"Hoo~ Boom~ Hoo! Hoo!"
Amidst the roaring tribulation fire, Ye Feng entered a state of ethereal clarity. The invisible, intangible barrier that had seemed to block him grew thinner and thinner, until with a "pop," it vanished.
"Buzz!"
At the same instant, Ye Feng felt the peculiar energies within the tribulation fire surge into his body, tempering his physique. While his entire being felt comfortable, there was also a sensation of sharp pain…
"Is this Diamond?"
Ye Feng sensed the changes in his body, gazing at the tribulation fire that surged around him, appearing ferocious yet causing him no harm. He muttered to himself.
The tribulation fire continued to roar around Ye Feng, wisps of peculiar energy constantly flowing into him… Finally, Ye Feng simply closed his eyes…
…
As evening approached,
"Hoo!~"
With the disappearance of the last strand of tribulation fire, the dark, oppressive tribulation clouds began to dissipate. Ye Feng, meanwhile, plummeted from the sky.
"Big brother is falling!"
Xiao Xiao, who had been constantly watching Ye Feng, saw this and her angelic armor appeared. She swiftly flew towards Ye Feng, catching him.
"Ye… Ye Feng, is he… is he okay?"
Xiao Xiao gently landed Ye Feng on the ground. Wu Ye Lin looked at Ye Feng, who was charred black all over, with worry etched on her face, unsure of what she could do.
"This… his life fluctuations are stable… His breathing is also quite steady… He should be alright?"
Qiao Ying observed for a moment before speaking, though her tone lacked certainty.
"Big brother?"
Xiao Xiao extended her small hand and gently patted Ye Feng's cheek. It felt hard and a little hot.
"Hmm?"
Ye Feng slowly opened his eyes. He scanned his surroundings and mumbled, "I accidentally dozed off? Has the tribulation fire disappeared?"
"Ah!?"
"Big brother, you… slept… slept?"
Xiao Xiao blinked, her face full of astonishment. Qiao Ying and Wu Ye Lin also looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Could someone actually sleep during tribulation fire?
"Mhm!"
Ye Feng nodded and looked up at the sky. "I was being burned by the tribulation fire… and suddenly felt a bit sleepy… so I fell asleep…"
Upon hearing this, Qiao Ying and Wu Ye Lin's lips twitched slightly. They, along with Xiao Xiao, had been down below, worried sick, their eyes not daring to stray for a moment. Yet, Ye Feng had actually fallen asleep…
"What the heck? Why is it so hard?"
"Did someone apply ointment on me?"
Ye Feng frowned as he looked at the layer of hard, black substance on his body.
The next second, he stood up, stretched his waist, and began to move.
"Crack crack~ Crack~"
As Ye Feng moved, his joints popped, and the black, hardened layer on his body shed off.
"This tribulation fire truly tempered my body!"
Feeling the surging power within him, Ye Feng was overjoyed. He could clearly sense that he was far stronger now than he had been before…
"Big… Big brother, you should put on some clothes!"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao spoke softly to Ye Feng, her pretty face flushed red.
Qiao Ying and Wu Ye Lin also had rosy complexions and turned their backs. Due to the tribulation fire, Ye Feng's clothes had long since burned away…
It had been somewhat better when Ye Feng had the layer of black hard substance on him. Now, as Ye Feng stretched, the hard layer shed off, leaving him bare…
"Uh!~"
Ye Feng, realizing the situation, couldn't help but blush. He quickly put on a short-sleeved t-shirt and casual pants, not wanting to be mistaken for a pervert or an exhibitionist.
"It's already evening… Has that much time passed…"
Having put on his clothes, Ye Feng looked at the colorful clouds in the sky with a sense of感慨, as he had only entered this giant's ruins around noon.
"Big brother, the tribulation fire burned you for several hours!"
Xiao Xiao chimed in, "It scared us to death. Sister Lin said that for ordinary people, they would have turned to ash long ago…"
"Oh, is that so~"
Ye Feng looked at his left arm, where the flesh had been burned to the bone by the tribulation fire, and fell into a daze.
"Boom! Crack! Boom!"
"Woof woof!~ Hehehehe!~"
Suddenly, the ground not far from Ye Feng and the others bulged violently and cracked open. Then, a sound like a dog's or wolf's bark reached their ears.
Ye Feng and the others looked towards the sound and saw a gigantic monster with two wolf heads, covered in surgical scars, charging at them with bared fangs and claws.
"Hoo!~ Hiss!"
Ye Feng instinctively raised his hand and unleashed a golden flame, which instantly pierced through both of the monster's wolf heads.
The two-headed wolf monster was annihilated before it could even let out a scream…
"This… golden flame… and that powerful oppressive aura just now… is… is it tribulation fire?"
Qiao Ying murmured in disbelief. She turned to look at Ye Feng. "Ye Feng… you… have mastered tribulation fire?"
Wu Ye Lin's eyes widened as well. When the golden flame appeared in Ye Feng's hand just now, she was startled and quickly retreated…
"Uh…"
Ye Feng scratched his head. He looked at the finger that had just unleashed the golden flame. "I'm not entirely sure… I just waved my hand instinctively just now…"
"Gurgle!~"
As soon as Ye Feng finished speaking, his stomach rumbled with hunger.
"Go… away…"
Hearing this sound, Ye Feng, whose attention had been elsewhere, suddenly felt as if his stomach was sticking to his back from hunger…
"Xiao Xiao, let's find a place to have dinner!"
"Okay!~"
…
As the sun set,
Ye Feng was on a hillside, devouring chicken legs. Beside him, Xiao Xiao was pan-frying steak, while Qiao Ying was cooking a large pot of winter melon soup, occasionally adding firewood to the stove.
Meanwhile, Wu Ye Lin had gone to contact Liu Laotou and Lei Jian, as well as adventurers from the Adventurer's Guild, as the mountain where the giant's ruins were located had collapsed significantly…
"Ye Feng, you've broken through to Diamond?"
Qiao Ying asked after watching Ye Feng for a while.
"Mhm!"
Ye Feng nodded. He had glanced at his [Personal Information] panel earlier; his strength had increased from Gold Grade 9 to Diamond Grade 1.
Then, Ye Feng reached out and took the steak that Xiao Xiao had just finished frying, and began to eat.
"Your advancement to Diamond was too perilous… It actually attracted something like tribulation fire… And even for cultivators… not everyone encounters heavenly tribulations…"
Qiao Ying looked at Ye Feng with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
"Ding~"
"Detected host's advancement to Diamond, received special reward: Expand Spatial Warehouse without requiring usable points!"
Ye Feng was leisurely eating steak and drinking cola when, suddenly, a system prompt sounded in his mind.