Chapter 6: Breaking the Sky
The courtyard was silent.
The only sound was the steady rhythm of Lin Xuan's breathing as he sat cross-legged within a glowing cultivation array.
Earth-grade spirit stones surrounded him in a precise pattern, each radiating dense qi. The Flameheart Spirit Fruit rested in the center, slowly releasing its fiery essence, merging with the flows of energy from the stones.
Lin Xuan's meridians thrummed like stretched strings, qi surging through him like floodwaters. The Origin Chaos Sutra spun faster, drawing in every scrap of spiritual energy within reach.
His dantian roared.
> [Peak Body Refinement → Qi Condensation Realm: Stage 1]
The breakthrough came like a crashing wave—violent, unstoppable.
Power flooded him, reinforcing every fiber of his being. His qi condensed into a thicker, purer liquid form within his dantian, coiling in a black-gold spiral.
And then… the sky growled.
---
Heaven's Fury
A deep, oppressive weight pressed down from above, so heavy Lin Xuan nearly lost consciousness. The once-clear morning darkened in seconds. Clouds boiled together in the skies over Stormwind Peak, swirling into a vortex of shadow and lightning.
High above, arcs of silver-white thunder danced between the clouds.
> Heavenly Tribulation Detected
Lin Xuan's eyes widened. "Already?! I just broke through!"
He remembered nothing in this body's memories about tribulation at the Qi Condensation Realm. Then it struck him—the truth.
A divine physique… triple-element affinity… celestial-grade spirit veins… upgraded cultivation art…
All of it had made his cultivation advance beyond the limits the heavens usually tolerated at this stage.
He was violating the natural order.
---
Sect Alarm
Elsewhere in the sect, elders emerged from meditation, their faces pale as they gazed at the swirling clouds.
"What is going on? This is tribulation lightning."
"But no one should be attempting it here—Tribulation Valley is the only designated location!"
"Find the disciple immediately before the backlash harms the sect grounds."
Several extended their spiritual senses toward the source… only to frown.
"…Something is blocking my perception."
"I can't see who it is."
---
Flight
Lin Xuan felt the danger in every hair on his body. "If they see me in the middle of this…"
Without a second thought, he gathered his qi into his Void Phantom Movement Art and vanished from his courtyard, racing toward the outer edge of the sect grounds.
The tribulation clouds followed like a predator locked onto its prey.
He broke into the forest beyond the walls, leaping from boulder to boulder until he found a rocky clearing deep within the wilds.
The moment he stopped, the first bolt descended.
---
The Helmet's Secret
The lightning tore through the air like a divine spear. Lin Xuan raised his spear in reflex—only for the blow to be intercepted by a faint silver glow radiating from the helmet that housed his Celestial-Grade Spatial Forge.
The strike didn't blast him apart—it sank into him.
Instead of searing pain, he felt a deep, electric heat spreading through his body.
> [Tribulation Lightning Absorption: 100% Efficiency]
[Heavenly Cleansing Initiated]
A golden diagram appeared in his mind, showing his flesh, bones, blood, marrow, meridians, and spirit veins—each area pulsing as lightning flowed into it, burning away every lingering impurity.
So the forge can block heavenly sense… and force the lightning to cleanse me instead of destroy me.
Lin Xuan gritted his teeth and stood tall. "Then… give me everything you've got!"
---
Baptism by Thunder
The second bolt slammed down, then the third. Each one stronger, sharper, but his divine physique drank them in like a starving beast. His qi swelled in power, the triple elements inside him roaring in resonance—fire burned brighter, lightning sparked sharper, and space warped faintly around his body.
He roared, swinging his spear upward, splitting the next bolt into two streams that coiled around him before sinking into his skin.
> [Flesh: Cleansed]
[Bones: Tempered]
[Blood: Vitality Increased]
[Marrow: Purified]
[Meridians: Reinforced]
[Spirit Veins: Expanded]
By the time the seventh and final bolt struck, Lin Xuan stood unshaken, qi surging like a tidal wave inside him.
---
Aftermath
The clouds dispersed as quickly as they had formed, leaving the forest eerily calm.
Lin Xuan exhaled, feeling the difference in every movement—his body lighter, his strength deeper, his qi flowing as smooth as silk.
But the sect elders would still be looking for whoever caused the disturbance.
Without wasting another breath, he vanished into the forest shadows, slipping back toward his courtyard unseen.
By the time the elders scoured the area, all they found were scorched rocks and the faint scent of ozone.
Lin Xuan, meanwhile, sat cross-legged once again—helmet on the table beside him—calmly sipping tea as though nothing had happened.
[System Alert: successful passing of tribulation, upgrade token X10]