Tribulation

"When did he…? Is he really breaking through the second level of the spirit concentration scroll?" Buhle asked herself, biting her fingernail while watching Tristin on his knees, his head pressed to the ground as if he was kowtowing, his hands clutching his chest.

At this point, most students had left the scene; only a few remained were already in their cars. In a few minutes, only Tristin, Mr. Masombuka, Max, and Lerato were left in the parking lot. Mdu parked his car a bit further away but close enough to have a good view.

"Tristin, what's going on? Did you get injured while fighting the Black Phoenix?" Lerato asked, approaching Tristin, her eyes teary.

"Lerato, don't get too close to him. Something is not right. The energy around him it's not qi energy, it's something else," Mr. Masombuka warned.

"I can't let him suffer like this; he needs me," Lerato said, continuing toward Tristin, tears streaming down her face.

"Lerato, don't let emotions get to you. It might be dangerous," Max interjected, trying to hold her back.

Mr. Masombuka narrowed his eyes, trying to identify the type of energy engulfing Tristin.

"It burns. All my meridians and acupoints are on fire," Tristin murmured, punching the ground, his face contorted in pain, thick veins bulging on his forehead.

"It's worse than yesterday. Will this keep happening when I use my qi energy? Old man, what did you do to me?" Tristin asked himself, punching the ground again.

"Can't you see he's in pain? Let go of me, Max!" Lerato used her qi energy to push Max back with a single hand.

At this point dark clouds had already covered the entire school, flickers of lightning visible in the clouds, strong winds coming from all directions, as it grew darker and darker by the second.

"Is it about to rain?" Those around the school wondered. "But how? Will it only rain just around the school?" they asked themselves.

"This is getting dangerous. I need to take the young master somewhere safe. If people see this, it might cause too much trouble," Mr. Masombuka said, dashing towards Tristin. But as he was about to reach him, an invisible barrier electrified him before pushing him back at high speed.

"What was that? What is going on here? Just that energy alone was enough to bring me to my knees?" He asked himself as he gasp of air while he was on his knee, his security vest damaged by the energy around Tristin.

Seeing this, Lerato also stopped. "Mr. Masombuka is far stronger than I am, and he was pushed back with ease. Is there anything I can do for Tristin at this point?" she asked herself.

On the faculty balcony, Buhle shook her head, frowning slightly. "These idiots," she murmured. "Can't they see the flowing dense spiritual energy around Tristin?" She sighed. "I can't blame them. Since only one out of ten people can cultivate spiritual energy, not many know about it."

Buhle narrowed her eyes, looking at Tristin. "But still, something is not right. Why is he in so much pain? Yes, breaking through in spiritual energy is painful, but the spirit concentration scroll is entry-level. You're not even considered a cultivator at this point. Why, does he have a low pain tolerance?" She wondered.

As Buhle pondered, a small lightning bolt struck Tristin. Pa! The rumble in the clouds followed. Tristin passed out, face first on the ground, as the clouds began to clear.

"Tristin!" Lerato screamed, her heart racing as she ran towards Tristin, her eyes red from crying nonstop. Max and Mr. Masombuka also rushed towards him.

Buhle, still on the balcony, covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide open. "Was that the heavenly tribulation I read about in the Seer's book?" she asked herself.

Buhle paced a few times, her eyes glued to Tristin. "No, no, no, it's not possible. From what I know, the heavenly tribulation only occurs when a person has opened all eight qi energy meridians channels which is physical energy and reached the peak Qian level in spiritual energy which is mental energy. Only then can a person trigger the heavenly tribulation and transcend into an immortal, but that hasn't happened in a thousand years."

She stopped pacing and grabbed the stainless steel balustrades. "Tristin hasn't even reached Kan level yet, so how can he trigger a small heavenly tribulation on the second stage of the spirit concentration scroll? It's unheard of. This is really blowing my mind," she said to herself.

As Buhle talked to herself, the clouds quickly cleared, and the sun began to shine again. Tristin lay on the pavement, his white school shirt burnt in a few places from the lightning, but his skin untouched.

"Is he breathing?" Max asked Lerato, who was holding Tristin in her arms while sitting down.

"Wake up, Tristin. You can't leave me. Please wake up. I… I just found you," Lerato said, tears falling onto Tristin's face as she brushed his black hair.

Seeing that Lerato wasn't answering, Mr. Masombuka checked Tristin's pulse. "He's just unconscious. He'll be fine in a bit," Mr. Masombuka said, thinking, "How can there be three different types of energy in his body? We'll talk about that later."

"How can you say that? Have you ever seen a person struck by lightning be fine in a bit?" Max asked, narrowing his eyes at Mr. Masombuka. "We need to send him to the hospital."

"No hospitals. I said he will be fine," Mr. Masombuka insisted, stomping his feet, narrowing his eyes at Max.

Seeing Mr. Masombuka's eyes, Max raised his hands and stepped back. "Alright, alright…" he said, thinking, "If I get strong, will I have muscle for brain too?"

"Shut the hell up, Tristin is waking up," Lerato screamed at Max and Mr. Masombuka, her face frowning.

Both men fell silent, looking at Tristin with narrowed eyes. Mr. Masombuka thought, "This girl is fierce, a hot pepper indeed, perfect for the young master."

Tristin slowly opened his eyes, meeting Lerato's tear-streaked face while lying on her soft thighs. "Lerato, why are you crying?" Tristin asked in a low voice, wiping her tears. "Did I just pass out?" he asked himself.

"Tristin, I thought you were dying," she sobbed. "How are you feeling?"

"This actually feels good," he said, bouncing his head on Lerato's thighs. "I could sleep like this forever," he thought, "but I really need to get to the bottom of this."

Lerato frowned. "You pervert," she yelled, pretending to punch his stomach but stopping just before impact. "You got struck by lightning and before that you were moaning in pain while your energy overflowed around you."

"Yeah, Tristin, what was that all about?" Max asked.

Mr. Masombuka watched silently, thinking, "I can't talk to the young master in front of Max and Lerato. I'll wait to see what he decides about revealing our relationship."

Tristin tried to stand up, but Lerato forced him back down. He saw her tears again and thought, "No matter how strong she is, she's still a girl." Drying her tears, he continued lying on her thighs. "She sure does love me. My life is full of pain and lies, but I'll try to do better for her sake too," he thought.

Tristin took a deep breath. "I'm good now. What happened was due to losing control of my qi energy after Sammy angered me. Losing control resulted in damaging my meridians and acupoints. The lightning was attracted by the overflowing qi energy from me," Tristin explained, looking at the clear blue sky. "I'm sorry to lie to all of you, but this has to do with the old man near the supermarket, and he has disappeared. Even I still need answers," he thought.

Mr. Masombuka looked at Tristin with narrowed eyes, wondering, "Is he really lying to her, even when it's clear as day that this girl truly loves the young master?"

Max nodded. "That makes sense. So even the day when Thomas posted your info on the school page, you lost control of your qi energy?"

"Yes. Since I always lock my meridians, when I tried to listen to what the students were saying, I accidentally channeled too much qi energy to my ears, which also allowed some of my qi energy to damage my acupoints," Tristin said, looking at Max with raised eyebrows. "Sorry, buddy, this is all you will get for now," he thought.

"Oh, I understand now," Max nodded, sighing. "That was intense. I'm just glad you're alright now," he said, looking down at Tristin still lying on Lerato's thighs.

Lerato looked at Tristin with narrowed eyes, her tears dried up, but her eyes still red. "Okay, I said I would wait for you until you're ready, but don't ever scare me like that again, or else our deal is off," Lerato said, her voice low, her eyes fixed on Tristin. "I said I won't ask too many questions. I'll wait until Tristin decides to tell me the truth about himself," she reassured herself.

Tristin promised her, "Don't worry, I will never worry you again. I promise," he said, standing up with the help of Mr. Masombuka. "Where did the old man go? I need to know what is happening to me. This can't keep happening," he thought.

At the faculty balcony, Buhle watched everything, shaking her head. "Why would Tristin date a girl from the Ngobeni family while fighting against the Ngobeni family? What is he really up to?" she asked herself, turning to walk to room five.

Just before entering room five, Megan opened the door. "Is the teacher's meeting over?" Buhle asked, seeing Megan with her bag on.

"Yeah, we're done now," Megan said, looking at the sky. "I thought it was going to rain. What happened to it?" she wondered before saying to Buhle, "Well, let's go now. I want to see your apartment."

"Sure, let's go," Buhle said with a smile, looking at Megan, who didn't know that Buhle was a spy for the Argus Web. They also want to use her uncle Raymond to take out Mr. Masombuka.

Soon, Megan and Buhle left the school. Since the teachers had their own parking, and Buhle, being the daughter of the president of the Ntuli group, had her car parked in the teacher's lot, Megan didn't see Tristin in the student parking lot, talking with Lerato, Mr. Masombuka, and Max since the two parking are at the opposite ends.

Just as they left the school in different cars heading to Buhle's apartment, Thomas arrived at the Ngobeni residence with the Black Phoenix gang. Some of the Phoenix gang who had lost consciousness were awake by this time.

"Master, master…" Butler Mabena knocked at Themba's study room.

Themba opened the door with a slight frown on his face. "Butler Mabena, what's the matter?" he asked coldly.

"Master, something has happened," Butler Mabena said, his hand on his head as sweat began to form on his face.

Themba looked at Butler Mabena, narrowing his eyes at the sight of sweat. "Don't just stand there. Spit it out," he said, snapping his fingers.

"The… the young… master has returned, and it's not looking good, master," Butler Mabena stammered, shaking his head.

Themba frowned. "Did something happen to Thomas?" he asked, his eyes narrowing further.

"The young master is fine physically, but it's bad, master. Follow me and see for yourself," Butler Mabena said, gesturing with his hand.

"Lead the way then," Themba said, frowning. "I'd like to see what has scared Butler Mabena so much and what he means by Thomas being fine physically," Themba thought to himself as they walked to the front yard.