Thirty-one percent. Thirty-two. Thirty-five.
The pace was agonizingly slow at first, the absorption limited by the tribulation's intensity. But as the storm raged on, his core seemed to awaken, its spin accelerating. Like a furnace finally stoked with fuel, its pull grew stronger, and the shards of metal essence were dragged inside faster and faster.
The cultivators outside could not see what Lin Mu was focused on. All they saw was a man standing unshaken beneath the heavens' fury. Their jaws clenched, their hearts trembling at his audacity.
"To take such a tribulation head-on… without defense…" someone whispered in awe.
"Impossible," another said. "No body could endure that."
But endure it he did. And more than that, Lin Mu fed on it.
The Metal Core continued to swell, rising past forty percent, then fifty. The resonance deepened, a hum spreading through his body that made even the falling tribulation rain hesitate, as if drawn to him rather than intending to destroy him.
