The broken diamond shield slowly mended together after the old man poured his true essence on it. The shield looked even sturdier, but he was still not reassured. 

"Sky Rendering Sword Phantom! Release!" 

A gigantic sword phantom soared through the skies, leaving behind a trail of brilliant light in its path.

Boooooommmm!!!

The old man's attack managed to block five lightning bolts and the remaining ones streaked towards him while producing zapping sounds in the air. 

Baaannggg! 

The Sky Diamond Protective Halo only managed to block three bolts of lightning, so the old man was struck by the remaining bolts.

His face contorted in pain and his body spasmed after having been exposed to high voltage of electricity. Several burn marks appeared on his body and small parts of his flesh were also torn off. 

The most surprising thing of all was that the roof he was standing on seemed to be undamaged even after it was struck by the streaks of lightning! However, the old man was too preoccupied with the pain he was feeling that he failed to notice anything about this. 

"Argh! That fucking hurts! Goddammit!" The old man who was always civilized and always acted like a refined sage cursed out before hissing in pain. 

"I almost thought I would die right there. Luckily, the painting on the store's second floor somehow managed to enhance my power. If I'm not wrong those paintings should be drawn by an Immortal Painter. Truly incredible! I wonder if those are made by Wine Master Jiu..." The old man muttered as he slowly sat cross-legged. He then stared at the sky that was slowly turning bright.

The flashes of lightning were already gone since he had successfully broken through the Nascent God Realm. 

"I can't believe I managed to break through to the Nascent God Realm even after failing once. I have to admit that Wine Master Jiu did me a huge favor this time and also that stupid brat Elyk." He said with a smile before he closed his eyes to meditate. He still has to consolidate his strength after that breakthrough. Although he was already a Nascent God Realm expert, he still has to stabilize his realm to prevent future problems from occurring.

After the old man's breakthrough, his control of spiritual power increased by a huge margin. He could now freely control his spiritual perception, but of course, his skill in using spiritual perception was not even half to that of Jiu Shen's. Even so, it was still a huge improvement for him in terms of combat prowess and spiritual power. 

The old man looked at his dantian through his spiritual perception and gasped in surprise. 'So this is how a Nascent God Realm's dantian looks like. Not to mention the enhancement of my internal organs, blood vessels, bones, and even my skin. I'm finally a Nascent God Realm expert! With my power, our Silver Wing Empire will now have a voice in the Alliance!' 

After a little more than thirty minutes, the old man stood up and stretched his limbs and neck.

"Oh shoot! I forgot about the store! I wonder how it is after being struck by my tribulation lightning!? I hope nothing is... Hm?!" He exclaimed when he saw the pristine condition of the roof. It remained spotlessly clean without even a hint of a blemish in all corners. 

"What the hell?! Even the imperial palace would be in ruins if it was struck by a bolt of tribulation lightning! How come the store is still... Sigh! Why am I even surprised? The owner of this store is someone who is already at the Nascent God Realm, so it should not be impossible for him to have made his store like an impenetrable fortress..." The old man chuckled with a wry smile. 

"I should go back inside and thank Wine Master Jiu for this huge opportunity. How can I even repay this kind of debt? Sigh." He sighed while shaking his head. 

Inside the store, all the customers looked very calm despite the loud explosions that they have heard more than thirty minutes ago. 

"Looks like those damned lightning strikes are now gone. Wait. Let me go and check it out." A customer stood up and peeked through the windows. He then turned to face everyone with an ecstatic look on his face.

"Everyone, the sky is now clear!"

Everyone broke into cheers after hearing his words. A few smart customers left the store since they were afraid that Theia might kick them out for overstaying. Some others also left after realizing that, while several people remained to order more wines. 

Inside the second floor, Jiu Shen leaned on his chair while hugging a sleeping little girl in his arms. He wore a calm look as he gently caressed the little girl's chubby face with the back of his hand. 'This little girl is actually able to sleep even with that tribulation lightning outside...' He thought as he looked at the little girl's face with a hint of warmth. 

Jiu Shen did a motion with his fingers and teleported the girl to their room. 

Everyone saw this, but they remained silent. Who among them did not know that Jiu Shen was a Nascent God Realm expert? 

They were not surprised when they saw that he was able to control the element of space with such expertise since only those at his level could manipulate the element of space with such ease. However, they were still overawed by how casual he made it look.

"Wine Master Jiu, how is my father? Is he alright?" The emperor asked with a worried look. It was already more than thirty minutes after the sky returned to normal, but there were still no signs from the old man, so he felt a bit anxious about his father's state. 

Jiu Shen stared at him and replied calmly. "Don't worry, Elyk. Your father was able to break through to the Nascent God Realm and he is just stabilizing his realm. He should be here any time by now." 

Everyone inside the second floor revealed a look of shock when they heard that. After all, the Nascent God Realm was something that was so far from their reach...