A mass of dark clouds gathered above Evan Yang's head, with flashes of lightning flickering within them. The area was quite remote.
Those watching from afar on Genius Star all showed shocked expressions. The high-level cultivators recognized this as tribulation crossing, and each revealed envy.
The upper echelon of the Genius Pavilion exchanged glances inside, all eagerly hoping that Evan Yang would break through smoothly.
Elsewhere on Genius Star, an elderly woman opened her eyes. Seeing the situation outside, she murmured in surprise, "This kid, his progress is truly astonishing. It seems hope might really fall upon him."
Unbeknownst to Evan Yang, that hidden elderly woman had changed her opinion of him, now filled with hope. After all, Evan had proven himself with his own strength.
The scenes on Genius Star quickly spread to the Fenn Family. When they heard Evan Yang was crossing tribulation, everyone showed expressions of disbelief.
"Damn it, he's actually crossing tribulation." The Ninefold Palace Lord snorted coldly.
"The Genius Pavilion intends to protect him. Now that he's crossing tribulation himself, and he's a Violet Seventh-Tier, his potential is even more terrifying." Patriarch Fenn replied calmly. In the past, he would have rushed over, but now he had another target—compared to that, Evan Yang was far inferior.
"Brother Fenn, why don't we go and stop him?" The Ninefold Palace Lord knew that Patriarch Fenn's strength could reach the Pseudo-Immortal Stage, so disturbing someone's tribulation shouldn't be a problem.
Everyone agreed with the Ninefold Palace Lord's suggestion, all looking expectantly at Patriarch Fenn.
"You want me to go stop him?" Patriarch Fenn asked.
"That's right. We can't let him keep advancing like this—his potential is too great," said the Ninefold Palace Lord.
Patriarch Fenn pondered for a moment and then said, "Let me see if I can interfere from a distance."
"Alright, let's go." The Ninefold Palace Lord and the others agreed. As long as they stayed in the void outside Genius Star and didn't enter, they shouldn't attract that person's attention.
So Patriarch Fenn, the Ninefold Palace Lord, and the other Palace Lords quickly arrived in the void outside Genius Star. Although they didn't dare approach Genius Star directly, they could clearly see Evan Yang crossing tribulation there.
A bolt of lightning struck Evan Yang. "The First Tribulation requires nine bolts—this is just the first. When the ninth comes, that's when he'll be at his weakest. We'll interfere together at that moment," said Patriarch Fenn, watching Evan Yang crossing tribulation.
"Alright, everyone get ready," said Patriarch Fenn. The others each took out their own treasures, preparing for a collective strongest strike.
They saw that Evan Yang was surrounded by experts protecting him. If they wanted to sabotage him, they'd have to break through the defensive ring. That ring needed to be shattered from afar by their combined efforts, and the innermost Evan Yang would be attacked by Patriarch Fenn—the strongest among them—at the ninth bolt, when Evan would be at his weakest.
Evan Yang had no idea what was happening outside. At that moment, he was withstanding the lightning. He focused all his power on the top of his head. When the bolt came down, he should have felt numbness or even pain, but instead, the lightning gathered above him and then poured directly into his head.
"What is this?" Evan Yang was surprised to discover that the lightning had merged with his own attributes. Originally, Evan could control Sacred Flame, Ice-fire, and lightning—now the tribulation lightning was being absorbed by his own lightning.
"No way, I can absorb it?" Evan Yang muttered after discovering where the lightning went. At this moment, his three attributes were inside his Crossing-Shadow Region—the so-called Crossing-Shadow Region, which contained his three main attributes and the Heaven-Cold Seed's mist.
That Crossing-Shadow Region had existed ever since Evan Yang entered the Crossing-Shadow Realm, and it kept growing larger. As long as Evan wished, his divine sense could enter that special region—by now, it was as big as a room for a hundred people.
It felt as if he had a huge room in his mind. Whenever Evan wanted, he could control the Ice-fire, Sacred Flame, and lightning inside.
Right after Evan Yang absorbed the first bolt, the second came down. Without thinking, he absorbed it just like the first, drawing the lightning into his body.
Outside, the Genius Pavilion Master and the others were all on edge. Even though the First Tribulation of the Nine Tribulations Realm was relatively simple, the power of that lightning was still terrifying.
But unknown to them, Evan Yang was completely unaffected—each bolt of lightning felt like recharging himself, replenishing his energy.
So Evan Yang easily passed the eighth bolt. Just as the ninth was about to arrive, countless treasures suddenly flew out from the sky. Seeing them, the Genius Pavilion Master and others were shocked. "Damn it, they're ambushing us!" the Genius Pavilion Lord shouted.
Everyone around immediately rose to form a defensive ring, resisting the attack. But so many powerful treasures rained down at once—boom! The Genius Pavilion Master and others were knocked back, and the treasures bounced away.
Just as the Genius Pavilion Lord thought the danger had passed, an even stronger aura pressed down. A long sword flew from the sky, radiating three colors of light.
"The Fenn Family's Tri-color Sword!" the Genius Pavilion Master cried out in alarm. But everyone had already been scattered, and it was impossible to go up and block it. Evan Yang was about to face the ninth bolt.
"It's over." The Genius Pavilion disciples cried out in alarm. Right now, Yang Han was completely immersed in the exhilaration of his breakthrough, utterly oblivious to what was happening outside.
"It's over." The Genius Pavilion disciples cried out in alarm. Right now, Evan Yang was completely immersed in the exhilaration of his breakthrough, utterly oblivious to what was happening outside.
Meanwhile, Patriarch Fenn, the Ninefold Palace Lord, and the others were secretly gloating. If this sword struck, Evan Yang would be wiped out for good. The Tri-color Sword had its own spatial ability—once it locked onto Evan, it could yank him straight off Genius Star and whisk him away. That would be mission accomplished.
But things always take a turn. Just as they were feeling smug, an even more terrifying aura erupted overhead—a wall of blazing flame blocked the sword's charge. To block that sword with fire, the flames had to be insanely powerful.
The Tri-color Sword bounced back uncontrollably when it touched the flames. Patriarch Fenn was stunned. "Damn it!"
"What just happened?" The Ninefold Palace Lord blurted out, seeing the Tri-color Sword rebound.
"Looks like that senior stepped in." Patriarch Fenn pulled back his sword, which trembled as if warning him about the terrifying flames.
"Those flames just now?" The Ninefold Palace Lord exclaimed, incredulous. Blocking a sword with fire—especially a Pseudo-Immortal-level sword—was unreal.
"Seems that senior on Genius Star is protecting him." Patriarch Fenn felt helpless. Even with all his strength, he couldn’t do a thing against this mysterious powerhouse.
Seeing even Patriarch Fenn powerless, the others were furious and frustrated. Right then, Evan Yang finished the ninth bolt—the First Tribulation was a total success.
"He actually pulled it off!" The Ninefold Palace Lord grumbled, frustrated.
This left Patriarch Fenn and his side fuming and helpless, while the Genius Pavilion disciples were ecstatic—thank goodness that senior stepped in just now.
But what happened next brought new changes for both sides. The clouds above Evan Yang’s head didn’t disperse as expected. Instead, another cloud suddenly formed.
"Second Tribulation?" The sign was clear—everyone was stunned.
"No way!" The Pavilion Master exclaimed. There have been cases where two tribulations come at once, but the odds are insanely low—and the danger is huge. The First Tribulation just ended, barely stabilized, and now the Second Tribulation follows. It’s basically digging your own grave.
At that moment, everyone in the Genius Pavilion felt their hearts leap out of their chests. Evan Yang was surprised, then grinned to himself, "Perfect, I’ll absorb them all together."
"Excellent! Heaven’s really helping us out." The Ninefold Palace Lord laughed, and the others joined in. Patriarch Fenn frowned, muttering, "Good thing he hasn’t grown yet—otherwise, he’d be a monster."
Patriarch Fenn, having reached the Pseudo-Immortal Stage, knew more than the others. If a cultivator faces multiple tribulations, it means their future growth will be monstrous—way beyond ordinary people.
Evan Yang’s situation now proved it. If he survived, he’d be way scarier than your average Second Tribulation cultivator.
Right now, Patriarch Fenn and the others could only pray that Evan Yang would get blasted to death by the eighteen bolts of the Second Tribulation.
First Tribulation: nine bolts. Second Tribulation: eighteen bolts. And so on—by the Ninth Tribulation, there are eighty-one bolts. It takes hours to finish. When Patriarch Fenn crossed his tribulation, he nearly died and had to hide in the Fenn estate to recover.
Not just them—even the elderly woman hidden in the shadows was stunned by the scene. "Remarkable, truly remarkable. I wonder if he can survive."
She now worried whether Evan Yang could make it through. After all, back-to-back tribulations were rare, and survival rates were low.
The Genius Pavilion disciples were nearly petrified. They wanted to help, but couldn’t—if they interfered, it would only make things worse, intensifying the lightning tribulation.
The scene quickly spread across Genius Star. People were dumbfounded, and some whispered, "The new Grand Pavilion Lord really isn’t ordinary—two tribulations at once!"
To everyone, the Second Tribulation spelled disaster for Evan Yang. The First had already drained much of his strength.
"What now?" The Pavilion Master and others muttered. Even the hidden elderly woman sighed, "He’ll have to rely on himself."
Evan Yang didn’t care what anyone else thought. He just kept absorbing bolt after bolt. His Crossing-Shadow Region grew into a vast space. He didn’t know what to call it, but kept pulling in the lightning.
One bolt, two bolts, three bolts—he absorbed them like nothing. The crowd was dumbfounded; even Patriarch Fenn and the others felt the urge to rush down and check for themselves.
"What kind of treasure is he using?" The Ninefold Palace Lord wondered, seeing Evan Yang totally unharmed.
"Looks like no treasure at all," Patriarch Fenn muttered, suspicious.
"No treasure could make it this easy—just how monstrous is his power!" The Ninefold Palace Lord could barely hold himself back. If Evan Yang really survived the Second Tribulation, with his Violet Seventh-Tier potential, he could challenge even someone at the Fourth Tribulation stage.