I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Ji Tian's research was not something that could be accomplished overnight, and he didn't expect to succeed in just a few days.

In the days that followed, his life became very structured, making him a master of time management:

In the early morning, he would guide Lilith in illusion magic and foundation building outside the Spirit Spring Cave, and also check if the fifth brother had broken out of his shell.

In the morning, he returned to the main hall to study the time array;

I continued my practice in the afternoon, occasionally going to the back mountain to give guidance to Jenny or Sherry.

At dusk, he would stay in the main hall to wait for Ophelia to ask her questions, and also to supervise whether Alice was properly preparing to break through to the Golden Core stage;

In the evening, I used a minor teleportation spell to return to the academy for dinner, chatted with Elena about the recent changes in the capital, and then returned to the meditation room to continue my cultivation.

Days passed by like this.

Lilith's progress is visible to the naked eye.

Her illusions gradually evolved from wildflowers on a hillside to complete buildings, figures, and even simple dialogue scenes.

Ji Tian would occasionally enter her illusions, casually pointing out a few flaws and letting her fix them herself.

"That's not right. Don't apply the stories you've read to me. Also, I wouldn't say something with that kind of exaggerated bubble tone."

"Quack, I was just thinking..."

"Thinking about it won't work either."

"Okay~"

The other disciples' cultivation remained largely unchanged, continuing according to the plan I had previously laid out for them.

Quite a few things have happened in the capital recently:

First, they began to sweep away those shady things, and many other cults lurking in the capital were uprooted. The royal family, however, had an ambiguous attitude towards the original property of the Light Cult and adopted a cold treatment approach.

Secondly, Prime Minister Augustus suddenly had a "change of heart" and decided to donate half of his family's factories in the North to the kingdom. Of course, this news has not been officially verified.

……

Around the tenth day, Ji Tian finally found a way to initially stabilize the formation.

In the main hall's cultivation room, Ji Tian sat cross-legged in the center of the array patterns, with the dark golden book of industry floating in front of him.

"I need your concept of 'order' and 'stability' in your authority."

The pages moved on their own without any wind. When I turned to the third page, lines of runes floated up from the paper, intertwining and entwining in mid-air like golden threads.

【Master, do you wish to use my authority to reinforce the time array?】

"Yes. Your authority originates from the Industrial Age, and the core of industry is order, precision, and repetition. The instability of the Time Array lies precisely in the lack of 'order.' I need your power to anchor the rules of the flow of time."

The god of industry remained silent for a moment, as if weighing something.

[Yes, but the use of this authority comes at a price. Each use will consume my accumulated divine power. Although not much, frequent use will slow down the consolidation of my divinity.]

"How often is considered frequent?"

Once a day or less is fine.

"That's enough."

Ji Tian formed hand seals, and spiritual power intertwined with the runes of the Book of Industry, causing the array patterns on the ground to light up again.

This time, the light from the array patterns began to spread steadily and evenly in all directions.

The translucent sphere of light reappeared, its internal spacetime distortion smoother and more robust than before.

Ji Tian probed into it with his divine sense, sensing the flow of time: inside the sphere of light, time was passing quietly and steadily.

"One to five."

He opened his eyes, a smile playing in them.

"continue."

……

Nearly half a month after Ji Tian returned to the sect, Alice finally came to find him.

She skipped and hopped into the main hall, clutching a half-eaten piece of homemade dry rations in her hand, mumbling, "Master! Master! I'm ready!"

Ji Tian raised his head from within the array patterns and glanced at her.

Are you sure?

Alice patted her chest, her face full of confidence, "I'm sure! I had my second senior sister do a divination last night, and the result was 'very auspicious,' so I shouldn't die."

"should?"

"Uh... I think it's 99% sure there won't be any problems, right? Anyway, I think it'll be fine!"

"Sigh, she really didn't grasp the essence of the online novel masters. I was hoping she would carry on the art of survival of the fittest."

Ji Tian, ​​who also had a 99% chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, didn't say anything. He simply stood up and patted off non-existent dust from his robes.

"Walk."

The two arrived at an open space on the back of the mountain.

This place is far from the disciples' residences. Ji Tian had set up a protective array on the ground in advance, and there were also many spirit stones moved from the warehouse piled up around it.

Alice stood in the middle of the open space, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

Her aura was no longer suppressed and began to rise steadily.

Fiery red spiritual energy surged from her body, swirling around her like flames, scorching the withered grass on the ground until it curled and turned yellow.

Ji Tian stood not far away with his hands behind his back, his divine sense firmly locked onto her condition.

At the peak of the Purple Mansion realm, the bottleneck to the Golden Core realm is just around the corner.

Ji Tian first used his great magical power to help Alice summon the tribulation clouds, then said, "Remember, let it break through the barrier naturally."

Alice gritted her teeth, and the spiritual power within her surged forth like a burst dam, crashing fiercely against the invisible barrier.

Once, twice, three times.

The sky began to change color, and dark clouds gathered from all directions, swirling and churning above the open space.

Ji Tian looked up and frowned slightly.

The scale of the thundercloud was larger than he had expected.

This shouldn't be happening! My tribulation lightning can be adjusted in real time according to the cultivator's cultivation level, and she already took the tribulation pill...

Completely baffled, Ji Tian finally asked, "What exactly did you do?"

Alice closed her eyes and said, "I... I just ate a few extra Tribulation-Transcending Pills."

Ji Tian's eyelids twitched as he listened.

"What do you mean by 'ate a few more'? I think I only made a few?"

"That pill tastes pretty good; I thought it was candy."

"..."

Ji Tian suddenly realized that his idea of ​​adding sugar to the pills was still not mature enough.

Well done, Alice! You've taught me a lesson today!

A deep rumble came from the thunderclouds, and purple lightning streaked through the clouds.

"They're here!"

The first bolt of lightning, about the thickness of a thumb, struck straight down towards Alice's head.

Alice suddenly opened her eyes and hurled a fireball at them.

Thunder and fire collided in mid-air, exploding into a blinding white light.

Alice was pushed back two steps by the shockwave, and several cracks appeared on the bluestone slab beneath her feet.

Feeling that she seemed to be unharmed, she grinned, "Not bad, I think this tribulation is nothing special!"

The second, the third, the fourth...

Each lightning tribulation was stronger than the last.

Alice went from initially taking the hits head-on to becoming increasingly overwhelmed. Her robes were charred black, her hair was a mess of fluffy clouds, and her face was streaked with black and white.

She looked up at the thick, purple lightning bolt, and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Master! Help! This is too thick! I can't take it!"

Ji Tian used his divine sense to observe the lightning tribulation and Alice's current state, and only spoke after confirming that they were safe:

"Keep going! I believe that after consuming several Tribulation-Crossing Pills, you will definitely have the ability to withstand tribulations several times stronger than before! Only the strong are worthy of being my disciples!"

"Quack! Alice was wrong! Alice will never eat random things again!"

The bolt of lightning crashed down.

Alice was struck and fell to the ground, her body smoking and her limbs twitching.

After a long while, she reached out her hand from the charred pit and tremblingly raised a thumb.

"I...I'm..."

The dark clouds dispersed, and the sun shone again.

Ji Tian walked over, squatted down, and looked at her face, which was so dark that only the whites of her eyes and teeth were visible.

"How does it feel?"

Alice twitched again, then sprang up from the crater, letting out a long, triumphant roar: "Ah, good! I've achieved my Golden Core! Hahahaha!"

She put her hands on her hips, tilted her head back, took a deep breath, and then recited with great vigor:

Thunderbolts struck me.

The aroma of roasted pork is irresistible.

A golden pill rolled in my belly.

From this day forward, I shall be the God of Fire!

After reciting it, she triumphantly tossed her frizzy hair, turned back to Ji Tian with a grin, and said, "Master, how's my poem? Isn't it more rhyming than yours?"

"...Whatever makes you happy."

……

It was already evening when Ji Tian returned to the capital using the Minor Teleportation Technique. For some reason, the spatial restrictions within the academy seemed to have been updated today, so Ji Tian did not force his way through.

He arrived at the academy and immediately heard students talking about something on the way in:

"Have you heard? The dean, who disappeared three years ago, is back!"