It was a great honor to receive Evan's invitation, and even Willard was looking forward to it.
But he knew that Evan was more interested in Alex than in him. He glanced over, but he found that Alex was looking up at the sky, deep in thought.
Alex frowned, and then he suddenly raised his head and shouted, "Get out of the way, you two!"
Evan was offended. He thought, I've already reached the divine level, and although Alex withstood the lightning tribulation, he hasn't reached that level yet. If we were to fight, I wouldn't be afraid of him. I invited him to my home out of respect, so how can he be so rude?
But Alex had no time to explain. He raised his hand, pointed to the sky, and shouted, "Are you planning to take revenge on me?"
Evan and Willard looked over at the same time and saw another cloud in the sky. No one knew when it had appeared.
The cloud slowly floated over. It was silent, but it was many times bigger than Willard's tribulation cloud, and it almost covered the entire area within a few miles.
Who is it here for? Evan wondered. Is Alex ready to break through to the next level?
He frowned. Willard's tribulation had grown extremely powerful because of Alex's interference. So, how powerful was Alex's own lightning tribulation going to be?
He then realized that all three of them were all standing under the cloud, so no wonder Alex had told them to leave quickly.
"This is not good. Move!" Evan said. In the blink of an eye, he pulled Willard, who was still badly burned and not strong enough to fight, back to the crowd at the foot of the mountain.
"Why are you all just standing there?" he shouted at the people standing around watching. "Hurry up and leave if you don't want to die?"
Alex's tribulation cloud now covered a vast area. Although it didn't cover the entire foot of the mountain, if anything went wrong, those people would be burned to a crisp.
Some of them didn't understand why Evan had ordered them to run, but others had already started to retreat.
High above, a rumbling thunder sounded, as if it were urging everyone to leave quickly.
Only then did people realize what was going on. Some of them raised their heads to look at the sky and were instantly frightened out of their wits.
The cloud was still increasing in size, and the thunder was growing louder as the storm continuously expanded outward.
Within moments, the cloud moved lower, and the thunder and lightning were getting closer. Then, without warning, several cars turned into burning balls of fire as the lightning struck them, and they exploded.
Everyone started to run away as fast as they could, hoping to escape the range of the tribulation cloud.
At that moment, a man in a black robe stood on the peak of a nearby mountain. He had very short hair, and his entire body emitted a terrifying aura. He looked toward Marauders Mountain, and he could see everything that was happening.
"What a powerful tribulation cloud," he muttered to himself. "It looks like we're going to get another divine-level warrior." He frowned. "What is he doing?"
Evan, Willard, and the others at the foot of the mountain were also puzzled by Alex's behavior.
The tribulation cloud was now fully formed, and as soon as the lightning struck, the trial would begin.
They watched as Alex lifted his hand, sketching a pattern in the air and sending a wave of power into the cloud.
The flickering lightning of the tribulation cloud seemed to lose its strength, and it grew weaker and weaker. The thunder quietened, and the cloud shrank, moving away from Alex.
By the time it had completely faded into the horizon, it was tiny.
Alex raised his head and looked at where the cloud had been. He snorted and said, "I didn't plan to go through the tribulation just yet. It looks like I'll have to be careful to hide my skill level in the future."
Although Alex's golden core had undergone the baptism of Willard's lightning tribulation, it was still not perfect. It needed more time to improve, and as much as Alex wanted to reach the next level, if his golden core wasn't perfect, then he might not pass the tribulation.
So he cast a spell to conceal his skill level from the world.
Evan and the others were astounded. They couldn't believe that Alex was able to do such a thing. How could he have avoided the lightning tribulation?
But Alex hadn't given it another thought. As far as he was concerned, it was over, and now he could reunite with his mother.
Where is she? he thought, frowning. He used his power to enhance his senses, looking at the place where he had last seen Flora.
But she was no longer there.
After his battle with Willard, he had left Flora in a hidden spot away from the mountain, instructing her not to leave. But now, she was no longer there, and his heart sank.
He expanded his power-enhanced senses once more, sending them over the entire mountain like a tidal wave.
Evan and Willard could feel Alex's power, and its violent energy sent shivers down their spines.
What's going on? they wondered. Why is he so angry all of a sudden? What is he doing? It seems like he's looking for something. But what?
Evan was shocked, and he used his own senses, sending them out alongside Alex's.
As a veteran golden-core warrior, Evan's senses were extremely powerful. When they overlapped with Alex's, they left the peak of Marauders Mountain and went straight to the bustling city.
From the top of the other mountain, the black-clothed man felt an immense pressure sweeping toward the city, and he turned pale with fright. "Evan, what are you doing?" he asked, using his power to communicate telepathically.
He had easily identified the two powerful waves. One belonged to Evan, and the other belonged to Alex.
He hadn't expected Alex to have reached the divine level yet, so he was amazed that Alex could already use his senses across such large distances. His abilities were truly formidable.
Concerned, he wanted Evan to provide some answers. Evan was already enough to give him a headache, and he didn't want to have to deal with Alex, too.
"Antoine! You're here!" Evan's voice came into Antoine's mind.
"Of course I am," Antoine replied with exasperation. "I have guarded the city for over a hundred years, so where else would I be? But you, what are you doing here?"
Antoine Lombard was the master of the Lombard family, one of the most powerful families in the world.
Evan and Antoine were communicating telepathically, but Alex's senses simply bypassed them and went straight to the Rimmer family's house.
This is the place, he thought. Although my mother's aura has been concealed, I can still feel it here. Someone powerful is in this house, and they've hidden her well. How dare they play such tricks on me!
Alex glared at Zoe.
"I'll deal with you later," he said. "But first, I'm going to get my mother."