The day of Lin Tian's ascent dawned under a sky of iron. The usual blue was suffocated by a churning vortex of black and violet clouds, gathering cosmic energy that was oppressive and absolute. Below, the Imperial Capital was paralyzed. Only those with spiritual sense could feel the weight of the coming storm-a storm not of wind and rain, but of divine judgment.
In the seclusion of the Orchid Pavilion, Lin Tian stood centered within a complex, rapidly built defense array. Elder Long Wei and Grandmaster Wei knelt on the outer perimeter, their combined Soul Transformation energy pumping desperately into the formations. They were terrified; they knew they were trying to shield their infant master from the wrath of the heavens.
Lin Tian, now perfectly stable at the Soul Transformation Peak, watched the sky with cold focus. He didn't fear the Tribulation. He saw it as the necessary final mechanism-the ultimate purification and the violent gateway to the Cloud Heavens.
[Ascension Tribulation Detected. Origin: Mortal Law Matrix. Intensity: EXTREME (Modified for Divine Purity). Recommended Defense Protocol: Maximize Shielding.]
No, Lin Tian mused, his Divine Nascent Soul rejecting the System's cautious defense. I need to be purified, not shielded. The Heavenly Tribulation is the highest purity energy in this realm. It is the catalyst for the Perfect Immortal Body. I will use the Tribulation to forge my new form.
Lin Tian mentally sent a final, crucial command to his servants: Elder Long Wei, focus all power into the Containment Array-I need the energy trapped, not dispersed. Grandmaster Wei, focus on the Stabilization Array-keep the Earth Spirit Dragon Vein from rupturing entirely.
He had dismissed his parents, ensuring they were safely sequestered and unaware of the full horror about to unfold. Lin Tian stepped out of the central protective shield, leaving himself exposed to the raw, imminent cosmic strike.
The Tribulation began not with a roar, but with a sound like tearing silk-the sound of the very fabric of the Mortal Realm protesting the purity of his existence. The first bolt descended: a column of blinding, pitch-black lightning, crackling with raw, unrefined law.
The strike hit Lin Tian dead center.
The pain was beyond comprehension. It was a cosmic agony that tried to tear his spiritual core from his physical shell. Blood instantly erupted from every pore, vaporizing instantly from the heat. His mortal skin and muscle turned black, and his tiny bones began to crack under the impossible stress.
Long Wei screamed, trying to pull his master back, but the Divine Nascent Soul held the Elder immobile.
Lin Tian endured the pain with the cold discipline of a strategist. He was not defending; he was refining. He channeled the devastating energy of the lightning directly into his cells, using the bolts to strip away every last trace of mortal flaw.
[Body Status: Mortal Shell Integrity: 10%]
The Tribulation bolt, which should have annihilated him, instead became a violent alchemical furnace. His Divine Nascent Soul shielded the vital core, but his physical structure was being violently reconstructed, layer by painful layer. The mortal blood in his veins boiled away, replaced by a silver, shimmering essence.
The second strike was vast-a net of violet lightning that covered the entire Orchid Pavilion. It was aimed at destroying the structure supporting the heretic.
Elder Long Wei and Grandmaster Wei desperately threw their own Soul Transformation energy against the strike. The spiritual backlash hit them both, knocking them unconscious instantly. Lin Tian's shields were gone.
Lin Tian was now truly alone against the heavens. He felt the entire city shudder, the Earth Spirit Dragon Vein groaning beneath the capital.
The second bolt focused on his internal structure. His spiritual meridians-already perfect from the Perfect Foundation Protocol-were scorched and melted, only to be instantly reformed by the purity of the cosmic energy flowing through him. The process was agonizing and necessary.
[Body Status: Perfect Immortal Body Purity Threshold: 65%]
Lin Tian let out a silent mental roar. He pushed back against the descending bolt, not with resistance, but by asserting the superiority of his own Heaven-Shaking Dao. He injected a burst of Divine Purity back into the lightning, causing the lightning's energy to glitch and diffuse. The lightning dispersed harmlessly around him, having served its purpose.
He stood in the smoking remnants of the courtyard, his body shimmering with a faint, silver light. His skin was smooth and flawless, his eyes holding the eternal depth of the cosmos. He was no longer a mortal child. He was an Ascendant.
The final strike was the culmination of the Mortal Realm's rage-a single, massive pillar of white, condensed energy aimed at eradicating his Divine Nascent Soul. This bolt carried the combined weight of the entire plane's law, designed to keep the unworthy from Ascending.
Lin Tian smiled. The time for refinement is over. Now, only the break remains.
He channeled every ounce of his Divine Nascent Soul power, not into defense, but into the final attack of the Mortal Realm. He leaped straight into the descending pillar of light.
His intent was singular: Ascend.
He used the Heaven-Shaking Soul Transformation Sutra-the technique forged from the perfect knowledge of the entire kingdom-to create a spiritual spike that acted like a massive key. He drove that key into the very structure of the Heavenly Gate, which was visible now as a weak point in the sky.
Lin Tian's Divine Purity clashed with the final Tribulation bolt. The two energies fought for control over his body, but Lin Tian's perfectly forged Perfect Immortal Body held firm. He let out a final, mental surge of his Omni-Talent.
CRAAAAACK!
The sound was absolute. The heavens tore open, not from lightning, but from Lin Tian's raw, forceful breach. He had used the Tribulation energy to smash his way through the barrier, bypassing the subtle entrance and ripping open a massive, chaotic wound in the cosmic veil.
Lin Tian felt the pull-a powerful, irresistible vacuum drawing him upward into the chaos. He was ascending.
In the ruins of the courtyard, General Lin Zhao and Lian Hua rushed in, shielded by the quickly recovering Grandmaster Wei. They saw the smoking hole in the sky and the glowing silhouette of their son being violently dragged into the heavens.
Lian Hua shrieked, reaching out a hand, but it was too late.
In the brief moment before the Heavenly Gate violently sealed itself, a single, clear thought resonated in the minds of the Lin family and his puppets:
I Ascend to the Cloud Heavens. The Lin Dynasty begins now. I will return.
Lin Tian was gone. The Earth Spirit Dragon Vein instantly surged back to life, overflowing the capital with spiritual energy. The Azure Cloud World was destabilized, but free of its cosmic siphon, and now ruled by the most powerful hidden cabal in its history.
Lin Tian slammed through the barrier, the vast, shimmering darkness of the Cloud Heavens (Tier 2) roaring around him. He was a small, silver streak of light-a nine-month-old Ascendant-entering a chaotic, new world.
[Cultivation Status: Tier 2 (Cloud Heavens) Transition Complete. Initial Stage: Heavenly Immortal (Stage 1). New Resources Detected. New Threats Imminent.]
The saga was officially moving to its next, cosmic phase.