Cultivating meant going against the will of heaven.
Cultivators were people who had overcome the limitations of talent that heaven had bestowed upon human beings through the practice of defying the natural order. They even extended their lifespans, but defying the natural order would bring forth a heavenly sword to strike them down. The phenomenon of heaven sending down lightning to bury the sins of human beings who dared deviate from the heavenly command was called the Thunder Tribulation.
The time when the thunderbolts struck down was influenced by the cultivator’s original destiny—in other words, their lifespan. For a cultivator in the qi refining realm, who would die at the age of 60 if they stayed mortal, they would be struck by thunder at 60 years of age.
Quite a few cultivators endured this first wave of Thunder Tribulation without difficulty. However, many would not be able to withstand the second Thunder Tribulation that came 30 years later, and they would end up burning to death. Then, for the third Thunder Tribulation that came another 30 years later, the majority would be unable to withstand it and die.
This was because the Thunder Tribulation became stronger the more a cultivator experienced it. Therefore, the safest way for a cultivator to survive the thunder was to increase their realm. Every time their realm increased, the Thunder Tribulation was reset.
In the case of getting from qi refining to foundation building, the first Thunder Tribulation only arrived after a period of time that was equivalent to twice the natural lifespan of a human.
Suppose that the time equivalent to twice the natural lifespan was 120 years. Then the second, third, and fourth Thunder Tribulations would come every 60 years. The same formula was applied similarly every time their realm was raised.
A cultivator needed to constantly become stronger by increasing their cultivation so they could survive these tribulations. Immortals also had to do this. True and golden immortals would also suffer from Thunder Tribulations every tens of thousands of years.
There were a lot of immortals who gained eternal life but died because they couldn’t endure these trials, way more than cultivators. This was because it was way more difficult for an immortal to increase their realm than it was for a cultivator. It was virtually impossible for an immortal to increase their realm before the third or fourth Thunder Tribulation arrived.
Basically, they had to be prepared to go through more than seven of these trials, unless they succeeded in completely defying heaven and reaching the realm of a great immortal, where they were liberated from the Thunder Tribulation.
Becoming an immortal meant that death was inevitable. This was why Zhang Hui had been delaying his ascension. He found out from several sources that there were a number of special substances in the middle world that helped prevent Thunder Tribulations. He didn’t intend to become an immortal until he gathered all of them and smelted them into Treasures.
However, the value of the rank 2 Super Galaxy Treasure was so great that it made him change his mind. He ultimately ascended because he wanted to duel the owner of the Super Galaxy Treasure.
“I have no time to waste.”
From the moment he became an immortal, every minute and every second mattered to him. His top priority was to quickly find the owner of that specific Super Galaxy Treasure.
After realizing that Hayate’s energy had been severely weakened by the explosions, he made a decision. Hundreds of new beads appeared and dyed the surroundings in various colors.
“Time for you to die.”
s.p.a.ce distorted where the beads exploded. Hundreds of black voids swallowed up the surroundings. The world turned black, and snowflakes blossomed like flowers.
A clear white energy spread, filling the cracks in the dark s.p.a.ce one by one.
“Um...?”
Zhang Hui frowned. The s.p.a.ce cracks caused a secondary explosion and the whole area was about to be annihilated. However, the gravitational pull generated by the white energy stopped the s.p.a.ce cracks from expanding and prevented them from exploding.
Before he knew it, the world became covered in this white energy.
Hayate said, “Since dragons are very large in size, the range of my energy is bound to increase as well.”
It was a kind way of explaining it.
An explosion followed. The dragon-killing energy that filled the air spread out like a formation of spears. Zhang Hui saw no way to escape, so he took out a small fortress-shaped Treasure and infused it with spiritual energy.
The fortress grew rapidly in size and appeared in front of Zhang Hui, but the many spears engulfed the fortress without difficulty. They slammed into the fortress and it didn’t seem like they would ever stop.
This was the power of a large-scale attack that used dragon-killing energy. The ultimate attack created to hunt the old dragons was even a threat to an immortal. Even though Hayate had lost the inherent advantage of the dragon-killing energy, which was its efficiency against the dragons, he was still an Absolute.
‘He’s formidable.’
Zhang Hui clicked his tongue as he stood in the crumbling fortress. The two explosions he’d just caused weakened Hayate’s energy a lot. It was obvious that Hayate was seriously injured, but he still managed to launch a threatening counterattack against an immortal. This was proof that the white energy he manipulated was something incredibly powerful for the standards of the cultivation world.
Of course. Just by looking at how it pulled back the surrounding distorted s.p.a.ce and restored it, one could tell that this energy was not to be underestimated.
Finally, the fortress collapsed. The many white spears were now colliding with Zhang Hui’s s.h.i.+eld. Zhang Hui noticed that his spiritual energy was rapidly decreasing and made a bold decision.
“I guess you are called a dragon killer.”
A dragon was a creature deeply respected in the cultivation world. Some sects even wors.h.i.+ped dragons as G.o.ds. As the first female cultivator whom Grid killed proved, the concept of the Four Auspicious Beasts also existed in the cultivation world.
Kurarararara!
The cry of a grotesque beast echoed around them. Zhang Hui’s s.h.i.+eld grew even thicker before turning into dragon scales. At the same time, dozens of newly emerged beads took on the shape of dragon heads.
“Deal with this.”
A dragon symbolized strength and mystery. Most of the cultivators’ techniques were inspired by their wors.h.i.+p of the dragons. The higher the rank of the technique, the more dragon strength it contained.
The Dragon Head Demon Art that Zhang Hui learned was a prime example. This mystical art created dozens of dragons that chased the targets and devoured them. No cultivator had ever survived being targeted by the Dragon Head Demon Arts.
The beads turned into dragon heads and flickered brightly. In an instant, they reached Hayate and bit him.
“......?”
Zhang Hui was smiling slightly but that smile only lasted for a moment. He saw that his s.h.i.+eld, which had become thicker and harder after turning into dragon scales, had cracks in it.
‘Why?’
He found it more absurd than amazing. He had become an immortal. He was certainly subjected to a lot of restrictions because he had descended into the secular world instead of staying in the upper world, but he was way more powerful than when he was a cultivator.
Even worse, he made a dragon s.h.i.+eld and protected himself with it. He thought he would be safe this way. However, the s.h.i.+eld had cracks in it now. The white energy that still formed spears were slowly but surely destroying his s.h.i.+eld. For some reason, the spears seemed to be even stronger all of a sudden.
Hayate looked at the s.h.i.+eld like he also couldn’t believe it. He had already slashed the dozens of dragon heads viciously attacking him. He approached Zhang Hui.
“What made you want to die?” he asked the cultivator.
Zhang Hui had a migraine. The cries of the Dragon-Killing Sword became even clearer. Moreover, the white glow of the sword made it hard for him to see.
Was the white sword so intimidating? He felt frightened.
Hayate swung the Dragon-Killing Sword at Zhang Hui’s head. The cultivator was confused and didn’t know what was going on. The dragon s.h.i.+eld was full of cracks and finally shattered in a single blow from Hayate. Bright red blood gushed out from Zhang Hui’s wounds.
Of course, an immortal couldn’t die so easily. Zhang Hui stepped back just before the blade that dug into his skull managed to cut his brain. He barely survived.
“Your power abides a law of this world.”
Zhang Hui’s eyes glared at the Dragon-Killing Sword. There was hatred in his eyes. This was a sword that slayed dragons. He had a vague idea why it suddenly became so much more powerful. Zhang Hui had made a grave mistake. However, he had no time to waste on regrets.
After taking back the Dragon Head Demon Arts, he summoned hundreds of beads again. The beads spun at the speed of light, creating a huge storm that engulfed Hayate. Hayate should have been dead. However, he was fine. The storm of beads couldn’t pierce the white energy that enshrouded him.
“What?”
Zhang Hui had been trying hard to keep his composure but now he was trembling greatly. He understood that the Dragon Head Demon Arts was ineffective against this enemy and couldn’t deal as much damage as usual, but he had no idea that this trump card of his would be deemed powerless as well.
“The dragon-killing energy has recognized you as a dragon,” Hayate said. “It’s amazing that you can claim to be a dragon despite being a human being.”
“What you’re saying makes no sense.”
Hayate treated the immortal as a human being and Zhang Hui treated the Dragon Slayer as a mortal. The two Absolutes didn’t understand each other at all. This was because they came from completely different worlds. These two beings could never co-exist in the same world, and they were both aware of that.
“I ascended to get my hands on a Super Galaxy Treasure, but I ended up being threatened by a mere mortal. I can’t believe it.”
“I have been struggling to protect the world from the great enemies called dragons. I can’t let peace be threatened by other human beings.”
Their clash was one of transcendent forces and powers. Hayate had been at a disadvantage at the beginning of the battle, but that wasn’t the case anymore, thanks to the dragon-killing energy recognizing Zhang Hui as a dragon.
Hayate was so powerful that even two old dragons were reluctant to fight him. Now Hayate made an immortal, who was a wild card, unable to fight back.
***
At the same time, at another Full Moon Fortress.
“What type of monster...?”
Mir, Jessica, Zibal, and Katz had arrived accompanied by eighty other Overgeared members. Among the main units, Zibal’s was particularly strong, but now his unit seemed to be in trouble.
Zibal and his unit had killed the cultivators guarding the Full Moon Fortress and were waiting for the follow-up troops, but they got attacked by an immortal. Even Mir, who had awakened his full potential after fighting the cultivators one after another, was no match for him.
[Whisper from Lauel: Hayate and Biban are away on expeditions, so we can’t send any other reinforcements. Plus, this particular fortress is very far away. Please make sure that Mir and Jessica can escape first.]
Zibal listened to Lauel’s advice. Lauel’s voice had a hint of nervousness.
Because Zibal’s unit was particularly strong, they were in charge of long-distance expeditions. They had the power to fight unexpected powerful enemies by themselves.
However, this wasn’t just a powerful enemy they had encountered. This was much worse.
Zibal bought time by setting his half-wrecked magic machine to self-destruct and grabbed Mir and Jessica by the wrists. He was just about to flee when he stopped in his tracks.
A man with a long beard called Du Baeryong was floating above him. He looked fine even after being subjected to the suicide bombing of Raiders.
“You’re suspiciously strong,” the cultivator said. “I will kill you first.”
Zibal’s self-defense energy, which formed after activating his defensive skills, dissipated like ashes in the wind. Du Baeryong lazily grazed Zibal’s forehead with his toe. Everyone thought that Zibal’s head was going to explode like a watermelon after being wrapped in too many rubber bands.
A huge spear of light fell from the sky and saved Zibal. It was Disintegrate, a symbolic spell of Braham. People’s faces lit up when they realized powerful reinforcements had arrived.
But it was Du Baeryong who was happier than anyone else.
He blocked the spear of light by placing a floating pot above his head and stared into the distance at the black-haired man who was approaching at lightning speed.
“Grid?” The Overgeared members only now realized it was Grid who was coming to help them. They were confused.
Meanwhile, Du Baeryong laughed with delight. “An out-of-body incarnation! Everyone has been talking about you!”
Grid, who had just landed, was strangely carrying a staff.