Of course, that was only because it was him. If it were anyone else, Chu Chengzhou dared to guarantee that more than half of the Titled Douluo on the continent would not be able to withstand it, even though this was only the first layer of chaos tribulation lightning.
In the next second, using himself as the guide, before the chaos tribulation lightning striking his protective divine light could dissipate, Chu Chengzhou activated Nine-Breath Qi Intake, turning the violent chaos energy into a gentle, hazy azure radiance and channeling it into the metal sphere floating before him.
At once, a clang and a hum sounded almost together, and a cheerful intent was transmitted from within the metal sphere.
Next, brilliant azure light bloomed, and the internal structure of the metal sphere began to undergo earth-shaking change.
What was stranger still, the metal sphere floating in front of him seemed as if endowed with the divine power of Creation, gradually growing a head and four limbs and shifting toward a human shape.
"Rumble!"
"Rumble!"
"Rumble!"
Strikes of azure tribulation lightning, each stronger than the last, fell one after another from the chaos tribulation cloud in midair. In the blink of an eye, Chu Chengzhou had passed the eighth layer of the chaos lightning tribulation.
At this moment, Chu Chengzhou's expression grew solemn.
This was because the power of the eighth layer of chaos tribulation lightning had already approached the peak below the god level.
If this chaos lightning tribulation had only nine layers, then even if its final power reached the god level threshold, he was fully confident he could resist it with ease.
After all, Blooms in an Instant was a super-divine technique, and when driven by chaos soul power it was not something a mere threshold-level god-tier attack could break.
But if there were more to come, Chu Chengzhou truly was not sure he could withstand it.
After all, the elemental lightning tribulation that appeared during the Four Symbols Heavenly Refinement had been triggered by four-element fusion soul power and totaled four layers. The lightning tribulation appearing now for the Chaos Heavenly Refinement was triggered by chaos soul power formed from the fusion of eleven elements.
In other words, if the number of layers in the chaos lightning tribulation could exceed the limit of nine, then it would inevitably be eleven.
Each strike of the Heavenly Refinement tribulation lightning was stronger than the last. The eighth strike was already near the true peak below the god level. The ninth strike of the chaos tribulation lightning would definitely be the true peak below the god level, and would very likely step into the god level.
As for the tenth and even the eleventh strikes, which would be stronger still, even experts above level 100 in later generations might not be able to withstand them.
Of course, if it truly proved impossible, Chu Chengzhou would not gamble with his life.
In the worst case, he could simply give up the tribulation, or let the soon-to-be-formed peak fused-refinement metal take it on itself.
Normally, elemental tribulation lightning was meant to be borne by the metal itself, with the forger merely providing some assistance. Only by undergoing the baptism of tribulation lightning itself would the metal produced by Heavenly Refinement be the strongest.
It was just that the power of this chaos lightning tribulation was somewhat excessive. If he really let the metal bear it on its own, it would most likely be reduced to ash.
"Rumble!"
With a violent roar, the ninth layer of chaos tribulation lightning descended from the sky, drowning Chu Chengzhou's entire body. Even the protective divine light on his surface showed ripples.
"Damn, it really reached the god level. And there is more."
Seeing that after the ninth layer of chaos tribulation lightning fell the tribulation cloud in midair did not dissipate but continued brewing the next wave, Chu Chengzhou cursed inwardly. He did not dare be negligent. He quickly converted the undissipated lightning energy and guided it into the nine-element fused-refinement metal that had now clearly taken on a human form.
On second thought, that made sense. In general, nine was the ultimate count. If a nine-layer lightning tribulation could be passed with ease, then nine-element Heavenly Refinement metal would be commonplace in later generations.
Chu Chengzhou could easily guess that even in later generations, nine-element Heavenly Refinement would most likely be the protagonist's exclusive feat, with seven-element Heavenly Refinement being the pinnacle of most Divine Craftsmen's lives, or even lower.
As for the fact that the chaos lightning tribulation he was undergoing now had more than nine layers, that was because the situation was unusual.
With an unprecedented chaos lightning tribulation, special cases were normal.
After withstanding the ninth layer of chaos tribulation lightning, Chu Chengzhou's mind moved. In the distance, Xiao Hei turned into a streak of black light and entered his body.
At once, accompanied by a sound like shattering glass, Chu Chengzhou's aura surged, breaking through an invisible limit. A vast and terrifying pressure spread for dozens of li.
At this moment, aided by the Spirit-Manifestation form, Chu Chengzhou temporarily broke through the limit and stepped into the level 100 realm that countless peerless prodigies throughout the continent's history had dreamed of.
If not for the fact that he had yet to condense a God Position, Chu Chengzhou at this moment would have been a true god.
Soul power at the initial 99, plus a spirit soul of over a hundred thousand years, could that become level 100?
By pure energy accumulation, this was indeed impossible. But the world's rule was that a spirit soul of 100,000 years in age could raise the soul power level of a summoner like Chu Chengzhou by one.
Ninety-nine plus one naturally made a level 100 soul master.
This was like Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing in the original work. Their soul power levels never exceeded 95, both being Titled Douluo. By energy accumulation alone, the two combined could not match an ordinary level 99 Limit Douluo. Yet when they jointly unleashed their martial soul fusion skill, Nether White Tiger, their strength could step into the god level.
One could only say that the soul master system in the Soul Land universe was somewhat lacking. Compared to cultivation systems in other worlds, the gap in realms did not manifest as a large difference in combat strength.
Of course, this additive effect from the True Spirit Banner martial soul's Spirit-Manifestation trait only applied at level 100 and below. If the level exceeded 100, it could not be calculated this way, because below 100 and above 100 were two different tiers, worlds apart.
Even if the Dark Devilgod Tiger spirit soul Xiao Hei's age rose to two hundred thousand years and then manifested, it still could not temporarily raise the level 99 Chu Chengzhou to level 101.
"Rumble!"
Very soon, the tenth layer of chaos tribulation lightning descended from the heavens and struck Chu Chengzhou without mercy.
At once, Chu Chengzhou's figure was once again submerged by hazy azure chaos lightning.
At the instant the tribulation lightning struck, Chu Chengzhou felt the soul power in his body drop sharply. The protective divine light on his surface shuddered even more violently than under the ninth-layer tribulation, as if it would be blasted apart in the next second.
Fortunately, it only seemed that way. In the end his foundation was deep and his techniques were high grade, so he was not directly blown apart by the tribulation lightning.
Even so, Chu Chengzhou understood that the power of the tenth layer of chaos tribulation lightning was close to his defensive limit. If he relied on Flower Bloom in an Instant alone, he would absolutely not be able to withstand the eleventh layer to come. One misstep and he would be reduced to ash by the tribulation lightning.
The eleventh layer of chaos tribulation lightning did not fall at once. Gazing at the tribulation cloud in midair for a moment, Chu Chengzhou ultimately did not intend to give up.
With only the final step left before the success of the Chaos Heavenly Refinement, how could he give up so easily?