"Crack, crack..."
Thunder roared, and the scene grew more terrifying. Endless lightning raged, engulfing everything, while Li Xiaotian's figure flickered in the sea of thunder as he struggled with all his might.
The star domain shook violently, the sky and earth collapsing. Li Xiaotian's figure flickered, eventually transforming into a divine being, golden all over, like a furnace of gold burning with vigorous flames.
"Pfft!"
At this moment, the star domain exploded. Li Xiaotian's body was emitting smoke, struck by the chaotic thunder. His flesh was mangled, and many parts were cleaved open.
He suffered a terrible重创 (heavy injury), nearly disintegrating.
"Rumble!"
But then, he let out a long cry, his body glowing like a golden deity, standing tall in the center of the lightning sea.
One bolt of lightning after another struck him, all of which he endured. Each bolt radiated an aura of world-destroying might, causing many trial-takers to change their expressions.
This was the most terrifying heavenly tribulation Li Xiaotian had encountered. As time passed, the third heavenly tribulation felt like a universe-destroying tribulation, vast and filled with destructive energy, annihilating everything within the lightning sea.
"Pfft..."
Li Xiaotian's body began to bleed, his blood flowing freely. His bones cracked, and his blood evaporated. His entire body was covered in wounds.
This pain surpassed the limit of human endurance. His bones were on the verge of shattering. The lightning was too overbearing, causing his skin to crack. Several of his thighs were severed, revealing stark white bone.
"Now!"
Just as Li Xiaotian was struggling to survive the lightning tribulation, a heart-pounding fluctuation suddenly emanated from a distant, unknown place.
The next moment, a shattered planet shot out from the unknown region at extreme speed, radiating a terrifying aura. It was thrown by a high-level expert from afar, hurtling towards Li Xiaotian.
"Hmph!"
Li Xiaotian snorted coldly upon seeing this and threw a punch.
"Rumble!"
The planet exploded, annihilated in an instant.
"Tricks of the trade. If you want to fight, then show yourself. Aren't you ashamed, a high-level expert hiding your face?"
Li Xiaotian's eyes emitted divine light as he looked in the direction from which the planet had come, his tone mocking.
His body was still being attacked by lightning, yet he acted as if he felt nothing, standing firm in the sea of thunder, exuding an aura of invincibility.
"Heh heh, Li Xiaotian, still so arrogant when death is upon you? Do you know who you are speaking with?"
Silently, a figure appeared outside the lightning sea. He was bathed in gray light, like chaotic gas, and his presence was impossible to ignore the moment he appeared.
This person's aura was too powerful. He stood there with an innate aura, like a peerless demon king, his eyes as deep as the universe, seeming to penetrate everything.
The Dark Shadow Race, Kun Sang!
A top-tier expert who was unknown before the ninth stage but suddenly rose to fame after entering it. During the time Li Xiaotian and Mo Tian Shen Ming disappeared, Kun Sang had risen forcefully, possessing terrifying strength.
"Li Xiaotian, you are strong, exceeding everyone's expectations. Even before I broke through, I likely would not have been your match."
Kun Sang looked at Li Xiaotian and spoke with admiration, as if an elder was looking at a junior.
After all, he was now a high-level expert, considering himself an Emperor. Naturally, he had the confidence and strength to adopt such an attitude towards Li Xiaotian.
Kun Sang continued, his tone condescending.
"However, no matter how monstrous a genius is, they are like floating dust in the face of absolute power. Li Xiaotian, I admire your courage, daring to undergo tribulation knowing there are powerful enemies. But now, you are going to die."
Having said this, Kun Sang stood with his hands behind his back, aloof on the river of stars, looking down on the world, believing himself to be the only one, immensely self-assured.
"So much nonsense! If you want to fight, then fight!"
Li Xiaotian said indifferently, killing intent surging in his eyes. "Today, you are merely a pawn sent out by your nine to test the waters. How dare you be so presumptuous before me?! In the past, a piece of trash like you, I could have killed five or six with one punch!"
"Presumptuous!"
Kun Sang's expression instantly turned ferocious upon hearing this. His terrifying aura descended, causing even Li Xiaotian's lightning tribulation to react.
He was enraged. He was now a high-level expert, an Emperor, with noble status. Li Xiaotian, on the other hand, was merely an ant below the high-level. How dare he be so disrespectful?
"A mere ant dares to be presumptuous before this Emperor. Li Xiaotian, today this Emperor will make you understand what ignorance and despair truly mean!"
"Boom!"
An astonishing aura erupted from Kun Sang's body, like an ancient god awakening. His entire being was shrouded in gray mist, his demeanor ethereal yet majestic.
"Dong!"
He stepped forward, and the moment his foot landed, the starry sky shook violently, as if trembling.
"Kill!"
He raised his hand and pressed it forward, shattering the void and collapsing heaven and earth.
"Rumble!"
A colossal palm appeared in the sky, large enough to obscure the heavens, as heavy as a mountain. It directly pierced the lightning tribulation and slammed towards Li Xiaotian.
At this moment, all the trial-takers watched this scene with shocked eyes. One had to admit that high-level experts were too powerful. Although Kun Sang's foundation was severely damaged during his previous tribulation, and his injuries had not yet recovered, this attack was enough to obliterate all experts below the high-level!
"Kill!"
Li Xiaotian roared, his eyes erupting with dazzling beams of light. His pores sprayed forth radiant mist, his skin crystal clear and brilliant. The sound of a great explosion echoed within his body.
He raised his fist and attacked, radiating the profound truths of destruction and creation. His Great Devouring Dao also hummed, as if manifesting from the void into substance.
"Bang!"
Li Xiaotian unleashed his strongest punch, colliding with the colossal palm. Instantly, the heavens and earth were overturned, and the universe was thrown into disarray.
In the star domain, dozens of star rivers exploded in this collision, turning into dust.
How terrifying was this? With a single strike, dozens of star rivers could be destroyed!
"Hum~"
Li Xiaotian's body swayed, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. In this head-on collision, he had suffered a disadvantage.
"Heh heh, Li Xiaotian, do you know how ignorant you are now? Are you scared? This Emperor's attack was just a casual one, and you had to deal with it with all your might, and you're already injured."
Seeing Li Xiaotian injured, Kun Sang's tone was filled with mockery as he looked down at Li Xiaotian, like a true emperor surveying all directions.
"Kill!"
Li Xiaotian's response was another attack. His body flickered with light, his essence surging. As lightning bolts struck him, he endured the heavenly tribulation and punched again.
"Boom!"
Simultaneously, Kun Sang also attacked. Despite his arrogance, he did not let his guard down, for no high-level expert was a fool.
He unleashed a ball of blazing dark light from his hand. It was a dark sword, entwined with black runes, clanging as it cut through the void, stabbing towards Li Xiaotian's throat.