Tribulation Lightning

"Boom—"

A thunderclap split the clear sky, and even Little Green Snake, who had always been curled up on a leaf, jolted awake.

Then, torrential rain poured down. Strange Flower blazed with light, illuminating the entire cave. Its dazzling aurora shone through the dense forest, standing out vividly among the trees.

A fierce wind swept through the cave. The glaring white light gradually dimmed, and amid its faint glow, the form of a five- or six-year-old girl slowly took shape.

Compared to before, the little girl looked even younger. She wore a petal-like dress, and her cheeks were still plump with baby fat. Her long black hair trailed across the ground. Qingxi slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of eyes as dark as night.

Thunderclouds churned overhead. A purple-red bolt of heavenly lightning was forming, its aim fixed directly on the cave.

"Not good!" Qingxi furrowed her brows. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she froze.

Why did her voice sound so strange? It was childish.

But the tribulation taking shape in the sky left her no time to think. She cast a protective barrier over her true form, then hurried outside.

It was a lightning tribulation.

She hadn't triggered any heavenly phenomena when she established her foundation or formed her core, so she'd thought she wouldn't have to endure a tribulation. She hadn't expected one to strike as soon as she reached the Nascent Soul stage. And from the look of it, this was the most difficult kind of tribulation to survive: the Purple Tribulation.

She sped toward the distance. An uproar this huge could attract the powerful beings of this continent, and she had to get as far from the Ice and Fire Spirit Pool as possible.

Star Dou Great Forest.

High above the ancient forest, a tiny black figure was darting along at tremendous speed, with purple lightning in hot pursuit.

Lightning cracked and snapped as it struck down. Qingxi dodged at high speed, but she was still hit now and then. Her body had only just formed and was incredibly tender. If she took the tribulation head-on, there might not even be ashes left of her.

Watching the little creature darting below, the black tribulation clouds seethed with rage. They gathered their strength, and the lightning abruptly ceased—but thunderclouds already filled the sky.

Qingxi didn't relax for even a moment. Until the tribulation clouds dispersed, she wouldn't dare risk the body she'd worked so hard to cultivate.

If she still had Qiankun, she might have dared to challenge the heavenly lightning. Unfortunately, Qiankun had remained in her homeland along with her previous life.

Suddenly, a deafening BOOM! rang out. Qingxi sensed something and glanced back.

A lightning pillar shaped like a giant dragon and glowing with azure light hurtled toward her. It tore through time and space and struck her with unerring precision.

For an instant, her mind went blank. Like a kite with its string cut, she plunged straight down.

The azure lightning faded. The tribulation clouds above gave a haughty snort, then turned and wiggled away.

Sunlight once again shone over the Star Dou Great Forest.

More than a dozen streaks of light arrived soon after. They were the seven elders of Spirit Hall, along with Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.

Close behind them came the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and elders of the Star Luo Imperial Family...

Nearly every powerful faction on the continent had gathered there.

At their feet stretched a massive ravine that reached deep into the Star Dou Great Forest. The trees around it were charred black, and traces of lightning still lingered.

The dazzling pillar of light had been visible across nearly the entire continent. The various factions had gathered, each on guard against the others.

"Big brother, what should we do?" A young man in a blue robe, a blue feather on his shoulder, furrowed his sword-like brows and looked toward Qian Daoliu, who stood silently beside him.

"With so many factions here, if a fight breaks out, we may not come out ahead," Chiangmo Douluo said.

"Ridiculous. Does Spirit Hall have anyone to fear?" Mighty Lion Douluo lifted his chin and looked up at Qian Daoliu. "Big brother, just give the word. We'll do as you say."

Qian Daoliu looked down at the enormous ravine. It had likely been caused by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast undergoing tribulation. A lightning tribulation like that was unheard of.

But it also showed how precious the thing that had undergone the tribulation must be.

Even if it had failed, the Soul Bone left behind by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would be extraordinarily valuable.

"Search separately. Once you find it, send a signal to notify everyone." With that, he flew toward the end of the ravine.

"Yes!" The other six nodded, then scattered in several streaks of light.

Before leaving, Azure Luan Douluo stopped to admonish the silver-haired boy beside him, who seemed to be paying little attention. "Guang Ling, know your limits. Don't go fooling around."

"I know, I know." The silver-haired boy had a delicate, baby-faced appearance. Perhaps because of his Martial Soul, a third of the skin on the left side of his face was covered in ice and snow.

"Such a nag." He made a face at the blue bird that had already flown away, then took his Guang Ling Divine Bow and headed off in the opposite direction.

Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo exchanged glances.

"Old Ghost, what now?"

"Search, of course!" With that, the two of them split up as well.

At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi watched the Titled Douluos disperse in every direction, his brows knitted tightly. "Should we split into three groups too?"

"Fengzhi, you're a support-type Soul Master. With so many factions gathered here, we need to guard against anyone making a move against the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. You and Gu Rong should stay together. I'll go alone. We should avoid drawing the other factions' attention as much as possible. Once we find it, we'll leave immediately," Sword Douluo said.

"All right." Ning Fengzhi nodded. They split into two groups and went their separate ways.

Everyone was eager to find the wondrous object that had triggered the heavenly phenomenon before anyone else—everyone except one person.

"Go ahead and search. This old man won't play along with you. No matter which faction finds it, there'll be a fierce battle anyway."

The silver-haired boy leaned against a branch, watching the Titled Douluos scatter. He idly toyed with an ice arrow in his hand, his brown eyes full of indifference.

He was the Fifth Elder of Spirit Hall—Guang Ling Douluo.

After who knew how long, fireworks suddenly burst in the western sky.

It was the emblem of the Star Luo Empire.

"Over there!" Everyone's hearts jolted, and they all flew in that direction.

Guang Ling put away the arrow in his hand, looking unusually serious. He unfurled his translucent Ice Wings, and the ice turned his brown eyes a deep ink blue.

He flew incredibly fast, reaching the scene even before the other Douluos.

Before them lay several kilometers of scorched earth. The ground dipped slightly, and the forest had been burned into a tangle of broken trunks and rubble.

At the center of the blackened soil lay a colossal creature, already charred black. Two Soul Bones floated above its corpse, shining brilliantly and seeming to resonate with each other.

"Those are the Soul Bones of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—the right palm bone and the leg bone!"

Everyone was startled.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was already powerful enough to rank among the Ferocious Beasts.

Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were scarce on the Douluo Continent to begin with, let alone rare Soul Beasts like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

Then they felt a pang of regret—for the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring that had already vanished.

The next moment, the factions surged forward, and a great battle was on the verge of erupting.

"Shameless! We of the Star Luo Empire found those Soul Bones first!"

"What do you mean, you found them first? They're unclaimed. Whoever takes them gets them!" Chiangmo Douluo retorted.

The Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire formed a temporary alliance and joined forces against Spirit Hall.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, meanwhile, sided with the Heaven Dou Empire.

In an instant, Soul Skills flew everywhere.

"Seventh brother, take this seriously. I saw you holding back!" Guang Ling moved through the air at incredible speed, occasionally firing a stray arrow while teasing Chiangmo, who was trading blows with a young woman.

"Then you come fight the woman! And stop shooting arrows all over the place—you've nearly hit me several times!" Chiangmo replied while dodging the cat claws coming at him.

Who knew how he'd ended up facing a female Douluo? He'd promised himself he wouldn't hit women. What was he supposed to do?

And Fifth brother was already over seventy, yet he acted like a child.

"Don't you dare look down on me! Fourth Soul Skill—Spirit Cat Possession!" The female Douluo on the other side flew into a rage.