Laia couldn't help but take a deep breath in both shock and awe at the sight before her, as this tribulation was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The aura descending from the clouds was already beyond terrifying, and her gaze shifted towards John, whose back was facing her.
She studied his features and aura, and detected absolutely no fear at all from him. His back was straight and tall, while his aura was as calm as a spring morning. Her growing trepidation was quickly relaxed as she found solace in John's confidence, while determination once again replaced her anxiousness.
The clouds continued to gather until they reached a point of absolute might and darkness, at which point two points of light started to appear. The points of light were made of pure lightning, and quickly grew in size, eventually forming two celestial eyes that stared down at John below.
A confident smirk appeared on John's face as he saw the heavenly eyes, the eyes of his greatest foe.
"We meet again, old friend," John said to the heaven's above, his tone calm yet arrogant, "let's see if you can do better than last time, because if I count it correctly, I'm currently winning two to zero."
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The clouds above exploded with thunderous might, as the heaven's became enraged by John's arrogance.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, throw your temper tantrum all you want. It won't change anything," John replied, not withdrawing his arrogance at all. The Heaven's would already throw everything it could possibly have at him, regardless of his actions or words. As such, he decided to have a bit of fun with the heavens, as he found it quite amusing to taunt it in such a manner.
Laia's eyes widened as she heard John's words, as she had never heard anyone speak so directly and confrontationally towards the Heavens. Such actions would only enrage the heavens and increase its tribulation might, which everyone avoided.
However, she knew John was not a stupid person, and so she remained silent as she was sure he had his reasons.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The explosive blasts within the clouds grew in might as the Heaven's became further enraged, while John waited calmly below. The power within the clouds above began to condense into a singular point, and time seemed to freeze for the briefest of moments before…
BOOM!
A lightning blast struck down from the Heavens above, its power beyond frightening. Unlike normal tribulation lightning, this lightning bolt was made of the most destructive type of lightning, one that only sought to eradicate anything in its path.
"Finally! Let's do this!" John yelled loudly, his arrogance replaced with battle intent.
Supreme Battle Art!
His aura suddenly exploded outwards while his body shot towards the sky. As his body shot upwards, he felt the same thing as last time, as the flight restriction vanished. John knew things were not as simple as they appeared regarding this small detail, but he ignored the reason's as he shot up towards the bolt of lightning raining down from above.
An expression of worry appeared on Laia's face, as the lightning beam was beyond anything she had ever seen or felt. The first strike of his tribulation was almost as strong as the very last one of her own tribulation, but its destructive nature made it far more dangerous. She had never felt anything like it before, and if she were to be struck by this beam, even in her current state, she would most likely perish.
"You don't have to worry about him," a childlike voice appeared within her mind. Laia looked over towards Kirii, who had spoken to her for the first time.
"But…how can a Meridian Forging human survive such a thing?" she asked.
She was prepared for the tribulation, but couldn't help but admit that it was already beyond her wildest imaginations, and it had only just started. As a princess of the Astral Empire, she had experienced more than most cultivators would in a lifetime. However, none of those experiences could have prepared her for this tribulation, as it was beyond anything the universe had ever seen before.
"Just watch," Kirii replied, his voice containing no trace of worry at all. "Big Brother will let you know when he needs your help, but that won't be for a while. Now give me more head pats!"
As the conversation had taken place between their souls, it had happened in an instant. A soft giggle escaped Laia's lips as she heard Kirii's request, and she obliged as she began to pat his head, while her gaze shifted back towards John who had arrived before the lightning beam.
Her eyes widened slightly again as she noticed he had yet to take out a weapon, but she remained silent as she trusted Kirii's words.
John's fist punched out, the power of his punch causing the air to explode as it collided with the lightning beam.
BANG!
A calamitous explosion of lightning radiated outwards, bathing the land for miles in its power. Kirii's might flared as well as he appeared before Laia, his body blocking the explosion from reaching her. The ground cracked and broke from the might of the explosion despite being hit by only a fraction of the attacks true power.
The calamitous explosion of lightning faded away, revealing John's figure, unharmed and unflinching. A small amount of smoke wafted off his lightly charred knuckles, but other than that, there was no harm at all to his body. Laia's eyes widened in disbelief as she saw his state after directly taking on the tribulation bolt, while John's tall figure, staring with pure defiance at the very Heavens above, carved an image into her heart that she would never forget.
His smug smile returned to his face as he glanced at the Heavenly eyes above.
"Just like last time…you want to kill me, but have to follow the rules of the Heavens…oh wait, aren't those the rules you made?" John mocked; his tone full of sarcasm. "Imagine creating the laws of the universe, and then being unable to break them yourself. If I did something so stupid, I would just kill myself out of shame. Why don't you do the same, and rid the universe of your stupidity!"
