The blinding light lasted for a few seconds, and when it stopped, Angel was floating in the middle of the formation, looking skywards, while the large ball of light in the middle had visibly shrunk.
However, looking up, they could see that the 8 Heavenly Lightning Soldiers that had rushed at her had disappeared, leaving behind Heavenly Lightning Particles and 8 holes in the Tribulation Clouds above.
Andrea asked, stunned. "Why is it so strong?"
Tatyana explained the basic principles behind Angel's formation. "Angel has used amplifying formations to the limits of her current knowledge. Making use of her current strength, she was able to create a concentrated ball of pure light energy and contain it. Then, the pillars around each of the towers act like mirrors that bounce around that light while using environmental energy to amplify it. In short, the formation turns strong light beams into what you just saw."
Cecile asked. "Is this formation enough for the rest?"
Tatyana looked at the remaining 48 Heavenly Lightning Soldiers and shook her head. "I don't know. But, probably. To be honest, a Saint Inheritor struggling with the Fifth Tribulation is not something that should happen."
Angel's gaze turned away from the remains of the soldiers she just killed toward the other group and waited. Soon enough, sixteen Heavenly Lightning Tribulation Soldiers descended next, and the formation below Angel came to life again.
The formation bounced around the several light beams in an ephemeral light show that transformed into sixteen devastating pillars of light that illuminated the darkness once more.
WHOOOM!
The buzzing sound of the light searing everything in its path made the air vibrate and created ominous death sounds.
Once the blinding light disappeared, another sixteen spots with lightning tribulation remains appeared, showcasing the formation's ridiculous firepower.
However, the people who were paying attention and managed not to be awestruck by Angel's might realized that the formation under Angel had gained several cracks while the sphere of light had shrunk by a third.
Cecile was one of those who paid attention and asked. "Will it last?"
Tatyana smiled. "Good eyes. And, well, that's what I was thinking. Will the formation collapse before it deals with the last wave? I'm curious."
The last wave, 32 Heavenly Lightning Soldiers, moved toward her in several arcs that arched across several directions. Angel's formation activated as she controlled everything with her intents and skills. The towers were filled with energy, and the spheres of red crystal at the top transformed their internal structure to aim at her enemies.
After a moment of preparation, the formation released the biggest attack yet.
The sky was pierced by several light beams that looked like godly attacks that were about to rip the firmament apart.
After they had accustomed themselves to their brightness, the power behind each of these pillars could be seen at a glance. For the first time during all the attacks, they could see them much more closely and were stunned to see black cracks surrounding the white light pillars.
They saw an effect like this one deep in the ocean during the battle between those two gargantuan sea creatures.
This meant that during the tribulation, Angel's strength was at the limits of the fifth realm, strong enough for Heaven to not be able to keep the integrity of the space and create rifts.
Those lights traveled at nonsensical speeds and hit true on the 36 targets.
In the middle of the formation, the ball of light quickly shrunk as the creatures in the sky blocked the attack and were pushed backward together with the beams.
Angel, who had already activated her every skill and aura to increase her strength, couldn't do much more than watch.
After her attack ended, Angel looked around and saw that she had eliminated most of them. The remaining five were extremely weakened, a result of her towers dividing the firepower to target all 32 targets and being unable to finish them off.
The five survivors of the calamity released by Angel rushed at her without a single moment of hesitation, as they were beings created to kill the woman challenging the heavens.
Angel didn't move, looking around with calm and calculating eyes. Her glass energy moved around her, creating a floating formation right below her feet.
It was small, around two meters wide.
The formation creation speed was breakneck. Quick enough for Angel to complete it before the five of them arrived.
Once they were closed, Angel opened her pursued lips and chanted. "[Formation Explosion]."
The five Heavenly Lightning Tribulation Soldiers prepared to attack, but Angel fell toward the small formation below her, sinking into it as if it was a pool of water.
Still, displacement tactics weren't effective for these creatures, as their perception was the same as Heaven's. In less than a millisecond, they all turned their heads eastward, fixating on Angel, who appeared far away.
But, even then, it was a millisecond too late.
BOOOOOM!
The formation below them exploded in a massive nova that swallowed everything inside the defensive formation created by Tatyana to protect the Tribulation Plaza. Angel had teleported outside, so she was able to see the Tribulation Plaza Formation swelling terribly as cracks spread all over it.
Tatyana looked at it and tapped the floor with the tip of her foot, sending several energies to the nodes and creating a temporary reinforcement by using her own energy as fuel.
The second her impeccably pure Demigoddess-level energy rushed into the formation nodes, the swelling shield instantly shrunk, returning to its original shape and shielding off the result of Angel's attack.
Kali looked at Tatyana and asked. "If that explosion was let loose… How much of the sect would it raze down?"
Tatyana lifted her eyebrow. "Sect? What sect? Without the protective formation, an area as big as our sect would've been gone with one of those beams Angel fired. This explosion, if it had nothing to contain it, could probably decimate a twentieth part of the Distancia Continent with ease. The strength of this attack has reached quasi-transcendent level, clearly not enough to decimate continents, but far above what an average peak-level Mortal Cultivator can do."
The girls were about to nod but then realized something quite important. Kali stuttered. "D-Doesn't that mean that this formation can resist an attack large enough to decimate a twentieth of an entire world?"
Tatyana smiled. "That's right. Even without my intervention, it would've held. However, I didn't want to see people so nervous, so I used a bit of my energy."
Andrea then checked. "And the formation surrounding the sect is stronger than this one, right?"
Tatyana laughed. "They are not even at the same level."
The spirits and other close people like leaders of allied powers had been attending during this time, coming and going as their responsibilities called.
Hearing what Tatyana said, they couldn't help but realize that the rest of the world was genuinely unaware of the true depths of the Astral Sky Sect. Some even felt pity for their enemies.
Meanwhile, Angel's body was strained to the limits by using the lent energy, feeling like she was about to fall apart. It was just a sensation, but the petite woman couldn't help as if her body would explode if she used more energy.
Mirrory spoke to her. 'That was really good. There was a lot of wasted energy here and there, and your hand-to-hand combat still needs to be polished. But, overall, it was exquisitely done for someone who has been learning for as short as you have and someone as young as you. Now, move to the middle of the Tribulation Plaza and absorb every energy.'
Angel complained. "I'm going to explode!"
Mirrory smirked. 'That's the point. Go now!'
Angel pouted but listened and rushed to the middle, quickly sitting cross-legged and using her cultivation technique, the one Fu Jing Jing gave her as her inheritance and was slightly modified by Yasenia's Blood Essence: [Heaven's Truth Scarlet Crystal Heart Connection].
A powerful suction spread from her as energies around the entire plaza rushed into her bloated meridians and into her Dantian.
Then, when her entire body felt as if it would burst, Angel felt a small opening and pushed through it.
CRASH!
The limit of her realm was shattered as she broke through into the next realm together with a storm of energies.
Powerful energy flowed through her body and enhanced her every cell. Angel then used the ridiculous amounts of energy inside her as nourishment, and the sensation of bloating slowly receded while her body became more robust. Her Dantian and meridians became sturdier and able to handle denser and larger streams of energy.
Fu Jing Jing's residual energy had two main uses for Angel. The first one was to help Angel cross tribulations with much more ease.
For the second one, the energy was used to nourish her body and purify it, allowing her to grow as a "perfect" cultivator. As the strongest type of inheritance, one of a saint, the benefits were not simple.
Thanks to this tribulation, Angel had her first real assimilation of the energy left by the Saint, and regardless that it was a minuscule amount, the effects were incredibly overbearing.
At this moment, Angel could most probably send Yasenia flying with a minimal effort punch, and physical strength was not her forte.
Saint Inheritors were unmatched at the same level more often than not. Anyone able to match them would be nothing but a peerless monster that went against the heavenly order.
Her meditation lasted the most out of all the girls. Enough that Evelyn completely healed and both Yasenia and Evelyn were able to visit them.
Evelyn asked. "So, how was it?"
Andrea smirked. "You've missed quite the spectacle. I would've honestly waited for treatment if I were you."
Evelyn looked at her speechlessly. "Was it that impressive?"
Andrea lifted her eyebrow and commented. "Angel's attacks created spatial rifts. Now, you tell me if it was impressive or not."
Evelyn's eyes opened widely in stupefaction. "That's impossible! Are you pulling my leg? Andrea, to create those, you need peak mortal strength!"
Kali laughed. "She is telling the truth."
Evelyn blinked at her like a startled deer. "Ha?"
Kali explained it before Evelyn became the first young God Inheritor cultivator to have a stroke. "It seems that her inheritance can increase her strength several times over during the tribulation."
Evelyn muttered. "Enough to create spatial rifts?"
Kali nodded while hiding her smile with her hand. "Enough to create spatial rifts."
Evelyn looked at Yasenia and saw her face being calm, so she asked. "Did you know about this?"
Yasenia smiled and answered confidently. "Not at all."
Evelyn felt that giving the smiling Yasenia a slap right then was not that bad of an option. "T-Then, why aren't you surprised!"
The dragoness lifted her chin with her tail wagging happily. "The stronger you dears are, the better. More than surprised, I'm overjoyed!"
Evelyn couldn't say anything about that; she just clutched her heart and leaned on Andrea. "W-Why is my wife so adorable? I love her so much! Ugh! Mah hart!"
The girls couldn't help but laugh.