Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 145 part 3! Enjoy the read!
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
With a grin on his face, Protector General Mikhail Anrepov glanced at the five of them before his gaze stopped on Demian's resolute expression.
Chuckling slightly, he commented.
"I thought you'd take a few more days before going through your Tribulation. Seems like I underestimated you, young lad."
With a calm smile gracing his lips, the young man replied.
"A few more days wouldn't have done much for my combat power, so I decided to just go for it. It's not as if it was the Immortal Tribulation anyway."
Nodding his head, Mikhail said.
"That's true. A cultivator who aspires to reach great heights must constantly strive to advance forward, even if fear dictates otherwise. Not recklessly, mind you, but smartly."
Shaking his head, he added.
"So many cultivators out there are wasting their potential because of fear. Many who could have been a Foundation Building cultivator stop forever at the Peak of Chi Gathering Rank, and it's the same as you go higher. Granted, some of them would surely fall if they went through their Tribulation, but many do have a chance to overcome it and leap to a higher level."
Letting out a helpless sigh, a calm smile then reappeared on his face as he looked into Demian's eyes and declared.
"Anyway, with your talent and Heavenly Luck, I'm certain this Tribulation will only be the first out of many you'll pass successfully."
The older man's smile was infectious as the rest of those present also started grinning, with Demian nodding and replying.
"Thank you for your well wishes, General. I'm also pretty confident in my odds this time."
With a small wave of his hand, Mikhail interjected.
"Since you call Elder Silk 'Aunt', just call me Uncle Mikhail when we're just between us. That goes for your little lovers, your teacher, and little Ling as well. To be honest, Eldoria and I have been friends for a long time now, and I might get an earful if I let you speak to me as if we're just strangers."
That brought a few chuckles from the four of them, with Demian retorting.
"Will do, Uncle Mikhail."
Hearing Demian's playful response, Mikhail then changed the subject.
"Alright. Are you ready? If you are, I'll send you directly to the middle of the Tribulation Plateau."
Seeing the raven-haired young man nod, the General waved his hand slightly, and Demian's body was instantly transported to the middle of the massive wooden platform.
Unlike his previous Void Travel with his teacher and aunt Ling, this time he felt nothing, as if he had never moved.
Puzzled, he wondered.
'Is because of the difference in cultivation level or the difference in depth between their comprehension of Void intent? Maybe both...'
As it was neither the time nor the place, Demian shoved those random thoughts to the side of his mind and started taking out some items from his Void Ring.
The first one was a deep-blue full-body armor resembling the one Bryn wore during her own Tribulation, though that one had been destroyed completely under those fierce lightning Bolts.
There was a large difference between the two, however, as Bryn's own was merely a Peak Tier 2 Armor, while the one he had in his hands emitted some Peak Low Tier 3 fluctuations, which should be largely enough to resist even an Immortal-Grade Nine Lightning tribulation.
Of course, the young man was aware that, though the armor itself could bear the strain, his body, however, may potentially not.
After all, the item was way over his cultivation level, and thus, he had only been able to refine it partially, enough to use it as a strong shield, but not enough to turn the protective item impenetrable.
Fortunately, the amount of destructive Lightning Energy that could still penetrate his armored defense should be low enough that, with his strong Physique, coupled with his Perk, he would be able to endure without too much trouble.
With a thought, the deep-blue armor separated into different pieces before each of them flew towards one of the young man's body parts until his entire body was covered in blue metal.
Using his Soul Sense to 'see' himself, Demian exclaimed inwardly.
'Damn, I look good!'
Indeed, the 'Dragon Fang' armor, as the name implied, had its helmet in the shape of a dragon head, with Demian's eyes located around the snout and the visor being carved to represent sharp fangs.
The armor's upper part had its pauldrons carved as dragon wings, while its breastplate had a carving of a majestic flood dragon.
Aside from those distinctive aspects, the rest of the plate armor had scale carving all over, as if what was used to make it was dragon's scales instead of some sort of magic steel.
Another difference with conventional plate armor was the lack of any visible weak point not covered by the plates, betraying the magical aspect of the armor.
After trying a few movements with the powerful tool, the young man felt satisfied.
'No problem moving around. No real weight, unlike before I refined it. My vision is also not impaired in the least, and...'
As he was analyzing the object's effects, a small ball of Water materialized in front of his eyes before he used some Elemental Blood Power and threw a punch at it, destroying it easily.
'My use of Mana and Blood Power is as smooth as without the armor, though I also don't get any amplification because of the partial refinement... In any case, it's truly all benefits and no downsides. Magic, uh?'
Although he was not particularly surprised anymore, since he had already performed a few tests as soon as he had finished refining the armor, doing another small test today made him feel more secure, akin to a last-minute revision before an important exam.
Satisfied with the armor, he then took out his two scimitars from his Ring, with the left one being held in reverse grip while the other one was held in the standard grip.
'Well, I've been sparring with Bryn using those, so there's no need to check them again...'
Despite feeling confident, he still injected a bit of Blood Power inside the weapons, for the sake of caution.
Noting how well the two weapons absorbed his Energy, a complicated expression appeared on his face.
'Too bad I can only wield a part of their power because of my low cultivation.'
Shaking his head, he added.
'Forget it. A little is still better than none.'
Having performed all the checks possible, the young man knew that dragging the time further would not lead anywhere.
It was time for him to trigger his Tribulation.
Taking a deep breath, he mumbled before closing his eyes.
"Let's do it, champ!"
As soon as his eyelids closed, his thoughts went to the Space containing his Magical Energy.
Some called it Dantian, others Lower Core.
There were many names for that mysterious piece of Void present in the human body, even in those without a shred of cultivation.
Of course, Demian's own Lower Core was very different from those without cultivation, its space housing a Flood of Water Elemental Energy branded with his own Essence, the quantity and quality beyond those average Peak Chi Gathering Rank.
He was what was commonly known as an Extreme Peak Chi Gathering Cultivator.
For the average cultivator at Peak Tier 1, if they wanted to break through to Tier 2, they would need to convert a small part of their neutral Spiritual Energy into Elemental Energy, either finding a balance between multiple types of Elemental Energy, like Bryn, or choosing a single type, like Demian.
Then, you needed to compress your Mana until passing a certain threshold, the so-called bottleneck that blocked many, which would then trigger the Tribulation.
Although Tribulations were life and death matters, they were also a great, or even essential, way to further expedite the transformation from gaseous Mana to liquid Mana.
Of course, the state of Demian's Magical Energy was already liquid, demanding much more effort for further compression than for average cultivators.
However, it was not a downside for him.
Quite the contrary, actually.
Indeed, although it slowed his cultivation speed somewhat, the sheer power the young man wielded through its use more than compensated for the difference.
Not only that, but further compressing his Mana meant a greater strength once one broke through to a higher level.
As one's foundation determined one's end point, that trade-off was well worth it for him.
As all those thoughts traversed his mind, Demian started compressing his Mana, feeling the relatively thin threshold that was previously hindering him crumbling extremely fast until he heard a 'crack' sound inside him.
As soon as that noise echoed in his mind, the young man felt as if invisible shackles holding him down crumbled into dust, leaving his body much lighter, his senses much sharper, and a much greater ease when wielding his Mana.
However, the transformation was just beginning.
Further compression was still ongoing, with both his body and Soul being tempered and growing stronger little by little from the feedback.
However, not everything was positive as Demian suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
Heaven's Will had locked onto him through his Tribulation.
"What was that expression again? If you can't avoid it, better enjoy it?"
A few nervous chuckles escaped his lips as his thoughts were on the upcoming trial.
As Demian felt that his internal breakthrough was well way and did not need too much of his attention, he opened his eyes, noticing how the previously clear sky had grown much dimmer as dark clouds gathered to form a tens of kilometers circle with his location as the center.
Lightning started brewing inside the cloud sea, emitting progressively fiercer fluctuations, enough to scare even a Late Foundation Building cultivator to death.
It went on for a while, reaching a level of power that even Demian, with his current strength, felt wary of, forcing him to take it even more seriously than he already had been.
"It's coming."
He mumbled as the energy fluctuations coming from the clouds had suddenly stopped growing.
A few seconds passed, with nothing happening, until a scene appeared, so unexpected that his mind froze for a brief instant.
Unlike Brynhild's Lightning Tribulation, where Lightning Bolts fell directly from the sea of clouds like a lightning rain, this time, the Lightning bolts left the clouds before hovering motionlessly right below it, fusing into a lightning ball almost instantly.
Once the ball formed, it swiftly expanded, or more specifically, it shifted into another form.
Although that form was indistinguishable at first, it was not long before Demian recognized a strangely familiar shape.
"Is that.. A Lotus? A fucking Lightning Lotus?"
He muttered, his mind completely blown.
Wasn't the Nine Lightning Tribulation supposed to be straightforward?
'Why did Bryn get the 'normal' 81 Lightning Bolts, and I get a freaking Lotus? Heavens, did you have to make the whole thing so weird?'
Although the energy fluctuations emitted by the gigantic Lightning Lotus above his head kept growing, the tension that was previously gripping his heart had unexpectedly vanished for the most part, leaving only amusement and resignation.
Of course, he was not underestimating the strange Tribulation's danger, but having it right in front of him removed much of its horror for the young man.
As the saying goes: 'Fear stems from the unknown, adding a layer of imagined danger, sometimes true, though most of the time not.'
As the Lotus grew stronger and more distinct, he contemplated.
'It probably has to do with my Immortal-Grade soul Power. But whatever the case, it won't stop me. Today, I'm determined to pass through that damn tribulation and break through to the Foundation Building Rank. Power, lifespan, and my dear women... No way I'm falling here!'
As those thoughts traversed his mind, the light in his eyes grew progressively brighter, an expression of calm confidence replacing the solemn look he was previously sporting.
Staring at the Heavenly Phenomenon above his head, he suddenly shouted, his tone almost playful.
"HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE ME WAIT, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE? I'VE GOT PLACES TO BE!"
Too far from Sergei's group to notice their exasperated or amused looks, Demian, instead, tightened his grip on his twin scimitars, waiting for that Lightning Lotus to attack him, wondering what form it would take.
Well, a short while later, his question was answered.