Quest Maker: 381

Title: Tribulation Galore (3)

“Unending source of spirit energy, causal comprehension, fortunes of the otherworldly realm, breath of several laws, a domain that makes the invulnerable gods… vulnerable, and another martial soul that he has yet to use. A martial soul bent on undoing the efforts of old gods spent creating the protective layer upon the mortal realm under our rule.”

A golden-haired goddess decorated with blue-silver armor stands out amongst the gathering of the gods. A pair of pure white folded wings extend out of her back, exposing her creamy skin due to a lack of fabric on her back.

Her golden pupils blaze in contempt as she regards a tanned, blue-haired, and bearded barbarian.

“That’s the kind of talent you either subdue or welcome as your equal. Quoting you— your wisdom as wide and deep as a sea— failed to understand this much.”

Poseidon looks back at her with upturned lips. But his annoyance is clear. The muscles of his exposed torso flex. The living totem of a sea on his chest rage with a storm.

“An equal? Let’s say even if that was possible, what about you? Your descendant is quite the seed, eh? To raise a generation of Gods and increase the competition as if it wasn’t enough already.”

Angel looks at Poseidon mockingly, “He broke my limitations. He disrupted my intent on my greatest descendant only to make him improve. Who will not grow fond of such a formidable seed? Even Toxin’s remaining divine intent could not sway him. At least, when, no, If I confront my descendant, I would not hate him. He has my respect.”

“Hah! There you go! Ridiculous! You act as if we don’t know how much venom flows in your veins. Respect? Formality? You and your brethren are the same!” Poseidon’s voice rumbles, and the world of greenery with one lone ancient and towering tree begins to face a shift. Dark clouds begin to gather overhead, but a ray of golden light pierces through the swamp of dark clouds. Their eyes glow a hazy but outright divine glow.

Yet, they do not get physical. They don’t need a painful reminder from the owner of this pocket dimension and settle down.

Her voice brings warmth and calm to the situation as the Supreme Goddess of Life interjects, “The tribulation was meant to be a battle of attrition because the Law of Life is more passive even if it feeds Death. But the Tribulation will alter itself since Beast Sage has achieved control over a part of Life’s Corrosive Circle of Death.”

“What do you think?” A lively voice sets another tone. An energetic vibe forces itself into the calm setting the God-King of Life had just set. All could feel the impish smirk even when they could not peer through him using their divine intent as positive and negative forces of the real collide in him and mingle with each other to create a curtain of divine distortion.

Gui Mei looks at the dark-haired teen who can barely hide his smirk.

“It’s apparent that you have some impression of the boy.”

“I do,” The teen god chuckles, “He has yin and yang sculpting him physically. His mind borders life and death. All he lacks is the laws of Creation and Destruction before completing the set.”

Despite his strength and rank that sets him on the top of the Divine Beings alongside Asura, Destruction Gui Mei, Creation, and Kindness— his absurd words are met with scoffs.

“I think it will take time,” Gui Mei responds.

“Tribulations have always been a relatively simple affair. The expression of Divine Might is either met with crumbling defenses or an intense counter that endures the tribulation. But this is the first time a God without his God Tablet and a mortal who only lacks the comprehension of the higher dimensions to defeat most of the weaker ones here are… learning from the tribulation.”

“You’re saying the heaven favors them?” The God-King of Life and Creation worries softly.

Gui Mei looks at his wife gently. As the God-King of destruction, a mere gaze from him is enough to ruin new gods. But his expression remains soft in front of his wife.

“Heaven favors none,” Gui Mei speaks in a tone that leaves no space for rebuttal.

The stronger a God becomes, the greater they realize the vastness of heaven and the realm of strength above them.

His words contain layers of comprehension that make others mull over it and view the battle down in one tiny bit of the vast mortal realm they control.

Heaven favors none.

What is heaven?

Why can’t gods control heaven but merely influence it?

What is stopping them?

Can these limits be removed?

If Heaven favors none, why does it even lets the existence of gods unchecked? Why differ between gods and mortals?

Why differ in talents of two individuals?

Why weave different threads of destiny?

A single sentence rouses several emotions within everyone, including the other two God-Kings beside Gui Mei and his wife.

— — —

Gods are invulnerable to mortals.

This invulnerability exists because of one reason alone— comprehension. When one actualizes godhood after competing with Heaven for a piece of law and then completes the final bit of tribulation, they are made aware of another level of existence.

For instance, a mortal understands up and down, left and right. A god understands diagonal, spatial blinks, and many other things. So, how can mortals just harm a being that simply exists beyond them?— Using the concept of equality that throws every benefit out of the window in favor of the user, but only one domain of this kind exists, and Xunji has had the displeasure of facing it.

Simply said, mortals exist in a dimension considered 3-dimensional. Gods are made aware of the 4-dimensional.

Yes— made aware.

It encompasses this reality but exists outside of it, nevertheless like a protective blanket.

So, how could Xunji claim he is invulnerable in a mortal plane? With his God Tablet, he may have, but without it, he is a mortal who can draw faith to comprehend laws and higher energy that only he can sense in this plane to enjoy the benefits of god— Benefits that elude him in this tribulation.

Heaven favors none.

Qian Xunji is still a god— He has a tenth spirit ring; He still has true domain; He is still stronger than Ja Sun— But his effective strength is cut short.

In the battle of comprehension where Xunji sought linear and guaranteed growth without risking the might of tribulation as it severs said connection to the higher realm— Ja Sun leaped forward to danger itself. He sought death or development. There has never been any in-between for him.

A man as broken as they come— but just right for this world. Or any, for that matter.

Qian Xunji flies across and dodges the swift orbs of life that pose a threat to him. His immortal qi can deal with them conveniently, but it is no longer unlimited. He can no longer draw strength from his rightful place for the time being, after all.

*Crackle*

*Crackle*

*Crackle*

Bolts of purple lightning weave around him as a web. While Ja Saun cannot control the arcs of lightning, he can undoubtedly steer them using the distorted space around them!

A Grandmaster.

‘Now I have truly left master behind in everything,’ Ja Sun smirks. He is pleased. No, more than that. He is one step closer to completing his mission. A mission he set for himself. He can easily invoke a godly tribulation for his ascension right away, but he intends to be a Grandmaster in all the other laws before taking on the task.

‘Every Law is unending in a sense. Even in the realm of a Grandmaster, I don’t possess the knowledge of all Spatial Grandmasters. They may have a few pieces of the puzzle that forms their comprehension, and I have mine. Being a Grandmaster means that I can understand what they can.’

Ja Sun chases after a slick Xunji who has mastered the art of running away. Even lightning that can cut through space fails to catch the Blood God, but Ja Sun isn’t giving up. Seven of his eyes glimmer in a spatial silver haze as the life orbs multiply around Xunji for some reason, and then they collide!

‘Spots of distortion eaten away. Not the space itself but the source of distortion— Ja Sun’s spirit energy.’

Xunji scowls and dodges when new arcs of lightning spark to life in calculated positions.

A web.

Ja Sun is weaving a web of death by feeding life.

‘It pays to have a spider as a wife!’ Ja Sun’s ‘mask’ splits open to reveal a monstrous grin. A long purplish tongue stretches out to lick the sides of his lips as he burns more spirit energy to chase after Xunji.

It has been hard to harm the Blood God after the initial surprise. But that is not due to a lack of motivation.

Bibi Dong has implied her need to settle scores with Xunji on her accord, but this won’t be the first time he would steal a kill if he succeeds. After all, he did kill Xiaogang’s father when that kill rightfully belonged to Erlong.

‘So damn slimy,’ Ja Sun scoffs under his breath as Xunji sacrifices a portion of his being to break from the net once again, but it does not harm him in the slightest.

‘I’ve diced the man for days and even have his brain matter in glass flasks. Is it their divine energy that helps them regenerate? I even burned the last of his blood, but he restored his condition. So, it must not be his body or the divine equivalent of spirit energy. The answer is either divine intent or… divine soul.’

Ja Sun muses using all the clues he has. After all, stepping into godhood would make Xunji divine in every sense. That is why he could manipulate someone’s Soul Origin with a thought while Ja Sun had to study the topic for a long time and get lucky with his trait.

‘Any time now,’ Ja Sun hoped to suppress Xunji longer, but both the men could feel it.

Another wave is building.

Heaven will not take it graciously that someone took control of a small portion of its tribulation. So, the next wave will be something a Grandmaster cannot control.

And it rumbles.

No.

It snarls.

— — —

The lake vibrates with a sense of anxiety. It’s an anxiety born from past hatred. It’s the hatred that transcends generations and ties into their mere species. Any beast with a hint of a dragon feels the same way.

Any spirit master with a martial soul that conforms to the family of the Dragons feels the same.

Hatred bubbles in Di Tian’s eyes as he whispers.

“How dare the heaven bring that back?”

The lake does not answer; It has no words. The tribulation is no longer a challenge but a true test of survival. A test that now rests in the hands of that atrocity.

“What is that?”

Erlong growls as Ultimate Fire brews and licks her glossy black hair. Not far from them, attracted by the commotion in the sky that revealed the tribulation to their eyes, Zi Ji roars!

“How the fuck is that back?!”

Within her anger is a shred of instinctive fear.

Just when things felt great as Ja Sun began to suppress the Blood God, this change smacked every spectator across their face but one. But unable to view her beloved face and survive the tribulation, Ah Yin lays on her bed with Bi Ji, Yuehua, Xiao Bei, and Bibi Dong. What should have been a relatively effortless affair in her mind now smacked her across the face, too. Truly… children are parents’ tribulation from the moment they try to step into this world.

“You can do it,” Bibi Dong consoles warmly. Even she cannot pay any attention to the tribulation.

“I know!” Ah Yin glares at the woman, “Next time, you get in my position and push that bastard’s greatest achievement, and I will be by your side cooing a whole lot of foolishness!”

Bibi Dong purses her lips and looks extremely done.

‘You don’t want the pain, but you also don’t want the mixed poison to numb your senses and smoothen the process of childbirth… boy, are we tough on him while acting like crazed loons ourselves.’

For once, Bibi Dong sympathizes with her man while quietly stroking Ah Yin’s head and holding her hand.

“Khuk!” Ah Yin grunts in pain as she exerts once again.

“You know,” Xiao Bei chuckles. “Ja Sun could have just teleported your child out of your body—” But her words are cut short. Bi Ji and Yuehua step away from the mother of one. Meanwhile, Ah Yin’s glare settles on Bei. A glare that promises sweet temptations of pain and punishment.

“Not that you need to hear it!” She squeaks fearfully and shrinks her neck.

— — —

“She really did it,” The prince chuckles. He stares at the beast birthing from the tribulation with whom he shares some familiarity.

“Heaven’s equality and fairness is a paradox of the highest kind. As they say in different worlds, one must fuck around to find out various new things.”

And with that, the prince prays solemnly for the survival of the Sage and the Blood God.

— — —

Arcs of purple lightning tears away from Ja Sun’s flimsy control as they coil in the night sky. Every spectator of the island once again fears if this is the end for them.

These past few weeks have not been easy on them.

Everyone has reconciled with their enemies.

They have spoken their hearts out to their beloved.

They have made their peace.

Children are not forced to study or train.

Work is merely a distraction.

Seven Guardians of the Island give away sumptuous meals and hold banquets in various cities every night for the citizen. Fearing the inevitable is useless. The Guardians resorted to giving the citizens they vowed to protect as much joy as they can.

Any day can be their last day.

Adults adopt a cover of indifference to numb their fears. Children will need help going to sleep.

But such a drastic change in the tribulation made them fear again.

Accompanying an unconscious Bo Saixi is a Grey-skinned woman.

Her tall, full frame is covered in a simple and thin white gown as she fails the need to wear anything else in this form. Her blue-grey hair reaches her ankle, and her blue-grey eyes reveal numb helplessness.

Stroking the small cover of grey scales on her cheeks that further add to her exotic appearance, the woman sits beside the unconscious Bo Saixi as she looks at the dull golden trident.

“I know you forbade anyone else’s entry into this hall,” she sighs and gently strokes Bo Saixi’s head, “But I just can’t leave you alone in the last moment of our lives.”

She adds with a weak chuckle, “Some Priestess you are. I watched you grow from a Sea Nymph to the Priestess you are. Sure, your strength surpassed mine, but that never dampened our relationship. Like always, you’d get annoyed if I fuss over you in front of others, but do you have to fall for every outsider? And each one is more aggressive than the last.”

Heated anger blazes in the woman’s eyes as she strokes Bo Saixi’s head.

“The tribulation is changing again. The barest hint of dragon’s origin flows in me, and it is terrified of the monster brewing above. It resounds the massacre of the divine. Saixi… I wish you were awake. I wish we could have chatted like the good old days when you completed your trials.”

Part of her wished for Bo Sixi to stir due to her words.

But that was a lost cause.

Bo Saixi continues to sleep peacefully.

‘If only you could have such peaceful nights of sleep without a wildly stronger opponent incapacitating you.’

The woman’s comfort is short-lived as her body trembles alongside the island.

Beasts deep in the abyss of the ocean lower their heads. None can face the brutality of the monster formed.

The last of the pure Dragon grinds his jaw as he, too, feels this pressure.

The roar of the Herald of Destruction responds to the needs of the Tribulation.

*GRRROOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!*

***

Alternate Title: Lightning Chase; Godly Evaluation; Last Piece to a Complete Set; Heaven Favors None… but Itself; The Troubling Changes; The Hint of Drake Fear; Angry Seeding Plant Makes a Sweet Rabbit Scared; Bibi Dong Understands; The Uncomfortable Lake; Competing Gods; Hypocritical and the Barbarian