Beasts were just that—Beasts.
Caine didn't need to exert much effort to attract and slaughter them. If he had slain fallen gods like cattle, these creatures would be no different.
The only true concern was time, but unlike on the Island of Possibility, Caine now possessed the ability to manipulate Qi, and at an exceptionally high level.
WHOOOSH!
Suddenly, all the beasts within the vast forest felt their fur bristle as a massive formation of silver and gold materialized in the skies, eclipsing the sun.
Above it, like a god watching over the world, a majestic young man floated—nine rings circling behind him, while intricate spell circles formed around his wrists.
Veins bulged across Caine's neck and forehead as his muscles tensed. With a low shout, he activated his gift, [Control], imposing his will on the Qi that flowed through the forest, directing it into the massive formation in the sky.
"Ah!"
An ocean of colors surged into the heavens. The vibrant hues of the world were drained away, devoured by Caine's formation as it spun and lit up, blinding the land beneath it.
As the light dimmed, the beasts of the forest could be seen suspended in mid-air. Their bodies disintegrated into ashes, which drifted toward Caine's formation. The formation whirled faster, absorbing the beasts' remains and converting them into a thick, strange white energy that shot toward Caine, burrowing deep into his being.
Caine's pupils and sclera glowed like burning torches in the dead of night as his Innate Circle began to awaken. Runes of silver, gold, white, and black manifested across his body, marking his ascension from mere mortal to something beyond, even as he remained encased in his mortal form.
An entity with an Immeasurable Innate Circle could never be compared to others.
Strength surged through Caine, along with a flood of information about his pillars, all coalescing into a single, harmonious whole. His body seemed to fracture, only to rebuild itself into a form beyond perfection, as though his true self had finally been released from the chains that bound him.
Yet, the Qi of the world wasn't enough. Space itself began to tear and shatter as pillars of pure Qi descended upon him, flooding his body with a seemingly infinite reservoir of energy.
But just as Caine neared the peak of his awakening…
RUMBLE!
The skies split open, revealing the depths of an abyssal void, where a grand, gigantic eye, radiating all imaginable colors, appeared.
A Tribulation.
A tremendous pressure crashed down on Caine, driving him to the earth below.
The force snapped him out of his awakening, and he glared at the sky.
Tribulations were usually reserved for the later stages of cultivation, but for individuals of immense talent, they could occur as early as birth. It was the world's way of testing one's worth.
But this… this didn't feel like a test. This felt like judgment.
Not that Caine minded. He had expected this.
After all, his reincarnation had not gone smoothly, and many things had transpired between the moment when Augustine granted him his wishes and the time when he awoke within his mother's womb.
His curses—and now this tribulation—were all part of what he had foreseen. And planned for.
WHOOOOOOSHHHHHHH!
The forest was obliterated as the colossal eye above gathered swirls of black lightning. The lightning crackled with such power that the void of space itself seemed to tear, raining down cosmic fragments in a display of both majesty and horror.
"Come!" Caine roared, his silver pupils burning with unbreakable conviction.
A spear materialized in his hand as Qi swirled around him. He thrust the spear toward the heavens as the first bolt of tribulation lightning descended.
Spear and lightning collided, and unsurprisingly...
BOOOM!
Lightning won.
BANG!
Caine was driven deep into the ground, his body torn by the otherworldly force of the bolt. He coughed up blood as his mind teetered on the edge of oblivion.
Gritting his teeth, Caine let out a fierce roar, and the reflection of his nine rings flared in his pupils. Their power surged through him as he shattered the lightning bolt and soared from the crater he'd been forced into, his bloodied body ready to thrust his spear toward the sky once more.
Another bolt fell.
Then another.
And another, and another, and another, and another.
And another.
Caine lost every single one of these clashes, but each time he stood back up, the determination in his eyes grew fiercer, and his aura bloomed stronger.
As his body was repeatedly broken and battered, a strange silence echoed across the battlefield—a place where mortal and heaven fought alone.
In the distance, an ape-like figure sat on a wooden throne, resting its chin on its fist, observing the battle with a calm, unbothered expression.
"A Defier? From the Velios bloodline? Interesting."
As the three thousand eight hundredth bolt crashed down, Caine's body was broken beyond comprehension. But in a final, defiant roar, he thrust his spear toward the sky once more, his rings glowing with a ferocious light.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Heaven and earth connected through spear and lightning, locked in a fleeting harmony that could never be broken.
And then…
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
The bolt shattered upon contact with Caine's spear.
BANG!
An echoing boom resounded across the land as Caine staggered back. The great eye in the sky slowly faded, and the parted heavens began to close.
But before it vanished completely, the eye sent down a massive pillar of silver energy, which crashed into Caine.
WHOOOOSH!
Instead of harming him…
'As expected.'
…the pillar refined him.
For every bolt Caine had fought against, the world rewarded him with refinement, tempering his body and talents to new heights.
Caine laughed out loud, his voice filled with a mix of madness and joy as a profound sense of pride filled his heart.
Pride? Of course.
Why wouldn't he be proud?
He had just defeated the world.