The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

A chorus of gasps filled the air, and the streets and alleys were packed with people, craning their necks to watch the Imperial Advisor ascend to meet the thunder.

"This...this...this is truly the end of the world..."

A schoolteacher, his eyes gleaming, stared intently at Pan Yun in mid-air and murmured, "The nation is about to change, the world is about to change; this will be a transformation unprecedented in over a thousand years..."

The Imperial Advisor, suspended in mid-air, emitted a dazzling light. Gasps of astonishment erupted from the crowd. In his excitement, a butcher shoved aside the old man and rushed to the front, shouting, "What are you babbling about? Imperial Advisor, rise up—"

Although no one knew what the Imperial Advisor was doing, it didn't stop everyone from shouting loudly along with him.

The Imperial Guards maintaining order told them to be quiet: "No shouting, no pushing, or you'd all be sent home!"

The crowd quieted down a bit, but they still whispered amongst themselves in hushed tones.

People were afraid of the Imperial Guards, but not many.

Meanwhile, Pan Yun, high in the sky, slowly descended after striking back at the first bolt of lightning.

It was just the first lightning bolt; she could have easily caught it with her head. If it hadn't kept striking her and not pulled back, prolonging the lightning's duration, she wouldn't have retaliated.

Pan Jun landed on the ground, still sitting cross-legged, channeling the lightning throughout his body, and sharing some with the Spirit Realm.

Lightning coursed through her bones and meridians, forging them to become stronger and more resilient, widening her meridians. Her vital energy flowed from her dantian, healing damage through the cultivation technique, and simultaneously returning to her dantian with the intent of lightning…

The thunderclouds overhead gathered power again, seemingly enraged by Pan Yun's attitude. The clouds churned, becoming three times thicker than when the first lightning struck, and the clouds pressed down even lower.

The emperor and his ministers on the observatory were terrified under the thunderclouds, but dared not show it on their faces.

The emperor clenched his fingers nervously, staring intently at the tiny, almost invisible figure on the mountain.

It was only after Yu Qian reminded him twice that he remembered to use his clairvoyance.

Half an hour later, the second bolt of lightning finally gathered, and more than ten small bolts of lightning struck down on Pan Jun at the same time.

Pan Yun remained unharmed, a ring of light shimmering around her—her protective shield. The lightning passed through the shield and struck her. Just when she thought the second bolt of lightning would follow, hundreds of tiny bolts of lightning suddenly descended from the clouds, striking her one after another. In an instant, the entire town was enveloped in the white light of lightning, and Pan Yun was completely engulfed.

Miao Zhenteng stood up abruptly, looking surprised and uncertain.

This was Xue Shao's first time witnessing someone undergo a tribulation of lightning, and he had no experience. Although the aura he sensed told him it was a win-win situation and Pan Yun would get through it safely, he was still a little worried as the moment approached. He quickly asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Miao Zhen said with some uncertainty, "This second lightning bolt is too big, and the time difference between the first and second lightning bolts is too long."

Miaohe also said, "This is not the order of the tribulations that Master told us."

"Of course not, has she committed some kind of divine retribution?"

Even Zhang Zijin, who usually stayed away from the court, couldn't help but turn back to the Star Gazing Platform and ask the three disciples of Sanqing Mountain curiously, "She clearly has a lot of merit, so why is she so disliked by the heavens?"

Zhang Zijin narrowed his eyes, a hint of suspicion in his voice: "Could it be that she has done something wicked in secret?"

“Senior, you are overthinking it,” a figure appeared on the roof of the Imperial Observatory, smiling. “She was merely taking her master’s punishment.”

Miaozhen and the other two exclaimed in delight, "Master Uncle!"

Wang Feiyin stroked his beard and nodded to the three men. He then bowed respectfully to Zhang Zijin and said, "Junior Wang Feiyin greets senior."

Zhang Zijin glanced at him sideways and said, "You came quickly."

From the time Pan Yun discovered he was about to undergo tribulation until now, only three hours had passed, yet he had already traveled from Sanqing Mountain to this place.

Wang Feiyin stroked his beard and laughed, "The disciples of Sanqing Mountain are few and far between, so the bond between them is very strong. How could I, as their senior brother, not come to such an important event as Junior Sister's tribulation?" Yin Song and Yin Qingjun, who were brought with Wang Feiyin, were left outside the palace. The two of them, master and disciple, looked up at the lightning tribulation while hurrying towards Coal Hill.

Yin Qingjun walked with a pounding heart, feeling as if the lightning had struck him directly.

Yin Song pulled him along and sneaked to the north. He looked up at his junior sister who was trapped by lightning, breathed a sigh of relief, and then cleared a hole for his disciple to hide in: "We'll wait here."

Yin Qingjun hid inside: "Master, is it really true that the lightning won't strike us?"

"This is the lowest point, and it's inside a cave. As long as your junior uncle is a decent person and doesn't deliberately lure the lightning here, it won't strike us."

Yin Song said, "Our mission is twofold: first, to guard the north to prevent any demons or monsters from taking advantage of the chaos; second, to rush up as quickly as possible after the tribulation ends to put a coat on your junior uncle and take him away."

Anyone who has survived the tribulation knows how utterly wretched they are after it ends.

Yin Qingjun didn't survive the tribulation of lightning, but he saw his master survive it.

For a moment, Yin Qingjun's expression changed, and he whispered, "Shouldn't we have called our junior sisters over?"

Yin Song gave him a mournful look and said, "Do you think I don't want to? But I've already resigned from my post. I can't enter the palace, and she can't leave. Most importantly, the tribulation lightning has already descended. Don't be fooled by the short distance between Coal Hill and the palace; under the tribulation lightning, there are walls in the space. With my skill, I simply can't pass through them. Only your senior uncle could..."

Yin Qingjun said he understood, meaning that his master was only at the first level of cultivation and his cultivation was limited, so he still needed to work harder.

Yin Song understood his expression and silently swallowed the rest of his words.

At the mountaintop, Pan Yun, who had survived the second, not the second, thunderstorm, opened her eyes, exhaled a breath of black smoke, and realized that something was wrong. She looked up at the thunderclouds and remained silent.

Thinking of her own guess, she tried hard to suppress the middle finger that was about to be raised, not wanting to provoke the heavens at this moment.

That's right, it's not that I don't dare, but that I don't want to.

The second bolt of lightning had already turned her entire body black.

She lowered her eyes and circulated her internal energy, and the wounds on her body that had been cleaved open were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The third bolt of lightning lasted even longer, striking down a full hour later.

That was truly an apocalyptic scene. The emperor felt that, based on those three bolts of lightning alone, Pan Yun could be considered a god in the eyes of the world.

That's indeed the prevailing opinion among the general public.

"Is the Imperial Advisor about to become an immortal?!"

But Zhang Zijin didn't think so. He said, "Pan Yun is going to become a ghost! Wang Feiyin, do you people in Sanqing Mountain know any ghost cultivation methods?"

Wang Feiyin remained silent.

Zhang Zijin: "I forgot that if you die during the tribulation, your soul will be scattered and you will have no other choice."

Wang Feiyin said, "My junior sister is blessed with good fortune."

Zhang Zijin said, "Her tribulation is not the tribulation of a second-rank marquis, but the tribulation of a third-rank marquis."

Wang Feiyin fell silent again.

Zhang Zijin said, "So, being too repressed is not good, but being too reckless is even worse."

Wang Feiyin stared at the figures on Coal Hill, not believing that Pan Yun would lose. (End of Chapter)