𝘏𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘨! 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦!!!

Above the Earth, in the presence of Heaven, a mighty lightning cloud incepted. Golden Lightning gathered and crackled so loudly that anyone seeing it might consider it the beginning of the End Times.

It was the beginning of Divine Tribulation.

But it's golden colour soon changed, taking a red hue as to symbolise the wrath of the Heavens to anyone who dared to go against it.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮! 𝘗𝘴𝘴𝘴t...!

"It has finally started."

An indescribable emotion could be felt from the voice.

For the past thousand years, Rihan had waited for this very moment. Various emotions sprouted from his heart as he imagined his return to his sweet home and family, overwhelming his mind for a moment. But he adjusted his State of Mind immediately.

After his Spirit was partially destroyed, he cooped himself in the Death Valley and recuperated while also making numerous plans.

He needed 500 years to restore to full recovery since he underestimated the Innate God's power a little much. Neverthless, after that, the last 500 years were spent on stabilising his cultivation realm, which included nourishing his Divine Seed as much as possible.

Now, after all the nourishment and care, the Divine Seed was ready to bloom out in utter magnificence.

'But first, I have to pass the Divine Tribulation.'

Divine Tribulation was a sort of test that not only would test his mind, spirit, soul, and Divine Seed, it also strengthened itself depending on the Karma he had accumulated so far.

'But the Heaven's Wrath has also mixed. They sure are hell bent on annihilating me.'

He chuckled to himself. But the hatred was evident on his face.

With the tribulation's color changing to golden red, it also incorporated the Heaven's Wrath—a type of mental and essence attack that would directly try to annihilate his Soul and Mind. On top of that, this was the highest form of Heaven's Wrath, which had the negative energy of all creations under heaven added to it.

"Hmm, it will not be easy."

He could feel his skin tingle. Even his Soul sent warning signals to him that the lightning up in the sky was dangerous.

His left eye slowly opened. It was one of the the Aura Piercing Eyes, which he stole from the Emperor of Pangu.

"Oh? It has a familiar energy."

Lightning Energy was the strongest Yang Energy of the World. It has the property of Evil Annihilation which can annihilate all that is negative in the world. This was the main reason Tribulation had lightning at its core since it tried to attack the negativity of the mind and soul, which cultivators referred to as Heart Demon. Overcoming one's tribulation ultimately purged these impurities.

But his Divine Tribulation now also had Yin Energy mixed in, which was the negative energy of the world. But strangely, due to some strange laws, both the energy did not conflict with each other. It was as if...

'Yin-Yang Harmony.'

Seeing two energies on the two extremes of the world coexisting in harmony, he instantly went into Absorbed State of Mind and achieved some enlightenment.

Nevertheless, it also had Annihilation property, and coincidentally, it was only just another form of death. And he had built some resistance to it from long ago.

'Maybe it was the right decision to stay at the Valley of Death.'

𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦–!

At that moment, his Divine Seed radiated out divine light. Numerous splits spread across it's surface as it suddenly disappeared from his Middle Dantian and appeared before his forehead.

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𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘥! 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦–!

The moment came nearer and closer. His Spirit expanded and blared in defiance, revealing his soaring fighting spirit. His Soul undulated and melded with his body, strengthening its spiritual aspect even further and making him into more of an energy being.

"Come."

That instance...

𝘙𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘮!!

A thick lightning bolt fell from the sky. Every creature in the world felt the malice exuding from it, dying the whole world in its amber gold colour.

–𝘈𝘩𝘩!

–𝘕𝘰!

–𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴.

–𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴.

It looked as though the lightning was a Divine Punishment tearing through the sky to deliver the judgement on the world. Every being despaired and closed their eyes.

But Rihan stared right into it.

𝘉𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘱...

𝘉𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘱...

Seeing the lightning bolt snaking down towards him, one word involuntary came into his mind.

'So beautiful.'

Indeed, it was beautiful. He thought that he would never get to ever see such a sight again.

Whole of the Heavens were in disarray. The Innate Gods were scurrying to stop him. How could it not be an exhilarating sight? The honour of achieving something impossible, something unimaginable, was right in front of him!

Amid his thoughts, the lightning struck him with full force.

"Kugh."

His Divine Seed scorched, and his soul trembled as his mind registered the huge shock on his existence.

The lightning did not dissipate but arced all over his body, targeting his Spirit and all the negative karma he had accumulated. Meanwhile, the Yin Energy came with an Annihilating Light as it tried to scorch him out of existence.

At that moment, his physique, which was at the Peak Tian Rank began to do wonders as it began to absorb all the Yin and Yang Energies. But even at the highest rank, processing such energy was not simple.

Nevertheless, it did lessen the burden on his existence. At the same time, his negative karma that was wedged deeper into his soul was slowly burned down. It came with an excruciating pain, but it was the price to attain Divinity.

If someone ever failed to withstand the pain, it was possible that the negative karma corroded away the Soul.

Godhood was a special State of Existence, in a higher dimension than mortals, so even a little bit of negative Karma could be disastrous for someone who ought to become a God.

Gods symbolised the Order of the Universe and were crucial to maintaining the structure of Laws. Without them, the concepts that define them could stop functioning normally, disrupt the smooth flow of the energies, and hasten it's creation and destruction cycle.

To ascend to such a grand position, negative karma essentially acted as impurities in their Soul which could flare up anytime and destroy their existence.

.

.

.

The absorbed energy soon converted to pure energy, which then got greedily absorbed by the Divine Seed. As it drank the highly concentrated pure energy, it recovered to it's original state—no, its radiance increased even further as its outer layer fell away, revealing a beige-coloured gaseous matter. It was the colour of the space element, the concept his Divinity was based upon. But there was also red and a metallic colour mixed inside, which symbolised his achievement as a Fighter and Swordmaster. No, when he looked even closer, there were miniscule specks of numerous colors present. These were...

'My achievements.'

His mastery, every truth he acquired, all his achievements, everything that defined who he was and what he would be was concentrated in that ball of dense gas-like matter.

Then, a question arose in his mind.

What was his Divinity? How could he define it? What exactly was it based on?

'I...'

He thought. What was that he wanted? What was that he wanted to be?

Was it his desire—no, his obsession over going back to his home? Did he want to be an absolute being with no equal?

What was his whole life for? All his struggles until now—the blood he lost and spilled—wasn't it that he just loved being indulging in such brutality?

How was he different from a demon? Although he might have unintentionally saved some lives, didn't he kill dozens, hundreds, thousands of times more than that?

Did he still have the audacity to seek peace and live harmoniously?

'I...'

Don't deserve this.

'I...'

Have no right to be a God.

'I...'

Will never find peace.

'I...'

𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬.

Something cracked at that moment.

'I...'

Will Not Stop.

'I...'

Will Move Forward.

'I... No. You–'

DON'T MESS WITH ME!

𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬! 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮! 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳!!!

Like a glass being shattered, something broke down and fell powerlessly. The myriad of negative suggestions haunting his mind, destabilising his existence bit by bit, were crushed completely.

The energy mass writhed and rippled as if wanting to take shape.

Finding his resolve and a firm belief in himself, he declared.

"I am the Owner of Space."

The beige-coloured energy violently rippled.

"I am the Master of Sword."

The metallic energy gleamed coldly.

"I am the Victor of Battles."

The red energy exuded murderous intent.

"I am... "

He looked up. He remembered all his time. The efforts he put in and the despair he felt every single second. But never did he lose hope, and he always ran forward. Even when all roads were closed and every path was blocked, he always found a new way to emerge victorious. That was why he could confidently say that he was—

"... The Conqueror of Adversities and Challenges."

•

•

•

•

•

Silence.

Everything went still. Every being, whether they were mere ants or mighty Emperors, stood still as if time had been frozen still.

And then...

𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦–!

The Tribulation Clouds stirred awake as if waiting for this opportunity.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!!!

Another lightning struck, but it's target: the mass of energy that was now taking shape.

It struck with ferocity, intending to disperse the energy mass, but instead it only got absorbed by it and refined into pure energy!

Without activating his physique, the energy mass exhibits the same property but with even more power as it effortlessly swallowed the lightning bolt!

And then, the mass of energy shone with a luminous glow as it began to mix and harmonise. All the previous distinct colours of the energy got mixed and emerged as purple.

That purple energy then flew into his body and settled inside his Middle Dantian as it also connected to his Lower and Upper Dantians. The Lower Dantian, which had its roots firmly placed inside the Body and Earth, withstand the burden, while the Upper Dantian, which had its branches in the Soul and Sky, stored the Divine Essence—the Godly Soul.

The energy mass converted into four Divine Seats which exuded archaic ancientness and mystery. In the presence of these Divine Seats, his Spiritas Qi and Dao Energy began the process of refinement and purification and then converted to Primordial Qi—the most ancient and purest Qi ever existed in the Universe.

Then, words began to etch on the surfaces of the Divine Seats. As he observed with his Consciousness, no, his Divine Consciousness, he could read every single word.

They were his Authority, his power, his Concept; they were the position of...

Space Ruler. Sword Emperor. Battle Sovereign. And, Adversity Conqueror.

And with it, he gained himself a new name—a new Identity that described his Divine Self. The name, which appeared suddenly in his mind was...

"The Spatium Asura of Victory"

𝘖𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘨–!

The heavens raged and trembled at the birth of a new God. But, nevertheless, they could not do anything as he had already passed the tribulation, and according to the Laws and Order of the Universe, he had rightfully overcame it, so Heavens now had no right to continue the tribulation in any form.

Slowly, the Tribulation clouds began to disperse.