The Power of the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl, Bypassing the Plane Lord's Perception

Ten minutes later.

Ye Xinglan opened her eyes and saw that the once clean, tidy ground was stained with a pool of blood. She froze. "We were attacked?"

"It's already taken care of." Nan Liujing turned and walked away. "All right, let's keep moving."

Following him, Ye Xinglan glanced back at the bloodstain.

During her meditation, she had not sensed any fluctuations from a battle.

The word "companion" suddenly took on a deeper meaning.

The two traveled through the vast forest, and two hours quickly passed.

During that time, Ye Xinglan realized she had been fooled.

This guy called Lu Mingfei had no combat technique at all. He relied entirely on brute force to clear the way.

The Soul Beasts blocking their path were easy enough if they were Ten-Year Level, as they were frightened away immediately. But when they encountered some not particularly powerful Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, almost none could withstand a second strike from his staff.

That dark green staff, covered in Dragon Scale and lightning, had left her deeply shocked. She had never seen such a violent Martial Soul.

It gave people the feeling that a graze meant death, while a hit meant injury.

Compared to the graceful, nimble style of a sword Martial Soul, it was simple to the extreme.

Yet vaguely, Ye Xinglan felt as though she had caught hold of something.

Why did a sword Martial Soul have to be graceful?

Since it was a weapon, it should pursue the quickest possible killing blow, never giving an opponent more time to survive.

As the battles continued, Nan Liujing also realized something was wrong.

He had lured Ye Xinglan along because he wanted to secretly learn her combat techniques in reverse. But as he learned, Ye Xinglan became just as direct as he was.

Ye Xinglan, who had originally enjoyed using pointless techniques during battle to show off her skill, seemed like a different person now. Every strike of her sword was incomparably vicious.

Nan Liujing's heart tightened at once. Damn, had he led this girl astray?

He remembered that the screens in the Spirit Ascension Chamber could show what was happening inside the Spirit Ascension Platform. If Uncle Ye saw that his daughter's fighting style had changed so drastically, wouldn't he come after Nan Liujing?

"Xiaoxin."

Ye Xinglan was using several Ten-Year Level Blood Claw Bats to practice her precision when, from the corner of her eye, she happened to notice "Lu Mingfei" spacing out in the middle of battle. Behind him, a dark-red Blood Claw Bat seized the chance and swiftly lunged toward him.

But the next second, she shut her mouth.

Dark Blue Electric Arc coiled around Nan Liujing's left elbow. His figure flashed, moving like thunder. His dark elbow shot out, and before the Blood Claw Bat could react, an electric current mixed with overwhelming force crashed into its body.

With a bang, its body exploded amid the lightning.

Pale white points of spiritual energy fell and merged into Nan Liujing's body.

He might truly not know other combat techniques, but he had studied the Boss's elbow strike frame by frame. It was all so he could teach those trash players at outdoor basketball courts a lesson—the ones who looked like they were playing basketball but were actually trying to hurt people.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Ye Xinglan breathed a sigh of relief. The Stargod Sword stabbed out in rapid succession, starlight spreading everywhere. The heads of one Blood Claw Bat after another burst with blood as they died and fell to the ground.

Once a nest of Blood Claw Bats had been wiped out, Ye Xinglan finally had a chance to rest. She looked up at the sky and said softly, "It's going to rain."

Nan Liujing looked at the sky as well.

The Dark clouds that had been gathering for two hours had already turned the forest overhead dim. The pitch-black clouds seemed ready to crash down onto the earth. Combined with the increasingly violent gale that swept leaves into the sky, everything felt unbearably oppressive.

Rumble!

Suddenly, muffled thunder rumbled through the Dark clouds.

At that moment, every Soul Master still fighting inside the Spirit Ascension Platform had their attention drawn by the thunder.

If this had been the ancient or Ancient Era, such weather would have been extremely dangerous for humans inside a Soul Beast Forest. They would have desperately sought shelter as quickly as possible.

But inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, the Soul Masters instead felt rather at ease as they admired the Forest Rain Curtain. It was a sight rarely seen in the modern world.

As the thunder sounded, bolts of lightning tore through the dim sky, leaving behind shattered-looking scars.

"Should we keep going?" Ye Xinglan asked Nan Liujing after withdrawing her gaze. Without realizing it, she had begun to follow his lead.

Nan Liujing did not answer. He continued staring at the sky as cool raindrops gradually fell onto his face.

At that moment, the raindrops became as heavy as boulders.

Heaven Dou City.

As the continent's fourth-largest city, its roads were always at their busiest during the evening rush hour. Burdened by an enormous flow of traffic, the red taillights stretched into a continuous line like a slowly writhing fire dragon.

Intermittent honking intertwined in the air filled with the scent of earth, yet it seemed especially powerless. Traffic would not move no matter what. But what made people most anxious was not the gridlock—it was the thick Dark clouds that had gathered in the sky at some unknown point.

Faintly, flashes of light could be seen within the Clouds, accompanied by muffled rumbles.

In the bustling districts, office workers who had gotten off work wandered about like zombies, seeking food and entertainment as they enjoyed the wonderful nightlife.

Until...

Boom!

In an instant, heaven and earth seemed to lose all color. A Pale Silver bolt of lightning erupted from the Clouds and plunged fiercely toward the ground.

All the tens of millions of people in the city lost their ability to hear.

The Pale Silver lightning was like a sharp blade that tore through the heavens, plunging directly into the Heaven Dou Spirit Pagoda in the eastern part of the city.

The Spirit Pagoda's Soul guide shield strangely failed to activate. That surging lightning followed the building's internal defensive Core Array and poured straight underground.

And there was where the Spirit Ascension Platform's Core Array was located.

Shrek City, near dusk. The horizon was covered in fiery clouds, breathtakingly beautiful, as though an artist had painted across the Firmament.

A clear, pristine lake divided the enormous Shrek Academy in two. On an island at the center of the lake stood a cliff.

Two vines hanging from the cliff had been modified, and with wooden boards added, they had become a pair of swaying swings.

At that moment, the swing moved naturally without anyone pushing it. A stunning woman with a clean, elegant face sat sideways on the lap of a handsome young man with a refined and gentle temperament, her face full of smiles.

The woman wrapped her arms around the young man's neck and rested her head in the hollow of his shoulder. As the swing swayed and the Sea Breeze swept toward them, her silver-bell-like laughter echoed through the air.

Her water-green long dress swayed in the air as though scattering gentle Life Force. The plants near the swing were bursting with vitality, lush and fresh.

The two were none other than the current Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, the Sky Pillar Douluo Yun Ming, who had completed half the condensation of his God Position.

And the woman was the Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li, praised as the most beautiful and kindest woman on the Douluo Continent. When a plague had broken out across the continent, she had saved countless lives with her own Life Force.

Yun Ming's fingers gently stroked his beloved wife's snow-white cheek. A gentle smile rested on his lips, but at that moment, a faint silver flash streaked through the fiery clouds on the horizon.

Ya Li seemed not to notice it, but Yun Ming's gaze sharpened.

The swing slowly came to a stop.

"What is it, Brother Ming?" Ya Li raised her head in confusion.

Yun Ming stared straight northward. Only after a moment did he speak in a grave yet hesitant tone. "I think I sensed an opportunity for a breakthrough, and it's growing stronger."

A slight change came over Ya Li's beautiful face.

For years, she had known that her beloved carried a great regret in his heart: he had been unable to fully perfect his God Position. He had always been unable to take that final step, as though heaven and earth had placed restrictions upon him.

But now, things seemed to have changed.

Ya Li rose from Yun Ming's lap. Rare solemnity appeared on her gentle, pure face. "Brother Ming, time waits for no one."

Yun Ming rose with a smile, wrapped his arms around his beloved wife, and kissed her smooth forehead. He smiled and said, "Then let's go see whether this opportunity for a breakthrough is real or false."

As his words fell, the two quietly vanished.

At that moment, on the other side of the continent.

Within a towering Naval Port, vast numbers of warships were stationed.

A flag bearing a trident design flew high in the air, dancing wildly in the Sea Breeze.

This was the base of the Sea God Legion, one of the military legions under the Sun Moon Federation.

At that moment, in the deep sea outside the Naval Port, a figure slowly opened his eyes. Two Blue-gold gleams lit up in the dark depths.

The Waves rolling across the surface of the sea instantly calmed.

Beneath the water, endless seawater surged toward him and poured into his body. The next moment, he seemed to merge into the sea, and his figure vanished in an instant.

"Sure enough, only actual combat can influence this girl's integration of swordsmanship."

Inside the Spirit Ascension Chamber, Ye Changming, who had watched Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan's entire battle, nodded in satisfaction.

Although the Ye Family Ancestral Sword Technique was powerful, it only had form and lacked a soul of its own. To truly undergo transformation, one had to use Ye Family Sword Technique as a foundation and gradually develop a sword path of one's own.

This could not be taught. Yet Nan Liujing's appearance had inadvertently helped Ye Xinglan find a breakthrough in this area more quickly.

"Why can't I change the viewing angle anymore?"

A startled voice rang out. It came from one of the staff members controlling the screen.

The others were drawn by the voice and instinctively looked over.

At that moment, the Soul Guide Screen seemed to lose its signal and turned to static. The lights in the Spirit Ascension Chamber also dimmed.

Ye Changming frowned and hurriedly circulated Soul Power to protect Na'er.

"What's going on?" The staff member responsible for guiding them had not left. He asked his colleague in a Deep Voice.

"I don't know."

The three staff members had never encountered such a situation before and were immediately at a loss.

After a flurry of operations, they received no response whatsoever.

Just as the staff members were inspecting the system, there was a snap. The Spirit Ascension Chamber suddenly underwent a strange change. Time seemed to distort, and silver strands of light floated through the room as though a galaxy flowed within it.

The people inside still had their eyes open, yet it was as though someone had pressed the pause button.

Na'er was the only one unaffected.

She stared blankly at "Uncle Ye" beside her, then looked at the other staff members, at a complete loss.

Whoosh!

The situation changed again. The previously invisible screen somehow returned, and Na'er was instinctively drawn toward it. What she saw was a Pale Silver bolt of lightning erupting from thick Dark clouds.

And directly beneath that lightning stood Nan Liujing and Ye Xinglan.

"Brother." Na'er bristled like a frightened kitten. Silver light surged from her entire body, and her amethyst-like eyes immediately turned into Vertical Pupil.

Far away in an unknown space, Gu Yue, who was sealing her divine consciousness, could not help but shudder.

Her purple eyes opened, as though seeing through space to witness a scene that she could not forget even with her divine consciousness sealed.

Spirit Ascension Platform.

Dark clouds rolled like ink, blotting out the Sun, Moon, and Stars, as though the entire Firmament was collapsing.

"I say, isn't something a little wrong with this?"

Ye Xinglan stared at the endlessly rumbling sky. Fear appeared on her little face as she instinctively moved closer to Nan Liujing, her fair little hand reaching for his arm.

When nature became enraged, humans instinctively felt fear. Ye Xinglan was no exception.

Boom!

Just as Ye Xinglan finished speaking, a bolt of lightning suddenly shot down. Its target was precisely where she and Nan Liujing stood.

Nan Liujing's heart jolted. In his Sea of Consciousness, the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl, which emitted Purple-red Divine Light, actively drew the lightning toward him.

The Heavenly Tribulation had arrived!

Nan Liujing did not hesitate in the slightest. He fiercely shoved Ye Xinglan away.

"You!" Ye Xinglan had not been paying attention and was sent flying seven or eight meters away. She nearly lost her footing and fell. Her Azure Blue eyes had just revealed a trace of dissatisfaction, but upon seeing what was happening, she instantly froze.

A Pale Silver bolt of lightning descended from the Firmament like divine punishment, striking Nan Liujing in its entirety.

His figure could no longer be seen. Silver Radiance filled the area.

A scorching smell permeated the air, while the remaining force of the lightning ravaged the surroundings as though it intended to reduce every living thing to ashes.

"Lu Mingfei!" Ye Xinglan's expression changed drastically as she cried out anxiously.

"Leave!" A voice filled with extreme pain roared from within the Silver Radiance.

Ye Xinglan's Eyes Widened, and her hands instinctively clenched together.

After two hours together, trust had long since formed.

Rumble!

Muffled thunder sounded from the sky again, followed by another Pale Silver bolt of lightning shooting down.

The space along its path shattered completely, countless fragments falling away to reveal the darkness of the Alien Space. The entire Spirit Ascension Platform World teetered on the verge of collapse.

Countless Soul Beasts fled in madness, while the humans who had been leisurely watching the Forest Rain Curtain all widened their eyes, endlessly amazed.

This Spirit Ascension Platform was actually so awesome! It could even create the effect of lightning shattering space. Incredible!

Ye Xinglan might have been the only one who did not find lightning shattering space fun. Her entire body trembled as an aura of death crushed the last trace of thought she had left. She hurriedly pressed the Distress Signal Device on her right hand.

One could not die inside the Spirit Ascension Platform, but the pain of losing an arm or leg would be reflected onto the body in reality. She was afraid.

"Ahhhhh!"

The second silver bolt of lightning exploded violently against Nan Liujing's head. A pain that penetrated deep into his soul spread through his body like a flood.

Nan Liujing's face twisted savagely. His skin split, blood splattered, and he felt that familiar sensation return.

His soul seemed to shatter again into hundreds of millions of fragments. Within every fragment was a painful memory of his difficult struggles during childhood, and he was now experiencing them all from the beginning once more.

Not only that, the flesh and blood throughout his body melted continuously like wax dripping from a burning candle.

His hard bones became as fragile as plastic eroded by time. His flowing blood seemed to have been boiled, becoming scorching hot. Every meridian throughout his body ruptured.

Using the body of a Soul Master to withstand Heavenly Tribulation—throughout all of history, he was undoubtedly the first, even if this Heavenly Tribulation was not a Heavenly Tribulation in the traditional sense.

Amid this horrifying devastation, a special imprint on Nan Liujing's forehead was gradually being perfected through the baptism of the Heavenly Tribulation.

Within the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl, Thunder God watched in silence.

There were some things he had not explained to Nan Liujing in detail. The Heavenly Tribulation Power drawn by the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl was not the power of laws possessed by this current plane, but the power of cosmic laws.

This baptism of Heavenly Tribulation would leave an eternal, indelible Plane Imprint upon the successor of the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl.

A Plane Imprint meant bypassing the plane consciousness or the Plane Lord's approval and forcibly allowing oneself to be marked by the Cosmic Will.

As he grew in the future, the Plane Imprint would ignore any obstruction from the Plane Lord and forcibly help him gain the trust of the Plane Origin laws of the plane he was in. Even if the Plane Lord was dissatisfied, he would be unable to lock onto him and retaliate.

Using this method, a person with a Plane Imprint could also accelerate their cultivation speed, though not by an especially absurd amount, since it was a special path.

Those who followed the normal path had a typical example in the Nether Emperor Ha Luosa. He had been born with the Underworld Rebirth Domain and, as someone favored by the Plane Lord, became a Titled Douluo at Nineteen Years Old. He had even surpassed Yun Ming's record for advancing to Titled Douluo.

What Nan Liujing needed to do now was continue enduring until the imprint was complete.

Above the Firmament, bolts of Heavenly Tribulation continued to fall. Yet after enduring the initial pain, Nan Liujing instead became calm.

The will he had forged through countless desperate struggles since birth drove the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl to help sustain his Life Force, while the outline of the Plane Imprint grew ever clearer.

The Heavenly Tribulation Pearl would help the weak, but it would not help cowards.

Absolute willpower was the price for the Heavenly Tribulation Pearl's aid.

As it happened, Nan Liujing had it!

A clarification: Yun Ming's and Chen Xinjie's Mental Power realms kept fluctuating in the original work, sometimes Spirit Domain Realm and sometimes Divine Origin Realm. Since Yun Ming had condensed half a God Position, I simply set him at the Divine Origin Realm.

Then there was the issue of the legions.

The original work also kept changing back and forth—Chen Xinjie was sometimes part of the Sea God Legion, then suddenly became part of the East Sea Legion. I simply assigned him to the Sea God Legion, with the East Sea Legion being a separate one.