Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 117 and the end of the life and death Tribulation for Bryn. Hope you'll enjoy the chapter.
This week: Well, I'm proud to announce that I succeeded in adding an eleventh chapter to my stack of advance chapters. It may not sound impressive, but with my current writing rate, I should be able to add one every two weeks. Of course, that's assuming everything goes well, so it may not be entirely accurate. Still, it's a massive step forward for me and I hope it will convince some of you to subscribe to my Patre0n. I'm not greedy so I'll be happy with a few thousands of you becoming my Patrons... A man can hope, right? :) Joke(?) aside, I did start posting images on Patre0n about this novel. For now, they're mostly taken from google search, but if I have enough Patrons, I'm thinking about subscribing to one of those AI image generator websites. And before some of you say it, yes, I'd rather pay someone to do it instead, but like I mentioned many times before, I'm not exactly swimming in cash. And that's putting it VERY mildly. The truth is that if it wasn't because I really love what I do and my work has been well-received, though slow to get traction, I don't think I'd have persevered until today. Life's like that sometimes, I guess. Well, it's not like I'm unhappy, just financially poor, so I won't complain too much.
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
A few instants later, Demian, who was observing the ongoing Tribulation with mounting concern, noted how battered Bryn's armor had become. Even from his location a few kilometers away, he could see the cracks marring the previously seamless golden-brown metallic suit, its spirituality clearly diminished from being stricken repeatedly by Lightning Bolts carrying strength equivalent to a Rank higher than its own Tier. If it were only the armor, it would not be such a big deal, as items could be repaired or even replaced if they were broken. No, the problem was the woman inside the suit of armor. If even Peak Tier 2 armor could not bear the strain of repeated Lightning strikes, then the fleshy body below would obviously fare even worse. Granted, he knew that the redhead's healing factor was relatively high, even compared to others at Peak Tier 1, which, with the use of Healing Pills, meant that she could regenerate from the damage, unlike her armor. However, Innate regeneration had its own limit, which was basically one's own Blood Energy. In a way, a stronger healing factor only meant that for the same injury, a much lower amount of Energy was used more efficiently. But it did not remove the need for Energy, and once that bottomed out... 'Please stay alive, Bryn!' He prayed inwardly, thinking that as long as she was alive, even if she was completely crippled, she could be healed up completely. If not by conventional means, then through bonding with him. Sure, it would not be the most romantic nor the most 'efficient' way for either of them, but would he care about details like that when her life was at stake? Clearly not! Of course, all of it was hinged on her staying alive. 'Fuck! Waiting here without being able to help is killing me!' He exclaimed inwardly while noting the Eighty-First Purple Lightning Bolt forming above the woman's location, its power completely unprecedented. His expression increasingly solemn, Demian wondered. 'Can she even resist that...?'
His pondering was cut short when the Bolt suddenly fell on her, its speed, power, and brightness overwhelming the young man a few kilometers away. Slightly less than a blink later, almost too fast for his brain to register, the only thing left at the platform center was Bryn's body. Or more specifically, what was left of her body. Indeed, the cracked armor had been utterly pulverized, leaving her 'naked' body standing there unmoving with no trace of her huangfu or even her underwear. Those two pieces of clothing had clearly long been burnt away after she stopped diverting any Energy to protect them from the highly volatile Energy constantly striking at her. Priorities, right? In any case, her nakedness evoked no lust in anyone around since most of her flesh had melted to some degree, while her previously white jade bones were all, at the very least, partially fractured, with the thinnest ones having been shattered into small pieces that were missing some bits. How she was even capable of standing there was a mystery, especially since what was left of her hands still held her halberd in a defiant posture toward the ruthless Heavens. The tragic sight had barely registered in his Mind before Demian's body moved automatically toward his older cousin, whose life-and-death was unknown, leaving even Sera and Liya behind to avoid being slowed down even by a moment. With his speed, flying a few kilometers would take at most a few instants, which was objectively inhumanly fast, but still seemed too slow for the young man whose anxiety was shooting through the roof, making his Inner Energy begin to riot inside his body. A single thought was on repeat in his head: 'Please be alive! Please be alive! Please be alive!' Seeing the state of her body from afar, he knew that there was no way a normal Peak Chi Gathering, despite their strong healing factor, could have survived that kind of injury. As for geniuses? He was not sure. But Bryn's raw potential and individual attributes should even be beyond normal geniuses, something even he, with his limited knowledge, knew clearly. That was what kept his hope alive, the only reason he had not lost his Mind to despair. 'She has to be alive!' He told himself, his words more akin to a prayer than true conviction.
As his thoughts were firing off at incredible speed and his body barely moved a few meters forward, his brain registered three people standing by Bryn's mangled body. Alarmed, his Mind cleared out a bit, allowing him to recognize them as Sergei, Ling, and the Protector General. A bit overwhelmed by their speed, he nonetheless chose to put that thought aside as Bryn's survival was much more important than a useless inferiority complex. 'What are they doing...?' He wondered as his Mind barely registered their following movements while his body was still flying toward them as quickly as he could push his Water Elemental Energy and First-Grade Water Intent. While noting Demian flying toward their group of three, four if the poor girl's mutilated body lying in front of her was counted, Feng Ling's movement did not cease. With a thought, a few Jade bottles materialized in front of her, releasing the Pills they contained, the latter growing from bean-sized to egg-sized, all of them radiating Tier 3's fluctuations. The most impressive, however, was not their Tier 3 Grade, but the fact that each and every one of them was slightly beyond Peak Pure Quality, although not quite reaching Flawless Quality. Such Pills could normally only be crafted by those geniuses, Alchemist King/Queen, with hundreds to thousands of years of experience refining Pills. Average Alchemist Kings could reach Pure Quality for Tier 3, true, but it mostly plateaued at around 80% Purity, which, despite being theoretically in the same Pure Grade, was much weaker than the 99% Purity needed to reach Peak Pure Grade, let alone going beyond, barely brushing against the Flawless Grade, the latter corresponding to a 100% Purity. That was in a level of its own. What were the differences between the two 'levels'? Everything, from efficacy to ease of refinement, or even the amount of Pill Poison left in the body after consumption.
Normally, she would not have needed that sort of Pill for someone who just broke through to the Foundation Building Rank, since there would be no way for them to deal with such an amount and quality of Energy. The only result would be death by explosion. However, the young girl's body was anything but average, and even with her Half-step Flawless Grade Tier 3 Healing Pills, Ling was still concerned. 'You better not die on me, Girl, or cheering up those three will be a real headache for me!' The older woman thought, her 'light' words belying her true feelings. With another command, the Pills disintegrated and flew toward the mass of flesh and bones below, merging with them instantly. As soon as that cluster of Energy fused with her body, what could barely be considered a human body started reforming, with her broken bones reforming at high speed, her ruptured Organs regenerating even faster, while both her tendons and muscles knitted themselves at a speed that defied common sense. As for her golden skin, which was mostly burnt away along with her clothes, it materialized on her flesh in a strangely captivating, but macabre spectacle. 'Fuck! I may have seen that shit many times before, but it's still disgusting as hell!' Ling exclaimed inwardly from the disturbing distortion her skin was going through due to her muscles recovering underneath it. Nonetheless, the woman was professional and did not let her thoughts affect her movements or even her facial expression. An instant later, she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking. 'She should be fine from now on as long as...' Pausing briefly as she felt a new fluctuation in the air, she added, a delighted smile breaking through her previously solemn look. 'Here comes the rewards.'
Indeed, while the group was busy doing their best to keep the young woman alive, the Dark Clouds hovering above their head had been going through a strange transformation. Losing its dark color, the cloud sea began condensing at high speed while changing color in only a few instants. Now dark gold and barely a tenth of its previous size, the Tribulation Clouds began dropping toward Bryn's unconscious figure before merging with her body. As more and more of the Dark Golden Clouds fused with her flesh, her already incredible fast recovery sped up even more to the point that barely a few instants later, she was lying on the ground, her body pristine with no trace of any of her previously horrific injuries, although she was still unconscious. With a thought, an opaque barrier instantly covered her naked form, with Ling sending to the two men standing by her side. ["Stop ogling her, you two. She's already taken."] With the General having lived for a few thousand years and her husband being extremely loyal to her, she knew they did not see the girl that way, but she was playful by nature, and now that the little giant girl was out of danger, she felt that letting off some steam was just right. Speaking of which... Noticing Demian reaching them, she turned toward him and said in a joking tone. "Scared for your little wife, are you?" Instead of commenting on her 'joke', the young man questioned her, his tone barely hiding the dread he felt inside, obvious from the fact that he spoke in Russian instead of using Common. "Aunt Ling, how is Bryn?" Noting how he was close to snapping, his reason hanging on only because of his strong Will, Ling decided not to push him further, instead saying reassuringly. "Don't worry, Demian. Bryn has completely recovered and is now in the process of Essence Assimilation after successfully passing her Tribulation." Hearing that his cousin was fine, the raven-haired man felt the tension he previously felt vanishing instantly, leaving him lightheaded for a brief moment, his body so devoid of strength that he almost fell on the ground.
Fortunately, Seraphine and Adeliya arrived an instant later, the former holding the latter while using Dark Elemental Platforms to 'tread through the air' to their location. Having heard Feng Ling's assurance while in the air, the two felt the weight on their shoulders disappearing, although Sera's relief lasted only a brief moment before she sensed Demian about to fall to the ground, prompting her to appear by his side, letting down her mother before embracing her muscular, raven-haired lover. Having secured his body, she exclaimed. "I got you, Babe." Feeling some concerns and, although she did not want to admit it to herself, some slight jealousy toward the two's harmonious relationship, Adeliya immediately joined the two by holding Demian's other side, muttering subconsciously. "I'm here too..." Her reaction was so out-of-the-ordinary for her that it broke Demian's mind out of his bad mood. With an affectionate smile on his face, he embraced her back and whispered tenderly. "How could I forget, Love?" Of course, his other arm quickly found itself around Seraphine's thin waist, as the young man was a fervent believer in spreading his Love and care equally to every woman he had a romantic relationship with. Status distinctions between the women loving him? That was not the kind of man he was. He would rather 'wife them all up', as the saying went, than use the outdated concubine/wife system. Of course, if it were just roleplay... Gently squeezing the two women in his arms, his gaze then moved toward the opaque barrier, noting the growing fluctuations coming from beyond, along with the instant disappearance of his teacher and the General, leaving the four of them alone, waiting for Bryn's transformation to complete itself. Now, without worry for Bryn's safety, the three Mikhailovs started asking questions. "Teacher, was it a normal Tribulation? I mean, even with how strong Sis is, she almost didn't make it. If that's the case for her, how can anyone less talented even survive? And what about other Tribulations? Like the one at Tier 2, 3, etc.?" Sera asked, both her tone and her Heart filled with confusion, especially when she remembered how weak (from her point of view) Roman's Tribulation was. Comparing the two was like comparing a low-level cultivator to a high-level one. The thing was, they were both at the same Level, so such a disparity was too confusing for her, even though she knew about the adaptation property of Cultivation Tribulation.
Shaking her head, Ling responded, her brow slightly furrowed. "I've never seen a Peak Third-Grade Tribulation of any Tier, so I can't really be sure. But... It did seem too exaggerated, even for its Grade. It's as if..." She paused for a second while sporting a thoughtful look on her face, then resumed with a shake of her head. "...No, I'm probably imagining things." Feeling intrigued by her words, Demian pressed on. "What are you thinking about, Aunt Ling?" Moving her gaze toward him briefly with a clear look of hesitation on her face, she stayed silent for a few instants before saying. "This is just speculation on my part, so take what I say with a pinch of salt, okay?" The three nodded, although the words 'stop stalling and tell us' could be read from their expressions, eliciting a few giggles from the older woman, who added. "Since you want to know, I'll tell you." Halting her words for a second, she turned back toward Brynhild's direction, or more specifically, the barrier hiding her body, and resumed. "You all know that there are three known Grades of Tribulation, each divided into four sub-grades, the weakest being Low First-Grade and the strongest being Peak Third-Grade. As far as we know, the latter is the absolute limit of a Mortal World..." As those words reached Demian and Seraphine's ears, the two could somewhat guess what was coming next. "Emphasis on 'as far as we know'. The thing is, the Universe seems to enjoy making us believe we know everything before slapping our face with strange, unknown stuff, which either partially or even completely invalidates Cultivators' previous theories. I like to call it the SLAP." With an amused smile, Demian commented. "As in slap in the face?" With an identical grin, she briefly glanced at him and explained. "As in Slapping the League of Arrogant Pricks. But that's besides the point." Shaking her head, she resumed. "My point is: Peak Third-Grade may not be the limit, but simply the limit of our own talents." Seraphine suddenly interjected, her tone slightly unsure. "So Bryn's talent is stronger than every talent out there?"
Thinking about a few 'dubious' points of Bryn's past, Demian suddenly thought. 'When you think about it, she's the perfect template for a Cultivation novel's protagonist. What's with the tragic backstory, her cultivation stuck at a very low level for a long time before exploding upward in a short time, and an abnormal amount of luck. But then, so am I... Speaking of which, does that luck come from her alone, or is it compounded with my own? After all, I don't believe that having those three overpowered Perks wouldn't give me some plot armor, something like Fate protection or other destiny mumbo-jumbo. If I follow that logic, that would then partially trickle down to my loved ones, making those three, at least, secondary protagonist materials in terms of strength and talent. I mean, my Physiology Perk literally does that already. I wonder if Fate is a thing though...' Before the young man could fall into a bottomless rabbit hole, his thoughts were interrupted by Ling's response. "Not necessarily stronger than all of them. Keep in mind that potential and true strength are two different things. In Bryn's case, if she died today, then her monstrous potential would have been wasted." Pausing for a second, she then added, her tone much softer. "That being said, she's definitely better than anyone I've met, or even heard of, so far. At least for those at the Chi Gathering Rank. Knowing that, her Tier 2 Tribulation should be even fiercer than this one, so she'll need to prepare for it more thoroughly than this time, or she might not make it next time." To an average cultivator, reaching Peak Foundation Building Rank was only a vague hope, let alone going through their tribulation to reach Core Formation Rank. However, with Bryn's talent, it was merely a matter of sooner or later, a clear inevitability as long as she kept cultivating steadily. Knowing that, there was only one way they could be sure that she would pass her Tribulation relatively safely: Bonding with Demian. Feeling Seraphine's gaze, Demian's eyes moved to meet hers, the Bond transmitting her unspoken words. 'Bond with Sis.' After a light nod of his head that confused the other two women watching them, Demian turned toward the attractive Asian woman and claimed in a calm, confident tone. "I have a way to help her at that time, so there's no need to worry, Aunt Ling." Unlike Adeliya, who immediately understood what was behind his confidence, Ling was slightly confused. Nonetheless, she knew the young man was anything but brash when it came to the girls' safety, so she simply replied in a playful tone. "As expected of little Bryn's future husband. Always the responsible man."
With his growingly thick skin, a consequence of dealing with his new Aunt's constant teasing, he nodded and replied in a tone matching hers. "Being Bryn's husband sounds pretty good to me, although that's something for the future. But I WILL do my best to make it a reality as soon as possible." As soon as those words left his lips, the peaceful Energy coming from behind the barrier went wild, bringing with it a brief but crushing pressure on the three Mikhailovs waiting a few tens of meters away before it disappeared as quickly as it came, thanks to Ling's casual intervention. "Control your Energy, Girl, or you'll end up a cripple again. That's not what you want, is it?" Ling exclaimed reproachfully. A few instants later, the storm of Energy calmed down, resuming its quick, but steady, strengthening. With an exasperated expression, she turned toward Demian and remarked. "See what you just did?! Making the girl all shy, to the point she almost lost control of her Cultivation, and came close to getting injured again. You'd better watch your mouth more closely, young man." Her shamelessness made him feel speechless for a brief moment, although the fact that he was objectively the main culprit made him hold his tongue. As for who started the whole thing and thus shared part of the responsibility? 'Forget it! I'll be the bigger man and plead guilty. It's definitely not because I know I can't win against her...' He thought 'convincingly' before letting out a sigh of defeat, saying. "Fine. I'm the one at fault." As soon as his 'confession' was over, he noted a glint of amusement appearing in the other woman's eyes, increasing the slight irritation he was experiencing. But, as a mature and responsible adult, he would not bicker with childish people. Instead, he would keep a dignified silence. He was definitely not pouting, despite the amused look on Sera and Adeliya's faces, who clearly begged to differ. Was their amusement genuine, or were they trying to hide some more complex thoughts after hearing his grand declaration? They were the only ones who knew the answer to that question.
With Demian falling silent, the three women started chatting sporadically, with many instances of the two youngest asking questions on cultivation in general, to specific subjects like items useful to defend against Tribulations. Time passed that way, from minutes to hours, until around half a day later, the Energy disturbance started slowing down before stopping completely, and with its end came a wave of curiosity toward Brynhild's current state. 'She's reached Foundation Building, so her Bloodline and Physique should have both evolved, right? Does that mean her appearance will change too?' Demian wondered as the barrier was still up, making him understand that the redhead was still not completely done with her 'upgrades'. Cocking his brow, he turned toward Ling and asked. "Is Sis not done yet?" Receiving a transmission from the other side of the barrier, a playful grin suddenly graced her beautiful face as she exclaimed. "Patience is truly not your thing, is it? But you're in luck! Little Bryn's transformation has just ended. Better prepare yourself mentally, though. There are some... 'Sizable' changes..." She added mysteriously before making a theatrical hand gesture toward the barrier, the latter vanishing immediately after, which unveiled the young woman previously hidden behind.
With a colossal full Moon hanging in the sky, Moonlight illuminated the entire platform, turning the night extremely bright for Mortals' standard, let alone the four of them possessing superhuman sight. Thus, it was with extreme clarity that the image of Brynhild's changed body appeared in their eyes, eliciting surprised exclamations from the group, with Demian even mumbling in both awe and some slight desire. "A Goddess..."