Boom!
Su Ping finally faced his own Heavenly Tribulation while many watched him from the dark.
The first lightning bolt struck down like an axe cutting the sky apart.
Su Ping raised his head and stared in silence.
Bang!
The lightning bolt struck down and enshrouded him, but he quickly absorbed it.
One of the many laws he had mastered had to do with Heavenly Tribulations!
Su Ping had been through too many of them in the Demigod Burial, gaining an unusual amount of experience in the process. He believed that he himself could summon Heavenly Tribulations, or pass them over for someone else, once he had a better control over them!
Soon after, the second lightning bolt landed.
Once again, Su Ping didn’t move to resist it. The lightning bolts at the beginning were equally powerful; they would remain the same within each round; he was planning to endure and absorb all of them. After all, Heavenly Tribulations were both punishments and gifts for his body.
More and more lightning bolts came crashing down soon after.
All nine lightning bolts from the first level of the Heavenly Tribulation were swallowed in the blink of an eye.
“Is that what the best Fate State cultivator of the universe should be like?”
“It is ghastly to see how sturdy his body is.”
“It’s only been the first level of the tribulation, but still, it looked too easy for him to resist.”
Many people were secretly amazed; their admiration toward Su Ping grew.
More lightning bolts struck down moments after.
The second level… The third level…
More and more lightning bolts struck down and illuminated the world. Their noise echoed throughout the Celestial Court, a place that was even larger than a sun. It wasn’t hard to imagine how massive the coverage of Su Ping’s Heavenly Tribulation was.
Su Ping then encountered the sixth level of the Heavenly Tribulation.
He finally took action to face the incoming lightning. It was already hard for him to continue resisting with just the Solar Bulwark and his physical body. A Heavenly Tribulation of such a level was as powerful as an attack from a warrior at the peak of the Star State!
Su Ping grabbed and squeezed the lightning bolts as they struck, just like nabbing a mere cluster of flames. The bolts struggled in his hands, but then died out eventually. He melded them into his understanding of Heavenly Tribulations.
Diaz was standing in midair, above one of the palaces.
His face seemed troubled while he witnessed Su Ping make the lightning bolts collapse. The day arrived… That monster finally advanced and became a Star State warrior too.
He had barely been able to fight against Su Ping back when he was only in the Fate State. Their difference in strength had further widened after the latter’s breakthrough, even though his combat ability had been improved due to his own recent breakthrough.
His own advance was considerable once he rose to the next level. Su Ping, on the other hand, would pick up a lot of things too after breaking through. Their improvement would be proportionately similar.
He had to figure out another way to surpass Su Ping with other opportunities!
Bang!
Something seemed to be roaring in the thunderclouds, threatening to tear apart the mortal down below.
The tribulation was raining eighth-level lightning; seventy-nine of them were crashing down.
A stream of dark air surfaced on Su Ping’s body. It was the Sorcerer’s Constitution, which prevented others in the outside world from seeing him. The lightning bolts vanished in his field as they were about to hit him; only dull explosions could be heard.
The thunderclouds above Su Ping’s head were still lingering, which meant that he had blocked the lightning.
“It’s already the ninth level…”
“This is unbelievable. Is that the true limit of the Fate State?”
“Tsk, tsk. It’s been so many years since I saw such an extreme tribulation. His talent is truly unparalleled!”
All the observers were amazed. Most of them were Star Lords; some were even Ascendants. All of them knew that Lord Supreme’s young disciple had a good chance of rising to the Ascendant level and become a Heavenly Lord as long as he didn’t accidentally die.
He would definitely dominate the Divine Lord Rank when he became a Star Lord!
Boom!
The lightning strikes continued.
All the eighty-one lightning bolts of the ninth level struck down; the thunderclouds remained and roiled, breeding even more horrifying lightning.
Everybody present was shocked. The ninth level of the Heavenly Tribulation isn’t the end?
Lightning reappeared soon after. This time, it wasn’t like any of the previous bolts; it pressed down from the clouds like a finger, as if about to crumble something.
Inside the field—Su Ping suddenly opened his eyes as he detected the destructive aura.
The path of destruction was hidden in the depths of the Heavenly Tribulation above his head!
Su Ping suddenly had an epiphany. He felt delighted, choosing not to dodge in order to fully seize the opportunity. He endured the lightning strike yet again. He was going to tap into and absorb the path of destruction.
He would then master Time and Destruction, two of the supreme laws!
Boom!
Lightning hit Su Ping’s body; he felt as if his body were being torn apart, just like being hit by a train. His bones cracked and his cells were dismembered, but they were immediately regenerated, all thanks to the Golden Crow traits.
The Golden Crows’ instincts allowed Su Ping’s body to be recreated and destroyed at the same time.
He was soaked in blood, but the energy inside his body was like a long river, gradually becoming more abundant. He became a lot sturdier as he activated the two Astral Paintings in his body.
Bang!
The second lightning bolt quickly pressed down again like a finger.
Such a scene was quite appalling, even from a distance. The glowing lightning bolt descended from the clouds in the shape of a finger, which inevitably made people wonder whether or not tribulations were true punishments of the heavens!
Su Ping closed his eyes and focused his bodily strength on defense and absorption.
“Is this the Heavenly Tribulation after crossing the limits?”
“Why do I feel that some sort of creature is looking down from those clouds?”
“I also have this feeling of being watched by a horrifying being. Are there really such things as heavens in this world?”
“Stop overthinking. It’s just an illusion. This is just like the clouds on some planets that happen to have the shape of humans. It’s just a natural phenomenon, pure coincidence.”
Many people were in heated discussions. It was the first time they had seen a level-9 Heavenly Tribulation and beyond; they could brag about what they were seeing for the rest of their lives.
Not everybody was able to see such a wonder. Diaz—who had the Reincarnation Constitution—had only attracted an eighth level tribulation. It wasn’t hard to imagine how difficult the ninth level and beyond were.
“This guy…”
A gloomy-faced Diaz hovered above a palace. He clenched his fists, feeling angry and helpless again. He had expected that the gap between him and Su Ping would become wider, but not to such a degree. He felt like an ordinary person when compared to Su Ping.
I can condense a small world too!
He swore to himself that he would condense a small world in the Star State, and then catch up with Su Ping!
Time flew.
Su Ping endured another round of lightning bolts after the ninth level, which meant that he had passed the tenth level of the Heavenly Tribulation!
The clouds above Su Ping’s head finally stopped roiling after ninety lightning bolts struck down; they seemed to be about to disperse.
Su Ping was no longer a human at the moment; he was but a pulp of flesh while immersed in his dark field. However, starry light radiated from the flesh after the clouds dispersed, quickly wriggling and transforming back into the shape of a human.
Once he recovered his original appearance, Su Ping’s skin was radiating a golden light. It was the power inside his cells, still in the process of being absorbed. There were also glittering arcs of electricity on the surface of his body.
He partially opened his eyes; there was lightning in them too. They were clearer and deeper than ever, as if they would enable him to see through any matter.
He didn’t feel old or sophisticated. Rather, he seemed tranquil like a deep lake, which could reflect or swallow everything.
“Is this the gift bestowed when you surpass the limits? The path of destruction is hidden in the Heavenly Tribulation…” Su Ping mumbled to himself.
It was very hard for ordinary people to get in touch with the four supreme laws.
Apart from the path of destruction—which was invisible but could be felt by all—the other three paths, namely destruction, vitality and chaos, only existed in rumors and remained intangible. It was hard for a human being to grasp them.
The destructive aura, deep in the source of the tribulation was an opportunity.
The continuous strikes had allowed him to grasp part of the aura. The path of destruction was already taking shape inside his body.
He would be able to perfect it as long as he attained a deeper understanding.
Su Ping immediately sensed and gauged the strength of the Star State as he examined his own body. He had twice as much astral power as before; there was an even greater space in his cells and his body had also mutated. He could live without oxygen, water and other substances critical for carbon-based creatures.
I would be abusing kids if I were to participate in the competition right now, Su Ping thought.
He was already a lot stronger than in the past battle after only a few days passed.
Still, that didn’t make him act arrogantly. He believed that the strength of Luo Ying, Six Lives Buddha and the others would surely grow considerably once they broke through.
Six Lives Buddha in particular, he could very likely summon his Star Lord future self after reaching the Star State.
It would be like cheating if he could. Su Ping was incapable of dealing with a Star Lord genius; after all, his small world didn’t have any advantages against Star Lords.
I have to strengthen my small world by integrating the paths of time and destruction into it. Once the path of destruction is perfected, my small world will probably become much more resistant with two supreme laws as foundation, even more so than that of a normal Star Lord, Su Ping thought.
He then sensed that a lot of people were watching him. He immediately snapped out of his deep pondering and returned to his palace.
Once back in the training room, Su Ping explored the third Astral Painting and replenished his astral power.
Now I should check the Divine Lord Rank. It’s not like I can strengthen my small world or absorb the power of faith any time soon.
Su Ping went back to his devoted training.
The third Astral Painting was named Mystic Star Astral Painting. Su Ping had yet to comprehend it.
In the blink of an eye—
A month after Su Ping advanced to the Star State.
Su Ping left his palace and talked to Elder Yan.
“You want to challenge the Divine Lord Rank?” Elder Yan looked at Su Ping in shock, not expecting him to be that crazy, wanting to challenge the Star Lord geniuses after merely breaking through recently to the Star State.
It was hardly possible for him to defeat normal Star Lords, let alone the exceptional sort listed on the Divine Lord Rank.
“I simply want to practice with them and find out how I can catch up,” said Su Ping.
Elder Yan was stunned for a moment; he recalled Su Ping’s conversation with Shen Huang, then realized Su Ping’s objective. He said with a bitter smile, “I don’t get it! Others would dream about staying and cultivating here, yet you want to leave? Do you want to return to the outside world that badly? You have everything you need here!”
“But my friends are in the outside world,” said Su Ping.
Elder Yan was stunned for a moment.
Friends…
He chewed on the world for a moment and glanced at Su Ping without saying a word.
Resources were replaceable, but friends weren’t.
“Fine. I’ll take you there. Seeing how strong they are will serve you as training motivation,” said Elder Yan, who then took him away.
They reappeared on the other side of the Celestial Court.
The place was an enormous city; there were a thousand such cities in the Celestial Court. That one focused on combat.
Arenas and virtual battlefields were everywhere.
“There are virtual battlefields here. You can make fighting appointments there. After all, the ranked Star Lords are geniuses without time to spare whenever a challenger shows up. Besides, even if they do come, you would only end up beaten up; you can start by challenging their virtual versions.
“I’ll ask them to fight you in real life once you manage to defeat them in the virtual battlefield,” said Elder Yan.
Su Ping was surprised by this. He asked, “Can all of my combat abilities be represented in the virtual world?”
“The virtual world used here is based on the Federation’s central supercomputer. All the constitutions and genetic information recorded will be simulated to perfection. It’s much better than the virtual arenas out there. Of course, using it is much more expensive in comparison.”
Elder Yan glanced at Su Ping and added, “According to Master, you have an unknown constitution which will put you at a disadvantage in the virtual battlefield, since you won’t be able to use it in the fights. However, it won’t be long before a Federation representative pays you a visit to register your constitution.
“There’s no need to be reluctant. Being the provider, such information would be generously rewarded.
“So… Do you want to challenge them right now, or wait until your constitution is recorded?”
Su Ping thought for a moment and said, “Let me try my luck first.”
Although he couldn’t use his constitution, it was just one part of his strength, not his main power.
“Okay,” Elder Yan simply replied. Every challenge would cost an astronomical amount of astral coins, but the sum was not worth mentioning if it was to be spent on a genius such as Su Ping.
