Another two bolts of lightning came down, one white and as cold as ice, the other purple.
However, these two bolts of tribulation lightning didn't cause Alex any damage. They were all simply absorbed into his body to nourish his golden core.
There was a loud crack, and another bolt of lightning shot down like a laser cannon and engulfed him.
The white light was too strong, and the people standing nearby covered their eyes, trying to protect their vision. But Evan saw that Alex, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, didn't have any intention of dodging it. He didn't even move.
Instead, he simply opened his mouth and swallowed the lightning as if he were drinking water. He stood there, totally unconcerned, and his ability to absorb the tribulation lightning made people admire him even more.
Six bolts of tribulation lightning. That meant that there were only three more left. But as everyone looked at him, they thought that another thirty bolts wouldn't be a problem.
Evan knew that the last three bolts of tribulation lightning would be several times stronger than the previous ones. Although Alex was powerful, Evan still wasn't sure that he could survive it.
Only Evan was able to analyze the strength of the lightning, because he was the only other person here who had experienced it.
Just the memory of that tribulation made Evan's heart skip a beat. His artifact had turned into powder when the eighth lightning bolt had struck. If it hadn't been for the fact that he had developed a golden core, he would never have passed the test.
That was how he knew how terrifying the last three lightning bolts would be.
Alex must have some kind of spiritual weapon to help him endure the lightning strikes, he thought. Otherwise, it would surely be too powerful for him.
He knew that if Alex had an artifact, then the lightning tribulation should be survivable. After all, the power of the final three lightning tribulations wouldn't be much different from the first six combined.
As for the last bolt, it would be heart tribulation lightning, which might cause Alex to hallucinate, but he should be able to withstand it.
Thunder rumbled through the sky, and the tribulation cloud changed once again, becoming multicolored.
It looked beautiful, but Evan knew that it was incredibly cruel. Passing through it would be heaven, but it would also be hell.
A bolt of lightning, as thin as a thread, shot down from the cloud and drilled into Alex's body once again, causing him to feel a slight numbness. The first six lightning bolts had been unable to force a reaction, but the seventh had finally contained a hint of power.
Interesting! Alex thought, with a trace of a smile. The tiny lightning zipped through his body, shaking his core and making it vibrate at high speed.
Surely the next one won't be that fast, he thought.
Moments later, a golden light rapidly descended from the vortex created by the cloud and shot right at Alex's head.
Something doesn't seem right! he thought. It's too fast.
He frowned as he looked up at the clouds in the sky. If he had allowed such a heavy lightning tribulation to strike Willard, then it would have been a miracle if he had survived.
Even Alex didn't dare face that golden light head on without any assistance. He took a deep breath and summoned his inner power.
There was a tremendous bang, and a golden sword of light rushed from his body and collided with the lightning bolt.
The force caused Alex to sink into the ground for a few seconds. Then, within the golden light, the tribulation lightning finally dissipated, and all its remaining force was absorbed into his body, just as had happened with the earlier bolts.
"What kind of secret technique was that?" Evan asked in shock. He looked at Alex in wide-eyed amazement.
Was that the Flying Sword talked about by the ancients? he thought. It must have been. It was incredibly powerful! So that was his trump card. But even so, there's still one more bolt of tribulation lightning to come. How will he handle the next one?
He raised his head and looked at the cloud, spotting a person walking through the spinning vortex.
"Alex, you've finally come to get me!" Flora said.
**
Although Alex couldn't see her face clearly, he was very familiar with his mother's voice and appearance. The moment he heard her, tears started to stream down his cheeks.
"Is this an illusion?" he asked. "Perhaps in a previous life, I would have fallen for this. But to try to exploit my weakness now? Impossible!"
He opened his eyes, and with a flick of his wrist, the celestial staff appeared in his hand.
As it did so, the cloud in the sky exploded, and a bolt of lightning even stronger than the previous eight detonated. It was as if the entire sky had been blown to pieces, and fragments of power floated in the air, blasted apart by the lightning.
"Be gone!" Alex commanded as he waved his staff. The head of the staff wrapped around the lightning that was coming down from the sky, and with a fierce pull, he dragged it toward him and shattered it.
The lightning flowed along the celestial staff into Alex's body, and once again, he absorbed it and used it to nourish his core.
Evan gaped at him in shock. He had never thought that Alex would succeed, let alone so easily.
The cloud was now slowly heading toward the vortex as if it was about to disperse, but what happened next stopped Evan in his tracks.
"Are you going to try to run away after attacking me?" Alex shouted up at the cloud. "I'll shatter you into pieces, and then we'll see if you dare to act so rashly again!"
With a long roar, he flew up into the sky. He kept rising until he was above the cloud, and then he lifted the staff above his head and brought it down hard, destroying the cloud with a single strike.
Evan's jaw dropped at Alex's violent display of power. He couldn't believe Alex had actually destroyed the lightning tribulation cloud.
Alex's power was truly terrifying. Legend had it that ever since he had been born, whenever he had been annoyed with his family, they would all be forced into submission. People quickly learned that he was not someone to mess with.
And, indeed, who would want to mess with him now? Even at such a young age, he was clearly the equal of Evan and Willard.
As everyone watched Alex, Willard slowly stood up, clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you, Alex, for helping me become a god! If it hadn't been for you, then I would never have been able to overcome the tribulation."
Evan came up to join them. He chuckled and said, "Willard, congratulations on finally becoming one of us!"
Willard shook Evan's hand and said, "Thank you, Mr. Warner. I'm flattered."
Evan looked at Alex with hope and praise in his eyes. "I would like to invite the two of you to come to the Warner family home for a long talk about everything we've achieved. Will you join me?"