Chapter 189: Ch189: No Way Out

Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise. His Third Form of Lightning — the very technique that had torn through countless layers of stone walls only moments ago — had no effect whatsoever.

*BzzZap!*

Without hesitation, he unleashed his Third Form again. The bolt slammed into the center of the wall with tremendous force...

Yet not even a crack appeared.

’My attacks... why aren’t they working?’ Daniel thought, disbelief flashing across his face.

Meanwhile, Ronick dusted off his clothes, brushed his hair back, and stepped out from behind the stone wall, a faint smile on his face.

"What’s wrong?" Ronick asked. "Didn’t you eat breakfast?"

Daniel ignored the taunt and immediately charged another strike the moment Ronick came into view.

Ronick, however, raised another stone barrier, effortlessly blocking the incoming attack.

The crowd roared as Daniel unleashed a relentless barrage of lightning, each bolt crashing into the wall shielding his opponent.

Then, halfway through the lightning shower, Daniel abruptly stopped, and sprinted forward.

This time, instead of aiming at the wall, he fired several bolts at its corners.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

The impacts blasted chunks of stone apart, kicking up a thick cloud of dust that engulfed Ronick’s face and obscured his vision.

An annoyed frown crossed Ronick’s face as he waved the dust aside.

With a forceful thrust of his palm, the stone wall that had been shielding him all this time lurched forward, hurtling straight toward Daniel.

*BAM!*

Caught off guard, Daniel was slammed head-on and sent flying several steps before crashing onto the ground with a heavy thud.

"I was going easy on you, but throwing dust in my face?" Ronick growled, his eyes hardening. "Don’t expect me to hold back anymore."

*Rumble~*

*DHAM! DHAM! DHAM! DHAM!*

At the center of the training grounds, towering stone walls erupted from the earth one after another, sealing together into a huge rectangular box enclosure reinforced with layer upon layer of solid rock.

Inside, Daniel was swallowed by darkness, trapped with no visible way out.

"Yield," Ronick called, his arms crossed. "Or I won’t be responsible for what happens next."

"Agh... my back... Fuck, I landed on a rock," Daniel groaned as he slowly pushed himself upright. He winced and glanced around at the pitch-black enclosure. "What is this place?"

With a snap of lightning, Daniel illuminated the cold stone walls surrounding him.

He gathered a surge of lightning into his palm and fired it at the wall.

*Zzz⚡️*

To his surprise, the attack left no trace — not even the slightest crack.

Outside, Marco watched with a grim expression. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple as every muscle in his body tensed.

It wasn’t just that Daniel’s lightning had become ineffective. The air inside the stone prison was steadily diminishing.

The longer Daniel remained trapped, the harder it would become for him to breathe.

"This is bad. I told you it’d be one-sided," Denver said quietly beside Marco.

Beck folded his arms. "If your student can’t break out within three minutes, I’ll declare my student the winner," he said with a faint, confident smile.

Marco didn’t reply. He kept his eyes fixed on the stone prison, silently praying Daniel would find a way out.

The spectators fell silent.

From within the stone prison came the relentless roar of thunder, each deafening blast echoing across the training grounds.

Even from outside, they could sense Daniel pouring everything he had into his attacks.

However, despite the relentless barrage, nothing changed. Half of the allotted three minutes had already slipped away.

"Haah... haah..." Daniel gasped, his breaths growing increasingly shallow. "The air... its—"

His vision blurred slightly as the lack of oxygen inside made every breath a struggle.

’Fuck... I’m going to pass out. If this doesn’t work... I’m finished.’

...

A minute and a half later.

*Clap-Clap*

"Okay, its ove—"

Before Beck could finish his sentence—

*BzZZAP!!*

A flash of lightning burst out from the stone prison and shot toward Ronick in the blink of an eye, striking him square in the chest and hurling him several meters before he slammed onto the ground with a solid thud.

"Aaaagh!" Ronick cried out.

The instant he hit the ground, the massive stone prison began to crack.

*Crack... Crack... Crack!*

In the very next second—

*KABOOOM!!*

The entire structure exploded apart, sending shattered chunks of stone flying in every direction.

Daniel stepped out from the wreckage, his arms trembling, the air around him vibrating as arcs of lightning crackled and danced across his palms like living creatures.

His hair stood on end, while sparks of electricity danced across his arms, legs, and the rest of his body.

The spectators fell into stunned silence before erupting in shock. Even Marco and Denver were left speechless — especially Beck, whose confident smile vanished.

Ronick lay motionless on the ground, showing no response.

*Clap Clap! Clap! Clap!!*

Denver stepped forward and raised his hand.

"We have a winner!" he announced.

The spectators erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.

Many of them had never witnessed such an intense battle between young shamans.

Some of the Water-element shamans excitedly turned to their master, eager to challenge the other students to friendly spars of their own.

Denver simply shook his head. "No. None of you will spar until you’ve mastered every form."

Several of Beck’s students rushed over to Ronick, carefully lifting him before carrying him to Queena, who was already tending to the injured.

With the battle finally over, Daniel turned and walked toward his comrades.

But as he drew closer, stray arcs of lightning crackled from his body and struck those around him.

"Ow! Daniel, stop it!" Brad yelped, rubbing his arm after a small jolt of electricity.

"Ouch!"

"Daniel! Stop! The match is over!"

One after another, his comrades winced as they were zapped whenever they tried to get close, forcing them to keep their distance.

"I can’t," Daniel replied, his voice filled with genuine frustration. "It’s not under my control."

"Oh no..." Marco muttered as he cautiously stepped toward Daniel.

*Zap!*