Sky-Piercing Spear Defies the Tribulation, Thunder Tempers the Divine Body (Part 1)

Heaven and earth fell deathly silent. Only the thick tribulation clouds blanketing the entire sky churned and roared overhead, their muffled thunder seeming to pound against everyone's hearts. Every gaze was locked firmly beneath the clouds, upon the snow-white figure standing with a spear in hand—Li Yunming.

He seemed to have become the center of the entire world, facing the Radiant Heavenly Might alone.

"It has begun." Dongyue Hong hovered in the distance, his expression incomparably grave as he murmured to himself. He had gone through this step before and knew full well how dangerous it was.

As if answering his whisper, blinding silver light suddenly erupted from the center of the tribulation clouds!

"BOOM—!"

A massive bolt of silver lightning more than ten meters wide came crashing down like a river from the heavens, carrying the will to destroy everything. It instantly illuminated the darkened world as it struck straight toward Li Yunming's head! The first tribulation lightning alone was already far more powerful than the full-force strike of any level ninety-nine Limit Douluo!

Before the lightning even arrived, its terrifying pressure had already drained the color from the faces of the many Titled Douluo watching below. It felt as though their souls would tremble and scatter beneath that heavenly might.

Yet Li Yunming's eyes remained calm in the face of the first tribulation lightning, enough to change the color of mountains and rivers. He did not even use a single soul skill. He merely slowly raised the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear in his hand, its tip aimed directly at the heavens!

There was no dazzling glow from soul rings. Only platinum Purification Holy Light naturally spread forth, enveloping both the spear and his body.

"He actually wants to take it head-on?!" A Titled Douluo from the direction of Five Poisons Valley could not help crying out. To directly withstand the Heavenly Tribulation with one's body and martial soul was simply madness!

"Fool! How could the power of Heavenly Tribulation be blocked by a mortal weapon?" Qiu Qianchen snorted coldly, a cruel curve rising at the corner of his lips, as though he could already see Li Yunming turning to ash beneath the lightning.

At the instant that destructive lightning was about to swallow Li Yunming, he moved. With a flick of his wrist, the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear gave a clear hum and transformed into an immensely condensed beam of platinum light. Neither dodging nor yielding, it stabbed fiercely into the silver lightning!

"Break!"

The shout was not loud, yet it carried incomparable resolve and determination!

"Screech—!"

The spear tip collided head-on with the lightning! The expected earth-shattering explosion never came. Instead, there was an even harsher sound, like metal being forcibly torn apart! When the violent silver lightning struck the Purification Holy Light at the tip of the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear, it seemed to encounter its nemesis. The enormous pillar of lightning was forcibly split apart by that single spear tip, transforming into countless fine electric serpents that raced madly along the spear shaft toward Li Yunming's body!

"Urgh!" Li Yunming let out a muffled groan as his entire body shook violently. Scorched marks instantly appeared on his white robes, and every strand of his hair stood on end. That terrifying lightning power surged through the spear into every limb and bone of his body, madly ravaging his meridians and bones, even battering against his sea of consciousness!

Yet the arm gripping his spear was as steady as a rock, and his gaze remained sharp. The Purification Holy Light upon the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear did not merely dispel evil—it also purified and refined! Guided by that holy light and his own indomitable will, the violent lightning power that entered his body was forcibly bound and refined. One portion was used to destroy his old mortal body, while another became the purest energy, beginning to nourish and reconstruct his body as it transformed toward a higher form of life!

The lightning raged for a full ten breaths before gradually dispersing.

Li Yunming remained in the sky. Though his clothes were somewhat disheveled and a trace of golden blood even leaked from the corner of his mouth, his posture was still straight. The Sky-Piercing Divine Spear in his hand seemed to have become more restrained in its radiance, with faint arcs of electricity flickering around its tip.

He had successfully received the first tribulation lightning! And with the power of lightning, he had begun the initial tempering of his body!

"He actually... took it?!" Qiu Qianchen's pupils contracted, and disbelief appeared on his face for the first time. He could sense that Li Yunming's aura had not weakened in the slightest. After the lightning strike, it had instead become more condensed and pure!

The figure of Xie Miaojiang, shrouded in poisonous mist, also stirred slightly. In a hoarse voice, he said, "There is something strange about his martial soul... That power of purification seems to restrain lightning to some extent. And his will and body are tougher than expected."

Dongyue Hong relaxed slightly, but his gaze did not loosen in the slightest. "The first strike was only an appetizer. The true trial lies ahead."

Below, Li Yuanhui and the others loosened their tightly clenched fists slightly, but the strings in their hearts drew even tighter. Through the system's inspection, Li Xuansheng could clearly "see" the violent process of destruction and rebirth taking place inside Li Yunming's body, as well as the residual lightning power still raging wildly and requiring his full strength to resist. Master... His heart was filled with worry and admiration.

The tribulation clouds seemed to have been enraged by Li Yunming's "provocation." They churned more violently, their former silvery white gradually stained with dark red as the destructive aura they emitted multiplied geometrically!

"The second strike is coming! Be careful—this dark red lightning contains the law of destruction and specifically destroys one's foundation!" Dongyue Hong could not help sending a warning through spiritual transmission, urgency in his voice.

Li Yunming looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, completely suppressing the remaining lightning power in his body. He gripped the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear tightly with both hands. Behind him, the ninth soul ring that had remained concealed finally lit up—its golden-red radiance was not dazzling, yet it carried an unsurpassable intent of suppressing all evil and holding up heaven and earth!

"Divine Spear Domain, bolster my body!" he shouted in a low voice. The holy light that had originally spread through the domain instantly contracted, fully gathering upon the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear, making the entire weapon seem to become a true divine punishment weapon forged from laws themselves!

"RUMBLE—!!"

At the center of the tribulation clouds, dark red light flared brilliantly. A terrifying bolt of lightning only as thick as an arm, yet solid as magma and so dark red it was nearly black, silently tore through space like a venomous dragon from the netherworld and appeared directly above Li Yunming in an instant! Wherever it passed, even space was left with black scars that could not heal for a long time!

The second tribulation lightning—Destruction Thunder!

This attack far surpassed the first in power and contained terrifying force capable of directly destroying a cultivator's martial foundation and the source of his soul!

"Good!" Li Yunming's eyes erupted with soaring battle intent. Rather than retreating, he advanced. His body merged as one with the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear, turning into a platinum streak of light that rose against the heavens and charged directly toward the dark red venomous dragon!

"Sky-Piercing—Voidbreaker!"

It was still his strongest single-target attack, but at this moment, under the ultimate enhancement of the Divine Spear Domain and in the state of communion with heaven and earth during the tribulation, the power of this strike vastly surpassed what it had been when he fought the three Limit Douluo!

"Hum!"

The instant the spear tip collided with the dark red lightning, time itself seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, a silent ripple of destruction suddenly spread outward. The defensive barrier below Heavenly Phoenix City twisted violently, letting out a grating groan!

"Pfft—!"

Li Yunming suffered a crushing blow and violently spat out a mouthful of golden blood. Cracks instantly spread across the skin of his entire body, and even the blood seeping from them evaporated at once! The dark red power of destruction clung to him like gangrene, madly corroding his meridians, dantian, and sea of consciousness, seeking to erase him at his very roots!

His body fell from the sky like a meteor, but even as he plummeted, he still gripped the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear tightly. The platinum Purification Holy Light battled and wore away at the dark red lightning in a frenzy, producing sizzling sounds.

"Did he fail?!" Countless hearts sank to the bottom in an instant.

Just before he hit the ground, his descent abruptly stopped! Li Yunming forcibly stabilized himself, kneeling on one knee in midair as he panted violently, each breath carrying blood foam. The Sky-Piercing Divine Spear was planted in the empty space before him. Dark red electric serpents still stubbornly writhed over its shaft, waging their final battle against the platinum holy light.

But in the end, he had withstood it! He had not allowed that destructive power to completely ruin his foundation!

He slowly raised his head. Though he was battered and exhausted, his aura in chaos, those eyes had become brighter and deeper than before, as if having endured the baptism of destruction had allowed him to glimpse more mysteries of rebirth.

The second tribulation lightning had been overcome!

"He actually... withstood another one?!" Qiu Qianchen's expression darkened completely, and none of his earlier ease or mockery remained. To withstand two such terrifying tribulation strikes in succession—Li Yunming's foundation and will far exceeded his expectations.

Xie Miaojiang fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "His divine office is likely related to such wills as 'protection,' 'purification,' and 'unyielding.' Otherwise, he could never have preserved his foundation beneath Destruction Thunder. If this boy does not die... he will surely become a great threat!"

Dongyue Hong watched the figure in the sky, struggling yet still standing tall, and a trace of gratification and hope finally appeared in his eyes. "Good lad! You really have what it takes! As long as you survive the final strike..."

Everyone's gaze turned once more toward the tribulation clouds, which seemed completely enraged as they brewed their final and most terrifying attack. What form would the final tribulation lightning take? And how would the gravely injured Li Yunming deal with it?

The atmosphere between heaven and earth was oppressive to the extreme.