Lightning Tribulation
'Even if was cannon fodder meant to become the protagonist's stepping stone, I must be a variable capable of saving him from such a fate. But, now that this doesn't seem to be the case, am I the variable who would help the final boss to stay invincible and make sure the protagonist doesn't ass pull his way to victory?...'
Thinking this, Astral smirked. It had been a couple of hours since he realized that Blade wasn't a mere slightly talented side character like he initially thought.
'But..?' Standing in a mysterious dark space, it was called the void, a place where only those above a certain realm of power could enter, he viewed Andra's rigorous training with dual blades.
'Since when did Final Bosses' had companions..? Is he truly a final boss type...'
He was confused. Andra had somehow barely kept up with Blade. Of course, she didn't catch up, she had refined less than half of her body but, she was still in the Martial Great Grand-Master realm and showed unbelievable talent worthy of a protagonist.
And her ability to adapt was impressive. Since Astral was a sword wielder, he only had techniques using swords so Andra and Blade stopped training their previous techniques to learn the battle arts given by Astral.
Both showed that it didn't affect them and their speeds of mastery over the techniques quickly shocked Astral. It wasn't just a monster like Blade but also Andra too.
'Wait! I'm viewing this all wrong. Is Dolion, the actual main character, Blade would die, and then Dolion's true talent would awaken? He'll get revenge, and at the end, when he becomes some supreme being, he'll revive Blade?!'
'Or, is it that Blade and Dolion are the villainous main characters? Though they don't look similar, probably because Blade was abandoned by a mysterious family, the half-brothers experienced the death of their family and now are on the path of revenge through bloodshed... Seeing how decisive they are, quickly choosing the higher level cultivator to be their master, this could be the case.'
A tragic backstory that turned them into villainous type protagonists.
He was truly racking his brain trying to comprehend the mysteries behind the duo's insane talent that even he, with a system, couldn't compete with. Due to this, he came up with incredible conclusions that could kickstart multiple books.
Sigh!
He gave up for a moment, taking a deep breath.
...
...
Crackle...!
In another part of the mountain, where the villa was located, the lightning bolts flashing in the skies were dark.
Though the Lightning Tribulation was simply a test made by an unknown force, something that wouldn't normally threaten one's life... well, at least, not at the Martial Great Grand-Master realm, right now it didn't seem to be the case.
Coincidentally or not, the lightning bolts flashing in the skies were right above Blade's head. He sat in a meditative position on the lush green grass in the Villa's courtyard.
On his face, a calm smirk was ever-present. Looking up into the clouds, "Hmm, it seems this Lightning Tribulation is different than the last... Little System, do you know why..?"
[Ding]
[The most accurate assumption is the 'Rules' have identified you as an anomaly. Due to the rules that the 'Rules' must follow, it is unable to kill you intentionally but, it is possible to make the Lightning Tribulation harder... impossible]
[The host should ask your master for protection. Though this will further strengthen the Lightning Tribulation, with him who has strength much higher than Martial Transcendent, you should be able to survive]
Tch..!
"And you'll tell me that only now!" Slightly angered by his system's words, he stood to his feet intending to call out for his master...
[Ding]
[The system is forced to obey the rules set by the entity who created us. Unless it is to instigate a mission, we're unable to...]-!
But, before the system could defend itself, and before Blade could open his mouth to call out to his master...
Crackle...! Xiu! BOOM!...
A bolt of black lightning fully formed in the skies. The clouds let out one last cry before the bolt of black lightning tore through the cloud and zoomed across the skies, rushing down to earth.
As if the judgment of a higher entity, the bolt of black lightning that radiated with endless power crashed into Blade's unsuspecting body, causing a massive explosion.
Ahh!
A yell of pain, yet not a yell of pain. A cracked voice exited Blade's throat. His body was instantly left in a sorry state upon coming in contact with the bolt of lightning.
The feeling of even having a body seemed to disappear as he dropped to his knees. Surrounding him was a massive crater with burnt grass spanning a couple of tens of meters.
'I-If I hadn't coated my skin with my qi...' He thought, lying on the ground, unable to stand to his feet due to losing control of his body.
Over his skin, he always tried maintaining a constant 'armor' of qi, luckily, he had it on when the lightning struck otherwise, the consequences would've been disastrous.
Tch..!
'Dammit! The distance between me and the master is quite far. Even if he could normally sense everything on the mountain, the bastard has morals so to show some moral, he reined in his senses.'
Crackle..!
Another bolt of black lightning began to take form in the skies. One must know, in the Lightning Tribulation, one would face nine bolts of lightning, each multiple times stronger than the last, and containing much more destructive energy that'll slow the rate of one's healing.
Tch!
Sensing the second bolt of lightning, Blade clicked his tongue in annoyance. If it was the current him with a level three system even, his regeneration wouldn't be enough to compare.
Luckily, it had already leveled up five times. Before the lightning bolt could take full form, Blade's body trembled slightly, and his wounds began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Crackle...! Xiu!
The bolt of black lightning that seemed to contain destructive force many times more than the previous bolt flashed through the skies, descending to earth with incredible speed.
At the same time, Blade's trembling body blurred. In his hand appeared a blue sword that radiated with intense coldness seemingly capable of freezing the air.
BANG!
Both sword and lightning connected.
{Freezing Skies: Frost Slash}
A light glow escaped the blue sword, and the bolt of lightning was instantly slashed apart, turning into whitish blue particles that seeped into Blade's skin, strengthening his bones, muscles, and internal organs...
Huh?!
Watching his palms, seeing how the rate at which his wounds heal had suddenly increased, Blade felt slightly shocked.
The power now coursing through his veins increased by a lot... A type of explosive strength that seemed similar to that of the lightning, coursed through his bones.
'System...?'
[Ding]
[Don't ask me... Even I don't understand. On a normal occasion, I'll say this would mean that the Law you'll be able to manipulate is lightning but, you already have not one but two Laws so I too am confused]
Inside Blade's dantian, a sea of white and black mysterious qi resided. Slowly, somewhere in this sea, a pool of blue qi began taking form.
Looking to the skies, he smirked. 'It seems that the so-called 'Rules' didn't expect this.' In the skies, the clouds darkened along with the lightning. What was being condensed was a bolt of lightning that radiated with killing intent.
Crackle! Xiu!
The bolt didn't stand on ceremony. Rushing toward Blade, it parted the winds and took the form of a dragon's mouth, about to envelop Blade's figure.
{Freezing Skies: Frost Slash}
Jumping into the air, Blade approached the quickly incoming lightning bolt with the icy sword in hand. A light gleam exited the sword as he slashed toward the black bolt.
BOOM!
Urgh!!
Instantly after the two connected, an earth-shattering explosion took place. Blade's figure was sent tumbling down to the earth, luckily the bolt of lightning had already been slashed apart.
The mysterious blue qi rushed toward Blade's body and seeped into his pores once more.
Bam!
Finally landing on the earth, another crater, next to the first one, took form.
'Damn. That hurts...' Blade slowly got to his feet. At the same time, two figures appeared nearby. He snickered inwardly. 'It seems even though he claimed to have reigned in his senses, he's still a bloody weirdo.'
As if sensing Blade's thoughts, "Making such a loud commotion with a mere lightning tribulation, and you expect us to not realize?" Internally though, 'Hmm, this isn't just a regular tribulation. Sigh! This should be expected. What would happen next is... he'll barely survive but would receive a much higher level of strength compared to others...'
Blade's senses flared once more. In the skies another, much more destructive bolt of lightning took form. If he took it without attacking, he was sure, this one would instantly kill him! But, why would he not attack?...
His sword gleamed as if understanding his emotions and a cold light escaped his eyes. With the power he constantly absorbed from the tribulation, he didn't even need his master's help any longer.