10,000 Years ago

The old man closed his eyes, diving into a memory buried long ago. When he opened them, they glowed with understanding.

He stepped forward slowly, standing before them all, and asked in a calm voice,"Have any of you ever seen someone break through from the Supreme Peak to the Divine Realm?"

The crowd before him shook their heads.

One person spoke up, "The last time the gate to the Divine Realm opened was nearly ten thousand years ago. We've heard about breakthroughs to the Divine Realm in our history… but none of us have ever witnessed it."

He nodded, unsurprised."I thought so. Then listen closely—I'm going to tell you an old story. It happened nearly ten thousand years ago, when I was still young."

His eyes seemed to gaze into the distance, as if lost in the past.

"It was New Year's Eve. Back then, all of us—those around my age—we were celebrating by lighting fireworks. The night was breathtaking. Lanterns floated in the air, colorful lights lined the streets, music echoed through every corner, and boats danced on the rivers. Our entire city was decorated like a dream."

"After the fireworks, we all gathered in a small hotel, chatting and laughing. That's when one of our friends suddenly said,' Did you hear? Tonight, the strongest cultivator in our world is going to attempt a breakthrough to the Divine Realm."

Someone responded to him, nodding with certainty."Yeah, I know. Elder Suan San is going to attempt a breakthrough to the Divine Realm tonight."

Another person nearby gasped in shock."What?! Elder Suan San… Divine Realm?!"

The first one looked at him, surprised."Wait… you didn't know?"

"I knew Elder Suan San was close to a breakthrough, but I didn't think it was happening tonight."

"Come on! How could you not know? Everyone knows about this!"

Meanwhile, I sat there, completely lost.

Who were they talking about?Elder Suan San?Divine Realm?

Who even was this Elder Suan San?Was he really the strongest person in the world?I'd never even heard of him.

Unable to hold back my curiosity any longer, I finally asked,"Umm… who exactly is Elder Suan San, guys?"

The moment those words left my mouth, all of my friends turned and stared at me like I had just dropped from the sky.

One of them even blurted out,"Wait… are you from another planet? Are you a devil or something?!"

I instinctively stepped back, waving my hands in panic."N-No! I'm not a devil! Come on, you all know I'm from a really small village. I don't know much about what's going on outside."

One of them suddenly snapped at me,"So what if you're from a small village? Almost the entire world knows who Elder Suan San is! How can you not know?"

I stuttered, caught off guard,"I… I just…"

His tone had shaken me. But before I could respond properly, another friend stepped in and silenced him.

"That's enough," he said firmly. "You know he's from a remote village. Maybe they don't get news like we do. And it's not like there's a rule that says everyone has to know who Elder Suan San is."

But the angry one tried to speak again, "Still! Just look at him—he doesn't know—"

Before he could finish, my friend cut him off again."I said that's enough. If he doesn't know, then explain it to him—calmly."

The first guy sighed, then looked at me."Alright. I'll tell you who Elder Suan San is..."(We will know about him later an arc that will dacated 10,000 years ago.)

The more I listened, the more astonished I became. This man… Elder Suan San… he wasn't just powerful. He was a legend. A symbol. A force of nature.

After the explanation, he looked at me and asked,"So? Do you understand now?"

I nodded slowly, still dazed."Yeah… I understand now."

I was just about to say something more when—

CRACK!

A blinding flash of lightning tore through the sky with a deafening roar.

Dhram!

Everyone flinched. One of my friends even fell out of his chair.

At first, we thought it was just the beginning of a storm. Just a little rain to spoil the night.

But then... the lightning began to change color.

We all went quiet.

Our eyes met, and in that moment of silence, we all understood.

Something extraordinary was happening.

One of our friends broke the silence, pointing at the sky."Look… the lightning's changing color… That can only mean one thing."

Everyone stared at each other, hearts pounding, before they all said it together—

"Elder Suan San is breaking through to the Divine Realm!"

Without wasting a second, all of us rushed toward the lightning's origin.

As we flew, a deafening roar split the sky—and the first tribulation crashed down to the earth like divine punishment. We froze in midair, stunned by the sheer scale and force of it.

One of our friends, voice shaking, said,"We should turn back. This could be extremely dangerous. The tribulation is… way beyond what we can handle. We're not strong enough to protect ourselves."

But my boldest friend scoffed,"Come on, don't be scared. Nothing's going to happen to us. We'll just watch from a distance and leave."

As we were speaking, the second tribulation began to form in the sky.

"Look! Another one's forming! That means only one tribulation remains after this!" one of us shouted.

"The site's still far from here—we need to hurry or we'll miss it. Everyone, speed up! We have to get there before it ends!"

We all increased our flying speed, soaring through the clouds with urgency. The second tribulation had already struck by then, and now only the final one remained.

Our hearts were pounding with anticipation.

The first two tribulations were somewhat common here on the Central Planet—but the final tribulation… it was rare. None of us had ever seen it before, and we had no idea what to expect.

As we neared the scene, we could finally see it.

From above, we spotted a man seated in a meditative position, completely still amidst the storm. Near him, a strange glowing stone pulsed with light.

"There! I can see him!" one of my friends shouted."Yes! That's Elder Suan San!" another confirmed."But wait… what is that glowing thing beside him?" someone asked.

One of our friends, who belonged to a prestigious clan, narrowed his eyes and took a closer look.

"That… that's a Tribulation Stone."

We all turned to him in confusion.

"Tribulation Stone? What's that?"

We had never even heard of such a thing. Curiosity swirled in the air.

He began to explain,"You may not know about it—but I do. That stone is called the Tribulation. It's one of the mythical treasures—ancient relics that came from the Divine Realm."

We were stunned.

"A mythical treasures?!"

We'd heard tales of such artifacts. Each one was said to contain a special ability or hidden power.

"Do you know what this one does?" someone asked eagerly.

He nodded."Yes. This stone is used specifically during breakthroughs. If a cultivator activates it, it creates a protective shield over a ten-kilometer radius. All the tribulation lightning will be focused within that area—no damage outside. And more importantly, it reduces the tribulation's power by 50%."

We were in awe.

"As expected of a mythical thrasher!" we all said in unison.

But just as we were about ten kilometers away and prepared to fly closer—

A group of black-masked individuals suddenly appeared and blocked our path.

"Stop," one of them growled."You're not allowed to go any further."