Rumble!

As thunder rumbled in the clouds, that man from earlier arrived at the foot of the mountain.

“Phew… Finally, I’m here. I think I’ve arrived just in time.” He was glad he had picked up his pace. Otherwise, he would have to pick up Pesi’s dead body off the ground.

At least he could see that man for the last time. He only paused for a brief moment. The next second, he arrived at the branch on the mountain top.

“Master Huor!”

“Master Huor, you’re here! Elder Ein is going through his thunder tribulation. Are you here to help him?”

“Master Huor is here! Elder Ein will be alright!”

“…”

Seene Huor nodded at the crowd without responding to any of their questions. He moved as close to Pesi as possible. Upon noticing his gaunt face, Seene burst into tears.

He could see Pesi, but Pesi didn’t spot him. He didn’t want Pesi to notice him either. That man was going through a thunder tribulation now. Seene didn’t have much hope, but he didn’t try to intervene either.

“Pesi, why are you in such a rush? He should have contacted the principal first. I’m sure the principal would have lent him a hand. Why is he so stubborn?” Seene murmured.

He knew Pesi had always been stubborn and wouldn’t change his mind once he made his decision. Moreover, he wouldn’t stop until he felt he had done his best.

When Pesi was young, Seene tried to persuade him to practice the sword instead of alchemy. Back then, Pesi’s swordsmanship was so advanced that the best swordsman in Stelladom wanted to be his master.

However, Pesi picked up alchemy instead. According to him, swordplay wasn’t where his heart lay, nor was he interested.

Alchemy was the field he was interested in, and he would only do things that interested him. If he hadn’t changed his field, he would probably have become the finest swordsman on the continent.

However, that was Pesi’s choice. No one could tell him otherwise. Moreover, after so many years, it would be too late to go back.

The seventh streak struck. Pesi swallowed a whole bottle of pills and withstood the lightning. The eighth was about to follow.

Lan’s stomach lurched. Elder Ein really had made it through the seventh streak of lightning. What about the eighth? Where was her master?

Himmel Soan narrowed his eyes. Just as he was about to help the man, he stopped. “I think he has found his path.”

In that case, there was no need for him to get involved.

Rumble!

The eighth streak struck. The look in Pesi’s eyes was so sharp that a sword seemed to burst out of his body. He had found his own path and was so close to the Hinayana stage.

“I haven’t used a sword in 800 years. I’ll practice on the thunder tribulation today.

“I’m too old to wield a sword. My pills will be my sword!”

Pesi took out a pill in the shape of a tiny sword. He then tossed it into the sky and used this “sword” to carve his own path.

“Ha!”

A streak of sword energy burst out of the pill and struck the churning clouds. The energy spread for tens of thousands of kilometers.

Everybody looked up. The sword energy struck the thunder tribulation but didn’t seem to waver at all. It was as if the thunder tribulation was the weaker side.

In Cloud City, all eight emperors seemed to sense something and looked in the direction of Pesi. Despite being hundreds of kilometers apart, they seemed to be able to see what was happening.

In reality, they couldn’t see things so far away. They only sensed it because Pesi’s sword energy had shaken the general cultivation rule.

People were gathered in Stelladom Academy and Starwan Tower because they also sensed the sword’s energy.

In Elixir School, the principal of the school was more surprised than anyone. The energy came from the branch that Lan was in.

He eagerly wanted to know what was happening over there. There was a thunder tribulation earlier, which he thought was for Lan’s breakthrough. He believed he knew everything about all the branches, especially the one Lan was in.

No one else in that branch should be having a breakthrough!

Reality had slapped him across the face.

A second person was making a breakthrough, which had started a thunder tribulation. Moreover, that person had let out such incredible sword energy.

What was going on?

He didn’t think the sword energy could belong to Lan. That wasn’t possible.

“I’ll wait for Seene’s report.” He decided not to bother himself with the question.

Being anxious wouldn’t get him anywhere. No matter how curious he was, he couldn’t run over there and check it on his own.

Meanwhile, Seene was staring at the sky. At first, he felt sorry that Pesi had given up on his swordsmanship. To his surprise, Pesi had activated such powerful sword energy.

“That energy feels like something from a grandmaster,” he murmured.

However, Pesi had been working on alchemy all these years. Seene wondered where Pesi learned that skill and how he found time to practice it.

After the initial surprise, he contacted the principal and told him everything. He had to report such a major problem to the principal and see how he would react.

Pesi had defeated the eighth streak of lightning, with the ninth in the air. It felt infuriated because of his provocation.

“This isn’t over!”

The sword energy hadn’t fully dissipated, but it concentrated once more and became even stronger. It then charged at the thunder tribulation.