Right now, King Hong exuded a dauntless aura. It soared to the sky, as if clashing against the Tribulation lightning instead. Lin Mu observed it too and found the aura to be powerful, and even a little bit familiar.

'Why is it familiar?' Lin Mu wondered.

He observed King Hong who was facing the tribulation and saw his spirit Qi roiling.

"Survive!" Lin Mu said.

~KABOOM~

The Tribulation thunder descended and pierced the Tribulation attenuation formation's barrier. This time it barely managed to reduce it by 20% and King Hong faced eighty percent of its power.

"AAAAAAAAA!" King Hong let out a battle cry as he bore the force of the lightning.

They flowed in through his head and spread throughout his body. His robes were charred and his skin was burned in many places. His hair was either burned away or stood like spikes. 

His eyes thought shone with an unyielding light and he forcibly held his ground. His bones though, creaked under the pressure and his knees started to bend. 

"I… will… overcome this!" King Hong said with determination.

Lin Mu looked at the man and tried to see just how far he was. He wanted to see if his core was anywhere close to hatching or not. But in the current situation, it was hard to do so.

"The tribulation should also be a good judgment, right?" Lin Mu muttered as he observed it. 

His spatial perception activated, and he peered past the clouds. There he could see that the spatial crack from which the tribulation energy was entering this world was still there. It had shown no sign of reducing.

"Not over…" Lin Mu said.

"It may have ended at this bolt if you had not blocked the earlier bolts. This may have just made it more difficult for him." Senior Xukong spoke.

"We had no choice… it was either giving him the chance to survive for long on a harder difficulty or dying early." Lin Mu replied.

"Hmm… though his core should be close to being fully cracked. This single bolt was already as powerful as the first three bolts combined." Xukong spoke.

"Hopefully it's enough." Lin Mu replied.

He then went silent and watched on as the tribulation seared the body of the king. 

~zisssss~

The lightning bolt was finally overcome by King Hong but it had left him in dire starts. His knees were half bent, and it now looked like he was in the horse stance instead. His eyes had also dimmed down considerably.

"HAA…. Haaa… Haaa…" King Hong took labored breaths as he tried to stabilize his condition.

That single bolt had managed to take all of his strength and stamina. 

~Rumble~

The sound of thunder echoed in the sky again, as if taunting the king again.

"Ahahahah! Not over yet? COME ON! I'M FREE TO TAKE IT!" King Hong shouted in rage.

There was already water attribute tribulation Qi starting to settle in his meridians again. The efficacy of the Toxin Cleansing pill had already been used up and now the King had nothing to rely on.

Lin Mu sensed the change in the king and his spirit sense leaped forward like a harpoon. It pierced the body of the King and quickly entered his Dantian. The man didn't even realize that a spirit sense had probed him due to the state he was in.

"His meridians are damaged in several points and the water attribute tribulation Qi has returned… Dammit!" Lin Mu cursed.

He continued to the depths of his dantian and saw the state of his core.

"Huh? It's still not fully cracked?" Lin Mu was surprised. 

Xukong took a look as well and saw that it was barely hanging by a thread.

"Only a bare smidgen left…" Xukong said as he saw the core that was cracked over 99%.

"So close… so close to the breakthrough…" Lin Mu said, feeling uneasy.

~Sigh~

"Things are like this in life… fate likes to play a lot and every being is a toy for it…" Xukong spoke.

Lin Mu's expression fell as he observed the King. The man had been staunch earlier, but the lightning bolt had sapped his energy. Lin Mu had started to like the king and had found him to be a good person.

Not only did he care for his people, but he also honored his promises. He was a man worry of honor. He was someone who Lin Mu would like to be friends with and having him in his alliance would be invaluable.

Lin Mu felt unwilling.

He felt it was unfair.

"No… no… he cannot die like this!" Lin Mu said as a mix of unwillingness and rage appeared in his eyes.

It was at this moment that a few words echoed in his mind.

'Ignite thy heart as a furnace, let your rage fuel your strength and unleash rampage upon the worlds!'

The burning heart sutra echoed in his mind, and Lin Mu knew what to do. Xukong was stunned by it as well, since he had heard the words as well. 

"That… that is certainly the demonic path… that voice… that is not normal…" Xukong said to himself.

Lin Mu on the other hand, started to chant the Burning heart sutra. But the way he was using it was different this time. He was not using it on himself, but was rather targeting King Hong.

King Hong, whose eyes had dulled and whose vigor had wavered, suddenly heard a voice speaking in his ears. It seemed like it was coming from far, yet he could hear each and every word.

The only thing was he could not tell what the words were. They were in some unknown language. Still, the meaning of the words as something he was able to understand on his own. 

It was as if these words resonated with him. They told him he was right to be angry. That he was right to be unwilling. It was the heavens that were forcing his hand and thus he would push back.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" 

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