Chapter 172 - The Tribulation Intensifies

BOOM!

Without warning, the churning heavens tore open, unleashing a massive, jagged bolt of blinding white lightning straight down upon him.

The terrifying strike illuminated the surrounding stone pillars, their runes flaring brightly against the stormy gloom as the sheer force of the blast shook the damp, grassy earth below.

The heavenly thunder slammed into Cale, completely engulfing his small figure in an explosive torrent of crackling electricity.

"Arghhh!!! This... this is crazy!" he screamed.

As the agonizing divine energy tore through his newly refined meridians, he instantly realized this power was terrifyingly different from any normal storm he had ever faced.

’Although I haven’t faced any storms before...’

Residual arcs of lightning violently danced across the shallow pools of water at his feet, hissing and sparking in the heavy air.

Gritting his teeth against the numbing shock, Cale firmly planted his feet, knowing this inaugural strike was merely the beginning of the heavens’ furious trial, which he himself has summoned.

Directing the heavy thunder he had caught, he threw it right at the skeleton, shaking the entire ground.

"That’s one time... phew..."

Refusing to cower before the heavens’ fury, Cale violently kicked off the ground, rocketing high into the turbulent, stormy expanse above.

As the next blinding bolt of divine lightning cascaded down from the dark clouds, he fearlessly reached out, seizing the crackling energy mid-air.

The terrifying heavenly thunder roared as it violently arced around his suspended figure, vividly illuminating the jagged mountain silhouettes in the misty distance.

Completely unfazed by the destructive shock, Cale firmly gripped the chaotic bolt and violently hurled it directly downward at the skeleton.

The concentrated divine strike slammed into the bones with a deafening crack, instantly engulfing the remains in a brilliant web of lightning.

Rather than shattering, the skeleton greedily absorbed the heavenly thunder, undergoing a brutal and glorious physical refinement.

"It seems like it’s working..." he sighed in relief.

He would have definitely crashed out if it didn’t work.

He started to descend.

’No time to rest!’

Gritting his teeth against the overwhelming pressure of the heavenly thunder, Cale forcefully channeled his turbulent internal energy to activate his Beast Phantom Technique.

"Waaah!"

Gripping Noxis tightly as he hovered in the stormy air, he let out a fierce shout, pushing his physical limits to control the rampant divine lightning.

Instantly, a colossal, glowing silhouette of a spectral lynx erupted into existence right behind him, its massive ethereal fangs bared in a terrifying snarl.

The majestic beast phantom crackled with blinding electricity, perfectly synchronizing with Cale’s movements as it prepared to unleash destruction upon the realm.

But with Cale’s command, it helped ease the lightning’s pressure across his body, distributing the overwhelming force across both forms.

As Cale’s boots slammed heavily back onto the damp earth, the darkened heavens unleashed their next, merciless judgment.

A colossal, multi-pronged pillar of blinding blue lightning violently crashed down, completely engulfing his entire figure in a crackling cage of divine electricity.

The overwhelming force of the heavenly thunder ravaged his mortal vessel, mercilessly tearing through his skin and threatening to rip his body apart at the seams.

"Arghhh! Fucking hell!"

Agonizing arcs of destructive energy surged through his flesh, forcing him to endure the terrifying pain.

Looking at the skeleton gave him some hope. It was starting to form cells, then tissues, along with small bits of distorted organs beginning to take shape.

"Huff... an hour has passed already. I’ve healed my body three times now... hehe... this is crazy."

Thinking of his current situation, all he could do was laugh wryly at the amount of souls he used in just a few hours.

As the grueling trial dragged on, the heavens refused to grant even a moment of respite. The strength of the heavenly thunder exponentially multiplied with every passing hour.

What began as isolated, jagged bolts rapidly escalated into colossal, blinding pillars of cascading blue electricity that relentlessly bombarded the entire mountain peak.

’Ahh... this is crazy. What the hell am I doing!’

[Host is currently refinin—]

"That is not what I meant, you dumbass!"

The devastating torrent of divine wrath illuminated the lush, green ridges and violently battered the circle formation, threatening to shatter the very earth beneath them.

Plunged entirely into a terrifying, deafening sea of thunder, Cale stubbornly held his ground, forcing his body to endure the onslaught.

One good thing here was that his lightning attribute was going to surge insanely through this ritual he was doing right now.

Witnessing the onslaught threatening to entirely obliterate Cale, Sesrir refused to stand idle upon the periphery.

"Tsk! Damned kid, who asked you to be this brave!"

He leapt into the chaotic fray, anchoring himself just outside the crumbling pillars, and threw his arms toward the turbulent heavens.

Unleashing his powers, a massive surge of energy erupted from his raised hands.

The vivid energy violently intercepted the divine thunder, weaving through the destructive cage to help shoulder the crushing burden of the heavens’ wrath, desperately attempting to stabilize the chaotic refinement and shield Cale from dying.

But the divine stage cultivator’s formation ruthlessly rejected outside interference.

"W-what? I’m being pushed out!"

A shockwave of rebounding lightning violently repelled Sesrir’s energy, blasting him backward through the storm.

He was sent hurtling through the air with terrifying speed, crashing brutally into the wall of a distant mountain and shattering the heavy stone upon impact.

"Kugh!... This... can it be that... no one from outside can interfere?!"

Stripped of the external support, the full wrath of the heavens slammed Cale directly into the ground.

"Cough... cough..."

A ragged cough tore from his throat, splattering blood across the damp, glowing soil.

"Heh... heheh... this is... indeed fun..." he grinned with a crazy, cruel smile spreading across his face.

The terrifying lightning had utterly shattered his body, leaving his bones fractured and his flesh charred beyond recognition.

Yet, driven by the chaos and extreme frost now bound to his core, his broken body refused to perish.

Violent, ethereal energies pulsed relentlessly beneath his ruined skin, forcibly mending shattered bones and regenerating scorched tissue in an unending cycle of restoration. His Abyssal Demon Blood accelerated the process exponentially, adapting to the heavenly lightning even as it destroyed him.

As Cale gasped for air, his violently mending flesh still steaming from the previous strikes, the oppressive weight of the heavens suddenly shifted.

The lightning had... stopped??