Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The third batch of tribulation lists contains over thirty remaining cultivators from the top-tier team, the most in the world.

The reason why Lu Country has arranged so many people to undergo tribulation at once is naturally because they've found a way to tackle heavenly tribulation:

Mass production.

The cultivation talent and True Yuan quantity are difficult to improve, top-tier Spells and Magic Treasures are hard to find, so the only things that can be optimized are disposable items like the Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword and the Xuan Guang Ruler.

Collective efforts from academicians of the Science Academy and the Engineering Institute, coordinated collaboration from over thirty national departments, and near-thousand state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and institutions working overtime without cost considerations resulted in an exceedingly terrifying industrial capacity — no other country on Earth can achieve this.

Nowadays, the production of the Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword and Xuan Guang Ruler not only meets the tribulation crossing needs of top-tier team cultivators but also spares sufficient quantities to be widely distributed as "weapons" and "shields" to Military Manor cultivators officially.

Their quality is extremely poor. The Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword breaks after a few clashes with an ordinary Flying Sword; the Xuan Guang Ruler depletes its energy in one Spell hit, becoming scrap metal.

However, their low cost and large quantities make up for it, akin to three-dollar lemonade where no one cares if it's flavored with essence.

Yan Yu even has a faint intuition: Following this path, modern industrial technology might gradually merge with the Spiritual Energy system, potentially fostering a new order where mortals and cultivators alike find their place.

Why didn't Lu Country follow this path in the previous lifetime? Because there weren't so many team cultivators needing tribulation crossing. Many died or betrayed, with national defense pressures from all directions, leaving no time for methodical preparations. Furthermore, the government didn't trust cultivators, and Mr. Mei was only given emergency responsibilities in the late stages...

Ah, I won't dwell on it. That was the original fate of Lu Country. The current situation is all thanks to me! Sadly, I'm not one to claim credit; I'm satisfied as long as the nation is peaceful and prosperous.

Another day of being moved by myself.

In the command room, everyone was watching Chen Lingyun undergo tribulation live.

If the tribulation process for the previous batches of cultivators was marked by frequent dangers, then Chen Lingyun's tribulation could only be described as "calm and uneventful."

The Tribulation Thunder descended to a height of 400 meters, almost condensing into a dense thunderball, which she dispersed with a blast of the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Secret Thunder before individually targeting the stragglers with the Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword and Xuan Guang Ruler.

One had to admit, as long as reaction speed isn't tested, this woman excels in calculating tactics and capturing opportunities. The Nine Heavens Yin Demon Secret Thunder requires True Yuan consumption, thus minimizing its usage while substituting with disposable items like the Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword and Xuan Guang Ruler as much as possible.

Judging by the remaining tribulation crossing resources onsite and the yet-to-descend heavenly tribulation waves, it seemed perfectly timed for the Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword and Xuan Guang Ruler to be used up just as the tribulation ends.

As for Chen Lingyun's remaining True Yuan, everyone estimated it to be at least sixty percent.

It demonstrated how abundant tribulation resources are truly invincible. After all, throwing the Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword and Xuan Guang Ruler doesn't consume True Yuan, allowing one to calmly focus on refining medicinal power. With sufficient True Yuan, any strategy is risk-free.

Being somewhat bored, Yan Yu lowered his head to play on his phone and suddenly saw an audio message from Liu Longtao:

"All dead."

"What do you mean, all dead?" Yan Yu asked in reply.

"The Kyoto onmyoji headquarters," the other side seemed to be rushing through the wind rapidly, apparently sword controlling at high speed, "and the Congress. I suspect..."

"Do you want to descend and speak first?" Yan Yu suggested.

"No time, being chased." Liu Longtao sent several messages in a row, "Listen to me."

"All their upper echelons are dead; mostly Shenyori Simie did it."

"He disguised many papermen as upper bureaucrats to create the illusion that these people weren't killed, secretly bringing all of Chongying under his control."

"Didn't I already guess it?" Yan Yu commented, "Otherwise, there was no way to explain the blood sacrifices to Orochi happening everywhere unless their higher-ups went insane."

"Shut up, what you had was speculation, I confirmed it!" Liu Longtao retorted, "Anyway, I'm trying to shake off this bastard's chase now, no time to elaborate with you."

"See you."

Yan Yu put down his phone and began pondering.

Shenyori Simie being the mastermind wasn't surprising, since he displayed strong anti-human tendencies in the previous life, like a ticking bomb bound to explode domestically if it couldn't abroad — his treatment of his own people was no better than enemies'.

The fatal mistake of the Yin Yang Bureau was supporting Shenyori Simie first in tribulation crossing and leveling up, so before another onmyoji could cross tribulation, Shenyori Simie's power had exceeded control and hence slaughtered all of them.

Of course, Lu Country faced a similar risk when Yan Yu successfully crossed his first tribulation. If Yan Yu announced rebellion after forming his Golden Core, where would Lu Country find another Golden Core True Man to counter him?

But Yan Yu's sincere patriotism had already been proven when he acquired the Sun True Dullness Sword Intent, so the Privy Council never doubted him (possibly they doubted but leaned towards trust), supporting his tribulation crossing boldly.

Alas, the so-called misjudging upper echelons' worst outcome is nothing more than national annihilation. The Yin Yang Bureau ended up like this likely not because their upper ranks were dull and ignorant, but because they lacked someone as passionately loyal as Yan Yu!

Though Lord Master probably reported upwards already, Yan Yu, as a precaution, forwarded the message to Li Weiguo and Chen Tianming.

"Understood." replied Li Weiguo.

"Got it." replied Chen Tianming, also asking, "How's Ling Yun's tribulation crossing? In your view, what's her chance of forming the core now?"

"Absolutely certain." Yan Yu typed back, "With so many Ten Thousand Bamboo Swords and Xuan Guang Rulers, it could help even a pig cross tribulation."

Of course, this is an exaggeration, as a pig can't precisely calculate the usage of Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword and Xuan Guang Ruler. However, these materials indeed greatly mitigated Chen Lingyun's shortcoming of insufficient True Yuan.

If she can successfully cross tribulation, then team cultivators with better talent than her shouldn't have to worry too much even if they don't calculate as meticulously.

As Yan Yu was thinking this, he suddenly saw the surrounding cultivators stand up; the last wave of Tribulation Thunder had completely descended, about to end.

Everyone sword controlled to the tribulation site, where Chen Lingyun stopped saving True Yuan for unforeseen events, consecutively tossed three Nine Heavens Yin Demon Secret Thunders, clearing out the clustered main Tribulation Thunder.

Then, she threw all remaining Ten Thousand Bamboo Swords and Xuan Guang Rulers, engaging with the straggling Tribulation Thunder fish in a mutually destructive manner — astonishingly just right to be depleted completely.

What if the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Secret Thunder doesn't clear thoroughly, leaving more Tribulation Thunder, and tribulation resources are insufficient? What then? Or did she calculate even this?

Everyone found it unbelievable. Seeing the tribulation clouds dispersed, they intended to inquire, but the medical team arriving had already taken Chen Lingyun away. As she was Elder Chen's daughter, the base needed immediate notification.

"Did she really calculate so precisely?" Li Minghu thought aloud.

For Sword Immortals, with generally insufficient True Yuan, precise calculation for sustainability is crucial. If you had Xie Ruoxi's True Yuan scale, calculation would be unnecessary; just throw the thunder blindly.

"Unlikely." Zhang Huaide expressed his opinion, "Limited by her standing angle and the dense thunderstorm above, it was hard to see the quantity distribution, let alone calculate."

"I believe it was accidental that after the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Secret Thunder blast, the remaining Tribulation Thunder matched the exact amount of Ten Thousand Bamboo Swords and Xuan Guang Rulers she had left, so she conveniently used them up."

"Doesn't seem right." Yang Linhui suddenly commented, "Isn't Chen Lingyun a Ghost Cultivator? If she used large ghostly creatures hidden nearby for reconnaissance, couldn't she monitor the Tribulation Thunder from multiple angles and calculate?"

"Impossible." Zhang Huaide replied, "In heavenly tribulation, the Servant Envoy's servants are considered extensions of the Envoy himself, and the heavenly tribulation attacks them indiscriminately, invisible or not. Judging from the condensation of Tribulation Thunder into a funnel shape, the tribulation site should have only her."

"But there's a major flaw in your hypothesis." Li Zhaojiang joined the discussion, "It's too coincidental. What if there's more Tribulation Thunder, and the Ten Thousand Bamboo Sword and Xuan Guang Ruler are insufficient to handle them?"

"Maybe she had extra True Yuan." Zhang Huaide frowned slightly.

In fact, his own calculation suggested Chen Lingyun's last three secret thunder uses likely consumed most of her True Yuan…after all, her True Yuan quantity is in the same league as Yan Yu, not large. Estimating single spell consumption gives clear sustainability calculations.

But how to explain Li Zhaojiang's point? Chen Lingyun is not the type to take risks or depend on luck; attributing the result to her good luck seems less plausible than her having extra True Yuan.

"Yan Yu, your thoughts?" Li Minghu asked aloud.

Everyone turned curious eyes towards Yan Yu. As the team partner most familiar with Chen Lingyun, he should know her methods.

"You're all wrong." Yan Yu, distractedly playing on his phone, casually commented, "She prearranged Yin Ghosts outside the heavenly tribulation range to monitor Tribulation Thunder, then transmitted the reconnaissance info back to her using Ear and Eye Communication."

Ohhh! Everyone suddenly realized.

The base had tried using modern communication technology for tribulation support; the chaotic tribulation site magnetic field made remote data transmission impossible. Apparently, spells like Ear and Eye Communication aren't affected by heavenly tribulation.

"The tribulation range is large, her Ghost Summoner could monitor from such a distance?" Zhang Huaide pondered, turning to say, "Xiaolian, also test your communication range with spiritual insects later."

"Impressive as always, Yan Yu." Li Minghu smiled, "We could never think of this detail."

"Nothing special, just my experience and knowledge are slightly broader than yours." Yan Yu modestly replied.

Next to him, Lin Ning slightly leaned forward, noticing Yan Yu's phone screen still had the chat window with Chen Lingyun open.

Captain showing off again…she quietly pursed her lips. Knowing she's the last in the team to cross tribulation, she felt a bit melancholic.