Chapter 579: Tribulation Battle
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A deafening series of thunderous blasts boomed out, bathing the land for dozens of miles in its audible power. John felt his bones vibrate from the force of the blasts, despite being contained within the clouds. A frown appeared on John's face, as he summoned Kirii over with his soul connection.
"Kirii, this tribulation might be stronger than I had originally intended. Adam and Chase will need to be very far away so as to not get caught up in this, so instead of helping me guard Iris, go and guard them," John instructed.
He was confident in being able to guard Iris, but could not protect both groups at the same time.
"Aye!" Kirii replied through their soul connection, his voice still immature and youthful. Kirii turned and sped off towards Adam and Chase, and relayed John's commands to leave the area to them. Unlike his soul connection with John, Kirii could only communicate to others by being near them. However, as long as he was close and was able to project his soul power over those nearby, he could communicate with them.
Both Adam and Chase's faces lit up in shock as they heard Kirii's voice appear in their mind for the first time.
"Kirii, you can speak?" Adam asked, completely stupefied.
"I sure can!" Kirii replied happily, before nudging Adam's chest with his head gently. "Now we need to leave this area!"
"Why?" Adam asked, as Kirii had not explained yet.
"Big brother said that you are not safe here," Kirii replied, relaying John's reasoning.
"Is that so?" Adam mused as his gaze shifted back up to the clouds above.
"If John says it's so, then he probably has a reason," Chase spoke up to Adam. "We should trust his judgment."
"Tch, fine," Adam relented after a moment of hesitation. He wanted to watch Iris's ascension close up, as it was his first time seeing a Heaven Tribulation ascension. However, he trusted John's judgment, and the three of them quickly made their way dozens of more miles away before coming to a halt. In the distance, the blackened clouds churned overhead, an omen of things to come.
The clouds also attracted the gazes of many others in the desert, who were surprised to see such a thing. Almost all of the youths in these lands were already in the Heaven Tribulation Realm, and only those who had encountered John's group knew there were some exceptions. However, none of them approached, as interfering with a heavenly tribulation was not something anyone wanted to be a part of.
...
John's gaze shifted from Kirii and the others as they sped away, and returned to Iris who stood a few hundred yards away. Her eyes slowly opened as she calmly gazed at the blackened clouds above, her resolve firm. There was not an ounce of hesitation on her face, as she was truly prepared to lay out everything on the line.
"Good!" John muttered softly as he nodded his head in approval. "She has fully committed her resolve to this tribulation. Only by being prepared to put your life fully on the line can one be ready to undertake such a task."
Boom!
The deafening booms continued to intensify as the clouds thickened, and Iris finally stood up from her seated position. The Heaven Tribulation grade weapon appeared in her hands, as she prepared for the encounter to come. Although she had not fully subdued the weapon, and could not use it to its fullest extent, it was still a better weapon to undergo tribulation with than her daggers. The sword was more durable and powerful, making it a better weapon to fight against the heavens with.
"It's time," John muttered, his eyes slightly narrowing. The blackened clouds stopped churning, and everything fell into a deafening silence as if time itself had frozen. Almost immediately after, the nearly world turned white, as the first beam of lightning pierced down from above.
Bang!
The first lightning bolt pierced down towards Iris, its power awe-inspiring. Even from over fifty miles away, Adam and Chase couldn't help but shiver as they saw the beam, no more than a tiny sliver in their eyes, pierce down. Even from this distance, they could feel its incredible might.
Iris's calm eyes gazed up at the lighting strike as her sword slashed out towards it. A bright blue sword image slashed outwards, its power imbued with small flickers on lightning itself. Coming from the Heavenly Lightning Sect, Iris's talents also naturally included using lightning based battle arts.
Bang!
The two attacks collided in the air above Iris, the power of the collision shaking the land for dozens of miles. The nearby desert sand blasted away in all directions, while a deafening blast sounded over the lands.
In her first attack, Iris had successfully blocked the tribulation strike.
Bang!
Without hesitation, another lightning strike blasted from out of the blackened clouds, striking down onto Iris's position. Another sword image slashed out to meet the attack, as a battle broke out between the awe-inspiring heavens, and Iris, who appeared no larger than an ant when compared to her opponent.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The battle continued for over fifteen minutes, as Iris and the heavens battled it out. Each tribulation lightning attack was stronger than the last, as the intensity of the attacks slowly but steadily increased. While managing to easily subdue the attacks at first, Iris was starting to meet her match.
The attacks had grown to a level that she was unable to neutralize all of it, and portions of the tribulation attacks slammed against her body, bathing her in tribulation lightning. Blood began to flow down her arms and legs, while portions of charred flesh were visible as well.
A short distance away, John watched the battle unfold with arms crossed over his chest. His narrowed gaze studied each and every detail of the battle between Iris and the Heaven's, his guard not relaxed for a singular moment.
'From what I've read, and also what I saw with Kirii's tribulation, Iris's tribulation should soon come to an end, at which point she will be bathed with nourishing lightning, molding her body anew into a higher tier of existence. I had a bad feeling when I originally saw the lightning clouds gather, but maybe I was overthinking it.'
While Iris was struggling at the moment, she still had ample Qi reserves. At her current pace, she would be able to pass the test of the heavens, and become a Heaven Tribulation cultivator.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
More attacks were exchanged between Iris and the Heavens, as Iris became more and more damaged by her tribulation. Her body was bloodied, bruised, and charred, but her resolve and will remained firm. Her eyes locked onto the clouds above, her gaze narrowing as she could tell the tribulation had finally reached its climax.
"This should be the final attack," John mused as he felt the clouds gather its strength for the last attack.
Iris's hands clenched tightly around her sword, her breathing heavy and ragged. However, her gaze remained firm as she awaited the final attack.
Bang!
After a brief hesitation, the final attack blasted down on her, much more powerful than the previous attacks. Iris's aura flared out with her greatest power, as the sword in her hands slashed out with all her might. A beautiful and powerful blue sword image slashed out, flickers of lightning dancing within the sword image.
Boom!
The two attacks collided, inundating the land with its violent explosion. The battle lasted for a brief moment, before the lightning strike won out and slammed down on Iris below. As if expecting such a thing, her sword slashed out once again, the real weapon meeting the attack as the two opponents fought one last time.
John watched as Iris was violently thrown into the desert sand from the force of the collision, her body creating a massive crater. Sand and dust exploded out in all directions, while the lightning strike faded away.
John quickly rushed over towards Iris, but came to a halt as he saw her figure appear once more as she flew out of the crater. Her face was bloodied and slightly charred, but a radiant smile appeared on her face as she looked over towards John.
The battle had been incredibly difficult, but at the very end, she had managed to burst through the barrier that was heavenly tribulation, and step into the cultivation realms beyond.
"Congrat-"
John's words of congratulations quickly stopped as he felt an ominous feeling creep up within his body. His instincts flared fully, and his vision quickly snapped back up to the blackened clouds above. The clouds, which should start to become more gentle and begin to shower Iris with nourishing lightning were nowhere to be found, and instead the blackened clouds quickly grew with power far greater than before.
John's gaze narrowed as he stared at the clouds above, his eyes widening at what he saw.
Within the clouds, a pair of heavenly eyes made of pure lightning slowly formed, as if the heavens themselves decided to peer down. John's instincts flared as his power began to surge, but it quickly faded away as he noticed something critical
'These clouds...those eyes...they're not focused on me. I thought my presence had angered the clouds into action once more, but that's not the case...they're still focused on Iris. Her tribulation is not over.'