Reaper of the Martial World

Book 7: Chapter 27: Tribulation (3)

Even Dyon didn’t fully understand the turmoil in his mind. Maybe because he came from the mortal world, he had more sympathy and awareness for mental illness and health as compared to the rest of the martial world, but he still didn’t feel right. In the end, he skipped meeting with Ri and her parents and instead secluded himself in the middle of the Elvin Forest.

Although the twins didn’t fully understand why Dyon was feeling the way he was either, they remained silent.

‘Maybe cultivation will take my mind off of these things… It’s about time I broke into the saint realm…’ Dyon looked up into the skies, wondering how difficult a tribulation would be.

With a single leap, he floated on a thick branch of the tallest tree he could find before closing his eyes in meditation.

Till now, Dyon had been holding back his energy cultivation so that he could temper his body and meridians once more, first. Doing this would have guided him into the Pseudo-Saint realm, similar to Prince Nova and his comrades.

However, Dyon had no need for this step anymore. One had to remember that the Titan Diamond Body constitution allowed for 12 chances at “rebirth”. This “rebirth” not only erased any hidden injuries, but rebuilt the body from the ground up.

The reason Dyon’s body cultivation had leaped from the fourth grade to the first wasn’t as simple as just his constitution. It was because the rebirth allowed for the perfect redistribution of his celestial cultivation.

The repetition of the foundation and meridian formation stages were only necessary for those who didn’t follow the body path, as they worked as minor replacements for it. However, since Dyon’s body had been remolded to peak levels of perfection, he had no need to think about this step again until the day he attacked the dao formation barrier.

However, just as Dyon was about to unseal the remaining energy within Evangeline’s seals, two immature voices began to yell in his ear.

“Hey! What are you doing!” Little Yin snapped Dyon out of his concentration.

“Are you trying to kill us?! Just because you’re depressed, don’t take us with you!” Little Yang growled adorably.

“Huh?” Dyon raised an eyebrow. “What are you two talking about, I’m trying to cultivate.”

“You idiot!” Little Yang berated. “You’re not just cultivating, you’re about to enter the saint realm, meaning a tribulation is coming. Hasn’t your master ever taught you what that means?”

Dyon paused before shaking his head. Although he had spent a lot of time studying cultivation techniques, heavenly tribulations were something he always ignored. Just like his trials, he was planning on going in blind.

“Stop being mean.” Little Yin cut her brother off. “Big Brother Dyon, you can only undergo your tribulation in absolute seclusion. If others are nearby, you risk not only yourself, but them as well. No matter what kind of concealment abilities we have, the heavens will definitely sense us and increase your trial’s difficulty.”

Dyon blinked. “Oh… That’s what you meant.”

Understanding washed over Dyon as he realized he really was about to make a mistake. There was nothing the heavens hated more than interference in its tribulations. So, there were rules in place that made sure that no one could help another with a tribulation.

The only exception to this rule were Heaven’s Children, but as Dyon’s grand teacher stated, if for any reason the heaven’s child that helped you pass a tribulation wasn’t able to be there for your next one, you would definitely die. This was because the heavens would multiply the difficulty by many times over as punishment for your dodging its last test.

‘It seems I still know too little about the martial world…’ Dyon thought. His arrogance still got the best of him sometimes.

“What else should I know, then?” Dyon asked, thinking that he might as well find out now before he sent the twins away.

“You should know that although lightning tribulations are the most talked about, they aren’t the only tribulation that exist.” Little Yang explained. “If you had to describe lightning tribulations, they would be similar to a supreme grade beast. Although it has the most potential for destruction, it was also possible for it to be weak as well.”

“During every tribulation, the saint, celestial, and dao tribulations, you will face three challenges, so to speak. The paths you follow are what decide what these challenges are, however, it’s impossible to guess what your tribulations might be regardless. This is just a guiding line.” Little Yin continued.

Dyon sighed, and here he thought he would have an easier time since he followed all three paths. It turned out that it was wrong to think that the body and soul didn’t receive tribulations, it was just that, for some reason, it was energy that decided when these tribulations would appear.

“The so-called “lightning tribulation” is actually just one category a challenge can fall under. You can have energy, body and soul challenges that take the shape of lightning. However, you can also have a “fire tribulation” and it’s also possible to have an “energy tribulation.”

“Among these three categories, a lightning form of tribulation is almost guaranteed to appear. Fire and energy are rarer, while energy tribulations are the most unpredictable. They can range from a mental attack to physical. Sometimes, tribulations that have never appeared before, or tribulations that haven’t been seen since ancient times, can appear.” Little Yin finished.

“Still, tribulations are opportunities. The more difficult they are, the more chances the heavens give you to improve. If you survive that is.” Little Yang chortled.