While miss Yi Xuan was fully immersed in her cultivation, Herman wasn't. Partially due to the new scaly addition to his body, but also because of the tribulation clouds gathering above both the pretty Custodian and himself. Speaking of which, he was quite befuddled about why there were tribulation clouds for him as well. I mean yeah, he was planning to ascend all the way to the sixth or seventh level of the Qi Gathering realm with the help of the woman in front of him, but how was that going against the will of the Heavens so far out, that he had to be punished for it!?

"It seems that I will be able to only get to the 5th level at max, or I might get turned into ash otherwise. But, before that, there's a little something I must do..."

There has been a message that he ignored ever since he entered the Immortal World through the portal, each time due to the unforeseen circumstances that kept popping out from every bush available. The message was the System's acknowledgment of him and its desire to see him participate in the race for Heavens. While he could accept it at any point, it's better to do so while still at Qi Gathering I, since the System would calculate your growth and potential rewards, based on how many cultivation realms you breakthrough in the time available until the unsealing of the new realm.

Since he was about to skip four to five sub-realms in one go, he might as well get it over with.

"System, bring up the contract."

Congratulations!

You have been selected as one of the potential participants in the race for Heavens. 

All you need to do is give your verbal agreement and the System will acknowledge your will to take part in this event.

There are no rules or restrictions imposed, but your achievements will be calculated based on your starting age, spiritual cultivation, bodily refinement, and the number of companions that can be ascended at the end of the competition.

Would you like to participate?

Yes / No

"Yes!"

Acknowledged!

Welcome to the race for Heavens!

Your starting age has been registered as 26!

Your starting cultivation has been registered as Qi Gathering I!

Your bodily refinement has been registered as Mortal Flesh I!

Your number of ascendable companions has been registered as zero!

We wish you good luck!

With that out of the way, Herman finally allowed the Primordial Qi entrance to his spiritual world, instead of just spinning about randomly through his meridians. Once that happened, a continuous cascade kept flowing into the imaginary space, while the green snake was curiously watching the performance. 

Unsure what to do about the scaly beast, Herman ignored it temporarily and focused on the Primordial Qi freely flowing inside his spiritual world. Once inside, it kept vaporizing again and again, turning into a steam like substance that covered the skies, soon, making the 'stars' unable to be seen anymore. To pass the Qi Gathering realm and breakthrough into the Foundation one, the Primordial Qi in one's spiritual world must become saturated to the point where it becomes physical again instead of the gaseous substance at hand. 

"Of course, while cultivation goes against the way of the Heavens, it still follows the rules of the Universe. The Primordial Qi one absorbs it's already a gas-like thing, so, once inside the spiritual world, there is the need for a force to act upon it, so it can turn more corporeal and stiff. That is usually the tribulations after reaching Qi Gathering X and preparing to break into the Foundation I. It does seem like the world has other plans for me though..."

Unaware of what the result might be, given that the amount of Primordial Qi a Qi Gathering V and a Qi Gathering X cultivator posses are entirely different, he didn't know what would happen once the tribulations solidify his Qi. Also, would this tribulation happen every level of the Qi Gathering realm, or is it just a byproduct of the cultivation covenant he used as a shortcut? There were too many variables to consider before he could get an answer, but one thing was for sure: he will have to undergo tribulations while only at the mid-Qi Gathering levels!

On top of a hill, a small distance away from the cultivating pair, the group of four peeping toms was reunited once more.

[Did you bring the pills, big sister? Look at how thick the tribulation clouds are! I wonder if big sister and big brother are prepared...](Ling Ye)

[Big brother is going to be fine! He can do a cultivation covenant with someone at the Nascent Soul realm while he is only a Qi Gathering cultivator. Maybe he planned this all along.](Lan Yue)

[Calm down, both of you. Here are the pills, sect master.](Wu Xinyan)

[Little Yue, somehow, I doubt that he has planned it. He might've come in contact with information about cultivation, but only through the System. There is a limit to what he can get out of that greedy swindler. Plus, there is a big difference between theory and practice. What we see in front of us, might just as well be the result of perfect synchronization between the two of them...](Feng Qian)

[I also think that. Who knew that this guy can synchronize with big sister Xuan so well. Their speed should be increased at least eightfold when compared with the usual speed big sister is cultivating at. I only hope that Herman doesn't overreach and implodes due to intaking too much Primordial Qi at once...](Wu Xinyan)

[*Giggle* To think our beautiful Xinyan is worried about a man. If word of this got on the street, the sounds of hearts breaking could be heard all the way up to the Heavens.](Feng Qian)

[I am a woman of my word, after all, sect master. I did say that big sis Xuan and myself come as a package and I intend to keep my word. I didn't expect to see someone melting the ice walls of our dear Custodian so easily though.](Wu Xinyan)

[I see... there is one thing that concerns me though...](Feng Qian)

[Oh!? What is it?](Wu Xinyan)

[The speed of a cultivation covenant is about half as that of a proper dual-cultivation session, while its duration it's far from half. From the looks of it, Yi Xuan is about to break through at least one sub-realm and probably climb to the pinnacle of the next one. I wonder what results would a dual-cultivation session between these two bring about to our ice maiden.](Feng Qian)

[[[...]]]

The younger duo remained quiet and bashful, while the Main Elder chuckled when she noticed a slight shade of red on the Sect Master's face as well. She was about to make fun of her, but she then realized how true those words actually were. The younger ones might not know, since they are too young, but she and the Sect Master knew very well that a dual-cultivation session didn't always include s*x between the participants. There would be times where the two dual cultivators are of the same sex, but they still achieve the same results like the ones of opposites genders. Why? Because of trust!

[Big sis Qian, do you trust Herman?](Wu Xinyan)

[Not really... But, we might have to take a leap of faith if what you're thinking is true.](Feng Qian)

[Is that obvious?](Wu Xinyan)

[It's written all over your face. But it's still too early to decide on that... We can still watch from the side for a while.](Feng Qian)

[Mhm!](Wu Xinyan)

[*Pouts* Why are you two talking so cryptically!? What leap of faith? What's that about trusting Herman?](Ling Ye)

[Shh! Sister Ye, I think the two big sisters also want to have s*x with big brother. So indecent!](Lan Yue)

[[[...]]]

Leaving aside the speechless group, in the later stages of their conversation Herman opened his eyes and slowly released Yi Xuan's hands, waking her up as result. Seeing him smile and pointing upwards to his side of the sky, she nodded and closed her eyes again to fortify her cultivation in preparation for the upcoming tribulations. Herman stood up, extended a hand, and caught two pouches thrown from a nearby hill.  

Looking behind, he saw the quartet silently looking at them (well, some of the group since the younger one was whistling for some reason) and he nodded with thanks. Opening the pouch he found the expected tribulation pills for a Nascent Soul cultivator and handed them to Yi Xuan. Opening the last pouch, he found some Foundation pills making him smile wryly. 

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"I'm only at the Qi Gathering realm... What I'm I supposed to do with them? Then again, I don't think I've heard of Qi Gathering tribulation passing pills since there aren't supposed to be tribulations at this realm..."

Putting the pouch in his Inventory for safe-keeping, he equipped his Mortal Things set and finished the last preparations needed to survive his lightning shower. He could unequip the boots and remain barefoot on the ground to allow the lightning faster passing through his body, but he needed to endure it the proper way if there is any result to be seen at the end of it. With the clouds churning, he hurried away from Yi Xuan as everyone in a 10-20 feet radius would be subjected to the wrath of the Heavens. 

He wasn't afraid of her being hurt by his lightning tribulations, but rather him getting hurt by hers. From the look of it, she should begin soon as well.

"It's been a minute since the last time I went through a Qi cleansing. I only hope that my attributes are enough to get me through it..."

The tribulations usually didn't attack the main body, but rather the spiritual component of the person. In this case, that would be the spiritual world. The one way through which one can withstand the tribulation is to envelop every cell of your body with Primordial Qi and deny access to the lightning. With no way to get to one's spiritual world and destroy it, the tribulation will end after nine waves and you would've successfully passed your trials.

The only problem here was that it was never heard before of a Qi Gathering cultivator undergoing tribulation mid-realm, unless if he had done something to offend the Heavens. That would be some sort of taboo that was broken, making it unpardonable in the eyes of whoever is watching them from up there. Since he only came here for a day, there shouldn't be anything of sorts that he has done and the only thing that made sense was the damned snake. 

"If that's the case, let's put the scaly fellow to a bit of a test and see what these whole shenanigans are about. Oh, it's about to start!"

Before he could finish that thought, a bolt of lightning thicker than a grown man's leg descended at an astounding speed and struck Herman dead in the chest. Caught unaware by this ridiculous speed and power, he was thrown like a ragdoll across the ground, digging quite a steep ditch. Just as he got up to his feet and tried to catch his breath, the second wave of lightning descended giving him no time to shake away the dizziness he was feeling.

"The f*ck are you so angry about for f*cks sake!? Take it easy, damn it!"

The girls were equally shocked, as not even Foundation realm cultivators preparing to break through to the Gold Core realm shouldn't be attacked that heavily. While the three were dumbfounded, the Sect Master Feng Qian was frowning. This small detail didn't escape Wu Xinyan's gaze and she carefully asked. 

[What's wrong?](Wu Xinyan)

[Killing intent... there was a trace of killing intent in that first bolt of lightning...](Feng Qian)

[Uhm... so? Isn't that always the case? You know... the whole cultivating against the Heavens thing...](Wu Xinyan)

[No... this time... it didn't seem to be directed at Herman, but at something else in his possession.](Feng Qian)

[With the risk of repeating myself, isn't that always the case? The tribulation lightning attacking the cultivator's spiritual world???](Wu Xinyan)

[Mhm... I guess so... Maybe I'm just overthinking things.](Wu Xinyan)

[Well... I'm not so sure about that. Even after I broke through the Nascent Soul realm my tribulations weren't this... vigorous. It's like the Heavens are trying to make sure he doesn't cultivate. It's a bit spooky...](Wu Xinyan)

[But I think Sect Master is right... It doesn't feel that this tribulation is for him, but rather is aimed at something else. Hehe! Seems like 'big brother' Herman is hiding something.](Ling Ye)

[It appears so. No wonder he conquered big sister Yi Xuan so easily!](Lan Yue)

[[...]]

[Little Yue, when we get back, you and I need to have a serious conversation... before Yi Xuan kicks you to the moon and back...](Feng Qian)

While the quartet was laughing and miss Custodian was admiring the 'fireworks', Herman was complaining and swearing like a divorced lady in her mid-thirties. The fourth wave of lightning already scraped the outer layer of his Mortal Things set and if the intensity of it would keep increasing, he would probably lose the whole thing before the seventh wave.

Luckily, the tribulation had the intended effect, and the Primordial Qi he was using was solidifying in his spiritual world. If he managed to survive this whole ordeal somehow, the Qi ocean he gathered through this cultivation covenant would become solid, therefore putting him in the same realm as a Qi Gathering X cultivator. What would happen after that... he had no idea.

"Here it comes! Holly crap! The heck is that thing!? Can that even be called lightning?"

Heading for Herman, a combination of multiple bolts of lightning was freefalling towards him akin to a waterfall. This was only the 5th wave and he honestly wasn't sure if he could survive it. By the end of it, his Primordial Qi was almost used up and there wasn't a part of his body that wasn't charred black by the electrifying experience. Giving him no time to think, the 6th and the 7th waves of tribulation came together, evaporating his Mortal Things set and badly damaging his Immortal Search outfit.

The problem was bigger than that though, as he kept swapping the Primordial Qi that was still in its gaseous form in his spiritual world with the one that solidified around his skin and organs, now left with absolutely nothing to use and shield his body. 

"The little amount I have left, I should use to envelop the important parts such as the heart, lungs, brain, and other major organs, while using some to protect the Dantian as well. If that gets wrecked, I can return to Earth and live as a fisherman, enjoying the peace and quiet of one of the islands I've bought. I can only pray that my spiritual world can survive the rest..."

A bit wobbly, he stood back to his feet while looking at the still churning clouds that somehow turned even darker. With only two waves left, he sighed, patted the dust and ash from his body, while calmly waiting for the descending lightning. 

The four girls on the hill sent back to the sect at least thirty to forty curious cultivators that wanted to know who was breaking through to the Nihility realm, making the sect master want to scold them. How would their sect have such a figure and she, at the Nascent Soul realm, still retain her position? They couldn't be blamed though, as what she was seeing in front of her very eyes didn't make much sense.

[Sect Master... this tribulation is weird... It's... how should I describe it... loud bark and no bite?](Wu Xinyan)

[I was thinking something among the same lines myself. However, that's only in our case. For Herman over there, I'm sure it's at the limit of what his body can endure.](Feng Qian)

[So I wasn't imagining things! It does look more impressive than what we saw for both big sisters when they broke through the Nascent Realm, but it's not stronger than what a Foundation Realm usually endures.](Ling Ye)

[Big brother is still amazing! Having to go through this on his first day after coming to the Immortal World is quite impressive...](Lan Yue)

[[[???]]]

Seeing the inquisitive looks on her big sisters' faces, Lan Yue was confused. Only then did the other three realize that her words were indeed true. This was the first day after this guy's ascension to the Immortal World and he was undergoing tribulations already. That must be the most impressive thing that they experienced or heard about before.

The rumbling sound made by the eight wave brought them back to their senses and saw Herman being placed in a very dangerous spot. Some of his insides were burned to a crisp and he would have to probably beg for some medicine from the sect after this whole ordeal. The lightning was still moving around inside his body, swimming for his spiritual world, this time appearing as if it would succeed in its endeavor. 

"Crap! Some of it got through..."

He watched helplessly as more than 40% of the lightning wave rushed for his spiritual world. At this point, there wasn't anything else he could do except try to mend the cracks again, if it wouldn't be destroyed into nothingness. Luckily for him, there was still something between the aggressor and the would-be victim! 

The serpent eating its own tail was fully wrapped around the object the tribulation lightning desired to destroy, therefore, was attacked ruthlessly as result. By the time the 8th wave ended, the snake awoke from his siesta and was hissing at Herman in complaint. Seeing his 'imaginary' cultivation path pretty much cursing at him, he was at a loss even with all the pain he was going through. How the hell could an image he created from nothingness and Spiritual Qi have intelligence?

"Well, guess I got lucky with him taking the brunt of the damage instead of my spiritual world... Actually, no! F*ck that! There's no way I would even undergo tribulation if not for this scaly problem! So, you there! Stop complaining and protect that shit you're wrapped around! Got it!?"

Seeing the snake hissing more vigorously while shaking his head, Herman almost keeled over. This scaly bastard wasn't only intelligent, it was heartless as well! He actually wanted to abandon his position and was unwinding himself from around his spiritual world.

Herman almost coughed out blood when he saw this scene but didn't get the chance to, due to the 9th wave that just struck him out of nowhere. There was no sound and no visible pointer about when the lightning manifested, but the said thing was already in his body, heading for the fleeing snake. Only half a second later did Herman felt the immense pressure brought by the tribulation, slamming him into the ground and forcing more than one mouthful of blood to be spewed. 

The snake was also quite unlucky, as the ferocious electricity burned through his green scales and almost reduced the poor 'creature' into ash. Luckily, it survived and while still wounded, he coiled back around the spiritual world and went to sleep while staring nastily at his landlord. 

"I get that you resent me and want to complain, but who should I resent and complain to in return?! Be happy that we somehow survived..."

With the 9th wave done, there was no surprise extra tribulation lighting thrown Herman's way, even if he expected something like that to happen. His portion of the sky was clearing and Yi Xuan's side looked as if it was about to begin.

Hoping to see the troublesome woman suffer a bit just like he did, he saw nine bolts of lightning descending in a calm order and striking the Custodian's body. It looked more like a child threw some lightning-impersonating plushy at her, instead of the actual thing and with that, her portion of the sky cleared in a matter of seconds.

Unresigned and unhappy with the unfairness, Herman passed out while cursing his bad luck.