Inside Xuefeng's dantian, the transformation was undeniable. What had once been a small, flickering presence—a fist-sized fragment of energy—had grown into something immense, a towering force radiating power. His spirit now loomed, ten times its original size, and the vortex tethered to his dantian swelled into a spiraling tornado, refining Spirit Essence with a speed that bordered on the terrifying.
Outside, Liu Xiaobei's sharp eyes caught the shift. A glint of realization passed over his face, and his voice rang out with an order that startled even his most seasoned guards. "Evacuate the hall. Remove everyone below the Spirit King stage—immediately."
The Shadow Guards moved without hesitation. One moment they were stationed at the edges of the room; the next, they were reappearing beside children, lifting them as if weightless and vanishing again in bursts of speed. Within seconds, the hall began to empty. Clan Leaders watched, bewildered, as their daughters and less experienced cultivators were whisked away.
Even the Emperor raised an eyebrow, though he said nothing, choosing instead to watch as Xuefeng's sky-blue aura darkened ominously. The air around him thickened, vibrating with an unnatural energy. It was undeniable: his talent was climbing again.
Outside the Liu Clan's walls, the crowd began to notice something was amiss. The Spirit Essence they had been cultivating moments ago thinned alarmingly, the once-rich energy dissipating like smoke on the wind.
"Look!" someone shouted, pointing toward the clan's estate. "There's a tornado forming above the Spirit Awakening Hall!"
The vortex was visible to the naked eye, a roiling column of pure Spirit Essence spiraling upward into the sky. Gasps rippled through the gathering as the tornado grew, its edges fringed with a faint purple glow.
"Is it another phenomenon?"
"It must be! The Liu Clan is truly blessed!"
But as purple clouds began to coalesce above the estate, the crowd's excitement turned to frustration. Those who tried to cultivate found themselves cut off—the dense Spirit Essence they had hoped to absorb was being devoured entirely by the vortex above the hall. It was as though the heavens had turned their blessings toward one man alone.
Inside the hall, the atmosphere grew more dangerous. The vortex above Xuefeng roared with an intensity that seemed to shake the very foundation of the building. Shadow Guards darted across the stage, catching pieces of the collapsing ceiling before they could strike their young master. What had once been a controlled storm of Spirit Essence was now a full-blown phenomenon, forcing the already fragile structure to groan under the mounting pressure.
Zhen Ping, standing at the edge of the room, glared daggers at Xuefeng, his jealousy twisting his features into something monstrous. His fists clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. That bastard. He was supposed to rot with red talent. How… how did this happen?
His eyes flicked to Zhen Shan, who stood nearby, her expression calm yet undeniably intrigued. That subtle gleam in her eyes—interest—was enough to ignite a blaze of fury in his chest.
If I can't have her, he vowed darkly, then no one will.
But before Zhen Ping could act, the purple glow above the hall shifted. The dense Spirit Essence swirled into Xuefeng's dantian, condensing so rapidly it reached critical mass. His aura flared again, shifting from sky blue to black in a heartbeat. The hall erupted into chaos.
Above them, the sky changed once more. The sun vanished behind a thick veil of black clouds that rolled across the horizon like a living thing. The purple hue was swallowed by darkness, and the heavens seemed to hold their breath. Then came the first crack of thunder—a sound so deafening it shook the earth, sending tremors through the hall.
Inside Xuefeng's mind, the Fate Spirit's voice cut through the mounting dread. "Your increase in talent has attracted the Heavenly Tribulation. This is no ordinary phenomenon. It's a trial. Your soul and will must withstand it. I cannot interfere."
Xuefeng's pupils returned to their natural blue as the Fate Spirit relinquished control. Blinking, he took in his surroundings—the nearly empty hall, the dark silhouettes of Shadow Guards surrounding him, the ominous glow of the ceiling above.
The first bolt of lightning struck outside, a blinding streak of light splitting the blackened sky. The sound was a cannon shot, reverberating through the city and silencing even the murmurs of the crowd beyond the clan walls.
So this is how the heavens punish ambition, Xuefeng thought grimly, bracing himself. He could feel the storm gathering, its wrath descending upon him like a predator circling its prey.
At the table, Emperor Zhen's lips curled into a faint smirk. Greedy fool. He should have stopped at purple talent. Now he's angered the heavens themselves. Though his thoughts were laced with mockery, a seed of unease took root. How did he do it? I'll uncover his secrets—and then I'll take them for myself.
As thunder roared overhead, two figures moved. Mu Lan leapt from her seat, her face pale with panic. "He's entering the Heavenly Tribulation!" she cried, sprinting toward the stage.
Liu Xiaobei followed, his expression grim as a shimmering blue sword materialized in his hand. But before they could reach Xuefeng, the heavens made their judgment.
The first bolt struck.
It tore through the sky with a ferocity that seemed almost sentient, slamming into the hall's shattered roof and descending straight toward Xuefeng. The light was blinding, a pillar of destruction that promised ruin to anyone caught in its path.
The hall held its collective breath, the line between salvation and annihilation as thin as a whisper.
"Nooooo!" Mu Lan's scream pierced the air as the first bolt descended, her voice raw with terror. The lightning struck Xuefeng dead-on, engulfing him in a blinding column of white-hot energy. But then—nothing. Her breath hitched. "Wait… he's fine?"
The hall fell silent. Xuefeng stood in the aftermath, untouched, his expression shifting from dread to disbelief. He patted his chest, expecting charred flesh or searing pain, but there was none. Instead, a faint tingling coursed through him, a curious sensation like the static before a storm.
He glanced at his hands. "What the—" His voice trailed off, then he chuckled, the sound growing into a laugh that echoed through the stunned hall. "It didn't even hurt."
The Shadow Guards closest to him hadn't fared as well. The aftershock of the bolt sent them stumbling back, their Spirit Qi barriers struggling to hold. Yet Xuefeng stood as though the lightning had bypassed him entirely.
Above, the clouds rumbled, furious at being defied. Another bolt gathered, crackling with malicious intent, and struck down with twice the ferocity. This time, Xuefeng flinched as it hit, his muscles seizing as though thousands of tiny needles pricked his skin. But the sensation passed as quickly as it came.
"That's it?" He threw his head back, laughing at the heavens, his voice filled with a defiance that bordered on madness. "You're going to have to do better than that! Come on, hit me with all you've got!"
The air in the hall grew heavier, electric with tension. Everyone watching thought he'd lost his mind. The tribulation bolts were meant to destroy, to punish those who dared challenge the heavens. Yet here was Xuefeng, daring to mock them. While he felt the lightning invigorating his body, coursing through his veins like an elixir of life, the others saw only madness.
Mu Lan gripped her husband's arm, her knuckles white. "He's provoking the heavens. What if the next one—?"
"We'll wait and see," Liu Xiaobei interrupted, his voice steady but his eyes sharp. His gaze was fixed on the roiling clouds above. "The heavens don't take insults lightly."
"Oh no," Mu Lan whispered, her voice trembling. "It's a Six-Stage Heavenly Tribulation. Can he… can he survive it?"
Liu Xiaobei's jaw tightened. "He has no choice. The lightning will chase him to the ends of the earth if he tries to flee. This is his battle now."
The twin bolts struck together, and this time, Xuefeng couldn't mask the pain. His body convulsed as though a thousand needles stabbed him from within, each one twisting deeper. The agony seared through his nerves, leaving him gasping for air. Yet as quickly as it came, the pain subsided, leaving a dull, tingling ache in its wake.
Xuefeng straightened, his chest heaving, and he clenched his fists. The words of the Fate Spirit echoed in his mind: Use your soul. Use your will. The memory of her calm, detached voice anchored him, and he gritted his teeth, a fire igniting in his eyes.
"That's it?" he roared at the storm above. His voice rang out, bold and unyielding. "You call that a tribulation? I've faced worse! Hit me again!"
Even Emperor Zhen, who had watched countless tribulations, stared in shock. "Madman," he muttered under his breath. "He's a complete madman."
Outside the hall, the crowd was in chaos. The thinning Spirit Essence had drawn them close, but now, witnessing the Heavenly Tribulation, they were torn between fear and awe. The bloody red lightning coiled above the Liu Clan like a harbinger of death, each bolt thick with fury.
"It's him," someone whispered, their voice tinged with reverence. "He's the one facing the tribulation."
Another murmured, "I've never seen anything like this. He must be trying to ascend to the heavens themselves!"
But those hopes dimmed as the sky shifted once more. The final two bolts began to form, larger than the previous strikes, their color deepening from white to a menacing, blood-red glow. Each bolt crackled with an intensity that seemed to burn through the clouds, illuminating the city in bursts of crimson light.
Inside the hall, Xuefeng's laughter faltered as he stared at the sky. The sight of the bloody red lightning snaked through him, stirring an instinctual fear. But he shook his head, forcing the dread away. No. I've already died once. I'm not going to let it happen again.
He steadied himself, his body tense with determination. "Come on," he shouted, his voice breaking through the silence. "Let's finish this! Bring it on!"
Above him, the storm answered. The two crimson bolts surged downward, faster and fiercer than anything before. Their light engulfed the hall, a blinding brilliance that consumed all in its path.
And then… they struck.