It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming—upon the vast stretches of the Holy Capital countless cultivators flew around on swords and airships.

Below these magical figures were make-shift seats designed to hold around five hundred thousand people. Most on the ground, some on the sky, fixed to place by magical formations, there was not one seat unoccupied, and the echoing chatter of this amazing crowd made it hard to focus.

In the sky and down the earth, servants of the Li family hollered, carrying trays of steaming rolls of chicken, bread, dumplings, spirit wine, hot goat milk, honey dew and many more delicacies.

People paid them spirit stones in bulk and ate and spoke and watched the two figures standing atop a hill in the Li estate.

This hill was made by Li Xuanhe for the audience on the ground—for the leverage made it quite hard to see the base, if Li Ao were to accept tribulation within the estate.

‘’...Uncle?’’

‘’What’s wrong?’’

‘’Do these people not have anything to do?’’

‘’Is it any of your business?’’

‘’Of fucking course it is!’’ Li Ao’s cheeks twitched at the people laughing all around. Including those in the sky, as well as the stragglers who had nowhere to sit, there was at least a million people watching him!

‘’What happened to the wartime economy!? What happened to sensitive times!? What happened to the lack of manpower!?’’

‘’Oh, by heavens, pipe down you leg-high bastard! Did your balls get sucked in from pressure!?’’

‘’You bunch of greedy old geezers! You asked for a day to prepare all these, didn’t you!? There was no need to wait for the formation—not at all!’’

‘’What do you know about formations, you pipsqueak!? Huh!? You know more than me!? You know more than your grandfather!?’’

‘’I don’t know more than you, but I know better than you!’’

‘’You dare insult your elderly!?’’

‘’When did I—Murder! Murder!’’

Watching Li Xuanhe chase Li Ao, his grandpa let out a sigh. Beside him was the Great-grandaunt, as well as a few hundred seats for the heads of other families. At the forefront, beside the blank-looking Li Anjing was a seat with a mirror on it.

The mirror reflected Aunt Shu’s tired-looking face. Her hair a mess, her clothes bloodied, the scenery behind her showed a starry sky with constant clashes of light.

‘’Anjing, Anjing, can’t you adjust the mirror a little?’’

‘’I don’t know how.’’

‘’Just hold it a bit even, I can’t see little Ao being beaten—why can’t you people kill a void beast without commotion!? I can’t hear my nephew!’’

‘’...’’

The younger members of the families were within the house’s main hall, where hundreds of them sat and mingled. Each had a small table in front of them full of wine and dessert, and sat in soft cushions.

Li Nan presided over the arrangements while watching the scene outside.

‘’How is he so fast? Can cultivating Soul increase your speed?’’

Li Xuanhe only chased Li Ao within the limits of Qi Condensation speed, but didn’t seem able to touch him even once.

In other corners were other people with their own thoughts, who normally would occupy two chapters worth of exposition about their families and themselves, which would be thrown away five chapters later.

After these people went away and Li Xuanhe caught Li Ao by the collar, other elders’ preparations ended.

He threw Li Ao on top of the artificial hill and dusted off his hands.

‘’Be good now! Don’t rush to finish your tribulation—people need some entertainment, after all!’’

‘’Entertainment? Dogshit!’’

‘’You—’’

‘’Xuanhe, come back.’’

Patriarch’s voice echoed around them, slightly fed up. Most likely, Li Ao thought, the Imperial Uncle in the audience made fun of him for some reason.

‘’Hmph! You better listen to your elders!’’

Saying so, Li Xuanhe flew away, leaving trembling Li Ao by himself.

‘’Bunch of bullies! Absolute villains, all of them!’’

‘’They want to make me a fool, a show!?’’

Gritting his teeth, Li Ao tucked in the collars of his thin robe. For today, he wore a simple white robe that wound up around his limbs, tightening their hold.

Adding up his thin and pale countenance, he looked like a ghost.

‘’Just you see—you want me to take it slow?’’

‘’I’ll show you how fast I am!’’

Thinking so, Li Ao cast a look around the hill. Circling his position, people dispersed like a crescent crowd of moths—colourful dots of hundreds of thousands on the ground or up in the air. Only the sky above him remained clear, where the Sun shone down with all its might.

Glaring at the bright orange light, Li Ao clenched both fists.

‘Begin!’’

With a stomp, his Qi started to circulate.

After so long, only mobilizing his Qi felt lacking somehow, but Li Ao ignored the weird feeling and pushed on.

Each revolution surpassed the one before in speed, rumbling, and his Qi could no longer be contained within his meridians. The circulation sped up, turning into a complete wheel of aquamarine light, and let out a crack.

With it, Li Ao felt a finger prick his mind. A silent call echoed in the minds of Soul Formation masters.

Above the heavens, skies began to darken. Dark mists began to pop into existence, covering the Sun.

With the official beginning, the rest of the Nascent Soul elders and Li Xuanhe took seats around the hill. Their terrifying cultivation bases made ripples in the air as their powers poured into the glistening formation.

A pentagram appeared on the ground, then a pillar of fluctuating light rose towards the heavens.

A boom echoed, and Li Ao’s figure turned slightly blurry, as well as the spreading dark mist.

Now, they only existed within the boundary of First Space and Second Space.

Upon the sky, the flowing dark wisps condensed into thick, dark clouds. Within its depths, golden lightning began to crackle.

Hearing the faint booms, several formations began to glow and cover the streets. Though it was safe for now, when Heavenly Thunder appeared it could deafen even low-level cultivators with its thunderclaps.

With the forming of these glistening bubbles, Li Ao finally raised a finger.

‘’I AM SPEED!’’

The world came to a halt—the clouds halted, trembled, then exploded into a gigantic storm of golden hail.

Nine bolts of golden thunder instantly formed.

‘’This kid! Doesn’t he have a conscience!?’’ Li Xuanhe grit his teeth down the ground. ‘’How are we supposed to make more sales if he finishes so quickly!?’’

Other elders around the formation sighed while the Audience burst into discussion.

‘’This guy is too reckless. Doesn’t he know what a good pacing is?’’

‘’Ain’t he a young master? All of’em go embarrassed the first time~’’

‘’I took a leave from my job for this shit?’’

‘’You took a leave? Sister, I promise even your boss is in the crowd somewhere—’’

‘’—hey, give me two cream-filled bacon buns!’’

Li Ao shut off his ears to the annoying chatter and lowered his hand.

Taking a step on a boulder in front of him, spreading open his arms, his heroic figure reflected his determination!

‘’Who would give you clowns a good show! Come down here, you heavenly bastard!’’

Thunder exploded.

Nine bolts turned into a single line and crashed down on the hill. Ground shook and the sky lit up in bright colours. When people began to wince, servants threw away their food trays and took out rows of black tools.

‘’Sunglasses for five low-grade spirit stones!’’

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Five seconds after the blast, Li Ao’s figure emerged from the dark cloud.

He stood there in the same pose, heroic and unscathed!

Laughing, Li Ao pointed his finger at the heavens.

‘’Don’t make me wait!’’

His Qi rumbled, and traces of the thunder left within his body began to infiltrate his dantian and meridians. Both of them began to expand and grow in density, becoming stronger.

A tribulation was just a tempering by fire, in essence. When heavens saw the cultivator ready to ascend to a higher level, it would give them a call of their approval. There was no going against heavens or breaking the skies—that was just an exaggeration of mortal fictions.

Heavens were warm, and Heavens loved its creations.

However, that love meant nothing when it came to survival. Heavens gave every life one task in their existence: to survive!

To survive through dangers, disasters, and effects of time! Any life form’s primary goal and mission was this one thing.

Even the heavens had to survive.

Thus, if the cultivator couldn’t survive the onslaught of thunder and tempering, it was not in heavens’ interest to decide what became of them.

It would simply provide the chance. How everything ended up was up to the cultivator.

Li Ao didn’t learn this from his family, but from his spare time spent searching the Universal Shop.

He also learned how to challenge the heavens using a single finger.

Hence, heavens noticed his defiant attitude quite well. The clouds began to churn again. Instead of the usual step-by-step gathering of thunder, three bolts of Heavenly Thunder formed.

Watching the blue flashes of thunderbolts, the crowd went wild.

‘’Oh fuck you, can’t you take it a little slower!?’’

‘’I don’t wanna go back to work...’’

‘’I want my money back! Where are the peddlers!?’’

Li Xuanhe trembled as he watched the proceedings.

‘’This...this leg-high bastard!’’

Li Ao let out another laugh. He took a glance at his spatial ring, then braced himself for the impact.

Winds picked up at the arrival of Heavenly Thunder. Blue light crackled all over the sky and tempests formed upon the hill, flapping Li Ao’s long hair.

‘’Come!’’

The thunder descended.

Three claps of thunder, three explosions of lightning.

Booming, shivering, the entire hill seemed to be about to collapse. Li Ao received the strike with gritted teeth, enduring the whipping of thunder within his body.

His skin got torn and bloody scratches appeared all over him, but there was no true damage!

While it still hurt like hell; it couldn't surpass the pain he felt from cultivating the Soul Expanding Manual...

Blue lightning invaded his meridians and travelled down to the dantian. Every pulsation of the invasive power destroyed his meridians, tore them to shreds, but his strong vitality came to their rescue and stitched them together.

Once the thunder lost its violent strength, the remaining tame energy further aided in his recovery. Each and every one of his meridians turned bigger and stronger—feeling the increased strength, Li Ao let out a beastial roar.

His aura began to climb up and up, with its rise a visible aquamarine aura began to appear around his limbs.

He was but one step away from Foundation Establishment!

‘’This is the time—’’ Waving his hand, Li Ao took out all the remaining Misty Qi Pills within the spatial ring.

Just standing there, the bottles let out a golden Spiritual Qi mist, traveling several dozen meters in the air.

The display of extravagant wealth shocked everyone, including his grandpa.

‘’This boy! Why is he wasting all of them!? Five should be enough for a Violet Foundation!’’

‘’No—is he preparing for the Soul as well?’’

A soul practitioner was rare, too rare to be precise. Those privy to Li Ao’s cultivation, as well as the few old monsters that could sense his Soul Cultivation had a little glimpse at his aim.

‘’The extra supply can help him resist the destruction of his soul.’’

‘’Still, it will be the same as going back and forth in hell.’

However, all of them were wrong.

The Dark Foundation, after all, didn’t exist in the Four Mountains Realm!

In response to the last challenge, the dark clouds descended.

Within the depths, nine bolts of Heavenly Thunder roared into being, crackling and buzzing with excitement.

The heavens were excited!

Li Ao let out a laugh as well. Suddenly, all of the pills turned into fine dust, turning into streams of light—they poured into his mouth and nose and overloaded his small dantian.

In an instant, the Heavenly Thunders collapsed within themselves, turning into a single strand of thin, scarlet light.

‘’Hell thunder!?’’

‘’Was this guy not bragging!?’’

‘’Holy heavens, Sister Nan, he is going to die!’’

Ignoring the children pulling on her sleeves, Li Nan cast a weird look at Li Ao.

Li Xuanhe and others present in the family dinner let out one sigh after another, while the audience turned silent.

Within that rare bout of silence, Li Ao’s laugh could be heard ever more clearly.

‘’This guy is mad...’’

‘’When was the last time someone called Hell Thunder for Foundation Establishment?’’

‘’Two hundred years ago, Paragon’s Disciple...’’

‘’But he used the tribulation to kill a Foundation Establishment Dragon, right?’’

The mention of the man caused Great-Grandaunt Li and grandpa’s face to turn dark.

The duo cast melancholic gazes at the falling thunder.

Li Ao, however, cast his gaze within himself.

Within his dantian, the constant invasion of Qi rampaged around like rabid bulls, breaking apart the walls and floors of his source.

Bit by bit, the dantian began to shatter, then reform.

Each broken part became bigger and grew even more solid; following his will, they began to connect into the shape of a 9-floor pagoda!

This pagoda had a bronze color at first—but with each infusion of Qi and other pieces, it quickly began to transform into silver, then gold—

Right before it turned Violet, Li Ao created a gigantic hand of Spiritual Qi and struck down from its ceiling—the blow shattered the upper six floors into smithereens!

The pain sent him shivering, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Hell Thunder calmed down—and people noticed the abnormal situation.

Being the closest, Li Xuanhe and other elders turned grave pale.

‘’What is this retard doing!?’’

‘’He is crippling his cultivation base!?’’

People began to send transmissions towards the patriarch. ‘’Uncle Bo!’’

Li Anjing cast a look at his father, Li Bo, ready to move forward.

‘’Stay put.’’

Hearing Li Bo’s calm voice, Li Anjing sat down.

Aunt Shu’s voice echoed around them. ‘’Hey, what’s happening, little Anjing? I can’t see anything!’’

‘’...’’

‘’Come down!’’

Li Ao’s roar echoed again.

The heavens rumbled, then the Hell Thunder shot down like an arrow.

A straight line of scarlet divided the sky into two halves and blasted the hill’s surface clean. Booms echoed, tonnes of rocks exploded into showers of debris.

Yet within all the chaos, Li Ao still stood upright.

Blood trickled down his mouth and a flush had overcome his steely face.

Behind him, the illusory image of a three floor pagoda appeared—yet, this pagoda was neither gold nor violet, but a deep dark that absorbed light! Sunlight seemed to bend around its edges, disappearing into nothingness, casting a circle of dark halo around his being.

Ignoring the gasps and speculations, Li Ao focused on the Hell Thunder within his dantian.

Even he didn’t expect to attract Hell Thunder this early on. From what he knew, it would only arrive when he attempted to break through Silver Body.

However, this one was just a strand. Unlike Sun Jian’s attracted thunder, which had been a complete bolt, his particular thunder only had one-tenth of its power.

Still, it was greater than a dozen Heavenly Thunders combined.

Now, watching it ravage and reform his dantian and meridians, Li Ao felt his strength climb even further. The pagoda within his dantian had thousands of light shards surrounding it, flashing Violet and Gold, waiting to be constructed.

However, he had to ignore those.

To construct a Dark Foundation, one needed to leave empty space for three paths!

Universe gave three paths of cultivation to all beings—Spirit, Body, and Soul.

One could derive countless paths from these three, depending on the mobilization and utilization of the power.

Any one of them could bring a being to the peak of existence, the limit of Ascendance. When one combined all three, they would ascend to become a higher life form and be called an Ascendant!

Before that stage, it was considered not just impossibly hard, but also redundant to cultivate all three—yet, to Li Ao and other Agents Of The Universe, how could it be any more impossible?

All they needed was the foundation for it! This foundation was called the Dark Foundation, and it was separated into four parts!

First three floors were for Spiritual Qi!

Middle three floors were for Physique!

Upper three floors were for Soul!

And the last floor would be topped by the remnants of the Spiritual Qi pagoda!

That way, it would complete a ten-floor Dark Foundation and make them almost invincible within their stage!

Vast majority of Agents cultivated this path—for those treading the darkness of time and space, what was more important than being able to survive a myriad of dangers?

Gritting his teeth, Li Ao watched the clouds retreat above to disperse.

He took out several 9th-grade healing pills and popped them in his mouth, then began to circulate his Qi like a madman!

The scratches and bloody marks began to close at visible speed and a part of his strength returned to him.

Watching him sit and heal, the crowd let out whistles and boos.

‘’At least it was exciting to see a legendary moment...’’

‘’What legend? He only has three floors, he failed to breakthrough.’’

‘’Indeed. In this lifetime, unless he re-cultivates he won’t be able to surpass the third-level of Foundation Establishment.’’

‘’Another generic sentence intended for exposition.’’

‘’What did you say?’’

While people were beginning to pack up and leave, the clouds halted.

The heavy mass of darkness began to tremble, then gather again, this time in a greater magnitude. Thunder began to boom again, crackling both Gold and Blue.

Li Xuanhe and other elders let out gasps as Li Ao’s aura began to climb once more.

Up on the hill, Li Ao’s body let out a bloody ancient aura, as well as an endless Bronze Mist that covered his surroundings. Before him were dozens of Vitality pills he hadn’t consumed and many more he bought with spirit stones. The emanated aura caused grass to regrow on the barren, cracked hill.

‘’Physique tribulation? He cultivated body as well?’’

‘’Spirit, Body...and soul.’’

For a moment, the experts in the crowd managed to glimpse at the real truth.

‘’Three floors for three parts—this leg-high is mad!’’

‘’Where did he learn such a suicidal method!?’’

He had already taken great damage from the first tribulation—just a few ninth-grade pills wouldn’t heal the hidden injuries within his meridians and dantian.

Even those who cultivated both body and spirit would wait a few weeks to attempt the other!

However, Li Ao had no such luxury. If the first floor of his pagoda had a chance to condense into reality, he would lose the chance to construct the other floors.

Hence, he pushed on regardless.