The Dark Devilgod Tiger stared in complete shock from below.
Wait a minute!
How is this even possible?!
Hey!
At least leave me some of it!
While Thunder Tribulations were incredibly dangerous, they were also once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
The infusion of lightning into the body could refine the physique, purify soul power, and enhance strength.
It was immensely beneficial.
And yet—
Tang Lan was taking everything?!
For the first time, the intended tribulation target was actually just standing around doing nothing.
And he waited…
And waited…
For three whole days and nights.
The Dark Devilgod Tiger got so bored that it even dozed off again.
The quadruple-layered Thunder Tribulation, unable to strike down, had almost drained the surrounding world's energy dry.
Meanwhile, Tang Lan was still greedily drinking it up.
This seemed to trigger some kind of safety mechanism.
The Thunder Tribulation abandoned its "strength requirement" and simply discharged anyway.
A bolt of lightning suddenly struck the Dark Devilgod Tiger right on the forehead, jolting it awake in shock!
It looked around, confused.
—What just flicked me on the head?!
Then, another bolt of lightning came down.
But seeing how weak the lightning was, the Dark Devilgod Tiger didn't even bother dodging,
letting it zap its forehead again.
—So this is just a head flick, huh?
This is supposed to be a Thunder Tribulation?!
The Dark Devilgod Tiger's mind was full of question marks.
Meanwhile—
With no more energy left to exploit,
Tang Lan went all out and absorbed the rest within seconds.
The once awe-inspiring, catastrophic quadruple Thunder Tribulation
vanished with nothing but a faint pop.
As Tang Lan descended with a regretful sigh,
The Dark Devilgod Tiger's eye twitched uncontrollably.
The infamous Thunder Tribulation, feared by all soul beasts—had been reduced to… this?
No wonder he was planning to sacrifice himself to this guy.
He truly didn't follow conventional logic.
And yet…
For some reason, the Dark Devilgod Tiger felt a strange sense of pity for the Thunder Tribulation itself.
—It had truly been bullied beyond belief.
"That's it?" the Dark Devilgod Tiger asked in disbelief.
"That's it," Tang Lan confirmed.
"With that little power?" the Dark Devilgod Tiger asked again.
"With that little power." Tang Lan shook his head in disappointment.
The past two days had been fantastic for him.
He had managed to level up two and a half times, reaching level 79, with his progress bar almost full.
He was now just half a level away from completing the Raijin's Second Trial.
But then the Thunder Tribulation gave up and quit?!
That was frustrating.
Tang Lan sat on the Dark Devilgod Tiger's back, pondering how to gain the last half level.
The simplest solution
Would be to have Zhu Rong and the others, still on Seagod Island, generate lightning clouds to repeatedly zap him.
But considering that even the four-in-one Thunder Tribulation had only raised him 2.5 levels—
If he relied on Zhu Rong's drawn-out method…
It would take at least a month.
Too troublesome.
Then—
An idea struck him.
Tang Lan's spiritual awareness shifted to the middle dantian on his chest.
The "glue-like mass" had now condensed into a golden sphere,
Though its texture wasn't quite complete yet.
It was just one step away from fully forming a Golden Core!
Tang Lan's spiritual power entered the Golden Core prototype.
Inside, he found a vast world.
There, Ice Emperor, Snow Emperor, and Little Thunder were resting peacefully.
—Since most of his spiritual essence had merged into the Golden Core prototype, the spiritual world had also relocated here.
Now, all it needed was more energy accumulation.
"Master?" Little Thunder greeted.
"How's the place?" Tang Lan asked. "Noticing any differences?"
A difference…?
"It's much bigger than before," Little Thunder replied.
Ice Emperor shot him a glare.
"That's all you care about? Haven't you noticed how completely different this spiritual world has become?"
Little Thunder scratched his head in confusion.
It was Snow Emperor who finally explained—
"I don't know what method you used, but somehow, this spiritual world has merged with the energy you call 'spiritual power.'"
"Now, we can directly manipulate external spiritual energy to some extent."
"This spiritual energy is fascinating—it can be converted into soul power infused with Ultimate Ice."
"We still can't use soul skills, but we can at least maintain some basic combat ability."
As she spoke—
Snow Emperor took a single step forward—
And vanished from the spiritual world.
Tang Lan exited his spiritual domain, returning to reality.
In front of him, Snow Emperor manifested in her soul spirit form.
A wave of Ultimate Ice soul power swirled in her hands, shaping into a frosty longsword.
The blade gleamed with a piercing cold light—not quite as powerful as her Emperor Sword, but still a weapon forged purely from Ultimate Ice.
For opponents on Tang Lan's level, it would still be a major threat.
Not far away, Ice Emperor copied the technique, condensing an ice whip in her hand, grinning as she sparred with Snow Emperor.
—After almost a year of inactivity, she was itching for a fight.
Meanwhile—
Little Thunder was jumping up and down in frustration.
"How did you two do that?!"
"Come on, at least one of you teach me!"
"Stop playing and help me too!"
But Ice Emperor and Snow Emperor completely ignored him, too absorbed in their battle.
Before long, the Sunset Forest was transformed into a winter wonderland.
The Dark Devilgod Tiger, shivering from the cold, exhaled visible puffs of frost.
—Two Ultimate Ice entities together? Who was he kidding? Of course, this was unbearable.
Speaking of which—
Tang Lan turned to the Dark Devilgod Tiger with a questioning gaze.
"What extreme attribute do you have?"
"Huh?"
The Dark Devilgod Tiger curled up, replying offhandedly—
"Dunno if it's 'extreme,' but I'm pretty damn evil."
As it spoke—
It released a purple-black radiance, enveloping itself completely.
Any ice that touched the aura was instantly converted into soul power and absorbed.
—That's right, converted.
The "Evil" attribute was an evolved form of Darkness.
Its core characteristic was simple—
Assimilation.
The Dark Devilgod Tiger's infamous 'Devour and Evolve' ability was based entirely on this principle.
On the surface, it looked like it was consuming soul beasts and soul masters, breaking them down for energy.
But in reality, it was gradually assimilating them, making their power its own.
Assimilation vs. Consumption—
The difference seemed minor, but in truth, it was a world apart.
Consumption was simply breaking food down into smaller particles—
The food's form changed, but it still required additional processing to be converted into usable energy, such as soul power, internal energy, or spiritual power.
Assimilation, on the other hand, directly transformed external matter or energy into one's own.
Instead of digesting and refining, it immediately became a part of the user.
It was faster, more efficient, and infinitely more terrifying.
Realizing the significance of this difference,
Tang Lan stared at the Dark Devilgod Tiger, suddenly forming a new idea.
—Perhaps, before sending it to Seagod Island to feast on "seafood," he could conduct another experiment first.
And so, he acted immediately.
Tang Lan grabbed the Dark Devilgod Tiger and took off toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
"Hey? Where are we going?" the Dark Devilgod Tiger asked suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing special," Tang Lan replied casually. "You looked cold, so I'm taking you for a hot spring bath."
The Dark Devilgod Tiger narrowed its eyes, staring at him.
—Like hell he would be that nice.
But soon—
It caught a whiff of sulfur in the air.
Wait…
Was it really a hot spring?!
Then, it saw the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, feeling the overwhelming energy of the two opposing extremes.
The Dark Devilgod Tiger's eyes widened.
"The hell kind of hot spring is this?!"
"Are you trying to cook me alive?!"
"Let me go, dammit!"
The Dark Devilgod Tiger thrashed wildly.
But no matter how hard it struggled—
Tang Lan's grip was like steel, locked around its neck like an unmovable vice.
—This guy's strength was truly absurd!
"SPLASH—"
(End of Chapter.)