I Can Accumulate Proficiency, Starting from Alchemy

The most dangerous of the Three Tribulations of Golden Core is the Life Tribulation.

Heavenly and human calamities can still be resisted with strength, but the Life Tribulation is invisible and traceless, and the battle is against a certain rule.

Under this rule, Han Yi shuddered all over and came to his senses, finding himself by a roadside. In front and behind him, people were coming and going, bustling with activity. On the road, cars were driving and shuttling incessantly.

“I’m back?”

Han Yi’s brow furrowed, his memory stopped at the last step of forming the Golden Core. He had sensed the arrival of the mysterious and unpredictable rule, and then he returned to Earth.

“Strange.”

“This situation is just like facing the Mortal Dust Tribulation during the Foundation Establishment.”

“But the Jade Butterfly given by Zhuge Wu You didn’t mention this. It only said that when a cultivator crosses the Life Tribulation, they will be pulled into a mysterious space, undergo a test, and when they regain consciousness, only a moment has passed in the real world. If they fail the test, they will die and their path will vanish.”

“So, the scene I’m witnessing now is a world created by the Life Tribulation and the test?”

“But what exactly is the test?”

Han Yi stood on the roadside, his brows knitted together, and his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

There were many pedestrians on the road, and Han Yi had to step back to a place further away, finding a step to sit down.

Now that he had returned to his mortal body, the memory of Yu Heng World for more than forty years in his mind seemed somewhat unreal after just ten or so minutes, as if the experiences in those forty years were someone else’s, and he had only received the ‘memory’ without actually experiencing it.

Meanwhile, his memory of Earth became clearer and clearer.

He could recall that the company server had malfunctioned the day before yesterday, and he had worked overnight to fix the problem. Yesterday morning, the issue was finally resolved, and according to company rules, he would be paid overtime.

Right.

In a few days, it would be his daughter’s fifth birthday, and he needed to prepare a gift for her. His son was also two years old, and there were mosquitoes in the house due to the hot weather. The air conditioning wasn’t cold enough, and he had to contact a technician to add refrigerant to it.

And his wife, who was writing novels at home, seemed to be stuck in her story recently. He needed to buy her favorite durian cake to surprise her.

Also.

His mother’s knee had been aching again. As she aged and the weather changed rapidly, these minor ailments increased. Half a month ago, he had taken her to a Chinese medicine doctor, but the doctor was too young. This time, he planned to switch to a more authoritative hospital for a comprehensive examination.

As he thought about it.

Han Yi’s memory of this world became clearer and clearer.

His family, friends, work, neighbors, trivialities, conflicts, happy moments, and concerns became more and more vivid.

At the same time.

His memory of the Yu Heng World did not disappear but became increasingly blurry.

It was as if there were invisible rules making him aware that he had been forming a Golden Core and facing the Life Tribulation, but he didn’t seem to care so much.

Even though he still had the memories, they became just memories.

It grew late.

Han Yi stood up from the steps and suddenly slapped his forehead.

“Damn.”

“Today’s my birthday, and my family is waiting for me. How can I be daydreaming here?”

“I need to hurry back.”

Han Yi walked quickly towards the subway entrance. The shops along the road became more realistic as he passed by, and he recalled that he had walked past this place many times before.

As he approached the subway entrance, there were more and more people coming and going. Just off work, out for fun, seniors, children, women, men, all bustling and lively.

Just like usual, he swiped his card to enter, boarded the crowded subway, and arrived at his stop forty minutes later. After leaving the subway, he rode his electric scooter parked nearby, and within ten more minutes, he reached home.

He opened the door.

The most familiar faces appeared in front of him, and Han Yi’s smile blossomed like a flower.

His daughter ran over to him from the side of the door, screaming and jumping into his arms. His son, standing farther away with his short legs, tried to hurry over to compete with his sister for their father’s attention but was caught by his wife.

“Daddy, Daddy, I want a hug, lift me up.”

His daughter waved her arms and legs as HanYi lifted her up, spun her around, and put her down.

“You’re back, are you tired? Wash your hands and get ready for dinner.”

His wife, also smiling, put their son down and began preparing for dinner.

Han Yi put his daughter down, took off his bag, and opened a small gap in the kitchen door to tell his busy mother inside, “Mom, I’m home.”

His mother turned around, saw her son had returned from work, and smiled, saying, ‘Good, you’re back. Get ready for dinner.’

“Alrighty!”

A moment later.

At the small dinner table, his little son used a children’s highchair, and his older daughter was big enough to sit and eat. His wife fed their daughter, while his mother fed their son.

Han Yi was eating his dinner and couldn’t help but feel a sense of unreality.

His mother’s face had more wrinkles now, and a thin layer of gray hair. Just a while ago, she had asked him to buy hair dye online, but she didn’t like it, so she didn’t use it.

His wife’s face was filled with joy as she fed their daughter, talking about how she finally had a breakthrough in her novel, how she planned the next plot twist, and how to create more suspense in her story.

Then.

She talked about recent events in the neighborhood group, who was quarreling with whom, whose child was too naughty, and the need to be careful when playing outside…

Han Yi ate and nodded along, shaking his head. The earlier sense of unreality disappeared, and he naturally said.

“Right, I traveled to an immortal martial world and even got a Golden Finger. Yes, the Golden Finger in your novel. I lived there for more than forty years and experienced so many things. At first, I was just an outer disciple, but then…”