"Lili!" Li Shuang stared intently at the place where Lili disappeared.
The lightning was gradually fading.
Her Lili would surely return successfully.
As the blinding light dissipated, Li Shuang looked dazedly at the empty space.
Lili...
Where was Lili?
The next moment.
The Black Abyss Sword suddenly rose into the air.
Myriad specks of light showered down from above, landing on the Black Abyss Sword.
Above the Black Abyss Sword, a tiny figure was re-condensing.
Li Shuang watched fixedly.
Her eyes instinctively showed a hint of joy, but she dared not rejoice too soon, only kept staring at Lili!
"Sister Li Shuang!" Lili's tender voice rang out: "There was a small problem!"
"What?" Li Shuang quickly asked.
Lili's voice sounded as if she was about to cry: "I... I think I succeeded."
Li Shuang breathed a sigh of relief, yet was somewhat puzzled: "Isn't that a good thing?"
"But... I can't move." Lili said, and burst into tears.
When solidifying her form, she found herself unable to return to the sword spirit space.
At this moment.
Let alone facing the thunder directly.
Just being slightly affected, she feared, would mean failure!
But.
Sister Li Shuang was undergoing the Tribulation of All Things!
Her presence here, wasn't it a burden to Sister Li Shuang?
The more Lili thought about it, the more annoyed she became, and she cried loudly.
She regretted it.
She was wrong.
She shouldn't have been so willful at this time, insisting on transforming from ethereal to solid.
If she brought trouble to Li Shuang's tribulation, she would not regret dying a hundred times.
"What was all that fuss about?" Li Shuang chuckled softly: "Lili, I'm here."
With her here, she would certainly not let Lili suffer even the slightest harm.
Lili cried even harder.
She didn't try to persuade Li Shuang not to worry about her.
Because she knew Li Shuang would never agree.
But.
Her sister had to face the heavenly tribulation while also protecting her.
How could she manage both?
Seeing the ninth bolt of thunder in the sky increasingly coalesce, Lili instead stifled her cries, not daring to make any more noise.
She could only silently shout in her heart.
Hurry up!
Hurry up and solidify her form!
As long as she solidified her form, she could help Sister Li Shuang overcome the tribulation together!
Her body was slowly changing.
Now.
Her head had completely materialized, and then, the materialization slowly spread downwards.
Just a little more time!
Just a little more time would be enough!
Li Shuang herself wasn't in a hurry; she looked at Lili with some amusement: "Now it's your turn to worry."
Lili immediately forced a smile that was uglier than crying.
What time was it!
Sister Li Shuang was still teasing her!
"Don't worry." Li Shuang gave her a soft smile. Her spiritual energy, at this moment, circulated to its extreme.
Since Black Abyss couldn't move now, she used her finger as a sword. The moment the ninth lightning tribulation coalesced.
The sword light from Li Shuang's fingertip arrived at the same time.
Sword light and thunder intertwined.
The next moment.
The sword light was swallowed.
The thunder also seemed to be somewhat diminished.
Li Shuang didn't let the thunder fall; she directly rushed towards the sky, meeting the thunder in mid-air!
The scattered lightning continued towards the ground, and Li Shuang, using her spiritual energy, formed a shield, tightly protecting Lili above her.
The scattered lightning was dissolved by the ice shield one by one, and Lili, who was being protected, was completely unharmed.
Half of her body had already solidified.
Originally.
Solidifying was a moment Lili had greatly anticipated.
But now.
She only prayed it would happen faster.
Even if it failed like this, it would be fine; she wanted to go and fight alongside Li Shuang.
Instead of just watching helplessly, as she was now.
In the air.
Li Shuang was battling the thunder.
The thunder roared down like an angry dragon, and Li Shuang's protective spiritual shield shattered inch by inch. She grunted, blood spilling from her lips, yet she fiercely resisted the scattering electrical arcs. She quickly wiped away the blood from her lips, not wanting Lili to notice anything amiss.
Distracted by protecting Lili, she couldn't exert her full strength.
The thunder, however, seized the opportunity, frantically burrowing into her internal organs.
Her meridians began to shatter.
Her organs began to bleed.
Bolts of lightning raged through her body.
Li Shuang gritted her teeth, holding on with all her might.
When the lightning dissipated.
Li Shuang descended, showing no unusual signs on her face.
She smiled at Lili: "See, this thunder is nothing at all."
Was it really... nothing?
Lili's heart trembled, but a smile appeared on her face: "Sister Li Shuang is the best."
Her body, already more than half solidified.
Soon, only her feet remained.
Immediately.
She'd be able to move immediately.
Lili looked up at the sky.
In the sky.
There was actually a tenth bolt of thunder!
According to records.
Ordinary people undergoing this Tribulation of All Things would only face three bolts of thunder.
With Sister Li Shuang's strength, she could probably pass it easily just by putting up a spiritual energy shield.
For the stronger ones.
It would be five thunderbolts.
Most talented disciples fall into this category.
In ancient texts.
It was once recorded.
Someone undergoing a tribulation faced nine five-colored bolts of thunder!
Only the most gifted among geniuses, the most monstrous among prodigies, could receive such treatment.
Even the strongest human expert, when undergoing the Tribulation of All Things, was probably no more than this.
But now.
Li Shuang's Tribulation of All Things, surprisingly, brought a tenth bolt.
The number ten, in ancient texts, doesn't appear very often.
Ten represents completion, perfection.
And the path of cultivation emphasizes letting one go, leaving a glimmer of hope in all matters.
Nine is the limit most of the time.
But Li Shuang pursued perfect advancement.
The word "perfect" exceeded the limit of nine.
Li Shuang looked at the tenth thunderbolt, which was just coalescing, yet its power was already more terrifying than the ninth, and she couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
She could almost hear the Heavenly Dao roaring.
You like perfection, do you?
Then come and taste this tenth bolt of thunder!
Before this tenth bolt of thunder, the previous nine were merely appetizers!
The tenth bolt of thunder surged across the dome, its five-colored radiance receding; this time, the thunder appeared black, forming a black vortex, like a gigantic abyss devouring all things!
The incredibly terrifying tenth bolt of thunder crashed down!
Li Shuang's expression became solemn.
If it came down to it.
She would throw all her remaining merit points into the furnace.
She had a strong intuition.
This!
This was the final lightning bolt.
To overcome this lightning bolt would be to turn a corner!
Li Shuang was about to meet the thunder.
Suddenly.
Lili's joyful voice rang out: "Sister Li Shuang! It's done!"
Li Shuang's gaze shifted slightly; she reached out her hand, and Black Abyss appeared in it.
Lili had returned to the Sword Dao space!
Black Abyss, now enhanced by the sword spirit, showed even clearer thunder patterns at this moment!
Li Shuang suddenly had a feeling.
This sword strike of hers.
Perhaps it could destroy heaven and earth.
So.
She swung a sword towards the sky.
This sword, she didn't specifically use any sword techniques.
But this sword was the strongest she had ever unleashed, to this day.