This is the Hammer of Thor, his innate weapon.
In his previous life, upon his coming of age, Father God commissioned dwarf artisans to extract the core of a dying planet, forging this Hammer of Thor. It possessed the weight of a planet, and no one besides him could lift it.
Through it, he gained the power of the Thunder God, the authority of the Thunder God.
Thereafter, this hammer accompanied him on campaigns, conquering lands far and wide, achieving great renown.
Through countless ages and tribulations, not a single mark was left upon it.
Even after he was betrayed and killed, this hammer, carrying his soul, traversed countless planes and universes, arriving in the Thunderwind Realm.
It burned all its lightning and essence. Its once bright runes dimmed to nothingness. It lost all its Thunder God authority, becoming an ordinary hammer, solely to facilitate his rebirth.
Upon arriving here, when he was still weak, it had always protected him, using its runes to bestow upon him life-saving skills like lightning evasion, lightning defense, and teleportation, helping him overcome perilous situations.
As he grew, it used its unyielding, rock-solid body to clear his path, slaying numerous powerful foes.
Through it all, as his constant companion, while everyone else might leave him, the Hammer of Thor never would.
It could be said that for Wan Lei, the Hammer of Thor had long ceased to be merely a weapon. It was his partner, his friend, his most loyal comrade-in-arms!
Yet today, this old friend had died, sacrificing itself before him.
Wan Lei did not view it as an artifact, or a weapon. He did not see it as merely broken or ruined, but rather as a comrade, a comrade who had sacrificed himself for him.
Wan Lei had always believed that the Hammer of Thor would accompany him forever. He had also intended to find the Nine Primal Thunders for the Hammer of Thor, to make it even stronger.
But he had never considered the possibility that one day, the quality and grade of the Hammer of Thor might no longer keep pace with his cultivation realm.
Indeed, the Hammer of Thor was forged from the core of a planet, and in the mortal realm, it was indeed indomitable.
But his enemies were Immortals.
What were Immortals? To say they could destroy a universe might be an exaggeration, as not every Immortal was on the level of the Six Great Immortals of the past.
But destroying a planet? That was likely as easy as flipping one's palm.
The Hammer of Thor, which had been invincible in the past, had finally, one day, faced an unparalleled enemy and endured an unbearable burden.
Wan Lei remained kneeling on the ground, unable to accept the loss of the Hammer of Thor.
The last time he had been so grief-stricken that he broke down was when Qi Manyao died.
This time, his grief was even more profound.
Nine bolts of lightning of different colors, crackling with electricity, approached Wan Lei.
One of the bolts transformed into the shape of Gouzi.
"Hey, what are you doing? Are you kneeling there to surrender to the enemy? You coward, get up and fight! The enemy isn't dead yet!"
Gouzi flew in front of Wan Lei, pointing at his nose and roaring.
"We... might not be able to defeat the enemy this time."
Wan Lei's expression was dejected. He lowered his head, not looking ahead.
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? You are the Thunder God! How can the Thunder God surrender so easily?"
"What Thunder God? What a load of crap! The Hammer of Thor is gone, the authority of the Thunder God is gone. What am I, the Thunder God, anymore!"
Wan Lei's voice was choked with tears. When he looked up, his face was streaked with them.
He was also human, possessing emotions and desires. He would feel sadness, fear, and when faced with defeat, he would choose dejection, evasion, and despair.
This was something everyone, even every intelligent being, experienced. As long as you had feelings and emotions, you could not escape these things.
But the difference lay in what came after facing defeat and succumbing to despair: whether one would rise again to face the formidable enemy or simply surrender.
These two choices determined whether one was a hero or a coward.
"Without the Hammer of Thor, you won't fight? Without a hammer, don't you still have your fists?
Without the Hammer of Thor, are you no longer the Thunder God? You are the Thunder God, are you the God of Hammers?
You say the authority of the Thunder God originates from the Hammer of Thor. So, if one day your hammer is stolen by someone else, does that person become the Thunder God?
What if your authority as the Thunder God originates from yourself? You are your own authority, you can control the divine punishment yourself, you are the will of the gods, and no one can snatch it away from you."
The little yellow dog pointed into the distance.
"Look at them – Old Fang, Fang Wenhui, Zhao Mingyu, Huofeng, Yuan Jun, Huowu. Aren't they all weaker than you, but did they retreat?
When you were in despair and dejected, they held up a wall for you, using their meager Tribulation Crossing cultivation to withstand the attacks of Immortals. They are still protecting you. What right do you have to retreat? What power do you have to be dejected?
Even the time you are here wallowing in self-pity was bought for you by them!"
Wan Lei raised his head and looked into the distance. The ten Tribulation Crossing powerhouses of the Thunder Emperor Alliance were engaging the Immortal realm's Liu Naiweng with their mortal bodies.
Liu Naiweng was slaughtering them mercilessly.
Zhao Mingyu's arm was broken.
Old Fang lay on the ground, unable to rise.
Fang Wenhui roared, burning his essence.
Huofeng and the other two used their flames to create barriers.
Even the most timid and weakest, the helmsman of the Heavenly Tribulation, was roaring and fighting.
Fang Xiaoyu was at the forefront, taking the brunt of Liu Naiweng's attacks.
Even the demon race's Thousand Birds Demon Commander was now fighting Liu Naiweng, because the one he wanted to protect was his friend behind him!
And he, Wan Lei, was still kneeling here, mourning his hammer.
The sight of everyone fighting valiantly made Wan Lei's eyes well up with tears again.
He stood up, and a fire of battle rekindled in his eyes.
Before him were the Nine Primal Thunders.
Even though the Hammer of Thor had shattered, and they had lost their home, they had not abandoned Wan Lei. They continued to protect him.
"Thank you. Now, I will find a new home for you. As long as I am alive, you will never disappear!"
Lightning flashed in Wan Lei's eyes.
"Nature's Thunder, return!"
A bolt of ordinary, colorless lightning instantly entered Wan Lei's body.
"Cultivation Thunder, return!"
The deep blue lightning, vast like the ocean, returned.
"Gengjin Divine Thunder, return!"
"Yimu Divine Thunder, return!"
"Kuiswater Divine Thunder, return!"
"Bingfire Divine Thunder, return!"
"Xutugod Thunder, return!"
"Heavenly Dao Thunder, return!"
"Origin Thunder, return!"
Wan Lei roared to the heavens. The little yellow dog chuckled and instantly melted into Wan Lei's body.
The nine Primal Thunders of different attributes fused within Wan Lei's body, and the authority of the Heavenly Dao descended!
"Nine Thunders Return! I am the true Thunder God!"