Three hours later.

　　“So the Heavenly Dao was formed because of me?” Lonemoon said through gritted teeth. He was trying his hardest to suppress the resentment he felt.

　　“You’re the manager. Whatever you desire will be formed by the nomological force!” Yi Qing nodded..

　　“You knew this as well?” Lonemoon turned to Chef, shooting daggers at him with his gaze.

　　“Er…” Chef was caught between admitting he did or lying that he did not.

　　“In other words…” Lonemoon clenched his fists by his side so that his fan nearly broke into pieces. “You’ve been so obedient these days so that you can successfully trick me onto this sinking ship!”

　　“Ahya, Father Niu, stop being caught up in all these details. Being promoted is a good thing!”

　　“Details my ass!” How was this another detail? “I don’t get any salary nor any insurance for doing this job, neither do I get to take a break from it. It’s a job that will take up my time 24/7. How can this be any good?”

　　“Er…” That was true. She had nothing to say in reply.

　　“One plane is enough to stress my mind. Now you’re throwing me yet another one. Do you think this is a game?” He turned and glared at Shen Ying. “And you, Shen Ying! You’re just freaking lazy, aren’t you! Each and everyone of you is leeching off me – you wastrels! How dare you still add on to my workload!”

　　He had indeed snapped. Father Niu was scary when he lost control. Both the master and the disciple hugged each other and trembled uncontrollably.

　　“You’re still displaying affection in front of me!”

　　Shen Ying: “…”

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　They immediately jumped apart and wrapped their hands around themselves. They lowered their heads and tried to hide from his sight.

　　“I don’t care – I’m not going to take over this plane. Throw it to whoever else you want.” Lonemoon paced back and forth in anger. “Otherwise, give it to Hong Meng. I already have enough on my plate with the previous plane. I don’t want to take over this mess as well!”

　　“What if you don’t have to manage the previous one anymore?” Shen Ying asked meekly.

　　Lonemoon halted. “What do you mean?”

　　“I mean…” Shen Ying was just about to explain when they heard a series of thunder coming from the skies..

　　The three of them hesitated. The gray clouds that had just dissipated were returning. This time, however, they only hovered above the mountain and not above the entire plane. A strong suppressive force began to press down against them. Was this… the lightning tribulation?

　　“Master…” Fatty suddenly rushed over and addressed the three of them. “The disciples in our sect are about to go through the lightning tribulation. It’s the Golden Core Lightning Tribulation!”

　　That’s quick! Lonemoon hesitated. He had not expected that the first lightning tribulation from the newly formed Heavenly Dao would take place here.

　　“Go and take a look!” This matter was urgent – he had to go over and take a look. The moment he reached the entrance, he stopped and turned back to glare at the two companions behind him. “The two of you, just wait and see. I’m not done!” With that, he exited.

　　Shen Ying: “…”

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　A long time later.

　　“Master, how much of our allowance do you think he’ll dock this time?”

　　“Er… three months’ worth?”

　　“…”

　　For some reason, Yi Qing felt like Lonemoon would likely dock three years’ worth of their allowance.

　　He began to consider if the amount of food they had stored up over the years would be enough to last them for such a long time.

　　Just as Lonemoon walked into the front hall, he spotted the three disciples standing in the middle of the stage confused. The spirit Qi around their bodies began to expand rapidly. They looked like they were not at all ready to deal with this.

　　“What are you waiting for? Quick, go and find a spot to focus. The lightning tribulation is going to start,” Lonemoon shouted at them.

　　The three of them looked up blankly at him. Then, they fell to their bottoms and sat cross-legged, still confused. They had no idea what grave danger they were in.

　　Lonemoon could not help but remind them again, “This is your lightning tribulation, and it’s a test from the Heavenly Dao. After you form your golden core, you will endure a lightning tribulation like this for every big cultivation level that you cross. You have to use all the power in your body to defend yourselves against it. This is one of the hardest obstacles you will face. You cannot escape it, nor can you get somebody else to replace you. You might not survive it as well. If you do, your cultivation level will grow rapidly, otherwise you’ll be gone. But this is the only way you can gain the affirmation of the Heavenly Dao. Do you understand?”

　　The three disciples began to panic, but immediately they tried to calm themselves down. “Yes, Exalted Master!” They began to focus hard and regulate their spirit Qi to prepare to defend themselves against the upcoming tribulation.

　　It was almost time. The spirit Qi around them was getting thicker and thicker. Three flashes of lightning suddenly shot down from the sky, out of the gray clouds, and down onto the three of them.

　　The moment it struck them, Lonemoon looked up to the skies. He decided to observe the first lightning tribulation from the Heavenly Dao. The next bolt of lightning seemed to brake mid way through the air. The tip of the lightning bolt seemed to take on a life of its own as it turned and headed toward Lonemoon. It stopped and turned back toward the three disciples, then back at Lonemoon, then back at the three of them. For a long time, the bolt of lightning did not reach the ground.

　　It zig-zagged in this fashion a couple of times, as if it was unwilling to strike the disciples. Even the nomological force surrounding it felt… confused. It looked like it was asking Lonemoon for his opinion.

　　Lonemoon pursed his lips. This really was the Heavenly Dao that was born from his thoughts. A moment later, he gritted his teeth. “Do what you have to!” Why did it have to ask for his permission?

　　It was only then that the lightning bolt struck down toward the three disciples. The first bolt of lightning was a mental demon tribulation. The three of them were now battling with their own mental demons.Their faces were twisted in anguish. After all, this was the golden core lightning tribulation. They regained their consciousness quickly enough.

　　The second bolt followed quickly after, then the third. Each one struck the three people below accurately. Not only did they not make any detours, the speed with which they shot down from the skies was exactly the same as well. Even the suppressive force and voltage of each lightning bolt was exactly the same.

　　Lonemoon felt like he was looking at the lightning tribulation performing its accuracy. It was almost as if the lightning tribulation was putting on a show, conscious that it was being observed, Lonemoon’s expression darkened. If not for the fact that the lightning tribulation was not over, he would have gone back to give the master and disciple duo a good beating.

　　The lightning tribulation ended soon enough. There were a total of 9-9, 81 bolts of lightning. The gray clouds finally began to part but the thick spirit Qi and nomological force lingered, as if not daring to dissipate without Lonemoon’s instructions.

　　Lonemoon sucked in a deep breath and tried to keep his anger under control. He said, “Alright!” The nomological force dissipated. It was almost as if it just heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the leader was happy.

　　The three people who had just endured the lightning tribulation were injured in varying degrees, but the spirit Qi around their bodies seemed considerably more powerful. This was the good thing about lightning tribulation. The Heavenly Dao was kind to the people who managed to endure the lightning tribulation. Fatty surveyed their wounds one by one and found that none of them were seriously injured. Instead, all of their cultivation levels seemed higher.

　　This perhaps was the Heavenly Dao’s way of making up to them. After all, they had been training their core for a long time before the Heavenly Dao formed. This lightning tribulation was considered late. It could have let them off just like that, but now that they were at the mercy of the nomological force, the lightning tribulation was unavoidable.