Chapter 1033

The Emperor and ministers stared intently at Zhang Zijin: Is it true? Is it true? Is Xue Shao's claim real?

Zhang Zijin remained silent.

Good. It's true.

Everyone turned their intense gazes back to Xue Shao.

Xue Shao: "The celestial timing is unfavorable to us—why not borrow it to alter our fortune?"

Zhang Zijin: "How bold you are—to dare alter the nation's fate!"

Xue Shao: "We serve in court precisely to ensure the dynasty's continuity, national peace, and people's prosperity—each and every one of these tasks is altering the nation's fate."

All of it is alteration—so what's wrong with a big one?

Xue Shao's gaze flickered toward Pan Yun and asked: "Do you dare alter it?"

Pan Yun: "What's there to fear?"

She turned to face the Emperor, her eyes gleaming: "It depends on whether Your Majesty dares."

The Emperor immediately said: "If it benefits the state, why not dare?"

Zhang Zijin sneered: "What if the heavenly thunder strikes wrongly and destroys the Forbidden City?"

The Emperor replied at once: "As long as it doesn't strike the main hall or the residences of the two Empress Dowagers, let the other palaces be struck—if it purges evil and secures Great Ming's stability, so be it."

Yu Qian and others frowned but said nothing further; they too wished to see what this so-called Tribulation Crossing and alteration of national fate truly entailed.

Xue Shao stared intently at Pan Yun—thus, she could use the Forbidden City's dragon qi to deflect the heavenly thunder, a two-fold advantage.

Pan Yun naturally understood his intent; Zhang Zijin understood too—and even the four Celestial Observers watching from a distance had faintly guessed the truth, yet no one dared, nor would anyone, speak it aloud.

To expose this matter would not be advantageous to cultivators.

Xue Shao had counted on their silence—he spoke only of the benefits to Great Ming and the imperial house from Tribulation Crossing at Coal Hill, never mentioning Pan Yun's personal gain.

Officials, truly, have twisted intestines.

Zhang Zijin cast one deep look at Pan Yun, then finally swept his sleeve and departed.

Pan Yun, enduring her pain, smiled at him, bowed slightly in humble farewell as he vanished.

Once Zhang Zijin was gone, Pan Yun told Miao Zhen and the others: "Bring out all the lightning rods from your spaces—install them on every major palace."

Pan Yun turned her head toward the Celestial Observatory officials beside her.

The Spring Official stepped forward as representative, bowed, and said: "Your servants will install the lightning rods on the palaces at the fastest possible speed."

Pan Yun then gave the Emperor a slight nod, her form flashing—she flew straight up onto the palace wall and soared over the Forbidden City.

This flight startled many.

The Imperial Guards, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, eunuchs, and hidden assassins all stirred—but the figure passed too swiftly; by the time they regained their senses, it had vanished.

Before they could pursue, word arrived: it was the State Preceptor.

Pan Yun flew up to Coal Hill.

Coal Hill, in truth, was a small earthen mound formed from leftover coal slag from the previous Yuan dynasty; when Great Ming built the Forbidden City, the excavated earth and stone were piled here.

Through deliberate design by Kuai Xiang and the Zhang family, this hill lies precisely on the Forbidden City's central axis, directly north of it.

Thus, Great Ming also calls it the Guardian Mountain.

The Guardian Mountain currently has no palaces built upon it, yet it is not neglected—areas near the Forbidden City have been landscaped into gardens, and occasionally the Emperor brings his family here for sightseeing and horseback riding;

another section is used to raise animals, where the Emperor and Imperial Princes sometimes come to hunt and practice archery and horsemanship.

The northern side, however, is far wilder, overgrown with tangled vegetation.

Pan Yun landed atop the summit, looked up at the gradually graying clouds above, paced and surveyed, and soon found the ideal spot on the northern slope of the peak.

Pan Yun exhaled, turned to face the Forbidden City.

From here, she could see the entire Forbidden City; with her vision, she effortlessly spotted the Celestial Observatory's Star Gazing Platform among the many palaces.

She also saw the Emperor and others watching the thunder from the platform.

Pan Yun smiled faintly, sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and began furiously circulating her cultivation method.

The nearly explosive Yuan force within her was continuously compressed and deposited into her Upper Dantian; her already wide meridians were further expanded, the bloated sensation slightly eased.

Golden merit light, spiritual energy, and a faint, nearly invisible crimson-gold gas surged toward her—all were absorbed into her body.

Miao Zhen could not perceive it; the four Celestial Observers could not perceive it; even Zhang Zijin, standing silently on a distant eave, could not perceive it.

Because the spiritual energy she absorbed was mixed with golden merit—multicolored, impossible to distinguish.

Of course, to the Emperor and ministers, only the wind had begun to rise—the wind atop Guardian Mountain was stronger, rustling the trees, making them sway—but they saw no color.

Only Xue Shao showed a moment of surprise, then instantly suppressed it, feigning he had seen nothing.

The Celestial Observatory delivered telescopes; the Emperor immediately turned them toward Guardian Mountain, stared for a long while, saw no difference—only the clouds above grew thicker, darker.

Lacking experience, the Emperor asked directly: "How long until the thunder strikes?"

The Celestial Observatory officials had all gone with Miao Zhen's trio to install lightning rods; none present had experienced Tribulation Crossing, so none could answer the Emperor.

The ministers could not answer either, so they all turned their gazes to Xue Shao.

Xue Shao was not certain either—he had never been struck by lightning—but he hesitated: "Perhaps one or two hours?"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor refused to leave—he ordered someone to fetch cushions from the Celestial Observatory; he would sit and watch the State Preceptor's Tribulation Crossing.

"Bring many—let all ministers observe the thunder together."

Thus, on this day, the Emperor and ministers of Great Ming did nothing but sit upon the Celestial Observatory's Star Gazing Platform, watching Pan Yun be struck by lightning.

Xue Shao's estimate was accurate: as Pan Yun's cultivation accelerated, the clouds above grew thicker; after one hour, black clouds pressed down upon the city, and those seated on the platform felt as if they could reach out and touch the clouds.

The ministers grew anxious; Yu Qian even felt breathless—he stepped forward to advise: "Your Majesty, a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall—please return to the main hall to wait."

The air long held in Emperor Zhu Qiyu's chest finally found release—but he shook his head: "No. Since this is to alter the nation's fate, I must observe the thunder here!"

Xue Shao and Zhu Qiyu assured him: "Your Majesty, rest assured—the lightning will not reach here."

Not to mention the Celestial Observatory's special location—just look at those present: which one has the face of a violent death?

Oh, there still are some……

Xue Shao's gaze swept across the faces of Yu Qian and several others, finally settling on the new emperor's face, and he thought to himself: Success or failure hinges on this one attempt; if we truly cleave open the Great Ming's national fortune, then our Great Ming can flourish for another three hundred years.

The thought had barely flashed through his mind when he heard the Spring Official let out a great shout: "Go!"

He whipped his head back to look toward the sound, and saw the few figures who had been running and leaping across the eaves suddenly leap down from the rooftops; at the same time, the clouds in the low sky churned, flashing bright-white lightning……

They kept closing in above Pan Yun's head, pressing the cloud layer down, bolt after bolt of lightning colliding and condensing, as if gathering strength.

Xue Shao clenched his fists tight and muttered: "Almost there, almost there!" (End of chapter)