Golden lightning erupted from Cade’s crystalline eyes, and he quickly forced his eyelids shut.

  “My eyes… what’s wrong with them?” he pushed out in a hoarse voice through his parched throat.

  Night released a sigh of immense relief. “I have no idea how you did it, but let me just say this—well done, Cade Ward. Well done!” She laughed wholeheartedly. “My Master’s eyes have finally found a rightful and capable heir. I could not be happier!”

  “I’m happy too, Senior Night. I’m so happy I think I might cry. I thought I was done for. But… how am I supposed to live with lightning shooting out of my eyes?” Cade asked, his voice heavy with concern.

  “This? This little bit of lightning is nothing. Don’t forget that you’ve only achieved elementary success in refining the eyes. This is just a start. For now, you can cover them with tribulation silk. Once your control over the eyes improves, you will no longer need it. Here,” she handed him a red scarf. “I expected you might need it.”

  Contrary to Cade’s worried tone, hers was overflowing with joy and satisfaction.

  The Asura felt the thick, dense fabric with his fingers, frowning deeply.

  “Senior, I won’t be able to see anything through it. I suppose if I ever need to beg on the streets, then I’m covered, but it’s not that great for fighting. Or walking.”

  Night released a playful snort, completely unbothered by his concerns.

  “You have the eyes of a god, Cade! Sure, you can only use a tiny portion of their strength, but it should be enough for you to see through your eyelids and the tribulation cloth. You can probably see through walls made of lower rank materials if you only try,” she laughed, clapping her thigh. Night acted more human than most humans did.

  “I can see through stuff?” Cade muttered in disbelief.

  With his eyelids closed, he simply willed himself to see—and instantly gasped. Just as Night had said, he could see through his eyelids as if they weren’t there. He could see far more now. Every speck of dust, every distant detail was not only visible but instantly memorized. Although he couldn’t peer through the mausoleum’s walls and columns—the rank of stone used in their construction lay beyond his current capability—his sight easily pierced his hands, his clothes, and even the metal the braziers were cast from.

  As he looked around with childlike wonder, Cade noticed faint clouds of transparent purple energy drifting through the air, gathering and dispersing according to unknown forces.

  Are these the currents of spiritual energy?

  He shifted his gaze to Night and saw her body radiating a soft white light. Cade instantly understood he was looking at soul qi.

  “Senior, I can now perceive the flow of raw qi. This is amazing!” He took the scarf, wrapping it around his head to cover his eyes before opening his eyelids. There was an initial discharge of lightning accompanied by a soft crackle, and that was it—the fabric worked as intended, fully restraining the residual power inside his eyes.

  Cade exhaled in relief. With this matter out of the way, his thoughts immediately returned to the huge tree and Ang Yao. He was ecstatic that his suffering had ended, but at the same time, a sense of growing sadness settled in his heart. He felt he had been fixed on her for so long with such intense focus that every part of Ang Yao’s image was etched deep into his memory. Each gesture, every little smile, each blink of an eye—all of it was perfectly preserved in his mind.

  Who is she? Could she truly be the reincarnated Ang Yi, or is it just a massive coincidence?

  The Asura sighed heavily. He should be happy, elated even. Ang Sen had said he shouldn’t be able to take one heavenly tribulation bolt, and he had taken two in a row, from a godly tribulation at that. Well, his soul did.

  I didn’t even manage to thank them or say goodbye.

  He knew Ang Sen would explain things to Ang Yao, but it still felt like a betrayal to leave without a word. They had saved his life, Ang Yao especially, as it was she who had anchored his consciousness. Even though it felt like they had spent a long time together, the whole experience still didn’t seem quite real. If not for his soul wound and the new vision, he’d be doubting whether any of it had happened.

  “Senior, why does it all feel so unreal? The tribulation, I mean,” Cade quickly corrected himself. He trusted Night but didn’t feel the need to reveal the full scope of what he had gone through.

  “You went through an ordeal so profound that your mind is refusing to accept it. The highest heavenly calamity is for demigod-level entities, not Flesh Fortification Juniors. Your consciousness is trying to expel the memory. It’s not impossible that you’ll forget some of it with time, maybe most of it,” Night responded after a moment.

  Never! Cade gritted his teeth. There was no way he would forget meeting the two women and the kindness they showed him. Through the refining powers of the godly tribulation, his soul, mind, and will were all greatly improved, and no longer mere tools—they had become weapons, sharp as blades. He subconsciously understood that if he wanted to carve something into his memory, no force in this world could stop him from remembering.

  Out of habit, he used his insight to check the state of his body and soul when the realization struck him like a hammer. My cultivation rose to the peak of middle stage!

  He had failed to notice this sudden jump before, but now he could see there was no mistake—he was a step away from entering the late stage of Flesh Fortification.

  Cade’s eyes widened, and a huge grin stretched across his lips. Not only that, but his spherules had grown from 2,500 to just over 3,000, and his voracious heart was now capable of storing nearly a tenth more blood qi, condensing it to a greater extent. The more substantial gain in the size of his reservoir would come after the breakthrough. What was unexpected—and weird—was that he felt the spherules were holding onto some of that formidable lifeforce refined from Ang War’s eyes. He suspected their growth might explode after entering the late stage.

  “Senior, this is incredible! My cultivation, my… spherules—they’ve all grown!” Cade laughed. His progress managed to take his mind off his recent experiences, but he knew he wouldn’t allow himself to forget.

  If the Duke comes looking for trouble, that wouldn’t necessarily be bad. I can’t wait to test myself.

  His confidence once again soared. Days of worrying about being ambushed and killed would soon be over. Being weak and at someone’s mercy was a soul-crushing feeling. He wished to never experience it again.

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  Once I’m out of the Divine Realm, I’ll break through into the late stage. If I don’t find a Rank 4 carcass here, I’ll use the leftover bead, and if need be, I’ll drown myself in Rank 3 blood essence to advance. Then I’ll pay a visit to Marius and Griswold. I’ll ensure Legion roasts their souls extra-slowly.

  Night watched the emotions shifting on Cade’s face with a relaxed smile, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had stayed here for so long. Even though much of it was spent in stasis, she was ready to gaze at the sky once more.

  “Let me heal your soul first. After being stretched so much, it needs refined soul qi to fill up,” she said.

  Cade saw waves of translucent white energy depart from her body, wrapping around him before slowly disappearing. As it vanished, his soul began recovering at a fast pace, and only now could he feel how much it had grown. It was at least a third bigger than it had been before the tribulation. Then the sense of vague emptiness he had felt since awakening suddenly disappeared.

  “Incredible. Your soul was already a full stage above the average size for your rank, likely a boon you were born with. This is already incredibly rare. And now it has expanded by two whole stages!” Night exclaimed. “I can’t tell you how precious this is. The heavens almost never allow forceful expansion. Maybe one in ten thousand of those who have tried has survived to reap the benefits.”

  Cade’s eyes widened into dinner plates. Night proceeded to explain the nuances of forceful expansion, and the more she spoke, the more his face lit up, until eventually he couldn’t resist and leaped into the air with an excited roar.

  “Amazing!” Cade exclaimed, his whole body radiating exhilaration. He previously understood little about soul cultivation but had read enough to know a strong soul was essential for anyone aiming to reach the peak of existence. Not to mention, it would let him face opponents with higher cultivation—just like his much stronger body did.

  But he had no idea this tribulation memory was such an incredible and rare boon. It didn’t simply improve his soul. If the soul was a sphere, normal soul expansion—such as during typical breakthroughs—meant expanding only its outer layer and growing the soul outward.

  However, forceful expansion stretched the soul from its very core. In other words, it improved the soul’s foundations, which meant every future breakthrough would increase his soul power to a greater extent. Having this happen before he manifested his wraith was a gift of unmatched value, as the wraith’s power relied on his soul’s foundational strength.

  He solemnly bowed at the waist, fist snapping to hand. “Thank you, Senior Night, for everything. I am in your debt. I have no way of paying it back as I am now, but if I can assist you in any way, please guide me.”

  He immediately felt a gentle force lifting him upright.

  “All I did was adhere to my Master’s wishes,” she said in a quiet voice. “Besides, I can now take control of the Divine Realm. After all the necessary repairs are finished and the time laws are back to normal, I’ll rebuild the Thousand Life Pavilion Sect.”

  Cade’s brow rose in surprise. “The three sects aren’t going to like it,” he chuckled.

  “Once the realm is rebuilt, I might invite them in—naturally assuming they’d be willing to become officially a new, unified sect. I have secured a great deal of resources specifically for this reason, and that’s not even mentioning the unmatched density of spiritual qi they’ll find in here. Once the fields and forests are repopulated with spirit beasts and the trade agreements are established, the Realm will prosper once more. Most importantly, I’m not doing this just for myself, but also for you. I want you to treat this place as your home.”

  Cade felt his eyes well up, but the lightning immediately vaporized the moisture.

  “Thank you, Senior. I don’t really have a home anymore, and your words mean a lot to me,” he bowed his head, cupping his fist with gratitude.

  “It’s only natural. After all, you can be considered my Master’s youngest disciple,” the guardian said, warmly patting him on the shoulder. “I’m curious, though—what would you like to do now?”

  Cade’s brow creased. “Senior, would you know if there is a Rank 4 carcass anywhere within the Realm that I could use?”

  Night remained silent for a moment, and he saw waves of soul qi travel outward from her body with speed impossible to describe. Soul qi moved at least several times faster than spiritual qi.

  “I can’t tell you whether there are any usable beast corpses left—though with the Realm’s time issues, it’s not impossible. However, the initial tribulation warning we experienced has released several powerful creatures that were stuck in time bubbles for a long time. Most are very far away, but there is a young Rank 2 true dragon which had only recently entered the late stage. It’s not too far from here, fighting a dozen disciples. Or rather, chasing them. The disciples are trying to disengage with all their strength, which is a very smart thing to do when facing a true dragon. They stand no chance of killing it.”

  A late-stage Rank 2 true dragon? Wouldn’t that be… a little weak?

  According to various bestiaries, true dragons almost always excelled in all the basic attributes—strength, speed, and toughness—though to different degrees based on their particular species. Most importantly, the beast was alive and should have a reverse scale.

  “Senior, how strong is this Rank 2 true dragon? I’d like to use its reverse scale for my War Form, but its cultivation seems rather low,” Cade inquired with a slight crease in his brow.

  “The dragon’s soul is very strong, which tells me the beast is intelligent and can assume a bipedal form. These ancient life forms had such powerful bloodlines that they often transformed as early as upon entering Rank 2. This is a good thing—its innate laws would be even better suited to your purposes. Dragons get stronger with age, irrespective of their cultivation. If this were an old specimen, you might not survive even a single claw strike. However, this one is very young, only a few decades old in Teraxis’s years. You might have a chance, but you still have to be extremely careful,” Night warned.

  “That strong?! But… isn’t it only a Rank 2 creature?” Cade had fought many Rank 2 beasts. Thanks to his prismatic spherules greatly strengthening his body, he was always able to punch above his weight. In his mind, a late-stage Rank 2 beast wasn’t something he had to be concerned about.

  Night swiftly corrected his thinking.

  “Don’t fall into the common trap of using cultivation ranks as a universal guide to how powerful a life form is. It’s wrong. A lion is stronger than a house cat. How many ranks would a cat need to advance through to match an ordinary lion’s power? A true dragon at the early stage of Rank 1 is more powerful than most Rank 2 spirit beasts of comparable size. It’s a superior species, and it can already use many, if not most, of its bloodline abilities.”

  Cade gave a thoughtful nod, though Night’s words surprised him greatly. Naturally, what she said made sense. He knew that true dragons were some of the deadliest creatures in existence, but he had never had any real reference for how strong they were until now.

  “My advice: shift into your War Form and try to wear it down. Because its cultivation isn’t yet high, its energy reserves may not match yours in a prolonged fight, but… that’s not a guarantee. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about this specimen, so all I’m giving you is general advice. Despite the beast’s fledgling age and Rank 2 cultivation, this dragon is a terrifying adversary. Never let your guard down.”

  “Thank you, Senior. I won’t,” Cade nodded, his tone serious.

  When Night was working on his flesh formation, they had had plenty of time to talk. One of the things Cade mentioned was how Darkheart used the hydra scale as a cooking plate, which gave the spirit a good laugh. She knew toughness and speed were his strongest points.

  Cade’s mind was already working at full speed. After the tribulation, all his thoughts felt insanely clear.

  My red tribulation robe is quite loose. I could shift into the War Form without tearing it and nobody would recognize me. The eyes are my only weak point—if anyone catches a speck of light from under Cade Ward’s blindfold and then recalls the Asura and his lightning eyes… that would be very bad.

  He was hoping these cultivators would be too busy thanking the heavens for an opportunity to escape instead of paying close attention to which monster prevailed in a fight.

  Yet, he wasn’t a person who left things to chance. He needed that reverse scale. If something unexpected happened, he was prepared to leave Sword Dao and vanish, changing his face and name. Survival took utmost priority.

  “Senior Night, can you point me to where the dragon is?” Cade broke out of his deliberations and shifted his gaze to the spirit’s ethereal form.

  “Oh, I can do much better than that,” Night offered him a dazzling smile. Then her eyes narrowed, and her hands blurred, casting several seals in the blink of an eye. The spirit’s movements were so quick he couldn’t fully perceive them. Then the space next to them began to crack.