry voices seemed to drift from the horizon, indistinct and unclear.
Suddenly, his hearing returned in a flash, the voices becoming impossibly loud. "Li Huowang!!"
The words had barely faded when two large hands reached into the water and laboriously hauled him out.
"Li Huowang! Are you crazy? Holding up metal in a thunderstorm! Are you tired of living?" Wu Qi yelled furiously.
Li Huowang sluggishly lowered his head to look at the hand holding his knife. He realized it had become a charred mess. From the root of the blackened flesh, black scars snaked along his veins, spreading throughout his body.
The events that had just transpired flooded back into his stunned mind. Li Huowang suddenly understood he had been struck by lightning.
