At this moment, Evan Chu was drenched in blood, sweat streaming down his forehead like beans. He forced a bitter smile and muttered, "I really went overboard this time. I never imagined the lightning force of the second tribulation bolt would already hit my limit. I actually thought I could absorb the third bolt too—guess I seriously overestimated myself."
"Senior brother, you brought this on yourself. Your tribulation lightning is Heaven's Punishment—way fiercer than Nine-Heaven Divine Thunder. But your Heaven's Punishment only has seven bolts, each one stronger than the last. If you can survive all seven, the gate to the God Realm will open for you." A middle-aged man's voice echoed in Evan's mind.
Evan Chu knew this voice well—he'd heard it a few times before. So it was true, his tribulation really was Heaven's Punishment, and not just that, but seven bolts of it. He'd gotten through two, but five more were waiting. Just thinking about those five made him shudder; there was no way they'd be anything but agony.
"You called me senior brother? Who are you, really? Why won't you show yourself? Are you the one controlling this tribulation lightning?" Evan couldn't help but ask.
"I'm your junior brother, but I can't show myself to you. It's for your own good—if you see me now, the moment you ascend to the God Realm, disaster will strike. I'm actually protecting you, but I'm not free, either. Every move I make is watched. Managing tribulation lightning is my duty, but Heaven's Punishment isn't under my control.
Don't worry—everyone you care about, I'll look after them. I'll make sure they ascend to the God Realm safely. But whether you can survive Heaven's Punishment... that's another story. No one's ever made it through alive." The middle-aged man's voice echoed in Evan's mind.
"Alright. Whether I make it through Heaven's Punishment or not, I owe you. I bet your situation now has something to do with my past life, or maybe you've got your own troubles I can't imagine. I get it. But I believe I can survive Heaven's Punishment—I've got a mission on my shoulders, and I'm not backing down." Evan said, voice resolute.
Suddenly, Evan Chu stood up, the swelling pain fading away, wounds closing up. He could feel his lightning element inside him was totally saturated—there was no way to absorb more. If he channeled all this tribulation lightning power into a breakthrough, he was sure Thundershift would hit the third layer soon.
From now on, he'd have to rely on martial techniques to resist the lightning. The stronger the technique, the more force he could block, and the less energy would slam into his body. Evan Chu knew this perfectly well.
He shot into the sky again, standing there like a war god, the Frostbane Divine Sword in his hand glowing with ghostly light. It was as if the sword itself sensed this was a life-and-death moment and was ready to unleash its strongest power.
The third bolt of tribulation lightning appeared—a massive violet streak, thick as a barrel. The instant it showed up, Evan Chu unleashed a full-force Divine Cleave, sending a wave of sword-qi slamming into the incoming bolt.
This was only the third bolt—Evan couldn't afford to use his absolute strongest moves yet. If he did, he'd have nothing left for the next four bolts. As long as Divine Cleave could handle this third tribulation lightning, he was confident he could survive the first five. As for the last two, he'd just have to trust his luck.
The violet lightning met the sword-qi and was instantly split into two streams—one crashed into Evan Chu, the other slammed down onto Skyflight Terrace, where a surge of golden light erupted.
Hidden runes flared to life across the terrace, and a suffocating, hatred-soaked aura burst out from below, making Evan Chu feel like he could barely breathe.
He knew this was the aura of the Primordial Fiend sealed beneath Skyflight Terrace. Just that aura alone was enough to make his skin crawl. If the fiend's true body ever stood before him, he'd probably be powerless to fight back at all.
The half of the violet lightning that hit Evan Chu smashed him straight onto the stone surface of Skyflight Terrace. Whatever that stone was made of, it didn't crack in the slightest. With a thunderous boom, Evan sprawled across it, coughing up blood.
"That lightning's insane... Looks like for the fourth bolt, I'll have to use Ninefold Divine-Dragon Metamorphosis and the Unicorn Arm. If I take any more damage, there's no way I'll survive the rest of the tribulation lightning." Evan muttered to himself.
He'd wanted to save his strength for the later bolts, but now he knew that was pointless. All he could do was take them one at a time and hope to make it through.
The violet lightning rampaged through Evan Chu's muscles and bones, tearing him up from the inside. Some of the energy leaked out, but thanks to his Eighth-Layer Starforge Body, his defense was monstrous—this strike only left him lightly wounded.
Evan Chu lay motionless on Skyflight Terrace, his lightning element fully saturated. He couldn't absorb any more tribulation lightning, so all he could do was let the excess slowly seep out of his body.
As time ticked by, the lightning-element sphere inside him spun faster and brighter, slowly absorbing the leftover tribulation lightning. After about half an hour, Evan Chu felt good as new.
In a flash, he shot back into the sky. The golden runes and Primordial Fiend's aura on Skyflight Terrace faded away completely. Evan Chu had a gut feeling—the tribulation lightning was especially harmful to that fiend.
Maybe the whole point of building Skyflight Terrace was to use tribulation lightning to keep the Primordial Fiend's body suppressed. Evan had no clue who built a platform this massive, but it was definitely not ordinary.
But now wasn't the time for Evan Chu to think about all that—the fourth tribulation bolt was about to drop, and he knew it would be way stronger than the third. He had to go all out.
Up in the depths of the tribulation clouds, lightning flickered nonstop. Evan Chu gripped the Frostbane Divine Sword so tightly that sweat slicked his palms. There was no way he wasn't nervous.
As he waited, tense and anxious, the fourth bolt of tribulation lightning finally appeared—still violet, but twice as thick as the last one. Evan Chu split into four bodies, each one activating the Unicorn Arm and unleashing Divine Cleave.
The four waves of sword-qi instantly fused into a single giant sword-light, slamming straight toward the fourth tribulation lightning. This strike was destined to shake the heavens and earth—Evan Chu believed it would scatter most of the bolt's energy, so the damage he'd take would be way less...