BOOM!
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As the only arc of Nine Heavens Saint Lightning danced across the dark sky, I rushed back to the inn to gather my stuff and prepare for the coming calamity.
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'Damn it, why today of all days would there be a Heavenly Tribulation in the middle of town?! Couldn't the person attempt their breakthrough in the forest or on a piece of barren land?! On top of this absurd matter, an arc of Saint Lightning appeared in the sky?!?! Like, what?! Those things are more rare than getting twin artifact spirits in the same artifact! Or finding an artifact imbued with Transcendent level elements! How was there Saint Lightning here?!?!' As I racked my brain on how to avoid this disaster, my door suddenly burst open before an old man pounced on me.
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"Young master Starfall, we're glad that you're safe!" Old man Gong sudden tackle almost made me lose balance but I managed to dodge it in the nick of time.
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Feeling frustrated yet did not have the heart to reprimand the old man, I could only laugh dejectedly. "Please act your age, old man. You're not a handsome man nor a beauty, don't act like puppy, it sends shivers down my spine."
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Clearly embarrassed by his lack of manners, Old man Gong coughed lightly before stating his actual reason for finding me. "Just after you disappeared, Bumblebeast Family Patriarch, Adderall and two experts from the Hornet Squadron was found lying unconscious in Winqu Square. After performing some investigations from the wreckage, the Town Order has deduced that a major fight had broken out but it was quickly settled since the square wasn't entirely destroyed. What perplexed everyone in the investigation team was which expert in Winqu was capable of containing a battle between Core Formation realm Experts? Even if they were from out of town, that expert had to be at mid Nascent Soul realm at the very least."
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"So, what does that have to do with me?" I didn't like where this was going.
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That's when Old man Gong's face became black. "Patriarch Adderall was an expert of the late Core Formation realm yet he was found crippled and unconscious in the middle of the square. Who do you think could have done it??" Old man Gong eyed me questioningly.
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"Um, I'm not sure...actually. If Old Gong knows, please enlighten me," Wiping the sweat off my head, I proceeded to cup my fist towards him flatteringly.
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"Haiz, it's because I don't know that I have come to ask you. I don't have any concrete evidence as of right now but, I suspect that it was an elder sent by your Severlance Family to secretly protect you. If you don't want to tell, I -" Old man Gong's mid Core Formation aura flared up.
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Sucking in a cold breath, I was prepared to throw a sealing talisman at the old man. But before things changed for the worse...
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"I can't force you." His aura deflated like a balloon. "The Severlance family is the founder and benefactor of Winqu. I can't leave without explanation yet I can't force it out of you either, so, after some careful consideration with the town order, we can only turn a blind eye to this incident. Haiz, there goes one pillar of Winqu...."
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Seeing his dejected look, I could only sigh inwardly. 'Well, that pillar of Winqu had a vendetta against me. He tried to kill me multiple times because his son was trash! Haiz...being part of a powerful family doesn't even do me shit when people don't even believe me. I didn't have time to take out my visitor pass since the first guy came at me like I fucked his wife...He probably was a virgin to be honest.'
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Just as we were catching up on what happened 4 days ago, the room started to shake. Looking out the window, Old man Gong and I wore dumbfounded looks. Not only was the sky littered with black clouds and Nine Heavens Lightning, the wind around the city picked up enough speed before they started forming monumental tornadoes that were now ravaging the town of Winqu ferociously.
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"This..." Old man Gong stuttered as he trembled upon witnessing the Heavenly Tribulation. "Is...unexpected..."
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Light flashed as another bolt of lightning fell upon he town. *BOOM!*
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"Old Gong, maybe...we should get going?" Seeing the tornadoes sweeping up houses and humans around the town, I couldn't help but sweat profusely at the sight of this. This Heavenly Tribulation was a bit much, don't you think?! Not only were there tornadoes eating up neighborhoods, the entire sky was a stage where countless arcs of Nine Heavens Lightning danced across.
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On the bright side, the real Heavenly Tribulation doesn't seem to be starting anytime soon. Either the person partaking in the Heavenly Tribulation was a Child of Heaven, or that he hasn't readied himself yet. All in all, the longer that person stalls, the more the town of Winqu would suffer.
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Seeing that Old man Gong was rooted to the spot in shock and disbelief, I could only send a spiritual shock into his mind to jump start him.
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"Huh? What? Where? Who?" Upon being jump started, Old man Gong stopped trembling and instead released his aura as he changed into a defense stance. But upon seeing me, he short circuited again. "Ah? Young master Starfall, this...I'm very sorry!"
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I was really wondering how was an old man as timid as this an Ancestor of the Winqu Family. If the family faced great peril, this old man would be the first to flee...where was his spine?
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Just as the old man recovered from his initial shock, the room shook violently again. Scared that it was a tornado heading for the inn, I sent out a thread of Spiritual Sense to check. What happened next dumbfounded me again.
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Just right above the inn, there was 8 cultivators floating on their respective artifacts in the black sky. Sweeping my Spiritual Sense over them, I was shocked to find out that the weakest of the 8 was a late Core Formation realm Expert whereas the strongest cultivator there was a peak late Core Formation realm Master! This...who were these people??
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Upon seeing my confused look, Old man Gong proceeded to straighten up before he walked over to clear my doubts. "Each of them are the patriarchs and matriarchs of the 8 clans and are the pillars of Winqu. Judging from your look of disbelief, it is as you've sensed. Each of those clan heads are late Core Formation realm Masters that weathered countless storms before they could arrive at his stage. Hm? Who's the 8th person there??"
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Squinting his eyes towards the group of 8 in the sky, he then proceeded to let out a hearty laugh. "Hahaha, I didn't know this bastard would be willing to help Winqu! And he's reached late Core Formation realm as well? Wonderful, truly wonderful!"
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Clearly confused by the old man's sudden change in attitude, I decided to sweep my Spiritual Sense over the group once more.