Boom!
Heavenly lightning roiled through the air as wave after wave of deep, terrifying thunder reverberated through the skies.
Birds shrieked and beasts fled in panic.
Ye Zichen, disheveled and dirty, stood atop a lightning cloud. As he sensed the thundercloud bearing down on him, he smiled faintly.
Then, shockingly, he took to the skies and stared directly into the ink-dark clouds.
“What’s that brat up to?” The white-robed man in the distance couldn’t help but frown. He was thousands of miles away from the tribulation lightning, yet despite the distance and despite his cultivation, even he felt pressured by those clouds.
Furthermore, he’d lived for such a long time, yet this was his first time seeing someone undergo tribulation in such a way.
Ye Zichen stood directly beneath the tribulation. At that moment, he moved. At least, his mouth did. “I said, let there be wind.”
It was as if he’d uttered a divine command; as soon as that single, simple sentence left Ye Zichen’s lips, it transformed into the Laws of Heaven and Earth, instantly summoning countless gusts of fierce wind. Ancient trees, thousands of years old, were ripped from the ground, roots and all. The winds picked up surrounding rocks and boulders, engulfing everything around them into a single, terrifying sandstorm.
Throughout the land and skies, wind and clouds swirled in reverse.
The resulting sandstorm contained immense destructive power. When he saw this, even Gu Zichen was visibly stunned.
“That kid…..”
But even as Gu Zichen gasped in shock, Ye Zichen opened his mouth once more. “I said, let there be rain.”
It was still just one single, simple sentence, yet it was imbued with the incontrovertible Laws of Heaven and Earth.
Countless dark clouds filled the skies, so thick, they seemed to cover even the tribulation clouds.
This awe-inspiringly vast storm seemed to tear the very dome of heaven apart. Rain came pouring down, soaking the world below.
Although Ye Zichen stood within the storm, when the rain approached him, it actively avoided his body and landed on the earth below instead. As the rainwater accumulated, the ground crumbled as a new river was formed.
However, things weren’t over yet. Ye Zichen looked directly into the lightning tribulation and spoke once more, “and I said, let there be thunder.”
As soon as he uttered this command, the very sky itself distorted around him.
Thunder rumbled amongst the newly-formed clouds, so loud, it surpassed even the heavenly lightning.
Crack! Crack! Boom!
The sky boomed with thunder, startling all living things awake. Soon, all of creation bowed before its might, lowering their heads in submission.
Soon, the sound drowned out even the rumbling thunderclouds of the incoming lightning tribulation.
However, despite the endless rumbling and booming of thunder, they’d yet to see even a single trace of electricity.
“And I said, let there be lightning.”
Crack!
A bolt of purple-red lightning suddenly cut through the skies, illuminating the landscape in unearthly light so terrifying, no one dared look directly at it.
The first bolt of lightning flashed by in an instant, and the next, and the next…..
It continued until tens of thousands of bolts flashed through the sky. At the same time, the tribulation lightning gradually dimmed. Ye Zichen’s countless thunderbolts were slowly swallowing up its power and using it to strengthen themselves, growing brighter and brighter as the sky around them grew increasingly distorted.
“Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, the five elements. Is this what a saint of ten reincarnations is capable of?”
There weren’t words to describe the depths of Gu Zichen’s astonishment. He stood there in a daze, gulping repeatedly. He could only watch as Ye Zichen, seemingly the embodiment of the Laws, commanded the world around him.
He was naturally capable of using the same techniques. However, that was entirely based on his ruler-level strength. Embodying the laws was only possible once you thoroughly understood them; reaching that step required tens of thousands of years of seeking enlightenment. Otherwise, it was absolutely impossible.
Even after breaking through and becoming a ruler, he’d only just barely managed to unite with heaven and earth.
But Ye Zichen was currently just an immortal king. Moreover, judging from the waves of spiritual strength emanating off his body, he wasn’t even a peak immortal king yet. He’d relied purely on his comprehension of heaven and earth to invoke the lightning, using the Laws themselves to destroy his tribulation.
However, divine lightning tribulations followed the Laws of the Upper Realms, while Ye Zichen’s comprehension only applied to the Laws of the Lower Realms.”
Unleashing the five elements and summoning a storm was undeniably cool looking, but it had little effect against tribulation lightning from the Upper Realms.
Besides, he’d yet to activate fire!
Fire was the third of the five elements. He should have used it before lightning!
Just as Gu Zichen was pondering why Ye Zichen hadn’t activated fire, Ye Zichen spoke, “and I said, let there be fire!”
Fwoosh.
Suddenly, a ball of intense flames appeared in the sky. The orb descended from the highest heavens like a blazing sun and stopped in the middle of the sky.
As the burning ball of flame descended through the sky, the pitch-black night sky lit up. The world transformed in an instant as night turned into day.
The dramatic, unusual change of both heaven and earth attracted countless experts’ attention. When they looked towards Ye Zichen and felt the imposing might of the divine tribulation, their hearts shook.
They all whispered simultaneously in their hearts, “someone is undergoing divine tribulation.”
Countless clans started trying to determine just who it was. As they rushed towards him, the elders of various clans felt deep envy. At the same time, they couldn’t help but sigh…..
This divine tribulation was just a little too big.
At the same time, the God Realm’s Xiao Family was in uproar. Ye Zichen’s tribulation shook countless experts, drawing them to the lightning pool…..
“Who is this person?”
“I don’t know.” The person responsible for Ye Zichen’s tribulation lighting was visibly overcome with shock. “He suppressed the tribulation right from the start. Now he’s taken it a step further and completely shattered my connection to the punishment lightning.”
The Xiao Family elder knit his brows and fixed his gaze on the lightning pool in an attempt to get a good look at Ye Zichen’s face. However, it was as if some Great Dao was obscuring his view. No matter what divine abilities he used, he couldn’t disperse the fog shrouding Ye ZIchen’s face.
“Forget it. He’s already destined to ascend to godhood. Someone this capable will surely become a dazzling figure even amongst the gods. All of you, hurry to the ascension gate. Recruit anyone and everyone who ascends from the Lower Realms in the near future to join our Xiao Family.”
“Yes, sir!”
The members of Xiao Family dared not delay; they hurried to the ascension site. Meanwhile, the Xiao Family elder watched in fascination as Ye Zichen underwent his tribulation……
The blazing ball of flames radiated wave after wave of unparalleled heat. It almost seemed as if it were trying to melt the heavens themselves.
Ye Zichen still stood in the sky. He raised his hand up into the air.
“Sword, heed my call!”
In response to his command, the wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and flame all instantly fused together, forming a sacred blade fully one thousand feet long. The sword slowly descended from above.
When this sacred blade landed in Ye Zichen’s palms, he swung at the tribulation clouds with all his might.
“Disperse!”
It was just one word, yet it was like a divine decree.
As the sword crashed into the tribulation clouds, they dispersed into nothingness.
At the same time, his sword dispersed into countless wisps of rosy light and melted into the sky. The next moment, the highest heavens themselves were torn apart, creating a doorway. Pure, multicolored, holy light flooded outward, enveloping Ye Zichen within.
The Path of Divine Ascension.
After undergoing tribulation, you could ascend directly to godhood. However, most ascenders had far too much unfinished business left to take care of. As a result, they’d usually suppress their divine power to buy themselves more time.
However, there was nothing holding Ye Zichen back.
He made no effort to resist as the rosy light washed over him. Soon, both he and the light disappeared from Heaven and Earth.
