Roar!
Another explosive roar bellowed out from John's mouth as it resisted the might of the tribulation bolt above. However, after a brief instant of a stalemate, the tribulation bolt broke through the power of the roar and slammed into his body.
John shot down from the sky like a shooting star and slammed into the ground below. The force of his body caused the ground to explode outwards, while he burrowed deeply into the earth.
Bang!
Without hesitation, another tribulation bolt surged out from the clouds above, targeting John below.
"Tch, I guess my shouting match with the Heaven's is over," John muttered to himself as he stood up within the massive crater.
Che!
A beam of lightning pierced up from the ground as well, revealing itself to be John himself. Small wounds had opened up on his body and some charred blood slicked his robes and skin, but he ignored the wounds as he raced upwards into the sky once more.
His battle axe cleaved out with incredible power and collided against the tribulation strike, the power of both attacks beyond compare. A calamitous explosion rocked the land for miles in each direction, while Kirii's might once again flared out, protecting Laia from any harm.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The battle between John and the Heaven's above continued for quite some time. Each tribulation attack unleashed was stronger than the last, while each battle axe attack unleashed by John matched that increase in power.
The black clouds above continued to grow in might, as if consolidating its power to unleash something far greater than before. A knowing smile of expectation appeared on John's face, as he knew what was to come.
"Are you done warming up?" John said as he unleashed another battle axe attack outwards, meeting another tribulation strike. He felt his muscles strain and bones creak in protest, but other than that, no extra damage was taken.
"Warming up? What is he talking about?" Laia asked Kirii, as the tribulation had already been beyond anything she had expected. Her own tribulation had been quite powerful due to her talents, but the Heaven's at the time seemed to favor her greatly as a child of fortune, and did not push her too far. With her Dao of Healing talents, she was easily able to breeze through her tribulation.
A sudden idea appeared in her mind, one that she had read about during her studies in some ancient documents her empire had recovered. It mentioned another possible phase to one's Heavenly Tribulation, but no one could confirm whether it was true or not. Even her father, the Astral Emperor who achieved seventeen steps on the Talent Testing Steps, had not induced that mythical phase.
"This is only the beginning," Kirii's childlike voice appeared within Laia's mind. "Get ready, he'll probably start asking for help soon."
Laia's gaze shifted from Kirii to John above, before it shifted upwards as the tribulation seemed to stop for a moment. The power within the clouds above gathered into a singular point and quickly grew. Laia's eyes widened slightly as the point of lightning turned into a human shaped figure. Its right hand held a lance made of pure lightning, while its aura radiated a might far greater than any of the tribulation strikes unleashed prior.
"The Divine Tribulation Guardian!" Laia breathed lightly, her voice no more than a whisper. Before her eyes, an ancient myth had appeared. John's words were indicating as if he was expecting it to appear, something that surprised her just as much as the lightning warrior itself.
"We meet again," John said while smirking at the lightning warrior. "I thought absorbing you the first time would be enough for you to learn your lesson, but I guess not."
The lightning warrior's body flashed and appeared before John in an instant. His eyes widened slightly as his battle axe cleaved out, as the speed of the lightning warrior was far greater than during Iris's tribulation. The lightning lance pierced out towards John, the power contained within the lance far greater than any of the lightning strikes prior.
Bang!
Axe and lightning lance collided, and John's hasty defense was not enough to counter the might of the lightning warrior. His body shot backwards through the sky like a bullet, while the lightning warriors body flashed forward once again and appeared before him.
It's lance thrust out once more as it attempted to end John's life. John's battle axe cleaved outwards to meet the attack, and he once again found himself on the losing end of the battle. Unlike in Iris's tribulation, where the lightning guardian had been reserving its power as it attempted to ignore John and reach Iris, it had gone all out from the start. It's power was beyond John's expectations, and he found himself repeatedly lose out in the exchanges.
Boom!
His body slammed into the ground below, forming another massive crater as the earth exploded outwards in all directions. The lightning warrior flashed into the crater, as another calamitous explosion radiated outwards from within.
"John!" Laia called out in worry, while Kirii appeared before her to block the explosion that washed over them.
A figure shot out from the massive crater, followed immediately by another. John's expression had finally turned from confident arrogance to hardened seriousness, as the battle was now at a level that could claim his life if he was not fully focused.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The two figures exchanged dozens of attacks in an instant, with John losing out on all of them. However, he had managed to gather his power and maintain a more sturdy defense now that he knew the true might of the lightning warrior. His battle axe cleaved out with monstrous power, while the lightning lance pierced out with even more power.
Wounds had opened up on most of his skin, leaving little unharmed. Even his internals had started to protest in pain, as each thrust from the lightning lance sent a terrifying force through his body.
At the same time, each attack also contained a soul aspect to it, as lightning invaded soul with the intention of destroying it from within. John's soul defense resisted the assault, but his head started to pound in pain as the battle raged on both externally and internally.
The attacks between the two created apocalyptic explosions in the sky, and each explosion resulted in John's body becoming more and more damaged. If this were to go on for a while, he would no doubt be overwhelmed and killed in the end.
"Laia, now!" John's voice boomed out. The time for her to join the fight against the Heaven's had finally arrived.
