All eyes widened in disbelief. They had expected a great beast to be ascending in tribulation, but instead… it was a demonic cultivator?
"A demon cultivator? Seriously?"
"How did a demon cultivator sneak into the mountains without the beast horde noticing anything?"
Shock rippled through the human ranks, but the beast clans weren't any better off.
A cluster of half-beast cultivators stood frozen, staring at the figure suspended in the sky. It felt like a slap to the face.
While they had been struggling at the frontlines, their enemy had already slipped deep into their territory and was now attempting to break through to Divine Transformation right under their noses.
Song Wanníng hovered high above the mountain, wrapped in thick demonic energy. Her figure was shrouded, her original appearance and spiritual signature hidden completely.
Even her own father wouldn't recognize her like this.
She looked down at the chaos below with cold, detached eyes. Originally, she had planned to assist the Song Clan first. But unexpectedly, the demon beast had abandoned its fight and was now flying straight toward her.
"Who are you?" The beast's voice rumbled as it ascended. Though they were still far apart, its words seemed to echo right beside her ear.
Song Wanníng was now fully locked by Heaven's will. Anyone who interfered would immediately be caught in the tribulation alongside her. Even a Divine Transformation beast like this one wouldn't dare take action lightly.
Even if it wanted to kill her now, it could only watch.
"Who are you?" she asked in return, deliberately distorting her voice until it sounded like an old man's—gravelly, hoarse, and unreadable.
"I am the king of all beasts—Feng Yao!" the beast declared proudly, licking its crimson lips. A gleam of aggression flashed in its eyes.
If it could devour this demonic cultivator, its own cultivation would surge even higher.
"Feng Yao?" Song Wanníng replied without a flicker of emotion. "Never heard of you."
But inwardly, her heart skipped.
In her past life, though she had never seen him, the name Feng Yao had been infamous.
He was the one who died for love.
And the one he had loved was Ye Chuxue.
"So this one was another "devoted male lead," was he?"
The last one had been the demon prince, who had ended up crippled by her own hand. And now another one showed up.
Song Wanníng's gaze darkened, a sharp trace of killing intent flashing in her eyes. She strongly suspected the Song Clan disciples had died at Feng Yao's hands in her past life. Slaughtered like insects, treated as mere nuisances in his path.
Maybe it had been personal. Perhaps by then he had already met Ye Chuxue and learned of the grudge between her and the Song Clan, and had taken revenge for her sake.
Possibilities raced through her mind, each one more infuriating than the last.
She suddenly smiled.
A beast king, was it?
So in love he died for it, was it?
Then come. Let's die together.
A glint of madness flickered in her eyes. Without hesitation, Song Wanníng flew straight toward Feng Yao.
At that moment, the skies cracked open. A blinding bolt of divine lightning tore through the darkness and came crashing down.
Feng Yao's eyes went wide. "You're insane!"
Once someone interfered in a tribulation, Heaven's wrath would multiply. That was common knowledge. Cultivators always picked their tribulation sites carefully to avoid this kind of chaos.
He had only dared provoke the demon cultivator because he was certain she wouldn't drag him in.
But now, he had run into a lunatic. Feng Yao regretted everything. But it was too late. The moment he drew near, the divine lightning locked onto him as well.
The regular thunder tribulation instantly transformed into heavenly punishment—pure, destructive divine retribution. This wasn't a trial. This was a sentence.
Feng Yao panicked and tried to flee, cursing Song Wanníng to the heavens.
Boom—
The divine lightning struck, completely swallowing both their figures.
"Holy crap, that's Nine Heavens Divine Lightning?! What kind of sins did this cultivator commit to deserve that?"
"This is terrifying. Is this what Divine Transformation tribulation looks like? Suddenly I don't feel so eager to break through..."
"Still, this could work out for us. If both that demon and the beast get taken out, we'll be safer for it!"
By now, all human cultivators had retreated to their camps. Protective arrays had been activated across the border.
Everyone was nervous.
If either of them succeeded, the battlefield would soon see not one but two Divine Transformation threats. And neither of them were human allies.
Down below, everyone silently hoped for failure. Song Wanníng had no idea, and even if she did, she had no time to care.
The moment the divine lightning engulfed her, an unbearable pressure slammed down on her chest.
For a moment, she thought she was done for.
But deep down, she knew it wasn't over yet. She wasn't someone who would die so easily. Her confidence came from the strange Eight Trigrams symbol that had taken root in her dantian.
It rotated constantly, a swirling pattern of demonic and spiritual energy that pulsed with an unfathomable power—vast, ancient, and completely unyielding. Even as the lightning began to form above, the diagram had already started to stir with excitement.
Song Wanníng formed a hand seal, her posture straight and unwavering beneath the thunderclouds.
The Eight Trigrams pattern radiated outward from her core, forming a protective aura that wrapped tightly around her body.
The first bolt struck.
The symbol quaked violently. Cracks appeared, and it seemed moments from collapse, but it held fast.
It shielded her, absorbing the worst of the divine force.
Feng Yao, however, was not so fortunate. As a beast cultivator, his tribulations were always harsher. Beasts were born vulnerable to lightning, and even one at the Divine Transformation stage couldn't fully escape that weakness.
The divine strike hit him head-on, ripping through his beast form and forcing him to reveal his true body—a massive, spotted leopard.
Every hair on his body stood on end with terror.
"Aaagh!"
He let out a pained cry.
The next moment, his fur was scorched clean. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. The bolt hurled him across the sky, crashing him into the mountainside. A crater over a kilometer wide opened with a deafening roar.
Thud—
Fengyao smashed into the bottom, bones shattered. Blood spurted from his mouth as his vision spun. He couldn't even get up.
His mind was filled with panic.
Humans had artifacts and techniques to help survive tribulations.
Beasts, though, had only their bodies. Their survival was a gamble.
But this…
This wasn't a gamble. This was a death sentence. This was divine punishment, not tribulation!
He wanted to vomit blood from regret. Just what kind of monster had he gotten involved with? If he had known, he would never have gotten close to that "man."
But Heaven had no time for regret. The second divine bolt ripped through the sky. Its oppressive presence sent tremors through the mountain.
Feng Yao shuddered and closed his eyes in despair. If he somehow survived this, he would probably be dropped all the way back to Fourth Rank.
Boom—
Lightning slammed down again, drowning his figure in light. On the other side, the Eight Trigrams seal was still barely holding. But its resistance had completely enraged Heaven.
The third bolt came down with unstoppable force, carrying the fury of the Heavens themselves. This was not just power—it was wrath.
Everyone below, human or beast, collapsed to the ground under its pressure.
They couldn't lift their heads. They couldn't breathe.
For a moment, the world itself seemed to go silent.
Song Wanníng raised her head.
Her eyes, sharp and defiant, met the sky.
And she moved forward.
Boom—
The Eight Trigrams shattered.
She plummeted.
Crash—
"Aagh!"
Her body slammed down hard—right on top of Feng Yao.
The impact knocked the breath out of him. He nearly fainted from the pain.