The surging heaven and earth energy beneath Xuanming Mountain was almost enough to overturn the entire Beicheng Mountain Range.
Birds and beasts fled in every direction through the forests. Even the Soul Beasts hid in their lairs, afraid to come out.
Xu Xuanbei stood at the highest point of Xuanwu Pavilion, his dark brocade robe whipping in the gale.
He stared toward the mountain peak, his deep blue eyes filled with solemnity.
The white-haired Elder Xu Kun beside him exclaimed, "Sect Master, this is terrifying! It's nothing like the commotion caused by a Demi-God Martial Soul!"
The slightly plump Elder Xu Mao wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his voice trembling. "I've lived nearly a hundred years, and I've never seen such a terrifying pressure from heaven and earth!"
Xu Xuanbei took a deep breath. Recalling a trip to the Far North more than fifty years ago, he said slowly, "I once saw a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast undergo a tribulation. Even then, the lightning was only a single color."
Xu Kun's face was full of disbelief. He ventured, "Sect Master, do you think this could be a tribulation brought on by a God-Level Martial Soul?"
Xu Xuanbei nodded, his tone grave. "In the ten thousand years of Douluo Continent's history, God-Level Martial Souls have only appeared in legends."
Elder Xu Mao's face turned pale, and he cried urgently, "If this lightning tribulation comes down, our Xuanming Sect's thousand-year legacy will be destroyed!"
"Sect Master, we should evacuate now. We can't risk the sect!"
Xu Xuanbei shook his head, his gaze still fixed firmly on the mountain peak.
"We can't leave. If we do, we'll lose everything.
"Our Xuanming Sect's thousand-year legacy cannot be destroyed on our watch."
"Wait a little longer. Xue Yuheng must have a way to handle this. He wouldn't act so recklessly."
Atop Xuanming Mountain, Xue Yuheng stood guard beside Xiao Xiao, while the Wordless Heavenly Book hovered in midair.
This really had been reckless.
The pages glowed gold. He could feel the Martial Soul inside Xiao Xiao slowly awakening.
After the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron shattered, the newly formed cauldron—he could only call it the Two Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron for now—was merging with Xiao Xiao's body and evolving.
The Demi-God Qingtian Xuanwu had propelled Xu Jinrou straight from level thirty-one to level forty, making her a Soul Ancestor.
A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor.
And what changes would the Two Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron, now the nascent form of a God-Level Martial Soul, bring to Xiao Xiao?
There was no time left.
The three-colored thunderclouds overhead grew heavier by the moment.
Xue Yuheng had never imagined that the birth of a God-Level Martial Soul would bring a lightning tribulation, let alone one this terrifying.
Had Qian Renxue faced one back then? Xue Yuheng couldn't remember.
Xiao Xiao was unconscious and completely unable to withstand the lightning tribulation.
"Rou, Wan, Qing, Ling, Xin."
Xue Yuheng spoke. Each name represented a member of the Moon Shadow Squad, and his voice rang especially clear through the gale atop the mountain.
The shadow at his feet stirred, and five women in black stepped out of it.
They were the other five members of the Moon Shadow Squad: one Soul Douluo and four high-ranking Soul Saints.
The leader, Rou, had a cool, delicate face and a slight frame, as if the slightest breeze could sweep her away. Yet her expression held no fear—only resolve.
All five dropped to one knee in perfect unison.
"Your Highness."
Xue Yuheng channeled the Power of Creation into the Wordless Heavenly Book. His tone was calm, yet cold.
"Go and block the first stage of the lightning tribulation. If anything happens to you, I'll ensure your families enjoy wealth and prosperity for the rest of their lives."
Rou lifted her head. There was not a hint of hesitation on her cool face.
"This subordinate obeys. It is our honor to die for Your Highness."
They would draw their swords and die for their lord.
As assassins raised from childhood by the Dou Ling Empire's royal family and lavished with every resource, it was only right that they give their lives for the royal family.
The other four women rose in response. With a flash, they charged toward the thunderclouds, their black figures darting through the gale like blades rushing into battle.
At last, the three-colored thunderclouds overhead erupted. The rumbling shook the mountaintop.
A bolt of crimson-gold fire lightning struck first, warping the air with its heat. A moment later, a bolt of icy blue lightning and a deep violet bolt of destructive lightning followed close behind.
The three bolts twisted together into a pillar of lightning several yards thick, crashing down toward the five women.
The five immediately formed a formation, concentrating their Soul Power into a barrier before them. But the tribulation's power was too strong, and countless fine cracks instantly spread across the barrier.
Just as the pillar of lightning was about to hit the five women, Xu Xuanbei's voice rang out.
"Seven-in-One, Xuanming Turtle Shell Array!"
Xu Xuanbei led more than a dozen elders up the mountain. Their Soul Power erupted all at once.
The combined might of seven defense-type Soul Douluo was enough to withstand an attack from a Super Douluo.
The phantom of a Xuanming Turtle appeared behind them, its heavy shell joining together to form a shield of light.
The enormous Xuanming light shield stood before the five women, its patterns glowing with an eerie light.
Xu Xuanbei stood at the center of the formation and gave Xue Yuheng a helpless smile.
"Crown Prince, heaven's lightning has no eyes. Please don't let it destroy the foundations of my Xuanming Sect."
The Three-Colored Lightning Tribulation crashed into the light shield. Several elders couldn't help spitting blood.
The shield shuddered violently, cracks spreading across it. It looked ready to shatter at any moment.
Xu Xuanbei clenched his teeth and poured every last bit of his Soul Power into the formation.
"Hold on, everyone! If we can't withstand this, the sect is finished!"
A moment later, the first wave of the lightning tribulation finally dissipated, leaving the light shield dim and dull.
The first stage of the lightning tribulation was the most perilous.
The elders all collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, their Soul Power almost completely spent.
Xu Xuanbei was panting too. Looking up, he saw the thunderclouds begin to gather again.
The second stage of the lightning tribulation churned within the clouds, its power even greater than before.
Xue Yuheng's eyes narrowed as he guided the Wordless Heavenly Book toward the thunderclouds.
The pages of the Wordless Heavenly Book began to flutter. A powerful suction force swallowed the lightning tribulation.
The golden light on the pages grew brighter, and the amount of Power of Creation surged wildly.
It shot up from thirty points and finally stopped at one thousand three hundred and twenty.
Xue Yuheng let out a breath of relief. He had gambled on the strength of his "Martial Soul." If he failed and the lightning shattered it, he would certainly die on the spot.
With all this Power of Creation, Xue Yuheng felt much more confident.
Before he could relax, the remaining thunderclouds suddenly compressed into a single bolt of three-colored lightning.
The bolt pierced heaven and earth as though it could shatter space itself, shooting straight toward the unconscious Xiao Xiao.
It was impossibly fast. No one had time to react.
Xue Yuheng tried to stop it, but the bolt was far too fast. To him, it seemed to happen in an instant.
Just as the lightning was about to hit Xiao Xiao, a blue-gold light suddenly burst from within her.
The complete phantom of the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron appeared with a thunderous roar, enveloping her completely within its body.
The patterns of the Golden Crow and Xuanwu flashed wildly as phantoms of the Dragon and Tiger coalesced across the cauldron. The power of the Four Symbols fully merged.
As the cauldron trembled, Xiao Xiao's body transformed before their eyes.
Her petite frame, once only 1.4 meters tall, instantly grew to 1.8 meters. She stood barefoot on the bluestone, her long legs straight and slender, her skin fair.
Her shoulder-length hair became a voluminous cascade of wavy green locks, falling to her waist. Her skin was as white and lustrous as jade.
Her cool, indifferent eyes opened. The childishness had vanished from her face, replaced by the solemn majesty of a deity.
"Enough!"
A sharp cry rang across the mountaintop, carrying an overwhelming pressure.
Xiao Xiao lifted a hand and lightly touched her fingertips together. The power of the Four Symbols surged, and the three-colored bolt of lightning vanished into the void. The thunderclouds overhead dissipated with it.
She was like a goddess descending into the mortal world.
Xue Yuheng felt the same way Huo Yuhao had when he first saw the Raiment of Light in the original story.
The next moment, Xiao Xiao's body went limp. The phantom of the cauldron vanished behind her, and she returned to her original petite form, collapsing straight into Xue Yuheng's arms.
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