When they returned to their house in Distancia, the group walked toward the backyard. Being a first-realm tribulation, they didn't need a special place. Just spacious enough for Aurelia to fight it.
Angel looked at Aurelia and saw her looking up at the sky. "What are you thinking, darling?"
Aurelia smiled faintly. "Trying to see if Mommy does something silly… Ah. Look."
Angel looked upward and saw several hundreds of energy blasts creating words in the sky.
"Baby, you can do it!
-Much love,
Mommy~."
Aurelia laughed aloud. "I knew it~."
Angel smiled, and she patted Aurelia's back. "Go. If you dare lose with that much support from Yasenia, I'll spank you!"
Aurelia looked at Angel and hugged her. "I'll be back soon. Thanks, Mama."
Then, she walked toward the center of the field. After reaching there, she took a deep breath and started cultivating the Spiritual Technique that she had learned. Her energy moved along her body due to the lack of development of her meridians. Because of her body cultivation practice, she was not a complete newbie, which allowed her to start the process successfully.
When the energy entered her body, Aurelia's cultivation technique started purifying it, leaving behind the Sun and Glass attributes. Both of these attributes seeped into her, moving toward the places around her body that needed meridians to appear.
The first realm of the Spiritual Path, the Meridian and Dantian Creation realm, was the time for the cultivator to create the meridian net that would accompany them for most of their life unless they encountered miraculous treasures with extraordinary effects.
As soon as she started, a cloud gathered above Aurelia's head. It was light grey, with powerful electricity moving around it. Aurelia looked upward and extended her arms, summoning her longsword and shield.
While people might think that Aurelia didn't look up to Angel, her mother, they couldn't be more mistaken.
Her weapon of choice was a sword and shield, exactly like Angel. Her hobby was creating formations, like Angel. Even her food preferences were similar to Angel's.
The person Aurelia looked up to the most was Yasenia because of her strength, leadership capabilities, and scheming intelligence. When reading about Yasenia's feats during her stay in Distancia, she couldn't help but feel shivers at her dragon mother's deep planning and careful execution.
RUMBLE!
The loud thunder snapped her out of her reflections, and she focused, looking at the cloud with a solemn gaze. "Come."
As soon as she spoke, a thin Heavenly Lightning Bolt descended from the sky rather quickly. Aurelia moved her right leg back and lowered her stance, placing her shield right above her.
BANG!
Aurelia's eyes widened when the heavy strike landed, pushing her down to her knees. The electricity roamed her body, making her muscles spasm involuntarily. 'It hurts so much!'
However, she didn't relax. She knew that while one lightning strike was the usual, her mother got three of them in her first tribulation. 'Stand up, like Mommy would!'
As her daughter, she had a high chance of receiving more than one bolt, so she couldn't stay down. Rotating the energy in her body, Aurelia tried to regain control of her spasming muscles.
RUMBLE!
The warning of the second bolt reached her, and Aurelia bit her tongue to send a pain stimulus and wake her confused brain up.
Right as the Heavenly Lightning Bolt descended, Aurelia recovered and lifted her shield once more. Looking skyward with a defiant gaze, the dragon woman received the second lightning strike. 'Come at me!'
BOOM!
The strike fell like a massive hammer, making her arm feel like it was shattering from the impact. Then, her entire body was slammed against the ground with a loud sound, sending her mind into a daze while stars sparkled in her vision.
While she wanted to stand up to prepare for the third strike, her mind was in a perplexed state due to the hard hit against the ground. 'Huh? Where am I…?'
Of course, this confusion didn't last long. 'The tribulation!'
She rapidly tried to look skyward, but the Tribulation Cloud was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she felt her petite mother's two arms going around her waist. "It's done, Aurelia. You did great standing up the second time."
'Second time?' Only now did Aurelia realize that she had subconsciously stood up even when her mind was thoroughly disoriented. Looking down at Angel, she saw her smiling gently, and Aurelia smiled back faintly. "I did it."
Then, her eyes rolled, and she fainted. The hit to the head was just too harsh for her to remain conscious once the rush of the risky situation expired.
Angel looked behind and asked calmly. "Kali, can you ask Valeria to take a look at her?"
Kali raised her eyebrow. "Oh? I thought you would freak out a little bit more. Valeria!"
Valeria appeared and approached, taking Aurelia from Angel's arms and looking at her thoroughly. Angel chuckled at Kali's comment. "Freak out? There is nothing to freak out at. I have complete trust in my daughter. I knew she could do it."
Kali smiled. She couldn't help but feel that Angel was a great mother, much greater than she ever could predict. Aurelia's seriousness, intelligence, attitude, and talent didn't appear from nothingness. Angel had been raising her daughter for the last two decades, and the woman she managed to raise was nothing less than exemplary.
Valeria spoke. "Don't worry, Angel, her injuries can all be recovered without leaving any permanent damage. Moreover, the residual Tribulation Energy is nourishing her, and this will only strengthen her. Aurelia has successfully entered the first level of the Meridian and Dantian Creation Realm."
Angel clapped happily and looked skyward. "Did you see it? Our daughter has become a real Spiritual and Body dual cultivator!"
Everyone looked at Angel with a deadpan, startling the petite girl. "H-Huh? What did I do wrong?"
Evelyn spoke with laughter in her voice. "The way you said it… It makes it look as if Yasenia was dead or something."
Angel looked at Evelyn with a baffled expression, but after thinking about her actions, her pretty and round cheeks couldn't help but redden. "AHEM! A-Anyway, I hope Yasenia saw her from the spatial sect above us!"
Everyone couldn't help but laugh.
Coraline was curious and asked. "Why didn't Little Aurelia use any skills?"
Andrea, who was standing near her, answered. "They don't know any. We've just taught them the basics and the [Grand Cosmos Martial Art]. The martial art has active arts, like the ones you've seen Yasenia use in the past. But that's not all; as you study it, you become more able in all aspects related to martial arts while simultaneously strengthening your body."
Coraline blinked. "Is it that great? I have practiced there a few times but have yet to have any real insights."
Andrea smiled. "It is one of the best martial arts I've practiced, to be honest. Moreover, it works for almost all races, regardless of how many limbs you have or how you are shaped. Dianna and Katarina have been able to see results in their beast forms, and you have seen how different they are. They are a bipedal, dragon-like phoenix and a six-winged, three-tailed fox-dragon."
Coraline chuckled, and Du Xian, the Matriarch of the Lightning Squirrels that Yasenia met in the Secret Realm, asked. "Andrea, can Dianna and Katarina practice Body or Spiritual cultivation like Yasenia?"
Andrea shook her head. "We aren't too sure yet. We haven't given them anything other than the basic education for the two paths. We will try in their coming-of-age ceremonies to have them break through into both of the paths simultaneously."
Evelyn added. "We are optimistic, though. Almost everything we've investigated points to them being able to do so. Their body's constitution is similar to Yasenia's. Their inner organs in their beast forms have different types of veins and arteries that you can't really see in other beasts, and their muscles and bones have paths in them that we suspect are reserved for meridians."
Andrea and Evelyn turned, looking at Dawn and Skye, and they smiled. Evelyn looked up at her tall and voluptuous daughter and said. "Time to get spanked by the Tribulation, daughter!"
Skye blinked a few times, looking at her mother with a confused expression. "We won't wait until my coming-of-age ceremony? Look at Big Sister Aurelia; she will probably be unable to stand up for a week or two! I will lose my eighteenth birthday if I get trampled by Heaven like her!"
She grabbed Evelyn's shoulders, her eyes teary. "You don't want to see your daughter in that state, right!?"
Evelyn shrugged and pointed skyward. Skye looked up, drying her fake tears, and then saw the same event that happened with Aurelia repeat.
"You can do it, my mischievous baby~!
Love you lots~,
Mommy!"
Skye almost spat blood. "GAH! This was preplanned!" She looked at Evelyn with a betrayed face. "I have been set up by my own mother! THE MISERY!"
Evelyn laughed aloud, her arms akimbo. "THIS IS WHAT YOU DESERVE, DAUGHTER! WHAHAHA!"
Skye pointed at Evelyn. "Traitor! I will never trust you again!"
"Sure, sure, AS IF I CARE! HAHAHA! Now go!"
"Wahhh!"
Evelyn kicked her bouncy butt, making her fly in a beautiful arc to the place where Aurelia was standing before.
Skye flipped mid-air, landing perfectly on her feet. She clicked her tongue and extended her arm, summoning her preferred weapon. It wasn't a spear or a large broadsword; instead, it was an imposing guandao.
The gorgeous weapon looked like a spear but had a massive blade at the tip. It was an enormous war weapon that was exceptionally demanding to master, and Skye had started learning it not too long ago.
Even then, Skye's ability to fight and learn to use the guandao was higher than that of any other weapon she touched. Grinning toward the sky, she challenged the Heavens. "Come at me, Heaven!"
The tall woman looked like a war general as the wind blew her long and beautiful dark blue hair.
Tengliu chuckled. "She looks good."
Evelyn raised her eyebrow and looked at Tengliu. "Oh? Is the crib assaulter ready to strike?"
Tengliu almost spat blood. "What kind of nickname is that!?"
Evelyn laughed and looked back at Skye's figure. Her smiling face turned serious, and she spoke aloud. "Love, don't get overconfident."
Skye nodded seriously when she heard Evelyn's serious tone. "Yes, Mama."
While she often joked around with her mother, she took everything she taught her very seriously. For Skye, Evelyn was her mother, mentor, and friend. Their bond was very close.
The Tribulation Cloud gathered when Skye managed to purify the Star and Lightning attributes she inherited from her mothers and transformed them into usable energy.
RUMBLE!
Hearing the loud thunder, Skye's vertical pupils thinned, focusing on the Heavenly Lightning Bolt roaming the clouds. The second it descended, Skye took a step forward and spun, gathering momentum.
After a full spin, she shouted. "BREAK!"
BOOM!
The dragon woman's incredible strength blasted the lightning into particles. However, the counterforce slammed the guandao downwards together with Skye, forcing her to kneel.
RUMBLE!
Hearing the second bolt descending, Skye shouted to motivate herself and struck at it. "BREAAK!"
BOOM!
Skye's entire body was blasted backward with tremendous force when the guandao struck the lightning bolt.
The dragon woman felt her bones cracking. Even under enough pain to make her vision blurry, Skye roared and stood up. "RAH!"
Looking skyward with a defiant expression, Skye waited for the third strike. However, it never came. Instead, she saw Evelyn appear before her and smile with open arms. "Great job, love. Now, rest."
Skye's body relaxed, and she grinned. "Thanks~." Then, she fell forward into her mother's arms.