Chapter 54: Crossing the Tribulation Before Battle, Grade Nine Golden Core

"If my cultivation is not enough, then I shall raise it!"

As the words fell, a rumble echoed across the sky in an instant.

Above the sword immortal, dark clouds gathered densely, and lightning flashed amid rolling thunder. The electric glow reflected off the incredulous faces of everyone present.

"She's undergoing the heavenly tribulation!"

"Not only has she comprehended the sword intent of the sword stele, but she is also attempting to undergo the Golden Core tribulation!"

"This is bad!"

Yun Yao's expression turned worried.

Breakthroughs in the midst of battle were common, but attempting a tribulation right in the middle of a fight had a nine-out-of-ten chance of failure.

Especially the Golden Core thunder tribulation.

This was the tribulation that laid the foundation for a cultivator's future achievements. Even with thorough and meticulous preparation, ordinary people could not guarantee success, let alone a breakthrough attempted on the spot with zero preparation.

Chu Lingyun's action seemed astonishing, but in reality, it was courting death.

Ye Ji also wore a look of deep regret. "Miss Lingyun is blessed with supreme talent and possesses a unique comprehension of the sword dao. However, undergoing a tribulation on the spot is by no means a wise choice. Back when I faced my Golden Core tribulation, I spent a full three years in preparation."

"Hahaha, I never expected Chu Lingyun to be so foolish as to choose to undergo a tribulation right now, and a Golden Core tribulation at that. With zero preparation, let's see how the heavenly tribulation strikes her to death!"

Ye Fan was ecstatic.

He had originally feared that Chu Lingyun would return to the Ye family to exact revenge on him, but he never anticipated that she would choose to undergo her tribulation on the spot.

Now, he didn't even need to make a move. The heavenly tribulation alone would strike her down.

Boom!

A bolt of purple lightning descended from the sky, striking straight down toward the top of Chu Lingyun's head.

"It's actually purple lightning!"

Ye Ji was once again astonished. "Had it been earlier, I might have thought she still had a sliver of a chance of survival, but now she is undoubtedly doomed."

"Purple lightning? What does that mean?"

Yun Yao asked Jian Batian in confusion.

"Heavenly tribulations are divided into three tiers: white, blue, and purple."

Jian Batian gazed at the purple electric light in the sky, his heart trembling violently. "The darker the color of the thunder tribulation, the greater its might."

"Among Golden Core tribulations, white represents the first, second, and third grades of Golden Core; blue represents the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades; and purple represents the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades."

"A ninth-grade Golden Core!"

Yun Yao's heart surged. "If she survives this tribulation, wouldn't that make it a ninth-grade Golden Core?"

"Indeed."

Jian Batian nodded. "However, purple lightning is inherently the most difficult tribulation, and since she is attempting it on the spot with zero preparation, the probability of success can be said to be virtually negligible."

Hearing this, Yun Yao wore a look of profound pity.

Such a peerless genius was about to perish by way of the heavenly tribulation.

What a shame.

Boom.

The purple thunder tribulation landed squarely on Chu Lingyun.

"She's... unharmed?"

Ye Fan was stunned. The purple thunderbolt struck Chu Lingyun, yet she didn't even shudder.

"She wasn't directly blasted to death? Truly, her talent is extraordinary," Ye Ji clicked his tongue in wonder. "However, the Golden Core tribulation is the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation; there are still thirty-five more strikes of this magnitude."

"So there are thirty-five more! Hahaha, she's dead for sure."

Ye Fan rejoiced.

Boom! Rumble!

The bolts of thunder fell one after another.

Yet Ye Fan's expression grew increasingly astonished, because under the baptism of so many thunder tribulations, Chu Lingyun remained completely unscathed.

Furthermore, her vitality was growing more and more exuberant.

The Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation finally concluded as all strikes fell.

A Golden Core condensed above Chu Lingyun's head, inscribed upon its surface were nine distinct patterns of dao rules.

The Golden Core descended, settling directly into her dantian.

The Golden Core Tribulation was complete!

"She succeeded! She actually succeeded!"

"The Golden Core tribulation, and a purple thunder tribulation at that—she actually succeeded in passing it with absolute zero preparation."

"This defies the heavens too much!"

Ye Ji's old eyes widened in shock. He had spent three years in preparation, yet had only narrowly survived a blue thunder tribulation to condense a fifth-grade Golden Core.

Yet Chu Lingyun had prepared nothing at all.

She underwent the tribulation on the spot.

And forged a ninth-grade Golden Core.

"A genius! A true genius!"

Ye Ji was overwhelmingly excited. "She grasped sword intent without ever holding a sword, and without the slightest preparation, she underwent the tribulation to forge a ninth-grade Golden Core."

"A genius of this caliber is rare even across the entire ancient clan."

"Miss Lingyun, come back to the Ye family with me! Once we return, I will immediately inform the patriarch, and he will personally instruct you, appointing you as the Saintess of the Ye family!"

"To hell with the Ye family!"

Chu Lingyun waved her sleeve, her aura already completely transformed. A ninth-grade Golden Core coupled with the Heart-Ice Sword Intent allowed her to utterly suppress all her peers.

Even some of the elders of the Immortal Sword Sect felt an oppressive weight pressing upon their hearts when standing before Chu Lingyun.

"In this life, I am only the disciple of my Master."

Chu Lingyun completely ignored Ye Ji's attempt to win her over. "Today, Ye Fan must die! Who dares to stop me?!"

"Uncle Ye, save me! Uncle Ye, save me!"

Ye Fan was so terrified his legs turned to jelly. He could never have imagined that an abandoned child of the Ye family would possess such heaven-defying aptitude.

The Heart-Ice Sword Intent.

A ninth-grade Golden Core.

Achieved on the very same day.

Was she even human?

"Miss Lingyun, although you have broken through to the Golden Core realm and even forged a ninth-grade Golden Core, you are still no match for me," Ye Ji advised.

"Whether I am or not, we shall know once we try."

Chu Lingyun unleashed her aura, and an ice-blue fan materialized in her hand. "All things can be swords—Heart-Ice Sword Slash!"

The Winter Fan waved.

The formidable icy gale transformed into countless sharp swords that lunged toward Ye Ji.

The bone-chilling cold instantly blanketed the entire plaza of the Immortal Sword Sect in a layer of frost.

"A Saint Artifact!"

Ye Ji's expression changed drastically. Not only did Chu Lingyun possess a Saint Artifact, but she was actually using the Winter Fan to launch sword qi attacks.

Tens of thousands of ice swords rained down.

Ye Ji resisted with all his might, yet his body was still slashed into a thousand holes.

"Hmph! Today, whether Ye Fan dies or not is up to me!"

Chu Lingyun looked coldly at Ye Ji.

Ye Ji's heart leaped wildly.

Chu Lingyun was simply too heaven-defying. Given his current cultivation, while he wouldn't be killed by her, it was absolutely impossible for him to take her away by force.

Ye Ji swallowed hard, unable to utter a word.

"Hmph."

With a look of utter disdain, Chu Lingyun stepped up to Ye Fan.

"Sister, Sister! We share the same bloodline, you can't kill me!"

Ye Fan dropped to his knees with a thud. "Didn't you want me to return the resources? I'll return them! Take this Qingling Saint Fruit, it's more than enough to repay all the resources we owe."

"My Master said that the day the Ye family fails to return what they owe the Mysterious Dan Sect, an Elder of the Ye family dies."

"However, let me add one more thing: for every day it remains unpaid, the debt doubles."

"Consider this Qingling Saint Fruit as the interest paid. Therefore, you must still die."

Without even blinking, Chu Lingyun ended Ye Fan's life right then and there.

Then, turning her gaze back to Ye Ji, she said, "You heard everything I said. I hope you return the resources owed to my Master soon, or else I will slaughter the entire Ye family."

Ye Ji remained silent.

He simply slunk away in disgrace.

Silence.

From the Sect Master of the Immortal Sword Sect down to the ordinary disciples, everyone stared at Chu Lingyun as if looking at a monstrous demon.

What kind of freak was this?

She comprehended the Heart-Ice Sword Intent in a quarter of an hour, forged a ninth-grade Golden Core with zero preparation, and forced a mighty Divine Transformation realm expert to retreat using merely her Golden Core cultivation.

Was this even a prodigy?

This was sheer defiance of the heavens.

"Fairy Yunyao,"

Chu Lingyun turned her gaze toward Yun Yao once more. "How is it? Have you considered becoming my Master's disciple? I'd imagine you wouldn't want the Immortal Sword Sect to be implicated by the Ye family, right?"