The Lightning Insight
The realization gained from the Heavenly Tribulation. "Ah..." Baek Cheong stared at her father, gripped by a strange sensation. He appeared so precarious, as if he might collapse at any moment, yet he remained unyielding. It was as if he had gone beyond merely enduring the tribulation; he had taken root in that spot, becoming one with heaven and earth. However, the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud above his head was still undulating slowly. The ominous energy within the cloud was being drawn together, sluggishly but surely, into a single point. It felt like a moment of reprieve, as if the Heavenly Dao were preparing its final lightning strike. That time flowed with a slowness that was almost agonizing.
In the silence, the family members all looked up at the sky with faces full of anxiety. Some wiped away cold sweat while clutching their hands, and others parted their lips in nervousness. Baek Muyeong stood in place without even a twitch. Baek Cheong, too, remained silent, holding her breath. Then, her gaze naturally drifted toward the center of the swirling Heavenly Tribulation Cloud. Watching that massive, condensing energy made her head feel itchy.
'That is...'
In an instant, the geometric Character-patterns she had glimpsed while deciphering the Formation Atlas flashed through her mind. The providence of heaven and earth contained within thousands of ancient Character-patterns. Among them, the form of one particular Character-pattern—the one that had been so abstruse she had wrestled with it for a long time—flickered before her eyes.
'Lightning Qi.'
An energy with a wild, destructive, and rapid attribute. A violent Character-pattern that directly embodied the wrath and judgment of the heavens. Within the Formation Atlas, the Character-patterns that manifested Lightning Qi possessed a structure distinctly different from those of other attributes. It was a bizarre movement that took on a form extending in all directions, only to pierce sharply inward at the ends and converge into a single point. It seemed to embody the principle of the fleeting moment when lightning gathers all surrounding current, compresses it, and releases it in a single discharge just before striking the earth.
'That’s exactly what that is.'
The massive phenomenon occurring right now within the pitch-black Heavenly Tribulation Cloud was identical to the principle contained within the Lightning Qi Character-pattern of the Formation Atlas. The reality of the Lightning Tribulation, which she had previously only considered a terrifying judgment of the Heavenly Dao, was now vividly unfolding before her eyes through the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud, meshing perfectly with the providence of heaven and earth contained in the Character-pattern.
"Perhaps Lightning Qi is..."
Baek Cheong muttered to herself without realizing it. Recalling the Lightning Qi Character-pattern she had seen in the Formation Atlas, she instinctively drew up the energy in her Dantian as if in response. And through that drawn-up energy, she tried to mimic the flow of Lightning Qi—the way it tried to extend in all directions but was compressed to the limit, only to explode from a single point.
Zzzzt.
For a fleeting moment, a faint Lightning Qi sparked at her fingertips. Compared to the heaven-sized Lightning Tribulation that could judge anything, it was a pathetic level that couldn't even judge a speck of dust, but it was undeniably pure Lightning Qi. Baek Cheong did not notice the Lightning Qi gathered at her fingertips, her eyes remaining fixed on the undulating sky.
Crack-boom!
Finally, the center of the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud erupted with a roar. The final judgment of the Heavenly Dao took the form of a Lightning Tribulation and plunged toward the ground. It was a majesty on a different level from the previous two strikes. The Lightning Tribulation pouring toward the eastern part of the Clan Head Hall possessed a unique pressure in its thickness and momentum.
Kuaaaaaang!
An intense flash, bright enough to blind, exploded from the direction where the east wing had stood. The people watching from behind couldn't even scream, covering their faces with their arms. An immense shockwave erupted, as if shaking the entire Yeonha Baek Family. Baek Muyeong gritted his teeth so hard that blood leaked from his mouth out of sheer worry. Baek Cheong, though her body swayed from the violent shock, kept her eyes wide open, staring straight at the flash without looking away.
Soon, acrid dust slowly settled to the ground. Amidst the ruins of the east wing, which had been miserably smashed to pieces, a single figure still sat. The magnificent robe was torn beyond recognition, and red blood seeped from various places on his scorched skin. His slumped shoulders looked precarious, as if he might collapse at any moment. But Baek Mujin slowly opened his eyes. He raised his trembling hands and placed them neatly on his knees. Before long, he broke the Lotus Position he had maintained so steadfastly and stood up, staggering. And with his blood-soaked body, he arrogantly looked up at the sky that had judged him.
At that, the pitch-black Heavenly Tribulation Cloud hovering over the Clan Head Hall slowly lost its momentum. As if it had fulfilled its duty after pouring out all the Lightning Tribulation, the tribulation clouds thinned and scattered in all directions. At the same time, dazzling sunlight spilled through the gaps in the scattered dark clouds, illuminating the earth.
Golden Core. The realm of the Half-Immortal, transcending human limits, extending the shackles of lifespan, and manipulating the energy of heaven and earth. It was a historic moment, the birth of a new Golden Core cultivator in the Yeonha Baek Family.
"The Clan Head has...!"
"Long live the Yeonha Baek Family!"
The murmurs that had been held back among the onlookers finally erupted. They were shouts filled with relief, joy, and blind respect for the Clan Head who led the family. Despite having just entered the Golden Core stage, the momentum rising from Baek Mujin's body was so great that it surpassed most early-stage Golden Core cultivators. It was a natural result, as he had stepped down from the position of Clan Head, entered a long seclusion, and compressed his Dantian to the limit of the Core Formation stage before achieving this breakthrough.
"Haa..." Baek Muyeong finally let out a long sigh of relief, dropping his stiff shoulders. "My brother has finally done it."
It was a voice filled with deep relief, freed from the burden caused by the Clan Head's absence and the fear of the Heavenly Tribulation. Baek Muyeong turned around to share the joy and speak to his niece.
"Cheong, your father is safe..."
However, Baek Muyeong's words could not reach their end and had to stop. And his pupils trembled minutely.
Meanwhile, Baek Cheong was not mixed in with the cheering crowd. She was staring blankly at the clear sky after the Heavenly Tribulation Cloud had all dispersed. She was looking up with eyes lost in very deep thought. Her lips were moving minutely, quietly reciting something.
"Leiting..."
It was a strange mutter, a sound whose meaning was unknown, sounding like an incantation or a formula. And around Baek Cheong, who was enveloped in thought, a faint but heterogeneous energy arose.
Zzzzt.
The form of Lightning Qi, so violent that it seemed to tear the air. It was a pathetic and insignificant level compared to the majesty of the Heavenly Tribulation that had just been tearing apart the east wing from the sky, but it was undeniably Lightning Qi.
"L-Lightning Qi...!"
One of the elders standing closest, who had been cheering, noticed the heterogeneous Lightning Qi and recoiled in shock, stepping back. And at that surprised reaction, the gazes of the surrounding family members turned toward Baek Cheong one by one. The sound of someone gasping for air broke the silence.
'Did she truly gain enlightenment from the Heavenly Tribulation...'
Baek Muyeong stared at his niece with a frozen face. Lightning Qi was blooming from the body of his young niece, who was merely in the Qi Refining stage. Originally, Lightning Qi was the realm of the Heavenly Dao, which even great cultivators could not easily handle. Yet, something logically impossible was happening right before his eyes.
'Perhaps it is not that the Heavenly Dao fears her, but that it cherishes her...'
However, this was happening because Baek Cheong had deciphered the language of Formations through the Formation Atlas and caught a glimpse of the providence of heaven and earth. It was the moment she had just awakened to the principle of the ancient Character-pattern that manifested Lightning Qi while directly witnessing the Heavenly Tribulation. Because she had unconsciously recited the Character-pattern, her Spiritual Root had responded, and the energy had manifested on its own. But the watching family members or Baek Muyeong had no way of knowing the deep inner workings. To the eyes of the people, it merely appeared as a bizarre phenomenon of lightning energy leaking from the body of a Qi Refining stage child.
"Ah..."
Soon, Baek Cheong's strange muttering stopped. The faint Lightning Qi that had been hovering around her also dissipated into the atmosphere like a lie.
"So that was the meaning...?"
Awakened from her thoughts, Baek Cheong slowly lowered her head and could see her surroundings. And she faced dozens of gazes mixed with astonishment, awe, or surprise surrounding her.
"...Why are you all like that?"
Because Baek Cheong knew nothing, she tilted her head with an innocent face. But no one dared to answer her question. It was a phenomenon difficult to describe, so it was difficult to open their mouths easily.
"Ah! What about Father? Did he safely ascend to the Golden Core?"
"Huh? Oh, oh... of course he did."
Baek Muyeong could not hide his embarrassment at the sudden question and answered. And he turned his head, remembering a fact he had forgotten due to the different kind of shock. There, Baek Mujin's expression was also revealing that he could not hide his surprise.
"Father!"
Baek Cheong, who had not noticed such a fact, approached her father with a bright appearance. Soon, she confirmed his safety up close and, relieved, hugged him. Baek Mujin patted his beloved daughter's shoulder out of habit, but on the other hand, he could not hide his dumbfounded appearance.
"......"
And the people and Baek Muyeong were engulfed in a strange silence, even though a Golden Core cultivator had been born.