Lin Mu tilted his head back, looking up at the sky.
Though it was clear and blue now, he could almost imagine the Tribulation Clouds that would soon gather, the weight of heavenly will pressing down upon him.
The last ti he had faced tribulation he had been drunk and had gone through it without even realizing it. But what awaited him this ti would be harsher than that.
But he welcod it.
The stronger he beca, the fewer chances he would have to let others slip through his fingers. If he wished to carve through the Ephera Sect, to ensure that no remnant of their shadow escaped, he needed more than cunning or allies.
He needed power that could stand against calamity itself.
Lin Mu closed his eyes. His mind wandered briefly to Lin Mo. A shadow of uncertainty stirred within him, one he had buried beneath battle after battle. Lin Mo’s path, his choices, his very existence... There was still so much Lin Mu did not know.
And yet, the coming storm left him no ti to dwell too deeply.
’Later. For now, I will grow stronger. For them. For all of us.’
His hands settled on his knees, his breathing slowed, and he began to guide the flow of Qi through his ridians. Already, the world seed to hum faintly around him, the air trembling with anticipation of the trial to co.
Soon, the stillness of the courtyard would be shattered by the call of Heavens.
The mont Lin Mu made his decision, he felt a strange clarity seep into his mind, as though the heavens themselves had acknowledged his resolve.
His breathing slowed, his qi cald, and yet, beneath it, there was a hum of tension that spoke of sothing vast waiting to descend. He opened his eyes briefly with his spatial Perception active and looked toward the ceiling, toward the endless skies above Ash Crown City.
This would not be a quiet storm.
Lin Mu rose from his seat and walked to the window.
The city below carried on as usual, rchants haggling in the streets, cultivators flying from pavilion to pavilion, mortal servants hauling goods, and cultivators discussing trades or missions.
None of them knew what would soon descend upon their skies. He exhaled slowly and returned to his ditation cushion. There was much to prepare before he invited the Heavens down upon him.
He first consolidated his qi, sending it through his ridians in rhythm. His Immortal Essence also surged, as if knowing about the incoming trial. Even the elental cores of his Omicore Ascendency Technique thrumd with power.
Each pulse of energy resonated differently: the Omnicores humd with deep, steady power, his Nascent Soul in his Dantian shimred like starlight, and the Immortal Essence within his Apertures roared faintly with untad strength.
Balancing them was a task that demanded patience. Too much focus on one would cause imbalance during tribulation.
He reminded himself of his chosen path: the Water Elental Tribulation.
Water was not simply gentle streams and serene lakes. It was torrents that carved valleys, tsunamis that swept away civilizations, endless oceans that crushed mountains beneath their weight. It was patience and inevitability, a slow erosion that could defeat even the hardest stone.
This was what he would face.
Lin Mu pressed his palms together, summoning the faint echoes of his Dao Embryos. All his Dao Embryos were awake, and even the Sword Cradle Divine Sheath had been sent into his Dantian for this tribulation.
Within his dantian, the Sword Cradle Divine Sheath stirred, gleaming faintly. It resonated with him, assuring him that it would hold fast even against the flood of tribulation lightning.
The True Earth Heart throbbed nonstop, each beat in sync with his own heart.
The Rune Shaping Brush, floated gently, looking the calst among all his Dao Embryos.
The Dominating Gravity Dao Embryo on the other hand, spun in a strange orbit, making rings around his entire Dantian.
Finally, the Four Faceted Nebula made itself known, draping over his Nascnet Soul’s shoulders and back like a cape, as if ready to act at any given mont.
Yet Lin Mu knew the heavens would not simply hurl bolts of destructive water essence at him; they would shape the storm to exploit his weaknesses.
"Good," he murmured. "That’s exactly what I want."
Knock
A knock ca at his door.
Lin Mu’s eyes opened, his senses extending. It was Overseer Zhai’s assistant, a young cultivator tasked with delivering ssages. Lin Mu gestured, and the door slid open without a touch.
"The arrays are ready, Senior Lin," the assistant said respectfully. "The City Lord has been inford, and notices have been spread to avoid panic."
Lin Mu inclined his head. "Good. Thank you. Step back once the tribulation begins. The heavens may not strike beyond the arrays, but lingering nearby is unwise."
The assistant bowed quickly and left, his steps hurried.
Silence returned to the room, and Lin Mu continued his preparations. He wrapped himself in ditation, condensing his qi into perfect stillness. His body trembled faintly as the pull of the heavens grew stronger, as though the sky was already reaching down, eager to drag him upward into judgnt.
This was not the sa as his past tribulations. Those had co in stages, each building upon the other. Earth, Wood, and Fire — they had all tempered him differently. But water was a test of persistence.
Would he drown beneath its pressure, or would he beco like the ocean, vast and unshakable?
mories stirred within him as he sat in quiet reflection.
The tis he had nearly drowned in rivers as a mortal child, body too weak to fight the current. The endless sea he had once seen in the distance of his old world, dreaming what lay beyond. The rains that had soaked him as a child when he had no roof to sleep under.
He had survived them all, but this would be sothing far beyond re rain or rivers. This would be the judgnt of the heavens themselves.
He tightened his fists and whispered to himself, "Co then. Show your storm."
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