Seventy-Thousand-Year Heavenly Tribulation, Devouring Tribulation Lightning!

At this moment, the sky over the Far North Land was completely shrouded by endless ink-black tribulation clouds.

The heavy clouds hung low, as though they were about to crush this vast icy plain. Within them, countless silver serpents as thick as arms writhed wildly, unleashing deafening roars.

A destructive pressure swept across every inch of the Far North Land like a tangible tsunami. Countless Soul Beasts prostrated themselves beneath this majestic heavenly might, trembling in fear. Even raising their heads to look up had become an impossible luxury.

Those high-level Soul Beasts that had gained intelligence all cast worried gazes toward the heart of the tribulation clouds. They knew that their king, Snow Empress, the ruler of the Far North Land, was facing a terrifying Heavenly Tribulation at the seven-hundred-thousand-year level.

Their worry was mixed with fear—fear that their king would fall beneath such heavenly might. If that happened, the entire balance of the Far North Land would be overturned.

Yet before the Heavenly Tribulation, there was nothing they could do. They could only silently pray to the Ice God in their hearts, begging for a miracle.

Amid this oppressive atmosphere, a jade-green streak of light tore desperately through the wind and snow, racing toward where the tribulation clouds gathered at astonishing speed. It was Ice Empress, one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North.

Her petite body trembled slightly from overwhelming anxiety. There was only one thought in her mind: get to Snow Empress's side!

When Ice Empress finally broke through the layers of wind and snow and her view suddenly opened up, the sight before her made her freeze in place, her pupils contracting sharply.

High in the sky, a dark-purple bolt of Tribulation Lightning as thick as a water barrel descended with an aura capable of annihilating everything. Like a roaring lightning dragon, it crashed down toward the familiar figure in white palace robes below—Snow Empress.

Yet this Tribulation Lightning, enough to make any ferocious Soul Beast lose its soul in terror, did not strike Snow Empress directly. At some point, an unfamiliar figure had appeared between her and the lightning.

That unfamiliar figure stood suspended in the air, tall and upright, with a faint seven-colored glow flowing around him. Facing the world-destroying Tribulation Lightning, he neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, he slightly raised his head.

The next moment, a scene Ice Empress would never forget unfolded before her.

The savage dark-purple Tribulation Lightning did not erupt with the terrifying force she had expected upon touching that unfamiliar figure. Instead, like a stream flowing into the sea, it was... devoured by him?!

Yes, devoured!

The energy of the Tribulation Lightning seemed to be drawn by some irresistible force, all of it vanishing into that figure's body without even stirring the slightest ripple.

Only the glow around him seemed to brighten slightly, while the violet-gold lightning mark between his brows flashed with an almost imperceptible gleam.

"How... how is this possible?!"

Ice Empress's mind went blank. The scene before her completely defied all reason and exceeded the limits of her understanding.

The Heavenly Tribulation was the punishment imposed by the Grand Cosmic Law upon Soul Beasts that defied the heavens. It could only be endured head-on. She had never heard of anyone simply "eating" it so easily!

While she was still stunned, a second bolt of Tribulation Lightning, even thicker and darker in color, had already formed. It tore through the sky once more and struck down furiously!

The result was the same.

That unfamiliar figure seemed like a bottomless abyss, effortlessly devouring this even more powerful bolt of Tribulation Lightning.

Ice Empress suddenly came back to her senses. Unable to restrain herself any longer, she flashed to Snow Empress's side, her voice filled with shock and uncertainty. "Snow Empress! What... what is going on? Who is that person? How could he..."

Snow Empress did not turn around. Her ethereal gaze remained fixed on the figure in the sky who had blocked every calamity for her. Her stunning face bore a complicated expression—shock, gratitude, and a trace of relief.

She gently shook her head and parted her crimson lips. "Just watch."

Seeing that Snow Empress was unwilling to say more, Ice Empress forcibly suppressed the storm raging in her heart and turned her gaze toward the sky. Only then did she have the chance to examine that figure carefully.

From him, she sensed a vast aura that seemed perfectly integrated with heaven and earth, as though he were the ruler of this world of ice and snow.

Who... is he? Ice Empress was filled with questions, but this was clearly not the time to press for answers.

Lei Chen had no time to concern himself with the thoughts of the two Far North Heavenly Kings below. He was savoring the taste of this seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation with great interest.

After devouring two consecutive bolts of Tribulation Lightning, the pure yet violent lightning energy poured into his body and was rapidly absorbed and refined by the Thunder God Origin between his brows. That violet-gold lightning mark became increasingly clear and active, like a slumbering lightning dragon slowly awakening.

Lei Chen raised his head toward the constantly rotating lightning vortex at the center of the tribulation clouds, where even more terrifying power was brewing, and carefully sensed the level of energy contained within.

"Mm... the energy density is extremely high, and its destructive power is formidable." Lei Chen silently assessed it. "The total energy of this Heavenly Tribulation has reached the Demigod level. No wonder Snow Empress had no confidence in surviving it. With cultivation nearing seven hundred thousand years, trying to endure Demigod-level heavenly punishment head-on truly meant nine chances of death and one chance of life."

After confirming this, Lei Chen did not find it troublesome in the slightest. Instead, he became even more delighted.

"One seven-hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Tribulation is equivalent to adding a Demigod-level 'external asset' to the Douluo Plane." He calculated inwardly. "If it were eight hundred thousand years, nine hundred thousand years, or even the final Million-Year Heavenly Tribulation, the total energy contained within might be enough to rival a true God-level existence!"

"If I could get several dozen more such 'supplements,' the Douluo Plane would expand at an astonishing rate!"

How was this a Heavenly Tribulation? It was clearly nourishment for the rapid growth of the Douluo Plane! And he, the Plane Lord, was the finest "harvester."

Even as joy filled his heart, Lei Chen's devouring of the Tribulation Lightning did not pause in the slightest.

The third bolt, the fourth bolt, the fifth bolt...

The tribulation clouds seemed to have been thoroughly enraged by Lei Chen's "provocation." The bolts they sent down grew thicker one after another, their color shifting from dark purple to deep black, until they finally carried a trace of destructive dark-red light.

Every bolt of Tribulation Lightning was enough to easily grievously wound or even kill a Limit Douluo, yet before Lei Chen, they were merely nourishment being fed to him, all gladly accepted by his Thunder God Origin.

The lightning mark between his brows grew brighter and brighter, and the aura of judgment and destruction it emitted became increasingly intense. Lei Chen could feel that the process of reforging the Thunder God Divine Throne was advancing at a visible pace.

Finally, when the ninth and final bolt of Tribulation Lightning—which contained all the essence of this Heavenly Tribulation and resembled a blood-colored giant dragon—was completely drawn into Lei Chen's body as he spread his arms as if embracing it, the tribulation clouds high above, oppressive to the extreme, seemed to lose all their strength and began to slowly disperse.

The terrifying pressure that had filled every corner of the Far North Land also receded like the tide.

Sunlight once more pierced through the thinning clouds and spilled across the crystalline ice plain, as though the apocalyptic scene from moments ago had been nothing more than an illusion.

Snow Empress stared blankly at the clear sky after the tribulation clouds had dispersed, dazed for a moment.

The life-or-death calamity that had plagued her for tens of thousands of years had simply... ended?

She took a deep breath, suppressed her churning emotions, and moved, turning into a streak of white light as she flew to Lei Chen's side.

Looking at his still-calm expression and sensing the aura around him that seemed to have grown slightly deeper, a barely noticeable trace of concern flashed through Snow Empress's ice-blue eyes. She softly asked, "Are you... all right?"