CHAPTER 902 THE THUNDER PUNISHMENT IS COMING

Barnes began to rack his brains for an answer to how the tribulation cloud was activated. But he

couldn't seem to grasp it.

There should be a reason why the eighth tribulation came.

At first, the Water Kylin stood frozen in shock, but then, he recovered and quickly flew out of the

forbidden area.

"Hey! Aren't you going to run for your life, too? Whatever's coming doesn't look so good," the Water

Kylin shouted.

"Why bother? We can't escape here." Finley glared at him. He knew that no one could ever get away

from the thunder punishment. As soon as it fell, everyone would be affected by it.

"Then let's just go back to the Raksa Sea," the Water Kylin urged on.

Chandler shook his head and said, "The Raksa Sea is attached to this land. Even if we go there now,

the thunder punishment can still reach us. I'm afraid it's too late."

"So what should we do then? Should we just sit back and wait for death?"

Everyone fell silent. Fear brewed among them like a restless storm. At any moment now, it felt like it

would surge and crest.

Barnes, on the other hand, was still deep in his own thoughts, trying to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly, somebody appeared in the forbidden area.

"Darren?" Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

Barnes had seemingly snapped out of his reverie and his eyes were trained at the figure in front of him.

But the Darren before him was expressionless. There was something cold about him in the way he

strode towards the fiend's arm and ignored Barnes.

"Master, I have brought back a worthy man," he said.

"What kind of man are you talking about?" the fiend's arm asked.

A golden figure then appeared in front of them, interrupting the expressionless Darren before he could

reply.

"My real body! Long time no see." Staring at Barnes, the figure grinned. His gold hair floated around

him like a halo. It made him a heroic and valiant figure.

Suddenly, Barnes' face twisted into something ferocious.

He let out a howl.

"It's you! I should have known that you'll be back. Well, you're just in time, my Inner Fiend."

Barnes finally figured out how the tribulation cloud was activated.

It was impossible for him to trigger the eighth thunder punishment alone unless his Inner Fiend was

with him and either one of them triggered it.

"Why do you still have so much resentment against me?" The Inner Fiend, on the other hand, remained

composed and elegant in the face of Barnes' fury. His golden fur seemed unruffled by all these.

"I do not resent you. I just want to smash you into dust." The stick in Barnes' hand shook violently. It

seemed to be egging for a fight.

"Don't be so anxious. Haven't you noticed that the thunder punishment is coming? Let's just put our

grudges aside until the punishment ends, okay?" The Inner Fiend tried to be placating.

This only provoked Barnes even further. His fury burned hotter until it threatened to reach its boiling

point.

Ironically, he burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you're making such a big mistake, my Inner Fiend," he said in between guffaws.

"What mistake? I don't think I'm doing anything wrong."

"You may be stronger than I am now that you have gotten rid of your suppression. I admit, I have no

chance against you if you decide to kill me now. But you should know that since we are from the same

soul, you won't be spared from the sufferings of the thunder inflicted on me. No matter how cunning

you are, if I perish, you'll perish along with me.

If I go down, I'll make sure to drag you along with me. If so, I will have no regrets."

Indeed, the eighth tribulation would be triggered only if the two of them were together. This meant the

two of them had to face the consequences together.

And with how powerful the thunder punishment could get, both of them would definitely get killed.

And even if they were to survive it, both of them would become eight-tribulation senior holy warriors

and return to their top levels. In this case, they would be evenly matched and it would be hard to tell

who would win between them.

By activating the heavenly tribulation, the Inner Fiend's evil intention had actually given Barnes a

chance.

They could either die together or they would regain their full strength at the same time. For Barnes,

both options were a thousand times better than just being killed off by the Inner Fiend.

"Really?"

The Inner Fiend sneered and turned his back to Barnes.

"What's to stop me from assimilating you first and then surviving the tribulation?"

Upon hearing this, Barnes began to tremble violently.

He hadn't thought of the fact that the Inner Fiend could assimilate him. If it did come to that, his

consciousness would disappear while the Inner Fiend would go back to being a seven-tribulation senior

holy warrior at the top level. In fact, he could even grow more powerful to come close to being an eight-

tribulation senior holy warrior.

By then, the fiend would truly have the chance to survive the eighth tribulation.

After all, even the ancient genuine emperor wouldn't dare cross paths with an eight-tribulation senior

holy warrior.

Only those holy emperors who had cultivated conflicting skills or the Bloody Shura race could stand a

chance against them.

But Barnes only snorted, thinking that the Inner Fiend was being foolish and cocky. He had always

known that the fiend could get arrogant and ahead of himself.

"Humph! Do you think you will succeed?

I've always known that you're an idiot, but this is a whole new level for you. You should activate the

thunder punishment after assimilating me first, but now you made the wrong move."

"Is there any difference? I don't see any." The Inner Fiend remained calm and nonchalant.

"Of course there is a difference! Which do you think will be faster? Can you assimilate me before I

explode myself?" As the Inner Fiend heard Barnes' clarification, the expression on his face morphed.

Barnes had already decided to destroy his own soul and body if the Inner Fiend chose to kill him. In this

way, the fiend would be left alone to deal with the thunder punishment.

"You!"

Panic welled up inside the Inner Fiend, but he could only sigh in regret.

Tension and anticipation filled the air as the thunder punishment drew closer. Adding to the atmosphere

was Barnes' plan to rip himself apart. Death was looming over them as the seconds ticked by.

"Very well then. I won't assimilate you for now. Let's put our grudges aside and join forces to fight off

the heavenly tribulation. Then we'll reach the top level together."

The Inner Fiend tried to be as persuasive as he could to mollify Barnes.

"Bastard! You were only supposed to be inside my head, but then you robbed me of my body. I hate

you so much. And now you want to escape your punishment? I won't let that happen!"

With that, Barnes charged at the Inner Fiend with his stick in hand. He was completely livid. The fury in

him had pushed him to gather all his strength until stick shadows began to rain down from the sky.

Faced with the sudden attack, the Inner Fiend didn't immediately go for the offense. Instead, he met

them head-on, evading each blow before it could hit him.

He threaded carefully, mindful of the fact that Barnes could choose to explode at any time.

If the Inner Fiend attacked Barnes with his full strength, Barnes might go crazy and explode himself in

the blink of an eye. However, it would take at least a few minutes before the Inner Fiend could fully

assimilate Barnes.

The time gap made the Inner Fiend hesitate and didn't dare to go all out. He had to stop Barnes from

exploding himself.

"Hey! Calm down, will you? I promise that once we get through the heavenly tribulation, I will never be

your enemy again," the Inner Fiend bargained as he used his own stick to block Barnes' attacks.

"Are you implying that I am afraid of death? Or that I am a coward?

I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm not afraid of death, and I am most definitely not a coward!"

Barnes let out a mighty roar that seemed to reach deep inside the Inner Fiend. The latter began to

panic.

"You guys, step back or else you will also be destroyed."

Fear began to settle over the first fiend ancestor as the thunder punishment drew even closer. And

while he wouldn't die even if the thunder punishment struck his indestructible body, it would take him

many years to recover from the hit. He couldn't afford to lose that much time as he didn't know when he

would have another chance to escape from the forbidden areas.

"Stay out of this." Barnes gritted his teeth and hit the first fiend ancestor's arm with as much force as he

could muster.

The fiend's arm howled in pain.

He just couldn't comprehend why Barnes was reacting this way.

A loud crack echoed through the sky, followed by another.

Dark red lighting snakes rained down from the void as the thunder punishment continued to churn.

They filled the air with their heavy bodies, wriggling and tearing through the sky. They zigzagged

across the clouds and landed heavily on the ground.

Dark clouds hovered over the forbidden area. A storm growled angrily inside it, gathering the darkness

until everything was shrouded with gloom.

Imminent destruction was coming.

Countless creatures began prostrating on the ground, terrified of what was to come.