CHAPTER 616: HEAVENLY TRIBULATION?

Rumble! Rumble!

Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed across the world. At the same time, above the sky of the Ancient Blue Gate World, black clouds appeared out of nowhere, gathering like storm clouds.

These clouds formed far above the portal, so high that they were already in outer space. They continued to expand, spreading until they covered the entire world—and even beyond it.

Once again, the people of the world were left in confusion. What in the world was happening today? So much had occurred in just the last hour. Many who saw the sight instantly recognized it as a kind of heavenly tribulation, but the scale of it was beyond anything they had ever imagined.

Was this truly a heavenly tribulation? Or was it something else entirely?

The eye of Tarius, which could also perceive this scene, trembled slightly. He felt his entire being shaken.

"This... a heavenly tribulation?" he thought in shock. "This power... how can a tribulation of this scale appear in the Lowest Heaven?"

A tribulation of this magnitude wouldn’t surprise him in the higher heavens, but for it to descend here? In this place? This wasn’t just a tribulation. From his perspective, it was more like a heavenly punishment, something meant to destroy, to kill.

Even in his current avatar, which he used to descend into the lower realms, his avatar could die if struck by this heavenly punishment.

He shifted his iris toward the blinding light radiating from the grand palace, when suddenly, a figure appeared high above it.

He stunned as he can see that this figure of red hair man is a mortal and only touch the cultivation of low pseudo Immortal Establishment stage. But—

"What pure and powerful energy! How can there be an energy that pressures even divine energy to this extent?!" he thought in shock, as the spear before the eye trembled slightly.

Now, he could finally feel the energy directly from the source, unlike earlier and he was shaken.

It was on a completely different scale compared to the dragon and phoenix, who also seemed to possess this energy.

"Who is he? We saw no figure, no future, where this mortal appeared. What is going on?

"

He had truly been shaken over the past minute by several things he could not comprehend. He nearly lost control of the spear, causing its power to drop sharply from its initial state. Combined with the heavenly tribulation, which turned the energy around the eye into chaos, the spear could no longer maintain its original strength.

But then, Tarius’s gaze shifted toward the sword in Aldrian’s hand—and the eye began to glow with a deep red light.

"That sword... that’s the mysterious sword that killed gods! The sword that cannot be fought against... and cannot be wielded by anyone!"

Despite that thought, a surge of greed rose from his heart.

An artifact whose origin they could not understand, but it was said to be the Absolute Ruler’s sword. A sword that, even without being wielded by anyone, was already enough to kill gods. They could not imagine, if this sword were ever wielded by a god, wouldn’t that mean the wielder would become invincible across the entire cosmos?

Their group had only managed to reduce its durability after the sword endured countless strikes from many gods, before it finally escaped, alongside the dragon and the phoenix.

Something capable of killing gods was priceless to a being like him.

He wants it!

With that sword, his position among the gods would soar, and he would have a much greater voice among them.

But then, he noticed something about the sword, it lacked the aura of that mysterious sword from the past. In fact, it felt incomplete.

That made no sense.

The mysterious sword he remembered was far more powerful than this, which left him truly confused.

But then, something clicked in his mind. His thoughts shifted toward the heavenly tribulation... the tribulation and the incomplete sword.

"This is the tribulation for that sword. The tribulation to reach divine grade."

The red glow in the eye flickered for a few moments as he remained unsure of what to do next. The heavenly tribulation was still looming, ready to descend at any moment. It was powerful—so powerful that it could possibly destroy the sword. He could feel the overwhelming force pressing down from the sky.

He was confused. He was certain this sword was the same one he had seen in the past.

"Is this only a replica?"

"But if this is just a replica... where is the real one? Didn’t that sword follow that bastard dragon and phoenix here?"

Still, the most confusing part of all was the man himself. Who was he? Why did everything about him feel so wrong? A bad feeling kept rising within him as he looked at the man. He decided to speak first, his voice ringing out and echoing through the sky.

"Mortal, who are you?! Where are those bastard dragon and phoenix?!" he demanded, his tone sharp with the intent to intimidate.

But what he saw in response was Aldrian’s cold expression.

He was stunned, he couldn’t help but feel humiliated.

This man was clearly bad news, but he was still a mortal. And yet, a mortal dared to raise his head toward a god... and even show such open hostility? This was blasphemy. His pride couldn’t accept it. To see a mere mortal act like this before him—it was unforgivable.

"Tarius! Wait until I come to your real body! I’ll bring my judgment to you!" Aldrian suddenly shouted, pointing his sword toward the eye.

Hearing Aldrian shout something so absurd, as a mere mortal—Tarius finally lost it. His voice resounded in fury.

"Mortal who does not know the immensity of heaven and earth! You are asking for your own death!"

As his voice boomed across the sky, the spear’s power which had wavered earlier due to several disruptions began to surge again.

Tarius no longer cared how this mortal knew his name. None of that mattered now. This was a chance to kill him, and he would take it. He didn’t care if killing a mortal under the watch of a heavenly tribulation meant offending the heaven.

This strange mortal, an unknown factor outside of all their calculations, had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

The energy vortex appeared once again, as if trying to suck in the entire world’s energy. With the barrier that had protected the continent already gone, the situation turned even more chaotic. Winds and energy from across the land were being pulled toward the spear in front of the eye.

But before the situation could grow any worse, the people across the continent felt a sudden shift, the chaotic atmosphere turned calm. At that moment, Aldrian was using his domain to protect them. The spatial shield surrounding his domain blocked all chaos from the outside.

Then, countless eyes turned toward the center of the continent, where the golden light had not yet faded. From within that light, something began to take shape.

A colossal golden avatar materialized.

Gasps of disbelief echoed across the land. The sheer size of the avatar... it might be as massive as the Everlasting Silent Forest itself.

And the avatar was complete—not a half-body projection like most who could use the avatar technique. Its full form stood tall, as if challenging the heavens themselves—but in this case, it was challenging the eye in the sky.

Although most people couldn’t see the avatar’s head now, as it was far too high, they had seen its face when it first formed. It was Aldrian’s face, wearing a crown and clad in regal armor. Everyone instantly knew that this avatar technique could only belong to Aldrian.

Suddenly, across the continent, a new feeling stirred among the people.

Hope.

A hope that perhaps... they might survive this calamity.

"Lord Aldrian has come to save us!"

"Aldrian the Great has finally appeared! My lord, please punish that thing that brought destruction to this continent!"

"Lord Aldrian, please punish that thing!"

"Aldrian the Great has come!"

Countless voices shouted, all carrying their hopes toward Aldrian. They didn’t know if he truly had the strength to defeat that being, but he was the only hope they could rely on. In desperate moments, people cling to even the smallest light they can find.

And now, Aldrian was that tiny hope.

All of their hope and faith flowed into Aldrian, and he could feel it—strengthening him to new heights. The collective faith of the entire continent poured into him, surging through his body. He felt a tremendous boost in power, which he then fused with the full might of his domain. In that moment, he felt like the most powerful being in this heaven.

"DIE!"

Tarius’s voice roared as the spear before him launched. At the same time, heavenly lightning descended toward Aldrian, carrying the terrifying force of a pseudo–Immortal Stage. Its target was clear: the Sword of the End. Normally, such lightning would be disastrous for anyone even standing near the artifact, let alone wielding it.

But Aldrian showed no fear.

He welcomed it.

The lightning struck the sword directly, piercing through the avatar’s form, yet Aldrian stood firm, allowing the lightning to pass through the avatar and pour into him.

The lightning attack made Aldrian’s body tremble as the heavenly lightning surged into him. He felt the searing current run through him, but instead of pain, a powerful sensation flooded his entire being. Then, in that moment, he channeled the lightning directly into his sword.

The sword in his avatar’s hand became fully linked with the heavenly lightning. And then, he moved.

Slash of Vanguard!

With the combined power of heavenly lightning from the tribulation, the faith of the continent, and the full power of his domain, he unleashed his technique.

Whooosh!

The strike tore through the air, sending shockwaves across the surrounding sea. The sheer force of the slash collapsed the space around it.

The spear, charged with immortal power, met the slash head-on—and then—

DOOONG!