Chapter Fifty-Nine: His Death Is Certain

Success!

When the Earth Qilin was finally crushed by his last gamble and, facing the choice between life and death, made its decision, Lin Qingyun felt a surge of secret joy in his heart.

At this moment, he ceased to restrain himself and channeled his power with all his might, summoning heavenly thunder and earthly fire. Although the final blow had yet to fall, the more power he gathered for it, the more terrifying it would become. He took the opportunity to first diminish its overall force so that, in the end, he could control it within a range the Earth Qilin could withstand.

Lin Qingyun had tried before—though he could attract the heavenly tribulation, he could never bring it down perfectly without any loss.

At the same time, in this special state, Lin Qingyun directly sliced off a portion of his divine soul power.

As his spiritual consciousness merged into the Earth Qilin’s sea of awareness, the Earth Qilin began to take this as the foundation and made a vow upon its soul.

The moment the soul oath was established, Lin Qingyun felt a jolt in his own soul. Fortunately, being in this special state and with the Earth Qilin extremely weak, the impact did not cause him much harm.

As soon as the soul oath was completed, Lin Qingyun immediately sensed a unique connection with the Earth Qilin.

Thunder rumbled overhead.

At that moment, the final and strongest heavenly tribulation descended.

Hmm?

Though only its head remained, the Earth Qilin could not help but raise its gaze to stare at the impending tribulation. Strangely, it suddenly felt that the heavenly tribulation was not as terrifying as it once seemed.

What was happening? How could it have such an absurd sensation, and why did that feeling feel so real?

Meanwhile, Lin Qingyun was giving his all. He was helping his own divine beast absorb the tribulation—he had to be focused.

Outside the battle zone, the slaughter continued.

After Zhu Yan and the Earth Qilin triggered the heavenly tribulation, no more monsters surged out from the ruins. Part of the tribulation’s power had already spilled into the ruins, causing countless monsters that were supposed to be punished to shrink back.

Even so, the monsters that had broken through before had unleashed a massive beast tide.

If not for the presence of the heads of various institutions from the Ministry of Education, the Desert Wind King Nangong Ao Shi’s attention to the matter, and the military having deployed thousands of soldiers in advance, chaos would have surely erupted.

Of course, when a relic suddenly opens, unless a massive army is prepared early with formations in place, it is nearly impossible to withstand the onslaught completely.

Fortunately, Zhu Yan and the Earth Qilin’s mutation-triggered tribulation did not let more monsters escape. Another main reason was the Desert Wind King Nangong Ao Shi, whose wind explosions suppressed monsters within hundreds of miles.

His suppression gave General Qin, Minister Feng, and the others precious time.

After Feng Shouyi rescued Nangong Lingyue and her group, he led his team to encircle and kill monsters, gradually exterminating them in one direction before moving to hunt others.

By now, the tens of thousands of rescued freshmen also joined the encirclement under the guidance of their teachers.

Alone, they could not resist the beast tide, but with their school leaders, teachers, and military coordination, it was different.

Those who came here for real combat trials were not ordinary students—they were far stronger than regular soldiers in a large army.

“Wind King, you may ease up on areas left thirteen and right nine…”

At this time, Feng Shouyi was no longer participating in the fight; he was overseeing the whole situation, monitoring for any powerful monster entities. Not only him—General Qin, Nan Yutong, and others were doing the same.

As Feng Shouyi communicated with Nangong Ao Shi, the terrifying wind explosions in several zones ceased, and monsters struggling desperately within, trying to escape, began to be encircled and slaughtered in their confusion.

---

With Nangong Ao Shi’s suppression, the beast tide was divided into separate regions, and Feng Shouyi led the freshmen directly into battle. This proved far more effective than previously raising monsters in abandoned cities for them to hunt.

After this battle, these freshmen would surely be different from others.

It was like recruits in a boot camp—no matter how much training, there was always a threshold that only real combat could cross, and only after stepping through could one transform into a veteran.

The proud students from the great academies were no different. Their future transformation would far outpace those who underwent regular hunting trials.

“Sigh…”

The cost of this made Feng Shouyi, distracted for a moment, sigh inwardly. Growth always comes at a price, and this time, the price was too high.

Though no one could have predicted the sudden opening of the relic’s entrance, he still felt a heavy burden in his heart.

After all, these decades were not like the past; there was no need for these young ones to sacrifice themselves in battle. Though the higher-ups never wanted them to become too comfortable and occasionally set up trials with casualty targets, such sudden, heavy losses were unprecedented in recent decades.

“Lin Qingyun…”

Feng Shouyi could not help but think of Lin Qingyun. The boy’s fate was bitter—his parents suddenly vanished, and now he had died so unexpectedly.

If he applied himself, perhaps he was not quite as outstanding as Nangong Lingyue, but he was definitely among the top five prodigies, even with a chance to compete for the top three. Even among all universities across China, he could rank in the top. His loss was too regrettable.

Looking up under various surveillance feeds, the terror of the tribulation clouds in the core region was breathtaking.

In such a place, no one could possibly survive.

At the heart of the ruined city, where the relic entrance lay, the final lightning tribulation had passed, yet the mutated clouds had not dispersed. So many freshmen and monsters had died under its mutated thunder; Zhu Yan had been slain, and after Zhu Yan’s death, the Earth Qilin pledged itself and survived the tribulation—the mutation was slowly fading.

Now, the Earth Qilin that survived the tribulation was barely alive. After crossing the tribulation, it should have transformed, but its life force was too depleted to sustain itself.

The residual mutated lightning and earth fire around it could still harm it with the slightest touch.

This was the Earth Qilin’s weakest moment, which is why many who undergo tribulation need trusted companions to guard them—even if the tribulation is survived, weakness follows, and danger is greatest.

Lin Qingyun, though still digesting the immense power from the last wave of tribulation—which was so strong he could barely absorb it all at once—felt the Earth Qilin’s pain and weakness and diverted his attention to quickly store it in the Creation Cauldron.

Then he began to digest the fruits of his labor. The opening of the relic brought many benefits; the liquefied spiritual energy infused with the world’s origin broke all his previous limits.

The higher the foundation, the greater the future achievement.

Time passed bit by bit. The mutated lightning tribulation slowly faded, and the outer hunt led by the army and Ministry of Education lasted several hours, gradually winding down.

By now, Lin Qingyun, having absorbed the last wave of tribulation energy, entered the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment with a Heart of the Zither.

He had not directly absorbed the tribulation’s power before; it was only after Zhu Yan’s death and his negotiations with the Earth Qilin that he began to absorb it. The successive breakthroughs to the eighth and ninth levels, completing the ninefold foundation, were thanks to the supplementation of the mutated lightning and fire.

Moreover, the life-and-death battle between the Earth Qilin and Zhu Yan, repeatedly blasted by heavenly tribulation, left the Earth Qilin’s flesh and life force as another reason for Lin Qingyun’s breakthrough.

Lin Qingyun had stored much of the Earth Qilin’s flesh, and just refining a portion of its life force had stabilized his foundation.

“This little fellow is sleeping soundly.”

Inside the Creation Cauldron, Lin Qingyun looked at the Earth Qilin, which had barely restored its body but was now palm-sized and deep in slumber. Regardless of how ferocious a creature may be, when shrunk down, it always appears adorable.

Once recovered, this little fellow would be a genuine great demon—an existence comparable to humanity’s Radiant Sun Realm. Considering its background, Lin Qingyun could not help but chuckle.

He had profited—this time, he had truly gained immensely.

---

After enjoying his secret happiness for a moment, Lin Qingyun quickly emerged from underground. Now, his spiritual consciousness was nearly twice as strong as a normal ninth-level foundation cultivator. Yet his probe revealed only desolation all around.

Looking up, he saw the tribulation clouds in the sky had nearly dispersed, with only occasional flickers of mutated lightning—like resentful spirits of those who perished under the heavenly tribulation.

He was not too concerned about the situation outside; he was merely waiting. As long as someone could enter here, he would need to wrap up.

He had to devise a reason and excuse for surviving in such an environment—something Lin Qingyun had considered long ago. His gaze fell on the relic entrance; from here, he saw mountains and rivers inside, but no monsters.

Evidently, the tribulation had frightened away any remaining creatures.

“Clean up the aftermath, make reports…”

“Take the wounded for healing—over here, all come this way…”

“Each school, gather your freshmen and report…”

“Regular troops, prepare to set up a defensive line—freshmen to temporarily withdraw from the front…”

…

At the outskirts of the ruined city, the monster tide hunt had ended.

Now, the military and the Desert Wind King Nangong Ao Shi’s forces had arrived; as the tribulation began to fade, they started setting up defenses around the core area—the relic entrance.

There was no guarantee that another beast tide would not erupt from the relic, and both the military and education officials were experienced in such matters.

Under these circumstances, there was no need for the schools’ freshmen to continue fighting.

At the Haicheng University gathering zone, the combat trial ended abruptly in this manner, but its unforgettable nature was beyond imagination.

Some were grieving and in pain, others groaning in agony, while some excitedly discussed their experiences.

People’s joys and sorrows never align—some mourned the death of classmates, some suffered from their own injuries, while most who survived were simply thrilled by the real beast hunt.

“Have you heard? Lin Qingyun ‘disappeared’…” In one area, among the core team of Zheng Haoyue, Li Daoze, and Mao Yiqiang, someone excitedly shared the news.

“Disappeared, my ass. He’s dead. At the last moment, Nangong Lingyue, Song Yichen, and Zhen Qiang were rescued, but Lin Qingyun wasn’t—he’s dead for sure. Under that tribulation, he had no chance…”

“Indeed, the core entrance should have no living being left. He’s certainly dead. A guy like him deserves it…”

…

With the beast tide resolved, word began to spread, and Zheng Haoyue’s group felt as if they had avenged a great grudge.

After all, Lin Qingyun had beaten and stripped them all before. If not for the subsequent opening of the relic entrance and the ongoing battle overshadowing it, they would have lost face entirely.

Li Daoze and Mao Yiqiang rejoiced, while Zheng Haoyue sat sullenly, staring into the distance. Dead? Not being able to take revenge personally felt somehow unsatisfying.

Though many from Haicheng University came, numerous deaths and withdrawals reduced their ranks, and the injured were taken away. Those remaining now rested in one area, quietly discussing among themselves. When some grew loud in their joy, others nearby overheard.

Brother Chao rose in fury; this time, Chu Qing did not stop him, but got up herself to scold those bastards. Ordinary conflicts were one thing, but to gloat over such matters—they were no better than animals.

Boom… boom, boom, boom…

At that moment, a figure descended from the air, and as he landed, a powerful wind pressure swept down. Li Daoze, Mao Yiqiang, and their dozen companions were instantly forced to prostrate themselves beneath its force.