Tribulations rained down as torrents of blistering flames ascended. Hundreds of swords, wreathed in scorching fire, soared through the tempest, intercepting bolts of pure Lightning Qi descending from the heavens. Amidst the chaos, a blazing red jade statue rose into the sky with a deafening roar, its body shimmering and becoming translucent as the flames surrounding it surged with otherworldly intensity.
Multiple explosions echoed as thunder quaked, sending tremors through the clouds and shattering the ice that threatened to enclose mortal judgment.
Chunks of frozen moisture hailed down. The pillars sprouting from the tulips snapped as the sky holding up fate itself began to collapse. "Expand!" Fang Lee commanded. The grass, trees, and entire garden on his side of the All-Seasons Divine Cauldron began to grow.
The garden widened. The tangled roots holding the jade and light crystal halves of the Foundation Treasure split apart. Some withered—just like the plants above or the drying soil. But this wasn't from damage; it was his doing.
"Summer has ended."
Fang Lee's swords split into formations of twenty, breaking apart mid-air to intercept the incoming tribulation bolts. The redirected lightning scattered in dazzling arcs, yet the heavens refused to relent. As if possessed by a will of their own, the storm roared in defiance. Fractured bolts twisted through the air, seeking their true target. But before they could reach him, another wave of Qi swords surged forth, forming an unyielding barrier.
Hissss...
Rain sizzled into steam as the red moon's burning jade form streaked through the storm like a celestial comet. Its body—now an embodiment of flame and destruction—cut through Fang Lee's sword formations, a flickering inferno of jade and crimson fire racing toward the heart of the tribulation.
"Spirit Flame Forge!"
Fang Lee activated a makeshift technique, merging the Ten Sacred Swords with refined Fire Qi. A false Foundation Establishment realm technique took form within the moonlike statue, pushing its body beyond mortal limits and forging its flames into something sharper, stronger, deadlier.
Hiss hiss hiss...
RUMBLE—FLASH!
The storm howled in response. Rain evaporated the moment it touched the sphere of condensed summer energy, vanishing into vapor as the skies recoiled from its defiance. The winds howled, trying to halt its advance, but Fang Lee's attack pressed forward.
"Autumn's time has come," Fang Lee said, flicking three drying tulip petals into the air, then palming one. His hand, held in a half-prayer, crushed the petal into dust. A wave of invisible force surged from him, spreading throughout the garden. Plum blossoms, tulips, dandelions, and pudding plants from the previous expansion withered and fell.
A blinding bolt of tribulation lightning, thick as an ancient pillar, crashed downward—its sheer power threatening to erase their existences.
But the red moon did not falter.
Flames from its jade-carved body condensed, twisting into shape. A set of armor-like spikes encased its form. Searing sigils burned into the air. From its rear, fire surged into the form of a flail—a spiked ball and chain wreathed in divine flame.
"With its rise, it's time for all to..."
"Fall!" Fang Lee shouted, thrusting his palm upward. "Two Sessions Chained Dragon!" His strike echoed like a dragon's roar. A palm mark appeared on the blazing weapon above, the image of a bone dragon appeared soon after— swallowing it between its jaw in a burst of Qi.
All his energy drained as he drove his last charge against the heavens.
BOOM!
The heavens trembled. The bone dragon and blazing flail collided with the tribulation lightning. A blinding explosion erupted, splitting the sky. A shockwave of wild Qi and scorching heat surged outward, incinerating the untouched trees and reducing towering pines to ash.
But Fang Lee did not waver.
His palm shifted into a claw. His hand acted as a medium between himself and the dragon, channeling Fire Qi through their link. The divine bolt twisted like a furious serpent, trying to overpower him, but he persisted.
The red moon's flames only grew stronger.
CRACK!
The sky itself shattered.
Lightning screamed in rapid succession. Bolts crashed down like celestial punishment. The red jade treasure and yellow bone puppet defied them all.
HISS!
The flames roared. Spirit Flame Forge pulsed with volatile energy, refining each strike into power. The flail's fiery spikes elongated, its form honed by tribulation.
Fang Lee watched, his Qi swords intercepting stray bolts. Awe shimmered in his eyes.
"So this is what it feels like to be a genius... refining new techniques under tribulation, advancing in a single breath."
But this wasn't the end. The bone dragon puppet served as a medium in ways he couldn't yet comprehend. As the red jade flail fed on Lightning Qi, some of that power cycled into the puppet—and into him.
It formed into a hybrid, parasitic cultivation technique.
"I love this feeling," Fang Lee smirked, pouring the Qi into his Foundation Treasure as he gathered ash and debris scattered in the air.
BOOM!!!
Another colossal blast as he swung his arm wide, slicing through a bolt. The split lightning scattered and faded into devouring flames.
The tribulation clouds churned furiously.
Then came the final strike.
The sky darkened. A single bolt formed—a condensed strike vibrating with apocalyptic power, reality itself barely containing it.
Fang Lee's eyes flashed.
He made the puppet bite harder. Its yellow bones glowed, and the heat around its jaws bent space.
Then—it launched.
The air cracked. The puppet surged forward, gathering Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter energies into one final blow.
The world clashed. Elements spiraled into chaotic brilliance.
A star of burning jade led the final charge.
The last bolt fell.
"All-Seasons Divine Cauldron: Yin and Yang Eternal Garden!" Fang Lee roared.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion consumed the world. Storm clouds shattered. Raw Qi surged outward. The darkness lifted, revealing a pristine sky.
The tribulation... was gone.
In its place, a broken sphere of dark jade floated. Burnt, yet radiant. The flames within calm. The Qi refined.
Fang Lee exhaled slowly. A smirk tugged at his lips as his gaze turned skyward, his aura swirling through elemental phases. The garden died, froze, then bloomed anew. His blackened right arm, burnt and numb, still reached for the heavens.
For the first time, he had forced them to submit.
In the now-clear night sky, a lone storm cloud drifted toward the heart of the seclusion forest—the sacred retreat of the Fang Clan's young cultivators.
"Now I see why they speak so highly of you, Fang Lee~" Fang Xiu teased. Tribulation Qi coiled around her, drawn to her like moths to flame.
Fang Lee sensed her before she arrived. He gently laid Lian Xue at his side, removing her hand from his member before standing for the first time since his breakthrough.
Swiss! Swiss!
His narrowed gaze locked onto her. Her aura was strong, refined, but unfamiliar.
"You don't look familiar. Who are you?" Qi swords arrayed behind him.
"!!"
"Meng... Is that you?!" Shock filled his voice. The clouds shifted, revealing Meng's blushing face.
Fang Lee leaped skyward, one Qi sword launching him toward her.
Fang Xiu smirked. "Hmph. Should I be flattered you remember your little servant girl's name, or insulted that you've forgotten your cousin after twenty whole years~?"
Her eyes flicked to his bare body before returning to his face. "Already catching up to your big cousin? If I hadn't just reached mid-Foundation Establishment, I might be embarrassed~"
Fang Lee stood tall, unbothered. "So my current state doesn't..." He shifted, unapologetically confident.
Fang Xiu smiled, eyes flicking downward. "Bold, aren't you~?"
"Of course I am."
She stepped forward, aura wrapping around her. "Is that so?"
"It is," Fang Lee said, voice low and steady.
Fang Xiu closed the distance. "Comfortable, huh? Then show me."
"Maybe another day~ I'm too tired to show you just how comfortable I can be," he said, glancing at Meng.
"You're not hurt, are you, Meng?" he asked, voice gentle.
"I-I'm fine. Just overwhelmed," she murmured.
He nodded, lips curling slightly at her flustered state.
Turning to Fang Xiu, he raised a brow. "We can talk later. But right now—"
Beep~ Beep~ Beep~
—
Inside a modest house in Hoshizuki Town, a blond boy stirred. The alarm blared. He groaned, eyes crusted with sleep, hair tousled.
"Argh..."
He slammed the clock. Silence. He lay back, burdened by the weight of another day.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Oliver onii-chan, you'll be late," called Yumi Sakuragi from beyond the door.
Beside her, a small blond boy clutched her sleeve. Yumi, dressed neatly in her school uniform, sighed gently. "Hurry up, Oliver. You don't want to be late again."