Old Friends Reunite, Tragic News Arrives

The thunderclouds in the sky grew increasingly dense and oppressive, casting the ground below into darkness. The suffocating pressure left the members of the Lin family struggling to breathe.

Boom!

With a deafening roar, a figure shot up into the sky.

"It's the Patriarch! The Patriarch!"

"The Patriarch's aura is so powerful now!"

"This is terrifying! Is this the might of an Immortal Realm expert? Just his presence alone makes it hard to breathe!"

"Why do I feel like the Patriarch's aura is even stronger than the heavenly tribulation itself?"

"Hahaha! As expected of our Lin family's Patriarch! This heavenly tribulation is nothing before him!"

Lin Xiangliu's appearance filled the Lin family with excitement.

Standing mid-air, Lin Xiangliu gazed up at the heavenly tribulation with confidence and exhilaration in his eyes.

"Finally, I've reached this step."

"You think a puny tribulation can stop Lin Xiangliu?"

"What a joke!"

Lin Xiangliu was brimming with confidence, completely dismissing the heavenly tribulation before him. Seemingly provoked by his arrogance, the tribulation's aura grew even more terrifying.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Lin Xiangliu wasn’t this arrogant back in the day. Has success gone to his head?"

"Though his strength and talent are impressive, this is still a heavenly tribulation."

"Does he really think the tribulation is some pushover?" Da Huang sneered.

"The heavenly tribulation is formidable, but Lin Xiangliu isn’t weak either. Knowing him, he must have some trump card—otherwise, he wouldn’t act like this," Chen Chang'an remarked calmly.

"Of course he has a trump card. Look at the armor he’s wearing—it’s no ordinary item."

"It looks familiar, but I can’t recall its name."

Da Huang could tell there was something special about the armor Lin Xiangliu wore. It seemed familiar, yet he couldn’t place it.

"It’s the Wu family’s Divine Dragon Armor."

Chen Chang'an frowned slightly. The Wu family’s Divine Dragon Armor had been passed down to Wu Mingdao—so why was Lin Xiangliu wearing it now?

This was a priceless treasure, something the Wu family had obtained by chance in the past. Rumor had it that it was crafted from the scales of a flood dragon.

Flood dragons had vanished from the Tai Xuan Realm long ago, though no one knew why.

This Divine Dragon Armor was truly one of a kind.

"Ah, right! The Divine Dragon Armor! No wonder it looked so familiar."

"Back when Lin Xiangliu sparred with Wu Mingdao, Wu Mingdao won thanks to the advantage of this armor."

"How did such an important treasure end up with Lin Xiangliu? Did something happen between them?"

"Hard to say. We’ll have to ask him ourselves later."

A thousand years had passed since they last met, and Chen Chang'an couldn’t guess what had transpired between the two. But the matter of the Divine Dragon Armor was indeed puzzling.

As they spoke, the heavenly tribulation finally descended. Facing it head-on, Lin Xiangliu stood his ground with unshakable defiance.

With each successive bolt of lightning, however, Lin Xiangliu began to struggle.

The final bolt, in particular, was at least ten times more powerful than the previous ones.

Sensing its overwhelming might, Lin Xiangliu’s expression turned grave, his focus sharpening.

"What’s happening?"

"Why is this bolt so much stronger?"

"It feels at least ten times more powerful than the last one!"

"They say breaking through to the Immortal Realm is fraught with peril. Now I see why—just this heavenly tribulation alone would doom most cultivators."

"Exactly! It’s absolutely terrifying. If it were me, I wouldn’t stand a chance."

"Do you think… the Patriarch can withstand it?"

"..."

The Lin family watched anxiously as their legendary Patriarch faced the tribulation, their hearts clenched with worry.

When the final bolt struck, some of the more faint-hearted couldn’t bear to watch and closed their eyes.

Boom!

The thunderbolt slammed into Lin Xiangliu with devastating force, sending him plummeting from the sky.

"Patriarch!"

The Lin family members' hearts lurched at the sight.

Had their Patriarch failed?

"That Divine Dragon Armor is impressive—it blocked nearly half the power of that final bolt."

"Without it, Lin Xiangliu would’ve been lucky to escape with his life," Da Huang mused.

"The Divine Dragon Armor is indeed remarkable. It’s practically a semi-Emperor-grade treasure," Chen Chang'an agreed with a nod.

"Cough, cough! That was too close. Since when is a heavenly tribulation this brutal?"

Lin Xiangliu looked utterly disheveled. His Divine Dragon Armor bore minor cracks, though they would gradually repair themselves.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself.

Having broken through to the Immortal Realm, his recovery abilities were now extraordinary.

In a flash, he reappeared before the Lin family.

Seeing him unharmed, their faces lit up with joy.

"All hail the Patriarch!"

"All hail the Patriarch!"

The Immortal Realm—the Lin family finally had an expert of this level! From this day forward, they would rise to even greater heights.

"Enough. It’s just a breakthrough—no need for all this fuss."

"I have matters to attend to. All of you, return for now."

Huh?

Matters to attend to?

The Lin family was puzzled. Why would their Patriarch have urgent business right after his breakthrough?

Before anyone could ask, Lin Xiangliu vanished once more.

"Brother Chen, it’s been a thousand years. We meet again at last."

Lin Xiangliu had noticed Chen Chang'an and Da Huang during the tribulation, but he hadn’t been able to spare them any attention at the time.

"After all these years, you’ve only just reached the Immortal Realm?"

"That’s a bit slow, don’t you think?" Chen Chang'an teased.

"Brother Chen, you don’t understand. For a while, family affairs held me back."

"Otherwise, I would’ve broken through a hundred years sooner," Lin Xiangliu sighed.

"In that regard, you’re no match for Wu Mingdao. That kid was single-minded, obsessed with strength and nothing else."

"But speaking of Wu Mingdao—how did his Divine Dragon Armor end up on you?"

"Did he already break through to the Immortal Realm and lend it to you?" Da Huang asked with a grin.

At the mention of Wu Mingdao, Lin Xiangliu’s expression darkened.

"Brother Chen… Mingdao is dead," Lin Xiangliu said mournfully.

The words struck Chen Chang'an and Da Huang like a thunderbolt.

Dead?

Wu Mingdao was dead?

Though Chen Chang'an hadn’t known Wu Mingdao for long, the young man’s straightforward and sincere nature had endeared him to Chen Chang'an.

He never imagined that a prodigy like Wu Mingdao could meet such an end.

"How did he die?"

"Was it vengeance from an enemy?" Chen Chang'an asked gravely.

"Brother Chen, this isn't the place to talk. Let's find somewhere more private."

"Agreed. Lead the way."