The Investiture: Unlimited Blade Works Nezha
Chapter 229 - 228: Success! I, the solitary king, am about to succeed!

Chapter 229: Chapter 228: Success! I, the solitary king, am about to succeed!

After a period of preparation, Yin Shou finally adjusted his state to its peak.

Then, he brought all the magic artifacts exchanged from Nezha, the sense of perfection in both his body and Divine Soul told him that he was ready for Immortal Ascension!

As for failure during the tribulation, that was absolutely impossible!

Thus, he didn’t even bother leaving behind a testament.

Turning around, he embraced Queen Jiang holding the infant in her arms with a worried expression, then ascended the Star-picking Tower with his chest held high, under countless gazes.

Sitting cross-legged atop the high platform, he fully activated the Nine Revolutions Heavenly Immortal Technique. The abundant Spiritual Power circulated through his body for several rounds, finally reaching its peak at a certain moment.

In the high heavens, an inexplicable will descended, stirring up wind and clouds. The previously sun-scorched, cloudless skies over Chaoge City were once again shrouded by dense, dark clouds.

Purple Thunder Snakes slithered across the skies, exuding an incomprehensible sense of oppression.

Below, Yin Shou’s golden Domineering Armor had already merged with his body. Wielding the Dragon Slayer Sword in one hand, he pointed resolutely toward the heavens!

In front of countless onlookers, a purple thunderbolt struck down with a booming roar.

Yet under his helmet, Yin Shou showed no trace of fear—instead, excitement surged through him. Immortal Ascension was right before his eyes!

With Spiritual Power flowing into the Dragon Slayer Sword, he swung it, unleashing a burst of Sword Qi at the thunderbolt.

The lightning weakened before it struck his armor, unable to harm him in the slightest.

As bolt after bolt of Heavenly Thunder rained down, Yin Shou’s armor gradually shattered. Yet, the Dragon Slayer Sword in his hands, supported by the Human Dao’s Qi Fortune, did not break—on the contrary, it seemed as though it had been tempered, its gleaming surface shining even more brightly.

Yin Shou’s injuries seemed to accumulate, yet he showed no fear; his eyes brimmed with exhilaration!

He tore off the now-useless broken armor, golden Dharma Form over three meters tall erupting from his body to greet the heavenly lightning.

"Hahahahaha, come at me! I, Yin Shou, shall transcend the tribulation and ascend to immortality today!"

As Yin Shou’s roar thundered across the heavens, even more ferocious bolts of lightning descended.

Standing resolute, Yin Shou showed no hint of weakening despite his injuries—on the contrary, he grew fiercer with each strike.

Below, Yin Shang’s royal ministers stared at Yin Shou, who bore the brunt of the lightning tribulation atop the Star-picking Tower, with awe-filled eyes.

Could Great Shang truly produce an immortal Great King?

Everyone eagerly awaited the moment Yin Shou became an immortal, ready to sweep across the cosmos and perpetuate the six centuries of Great Shang’s reign for all eternity!

After enduring another round of lightning tribulation, Yin Shou’s aura began to fundamentally transform—his life level was undergoing a metamorphosis, from a human to an immortal.

Yin Shou clearly sensed the changes within himself. Wielding his sword in one hand, he conjured streams of golden Divine Dragons to meet the furious lightning.

Closer! Closer!

The feeling was nearly within reach!

With another strike of lightning, as the representative of the Human Dao, Yin Shou bore the brunt not only with his physical body but also in the clash between the Human Dao’s will and the Heavenly Dao’s will.

Faced with the overwhelming might of the Heavenly Dao’s will, Yin Shou felt no fear—only exhilaration!

"My destiny is mine to command, not Heaven’s! Transcending mortality to ascend and live for eternity! Today, I, Yin Shou, shall become the Immortal King!"

Yin Shou’s roar seemed to thoroughly enrage the heavens, sending down torrents of lightning energy.

With his body battered and revealing muscular flesh marked by scars, Yin Shou summoned all his Spiritual Power to resist the storm of lightning bearing down on him.

It was done!

This lonely king was about to succeed!

Only one last strike remained!

Enduring this final wave of lightning, Yin Shou gazed toward the heavens.

But after a long wait, the last bolt of lightning never came.

Confused, Yin Shou muttered: "???"

He waited for another moment, but the final strike of the Immortal Ascension Tribulation still did not descend. Instead, the thunderclouds overhead began to disperse, revealing a sun ten times larger than normal.

If one had to describe Yin Shou’s current feeling, there was an apt term: robbed (ironic).

Stuck in place, Yin Shou was naturally indignant. Realizing something was amiss, he cursed toward the sky.

"Wretched heavens! Just strike me with lightning already! ***********"

Seeing no response from the Heavenly Dao, Yin Shou grew even angrier.

"Unfair Heavenly Dao! I, Yin Shou, have cultivated bitterly for thirty years—why can’t I ascend to immortality? Damn it! Damn it! ..."

...

Before countless onlookers, Yin Shou failed his tribulation—not because he wasn’t strong enough, but because the final lightning strike simply vanished.

The greater the hope, the greater the despair. Now, all of Chaoge City was swathed in a thick veil of gloom.

Although Yin Shou’s performance had been impeccable, failure was failure.

This was Yin Shou’s first failure since childhood, and to him, the cause seemed absurd—a failure stemming from the ephemeral will of the Heavenly Dao.

Despite his failure, Yin Shou did not give up. His determination to achieve Immortal Ascension surpassed anyone’s.

Back in his royal palace, he began reflecting on the reasons for his failure.

His current state could be deemed that of a Demi Immortal. Old Jiang, when he descended the mountain, neither triggered the Immortal Ascension Tribulation nor achieved Immortal status and remained a mortal. Yin Shou himself was only one step away from completing his final metamorphosis.

Reaching this stage, his condition was undeniably peculiar—bearing the Qi Fortune of the Human Dao yet exuding some traces of immortal aura. If forced to compare, his state was closest to Hao Tian’s.

Hao Tian represents the Heavenly Dao, while Yin Shou clearly represents the Human Dao.

This realization allowed him to perceive previously unnoticed phenomena.

For instance, the Human Clan’s Qi Fortune, and the Heavenly Dao’s will.

Finally, he understood why his tribulation had been a failure.

It was due to the deliberate interference of the Primordial Heavenly Dao.

Indeed, based on Nezha’s initial speculation, Yin Shou, upon reaching his current stage, essentially had two paths: to either abandon Immortal Ascension and continue as Great King, or to relinquish his title as Human King and ascend directly as an immortal.

But the current circumstances were far beyond Nezha’s imagination: Yin Hong and Yin Jiao had fallen into demonic paths, while Zigeng was merely a baby, utterly incapable of shouldering Great Shang’s immense cause and effect.

Thus, the Heavenly Dao actively intervened and blocked one of Yin Shou’s choices outright.

Was Yin Shou angry?

Of course he was—but what could he do?

After sitting in quiet contemplation for three days and three nights, Yin Shou suddenly "grew up."

At this moment, he viewed everything from an unusual perspective.

In the deep recesses of his thoughts, it seemed as though everything was already foretold—the destined fall of Yin Shang, the destined failure of Jiang Ziya and himself to attain immortality.

For the first time, Yin Shou, who had always acted recklessly and defied all rules, felt the chains imposed upon him by this world.

At this moment, he suddenly found his previous declaration—"My destiny is mine to command, not Heaven’s."—utterly laughable.

He bore no resentment toward Nezha because, without him, Yin Shou might have died in ignorance—a fate far more humiliating than death for the prideful Yin Shou.

Moreover, it was the Heavenly Dao that sealed off his path to immortality—what did that have to do with the Great Sage Master?

The first thing Yin Shou learned after his growth was compromise.

Not a compromise with humans, but a compromise with the Heavenly Dao.

"I can remain here and play out my final role, but I must take what belongs to me as my ’performance fee.’"

Did Yin Shou have the right to negotiate terms?

He always had that right—he had just never realized it before. Now, not only was he aware of his rights, but he also possessed a faint ability to exercise them.

The Heavenly Dao is fair (at least most of the time). Yin Shou entered into a negotiation with the Heavenly Dao on an entirely different plane.