The skies above New Asia rumbled—not from weather, but from concentrated, controlled chaos. A blinding blue arc zigzagged across the atmosphere, followed by the booming echo of plasma blasts.
On the front lines of Earth's expanding military edge, Lie Shen, now known across Earth and emerging interstellar networks as the Lightning God, led the Thunder Vanguard—a newly formed elite corps specializing in electromagnetic and shock warfare.
The unit had become Earth's spearhead, built by Lie Shen himself after months of grueling training and vetting. Each warrior in the Thunder Vanguard was fitted with a combination of evolved exosuits and personalized weapons, some forged by Hong's own hand.
"Stabilize formation. Synchronize with Thunder Coil II," Lie Shen commanded from mid-air, suspended within a net of lightning that danced across his armor.
Below, a synthetic battlefield played out—a simulation of a mid-tier alien invasion. Earth's forces, now evolved, no longer merely defended. They dominated.
In orbit, Hong monitored the training while adjusting the planetary mana lattice—a massive defensive formation that enveloped Earth, powered by dozens of hidden relay towers. The Formation Mastery Protocol, gifted through the system, allowed him to draw from cosmic ley-lines and channel them into defensive or offensive constructs at will.
"Earth no longer crawls," Hong muttered, eyes glowing with elemental flow. "It runs... soon it will fly."
Even as he focused on defense, his real attention was on the weapon-forging labs now active beneath the Himalayan core. Powered by Blackhole-grade furnaces, these labs began producing customized weapons tailored to Earth's top talents.
Back on the battlefield, Lie Shen's spear crackled with energy.
"No mercy."
With a single throw, the weapon shattered the defensive core of the simulation's alien mothership, causing the projection to collapse. His team erupted in cheers.
But Lie Shen simply turned to them and said,
"One day, the simulation will be real. On that day, you don't get a reset. Dismissed."