Chapter 1035: I Will Not Lose

The streets buzzed with gasps, crowds filling every alley, heads tilted upward to watch the State Tutor ascend to meet the thunder.

"This—this—this is the end of the world…"

A schoolmaster's eyes gleamed as he stared at Pan Yun in the sky, murmuring: "The nation is changing, the world is changing—this will be a transformation unseen in over a thousand years…"

The State Tutor's body blazed with blinding light; the crowd erupted in cries. A butcher, overcome with excitement, shoved aside the old man and surged to the front: "What are you babbling about? The State Tutor rises—"

Though no one knew what the State Tutor was doing, that didn't stop them from shouting along.

The imperial guards maintaining order shouted: "No shouting! No shoving! Anyone who does will be sent home!"

The crowd quieted slightly, but still whispered among themselves in hushed murmurs.

They feared the guards—but not much.

At this moment, Pan Yun in the high sky descended slowly after repelling the first lightning strike.

It was only the first strike; she could have caught it with her head and barely felt it. Had it not kept striking her without ceasing, prolonging the duration, she wouldn't have bothered to counter.

Pan Yun landed on the ground, sat cross-legged again, channeled the lightning through her entire body, and passed a portion to the Spirit Realm.

The lightning surged through her tendons, bones, and meridians, hardening and strengthening them, widening her channels. Yuan energy flowed out from her Upper Dantian, repairing damage according to her cultivation method, while carrying the essence of lightning back into the Dantian…

The thundercloud above began gathering strength once more, as if enraged by Pan Yun's attitude; the clouds churned, three times thicker than when the first strike fell, pressing lower still.

On the Observatory, the Emperor and his ministers trembled beneath the thundercloud, yet dared not show it on their faces.

The Emperor clenched his fingers tightly, staring at the tiny, nearly invisible figure on Zhen Mountain.

Only after Yu Qian reminded him twice did he remember to use his telescopic sight.

Two hours later, the second lightning strike finally accumulated—over a dozen thin bolts struck Pan Yun simultaneously.

Pan Yun still took it bare-handed; a ring of light glowed around her—her protective barrier. The lightning pierced the barrier and struck her body. Just as she thought the second heavenly strike was nothing special, hundreds of thin bolts plunged from the clouds, striking her one after another. In an instant, Zhen Mountain was engulfed in blinding white lightning, completely burying Pan Yun.

Seeing Miao Zhen shot to her feet, startled and uncertain.

Xue Shao had never witnessed a Tribulation Crossing before; though his Seeing told him this was a win-win outcome and Pan Yun would survive, he still felt unease and asked quickly: "What's wrong?"

Seeing Miao Zhen replied hesitantly: "This second lightning is too strong—and the time between the first and second strikes is far too long."

Miao He added: "This doesn't match the sequence Master taught us."

"Of course it doesn't—has she incurred Heaven's wrath?"

Even Zhang Zijin, who had long stayed away from court, couldn't resist turning back to the Observatory and asking the three disciples of Mount Sanqing: "She carries immense virtue—why does Heaven despise her so?"

Zhang Zijin narrowed his eyes, suspecting: "Could she have secretly committed some evil deed?"

"Sir, you overthink," came a voice from the roof of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, smiling: "She is merely taking punishment in her master's stead."

Seeing Miao Zhen and the others cried out in delight: "Senior Brother!"

Wang Feiyin stroked his beard and nodded to the three, then bowed respectfully to Zhang Zijin: "Disciple Wang Feiyin greets you, Elder."

Zhang Zijin glanced at him sideways: "You arrived quickly."

From the moment Pan Yun realized she would cross the Tribulation until now, only three hours had passed—and he had already arrived from Mount Sanqing.

Wang Feiyin stroked his beard and smiled: "Mount Sanqing's lineage is sparse; we are bound by deep kinship. When my little sister crosses the Tribulation, how could her elder brother not come?"