Because outsiders had interfered, the heavens became angry.

At least, that was what it felt like.

Above the main peak, the golden-white clouds rumbled again.

The clouds churned.

Layer after layer of golden-white light gathered. The vitality inside the heavens became thicker, purer, and far more concentrated than before.

Su Bai looked upward. His face slowly stiffened.

The heavens were scaling up the tribulation. Or perhaps, from the heavens’ perspective, it was scaling up the blessing.

Either way, the result was terrifying.

Su Bai exhaled slowly. He forced himself to calm down.

At least this time, he was not alone.

Lu Canghai was there.

The Peak Masters were there.

Even the Sect Master had personally spoken.

Soon, even the ancestors would come to help.

Su Bai’s heart warmed slightly.

Radiant Sky Sect really was different.

When danger came, everyone stood together.

Meanwhile, the Peak Masters stared at the gathering golden-white lightning with solemn faces.

If one only looked at their expressions, anyone would believe they were preparing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of a junior.

But their eyes were different. Their eyes were bright.

Su Bai did not notice. He was genuinely moved.

Then, more people arrived.

Elders descended from different peaks.

Inner Sect disciples gathered.

Core disciples came as well, each one trying to look calm while secretly craning their necks toward the sky.

Outer disciples were slower, so Peak Master Mo Shanyue of Beast Taming Peak moved.

With one wave of his sleeve, several massive spirit beasts roared and lowered themselves.

Mo Shanyue’s voice boomed across the mountain.

"Outer disciples, do not panic! Board the beasts in order! Anyone who pushes will be thrown down the mountain and made to climb back up!"

The outer disciples immediately became orderly.

Soon, more and more disciples gathered around the main peak training ground.

The secondary formations were activated one after another, dividing the disciples into layers according to cultivation level.

Those with weaker cultivation sat farther away.

Those with stronger cultivation moved closer.

No one was allowed into the core tribulation area except the Peak Masters and elders.

The entire Radiant Sky Sect had begun moving like a single body.

...

Inside the main formation, Su Bai felt even more touched.

So many people had come.

All for him.

Then the fourth heavenly bolt finished forming.

The golden-white lightning above thickened rapidly.

It was no longer the size of a baby’s arm.

It expanded until it was nearly ten feet wide.

A pillar of healing lightning gathered in the sky, filled with vitality so dense that flowers began blooming between cracks in the distant stone paths.

Su Bai’s face turned pale.

To him, this was like a golden spear with a kind expression.

Lu Canghai raised one hand.

"Prepare."

The Peak Masters moved at once.

The fourth bolt descended.

Golden-white light poured down from the sky. Its pressure was far broader. It felt as if the heavens wanted to drown Su Bai in life.

Lu Canghai stepped forward first.

Cloud Qi surged from his sleeves.

A sea of pale clouds rose and wrapped around the descending golden-white pillar. The clouds did not try to block it completely. Instead, they softened its momentum, slowing the impact and spreading the pressure outward.

"Do not resist it head-on," Lu Canghai said. "Guide it!"

Jian Wushuang’s sword left its sheath.

A clean sword light rose.

It did not carry killing intent. It carried division.

The sword struck the golden-white pillar and split part of its light into several thinner streams.

The streams scattered toward the surrounding formation.

Huo Yan pressed both hands down.

Formation plates flew out from his sleeves and struck the ground in dozens of positions.

The patterns lit up.

They were not ordinary formation plates. They were based on Su Bai’s Distributed Load-Balancing Surge Array, but clearly strengthened by him.

The moment the plates activated, the pressure from the golden-white lightning spread across the training ground instead of falling entirely on Su Bai.

Huo Yan grinned.

"Martial Nephew Su’s array idea is truly useful."

Yao Ding threw out a handful of pills.

The pills did not enter anyone’s mouth.

Instead, they hovered in the air and dissolved into medicinal mist.

The mist absorbed scattered sparks of golden-white lightning, softened them, and transformed part of the vitality into a gentler medicinal rain.

"Do not inhale too much!" Yao Ding shouted righteously. "This old man is only refining the excess to protect the juniors!"

Several elders looked at him.

No one believed the second half.

Shen Youran stood closest to Su Bai.

Her sleeves moved slightly.

A quiet curtain of Qi formed behind him, calm and deep.

She was not competing for the blessing. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She truly remained the last line of defense.

If the golden-white lightning bypassed everyone and struck Su Bai too hard, she would be the one to intercept the remaining force.

The Peak Masters worked together.

Cloud slowed it.

Sword divided it.

Formation spread it.

Medicine softened it.

Protective Qi guarded the final line.

The fourth bolt still reached Su Bai.

But by the time it struck, it was no longer a merciless golden spear.

It had become a controlled stream.

Lu Canghai shouted, "Disciple, now!"

Su Bai raised the Heavenly Aegis Mirror.

He did not reflect everything this time.

He allowed a thin portion of the golden-white lightning to enter his body.

Pain immediately surged.

Healing reversed into corrosion again.

His meridians trembled.

His flesh tightened.

But this time, the damage was not overwhelming.

The Black-Ice Core surged.

The golden Yang sun inside it flared.

The crystal root network absorbed the pressure.

Su Bai guided the Taiji loop carefully.

The golden-white lightning entered the Black-Ice Core.

The Reversal Body twisted the harmful blessing.

Part of the reversed corrosion was neutralized by the Yin-Yang circulation.

Part of it was refined by the Black-Ice Core.

A new mark appeared. It settled on the surface of the Black-Ice Core like a thin line of heavenly vitality trapped inside eternal ice.

The fourth tribulation mark.

Su Bai exhaled sharply.

His body still hurt.

But he had endured it.

More importantly, his core had accepted the mark.

Outside, the scattered healing lightning bathed the Peak Masters.

Lu Canghai’s shoulders trembled faintly.

His old foundation repaired faster.

The edges of the damage left from his fall continued mending. It did not restore him completely, but it pushed him further than any pill had in years.

He wanted to laugh.

But Su Bai was still suffering.

As a master, laughing at this moment would be inappropriate.

So Lu Canghai held it in.

His beard shook slightly.

Yao Ding’s medicinal aura surged.

A bottleneck that had troubled him for years loosened by a hair.

His eyes widened.

Then he immediately closed them and put on an expression of deep compassion.

"Martial Nephew Su, endure. This old man will help you refine the excess."

Huo Yan’s muscles and old forging injuries recovered rapidly.

His eyes shone.

"Good array! Very good array!"

No one knew whether he was praising the formation or the lightning.

Jian Wushuang’s sword hummed softly. A hidden crack in his sword intent smoothed out.

He looked calm.

Shen Youran breathed in the gentlest strand of golden-white light. Her old injury faded slightly.

Her expression did not change, but the curtain around Su Bai became more stable.

The elders and disciples behind them also received benefits.

Old wounds eased. Bottlenecks loosened. Stagnant Qi moved. Even some white hair turned slightly darker.

The atmosphere became strange.

Everyone remained solemn.

Everyone looked righteous.

Everyone was secretly very satisfied.

The fourth bolt faded.

The sky rumbled again.

But before the fifth bolt could form, more disciples entered the outer layers of the formation.

The Beast Taming Peak spirit beasts continued ferrying people upward.

Mo Shanyue stood on the back of his jade-horned crane and shouted, "Outer disciples stay in the rear layers!"

Huo Yan finished adjusting the formation plates.

The load-balancing array expanded.

The scattered healing light now spread more evenly across the training ground.

The weaker disciples received only thin strands.

The stronger disciples took more.

The elders received the heavier portions.

Then the space above the training ground trembled.

Li Xuanzong returned.

Behind him floated several ancient coffins wrapped in layers of formation light.

The ancestor coffins.

Each coffin carried cold ancient aura.

The moment they appeared, the entire main peak fell silent.

Li Xuanzong calmly placed the coffins around Su Bai.

Then he spoke with absolute seriousness.

"The ancestors will protect Martial Nephew Su if danger arises."

No one spoke. Not a single person dared to laugh.

After all, those were the ancestors.

But the thought appeared in everyone’s mind at the same time.

Protect?

Or bathe?

Inside the formation, Su Bai looked at the coffins.

He bowed his head inwardly.

He would remember this kindness.

Li Xuanzong did not stop there.

After placing the coffins, he turned and flew away again.

His voice echoed behind him.

"Continue guarding Martial Nephew Su. I will bring the remaining disciples."

A few breaths later, the entire massive training ground was filled.

Disciples sat in neat circles.

Elders guarded formation nodes.

Peak Masters surrounded the inner area.

Ancestor coffins rested in dignified silence.

Spirit beasts waited outside the formation lines.

Su Bai sat at the center.

Then the heavens noticed the situation again. The golden-white clouds stopped moving.

For a moment, the sky became silent.

The tribulation had originally targeted Su Bai.

Then the Peak Masters entered.

Then disciples gathered.

Then ancestor coffins arrived.

Now, from the perspective of the heavens, the target area had somehow become filled with old monsters, young disciples, spirit beasts, and several sleeping ancestors in coffins.

The Heavenly Dao seemed to pause.

Then it rumbled.

This time, the golden-white clouds expanded outward.

They covered the whole main peak training ground.

Not just above Su Bai but the entire area.

The healing light thickened. The pressure multiplied.

Huo Yan looked up. His expression stiffened.

"Oops."

Yao Ding slowly opened his eyes.

Jian Wushuang’s hand tightened around his sword.

Shen Youran’s qi curtain rose higher.

Lu Canghai’s beard stopped shaking.

Su Bai looked upward.

His face went pale.

Huo Yan coughed.

"We may have gone slightly too far."

Nobody corrected him.

Above the training ground, the fifth tribulation did not form into a bolt.

It spread.

Golden-white light gathered into countless drops.

Each drop contained terrifying vitality.

Each drop carried heavenly blessing.

Each drop, to Su Bai, felt like a small golden knife dipped in medicine.

Then the fifth tribulation descended.