The next day, Meng Haize summoned his spirit boat and, with Yan Xiaosan and the others in tow, rushed in a flurry toward the Meng Family Academy.
He had been only a hair's breadth away from breaking through anyway; the only reason he had not taken that final step was that he could not suppress the anxiety in his heart or steady his state of mind. Now that he had obtained the Guoyuan Pill given by Mu Jian, his confidence in surviving this heavenly tribulation had increased by a full thirty percent.
Consequently, he could no longer hold himself back at this moment; closing his eyes tightly, he was ready to just go for it.
Driven by Meng Haize, who spared no spirit stones to maximize the boat's speed, the spirit boat arrived at the Meng Family Academy in no time.
All around, rolling mountains rose and fell in overlapping ridges, their verdant, lush peaks winding on endlessly. White mist drifted through the mountains, dreamlike and illusory, giving off a sense of both mystery and solemnity. Amidst this mist-shrouded environment, a majestic and imposing academy quietly stood atop the peak.
Stepping off the flying boat, Meng Haize led the group straight to the tribulation grounds, instructing the guards along the way to notify his elder sister. Naturally, the guards at the academy gates would never dare to stop their own young master.
By the time Meng Yanzhuo received the news and rushed to the tribulation grounds, she happened to catch sight of her younger brother holding a bottle of pills with an expression of intense excitement.
She walked straight up to him and flicked him firmly on the forehead.
Meng Haize flew into a rage. Who dared to show him such disrespect right here in the academy? But when he saw it was his elder sister, Meng Yanzhuo, he shrank his head back like a frightened quail.
Yan Xiaosan: "......"
All his efforts spent trying to help Meng Haize calm his mind for so long weren't even as effective as a single slap from Meng Yanzhuo.
Tugging on Meng Haize's ear, Meng Yanzhuo scolded him, "Have you lost your mind? You've made it through these past few years just fine, and now, right at the final threshold, you're getting cocky on me? Sit down in meditation and clear your mind!"
Then, turning around: "Oh, what a lovely child! Come, let big sister give you a kiss~"
Only after seeing Meng Haize scurry off obediently to meditate did she set her mind at ease and greet Yan Xiaosan and his companions.
Yesterday, she had already learned about the Guoyuan Pill from Meng Haize's message, and in her heart, she felt deeply grateful that her brother had managed to befriend Yan Xiaosan that day. First came the Put Chai Ko, and now Mu Jian's Guoyuan Pill.
Meng Yanzhuo bowed deeply to Yan Xiaosan and Mu Jian.
Yan Xiaosan hurriedly stopped Meng Yanzhuo, waving his hands at her. "Meng Haize is our friend, and he doesn't stand on ceremony with us. Sister Yanzhuo is being much too formal."
Hearing Yan Xiaosan treat her brother as one of their own in every word he spoke, Meng Yanzhuo felt an even greater surge of gratitude. But business was business; the Meng family would never fail to repay a kindness they were owed.
"The Northern Wasteland Meng Family will forever be the friend of Brother Yan and Brother Mu."
While they were talking, the academy's guardian elders received the message and arrived one after another.
When Meng Haize opened his eyes again, his state of mind had already steadied. The playful eagerness in his gaze was gone, replaced by a rare composure. He nodded to everyone watching him, turned around, and leaped onto the tribulation platform.
Every major faction built a specialized area dedicated to overcoming tribulations. This ensured that their disciples would not be disturbed while making their breakthroughs, allowing them to throw themselves entirely into surviving the tribulation, and enabling timely rescue operations afterward should the need arise.
Meng Haize took out the Guoyuan Pill and swallowed it without the slightest hesitation. Instantly, he felt a surge of mighty energy flood into his body. He clenched his fists tightly, channeling all the surging spiritual power within him as he charged fiercely toward the barrier that had trapped him for so long, looking like a burning shooting star.
At the same time, the dark clouds in the sky began to churn violently, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand. Dazzling bolts of lightning slashed across the vast sky, accompanied by deafening thunderclaps that could chill anyone to the bone.
Immediately afterward, the first thick bolt of lightning plummeted from the heavens like a giant silver claw, striking savagely at Meng Haize with ferocious momentum.
Meng Haize threw up a barrier of black water, blocking the first bolt of tribulation lightning.
"It won't be difficult for Meng Haize to endure the first three bolts of lightning. Given his talent, the tribulation is likely to be no less than nine bolts. The later ones are where he will truly have to risk his life."
Mu Jian did not miss the flash of puzzlement in the depths of Yan Xiaosan's eyes, and spoke up to explain to him.
Hearing this, Yan Xiaosan was momentarily stunned and nodded instinctively. What he found puzzling wasn't Meng Haize's ability to withstand the lightning. What confused him was why the heavenly tribulation in the sky gave him such a familiar feeling.
Right behind it, the second and third thick bolts of lightning tore across the firmament, striking fiercely down upon Meng Haize below.
Under the onslaught of the third tribulation bolt, the black water barrier shattered with a loud crash, leaving behind a number of injuries on Meng Haize's body. The wounds were not severe and healed almost instantly, but as he looked at the fourth bolt of lightning gathering within the thunderclouds above, the grave expression on his face deepened.
He was already starting to get injured by the mere third bolt of lightning.
Every time one crossed a major cultivation realm past the Golden Core stage, one had to undergo a tribulation. The realm-crossing tribulation had a few classifications: the most ordinary kind, with very little accumulation, consisted of three lightning bolts; those with some talent and a certain amount of accumulated foundation for crossing the realm faced six lightning bolts; and those with extraordinary talent who had pushed their realm to the extreme limit encountered nine lightning bolts. Beyond that, even among the nine-bolt tribulations, there were distinctions of high and low...
Although one could not blindly claim that someone with fewer tribulation bolts was necessarily inferior in strength or future prospects compared to someone with more, the adage that more bolts meant someone was stronger than fewer applied to ninety-nine percent of cultivators.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth bolts of lightning crashed down. By this point, Meng Haize was drenched in blood, and some of his wounds could no longer heal quickly, yet he still gritted his teeth and persisted.
"Yuan Spirit Pearl, Realm of Yuan Spirit."
A pitch-black orb appeared in Meng Haize's right hand, and taking himself as the focal point, he summoned a domain of black water.
The seventh and eighth bolts of lightning fell, and the black water surged forward to contend with the tribulation lightning.
With every bolt of lightning that fell, wounds deep enough to expose bone were left on Meng Haize's body. His skin was scorched black by the lightning, and his hair became brittle and charred yellow, as if a gentle touch would cause it to scatter into flyash.
Yet Meng Haize did not give up. He stared intently at the thunderclouds in the sky, his eyes flashing with a resolute light.
As time passed, the thunderclouds churned more and more fiercely. The gathering momentum of the tribulation began to weigh heavily on Meng Haize, and his body started to sway unsteadily. His breathing grew rapid, and his chest heaved violently as if he could barely catch his breath. Even so, he gritted his teeth, bracing himself to face the baptism of the final bolt of lightning.
The ninth tribulation lightning rushed at Meng Haize like a ferocious giant flood dragon! Facing such formidable power, Meng Haize did not dare to retreat even the slightest bit.
To step back was to die.
He gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of strength he had into meeting this fatal blow. The spiritual pearl in his right hand flashed with blinding brilliance as a phantom of the Black Tortoise materialized behind him!
"Yuan Spirit Pearl, externalize the Black Tortoise, defend!"
Although Meng Haize had exhausted every trick at his disposal, the power of the tribulation was simply too immense. He still felt an unprecedented pressure bearing down on him. Beads of sweat as large as beans slid down his forehead, and his body shook desperately from being unable to withstand the overwhelming energy.
Deep within his body, the Guoyuan Pill seemed to sense Meng Haize's desperate plight. Finally displaying the renowned might of a divine medicine of the sea abyss, it once again erupted with massive energy, mobilizing the viscous and heavy special spiritual qi in his Dantian to shroud Meng Haize's entire body.
Although he had previously sensed that the medicinal power of this Guoyuan Pill was rather overwhelming for him, and despite having already consumed a portion of it earlier, it still made him stumble and drop to his knees.
Damn Guoyuan Pill, you're going to get me killed.
The Black Tortoise vanished, and the tribulation lightning struck straight down.
"Meng Haize!"
With a sorrowful cry, Meng Yanzhuo lunged forward.
An elder hastily pulled her back. If an outsider entered the range of the heavenly tribulation at this moment, Meng Haize would truly have zero chance of survival.
Amidst everyone's anxious gazes, the thunderclouds finally dissipated, revealing the battered state of the tribulation platform ravaged by the lightning.
Meng Haize lay prone on the ground, motionless.
The world went black before Meng Yanzhuo's eyes, and she was about to drop to her knees.
"Sis, I'm fine."
On the tribulation platform, Meng Haize tremblingly raised his right hand...
And gave a thumbs-up.