Chapter 83: Don't Think Making It Harder Can Stop Me!

“Hahaha, that’s more like it! Don’t think you can handle me just by making things harder. Watch me smash you to pieces!” Chen Xiang laughed wildly and arrogantly.

He leapt into the air, his Coiling Dragon Staff spinning furiously in his hands. The Thirty-Six Paths Dog-Beating Staff Technique unfolded in a relentless barrage, conjuring countless shadows of the staff to strike at the nine streaks of lightning.

With a muffled bang, a bolt of lightning collided with the staff shadows before it could even close in. The thunder dragon shattered instantly, dissolving into countless arcs of electricity that fell upon him.

Another thunderbolt was smashed apart with a resounding crash…

Again and again, the muffled booms echoed, and without exception, all nine bolts of lightning were destroyed by Chen Xiang.

The valley was awash with arcs of electricity, enveloping Chen Xiang so completely that none could see what was happening inside.

As the electric arcs faded, Chen Xiang’s figure was revealed—he stood with the Coiling Dragon Staff planted firmly on the ground, his spine straight, gazing up at the heavens. Yet his body was battered and scorched, blood streaming down, his condition clearly dire.

But a smile tugged at the corners of Chen Xiang’s mouth, growing ever wider until he burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! My Dog-Beating Staff is made to beat down curs—what’s a little tribulation thunder to me? If you’ve got the guts, come again! I’ll shatter you all over again!”

His words shook the heavens, echoing through the sky.

“Ding, thunder power detected. Heavenly Thunder Tribulation, current stage: Tempering by Lightning. Progress: 10%.”

“Ding, thunder power detected. Heavenly Thunder Tribulation, current stage: Tempering by Lightning. Progress: 15%...”

Several system prompts sounded in succession, and the smile on Chen Xiang’s face grew even broader. He immediately spent a bit of reputation value to activate auto-recovery, and his injuries began to heal rapidly.

He looked badly hurt, but in truth, his flesh had only been ruptured by the shock. Bleeding a little was nothing—ultimately, his body simply wasn’t strong enough yet, which was why he ended up this way!

The old ancestor’s actions had drawn the attention of the sect master and the other three elders. None of them had expected the old ancestor to care so much for Chu Liuxiang, even trying at the last moment to save him. Yet the power of this heavenly tribulation was simply too great; before the ancestor’s intervention could have any effect, it was wiped away.

But as they looked down at the valley, and the thunderlight cleared, they were all stunned.

“He… he actually withstood it!” the sect master exclaimed, dumbfounded.

“How is that possible?”

“It must be one of the supreme treasures he carries! That has to be it!” the third elder said in disbelief.

“Yes, that’s what I think too!” the grand elder and the other elder nodded in agreement.

The old ancestor was so moved he couldn’t speak.

“I never expected this… Could it be that the heavens have given me a chance?” The old ancestor gazed at the thunderclouds, murmuring to himself.

But in the next moment, his face turned deathly pale, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.

What am I seeing? The thunderclouds are growing thicker and more concentrated! The aura of this tribulation is several times stronger than the first—what chance? That boy only survived by sheer luck! There’s no way he’ll survive the second tribulation.

He sighed again, as if resigning himself to fate.

Just then, a voice full of swagger echoed from the valley below—Chen Xiang’s words.

The faces of the ancestor, the sect master, and the three elders all changed. They shook their heads and sighed—truly reckless beyond belief!

Thunder rumbled violently in the heavens, as if the very sky was enraged.

The second tribulation was slow to descend, but its pressure grew ever more terrifying, far surpassing the first.

Chen Xiang’s expression did not change; he stood resolute, waiting for the second bolt to fall.

He hadn’t used the Three Pure Lightning-Avoiding Talismans during the first tribulation—he’d relied only on his Negative Cloak, the Demoness Veil, and his own body to withstand it.

If he had struggled so much with the first, what would be the point of crossing tribulations at all?

The nine thunder serpents had pushed his Heavenly Thunder Tribulation—First Stage, Lightning Tempering—straight to 23% progress!

His physique had strengthened two or threefold, and his injuries had mostly healed. Now, he was confident in facing the second tribulation.

Finally, after a quarter of an hour, the second tribulation descended.

Eighteen thunder dragons fell like waterfalls, filling most of the valley.

There was nowhere for Chen Xiang to run, and he didn’t intend to. Gripping the Coiling Dragon Staff, he let out a mighty shout and soared into the sky, sending countless staff shadows crashing toward the void.

“After all this time, go home for dinner, you bastard!”

Fearless, Chen Xiang unleashed the Three Thousand Thunder Movements. In this thunder-filled land, his speed was even greater.

His third-level Thunder Movement technique made him appear as nothing but a streak of lightning weaving among the eighteen thunder dragons, impossible to distinguish from the thunder itself.

Even before reaching each cluster of thunder dragons, countless staff shadows rained down, smashing into the thunder.

Every time thunder struck the Coiling Dragon Staff, it was shattered, while the staff itself paused for only a moment under the force—nowhere near enough to slow the onslaught.

When the final bolt was broken, the valley was awash with lightning arcs, as if a small lake of thunder had formed.

Chen Xiang stood at the very center of this lake. Without any need for spells, the arcs of electricity were drawn to his body, refining it further.

“Ding, thunder power detected. Heavenly Thunder Tribulation, current stage: Tempering by Lightning. Progress: 25%.”

“Ding, thunder power detected. Heavenly Thunder Tribulation, current stage: Tempering by Lightning. Progress: 33%...”

Chen Xiang looked down at his own body with satisfaction. He could feel the changes taking place—his entire frame was now powerfully defined, as if streaks of lightning were embedded in every muscle, each one brimming with explosive strength!

“Haha, wonderful! Again! I thought you were building up for something big, but it turns out you just wanted to give me a bath? How considerate of you!”

“There are two tribulations left—make them even fiercer!”

“This time, I’ll just stand right here and let you strike. Hurry up already!”

Standing at the center of the valley, Chen Xiang taunted the heavens.

What is arrogance? This is arrogance! What is dominance? This is dominance!

Up above, the five elders’ faces twitched uncontrollably.

The lowest-ranking elder was filled with terror—not just at the power of the tribulation, for his own time to cross one was near, but also at Chen Xiang’s strength. Such a terrifying tribulation could not defeat him? Was this the privilege of true genius?

“Ding, congratulations to the host ‘Chen Xiang’ for inspiring fear in fellow cultivators. You have gained one hundred and twenty reputation points!”

Chen Xiang narrowed his eyes. So, someone’s watching me after all—but to think I could actually intimidate them! Ha!

Sure enough, the third tribulation made Chen Xiang wait only a short while. With a deafening boom, the heavens roared again, making Chen Xiang’s eardrums ache.

The old ancestor gazed intently at the sky, and suddenly his expression turned to terror, his body trembling as he stammered, “This… this can’t be!”

The sect master and the four elders all looked up, disbelief etched across their faces; the weakest among them even collapsed to the ground, ashen and bloodless, staring at the thunderclouds.

Within those dragon-like thunderbolts, several wisps of violet lightning, serpentine and sinister, had appeared!

To be continued…