Though Chen Xiao wasn't a good person, he certainly wasn't a bad one. Although he was known as one of Moon-Gazing City's great wastrels, in truth, he had merely abandoned himself and let himself sink.
After his beloved little sister was killed, Chen Xiao blamed it all on his family. He gave up his natural gifts, refused to cultivate, and spent his days wandering the streets in debauchery. Wasn't that a way of defying his family, of taking revenge on them?
In his previous life, Chen Xiao hadn't understood the bonds of family that he had overlooked until he watched his parents and relatives die before his eyes, one by one.
What was lost was lost for good. If he gave up what he still had because of what he had lost, he would have no way to make amends when regret came.
But Chen Xiao was lucky. Heaven had given him a second chance at life, allowing him to make everything right again.
Moreover, the day he learned by chance in Mingyu Mountain that his little sister, Chen Yao, had actually been killed by the Nangong Family, his resolve to take revenge grew even stronger.
Not only would he uproot the Nangong Family in Moon-Gazing City, but one day he would tear out the roots of the colossal power behind them, too.
As the first Tribulation Disciple, Shadow was a secret weapon Chen Xiao kept hidden, ready to deliver a fatal blow to his enemies at a crucial moment.
By now, Chen Xiao had forcibly suppressed all the names of the people about to undergo tribulation that had appeared on the first page of the Thunder Virtue Heavenly Book. He had stopped their imminent tribulations by sheer force.
Once the tribulations were over, Chen Xiao would be powerless to recruit them as Tribulation Disciples.
Chen Xiao opened his mind and continued browsing the list of those about to undergo tribulation and those about to transform in the Thunder Virtue Heavenly Book. The Tribulation Disciples he recruited had to be the strongest beings in all the heavens—or at least those with the most powerful backing.
"You'll be the second."
One of the Immortal World's three great seas, the Worry-Free Sea.
The three great seas of the Immortal World were, in total, several times larger than the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. They teemed with countless creatures, demons and immortal beasts roamed everywhere, and their resources were several times more abundant than those of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
In the Immortal World, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths belonged to cultivators and immortals, while the three great seas were the domain of demons and immortal beasts.
The Crystal Dragon Palace of the Worry-Free Sea was its undisputed overlord. Its position in the Worry-Free Sea was much like that of the Glazed Heaven Palace in Glazed Heaven.
Today, Ao Xie, the ninth son of the Crystal Palace's master, was undergoing his transformation tribulation.
Fuxia Island, the largest immortal island in the Worry-Free Sea, was now surrounded by layer upon layer of supreme-grade formations. At the center of the formations, a small white dragon ten zhang long gazed at the clear sky with pale golden eyes, his gaze full of defiance.
There were no immortal artifacts or immortal pills beside him, as one might have expected. The small white dragon held only a pale golden halberd in his foreclaw.
The sea within a radius of a hundred thousand li around Fuxia Island had been placed under strict lockdown. No living creature was allowed near; not a fish or shrimp could be seen. Everything was done to ensure that the ninth crown prince of the Crystal Dragon Palace would successfully transform.
The majesty of Heaven was overwhelming. Even the master of the Crystal Dragon Palace, lord of the Worry-Free Immortal Sea, would not dare offend it.
A hundred li from Fuxia Island, a young man and woman who looked to be around twenty stood proudly in the air. The man was imposing, the woman elegant and dignified. Each had a pale silver scale on their forehead, and a pair of golden dragon horns sprouted from their hair. They were none other than the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Empress of the Crystal Dragon Palace.
Countless aquatic troops were faintly visible behind the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Empress.
"Brother Tian, Xie'er is stubborn by nature and refuses to bring any immortal pills or treasures to help him. Could something go wrong?"
The Dragon Empress's face was full of worry. Although protective formations had already been laid across Fuxia Island, she was still extremely concerned.
"Heh, don't worry. Xie'er is the most outstanding scion our Dragon Clan has produced in nearly ten thousand years. It's only a mere Transformation Tribulation. He'll get through it safely."
Ao Tianchen smiled and patted the Dragon Empress's hand. Although he spoke confidently, a trace of worry still slipped into his eyes.
Ao Xie was the Dragon Clan's most outstanding genius. In less than thirty years, he had cultivated to the Transformation Stage. The Dragon Clan was born with extraordinary gifts, and once a dragon transformed, he became a Mahayana Realm powerhouse. The Mahayana Realm might not amount to much in an immortal's eyes, but reaching the Transformation Stage in thirty years was already an astonishing feat.
Moreover, Ao Xie was proud and aloof by nature. Aside from his personal immortal artifact, the Star Halberd, he disdained relying on external aids to overcome his tribulation. Even the protective formations outside Fuxia Island had been laid only to safeguard the island's inhabitants and keep outsiders from disturbing Ao Xie's tribulation. They would be no help at all with the tribulation itself.
Rumble!
Just then, a gale rose over the sea, kicking up an enormous wave. A muffled rumble of thunder sounded in the sky, and then dark clouds gathered from every direction. Dark-red lightning roared loudly inside the tribulation clouds.
Chen Xiao, transformed into the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, flickered in and out of sight among the clouds.
But Ao Xie didn't cry out. Even when facing the legendary Eye of Heavenly Punishment, he intended to defeat it through his own strength.
"My fate is mine to command, not Heaven's!"
Ao Xie gripped the pale golden halberd in his dragon claw, his gaze full of stubborn resolve.
"That kid's got character. Tribulation-takers are usually filled with dread when they face a heavenly tribulation, but he dares to stand up to Heaven itself. He really is a Dragon Clan genius."
Chen Xiao thought to himself, "If I don't grind down that arrogant edge of his, then even if I recruit him as a Tribulation Disciple, he'll be a burden."
Thinking this, Chen Xiao didn't immediately place a Tribulation Mark on Ao Xie and recruit him. Instead, he planned to use the lightning tribulation to grind down his rough edges first. There was nothing wrong with being proud, but take that pride too far and you became a ticking time bomb, liable to explode right beside him at any moment.
Boom!
The next moment, under Chen Xiao's control, a streak of silver heavenly lightning shot straight down at Ao Xie.
"Break!"
Ao Xie let out a long dragon's roar. His ten-zhang-long body shot into the air, and he swung the Star War Halberd in his hand, cleaving the silver bolt of lightning apart.
But Chen Xiao was determined to temper Ao Xie. He hadn't sent down an excessively powerful bolt, yet this one had landed right at the limit of what Ao Xie could endure.
Thud!
Ao Xie's dragon body slammed heavily into the immortal island. Thin streams of dark-golden blood had appeared on his dragon claws.
"Roar!"
Ao Xie let out a long cry, flipped around, and shot back into the sky. Facing the Eye of Heavenly Punishment in the tribulation clouds, he slowly raised the Star War Halberd.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Chen Xiao's expression remained impassive as he sent down three more bolts of lightning, scorching Ao Xie's body until it was charred black. With Ao Xie's cultivation, he could have safely weathered an ordinary Transformation Tribulation. But this was a lightning tribulation controlled by Chen Xiao.
"Hahaha, the Dragon Clan's greatest genius? You can die now!"
Just then, a long howl suddenly rang out from the other side of the sky. In the next instant, nearly a thousand Demon Cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, led by three black silhouettes, somehow pierced through the formations around Fuxia Island.
Nearly a thousand Tribulation Transcendence Realm demon beasts were enough to increase the power of the Transformation Tribulation ten thousandfold and reduce Ao Xie to ashes.
The three silhouettes were even stronger, at the Immortal Realm. The instant they entered Fuxia Island, they launched a joint attack, striking at Ao Xie's dragon body as he lay on the ground.
A heavenly tribulation could certainly kill Ao Xie, but to ensure their mission succeeded, the three leaders still joined forces to strike at his vital points.
"The Sea Ghost Clan! You bastards!"
On the other side, the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Empress, who had already been deeply worried about Ao Xie, flew into a rage. They had never dreamed that, at such a critical moment, the Sea Ghost Clan would somehow slip past the Crystal Dragon Palace's defenses and sneak in without anyone noticing!
In the same instant, the Dragon Emperor's body moved, transforming into a streak of golden light as he shot toward Fuxia Island. But ten black figures intercepted him.
"Ke ke ke ke, Ao Tianchen, we're your opponents."
A man dressed in a black robe, his features hidden, let out a cackling laugh.
"Damn it! How dare you touch the Tribulation Disciple I claimed for myself?"
It was true that the interference of outsiders during a tribulation would amplify its power, but this heavenly tribulation was in Chen Xiao's hands.
When Chen Xiao saw the three silhouettes attacking Ao Xie, who lay helpless on the ground, he flew into a rage.
The vast might of Heaven transformed into three enormous crimson bolts of lightning. Before the three silhouettes could even reach Ao Xie, the lightning blasted them to dust.
Then thunder shook the island, blasting all the Tribulation Transcendence Realm Demon Cultivators who had broken in to pieces. Yet not a single scale on Ao Xie was harmed.
Outside Fuxia Island, the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Empress, their hearts full of anxiety, stood with the dozen or so black-robed figures, staring dumbfounded at what was happening on the island. Even if they had three heads to spare, they couldn't figure out what on earth had gotten into this heavenly tribulation.
It was ignoring the person undergoing tribulation and desperately blasting everyone else instead.
Also, thanks to fellow student Xinyi Hongchenwai for the tip; thanks to fellow student Online Game QQ Youngster for the tip and review; and thanks to fellow student Huangfu Bi'an for those four update tickets, worth twelve thousand words that we could see but couldn't collect.