The final strike of the heavenly tribulation

After hearing Lin Mo's explanation, Electrolux sank into thought, then asked a fatal question.

"So, if you fail to condense a soul core when breaking through to Titled Douluo, you die? Then why not pay attention to that while cultivating?"

Electrolux's voice carried a hint of confusion.

Lin Mo, upon hearing this: (☉_☉)

"Oh!"

Seeing realization dawn on his student's face, Electrolux sighed helplessly.

"That said, I've only proposed a theory. It still needs research. Focus on cultivating for now. I'll pay more attention to this matter, and if you have any other ideas, you can tell me."

"Yes!"

Lin Mo stood ramrod straight and gave a solemn bow before leaving.

Once he resumed cultivating, Lin Mo did not rush into trying to compress his soul power. Instead, he first cultivated steadily using the power of the moon.

Time passed, minute by minute and second by second. His days at the academy slipped quietly by, and two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Mo did not keep his sun-and-moon cultivation method secret. After practicing it for two nights and confirming there were no problems, he told Huo Yuyao and Xiao Xiao the improved method. Thanks to it, Xiao Xiao also attained innate full soul power.

As for Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and the other two, Lin Mo said nothing.

The main reason was allegiance. He had come to the Sun Moon Empire to learn more effectively and seek revenge in the future, but that did not mean he would submit to Sun Moon. The allegiance of Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen-or rather, Jing Hongchen's entire family-mattered greatly to him.

"Now that Teacher is inside me, establishing the Spirit Pagoda in the future is inevitable. If the Hongchen family is willing to follow me, I'll give them the cultivation method then."

Lin Mo's thinking was simple. He would definitely spread this cultivation method, but not now. He needed these things to lay the foundations of a power base for himself and Huo Yuyao.

And so, the three youngsters made breakthroughs in soul power one after another.

A week earlier, Xiao Xiao had been the first to reach level 20. Jing Hongchen sent two Soul Douluos to accompany her in obtaining a soul ring. She successfully reached level 21, and she was only nine and a half.

The second soul skill she obtained was rather interesting.

It was called [Cauldron's Surge].

That was right. Whether it was a lucky fluke or not, her second soul skill had exactly the same effect as in the original story. The only difference was that this soul ring was older, nearly a thousand years, making the skill more powerful.

The second to reach level 20 was Lin Mo.

Jing Hongchen had originally intended to send someone to help him obtain a soul ring, but Lin Mo explained the unique nature of his martial soul. Its peculiarity even drew Kong Deming's attention.

After learning that Lin Mo obtained his martial soul's soul rings by triggering heavenly tribulations himself, Kong Deming immediately arranged for an arena to be cleared, announcing publicly that it was for testing a new soul tool.

Those who came to watch included not only Kong Deming, but also Xuan Ziwen, whom he had brought along, Jing Hongchen's family, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuyao.

Seeing so many people gathered to watch him weather a heavenly tribulation, Lin Mo felt rather glum.

"Why do I feel like a monkey being watched in a zoo?"

He sighed and looked toward Jing Hongchen below the platform.

After seeing him nod, Lin Mo raised his head toward the sky and recalled how it had felt when he broke through to his first ring.

Lin Mo summoned the Mystic Sword and hurled it high into the sky.

The Mystic Sword shot into the clouds, and his first soul ring appeared beneath his feet.

In the next instant, the sky changed dramatically. Dark clouds emerged, gradually shrouding the entire Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Everyone below the platform was shocked by the sight.

"Elder Kong."

"Teacher."

Jing Hongchen and Xuan Ziwen both turned toward Kong Deming, but he merely shook his head.

"I've never seen this either. In fact, it may never have happened anywhere on the Douluo Continent."

"I've only seen soul beasts undergo heavenly tribulations when breaking through."

"The hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation, right?"

"Yes. Could that child Lin Mo be..."

Jing Hongchen stopped himself mid-sentence.

Neither soul beast transformation nor restarting cultivation as a human had ever involved enduring a heavenly tribulation every ten levels. Besides, Lin Mo had a sword martial soul.

"Let's watch first. It's too early to draw conclusions."

Meanwhile, as they spoke, furious thunder gathered in the heavens.

Lin Mo frowned at the heavenly lightning overhead.

"Something's wrong. Why is the lightning black this time?"

But Tribulation Lightning gave him no time to think.

With a boom, black lightning tore through the sky and struck Lin Mo directly.

"Ugh!"

"It's been ages since I felt this damned lightning. Fuck."

Just like the first time, the lightning did no damage to the outside of his body, but his bones, meridians, Sea of Consciousness, and even his soul all suffered considerable attacks.

A single strike left his mind slightly dazed, and there were eighteen more attacks just like it to come.

"Whoa, that's... that's terrifying."

"Yeah."

Meng Hongchen, who was watching Lin Mo's breakthrough closely, could not help exclaiming. Even Xiao Hongchen felt a little frightened.

The heavenly lightning before them resembled a towering flood. When it crashed into Lin Mo, they could not even see his figure.

Huo Yuyao clasped her hands tightly, as though praying.

Time passed, second by second. The descending lightning no longer grew stronger, instead remaining within a fixed range.

Seventeen.

Eighteen.

Nineteen.

"Wonderful! It's the last one now."

At last, Huo Yuyao's heart settled back into place. The girl patted her chest as she spoke.

"Huh?"

Jing Ziyan was a little puzzled. There was still one strike left, after all. Though she had no ill intentions, as an outstanding student of the Soul Tool Department, she knew better than to pop the champagne at halftime.

"Oh, um, Brother Xiao Mo told me the last lightning strike doesn't hurt him. Not only does it do no damage, it heals all the injuries from the earlier strikes."

After hearing Huo Yuyao's explanation, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After all, they had been friends for two weeks, and none of them wanted to see a friend die right before their eyes.

The final bolt of lightning slowly gathered in the sky, carrying a faint hint of something different.

Having finally survived the first nineteen strikes, Lin Mo looked up at the sky with a slight frown.

"Hmm? Why does it feel... different?"

His heart tightened, and all the blood in his body seemed to freeze in an instant.

"No. This lightning isn't the same as before."

He was not the only one. Kong Deming also sensed that something was wrong. As the strongest person present, he fixed his gaze on the heavens. That slender bolt of lightning crackled in the air, seemingly identical to the previous nineteen, yet it faintly carried something that made even him wary.

"There's something strange about that lightning."

He frowned deeply. Upon hearing his words, Jing Hongchen and Xuan Ziwen also looked up at the sky, but neither detected anything unusual.

The students naturally felt no discomfort and noticed nothing either-with the sole exception of Huo Yuyao.

Standing beside Huo Yuyao, Xiao Xiao noticed that the girl, who had looked relaxed just a moment earlier, was now frowning in confusion.

"What's wrong, Little Yao? Doesn't this lightning do no damage?"

At Xiao Xiao's question, everyone turned toward Huo Yuyao, but she gave no reply.

The girl stared intently at the heavens. Within her Sea of Consciousness, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had abandoned his human form and returned to his true body.

His body kept swelling, and the golden markings on him shone, gradually spreading throughout the entire Sea of Consciousness.

"Sister Tian Meng."

Within her Sea of Consciousness, Huo Yuyao spoke with a worried expression.

"There's something wrong with this lightning. It isn't merely tempering lightning like the previous strikes. It contains a power even I can't see through. Although the chances are low, I've still prepared defenses for your Sea of Consciousness. If this Tribulation Lightning affects the surroundings, these defenses should protect your Sea of Consciousness."

"Is it really that serious?"

Huo Yuyao herself naturally sensed nothing. She was frowning only because of what the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had said within her Sea of Consciousness.

"Yes. You only have one ring right now. Once you reach the same realm as that old man, you'll be able to sense it."

Even after making his preparations, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm did not leave his true form. He did not know what effects this lightning might have, so he had to be ready for every possibility.

"...Hmm?"

While everyone at the arena looked in confusion at the old man and the young girl, the Tribulation Lightning in the sky did indeed change.

Countless bolts of lightning tore through space, gradually converging into a dragon's head in midair.

"What's that? Why does it look like it's turning into a dragon's head?"

Xiao Xiao pointed at the sky, a little frightened.

"T-Teacher."

Everyone's gaze swung toward Kong Deming. After all, he was the strongest and most knowledgeable person present.

But Kong Deming merely frowned deeply without saying a word. He had never seen anything like this either. He could only sense that something was wrong with the heavenly lightning, but that did not necessarily mean danger. He did not know whether this was a normal part of Lin Mo's heavenly tribulation.

Unfortunately, time waited for no one. Just as he prepared to step forward and inspect it, the enormous Thunder Dragon Head in the heavens plunged down.

Though everyone had been watching that heavenly lightning all along, it was completely unlike the previous nineteen strikes. The instant the dragon's head descended, it had already slammed into Lin Mo.

"Gahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Lin Mo's scream echoed throughout the arena as a tremendous white light swallowed his entire body.

Seeing this from below the platform, Huo Yuyao immediately tried to rush up, only for Xuan Ziwen to stop her.

Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen charged forward at the same time. Yet before they had advanced even two meters, an invisible force spread outward from Lin Mo's position.

Though colorless and formless, the force immobilized everyone present. They also noticed that Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen, who had rushed forward, were retreating to their original positions in strangely contorted postures.

The same happened to Huo Yuyao. Even after Xuan Ziwen put out a hand to block her, she had still tried to charge forward, but she too returned to her starting point in a bizarre posture.

Within the blazing white light, Lin Mo's mind grew dazed.

The moment Electrolux, inside the Sea of Consciousness, noticed the Thunder Dragon Head in the heavens, he sensed trouble. He repeatedly tried to contact Lin Mo through the Sea of Consciousness, but every attempt failed.

He discovered that his voice could not reach Lin Mo's mind, as though he and Lin Mo had been forcibly separated.

At the same time, he noticed that something seemed to be watching him from the depths of the Sea of Consciousness, beneath that calm, unruffled surface.

"What is this?"

Electrolux activated his divine sense and tried to probe the deepest reaches of the Sea of Consciousness, only to discover that even his divine sense could not enter.

Yet although he could not reach its deepest depths, he still noticed something.

"So that's it. Xiao Mo, you're actually one too..."

In the next second, as Electrolux pressed his hand against the surface of the Sea of Consciousness, a pair of silver-white eyes beneath the water calmly met his gaze.

The instant their eyes met, Electrolux froze in place, as though his soul had fallen into a state of suspended motion.

Outside, Lin Mo felt only that the heavenly lightning, which had been far above him, struck him in an instant, leaving nothing but boundless white before his eyes.

Only after an unknown length of time did he emerge from his daze. He discovered that he was no longer on the fighting platform, but in a wondrous silver-white space.

The surroundings were dreamlike and illusory. Though there were no colors at all, he seemed able to clearly see certain objects that felt incredibly familiar.

"Where am I?"

He looked around and was about to take a step, only to discover that something seemed to be blocking his feet.

Instinctively, he reached out to feel it. Sure enough, his hand touched something rectangular and quite tall, reaching roughly to his waist.

"What is this? I can touch it, but I can't see anything."

He could not help talking to himself.

"No, no. I can't think about this. I have to find a way back quickly. Little Yao must be so worried about me."

Still lost in confusion, he thought of Huo Yuyao, and the girl's delicate, lovely face and long, water-blue hair gradually appeared in his mind.

His gaze alternated between hazy and clear as he felt his way forward.

"Am I going down stairs?"

He kept feeling around him. To his left, he could sense rectangular objects resembling desks, while beneath his feet there was a step roughly every half meter.

"This feels so familiar. I think... I think I remember something."

After descending about seven or eight steps like this, he finally reached a relatively level area.

"I can clearly see all this white, but I can't see anything around me at all. Why does this feel like being blind?"

Running his hand along the long, desk-like object, he turned left and headed in one direction. Then...

"Huh? This seems to be a classroom. Could it be one of the classrooms at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy? Have I already woken up, only to find I've gone blind?"

By touch, he had established that this was indeed a classroom, and that he was now standing beside the door.

He reached out, felt the doorframe, and walked outside.

He could actually see the scenery outside with perfect clarity, but it was not the scenery of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

"Hey, Little Mo, why are you standing there in a daze? The boss is still waiting for us."