Mmm.
Awake.
And cozy.
I shuffled a little deeper into Zhi’s chest.
I just felt nice and warm today.
I felt him shift too, and he stretched and yawned.
“Mmm, morning Ming.”
“Morning.” He shifted again, withdrawing his arms, and sitting up.
I guess I should get up too.
I sat up and yawned.
Sun streamed in through the window, warming our room.
I tugged on Zhi.
“Kiss.” He smiled and leaned down and we shared a good morning kiss.
Bleh.
“Your breath stinks.”
“You’re the one who asked for a kiss.” He pushed the blanket off and stood up from our futon beds.
Meh, a kiss was still a kiss.
I yawned again and closed my eyes, feeling my chi.
I had to be careful.
My chi was stuffed inside and threatening to spill out.
I hesitated as I gently felt the edges of it.
I sighed and stopped poking it.
“You have to do it some time.
There’s only so much you can prepare.” Zhi tossed me some basic clothes from the dresser.
I sighed again.
“I know.
But… it makes me nervous.
It could kill me.”
“The point of cultivation is to live forever and become stronger.
You’re strong, and resilient.
You can survive a few lightning bolts.
And if something does go wrong, I’ll be right there.
I can keep you from dying of chi deviation.
Plus, we’ve read the scrolls detailing how to optimize your chi channels when you create them.
You’re as ready as you can be.”
I swallowed nervously.
I knew I had to do it sometime.
My first breakthrough.
But the thought of withstanding lighting bolts made me nervous.
Much less everything else that can go wrong during the process.
Screwing up my chi channels, failing to clear my body of impurities, and several other little things that could spiral everything so quickly.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at Zhi.
He gave me a reassuring smile.
“You can do this Ming.
Being prepared is one thing, but being scared is another.
You can’t fear the tribulation.
You have to just think of it as part of the process.
Let’s go to the tribulation grounds today.
I’ll send a message to Xiu to have it ready for us after lunch.”
I watched him walk off to give the message to one of our servants.
He was right.
I had to face this.
Getting struck by lighting was just part of the process.
That last thing I wanted was to start aging past Zhi.
It’s been two years since we’ve moved to the Tang family.
I can read pretty much on my own now, and I’ve made a lot of progress organizing the spatial ring and learning new techniques.
I have a proper cultivation technique now, but it still synergizes well with Zhi’s.
I can… for lack of a better term, slurp up all the divine chi that snakes throughout other kinds.
This purifies the chi for Zhi, so he doesn’t have to filter out the divine chi and expel it, and his gravitational field drawing chi to us became a lot stronger as a result.
Working together, we can push a basic chi gathering formation to the brink to keep up with us.
Couple that with dual cultivation, and our progress is nothing short of spectacular in cultivation terms.
However, now that I’ve learned a few techniques, I can really feel my limitations.
My chi control was abysmal, and I had a lot of limitations on how much strain my body could take.
If I wanted to start using my divine chi properly, I had to get to Foundation Establishment.
I memorized the optimal chi channels and practiced aligning my chi until I could do it in my sleep.
Zhi detailed how to create my first drop of pure chi, and circulate it through my channels, clearing my body of impurities.
We had privacy, and safety here in the Tang clan.
It wasn’t going to get any better than this.
I just had to do it.
I finally got up and got dressed, trying to ignore my nerves.
I joined Zhi for breakfast, and he smirked.
“No need to look too excited now.
It’s not like you’ll be getting five lightning bolts like me.
You’ll probably just get one single piddly zap.”
“You’re still crazy.
They’re lightning bolts, not trophies.
I’ll be plenty satisfied with just one bolt instead of five.”
“I’m perfectly satisfied being the powerhouse between the two of us.
You can focus on techniques, formations, and treasure formations that support me.
As a good wife should.”
I narrowed my eyes and lightly smacked him as he laughed.
“Just wait until I reached Golden Core.
Then I’ll wipe the floor with you in a fight.”
We continued our bickering and light ribbing.
And it helped my nerves, which was probably why Zhi started it.
After breakfast, I followed Zhi out to the yard and reviewed a few scrolls in preparation.
I also aligned my chi with my channels as I read to practice.
Zhi practiced his swordsmanship against a dummy, flowing through his forms and completing dozens of different strikes.
Yeah, fighting wasn’t my thing.
Doing the same thing over and over and over again would make me so bored.
I enjoyed multitasking, like practicing with my chi and reading through the scrolls detailing advancement.
I would likely get two to three lightning bolts.
Despite Zhi’s teasing, I wasn’t that weak.
I just hoped I didn’t get one of the two rarer tribulation types, fire or disintegration.
After our morning training, we went for lunch where Zhi managed to distract me by bickering again.
Then it was time.
We disguised ourselves with hoods and cloaks to hide our identities from the rest of the clan.
And Xiu came to pick us up.
Xiu nodded to us, and we started following her.
“Hello there.
I’ll lead you to the tribulation grounds.
I understand it’s your first.”
“Any advice?”
“Just remain calm and focus on creating your chi channels and your first drop of true chi.
It can be easy to get distracted by the tribulation, but you have to block it out and just focus on your breakthrough.”
That was pretty much what Zhi told me too.
I let out a long breath and we made it to the tribulation grounds.
It was basically a medical building that surrounded an empty field.
I took off my clothes and gave them to Zhi.
No use ruining perfectly good clothes.
I sat in the middle of the field and took a few deep breaths to calm myself.
It was time.
I closed my eyes and began cultivating.
I carefully moved my chi to align with the channels I wanted, all of it aligning easily from all my practice.
I took a few more deep breaths.
And I started digging.
I gritted my teeth as I compressed my chi into the patterns, squeezing it tighter and tighter in an attempt to solidify my chi channels.
Then everything inside my brain was scrambled and I jolted at the pain that came as quickly as it went.
The lightning.
I rushed to regain control of my chi and continue the process, sinking all my concentration on it.
And was jolted again.
Gah!
I very nearly lost control, but I hung on and managed to wrangle my chi back under my control.
So close!
Another painful jolt.
No!
I tightened my focus.
Block it out.
I finished my chi channels and turned all my focus to turning the chi to liquid, squeezing it tighter and tighter.
Fuck!
I guess the lightning wasn’t done.
I tuned my entire body out and just focused on my chi almost, almost…
I got it just as another bolt of lightning hit me.
Fuck!
Ow!
But I had my tiny drop of true divine chi.
I sent it rushing through my channels, feeling something seep out of my pores as it did.
Another jolt!
How many was that now?!
It felt like a lot fucking more than three!
My tiny droplet kept racing, and a few more lightning bolts came down, and I lost track in a haze of pain and concentration.
Finally.
I let go as the tiny droplet of chi returned to my dantian.
I could feel it slowly accruing more chi, circling.
I panted and collapsed, finally letting the pain get to me.
What…
I almost choked as the smell hit me like a truck.
I curled and turned, throwing everything in my stomach up.
I felt something touch me, and cracked open my eyes to see Zhi, looking panicked and desperate.
Ugh.
I made it through my tribulation alright, but was it normal to feel this awful?
Everything slowly faded to black as he picked me up.
Uuuugh.
I cracked open my eyes.
Gentle light came from my right, candlelight.
It just barely touched the shrouded wooden ceiling.
The thick scent of medicinal herbs filled the air.
I tried to turn my head then gave up.
Nope.
Not happening.
God, I feel the worst I have in either of my two lives.
I coughed weakly and I heard someone stirring by my side.
“Ming?
Ming!
You’re awake!” Zhi’s worried face and dark eyes entered my vision.
I coughed again, my mouth too dry to talk.
Zhi left my vision again.
“Hold on just a moment.
I’m going to get the doctor.”
I heard his footsteps rush away and my mind slowly caught up with my situation.
Something had gone wrong during my tribulation.
I closed my eyes and gently checked my chi.
Oh, thank god.
All my chi channels were still perfect.
And my little drop of true chi was still busy making more.
And… Hmm… was it just me or was something different about my chi now?
It felt… beefier?
It was hard to describe.
It had a powerful and unknowable quality to it.
Sort of… zingy?
Like lightning.
The lightning that hit me during the tribulation.
It was like it took on a few of its overwhelming qualities.
But it was still my chi, divine chi.
I left my cultivation, confident my breakthrough had succeeded.
I opened my eyes again.
Ugh.
Even that felt painful.
Why did I feel so shitty?
Sure, Zhi had been drained and exhausted after his tribulation, but not nearly as much as me.
And I definitely got more than five lightning strikes.
I heard shuffling and warm older gentleman leaned over and enter my field of vision.
“Ah, she is awake.
She must be past the worst of it.
My dear, do you think you can drink something?”
I coughed, my throat dry and raspy and I felt a hand shimmy under my back.
He lifted me up and a cup of water was brought to my lips.
I took a few sips before he took it away.
“Not too much now.
You’ve been knocked out for half a day.
That was some tribulation you went through.” He lowered me back down.
Now that my throat was no longer so dry, I managed a few words.
“How… how many?”
I heard Zhi’s voice answer from beyond the doctor.
“Ten.
You survived ten lightning bolts.”
“In… your… face.”
The doctor smiled.
“I think you’ll be just fine.
Keep an eye on her for now, but I expect she just needs some rest for her body to recover.
Come get me if she shows any changes.”
“I will.
Thank you doctor.”
The doctor left and I heard a huge sigh from beside me.
“Fuck Ming.
“Help me.
Turn.” I croaked, and I saw Zhi.
He gently helped me turn onto my side, and I could see the small bedside table with a candle, a cup, and a pitcher of water.
There was a chair next to it that Zhi sunk into, clearly exhausted.
He leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and turning to me again.
“How’s your cultivation?”
“Good.”
He let out another sigh of relief.
“Good.
That’s good.
That… that was the most brutal tribulation I’ve ever seen.
I never even heard of ten lightning bolts for a first tribulation.
I thought eight was the limit.
And it just seems so… disproportionate.
You aren’t that strong.
Three should have been a good number, maybe even four, but ten?!”
I watched him fret and worry and guilt swirled in my gut.
He clearly has been watching over me and worrying ever since it happened.
“Sorry.”
He shook his head.
“It’s not your fault.
No one could have seen that coming.
I just wish… I just wish I understood why.
Why so many?
Is it because the heavens see that much potential in you?
Or…”
He was quiet for a moment before sighing.
“It doesn’t matter.
You’re alive, and that’s what matters right now.
And your breakthrough went well.
We can talk about the future after you feel better.
Get some sleep.
I’ll keep an eye on you to make sure nothing happens.”
“No.
Sleep.” He gave me a tight smile.
“I’ll sleep once you don’t have to struggle to get two words out.
Just rest.
I can stay up for one night.”
I hated seeing him so tired and worn down.
But I doubted I could do anything to convince him.
Instead, I closed my eyes, and despite my soreness, I did manage to fall into a deep sleep.
It took three days for me to get well enough for the physician to discharge me from the tribulation hall, and even then, Zhi had to carry me back home.
It was only about a week later I managed to heal completely.
Though Zhi was still treating me like I was made of porcelain.
We were sitting in bed together, and I was trying to read a scroll detailing how to make illusions.
Except I wasn’t.
Zhi had taken the scroll away from me, holding it himself and reading out loud while he held me in his lap, close to him.
I watched him, annoyed that he refused to let me hold the scroll and read by myself.
I poked him, and he stopped reading aloud.
“Ming?
What is it?
Are you hungry?
Thirsty?
Oh, are you tired, here just lay down.”
I pushed his hand away.
“Zhi.
I know how to read.
I think I can handle holding the scroll and reading quietly on my own.”
He bit his lip.
“But what if it gets too heavy for you and you hurt your wrist?”
“Zhi.
You being so caring and overprotective was cute at first, but now I’m about to bonk you over the head with this scroll.
You heard the doctor this morning.
I’m recovered, and perfectly healthy.
And I doubt my wrist is going to get hurt from holding a scroll.”
He sighed and set the scroll aside.
“I… I know.
But… every time I look at you, I just see your charred body in the tribulation field.
You have no idea how scared I was when the lightning bolts just kept coming, and even intensified near the end.
I was sure you had died.
And… the only other time I felt such grief was when my family was slaughtered.
Ming… I can’t lose you too.
I just can’t.
It would actually kill me.”
Tears pricked at his eyes, and I felt my own watering.
I pulled him into a hug.
“I know.
If something happened to you, it would kill me too.
But I’m okay Zhi.
I survived, and I’m here.”
“For now.
What about when you break through to Core Formation?
You might get fifty lightning bolts raining down on your head.
Divine chi cultivators don’t get strong until they reach Golden Core.
For the tribulation between Core Formation and Golden Core, you might get five hundred lightning bolts.
I almost want to ask you to stop cultivating but I can’t because then it’s a guarantee I’ll lose you when you die of old age.
I’m just… I’m scared.
You’re all I have.”
My heart swelled.
As much as I was annoyed that he was being overprotective, I understood it.
He was all I had now too.
“I know.
But I’m right here.
I’m not going anywhere.
And I swear, I’ll always be here.
The heavens can strike me with a thousand lightning bolts, and I’ll still be here with you.
And you can’t keep hovering over me.
I handled ten heavenly bolts of lightning, I can handle a freaking scroll.”
“I knoooow.” He whined.
“I just… can you read it aloud to me?
And let me hold you for a bit.
I just need a little more time before I’m ready to let you out of my sight.”
I sighed but opened up the scroll.
He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my shoulder as I began reading the scroll aloud.
I guess we had some time right now, especially before we had to leave the Tang clan.
It’s only been two years.
We were still at least a century away from reaching Core Formation.
Now was when we mastered our abilities and learned as much as we could.
Then, we could start making some of our own moves.