In the distance:
“What do we do? Lin Yun’s down! He seems gravely injured!” Qin Shi was frantic.
“Lin Yun, stand up! Stand up!” Palace Master Yunshang clasped her hands, praying fervently.
The other women present were visibly anxious, some stamping their feet in distress.
“Yun’er will make it! He definitely will!” Grandfather Liu Zhizhong prayed relentlessly.
“Daddy! Daddy!” Daughter Lin Kexin, seeing Lin Yun collapsed on the hill, was on the verge of tears.
On the city tower:
“Lin Yun, can you… can you still stand? You’re a man who creates miracles!” Emperor Huoyun’s gaze was fixed, tense and anxious.
At that moment, both the tower and the crowd below fell quieter.
“With such severe injuries, he probably can’t stand…”
Most understood that injuries of that magnitude made rising again nearly impossible.
On the distant hill:
Lin Yun felt his body drained, unwilling to move.
“My body can still hold!” Gritting his teeth, Lin Yun forced himself to stand.
Simultaneously, his body-refining technique, *Withered Silence*, activated fully. His Nirvana-stage physique healed rapidly.
Cracks in his bones and organs mended quickly.
After each thunderbolt, a brief moment allowed the next to form. This fleeting time was all Lin Yun had to adjust and recover for the next strike.
For those with weaker physiques, unable to heal severe injuries quickly, standing again would mean little—how could they withstand the next bolt?
Beyond strong defence, rapid healing was Lin Yun’s great advantage.
“Rise!”
With unwavering resolve, enduring excruciating pain, Lin Yun slowly stood.
“He’s up! He’s standing!”
“He actually stood again!”
The crowd, both below and on the tower, erupted in fervent exclamations as Lin Yun rose.
Many had thought he was finished.
“Hmph, so what if he stands? Let’s see how he faces the seventh bolt!” Dongguo Lie sneered coldly.
“Lin Yun, even if you stand, three more Taijin bolts remain. You won’t survive them. Your failure is certain!” Wang Shaoqing grinned maliciously.
Lin Yun had barely endured the sixth bolt, so Wang Shaoqing was certain of his defeat!
The remaining three bolts would only grow stronger!
Thunder rumbled as the seventh bolt, even more terrifying, formed swiftly!
Rumble!
With a deafening roar, a thicker, more dazzling bolt, like a cascading waterfall, fell from the clouds toward Lin Yun, shaking the very space it crossed!
“Hold on!” Emperor Huoyun, though knowing hope was slim, could only pray.
In his weakened state, Lin Yun couldn’t muster an attack. The bolt struck him directly.
After the seventh bolt hit:
Blood gushed as a gaping hole was blasted through Lin Yun’s chest. He plummeted uncontrollably, blood spraying across the sky.
“My heavens…”
The distant onlookers froze, stunned by the seventh bolt’s terrifying power and Lin Yun’s grievous wounds.
Lin Yun lay motionless on the hill.
“Daddy!”
Lin Kexin, unable to hold back, sobbed and tried to rush to the peak.
“Kexin, don’t! The tribulation isn’t over!” Yuying quickly restrained her.
Yuying and the others were already in tears.
“Big Brother…” Wei Qi, Liang Yuan, and Huo Zhen on the tower roared in anguish.
But they could only watch. No one could aid a tribulation, and approaching would only bring disaster.
The crowd sighed and mourned.
“This time, Lin Yun’s truly down.”
“He’s reached his end.”
“Blame the mighty Taijin Thunder Tribulation. Otherwise, he might’ve succeeded.”
With such severe injuries, surviving was already a feat, let alone passing the tribulation.
Except for Jiyuan, Huo Zhen, Dongguo’s faction, and a few others, most citizens hoped Lin Yun would succeed, adding another immortal to the Xingwu Empire and strengthening the human faction.
On the city tower:
“Your Majesty, Lin Yun’s tribulation journey is likely over. Sigh… passing it was always too hard,” Immortal Bingyi sighed.
Emperor Huoyun closed his eyes weakly, his body trembling, clearly despairing.
On the distant hill:
A fist-sized hole pierced Lin Yun’s chest, front to back. His skin was torn, drenched in blood, a gruesome sight.
Agonizing pain seared every part of his body!
With his Nirvana physique, such injuries weren’t fatal. A Nirvana body could regrow a severed arm quickly.
But these wounds left him nearly immobile in the short term.
And the next bolt would be even stronger!
Buzz!
Hundreds of feet above, lightning flickered in the thunderclouds, the eighth bolt brewing.
Even lying there, Lin Yun felt the immense pressure from the clouds.
The later the bolt, the stronger it was, and the longer it took to form.
But it was merely tens of seconds.
“Is my tribulation journey ending like this?” Lin Yun felt his body unresponsive, a sense of powerlessness rising.
Fleeing now would save his life!
But it would mean entering the tribulation realm.
Lin Yun could already imagine Wang Shaoqing, Prince Jiyuan, and Dongguo’s faction gloating if he failed, mocking him as a tribulation-realm failure with no future.
He could picture Emperor Huoyun’s disappointed gaze.
And, as a failure, his daughter being replaced by connected elites, unable to protect his loved ones or ensure their fair treatment!
“I was a failure for twenty years. I’ll never be one again!”
“Never! Never!”
Lin Yun’s heart roared with defiance.
He’d had enough of being a failure. He would control his fate, not be toyed with by it!
To control his fate, he had to pass the tribulation!
“The thunder can torment and destroy my body, but it will never break my resolute will! Never!”
With a roar in his heart, Lin Yun’s will solidified, and he forced himself to stand!
