Heaven-Piercer Appears, Drawing All Eyes

Dongyue Hong's time-buying question only received Qiu Qianchen's arrogant reply and even sharper killing intent. Negotiations had broken down. There was nothing left but battle!

"Kill!"

Almost the instant Qiu Qianchen uttered the words "Die," the three God Rank powerhouses vanished from where they stood as if teleporting. In the next moment, they collided violently high in the sky!

There were no flashy soul skill names, only the purest, most fundamental clash of energy and intertwining laws!

The vision of sun and moon shining together behind Dongyue Hong blazed brilliantly. The moonlight was cold, the sunlight scorching; two utterly different powers fused perfectly, transforming into pale moon-white blades that tore through space and blazing torrents that surged toward Qiu Qianchen and Xie Miaojiang. He did not seek to kill them, only to delay them—to keep these two Divine Officials pinned here and buy time for those faint hopes of reinforcements!

"Old Dongyue, I'm your opponent!" Xie Miaojiang sneered coldly. The endless dark-green sea of poison behind him suddenly boiled, turning into savage, roaring poison dragons. They opened their jaws and spewed toxic breath capable of corroding space, crashing fiercely into Dongyue Hong's divine light of sun and moon. Hissing sounds rang without end as poison breath and divine light annihilated one another, leaving neither side able to gain the upper hand. Xie Miaojiang was at level 107. Though slightly weaker than Dongyue Hong, his bizarre and troublesome poison arts allowed him to withstand most of Dongyue Hong's attacks for the time being.

In that split second, a vicious light flashed in Qiu Qianchen's eyes. His body flickered like a ghost, slipping directly past the frontal energy storm. His target was the dozens of high-ranking members of the two families below, including Li Yuanhui and Dongyue Qingxuan!

"Not good! We're his target!" Dongyue Qingxuan's face drained of color as he shouted, "Form up and defend!"

Everyone understood that if a Divine Official-level powerhouse charged into the ranks of Titled Douluo, it would be a one-sided slaughter! Even though they had numbers on their side, quantity was utterly feeble before such a difference in quality!

"Myriad Souls Devour Heaven!" Qiu Qianchen grinned savagely as a gigantic ghostly hand condensed from pure Soul Power and resentment blotted out the sky. Carrying shrill ghostly wails and a chill that froze souls, it clawed viciously down at the crowd! Before the hand even arrived, its terrifying pressure had nearly brought the Soul Power circulation of those below to a halt. Even their thoughts slowed, leaving them able only to watch helplessly as death descended!

"How dare you?!" Dongyue Hong's eyes nearly split with rage. He tried to turn back to save them, but Xie Miaojiang's poison dragons, clinging to him like maggots on a bone, abruptly intensified their assault and bound him tightly, leaving him utterly unable to break free!

Just as the ghostly hand was about to crush Li Yuanhui and the entire stretch of air they occupied, countless members of the Li Family and Dongyue Family let out cries of despair...

At that critical moment—

"Bzzzt!"

A dazzling radiance beyond the description of color suddenly shot skyward from deep within the Li Family estate! It was not the light of Soul Power, but something that seemed to contain the supreme truths of heaven and earth, carrying a strange power that cleansed the soul and saw through all falsehood. In an instant, it drew every eye on the battlefield!

Immediately afterward, the azure sky, which had been cleared by the auras of the three God Rank experts, suddenly darkened! Boundless, heavy storm clouds appeared from nowhere and gathered frantically at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, they blanketed the entire firmament. Within them, muffled thunder roared like ancient beasts, while silver lightning snakes as thick as children's arms writhed and converged wildly, radiating terrifying heavenly might capable of destroying everything!

This sudden upheaval of heaven and earth made Qiu Qianchen, who had been on the verge of succeeding, halt sharply. The ghostly hand he had sent down also froze in midair. Li Yuanhui and the others, who had been preparing to fight to the death, along with Xie Miaojiang, who had Dongyue Hong tightly entangled, all raised their heads toward the sky in shock.

"Is this... a Heavenly Tribulation?!" Dongyue Hong was the first to cry out, his eyes full of disbelief.

Under countless horrified gazes, a tall figure, bathed in the radiance shooting into the heavens, slowly rose from within the Li Family estate. His aura was restrained, yet he seemed connected to all heaven and earth. If it was not Li Yunming, who else could it be?!

Li Yunming's expression was calm, his gaze as deep as the starry sky. He looked up at the thunderclouds brewing destructive power overhead. Not only did he show no trace of fear, there was even a sense of release and anticipation in him.

"Thunder Tribulation... the final trial on the path to godhood—the Mortal-Breaking Godhood Tribulation!" Even Xie Miaojiang's cold voice carried a rare tremor as he stared fixedly at Li Yunming. "He actually... reached this stage?! His sea of consciousness has transformed into divinity, and he created his own divine office... Now, only this final Thunder Tribulation remains. Once he passes it, he can condense a divine body and truly enter the realm of Divine Officials!"

Qiu Qianchen's expression instantly became incomparably ugly. He withdrew his ghostly hand and exchanged a glance with Xie Miaojiang. Both saw shock—and a trace of apprehension—in the other's eyes.

Tribulation crossing! It was heaven and earth's final test for those who defied the natural order, but also the greatest opportunity! Once one passed it, it was like a fish leaping over the dragon gate. One's very level of life would undergo a qualitative leap, granting an almost endless lifespan and the mighty power to regenerate from a drop of blood!

Yet the Heavenly Dao was utterly impartial—and utterly selfish. One could only cross a tribulation through one's own strength! Should any outsider dare interfere, whether to help or hinder, the laws of the Heavenly Dao would deem them fellow tribulation-crossers. The descending Thunder Tribulation would then increase in power geometrically until every "tribulation-crosser" within its range was reduced to ash!

That meant that before Li Yunming finished crossing his tribulation, they could no longer attack him. They could not even launch large-scale attacks against anyone else in Heavenly Phoenix City, lest the Heavenly Tribulation judge it interference and bring disaster upon them!

"Hmph! What absurd luck, for him to actually touch the threshold!" Qiu Qianchen gritted his teeth, yet could only helplessly restrain the raging divine power around him. Together with Xie Miaojiang, he slowly drifted back some distance, his gaze dark as he watched the thunderclouds and Li Yunming in the sky.

Dongyue Hong took the opportunity to ease up slightly, but his brows remained tightly furrowed. His gaze toward Li Yunming was complicated, filled with relief and expectation, but above all, concern. Having been through it himself, he knew all too well how terrifying a godhood Thunder Tribulation was! The saying that fewer than one in ten thousand succeeded was no exaggeration! Countless extraordinarily gifted Limit Douluo had fallen at this final step, their souls utterly destroyed!

Below, Li Yuanhui and the others, who had narrowly escaped death, felt their hearts rise into their throats. Looking at that figure facing the Radiant Heavenly Might alone, they were both exhilarated and incomparably tense.

"Elder Yunming... you must succeed!" Li Yuanhui clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms.

Li Xuansheng stood atop the city wall, looking up at his master. The system's detection function allowed him to sense more clearly than anyone else just how terrifying the destructive energy contained within those thunderclouds was. Master... All his hopes rested on this tribulation crossing.

The entire battlefield fell into a strange silence. The three God Rank experts, who had just been fighting for their lives, had now become spectators. Everyone's gaze was fixed on Li Yunming and the tribulation clouds growing denser and brighter with lightning.

Qiu Qianchen and Xie Miaojiang floated in the distance. Though their expressions were grim, there was not much urgency in their eyes.

"So be it. Let him cross the tribulation first." Xie Miaojiang spoke hoarsely, with a hint of mockery. "It saves us some trouble. There's a ninety-nine percent chance this Thunder Tribulation will blast him to ashes. We only need to wait here. Once he fails his tribulation, we can clean up the aftermath."

Qiu Qianchen nodded coldly. "Exactly. Creating one's own divine office is unimaginably difficult. The divine office he created must have an unstable foundation. How could he possibly withstand the might of heaven and earth? We only need to wait and watch his body and soul be wiped out!"

They did not believe Li Yunming could succeed.

Above, the thunderclouds churned. The first terrifying bolt of lightning, having brewed for so long, was ready to strike, locked onto the seemingly tiny figure below whose back remained straight.

Would he ride the wind and become a dragon, or die with body and soul extinguished? Everyone's heart rose and fell with the flickering lightning within the tribulation clouds.