Successful breakthrough

Damian decided he had to act before the tribulation lightning killed him. He gathered all the momentum of his Qi and struck with the full force of it at a part of the barrier filled with cracks; the barrier tried to put some resistance but ultimately broke upon the powerful attack.

When the barrier broke, Damian felt all the ambient Qi in the surroundings rush towards him, filling his Dantian. What before was a great lake now was beginning to feel like a sea as the lake of Qi extended tenfold.

As Damian saw the sea of Qi forming inside his dantian, he began to think that maybe he hadn't thought this through; as even if he only theorized the possibility of the tenth layer existing, he didn't think how terrifying the tribulation would be and how would he survive it.

He had seen Max break through to Foundation Establishment. He was a member of the council and knew he would be able to withstand that tribulation lightning, and perhaps Damian had grown overconfident because of his talents for cultivation.

But this lightning was thrice as strong as the tribulation Lightning Max had received. He had been incautious, he should have learned [Defensive Divine Lotus art] to feel confident to survive the tribulation.

Standing up and clenching his teeth in frustration for overlooking the strength of the tribulation but knowing it was too late to learn the [Defensive Divine Lotus art]. He promised himself that if he managed to survive, he would not be so careless again.

As thoughts passed Damian's mind as he planned how he could survive, lightning stroke towards him.

As the lightning descended towards him, something primal awoken inside Damian as his eyes acquired a violet hue. Perhaps it was the primal instinct of survival or perhaps something related to his constitution. It mattered not. Before lightning could strike Damian, he used [Fallen Weeping Willow movement art] to its fullest capability. A cry echoed as Damian moved a few dozen meters and a wind blade struck the lightning. However, Damian did not stop there as he moved three more times, creating powerful wind blades. The lightning destroyed the blades as it redirected towards Damian's new location. However, half of its power had dispersed.

Damian prepared as he unseated his sword and encrusted it into the ground beside him. He would use it as an improvised lightning rod. He stood his ground and prepared to receive the lightning.

As lightning closed in on Damian, part of it was redirected by the improvised lightning rod. However, lightning struck true and impacted Damian into his chest. The lightning coursed through meridians, Qi paths, bones, and muscles overflowing everything and breaking down his muscles, expanding overflowing meridians and Qi pathways alike, shattering his bones.

Damian gritted his teeth as he supported the pain and circled the lightning through his body in order to disperse it and minimize the damage done to a single area.

Damian, in his primal instinct, hadn't used all his Qi [Fallen Weeping Willow movement art] because he knew this wasn't over, as the Cloud still was gathering lightning.

Once he finished dispersing the lightning, he prepared for what his instinct told him was the last lightning. He breathed in and resolved himself.

Lightning rumbled and once more struck out towards Damian. This lightning was more powerful than the last strike. Damian used five [Fallen Weeping Willow movement art] flashing five times at different locations and creating wind blades that impacted the tribulation lightning. Once he stopped moving, he appeared beside his sword.

Damian was devoid of Qi, as he had used his current capacity of eight [Fallen Weeping Willow movement art]. He used it at the full one hundred power of his great achievement, not at the seventy percent power he could use before breaking through.

Damian's strikes had halved the strength of the lightning. Still, this was stronger by a tad than the last lightning strike. As the lightning reached Damian, another part struck the sword. Because of the tribulation Qi, the sword changed its green color to an emerald luster with crackling sounds produced by the sword, as it seemed the sword made of spiritual ore had acquired a lightning affinity.

As Damian dispersed the lightning through his body. he found out that the lightning was improving his pathways as well as his meridians. It was making them bigger because of the overflow. The muscles were breaking apart and being reconstructed, and his bones had been fractured and restored.

Then an Epiphany hit Damian, lightning tribulation was a force of destruction that destroyed what went against the heavens. However, it also was a source of creation and restoration. Proof of that was his body was being restored by the very lightning that had attempted to destroy him a few moments ago in the form of the tribulation Qi inside his body.

Damian stood there on the hill, immersed in his epiphany. Once the epiphany ended, he fell to the ground, unconscious.

When Damian woke up, he was back at the camp where the family stayed in this realm, his clothes long gone. He saw he was wearing a violet robe just like the one Max received from Tian Long when he faced his tribulation.

Damian stood and took in his power. He was far stronger than before. He gauged he could even battle Max and perhaps even win, and Max was in the Foundation Establishment realm. Damian felt his cultivation had stabilized and even improved.

"Young Damian, that was indeed reckless. Do not attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment without proper preparations. Your tribulation will be far stronger compared to the tribulation for Foundation Establishment you have witnessed." whispered Tian Long into Damian's mind.

It seemed the old cultivator had taken a liking to the young sapling.

Damian made a ninety-degree bow and said, "Thank you for the advice Immortal Tian Long."

Damian deemed that was the appropriate course of action, from the similarities between what he had read in xianxia novels and what he had experienced were incredibly similar.

Once he survived the tribulation to reach the tenth layer of Qi condensation, he informed the council of the benefits along with the risk.

As they determined that the reason why Damian had succeeded was his divine spiritual root and the heaven-grade cultivation manual he cultivated, along with his technique achievement. the council decided to bane the knowledge of the tenth layer from anyone without at least a high spiritual root. they considered the minimum requirement to have a chance at success in reaching the tenth layer. they had reached that decision, as many people were intrepid and may try to reach the tenth layer, and while no doubt some would reach it, many more would not.

So at the very least those that would have the knowledge will have a pretty good chance of surviving, that, of course, according to the council estimations.