As the seven stars behind Long Chen quivered, his power exploded against the heavens.
BOOM!
The lightning cage shattered. But the moment its pieces went flying, Lei Linger formed hand seals and transformed those shattered lightning fragments into lightning swords that stabbed toward Long Chen.
Everyone jumped in shock upon seeing this scene. Was Lei Linger attacking Long Chen?
However, before they could think it through, the very sky split apart, and a giant lightning saber slashed down from it. When that happened, intense agony seared through the onlookers’ souls, and they felt like their heads were about to explode.
“It’s the Minghong Saber!”
Guo Ran couldn’t believe what he saw. The massive saber slicing through the very fabric of heaven and earth was, in fact, Long Chen's Minghong Saber, now being replicated by the heavenly tribulation. The only distinction was the staggering size of this Minghong Saber, with its blade stretching across an entire prefecture. It was as if an invisible hand in the cosmos was slashing it at Long Chen, and it completely locked down heaven and earth. There was no escape from this blow.
Let alone blocking it, just glancing at it could cause a person’s will to crumble. No one had expected Long Chen’s heavenly tribulation to start so hardcore, without any buffer room.
“Seven Peak Slash!”
In front of that massive lightning saber, he didn’t retreat. Instead, he stepped forward and attacked it.
BOOM!
The collision shook the world. Unable to handle the pressure, Long Chen’s Seven Peak Sword exploded, and the lightning saber struck Long Chen, causing blood to spray out of his mouth.
“How can this be?!”
Yu Qingxuan and Bai Shishi were pale. This was only the start, but Long Chen was already injured. How was he going to face the rest of the tribulation?
Seeing this scene, the Dragonblood warriors clenched their fists tightly and were no longer able to cover up their nervousness. Even after undergoing so many tribulations with Long Chen, they had never seen a tribulation like this. It was not following the normal pattern.
BOOM!
Fortunately, the lightning saber also exploded after blasting through the Seven Peak Sword and striking Long Chen.
After it exploded, Lei Linger formed hand seals once more and transformed that lightning into swords that stabbed toward Long Chen like before.
Those lightning swords then vanished after stabbing Long Chen. Finally, the onlookers understood that Lei Linger was helping Long Chen.
“The heavenly tribulation isn’t giving Long Chen any chance to grow. It wants to crush him in the simplest, most direct way, and Long Chen can only create his own chance to get stronger. Shishi, don’t worry. Long Chen still has a chance.” Bai Shishi’s mother held her daughter’s hand comfortingly.
Although she was comforting her daughter, she herself felt that her words were not convincing enough.
Even she had never seen or heard of such a heavenly tribulation. In any case, this couldn't even be considered a tribulation; it was an execution. This was a battle between a man and the heavens.
At this moment, some whirlpools appeared in the tribulation clouds, and a figure appeared in each of them. However, it was impossible to see what they were.
As these whirlpools spun, it seemed like something was brewing. Even as they stored up power, they didn’t give Long Chen any chance to breathe, hurtling spears, halberds, immortal swords, and wild sabers toward him.
Each of these attacks was on par with the previous assault of the Minghong Saber. Long Chen blocked them with all his might, but he kept coughing up blood. Cracks then appeared throughout his body as if he would shatter.
The heavenly tribulation seemed to contain some cosmic giant who was hurling one divine weapon after another at Long Chen.
Without being in the heavenly tribulation, all the experts present already felt suffocated. They quivered, overwhelmed by a terrifying heavenly might present in every attack. This power was so overwhelming that it induced despair.
Countless disciples involuntarily trembled, realizing that if they were inside the heavenly tribulation, they wouldn't even be able to summon the will to resist such heavenly might. Their only option would be to allow the heavenly tribulation to annihilate them, as defying the edicts of the heavens was beyond common sense.
Long Chen was pressed back by those terrifying lightning weapons, unable to even retaliate. With every blow, he sustained further injuries.
It wasn’t that Long Chen wasn’t strong enough but that the heavenly tribulation didn’t give him any time to grow. It had been trying to wipe him out with its greatest power right from the start.
Countless hearts clenched every time Long Chen was injured. They were afraid that the next blow would be the one to push him over his limit. Some female disciples even closed their eyes, unable to keep watching as they were afraid to see Long Chen being wiped out by the heavenly tribulation.
“This is not a solution. The heavenly tribulation will simply continue, giving him no time to breathe. He’ll definitely die!” Bai Zhantang gritted his teeth nervously, but there was nothing he could do.
“Hey, don’t spout nonsense!” Bai Xiaole’s mother hastily scolded him.
In his panic, Bai Zhantang had actually jinxed Long Chen, but he couldn’t care about such a thing. “Palace master, do you have a way to save Long Chen?”
“No.”
The palace master’s reply was frank and direct. However, everyone’s expressions sank after hearing his reply. If even the palace master was helpless, would Long Chen really die to his heavenly tribulation?
“Shishi…!”
Suddenly, Bai Shishi’s mother cried out to see her daughter’s figure swaying. She almost collapsed, and the people around her hastily rushed to her side to support her.
In truth, during her fight against her duplicate, she had suffered a rather significant injury. After all, in a clash between metal masters who focused on direct clashes, victory always came at a cost.
With no time to tend to her wounds and her worry about Long Chen, her will almost collapsed, especially after hearing the palace master’s opinion. Her will was typically extremely powerful, but a woman in love always had such a weakness.
“Now isn’t the time to worry yet,” said the palace master.
BOOM!
All of a sudden, an explosive sound followed by a round of cheers caused Bai Shishi to look up once more.
She managed to see Long Chen holding the Seven Peak Sword. He then swung it at a lightning weapon, and both of them exploded.
That scene rejuvenated Bai Shishi’s spirit. Long Chen had just pulled off a miracle and was now capable of resisting the lightning weapons.
“Long Chen was at a disadvantage before, but by absorbing the energy of dozens of lightning weapons, he has gained the qualifications to resist this heavenly tribulation. Having successfully overcome the most challenging phase, he should be able to even face the later stages,” stated Bai Shishi’s mother with immense relief.
In truth, her vision was very accurate. Long Chen truly had been at an immense disadvantage at the start, though it wasn’t fatal. Because of this, Long Chen had chosen not to let Lei Linger help him, instead using his own power and the imminent threat of death to force himself toward a breakthrough.
Under this threat of death, his powerful instinct to get stronger was triggered, allowing him to absorb the lightning at an even faster rate.
All of this was precisely as he had expected. After absorbing this lightning, he hastily sent it throughout his body. His qi, blood, tendons, bones, meridians, spirit, soul, will, mind—countless energies awakened within him, and he instantly entered his strongest state.
“There is a problem with this heavenly tribulation, so I can’t just sit back and wait. I have to take the initiative.”
After taking a deep breath, his gaze sharpened. A pair of resplendent golden wings sprouted from his back, and a chorus of astonished cries filled the air as he shot up against the heavenly tribulation like a bolt of lightning.
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