Won currently was gazing at the sky. At first he believed Heaven was Wrathful for taking so many lives, yet now he questioned it. For seven days the clouds above had continuously darkened.
It coincided with Ozaris and his secluded Cultivation.
Won realized Ozaris was close to breaking through.
In Golden core stage there were three layers. A Golden Core was comparable to the truest essence of a person, built from the foundation of ones existence it was a permanent and inflexible and Inviolable thing. In Condensation stage you condensed your Qi heavily and formed your own inner world, this inner world would breathe just like you would and absorb the energy of Heaven and Earth and transform it into True Qi. True Qi was a level higher than Blood Qi, but the power was to such a degree of change that they could be sometimes seen to have no relation. In Foundation like it says you Strengthen your foundation, martial arts, intent and everything else. You then begin to slowly ferment the Foundation and that in turn forms a Golden Core. Once one produced a Golden Core it would be judged by the Heavens, three times. Each times a Tribulation lighting would hit your Golden Core, if you survived a Mark of Heaven would form. You literally steal the Power of Heaven, although it is so little it is inconsequential. Once you have passed all three rounds of tribulation your Golden Core becomes it's own Heaven and you gain Heaven and Earth Qi. Heaven and Earth Qi allows you to command all Qi in the world, as if a power source and a great and flexible weapon.
This marked a great difference between a Mortal and a Cultivator and was considered a great and nearly impossible wall to pass. Some considered it a Cultivators first great tribulation and fight, as the Golden Core is a concentrated essence of a Cultivator to a degree a Cultivator is fighting against Heaven.
Currently Ozaris was facing his second Tribulation. Yet Won wasn't sure Ozaris could handle it. Rather than being something he prepared for, Won knew this advance was simply a natural and accidental Ascension due to continued collection of True Qi.
A tribulation was a very specific thing, and one needed to be vary during this stage. If one had an adverse emotional stimulation the Golden Core's True Qi could be unsettled and feign an advancement, but make the Golden Core unstable and thus easier to be destroyed. Although Ozaris was probably not to that degree, without sufficient preparation and confidence no one would dare perform a tribulation.
Thus Won was skeptical on whether Ozaris would advance. At least he would make sure Ozaris dosent die and that his Cultivation dosent suffer too much. So he stayed a bit away ready to make his move.
Hours passed and then four days went by.
The darkened sky had been full of twisting and turning lines of lightning, and just then a silence fell upon the world.
A loud clap rang aloud, the dust on the ground was tossed around as a great explosion of air spread out. A blinding light filled the world as forked yellow lightning fell upon the building Ozaris was in, shattering the entire building.
The attendants were thrown into a mess, and even the citizens began to fall to their knees in prayer.
Even though they knew what was happening there was a clear difference. They weren't Cultivators who looked in awe at the defiance a Cultivator showed the Heavens. They were mortals who trembled at incurring the Heavens wrath.
Yet Won's voice echoed, "Stand my people! While I stand here in Ito neither Heaven nor any other force may dare say they can swallow Ito!"
His voice rang like a bell and the weakness they felt slowly melted away, they stumbled up and grit their teeth. They gazed at the skies, at the Heavens and showed their ugliest face.
They all said within their hearts, "To hell with this lifeless, indifferent, uncaring Heaven! Victory to our God Of Victory Won!"
The second round of lightning followed, an even louder clap of Thunder echoed.
Two coiling bolts of Lighting merged and struck down, their webbed edges filling the sky with light.
From below a red skull flew up. The Skull was as if carved from a ruby, as soon as it reached high up it exploded in a flash of orange.
A cloud of dust as if a nebula spun in a circular motion.
The lightning fell and hit the cloud. The dust was charged and stuck together. Then as soon as they got into the size of a fist it exploded again and more lighting was forcibly stolen to piece together the dust.
Eventually the lightning dissipated and the dust fell.
The sky turned!
Fabulous lights filled the sky and it seemed as if day had abruptly come.
Then a large explosion filled the world.
Like an echo strong vibrations razed the lands flying to all corners.
Buildings shook and broke apart, some fell to the ground foaming from their mouth.
Instead of a bolt of lightning, what fell from the Heavens was a pillar of blitzing, vibrant light.
Won's brows met at the middle, pushing his focus to the max he watched for any changes.
From below a red scaled hand shot up, the demonic True Qi was menacing and fought violently against the lighting, yet having met it's Match purple gas leaked from the hand as it began to crack like a web.
Just then a red dragon wrapped around the red hand and opened it's maws to the sky, atop it's head was a two piece crown.
Purple fire rode up into the sky and the lightning seemed to have met it's match, and the large pillar of twisting lightning and the red demonic dragon stayed in place for some time.
Finally the pillar cracked and turned into dust which fell like a rain onto Ozaris who sat bloodied, exhausted and bare naked. From Ozaris Dantian a golden bead came out, it was the size of a ping pong ball, there were Purple symbols made from a mysterious tongue wrapping around it glowing in a faint rainbow color. The dust fell into bead.
An eerie silence had descended and the heavy breaths of Ozaris could be heard loudly.
Even though there runs of lighting had come and passed, the clouds didn't retreat.
Instead the wind in the sky blew harder and with rain now falling like knives.
The clouds turned and another thin bolt almost as if a thread fell, it fell faster than each of the other bolts.
Ozaris didn't even have a chance to block it as it passed into his Golden core.
Because Ozaris had already passed the three prior tribulation lightning he didn't need to use his Golden core and could physically defend against it. Yet now he needed to release his Golden core which using the power of the lightning would harden more and more, and the Heavens mark would become greater.
Yet he couldn't even defend his golden core and was struck.
Ozaris vomited some blood. A deep pain stretched through his nerves.
His Golden core produced a single crack.
Ozaris fell to his knees.
Won exclaimed loudly, "Ozaris! Get up!"
Yet that fell on a deaf ear.
Won shouted with everything he could, "Ozaris you said you would be my unbreakable shield! So show me your resolve!"
Ozaris eyes flashed and new found clarity appeared.
His head rose to the sky.
His Golden core buzzed and a glow of gold surrounded it.
It flew into the sky in-between Ozaris and the Heavens.
It then grew and grew into the size of a person's head.
A second bolt of lightning nearly imperceivable fell.
As it touched the Golden core a gigantic heat exploded out.
The ground below Ozaris and the even the air was burnt.
The Golden shield around the Golden Core shook and broke apart.
The lighting struck the Golden core pushing it down.
Ozaris grunted and grit his teeth tightly.
He pushed off against the lighting.
After a lengthy struggle the Lightning dissipated.
Finally the last and most troublesome one.
From the sky a lightning bolt the size of a finger fell.
Won's eyes flashed.
He pushed off, using {Magic circle of speed increase} x 100 and {Swiftly}.
Won appeared above Ozaris.
He used {Magic circle of Attack} x 10,000 and {Body collapsing palm} and {Twisted Heaven Spiral}.
{Twisted Heaven Spiral} stole some of the lightning and shot it into Won's body.
Meanwhile the Body collapsing palm began to shatter reality itself.
The Lightning struck Won. Won spat some blood and was thrown far away.
The Clouds in the sky seemed to be furious, with deafening booms of Thunder echoing. Yet it could do nothing but dissapear.
Ozaris took a moment to advance and then breathed out.
He turned into a blur going towards Won.