Chapter 53 : Protector

In the midst of her comprehension, Yun Lian suddenly opened her eyes wide, instinctively gazing toward the sky in the direction from which the oppressive force emanated.

Dark clouds churned, like a giant beast writhing its enormous body.

And that rumbling thunder was its low, threatening growl.

“Lightning tribulation!”

Yun Lian’s pupils shrank as she quickly rose to her feet, surprised.

Has someone broken through?

Almost immediately, Yun Lian thought of Ling Xi.

That somewhat noisy, overly lively, and not-yet-fully-grown “senior sister” she’d picked up on the cheap.

This tribulation cloud also matched the scale of the advancement from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core.

But, how long had it been since Ling Xi reached the peak of Foundation Establishment? Five days, three days…

No, one day!

Because the moment she reached peak Foundation Establishment, she couldn’t wait to come challenge her “senior brother” to a fight.

And yet, not even half an hour has passed since then…

She’s already going to break through?

Isn’t this way too fast!

And how old is she, anyway!

Sixteen, and already breaking through to the first stage of Golden Core, cultivating even faster than herself—a sixth-grade variant spiritual root…

Is there any justice in the world?

She can’t possibly be a seventh-grade mysterious spiritual root, right?

She herself had taken a full half a year to go from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core.

And even that was considered quick.

Did the Hehuan Sect give her lots of resources?

From what she’d observed and sensed, that wasn’t necessarily the case…

Her own elder sister, as the Saintess of the Sacred Sect, received the sect’s full nurturing.

At sixteen, she had just barely entered the Golden Core realm.

So why could Ling Xi cultivate so quickly…

Thinking about this, Yun Lian couldn’t help but feel a little aggrieved and depressed.

Watching her “senior sister” achieve the same realm at a younger age was even more upsetting than being stuck at a bottleneck herself.

Wait a minute…

Was she missing some key information?

Hehuan Sect…

Hehuan Art…

The sect’s only male, the equally gifted “senior brother” Chen Yuyang…

A battle…

Breakthrough after the battle…

Yun Lian felt there was something strange, but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

…

Meanwhile, on the steps outside the main hall of the sect.

Hearing Tai Lingxuan’s words, Chen Yuyang finally realized that this was a lightning tribulation.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t recognize it, but rather that he’d been so preoccupied with his own thoughts just now that he hadn’t noticed.

“Ling Xi is breaking through already?”

Chen Yuyang was genuinely surprised.

“Yes, the tribulation clouds are already here—there’s no mistake.” Tai Lingxuan nodded, continuing, “No need to worry, Yuyang. The protective techniques of the Hehuan Art are very strong. Your junior sister will have no trouble withstanding the lightning tribulation. However, if she’s going to cross this tribulation, why didn’t she inform me beforehand?”

From Foundation Establishment to Golden Core—this would be a cultivator’s first time facing the heavenly tribulation.

But this stage’s tribulation wasn’t too severe.

With careful preparation, there was usually little problem.

But…

Chen Yuyang suddenly thought of something, and quickly tugged Tai Lingxuan’s sleeve.

“Master, I’m afraid it won’t be that easy… Junior Sister had just fought with me not long ago, her spiritual power is almost completely depleted. She probably hasn’t recovered to her peak yet.”

“The reason she didn’t tell you is probably because, just like you, she broke through all at once, without warning.”

“What!”

“Broke through all at once!”

Tai Lingxuan murmured, casting an odd glance at the youth.

However, she didn’t say much more, but immediately soared into the sky.

“In that case, I’ll go protect your junior sister myself.”

With that, Tai Lingxuan immediately headed toward the mountain where Ling Xi was.

Chen Yuyang’s expression grew somewhat solemn.

Even if someone was protecting her, it didn’t mean she was absolutely safe.

On the contrary, the stronger the protector, the more terrifying the heavenly tribulation’s might would be.

All things considered…

He’d better go and take a look himself.

Thinking thus, Chen Yuyang didn’t hesitate.

After Tai Lingxuan left, he too quietly flew after her.

…

On the mountaintop, inside the courtyard.

Ling Xi hadn’t expected that, as she was recovering her spiritual power, she would suddenly break through.

What the heck!

She wasn’t even at her peak right now.

For the lightning tribulation to descend now—was it coming for her life?

Her expression shifted repeatedly, but Ling Xi quickly took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and prepared to withstand the heavenly tribulation.

But with less than thirty percent of her spiritual power in her body, she felt guilty and unsure.

And what made her even more uneasy…

Why did this lightning contain both purple radiance and golden light?

If Chen Yuyang were nearby, he would immediately recognize this as a sign of the Flood Dragon Roar Lightning Tribulation.

It meant that, with the last bolt or two, the tribulation would manifest the shadow of a flood dragon, causing damage several times stronger than a regular tribulation.

If she withstood it, she would leap like a fish over the dragon gate.

If she failed, at best her cultivation would be ruined; at worst, she would die and her Dao would vanish.

Tai Lingxuan arrived swiftly, looking up as she approached.

Just by coming near, the heavenly tribulation reacted—the lightning grew more condensed, the power even more formidable.

“Master!”

Seeing who had come, Ling Xi was delighted and quickly called out.

But Tai Lingxuan immediately raised her hand, her voice deep:

“Focus on forming your Golden Core—the rest, leave to your teacher!”

Ling Xi paused, then her eyes brightened, and she quickly nodded.

In the sky, the tribulation clouds churned, growing denser and deeper with each passing breath.

Hiding behind a crooked old tree on the neighboring mountain, Chen Yuyang shook his head at the scene.

“That’s not the right way to act as a protector.”

“Master directly displaying her power will only cause the tribulation’s might to multiply several times, or even tenfold.”

“She can withstand it, but if even a sliver of that tribulation leaks onto Junior Sister Ling Xi, it’ll at least seriously injure her, if not kill her.”

From his hundred lifetimes of research into heavenly tribulations, Chen Yuyang knew that the correct way to act as a protector was actually to let the tribulation-crosser do nothing to prepare, and to “lower their own fighting strength” as much as possible before the tribulation started.

Then, when the lightning tribulation descended, have someone of a similar realm hold the tribulation-crosser’s treasures and act as the protector.

That way, from the start, the tribulation’s power would be at the weakest possible level for that realm.

Although the protector would strengthen the tribulation’s power, if their cultivation wasn’t high, the increase would be limited—possibly even weaker than if the tribulation-crosser had used their own treasures.

Because the tribulation only regarded the protector’s strength, not what treasures they were holding.

This could be considered an exploit of the heavenly law’s rules.

Of course, only someone like Chen Yuyang, who had crossed countless tribulations, would know this.

With Tai Lingxuan at the fifth level of the Integration Realm, no matter how strong Junior Sister Ling Xi’s lightning tribulation was, Tai Lingxuan could handle it.

After all, it was only a Golden Core-level tribulation—there was a limit to its strength.

But, with Tai Lingxuan’s presence, the Flood Dragon Roar Lightning Tribulation manifested a phantom flood dragon with the very first strike.

Although the lightning hadn’t struck yet, the dragon’s might already caused Ling Xi’s spiritual power to flow sluggishly, her mind violently shaken.

“Dragon might—Master, use your dragon might to counter it!”

Nearby, Chen Yuyang watched anxiously, muttering to himself.

He knew the right answer, but could only watch as the other party made a mistake.

The feeling was unbearably itchy.

Fortunately, Tai Lingxuan seemed to suddenly remember something, and true dragon scales appeared on the back of her hand.

Though it was only a wisp of true dragon might, it was enough to firmly suppress the flood dragon’s pressure.

Ling Xi took a deep breath, closed her eyes, circulated her cultivation method, and focused on compressing the still-liquid spiritual power in her sea of qi and dantian to the utmost, refining it into a core.

The first bolt of lightning struck.

Tai Lingxuan stood at Ling Xi’s side, raised her hand, and released a burst of spiritual power.

No fancy technique—just a highly condensed mass of spiritual power—yet it easily shattered the lightning that had transformed into a flood dragon’s shadow.

The second bolt of lightning fell.

This time, Tai Lingxuan rose into the air, meeting the lightning head-on to prevent its power from scattering and disrupting Ling Xi’s core formation.

The second lightning bolt, too, was easily destroyed.

Then the third, the fourth…

A normal Foundation Establishment lightning tribulation had only three bolts.

But this was the Flood Dragon Roar Lightning Tribulation, so there would be at least six.

But to Tai Lingxuan, at the fifth level of the Integration Realm, even nine or eighteen strikes were nothing.

As Tai Lingxuan felt the strength of the tribulation, she gradually relaxed.

This was her first time actively protecting a disciple.

So at first, she’d been quite nervous.

But now it seemed the tribulation wasn’t strong at all—at most equal to a Golden Core-level full-power strike.

Even with her intervention making it exponentially stronger, it was merely like a Nascent Soul-level strike, still unqualified even to scratch her.

Now came the final bolt.

Sensing the weakening power within the tribulation clouds, Tai Lingxuan let out a silent sigh of relief.

The flood dragon lightning shadow crashed down.

This time, Tai Lingxuan didn’t even release spiritual power—she simply stepped forward and took it with her physical body.

Though Tai Lingxuan wasn’t specialized in the physical body, this last bolt of lightning was still utterly harmless to her.

The flood dragon lightning shadow shattered.

A smile finally appeared on Tai Lingxuan’s face.

It was over…

Was it really over?

Suddenly, Tai Lingxuan noticed that although the final bolt of lightning had fallen, for some reason, the tribulation clouds hadn’t dispersed.

What was happening?

Tai Lingxuan was puzzled, but suddenly sensed a surge of lightning power quickly gathering beneath and behind her.

A mighty flood dragon lightning shadow was condensing from the shattered lightning, becoming solid in an instant, and lunged straight toward Ling Xi below!