Chapter 980 Initiating the Sixth Thunder Tribulation
After discovering that Zhang Yu’s Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation was even weaker than expected, Lu Jingsong and his superior He Zhaisheng intensified their frantic marketing efforts, attempting to control public opinion and stabilize bond prices.
For a time, within the Ten Great Sects, praise for Zhang Yu could be heard everywhere, constantly proclaiming from various angles… that the current weakness of Zhang Yu’s Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation would not affect the immense scale of his subsequent thunder tribulations.
The entire arena of public opinion seemed to have been completely dominated by the cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
And Zhang Yu’s First Layer background also became a reasonable justification, allowing many cultivators to understand that his weakness in the Qi Refining Stage was merely a bit of hardship, expecting his later performance to become increasingly robust.
Under such a saturated bombardment of public opinion, coupled with the endorsements of Celestial Evolution Award winners one after another, the downward pace of the bond prices slightly slowed down.
The company also took the opportunity to offload its inventory, continuously selling the bonds in their hands at high prices to earn excess profits.
At the same time, Zhang Yu’s core supporters also united as one and began encouraging each other.
In the Lower Realm Mutual Aid Group, Shi Huaiyu: “Those bearish people are all sent by the major companies to shake our dao hearts! They just want to buy the bonds in our hands at a low price and wash us out!”
“Everyone, hold on! This is just a technical correction! Do not let the upper-tier cultivators trick you into selling out!”
“If you jump ship now, you won’t have an opportunity like this even in your next life!”
Meanwhile, the Soul Cultivators of the Former Days Graveyard — who served as Zhang Yu’s largest fundamental base — were roaming everywhere. Whenever they saw someone bearish on Zhang Yu’s Tribulation Bonds, they would swarm over, unleashing a barrage of insults, reports, and complaints…
Lu Hengzhang: “Minister Zhang has won so many times, has the Immortal Emperor’s support, and even the Celestial Evolution Award winner says he’s formidable. If I don’t believe him, should I believe you instead?”
Within a Grotto-Heaven of the Myriad Laws Immortal Clan.
Bu Zhenting looked at Zhang Yu’s ten-plus-meter Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation, then looked at his foolish sister and said, “I think you should still—”
Bu Yingshu shouted, “Shut up! Don’t ruin this for me with your retail cultivator mentality. Even when handed an opportunity to get rich, you can’t grasp it.”
“Be greedy when others are fearful! Right now, not only will I not sell, but I will borrow money to buy more, buy the dip, and continue adding to my position!”
Within the Vajra Sect.
As a Law Edict Controller just like Zhang Yu, Ye Heng actually often paid attention to news about Zhang Yu.
After all, in his eyes, this Myriad Laws Divine Sword would likely become his competitor in the future.
But upon seeing Zhang Yu’s ten-plus-meter Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation, even he felt a bit surprised.
“To think it’s this weak?”
Inside the Heavenly Sword Sect’s securities company, watching the number of people paying to buy Zhang Yu’s bonds gradually increase and the waves of transactions being completed, He Zhaisheng breathed a slight sigh of relief. “These retail cultivators are always so naive.”
Lu Jingsong also laughed. “This is what retail cultivators are like… They only believe what they want to believe. Only if Zhang Yu continues to skyrocket can they strike it rich, so they believe he will keep skyrocketing.”
“Not only do they believe it themselves, but they also fuel each other’s delusions, even going around biting anyone for us, refusing to let clear-headed people criticize him.”
He Zhaisheng chuckled along. “Perhaps some of them have already noticed the problem themselves, and are just trying to fool latecomers into taking over their positions.”
Right at this moment, Zhang Yu’s first thunder tribulation had already ended.
Just as He Zhaisheng was marveling at how small the scale of the other party’s thunder tribulation was… so much so that his Tribulation Transcendence was also quite fast, a second wave of thunderlight had already lit up on Zhang Yu’s body.
He Zhaisheng’s heart tightened. “What is he doing? Did he apply for consecutive thunder tribulations?”
In He Zhaisheng’s view, Zhang Yu’s mission was already complete. Now, he just needed to take a good rest for a while and wait for the Immortals’ high-priced bonds to be completely bought up by the retail cultivators, turning entirely into excess profits.
But now the other party was actually going to immediately undergo the second thunder tribulation in succession?
“This guy…” He Zhaisheng gritted his teeth and said, “By triggering the second thunder tribulation like this, isn’t he further exposing his inadequate foundation? It’s going to stir up public opinion again!”
In He Zhaisheng’s view, Zhang Yu’s second thunder tribulation would definitely be very weak as well. Once exposed… the public opinion they had just managed to control would be ruined once again.
He Zhaisheng said, “Contact Zhang Yu immediately! Tell him to stop!”
Lu Jingsong, who was beside him, said, “No good, we can’t reach him.”
After enduring the first thunder tribulation, Zhang Yu entered a profound state.
He felt that his mind could delve deep into the microscopic world, as if he could constantly perceive the contradiction between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds, as well as the conflicts between different Immortal Dao Technologies.
Zhang Yu understood that at this moment, he had truly stepped into the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, beginning his life as a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator.
Now, even without the enhancement of the Emperor Creation Seed, all his basic stats — including his dao heart, magic power, and physical strength — as well as the level caps of his various cultivation arts… had all been completely shattered, breaking through from the Void Refinement limit to the Tribulation Transcendence limit.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu had already made his decision: “The first level of the thunder tribulation is too weak. I will strike while the iron is hot and directly start the second level of thunder tribulation.”
Along with the start of the second level of thunder tribulation, scenes from his past during the Foundation Establishment Stage… surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind.
At the Foundation Establishment Stage, he had finally mastered the first military-grade cultivation technique of his life in the Civil Engineering Department of Myriad Laws University.
Then came his transfer to the Artifact Refinement Department, where he learned new military-grade technology, and ultimately his acquisition of the Immortal Sect Strategic Technique — Kunlun in the Palm — during the Ten Greats League.
His Chain Formation Diagram had also surged repeatedly, successively obtaining the University Sacred Body, Qi Meridian Everflow, Civil Engineering Sacred Body, and Martial Dao Sacred Body…
Furthermore, during the Foundation Establishment period, he had opened the Dao Seed Register and mastered one Dao Seed after another.
Among them, the continuous upgrades and evolution of the Azure Lotus Sword Embryo allowed a portion of all Chain Formation Diagram effects to take effect simultaneously.
And during the course of the Ten Greats League, he even obtained the Immortal Descendant Dao Seed, granting him a private space of 10 cubic meters.
Zhang Yu could feel that the formidable foundation laid down during his Foundation Establishment period was now backfiring on him, triggering some obscure, destructive power.
The next moment, a thousand meters of thunderlight abruptly swallowed his body whole.
In an instant, as his cultivation art circulated, Zhang Yu felt his entire body’s flesh and blood being continuously tempered, while the different profound mysteries of the Immortal Dao Technology on both the microscopic and macroscopic levels constantly surfaced in his mind.
Meanwhile, the resistance of his physical body to the thunder tribulation gradually increased under the augmentation of various cultivation arts, mystic powers, and Dao Seeds.
At the same time, Zhang Yu’s heart stirred: “Compared to the second thunder tribulation drawn over by Ye Heng when the lightning struck the wrong location earlier, the destructive power of this one is far too low.”
“I can withstand more thunder tribulations and stronger stimulation to improve my thunder tribulation resistance even faster…”
Zhang Yu instantly made a decision in his mind and then contacted the relevant department in charge of thunder tribulations, requesting to synchronously activate the third thunder tribulation.
The other party said, “Are you sure? Profound Monarch Zhang, undergoing the first to the sixth thunder tribulation sequentially is the safest and most efficient method. After all, there is an upper limit to the efficiency of tempering the body with thunder tribulations. Inducing multiple thunder tribulations at the same time will increase the risk, but the speed of the tribulation transcendence may not necessarily be faster. If one’s Immortal Dao Technology for borrowing lightning to temper the body is not proficient, it might even end up wasting thunder tribulation resources…”
In terms of safety… Zhang Yu wanted to improve his thunder tribulation resistance faster and more substantially, so naturally, he was not afraid of a larger-scale thunder tribulation.
As for efficiency, the Immortal Dao Technology of borrowing thunder to temper the body…
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “With my peerless talent, the speed of cultivating the Thunder Absorption Mantra will be very fast. Moreover, with the blessing of the Emperor Creation Seed, I can push the Thunder Absorption Mantra to level 71 in one breath. By possessing a body-tempering ability that surpasses the limit of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, my tribulation transcendence efficiency will definitely far exceed that of experts at the same level…”
Thus, Zhang Yu was heard insisting, “I have my own plans. Let’s begin.”
He secretly said in his heart, “My Void Refinement Thunder Tribulation will probably be terrifying to the extreme. Before that… I must do my best to increase my thunder tribulation resistance.”
The next moment, right while bearing the Foundation Establishment Thunder Tribulation, Zhang Yu felt… the foundation he had established in the Golden Core Realm gradually begin to suffer a backlash, starting to trigger a thunder tribulation.
“The Golden Core Realm…”
Scenes of himself cultivating in the Golden Core Realm back then surfaced in Zhang Yu’s mind.
At that time, in order to cope with the University War, he had gotten through his Golden Core Realm cultivation in a short period of time. Although he had completed nine Extraordinary Meridians and the twelve-layered Dao Foundation, he had barely improved his cultivation arts, Dao Seeds, or Chain Formation Diagrams much.
Zhang Yu thought to himself: “My Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, I’m afraid among Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators… will be one of the weakest.”
Streaks of thunderlight were seen exploding from within his body. Just as Zhang Yu had expected, the momentum of this third thunder tribulation was far inferior to the twofold thunder tribulation.
Thus, a moment later, he requested again to synchronously activate the fourth thunder tribulation.
“Profound Monarch Zhang, are you… sure?”
Zhang Yu said indifferently, “Activate it.”
This time, Zhang Yu immediately felt surging thunder erupt from within his body.
The fourth layer, the Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation, erupted with a boom.
His Nascent Soul career had spanned the University War and the sect.
During this period, not only had he cultivated a large number of Chain Formation Diagrams and upgraded all his Dao Seeds, but he had also cultivated the Immortal Sect’s Sect-Guarding Technique, the Blood Tide Essence Qi Sacred Contemplation, in the Edict Pavilion. Furthermore, he had obtained the Dao Seed [Myriad Laws Immortal Clan] from Bu Yingshu and upgraded it to level 5.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “With such a foundation, even if it can’t compare to those Immortal Clan Nascent Soul Experts within the sects, it shouldn’t be weak, right?”
Boom!
Thunderlight exceeding 30,000 meters in diameter exploded violently, and blazing destructive power coursed through his entire body in an instant.
At the same time, Zhang Yu’s thunder tribulation resistance climbed steadily, and the Thunder Absorption Mantra he was cultivating also leveled up all the way, being pushed to level 60 at the Void Refinement Peak an hour later.
Then it reached level 70 at the Tribulation Transcendence peak.
Immediately after, under the blessing of the Emperor Creation Seed, Zhang Yu’s Thunder Absorption Mantra broke through the upper limit of Tribulation Transcendence, forcefully reaching level 71!
In an instant, Zhang Yu felt that the Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation, which had been exceptionally fierce just a moment ago, seemed to have become docile now.
Over the next half a month, Zhang Yu used the thunder tribulation to temper his body, constantly comprehending the profound mysteries of the macro and micro, while continuously improving his thunder tribulation resistance.
“The sixth Thunder Tribulation will definitely be extremely terrifying.”
“I must prepare thoroughly…”
When mid-July arrived, Zhang Yu felt that his thunder tribulation resistance had been stacked to a limit; he needed a stronger stimulus and a larger-scale thunder tribulation.
“Almost there, then…” t Zhang Yu: “Activate the fifth thunder tribulation for me as well!”
In an instant, scenes of his experiences in the Spirit Transformation Realm flashed through Zhang Yu’s mind.
Delving deep into the labyrinth to vie for the Immortal Legacy left behind by Ying Xintian.
Also saving the Heaven Collapse, protecting the Myriad Markets Great Peace, wielding the Salary Raise Authority, becoming the Former Days Salary King, and competing for the Soul Cultivator Market…
As scene after scene flashed by, the Immortal Dao foundation accumulated during this period also began to backlash one by one.
Spirit Transformation Dao Body! Ten Divine Light Transformations! Empress Wa Creations!
Furthermore, the Profound Cold Meridian extending lifespan, the Blazing Sun Meridian burning lifespan, the tyranny of the Kunpeng Swallowing Heaven Art, and the multiple upgrades of the Immortal Descendant Dao Seed…
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “The foundation I laid down in the Spirit Transformation Realm, even compared to Tai Yuebai — who stole a body full of Dao Seeds and was meticulously cultivated by the Reformist Faction — shouldn’t be much inferior.”
Boom!
Thunderlight exceeding 100,000 meters shot into the sky…
Inside the Heavenly Sword Sect’s securities company.
Upon seeing the scene after Zhang Yu’s second thunder tribulation erupted, He Zhaisheng and Lu Jingsong both breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Simply because Zhang Yu’s performance was much stronger than they had estimated.
He Zhaisheng sighed, “To think that the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation he completed in the lower realm could actually reach this level?”
Lu Jingsong nodded slightly, “For a Foundation Establishment Thunder Tribulation to have such a level, it can be considered quite good among Tribulation Transcendence cultivators.”
But the two understood in their hearts that even if the next few thunder tribulations maintained this level or went a step further… it would still fall far short of the 1000 opening price valuation.
After all, that was inflated by countless marketing campaigns, propaganda, and bubbles; it was inherently the price of an unprecedented Tribulation Bond.
He Zhaisheng said, “Although the scale of this second thunder tribulation isn’t high in absolute value, Zhang Yu’s Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation was weak enough.”
“From the Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation to the Foundation Establishment Thunder Tribulation, it has increased by at least 70 times! Just promote the figure of 7000%.”
He Zhaisheng believed that Zhang Yu’s progress from the Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation to the Foundation Establishment Thunder Tribulation, if marketed well… could provide retail cultivators with plenty of imagination space.
He Zhaisheng hurriedly added, “Ramp up the marketing, and then continue to offload!”
At the same time, Lu Jingsong also finally got in touch with Zhang Yu, but after exchanging only a few words with him, he couldn’t help but frown.
He Zhaisheng noticed the change in Lu Jingsong’s state and quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
“President He…” Lu Jingsong said, “Zhang Yu said he is in a very good state right now and plans to continue by initiating the third, fourth, and even the fifth thunder tribulation… He wants to undergo these thunder tribulations all at once.”
“What?!” Hearing this, He Zhaisheng felt a sudden sense of foreboding.
He Zhaisheng knew in his heart that the retail cultivators’ behavior of buying Tribulation Bonds, although called an investment, was actually just a form of gambling.
The bonds they bought for 1000 were a bet… that after Zhang Yu triggered a massive thunder tribulation, these bonds of 1000 could be proportionally exchanged for 2000… 5000… or even 10000 worth of thunder tribulation resources.
He Zhaisheng thought to himself, “And the reason these retail cultivators are so expectant, the reason Zhang Yu’s Tribulation Bonds have such a high valuation…”
He Zhaisheng understood where the retail cultivators got their confidence from; after all, this confidence was shaped by him and his team.
He knew the true value of Zhang Yu’s bonds once the bubble was squeezed dry, because this bubble was also blown up by him and his people.
He understood even better how difficult it was for the retail cultivators to avoid being harvested, because he was the one managing the offloading, and he was the one leading the team swinging the scythe.
“And the actual situation? The scale of the thunder tribulation that Zhang Yu will ultimately trigger can’t possibly reach this kind of valuation.”
Every time he managed a similar project, He Zhaisheng couldn’t help but recall that a long, long time ago, there was a trade in this world known as stone gambling.
“Buy a stone, cut it open again and again, and see if there is valuable jade inside. If there is, you profit… if not, you lose.”
He Zhaisheng thought to himself, “Zhang Yu’s Tribulation Bond, to the retail cultivators… is just like stone gambling.”
“The descent of each successive thunder tribulation is like each cut made to the stone, gradually revealing the actual value of the bond.”
“When the sixth tunder tribulation finishes triggering, the scale of the thunder tribulation corresponding to the bond is set, and the bond’s value is completely locked in, leaving no room for imagination.”
“Originally, this process could have been taken slowly, allowing us to take our time, maintain a high price… and sell off all the bonds.”
The thought flashed through his mind in an instant, and He Zhaisheng said solemnly, “But… after Zhang Yu triggered multiple thunder tribulations in one breath, the actual scale of the thunder tribulation was revealed. The bond bubble will quickly burst, and more and more people will realize that his bonds… have an actual value far below 1000 Immortal Coins per lot.”
At this point, a flash of irritation couldn’t help but cross He Zhaisheng’s heart. “This guy… why is he doing this? To save on thunder tribulation storage fees? But to withstand multiple thunder tribulations simultaneously, the protection costs won’t be cheap either, right? Does he think he’s tough enough to save money?”
He Zhaisheng wished he could immediately rush over to the location where Zhang Yu was being struck, grab the guy by the head, drag him out, and stop his Tribulation Transcendence.
But he also knew this was impossible, so he could only helplessly issue an order: “Have our people quickly dump all the remaining bonds we have on hand.”
And when Zhang Yu’s third thunder tribulation, the Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, erupted, the expressions of both He Zhaisheng and Lu Jingsong shifted. “Another unprecedentedly super weak thunder tribulation?”
“Just as the assessment report said, when he was in the Golden Core Realm, the lower realm happened to start the University War and lost contact with the upper realm. Therefore, Zhang Yu’s cultivation time in the Golden Core Realm was too short, and his foundation is too weak.”
“Sigh, wouldn’t it have been better if he started the third stage a bit later? We haven’t finished selling the bonds in our hands yet.”
Watching the continuously falling bond prices, He Zhaisheng and Lu Jingsong instantly calculated the outcome in their minds…
He Zhaisheng: “If it keeps falling like this, our expected profits will decrease by a lot.”
Thinking of this, the dissatisfied looks of his superiors already seemed to surface in He Zhaisheng’s mind.
Lu Jingsong suddenly said, “President He, it has already dropped to 900, and this momentum looks unstoppable… How about we simply sell the remaining bonds while shorting the market? We should be able to make quite a bit more…”
Since the matter concerned his own bonus and commission, He Zhaisheng couldn’t help but ponder it carefully: “Shorting?”
He understood that the so-called shorting… to use himself as an example, meant that after agreeing on the interest and the return date, he would borrow bonds worth 900 per lot right now.
After borrowing the bonds, he would sell it on the spot to get 900.
When the bond price dropped to 500, he would buy back the bonds, return them, and pay the interest.
Through this exchange, he would earn nearly 400 per lot.
In this process, the more the bond dropped, the more he would earn.
He Zhaisheng thought to himself, “This is Finance; when it comes down to it, everything is just a game of borrowing and returning money. But isn’t the Immortal Dao exactly the same? It is nothing more than borrowing and returning — borrowing different powers of Heaven and Earth, and returning different Immortal Dao results.”
After thinking for a moment, He Zhaisheng said, “Let me request instructions from above.”
But for some reason, He Zhaisheng found that the Immortals above seemed to be busy with something and remained unresponsive.
Lu Jingsong looked at the still-falling bonds and said again, “President He, even if you cannot contact the Immortals, you have the authority to make provisional decisions. Zhang Yu’s third Thunder Tribulation has passed, and his Qi Refining and Golden Core stages were so weak. How much higher could the rest possibly rise? If we short it now, we are guaranteed to profit!”
Looking at Lu Jingsong in front of him, He Zhaisheng knew that the other party was already blinded by greed.
But thinking about the commissions and bonuses… thinking about the success rate of shorting at this moment, He Zhaisheng was equally tempted, and his greed surged.
Ultimately, a firm dao heart and an infinite yearning for the Immortal Dao gained the upper hand. He Zhaisheng said, “Let’s do it! If we win this bet, the upper limit of my immortal path can be raised again.”
“Don’t stop the propaganda either. The more retail cultivators take over, the more profitable our short selling will be…”
He Zhaisheng knew that to short sell, one must first be able to borrow bonds.
And the prerequisite for being able to borrow bonds is that someone is willing to lend them out.
So what kind of person would be willing to lend them?
Within the Myriad Laws Sect, Shi Huaiyu looked at the checkbox in front of her and thought, “Lend! I definitely won’t sell anyway, and I definitely don’t think it will fall! I plan to hold it long-term, so by lending it out like this… I can also earn some interest.”
He Zhaisheng thought to himself, “Only those who are firmly bullish and want to earn a bit of interest will be willing to lend their bonds.”
“Otherwise, if everyone feels the bonds will fall, then everyone will just sell the bonds in their hands as quickly as possible. Who would still insist on holding onto them, and even lend them out, just to earn a bit of interest?”
“In the end, this is essentially also a gamble between two parties: one is bullish, and the other is bearish.”
And right now, what He Zhaisheng needed to do was to seize the time to place short orders and borrow bonds while continuing to push the propaganda, in order to seek higher profits.
In the past, the act of borrowing securities could only be done through companies and institutions.
But He Zhaisheng knew that with the Heavenly Sword Sect’s financial liberalization reform, the Retail Cultivator Securities Lending Program had been introduced. As long as retail cultivators voluntarily opted in, they could hand over their held securities to brokers as a source for borrowing, and upon lending them out… earn interest.
At this very moment, under He Zhaisheng’s command, the company was simultaneously selling off and shorting.
Then He Zhaisheng was surprised to discover: “Zhang Yu’s base is really quite large. To think there are still this many people holding on desperately?”
“Perfect, you will be the best fuel for my short selling.”
Inside the Grotto-Heaven of the Myriad Laws Immortal Clan.
Bu Zhenting had just wanted to speak when Bu Yingshu glared him back into silence.
Bu Yingshu kept repeating in her heart: “Zhang Yu won’t lie to me, Zhang Yu wouldn’t lie to me, he is going to elevate me to achieve immortality!”
Bu Zhenting sent a message to Bu Yuangui beside him: “Are we really just going to watch her lose so miserably? Rather than letting this money go to waste like this, it would be better to give it to me…”
Bu Yuangui did not answer. Instead, he carefully analyzed the current bond market, secretly thinking: “The trading volume is still growing continuously. Are the main forces selling off? But who is entering the market? Besides Bu Yingshu, the Soul Cultivators of the Former Days Graveyard, and some cultivators of the 16th layer, are there actually this many people buying in?”
“Are these people… really all retail cultivators? Or… is there some other force intervening?”
Right at this moment, Zhang Yu had already triggered the fourth thunder tribulation.
Bu Yingshu said, “See that?! Triggering four thunder tribulations in one breath and undergoing the four thunder tribulations all at once — how could a foundation like this be bad?”
Bu Zhenting thought to himself, “What four thunder tribulations? With the scale of Zhang Yu’s Qi Refining Thunder Tribulation and Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, they will be exhausted in a moment, so right now it’s basically as if they don’t exist. At this moment… he is essentially just undergoing the Foundation Establishment Thunder Tribulation and Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation at the same time.”
“Furthermore… for a cultivator in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, there is an upper limit to the efficiency of using thunder tribulations to temper their physical body and comprehend the micro and macro. Even if he starts the Foundation Establishment Thunder Tribulation and Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation at the same time, how much faster could he be?”
“Instead, there might be waste. The thunder tribulations that he can’t use for the time being might even need to be stored away, incurring a storage fee…”
Inside the Lower Realm Mutual Aid Group.
Wang Yin: “Why did it drop so much! I’m taking a huge loss! [Loud Crying]”
Shi Huaiyu: “If you don’t want to take a loss, there is only one way going forward.”
Wang Yin: “What way?”
Shi Huaiyu: “Wait until it goes up before selling.”
Shi Huaiyu: “Look! The Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation has broken through 30000 meters! This is the true manifestation of Minister Zhang’s foundation!”
Tian Shengong: “But I checked, and the total value of thunder tribulation resources for Tribulation Transcendence Cultivators with a 30000-meter fourth thunder tribulation… doesn’t seem to be as high as the valuation currently being promoted.”
Shi Huaiyu: “How fast has Minister Zhang progressed from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, and from Golden Core to Nascent Soul? As the cultivation environment gets better and better, his foundation is also becoming increasingly profound. Once he detonates the Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation and the Void Refinement Thunder Tribulation, the bonds will definitely skyrocket back up!”
Shi Huaiyu: “Whoever messes with our dao heart again can get the hell out!”
Shi Huaiyu: “I’ve navigated the securities market for many years, and I have a piece of advice for you all: the best operation is no operation at all [adjusts sunglasses].”
Over the next half month, Shi Huaiyu would check in on Zhang Yu’s Tribulation Transcendence progress from time to time every day.
During this period, no matter how the bond prices fluctuated, Shi Huaiyu showed not the slightest intention of selling.
Until mid-July, the fifth thunder tribulation erupted. This Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation crashed down and filled the entire live stream screen, right under Shi Huaiyu’s expectant gaze.
Immortal Roujia said indifferently, “A 100000-meter Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation? If Tai Yuebai were to trigger a Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation, I reckon… it would be at about this level too.”
Immortal Yi Xuan said: “Ultimately, although Zhang Yu is already very outstanding, his Tribulation Bond might be worth 200, or even 300, but it is absolutely not worth 1000. Now that the true scale of the thunder tribulation he has triggered is gradually emerging, the bond price is also gradually returning to its true value. No matter how much his remaining final Void Refinement Thunder Tribulation intensifies, it cannot change this.”
Immortal Roujia: “In the end, he cannot compare to someone like Ye Heng… with hundreds of years of accumulated foundation under the Buddha Emperor.”
Speaking of this, the two Immortals of the Reformist Faction revealed a hint of a smile.
After realizing that the price of Zhang Yu’s Tribulation Bond… was far higher than its true value, they had begun to short Zhang Yu’s Tribulation Bond.
And as Zhang Yu’s thunder tribulation manifested stage by stage, more and more cultivators sensed that something was wrong. They either accepted their losses and exited the market, or… flipped their positions to join the short selling, further driving the downward trend.
The two Immortals had shorted it all the way from 1000 down to the current 600, already earning almost 100% in profit.
But they knew that with the emergence of the fifth stage of the thunder tribulation, market confidence would plummet once again, and Zhang Yu’s bond price would continue to suffer a steep drop, securing them even higher returns.
And over the next month, Zhang Yu’s Tribulation Bond predictably trended downward just as they had expected, diving straight toward 300.
“Heavenly Monarch Overdrive! Didn’t you promise a lightning disaster that would endanger multiple layers? Why is the Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation only 100,000 meters?!”
“You’re the one who spouted that bullshit about aiming for 10000? You call yourself an expert? Zhang Yu’s bonds aren’t even worth 300!”
“Animal! Heavenly Monarch Redundancy, you really are a beast! To make such a huge error in prediction! The Celestial Evolution Award should revoke your qualifications!”
Accompanying this crazy plunge over the past month and a half, more and more criticism gradually surfaced under the social media accounts of the experts, wealthy tycoons, and Celestial Evolution Award winners who had previously endorsed Zhang Yu and hyped up his thunder tribulation. By now, it was a complete sea of curses.
Heavenly Monarch Overdrive glanced at the insults in the comment section, deleted them all, and blocked the users with a single click.
Then, looking at the short positions he had been building up starting from 1000, he thought to himself, “A bunch of idiots. You actually believed the upper-tier cultivators would hand a money-making opportunity over to you? You deserve to be poor for the rest of your lives.”
In the mutual aid group, Shi Huaiyu was still speaking: “Hold on, time will prove Minister Zhang right. When the sixth Thunder Tribulation comes, the bonds will definitely skyrocket!”
But there was hardly anyone responding in the group anymore.
Inside the Grotto-Heaven of the Myriad Laws Immortal Clan, Bu Yingshu shouted: “Bu Zhenting! Shut your mouth! Don’t get in the way of me making a fortune!”
Bu Zhenting rolled his eyes: “I didn’t say anything, did I?”
Bu Yingshu said anxiously: “I know that’s exactly what you’re thinking!! Just you wait. When Zhang Yu triggers the sixth Thunder Tribulation, everything will get better. You’ll know then what a great mind for investment I have!”
Bu Zhenting rolled his eyes internally and thought to himself: “The first five were just so-so. How much can it possibly go up with just the final one?”
In the Former Days Graveyard, Lu Hengzhang’s mind seemed to have come to a standstill.
A month and a half ago, right after the bonds opened, he had scrambled to buy them madly. Relying on maxed-out loans, he bought Zhang Yu’s bonds at 1000.
Later, when the first thunder tribulation began, the bond price dropped to 980. Lu Hengzhang gritted his teeth and held on, telling himself that he had to endure.
Immediately following the Foundation Establishment Thunder Tribulation, the bond price gradually rose to 1012. Lu Hengzhang sighed in relief that he hadn’t missed out; he had just made a 1.2% profit in one fell swoop.
But soon… as the Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation, and Spirit Transformation Thunder Tribulation successively erupted, the bond price also trended downward amid volatility.
When it fell below 400, Lu Hengzhang finally gave up his illusions, made up his mind to cut his losses, and sold off all the bonds in his hands.
And at the thought of losing 60% over the past month and a half, Lu Hengzhang felt as if a knife were twisting in his heart.
It wasn’t until he saw the bond price plummet below 300 that he rejoiced at having sold early enough.
“Damn it… what unprecedented lightning disaster? They were all just tricking us into being the bag holders.”
“How about short selling?”
In a sudden flash of inspiration, Lu Hengzhang wanted to short the market, only to find that it was nearly impossible to borrow any bonds to short in the entire market.
This meant that after the fifth lightning tribulation, more and more people were bearish on Zhang Yu. No one was entering the market to take over, and even fewer could lend out bonds…
Just as everyone fell into a panic along with the plummeting bonds, one person remained completely calm, because he was currently the main force behind the short selling in the market.
Lu Jingsong could be heard saying, “Keep placing short orders for me. Borrow as many shares as you possibly can!”
“We’ll eat the very last bite of meat off these retail cultivators before we exit the market!”
Looking at the profit chart for this run, a trace of joy flashed in Lu Jingsong’s heart. He turned to He Zhaisheng beside him and said, “President He, although Zhang Yu consecutively triggered five thunder tribulations in just a short month and a half, which somewhat disrupted our plans, with you presiding over the big picture, seeing opportunities early on, and strategizing, the higher-ups will definitely be satisfied with the yield this time.”
He Zhaisheng nodded slightly. This time, there was a surge followed by a plummet… They had profited from both swings, making an absolute fortune.
He Zhaisheng couldn’t help but think to himself, “I wonder if the Immortal will assign me to a higher-tier company to manage even larger-scale funds…”
Just as his imagination was running wild, a sliver of doubt crept into his mind: “Why hasn’t there been a reply from the Immortal yet?”
Right at that moment, Lu Jingsong spoke up from the side, “President He, it seems Zhang Yu is about to initiate the sixth thunder tribulation.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
He Zhaisheng looked at the live broadcast screen and thought to himself, “He really is in a hurry…”
In He Zhaisheng’s view, Zhang Yu’s Qi Refining and Golden Core thunder tribulations were too weak and had long been exhausted, but even so… over the past month, it was equivalent to triggering the Foundation Establishment, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation thunder tribulations all at the same time.
This gave He Zhaisheng the feeling that something was chasing Zhang Yu from behind, forcing him to initiate one thunder tribulation after another.
“And now he wants to start the sixth thunder tribulation? Can he even handle it?”
A trace of doubt welled up in his heart: “Why is he in such a rush… what exactly is the reason?”
He Zhaisheng had also asked Zhang Yu, but unfortunately, the other party never answered.
But the next moment, accompanied by a flash of bright light, the live broadcast suddenly disconnected.
“Hmm?” He Zhaisheng thought to himself. “The stream stopped?”
At first, He Zhaisheng thought there was a problem with the Spirit Realm connection on his end.
A few seconds later, he discovered that the entire company could not see the live broadcast.
A moment later, he confirmed that a malfunction had occurred in the streaming room. Just as Zhang Yu started the sixth thunder tribulation, all the viewers in the stream… could only see a black screen.