"Oh ho ho, little Golden Core Pill, seems you're just begging to be eaten—so tiny, so short, so tender and white." Ye Chuan examined the white pill in his palm with a roguish grin. "Let me give you a little rub."
This was no ordinary pill—it was a Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.
Heaven. Grade.
Ye Chuan hadn’t expected to strike gold on his first attempt. Turns out, spending 100,000 bucks to upgrade his alchemy furnace was worth every penny.
He glanced at the requirements for Foundation Establishment:
[Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment: Conditions met. Proceed?]
Establish!
But just as Ye Chuan was about to confirm, hesitation crept in. If he remembered correctly, breaking through to Foundation Establishment should trigger a heavenly tribulation.
Would it reduce his house to rubble?
After some thought, Ye Chuan decided to hold off for now. He needed a suitable location—somewhere far from the crowded urban village. And as luck would have it…
"Seems like I’ve got just the spot." A plan formed in his mind.
After a quick tidy-up, he headed straight out.
---
Half an hour later, Ye Chuan stood in the outskirts.
No people.
And thankfully, no ghosts like Lan Xiaoke either. The area was pitch-black, save for a few trees rustling in the night breeze.
Taking a deep breath, his gaze landed on a nearby high-voltage power tower.
As everyone knows, power towers come equipped with lightning rods—or more accurately, "lightning shields"—mounted at the top, running along the transmission lines. Their job? Absorb lightning and channel it harmlessly into the ground.
After confirming there were no surveillance cameras around, Ye Chuan pulled out his phone, opened the app, and tapped the "Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment" button.
[Foundation Establishment in progress—]
[Warning: Due to your unique constitution, survival under heavenly tribulation is required.]
Two crimson alerts flashed on the screen.
Ye Chuan looked up. The inky sky was calm, dotted with sparse stars—not a hint of thunder.
"Did I pick the right spot? Maybe no tribulation here?"
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than dark clouds gathered overhead, crackling with arcs of electricity.
Ye Chuan: "…"
Seriously? That fast?
Staring at the looming storm, he smirked and gestured toward the power tower.
"Go on, strike here. Let me show you human ingenuity."
As if provoked, the clouds rumbled violently before unleashing a bolt as thick as a barrel!
The lightning streaked down—blindingly fast. Ye Chuan instantly activated his Chaos Indestructible Body.
But the bolt never reached him. Instead, it struck the power tower, fizzling out harmlessly in a shower of sparks.
"Huh? That’s it?" Ye Chuan scoffed, lips curling. "Pathetic."
He flashed a taunting hand sign. "Put some effort into it, yeah? That was weak."
The clouds roared louder, their golden arcs shifting to a menacing crimson.
BOOM!
This time, the lightning descended with apocalyptic fury—
Yet again, Ye Chuan remained unscathed.
"Still nothing." He shook his head, impressed. The tower’s lightning dispersion was even more foolproof than he’d imagined. Engineering triumphs over heavenly wrath, apparently.
With a shrug, he plopped down and pulled out his phone, idly scrolling as bolt after bolt hammered the tower, each one neutralized effortlessly.
Gradually, the thunder faded. The clouds thinned, their energy spent.
"Wow. You’re really bad at this," Ye Chuan muttered, watching the storm dissipate into nothingness.
His phone buzzed.
[Foundation Establishment (Early Stage) achieved.]
[Status: Auto-cultivating. Estimated 25 days until Mid-Stage (efficiency affected by cultivation techniques, spiritual roots, physique, etc.).]
Foundation Establishment!
A bona fide Foundation Establishment expert!
Ye Chuan flexed, reveling in his newfound strength—his body and meridians vastly reinforced. With a flourish, he commanded, "Sword, come!"
The Azure Peak Sword materialized from his spatial pouch, hovering obediently beside him.
Gripping the blade, he slashed casually. Spiritual energy coalesced into a crescent-shaped sword aura, carving a trench dozens of meters long into the earth—effortless as slicing tofu.
"Perfection." He clicked his tongue, then leveled the sword and stepped onto it.
"Rise!"
The sword shot forward like lightning—
Leaving Ye Chuan flat on the ground, bewildered.
"…Huh?"
Wait. His sword—!
As the Azure Peak Sword vanished into the horizon like a runaway comet, a mental stampede of ten thousand Lan Xiaokes galloped through Ye Chuan’s mind.
"Damn it! I wasn’t even on board yet!"
He scrambled after it.
---
Meanwhile, several kilometers away…
A black sedan cruised down a desolate road.
Inside, three men grinned savagely. "The Tianhai Group’s young miss. One big score, and we’re set for life."
Bound tightly in the backseat, a woman in a sleek office uniform—her slender legs sheathed in black stockings—glared silently. Qiao Xin knew exactly why they’d taken her: to destabilize Tianhai Group.
As the roadside grew darker, her hope dimmed.
If only someone could save her…
"Boss, what’s that light?" the front passenger suddenly asked.
The driver glanced out—just as a streak of light, like a shooting star, slammed into their tire.
BANG!
The car swerved violently before crashing into a guardrail.
"What the hell was that? A meteor?!" The driver stumbled out, phone flashlight revealing a sword embedded in the shredded tire.
"A… sword?"