Chapter 46 - My First Heavenly Tribulation
The lightning bolt hit Eli in the parking lot.
There was no poetic build-up.
No ancient music.
No respectful warning.
One second he stood beneath Vane headquarters.
The next, the sky punched him.
He woke inside a crater.
His hoodie was gone.
His dignity was negotiating surrender.
The system flashed.
[HEAVENLY TRIBULATION: 1/3]
“ONE OF THREE?”
Maya shouted from outside the ward circle, “DON’T MOVE!”
“GREAT PLAN!”
The second bolt formed.
Eli activated the Beggar’s Loop.
He had absorbed city electricity before.
This was different.
Heavenly lightning was pure, violent qi.
The bolt struck.
Eli screamed.
Then the loop caught a fraction.
His meridians lit like wires.
[TRIBULATION ENERGY ABSORBED: 3%]
Elias sounded shocked.
“You can eat that?”
“I EAT TRASH!” Eli yelled.
The third bolt was larger.
Mr. Zhou laughed from the edge of the ward.
“Good.”
“WHY ARE YOU HAPPY?”
“Because Heaven is wasting resources.”
The bolt fell.
Eli used Flow Step at the instant of impact—not to escape, but to shift the strike through his body along the Beggar’s Loop.
Pain became light.
Light became qi.
The crater exploded.
When the smoke cleared, Eli was still standing.
Barely.
[TRIBULATION COMPLETE]
[QI GATHERING IX — PERFECTED]
[FOUNDATION TRIAL UNLOCKED]
Then a final golden message appeared.
[UNREGISTERED PATH DETECTED.]
May you like
[HEAVEN WILL REMEMBER YOU.]
