Emperor Tribulation

Sitting on a circle platform divided into two halves by a curved line. It was slightly similar to a yin-yang symbol as each half was mostly black and white.

On the black side, there were fire, lightning, metal, and ice symbols whereas, on the white side, there were earth, wood, and wind symbols.

Athena stood rooted for some time, shocked by the sight, but more importantly, shocked by the sensation coursing through her body.

She could feel that the fire symbol was the essence of the world Law of flames. The Lightning, Darkness, Light, Wood, Metal, Ice, Wind, Earth... All of them... Were they the essence of the world laws...?!

"This..."

It was something that she could never believe if someone told her. She wasn't as ignorant as Blade about the world, this was simply too shocking.

"This...!"

Suddenly, another voice entered her ear. It wasn't Blade's voice as it came from behind. Turning her head, she saw several figures making their way down the cave and toward the two of them.

Some of them were carrying Martial King auras while others were carrying even more powerful Law Qi as it was more powerful than anything a Martial King could match.

"Run!"

Athena heard another voice. This one though was a voice that she had grown accustomed to for a few months now. It was a voice that she knew very well. Her instincts to listen to this voice caused her figure to flicker without thinking.

"No! Why... Don't worry, I'll stop them!" Athena suddenly stopped. Seeing the figures rushing toward the depths of the cave, toward Blade who seemed to be busy in cultivation, she couldn't simply leave him like this.

"I said run!"

Thrum!

The voice originating from Blade was even more powerful and authoritative. Athena couldn't refuse this time as her body rushed toward the incoming figures.

Her body was a blur and these figures who cared little for her didn't think much. They only wanted to see what had caused the possible disappearance of the spiritual ascension pond.

Thinking this, some stopped in their tracks. Maybe that blur had something to do with the potential disappearance of the spiritual ascension pond...? But, by the time they turned around, a few seconds was enough as Athena had long disappeared from the cave and their vision.

Crackle!

At the same time, in the skies above the cave, above the mountain that the cave was a part of, one could hear the crackling of thunder and see the flashes of lightning.

As thunder rolled, the lightning flashing in the skies that started as a bluish light slowly morphed, becoming a purple shade... A deep and dark purple shade... Thereafter, it soon began morphing one more time, becoming a deeper and darker shade until it stopped at an endlessly inky black.

The color now seemed to consume everything, it would make one think that the abyss that led to hell would be like this color.

Crackle!

With one more roll of thunder, a lightning bolt fell. It was slow. There wasn't anything special about it besides its color. No, the only other thing that was special was how slow it moved.

Even regular humans watching the skies would see this bolt of lightning descend at a fairly rapid pace yet not rapid enough to be missed by your eye.

But, as it descended, crossing thousands of feet, and rushing to the mountain, the speed quickened at a speed that didn't give the mind time to think.

Before one could process a thought, even a Martial Lord, the sight of an utterly devastating scene would be laid bare. The mountain... the mountain was no more...

There was a massive crater. A crater that spread hundreds of meters. At the center of this crater, one figure stood, floating above a levitating platform dominated by the colors of white and black.

It was as if this figure protected this platform with his life as he went against the heavens themselves and resisted that lightning bolt with his bare hands.

The shockwaves between the clash destroyed anything, and everything in the surrounding hundreds of meters as those Martial kings was brutally injured... Even the Pseudo Martial Emperors had severe wounds across their bodies.

Some weaker Martial Kings were easily pulverized into oblivion. Some died... There were only a couple of tens of Martial Kings alive and a few Pseudo Martial Emperors.

But, before any of them had time to turn around and strategically retreat, another crackle of thunder resounded in the skies.

The thunder was synonymous with the bellow of the heavens and the cries of the earth as another lightning bolt descended. The bolt of lightning came crashing down to earth followed by several more bolts of lightning.

In the face of this, Blade took out his sword. At that moment, every person present felt as if there was a sharp blade pointing, no... There was a sharp blade resting on their shoulders, pressing down, adding pressure, and causing blood to seep out.

Bang!

An ear-deafening explosion occurred. Within the timeframe of a fraction of a second, the nearby martial kings underwent a flashback... A flashback of their lives that then led to this moment.

The moment they finished, the shockwave from the previous attack came. In an instant, the surrounding several miles was destroyed. Martial Kings had no say as they were left with no other choice but to burst open into misty pools of blood and guts.

The raindrops falling to earth had become crimson, signifying their deaths. The only ones remaining were Pseudo Martial Emperors who used the shockwave to send them flying and away from the man at the center of the crater.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several more bolts of lightning fell. The sword easily resisted these attacks but the shockwaves traveled through space and threatened to reach the Pseudo Martial Emperors.

Luckily for them, they made it out of the ten-thousand-meter zone of destruction at a fast pace as Blade remained standing, his head bowed as he calmed his breathing.

Some of his skin were pealed, but it healed at a visible rate. A second later, the wounds around his body had healed, and he had returned to peak physical shape as he welcomed the third bolt of lightning which was followed by a dozen more bolts that were comparable to the second bolt...!

Boom! Bang! Boom! Boom!

Shing~! Peng! Clang! Bang!

Slashing, swinging, and swiping his sword so fast that it created countless afterimages, Blade remained steadfast, not showing any signs of bother.

Even as burnt marks appeared around his body, he remained with an expressionless pair of eyes and an unreadable expression.

Like this, the third tribulation passed by. Right after, Blade's wounds had healed as he returned to optimal condition. But, unlike before, there weren't any bolts of lightning right after.

Crackle~!

Thunder rolled in the skies as the dark clouds and black bolts of lightning slowly began morphing once again. From a deep shade of black to a mixture of black and crimson red.

The power and danger that radiated from this lightning instantly alarmed Blade. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he twisted his neck, releasing a popping sound.

Humph!

"If the Heavens had allowed me to form the perfect heavens, I'd never believe that it was the perfect heavens... But now, yes now... Thank you!

Heavens, you've confirmed my thoughts... I'm on the right and truest path of cultivation... Going against the heavens... This is what I call blood-pumping...!"

Snickering, Blade released a burst of loud and unrestrained laughter. Right there and then, Blade's muscles tensed and at the same time, the red and black bolt of lightning in the skies also seemed to form consciousness, preparing to strike down.

Boom!

In an instant, Blade's figure on top of his platform disappeared. A blur of light flashed across the space and toward the skies, and from the skies, another blur of red and black light descended from the skies and to the earth.

These two parted the winds, wherever they went, they traveled faster and faster, crossing the distance of several miles in a tenth of a second.

Throughout this, Blade had a casual smirk on his face. From the looks of it, he was still far from revealing his true strength and speed as the duo met mid-air.

Meters away, Blade slashed his sword, parting the chaotic winds as in the skies, one would see a fine red light escape his sword's blade.

This sword light made its way toward the lightning bolt. There were merely several meters that separated the two as this sword light instantly contacted the lightning bolt of red and black color.

Swoosh!

There weren't any explosions. There was dead silence, the sound of the wind being parted was the only thing one could hear as the lightning bolt shattered in an instant.

The sword light continued on its path. In one swift movement, the light had already reached the dark Heavenly Tribulation clouds, before being enveloped by them.

As if devoured, the sword light disappeared from Blade's view. Seeing this, Blade merely covered his mouth as a yawn escaped.

"Little Heavens... I don't know but, you're pretty feeble..!"