Chapter 400: Chapter 400

The Clans and Sects: A World on Edge

Throughout Hidden Valley, the great powers were awakening from their complacency, sensing the gathering storm.

In the stronghold of the Hei Clan, Hei Yanshi stood, her gaze fixated on an intricate map of ley lines spread before her, her fan quivering in her grip. "Fifty bolts?" she whispered, dread mingling with exhilaration. "If he survives this, he will be untouchable."

Her advisors exchanged nervous glances. "Should we intervene?" one suggested.

"No," she snapped, her voice as sharp as lightning itself. "We observe. We prepare. And if the person falls... then we strike."

In the Crimson Feather Pavilion, elders convened in a solemn circle, their robes shimmering with protective talismans that flickered like starlight. "This is not merely a tribulation," one elder intoned gravely. "This is a declaration of war."

In the Iron Bell Monastery, monks rang the bell — not to summon the faithful, but as a warning to a world unready for the storm. "The heavens are envious," the abbot declared, his tone heavy with foreboding. "And envy is the most merciless of judges."

In the Moonshadow Courtyard, a gathering of rogue cultivators weighed their options as whispers of panic swirled among them. "If he survives," one warned, his voice low and tense, "he’ll come for us. And he will remember those who doubted him."

In the Beast Tamers’ Grove, spirit beasts cried out in a haunting chorus of despair, a white tiger howled from within its confines, breaking free to bow to the tumultuous sky. "The bloodline stirs," its handler murmured, eyes wide with awe and fear. "This storm is more than a divine clash; it is ancestral."

The Entire Valley Holds Its Breath

As the lightning count surged to thirty bolts, each flash exploded with an intensity fiercer than the last.

Each bolt became a trial — testing the body, soul, and the very fabric of destiny itself.

Yet, through it all, Shi Min stood resilient.

The valley held its breath,

Watching with bated breath,

And waiting for the storm to unfold.

Tampering Phase: Bolts 31–40 — The Soul Begins to Crack

The Tampering phase of Shi Min’s tribulation begins. The lightning grows more ferocious, testing the limits of his mortal body.

The thirty-first bolt descended like a harbinger of destiny, a relentless judgment that struck without mercy. It neither ignited nor condemned; instead, it wielded the power to reshape. Thus, the Tampering phase commenced.

Having obliterated, refined, and scrutinized Shi Min, the heavens now sought to reconstruct him, but the process was anything but tender. Each bolt rang out like the hammer of an ancient blacksmith, reverberating through the very core of his being. With every collision, his soul, body, and fate were remolded, reshaped into something new and unrecognizable.

The thirty-second bolt shattered his spiritual lattice, violent cracks echoing through his essence as it imploded under the immense pressure, only to frantically reweave itself anew, striving to hold together amidst the chaos.

The thirty-third bolt drove deep into his dantian, unleashing a torrent of raw celestial qi that surged through his veins like wildfire, igniting every dormant cell in a fervor of primal energy.

The thirty-fourth bolt struck with fierce precision at his spine, sending violent tremors cascading through his nervous system, a symphony of pain and awakening that rattled his very foundation.

Then came the thirty-fifth bolt, a direct assault on his heart — each pulse reverberated like thunder, testing not just the sinew of his flesh, but the very essence of his humanity. It scrutinized his emotional core, probing his capacity to love, to withstand suffering, and to cling to the fragile thread of his mortal identity.

Shi Min clenched his jaw, a fierce determination flaring within him as radiance coursed through his body. His soul stood resolute, his mind a fortress of unyielding will. But in the depths of this celestial trial, one truth remained: his body was still bound by mortality, a delicate vessel caught in the tempest of divine reformation.

The Fortieth Bolt: Blood and Collapse

When the fortieth bolt descended, it came not as light, but as weight.

It crushed the chamber with a force that bent space.

Shi Min’s body convulsed.

A thick stream of crimson splattered across the chamber floor, sizzling as it touched the qi-infused stone.

His soul remained intact — but his body was breaking.

Outside, Ling Li gasped, her hand flying to her chest.

"He’s faltering," she whispered.

Li Tianyuan’s eyes narrowed. "We need to—"

Celestial Cavern: The Ancestor Awakens

Deep within the Celestial Cavern, a realm shrouded in the whispers of ancient secrets and illuminated by the soft glow of mystical runes, an eight-hundred-year-old cultivator stirred from his slumber.

His name was Li Shenwu — the venerable patriarch of the Li Clan, a figure enveloped in legend, seldom glimpsed yet profoundly revered.

As his eyelids lifted, a golden luminescence radiated from his irises, casting a warm glow across the shadows of the cavern.

He sensed it — the impending storm. The powerful stirrings of his bloodline. The distinct, urgent call that rippled through the very fabric of time and fate.

With deliberate grace, he raised one hand, counting off ancient calculations with his fingers — esoteric techniques that intertwined karma, destiny, and the pulses of divine interference.

In an instant, he vanished, leaving behind only a whisper of his presence.

His disciples, who had been deep in meditation nearby, jerked back to awareness, panic lacing their voices.

"Ancestor Shenwu!" they exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with disbelief.

But he had already become one with the ether.

At the Barrier: A Sudden Arrival

Ling Li and Li Tianyuan stood hovering at the threshold of the barrier, their hearts pounding in sync with the surge of qi that suddenly coursed behind them.

They turned in unison, only to behold Li Shenwu, a majestic figure clad in flowing robes that seemed to dance with the air around him, his expression sharp and penetrating.

"Who is it?" his voice boomed, reverberating through the very stone like thunder wrapped in velvet.

Ling Li dropped to her knees, bowing deeply. "Great-Great Grandpa, it’s Shi Min!"

Shah of Dusk, Master Veyron says:

“The storm passed. The real test begins. Vote, comment, and recommend if you’re ready. Power Stones and Golden Tickets are fuel. Gifts? I’ll train harder.”