With her face parallel to the sky, Kierra proudly floated in the middle of the massive pit.
Heavenly Dao? What a joke!
If the Heavenly Dao couldn't prevent the Immortals from becoming Immortals, then it was simply useless!
This time, Kierra was exceptionally confident. She had survived a supernova before, and that was something that could wipe an entire star system away easily.
Was the Heavenly Dao going to destroy this realm? Kierra didn't think so.
With a thick barrier of light—Aegis—surrounding her, Kierra quietly awaited the punishment. Soon, terrible dark clouds began to gather in the sky, filling up the whole atmosphere and turning day into night once again.
Intense thunder cracked loudly and constantly, flashing fierce whips of lightning among the clouds. The onlookers seriously thought there were dragons for a moment!
As everybody gazed worryingly, the heavens finally made a move.
A cluster of thunder gathered far above Kierra, rapidly consuming nearby currents to form a deadly orb—a miniature planet of lightning. The sheer energy radiating from it was immeasurable, causing everyone to shudder involuntarily.
Being in the Tribulation Stage, both Mie Xieren and Xuanji knew how intense the heavenly tribulation could be. It was both a test of strength and courage, and one couldn't make it no matter what if they didn't have enough of either.
Moreover, the lightning from the heavens represented the way of the universe itself, and one could hardly go against it. Those who could were all tops of the tops—the Immortals living in another plane of existence!
Too risky.
'Please make it, Kierra...!'
Meanwhile, the archwizard was deep in her thoughts. As she gazed into the so-called 'heavenly punishment' above, she calmly aimed her hand toward it.
'This feeling... no doubt. Divine energy.'
Kierra had more or less expected it, but behind this facade of the heavenly was a source of divine energy. She had only seen it once throughout her life, yet it left a deep impression on her.
Nevertheless, this strike, being fueled by divine energy, meant that defending it was much harder to defend against. For good measure, Kierra applied numerous more resistance and defensive spells on herself, utilizing her quick casting speed.
BOOM—!!!
With a deafening explosion, the bolt came down faster than anything could move, raining pure destruction on a lone woman. In the midst of this, Kierra still kept her composure, reinforcing her barriers constantly.
One second. Two seconds. Three.
Kierra's Aegis began to crack, and her other spells were also worn out, bit by bit.
However, Kierra stood firm. Who was she? The best in the universe! That meant she was even better than the universe itself!
In an instant, the archwizard's heart gleamed a brilliant blue. All ten of her mana circles began to spin at incredible speed, aiding magic throughout Kierra's body and ramping up her strength by many folds.
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Resolutely, Kierra began to chant.
''SORROWFUL, KICKING THE GROUND STRONGLY,''
''LEAPING UP AND RAISING A FINGER TO THE LIGHT,''
''CLICK YOUR TONGUE, DEFY THE WIND OF THIS WASTELAND,''
''SING IN THE HOARSE CRIES OF A NEWBORN THROUGH THE NIGHT,''
From the depth of her being, an unstoppable will to defy the world itself was born. Rapidly, sparkling stars manifested in the air around Kierra, dancing about in support of her stance against the heavens. The archwizard's black robe and hat fluttered wildly as the mana storm spread, yet under those tearing winds were a pair of tranquil eyes.
''SHINE THE LIGHT OF YOUR BRUISED HEART,''
''ALL THE WAY PAST THAT FROZEN STAR FAR, FAR IN THE DISTANCE,''
''BREAK THROUGH THAT STIFLING AIR AND LAUGH FOR ME, DEEP WITHIN ME, ONCE MORE,''
Slowly flaring from her chest, Kierra's figure was endowed with an aura of distant stars, dyeing her already fair skin a frozen white and her hair a glazing cold blue. On the archwizard's palm, a small yet infinitely powerful orb formed. It had the appearance of a lone frozen star, radiating both blinding light and a bone-chilling aura.
Amidst the never-ending shower of lightning, the frozen star gleamed brilliantly, rays of light escaping the imprisonment of the heavenly strike. Kierra's blood-red eyes remained constant as she directly glared down at the sky; with her hand outstretched toward it, she uttered the final incarnations.
''ERASE IT ALL AND FLY; FIRE THE SHOTGUN INTO TOMORROW!''
''GET IT ALL OUT; TAKE THE OAR TO THE NORTH STAR INTO YOUR OWN HANDS!''
⌈FROZEN STAR—10★⌋
Kierra firmly grasped the star in her hand, and at that moment, immense glares of absolute zero were shot out, fueling the whole continent's atmosphere with cold air. Not only that, the heavenly lightning seemed to have been frozen completely, leaving Kierra visible to the onlookers.
''Hah...''
'I win.'
When Kierra opened her palm again, the match was set. The frozen star trembled dangerously before bursting out in a cosmic-level explosion, shooting a colossal beam the size of a country into the air, promptly devouring the heavens' lightning whole and freezing away the dark clouds completely.
Silence.
Kierra's dazzling figure as she bathed in the sunlight was forever imprinted in everyone's mind. This was unprecedentedly, undoubtedly, and convincingly the first time somebody had successfully rebelled against the heavens.
As the sparkling pieces of frozen clouds rained down, Kierra's condition slowly returned to normal, and the archwizard let out a sigh. It had been a while since she used a ten-star spell, and it felt like she had worked her mind for an hour straight.
Not bad.
Meanwhile, everybody below was in a daze. Their brains didn't have the capacity to comprehend the situation just yet!
''Well, shall we resume with the tour?''
''?!''
One moment, Kierra was in the sky, defying the will of the Heavenly Dao; the next moment, she was down here, looking ordinary. No one could predict this woman.
''Oh.''
Right then, warm rays of sunlight pierced through the remains of the dark clouds, directly pouring onto Kierra's current position. In front of her, a sole sunflower could be spotted.
Grown in the shades, through the turbulent junctures, it still stood strong, gazing bravely at the sun. Mesmerized by an unknown force, Kierra gently dug the entire flower up and put it into her space bag.
She would plant this in her garden.
For the others, this reaction was somewhat strange, but they didn't dare to oppose her.
After suppressing his immense curiosity, Xuanji finally began the Shaolin tour.
Initially, he wanted to use his sect to appeal to Kierra, yet witnessing her previous act, all of it felt silly. What even mattered anymore? Still, Xuanji patiently guided Kierra and her companies through the sect.
Compared to White Lotus, this place was certainly more extensive and more elaborate. Walking along the seemingly endless corridors alongside the others, Kierra quietly evaluated the situation.
''...Mie Xieren.'' She calmly called.
''Yes?'' The abbess reacted.
''Have there been an instance of an Immortal descending to this realm?''
''Hm... There was. Very scarce, however.''
''I see.''
''But why do you ask...?''
At this, Kierra gently shrugged, the corners of her lips perking up.
She could sense it—something was coming from the heavens.