At first, Li Xun was shaken by the endless flashes of lightning, then he started worrying about Zhong Yin again.

By all accounts, Zhong Yin may have taken many lives in his time, but every one of them had been evil spirits or demons that deserved to die. On top of that, he'd done countless good deeds throughout his life. There was no reason he should be facing something like this right before ascending!

"Is it really going to be okay?" Li Xun couldn’t take his eyes off the sky.

He'd never seen the legendary “Forty-Nine Tribulations” before, but the storm of thunder and lightning crashing down now probably wasn’t far off.

"Of course it’s going to be okay," said Qingyin, and another dozen bolts of lightning slammed down. The outcome was no different from the earlier strikes. But this time, the stray sparks and shockwaves outward were noticeably stronger, and some of it reached Li Xun’s side.

Even so, Qingyin kept talking, unfazed. "I’ve known him since we were kids. There’s never been a single thing he couldn’t do."

Something about her tone made Li Xun feel a little strange. Qingyin seemed… off today.

And as if the god of thunder had sensed her doubt and taken offense, a new wave of lightning exploded down from the sky. Hundred times stronger than anything before. The thick storm clouds overhead split wide open.

The roar of the air being torn apart mingled with the rumbling thunder, producing a piercing screech like the wails of ten thousand ghosts.

The sound hit Li Xun’s ears hard. He staggered, nearly slipping off the edge of the cliff.

Even Qingyin, who had remained calm and composed until now, had her protective true breath ripple under the violent wave of primordial qi. She couldn’t stay completely steady anymore.

But she still didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Her voice remained clear and steady: “I’ve always been curious. What in this world could ever give him trouble? I like throwing challenges at him like this. But more importantly…”

She turned to Li Xun with a smile, but just then a gust of wind swept past, sending her long hair flying and covering most of her face. All Li Xun caught was the faint curve of her lips.

“More importantly… he never gets angry.”

The moment those words left her mouth, the protective barrier of true breath shielding the two of them suddenly shattered. Before Li Xun even had time to feel afraid, the oppressive force pressing in from all sides shifted without warning. In the next instant, what should have crushed him instead passed by as a warm breeze, brushing gently around his body.

Atop the frozen peak, a small world seemed to form. Li Xun’s muscles relaxed all at once as he stared in disbelief just a few feet away, where lightning surged and twisted like living threads, and tornado-like winds hurled massive boulders into the air. It felt like something out of a dream.

Inside this quiet space, even the last hint of wind died down. Qingyin’s hair, no longer fluttering, settled softly on her shoulders.

She made no comment about the sudden shift. She simply fell silent, eyes fixed on the distant silhouette. Seven li away, standing atop a sheer cliff, looking up at the sky.

Li Xun swallowed hard. When he followed her gaze, he immediately understood what had just happened.

All he could feel now was awe.

Because this… should’ve been impossible.

While Zhong Yin was directly resisting the main force of the Thunder Tribulation, he was still able to watch over the two of them seven li away. With cultivation like that, saying he could seize the power of Heaven and Earth wasn’t even an exaggeration.

Compared to him, what were the so-called Three Wanderers, the Seven Great Demons, or even the most revered Grandmasters of the major sects? They were nothing.

“Yes... this is exactly the feeling.”

There was no doubt. Qingyin was speaking to him. And not just speaking. She had seen straight through his thoughts, cutting right to the heart of them.

Li Xun was startled. For a moment, it felt like every private thought he'd ever had had been laid completely bare.

Even though it was Qingyin herself who had done it, the feeling was deeply uncomfortable.

But that discomfort only lasted an instant. Because her next words completely seized his attention.

“Trust, admiration, even worship. It’s a heady kind of wine, easy to get drunk on. And he’s earned it. But the thing is… he doesn’t care in the slightest. Maybe he doesn’t even realize it, but there were times, maybe just moments, when I felt that way about him too.”

There was even a teasing note in her voice, light and playful. It sent a ripple through Li Xun’s heart.

Still, he could tell that something was off. Amid the raging wind and thunder, Qingyin’s emotions were clearly not quite normal.

But he understood. It was just like how Zhong Yin had suddenly opened up to him a few days ago.

He knew this wasn’t the time to speak. All he could do was keep his mouth shut and listen closely.

Outside, the storm raged on, lightning flaring endlessly. But strangely, none of it showed the slightest sign of breaking into their sanctuary or threatening them in any way.

The flickering light made it hard to see Qingyin’s face, but from her voice alone, he could imagine. Right now, she must’ve been wearing the softest, most gentle expression in the world.

“Ever since we were kids, I’ve loved setting up challenges for Sixth Senior Brother. I really got a kick out of it. For me, it was something genuinely exciting. I realized I loved seeing him pretend to struggle on the surface while deep down he had it all under control. That smug, self-satisfied look on his face; it still makes me laugh when I think about it.

“I used to think that feeling would go on forever, that it would never end. But…

“It turned out finding something that could actually stump him was a lot easier than I ever imagined.”

She suddenly turned and looked at Li Xun. Her gaze locked onto his slightly stiff expression. She reached out, as if to gently touch his face. But right before making contact, her hand slowed. In the end, just a single finger brushed past his cheek, slowly trailing down to his collarbone.

Her touch felt almost enchanted, just that one glide and Li Xun felt like his whole body was on fire. But the words that followed chilled him to the bone, like a wind straight from his heart’s core, slowly freezing it over.

“You know... there was a time when you and Gu Zhixuan had faces that looked almost exactly alike. But your expressions.... couldn’t be more different. He would never wear the look you’re showing right now. I remember... what did he say back then?”

She tilted her head slightly.

The way she paused to recall the memory was beautiful in its own way; but all Li Xun could think about was turning away, not seeing her. He couldn’t understand why Qingyin would bring this up now of all times.

Hadn’t everything been fine yesterday? Hadn’t things been fine all along?

But it didn’t matter what he thought. He still heard her voice, soft as a whisper, drifting into his ears.

"That’s right. Back then, I told him, ‘My Sixth Senior Brother will come save me’ And he said, ‘Maybe. Too bad he won’t make it in time.’ And when Sixth Brother finally broke into the No-Return Land… Gu had just finished climbing off of me. That was the first time I ever saw my Sixth Brother fail at something."

Li Xun felt like his heart had been crushed into pulp.

He wanted to cover his ears, but couldn’t even bring himself to lift his hands.

"Gu Zhixuan had his arm around me and whispered in my ear: ‘Your Senior Brother's strong. But you know what? He’ll never beat me.’ And then, just a few hours later, Sixth Brother ran him through with a single sword strike, and he fled for his life.

"I thought Gu Zhixuan was wrong. But in the end… we both knew it. Sixth Brother still lost. That was the second time."

Qingyin let out a faint smile. "You know, admiration is a fragile thing. It takes countless trials to build and strengthen, but sometimes… only two exceptions are enough to completely destroy it.

"That was when I started to understand. Sixth Brother isn’t some god. He can lose. He can get hurt. He’s not really any different from me. So I got angry. I was frustrated. Because it turned out I'd been fooled all this time; fooled by him

. He didn’t deserve the kind of feelings I gave him."

Li Xun didn’t know how Zhong Yin would react if he ever heard these words.

At that moment, the roar outside seemed to have quieted a little, but every crash still sent a deep vibration through Li Xun’s chest and blood, like something inside him was resonating with the storm.

Clearly, the wrath of vicious heaven hadn’t subsided; it had only drawn inward, focusing, compressing. The killing force was growing stronger, not weaker.

He could see it in the way the lightning was closing the distance between the storm and the summit of Guantian Peak. Bit by bit, it was getting closer.

But high above on the frozen peak, Zhong Yin’s distant sky barrier still held steady. Solid as stone. And under that violent, churning sky, Qingyin’s voice flowed like a quiet stream.

“I still want to challenge him. But I won’t give him the chance to prove anything anymore. I’ll just say one thing: ‘Can you make me happy?’”

There was something in her eyes that Li Xun had never seen before. A distant, dreamlike gaze. The moment their eyes met, it felt like his soul was being pulled under, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

In that instant, he forgot who he was. Forgot all caution. Forgot the depth and danger of the woman standing in front of him.

And then, without thinking, without meaning to, he blurted out something completely absurd:

“I can!”

Qingyin smiled. And with that smile, whatever strength was left in Li Xun’s soul vanished completely. He sank deeper and deeper into the endless darkness of her eyes, and there was no coming back.

She curled her fingers and drew her hand back, but her eyes stayed locked on his.

The smile faded slightly, replaced by something more solemn.

“That’s right. I’ll admit it. These past few days, you’ve made me happy. Happier than I’ve been in a thousand years. So…”

“So?”

“So I lost.”

She said it so plainly, it was hard to believe. While Li Xun stared at her in stunned confusion, she just… admitted it. That easily.

“I didn’t think I’d ever feel joy again. But it caught me off guard. Then I met you. You’re funny. You know how to make people laugh. Not all the time, not constantly…

"In the end, I still lost. But through this, I’ve come to understand something: not just anyone can be the reason for his defeat. Gu Zhixuan could do it, but that doesn’t mean others can. And now, through you, Senior Brother has won again."

She looked up toward Guantian Peak. This time, her gaze was completely different from before.

Li Xun understood. But it was hard to put into words.

Following her line of sight, he looked over too.

Over there, the protective barrier around Guantian Peak didn’t seem as solid anymore. Yet Zhong Yin still stood, steady as ever, completely unmoved.

And suddenly, Li Xun got it. Qingyin had always known what Zhong Yin carried in his heart. Between the two of them, that bond between senior and junior disciple; there was a kind of unspoken understanding he couldn’t yet match.

He should’ve been jealous. But looking at Zhong Yin’s back, that feeling slowly faded away.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the purest, most radiant little smile curve across Qingyin’s lips. And before he could even react, she cupped her hands around her mouth, bent forward slightly, and, using a posture he could’ve never imagined, shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Senior Brother, give it everything you’ve got!"

The instant her voice rang out, the entire sky lit up like daylight with a blinding cascade of lightning. A million thunderbolts crashed in unison, tearing her shout to pieces in an instant.

Li Xun didn’t think Zhong Yin could hear that shout. But the next moment, he clearly saw Zhong Yin’s body give a slight jolt. Then, ignoring the lightning tearing through the barrier, he turned to look this way.

There were no words to describe the moment their eyes met or the feeling it stirred. All Li Xun remembered was the faint, equally pure smile that gently curved at the corner of Zhong Yin’s lips.

Then, the sword rang out.

Clang!

Zhong Yin finally drew his blade. The legendary Voidslayer, which had cut across the world for over a thousand years, came free from its sheath with a metallic ring.

That single sound somehow drowned out the roar of a million thunderclaps. It wasn’t overbearing or harsh. Instead, it lingered with a gentle resonance, wrapping around the ears and sinking deep into the heart.

As the edge of the Voidslayer shimmered through the crisscrossing bolts of lightning, its brilliance entirely its own, the storm, meant to erase even a thousand peaks, suddenly, impossibly, faltered.

In that instant, heaven and earth flipped.

A trembling hum burst in Li Xun’s ears. A sound he couldn’t begin to describe. It pierced straight through to his core, and with every wave of that long, quivering resonance, his blood boiled.

His mind spun in a hundred directions before it finally hit him: this was the shockwave from the clash between the Voidslayer and the Heavenly Thunder.

Then, just as suddenly, the sound vanished.

Li Xun had no idea what had just happened. All he could do was instinctively look up toward the sky.

Just then, a pale blue heavenly light, something that absolutely shouldn’t have appeared, poured down from the sky.

Li Xun’s eyes widened. He stared at the long, jagged tear opening between the layers of black clouds, and for a moment, even forgot to breathe.

The heavenly light lasted only a few heartbeats; then, his pupils were filled with crimson.

At first, he thought it was just sunlight, but he quickly realized something was off. This red light… it was deeply, unnaturally strange.

Like an infection, It was spreading, leaking from the split in the clouds. Wherever it passed, the dark storm clouds were dyed the same blood-red hue. It looked like a vast cauldron of boiling blood, and the lightning writhing through the mist moved like squirming maggots inside it.

Even without knowing the full truth, just seeing this scene, Li Xun could tell how terrifying this heavenly tribulation truly was.

And it made no sense. How could it come to this? With Zhong Yin’s cultivation and karmic merit, things shouldn’t have gone this far.

But reality quickly reminded him: what an ant thinks is a mountain is just a pebble to a giant.

He heard the sharp cry of the sword again. And in that instant, it felt like he himself had been split in two.

But in truth, it wasn’t him that was cleaved apart.

It was the sky.

The clouds were split open once more by another massive tear. A roaring surge of air rushed upward, sweeping entire swaths of blood-colored clouds into the sky. The momentum didn’t stop. Thick layers of clouds untouched by the strike began to tremble as well.

The lightning darting through the clouds flickered out, one after another. And the deafening thunder, once so overwhelming, faded into a weak and lingering echo until all was quiet.

For a moment, the only thing left between heaven and earth was the deep, rumbling shockwave of churning air, shaking the hearts of all who felt it. The light from the sky poured down unchallenged. There was no force left that could stop it.

Only then did Li Xun realize that above the storm clouds, it was already morning. And just then, he sensed Zhong Yin looking in his direction. Instinctively, he met his gaze.

It was the most inexplicable, profound moment of eye contact he had ever experienced.

Through that look, it felt as if Zhong Yin had sent something directly into his heart; yet when he tried to grasp it, there was nothing there at all.

While he stood stunned, a long, piercing howl shot up into the sky.

It was the first sound Zhong Yin had made since the tribulation began.

At first, it still resembled a human voice, but in the blink of an eye, it expanded and intensified. The soundwave exploded outward from Guantian Peak like a shock bomb, rippling across the world.

In that instant, the entire sky and earth became a raging sea. Waves, visible to the naked eye, rolled outward in great arcs, and the ground itself shook as if the mountains would collapse.

Against such force, no defense mattered. Li Xun was instantly thrown to the ground like a broken gourd.