"Come!"
*Rumble Rumble!*
The cloud released its first strike as if it responded to him.
Alex's expression turned serious as he released his Spiritual Energy before he frowned.
'What is this?' Alex was baffled by the strength of his Lightning Tribulation. He gritted his teeth and struck the Lightning with his normal strike with only his Spiritual Energy and Absolute Blade Intent.
*Bang!*
The loud sound echoed inside the tower, but the Lightning was obliterated with that strike alone. Alex opened his mouth in astonishment, not believing what just happened. He thought, 'Is this some sort of illusion?'
[No. It's what your Lightning Tribulation is supposed to be. Have you forgotten how you deal with your Lightning Tribulation from Martial Master to Martial King?]
He never expected that the system would talk to him in this Lightning Tribulation, so he asked. "Is there something wrong with my Lightning Tribulation?"
[I wasn't sure before this, so I never told you about it. However, looking at this Lightning Tribulation, I finally understood what was wrong with the previous two Lightning Tribulations.]
"!!!" Alex widened his eyes, surprised.
[Both places had no knowledge about Lightning Tribulation, and the fact they didn't follow the same power level made it more obvious. I speculate that due to the lack of Lightning Tribulation in the two places, the energy for it had been stored for a long time. That was why when you underwent your Lightning Tribulation, it became far stronger than it was supposed to be.]
"So, you mean because this place still follows the same cultivation rule, they have exhausted the power?"
[Yes. Even if a normal person cultivates in the previous two places, they will find the same problem as you. It's just you were the first one, so you can consider it as your bad luck… On the other hand, this place won't have any other problems, so go all out and release your anger toward this Tribulation.]
"You don't need to say it. I will… Besides, I haven't made the Lightning Rod Array." Alex paused for a moment. "It won't be a problem I guess."
With that thought in mind, Alex looked up again, watching how the second lightning was formed.
*Rumble Rumble!*
The second lightning was similar to the first one. Alex increased his strength by using his Spirit Step and covered his sword with fire. He struck the lightning without his Martial Art, after noticing the Lightning's strength with his Spirit Eyes. He, once again, destroyed the lightning strike.
Alex raised his hand and looked at it for a few seconds. 'As expected, it's really as the system said…'
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Alex found a problem with this theory. "That's right. What about my Inheritances? If I don't challenge a stronger Lightning Tribulation, won't I get something lesser than the previous Golden Lightning Tribulation?"
[That shouldn't be possible. I have checked everything about your Golden Lightning, and I think each inheritance gives you the most important things to you at that moment.]
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Is that so? I don't have anything to worry about." Alex smirked as he looked at the third lightning strike.
"Dragon Aura!"
A translucent dragon soared from his body to the sky, increasing Alex's strength greatly. The cloud then shot out its lightning, trying to destroy Alex.
Unfortunately, Alex still felt no pressure behind this Lightning and struck it with only his strength.
The lightning was completely useless and disappeared as soon as it got split into two.
Firia also noticed this sudden change of his Lightning Tribulation, but Lin Xingzhi informed her to focus on her task.
On the other hand, Alex didn't know whether to be happy with it or get disappointed because of the lack of challenge.
Seeing the third strike end, Alex watched how the yellow flash behind the cloud became blue, and he started getting serious. His Pure Fire covered his sword before the sword began glowing with red color.
Alex took a deep breath as the fourth strike came closer.
"Heaven Light Slash!"
Alex waved his sword and spear simultaneously, hitting the Lightning from two directions. If this followed the previous two Lightning Tribulation Magic, he might need something like Fire Phoenix along with this technique. Yet, this one vanished after it depleted its energy to protect itself from Alex's Heaven Light Slash.
"This is so easy…" Alex murmured to himself. He shook his head almost immediately, warning himself not to underestimate his own Lightning Tribulation no matter how easy it is. "Come!"
Hearing Alex's challenge again, the fifth lightning struck forth.
Alex took a deep breath and raised his hand, but nothing happened. Firia was bewildered by such an action and was about to warn him, except she suddenly saw the Lightning get stopped by something invisible. Although she couldn't see it, her sense still picked its presence.
After pondering for a few seconds, Firia found the answer and smiled. "I see. With his Space Element becoming more polished, Alex's strength will grow exponentially."
She just realized that Alex was using his Space Plates to block this Lightning. Although he only managed to create thirty Space Plates, everything was covered with his Flame and Absolute Blade Intent. It turned into something more special with the fact that it was invisible, AKA, hiding in the Space World.
"Fu." Alex took a deep breath as he tried to hold the Space Plates as long as possible and chipped away the Lightning's strength before it finally disappeared in the 25th Space Plate.
"It's not powerful, but if it's stacked together, I can block it… My control is still too weak to summon fifty Space Plates like Great Elder Aileen." Alex uttered these words without care anymore. Though he might be disappointed because the challenge was far subpar than the previous two Lightning Tribulations, the relief could cover everything. Alex smirked and challenged the Lightning Tribulation again. "Next!"
The cloud didn't hesitate and released another lightning.
Alex still had no change in expression as he summoned ten Fire Swords and launched them toward the lightning.
Obviously, they hit the lightning, sending another round of shock wave. This time, Alex's smile disappeared as he summoned his Space Plates again.
The Lightning destroyed all the ten swords. Alex had predicted this and chipped the lightning's strength again with his Space Plates.
Just like how Alex dealt with the previous strike, it lost all its energy when it hit the 20th Space Plates after getting hit by his Fire Swords.
This might be the easiest Lightning Tribulation he ever faced. It might be due to how extreme the previous two were, but Alex still couldn't believe that he just finished the sixth wave without a problem.
"This is good." Alex smirked as he summoned his Phoenix while waiting for the next purple lightning.
*Rumble Rumble!*
The sky color changed again, and the seventh wave struck forth.
Alex took a deep breath and sent his Fire Phoenix before creating Space Plates again.
The Phoenix hit the lightning from the side while the remnant fire began burning it. At the same time, the power of the Space Plate stopped the lightning for a minute, giving Alex precious time to lower its strength.
After he felt confident with the current state, he released his Space Plates and swung his weapons.
"Heaven Light Slash!"
*Boom!*
The lightning seemed to create an explosion this time but didn't affect him in the slightest.
"Space Plate is indeed a useful technique. Although the individual strength of each plate isn't that great, as long as I can create multiple of them, I can stop any attacks… Besides, I can let the Spiritual Weapons protect me with their barrier while focusing on my Space Plates. To think I have come this far." Alex couldn't help but smile. He remembered how he didn't know how to control his fire before his teacher taught him.
There was also a time where he didn't know a single thing about Alchemist and Array. He trained hard to master both. After that, he started learning more and more techniques and increased his strength. To think that he almost reached Martial Saint, it was something special for him because there was only one more Tribulation before reaching God Stage.
He pumped his fists and looked up. "Come!"
The eighth wave flew down. Its strength was stronger than the previous one, but it didn't have any abnormality.
Alex took a deep breath and pulled both hands back before thrusting it upward.
"Mythical Spear Cannon!"
Both weapons released a beam, heading toward the Lightning.
The clash lasted for a minute before Alex's Mythical Spear Cannon got destroyed.
Alex didn't have a change of expression as if he had predicted such a result. Instead, he smiled and jumped into the air, slashing both weapons three times.
"Heaven Light Slash!"
The six strikes destroyed the lightning almost immediately.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmOnly when he landed on the ground once again, Alex suddenly clapped.
Firia tilted her head for a second before she smiled, realizing the meaning behind Alex's action. "Such a sneaky one… Even I almost missed it."
Alex couldn't hear her words due to the distance, but he still activated the two arrays he just drew. The first one was the Special Array, adding another layer to his defense, while the other one was a Lightning Rod Array.
If one observed him carefully, there were a few empty bottles lying on the ground. It was proof that Alex had been using them this whole time. His movement was smooth, making the clash between him and the lightning the main attraction. On the other hand, the battle went easier than usual, allowing him to direct his focus in creating these arrays.
Everything was drawn by his Spiritual Energy.
As soon as the ninth wave struck forth, the Lightning Rod Array shone brightly, attracting the Lightning. Alex simply jumped to the side, watching how the Lightning got dispersed by the array.
Alex's expression turned serious as soon as the ninth wave ended because this was the moment where he needed to be serious. The Golden Lightning usually had power far stronger than the other ones, so he needed to be careful.
Taking a deep breath, Alex planned to use his strongest attack right off the bat.
*Rumble Rumble!*
The thunderous roar echoed as a golden flash brightened the tower.
Alex squinted his eyes before slashing his two weapons forward when he saw the cloud release its final attack.
"Triple Draws."
"Mythical Fire Slash."
"Space Cut."
These techniques started to become his best combination attack after knowing Space Cut from Ryuu. He looked at the clash between his attack and the Golden Lightning as it released a powerful shock wave, shaking his Special Realm.
However, the conclusion came in a sudden. The combination of these twelve Sword Waves slashed the Golden Lightning into many pieces, continuing its path toward the ceiling. Although the Golden Lightning's strength was not low, it was still not comparable to these combinations.
"Oh, wait! Can this tower withstand my attack?" Alex sweatdropped, noticing what he had done. He immediately teleported as soon as he succeeded in breaking the Golden Lightning.
He appeared again right under the ceiling as he created a Spatial Gate connecting to the Blue Layered Realm, sucking his own attack.
"Fu." He let out a breath of relief. "I never expect there will be a time where I need to protect my own Lightning Tribulation…"
Alex didn't know whether to laugh or cry. On one hand, he was protecting the tower itself, not his Lightning Tribulation. On the other hand, it was also in that way. All his memories about the Golden Lightning were a challenge, and he never met one this weak before or… "This might not be good. This one might not be a challenge, but there is one more of this. Now that I have used every technique in my repertoire, I need another trump card to fight the next Lightning Tribulation, or I will be doomed."
Nonetheless, he had officially finished his Martial Saint Lightning Tribulation as he looked at the cloud dispersing. He descended to the ground and looked at Firia. "I am going to get the inheritance, so I will leave everything to you."
"Don't worry. I am ready for it." Firia nodded, assuring him with a smile.
Little did he know that he miscalculated the number of people that had been watching him this whole time.