Inside the Tribulation Prison, a black hole opened, and the colossal spear of lightning descended into the space, landing with a powerful thud. Klaus felt an immediate connection as soon as it touched down—he could control it.
"Well, this is unexpected," Klaus muttered with a satisfied smile.
"Why are you grinning?" the voice of the senior inside his soul sea interrupted. "This is only the beginning. Now that you've taken something from the heavens, you'd better brace yourself for karma."
Klaus's smile faltered slightly as he felt a sudden shift in the air. The skies above him roared with fury. He could feel his hair standing on end as thunder rumbled ominously. The entire forest seemed to awaken, its energy growing heavier as something terrifying descended upon the area.
"Now I'm in trouble," Klaus said to himself, gripping his sword tightly. Its blade glowed a deep crimson, and his sword qi flared, ready for battle.
"The next trial is the Karmic Lightning Tribulation," the senior continued. "If you manage to steal some of that power, you can later raise the power of your Ice Lotus Bloom Flower"
Klaus couldn't help but smile at the thought. His senior had been unusually talkative lately, offering guidance rather than just warnings. Klaus knew he would pay a steep price for all of this, but in that moment, he felt nothing but gratitude.
"Alright," Klaus murmured to himself, watching as the clouds swirled above, "bring it on."
With the spear now under his control and his sword ready to strike, Klaus braced himself for the next round. The heavens might roar and rage, but he was no longer the same. He was ready to face whatever karma had in store for him.
The heavens, ever relentless, responded in kind. From beneath the swirling clouds, one beast after another began to emerge.
"What the—" Klaus shouted, his voice filled with shock as he recognized the creatures. "These are all monsters I've already killed!"
Anger surged through him. The heavens were mocking him, throwing his past conquests back in his face. Klaus knew better than to lose control, but the sheer audacity of it—forcing him to fight the things he had already killed—was infuriating.
His gaze hardened as he watched the beasts charge toward him. The black hole above swirled, sucking in any monsters that ventured too close. The Ice Lotus Bloom materialized, spinning above his head as his star qi surged into it. Even with his qi pool cut in half, he still had more than enough to fuel his next move.
The Absolute Ice Domain expanded from him, a wave of intense cold freezing everything within a 400-meter radius. Any monster that escaped the pull of the black hole found itself instantly turned to ice, trapped in Klaus's unrelenting domain. He wasn't holding back anymore—his power was in full force.
Thousands of monsters appeared monsters from every battle he had fought, from the Sunlight Forest to the Everlasting Forest and then the Ruin City. They descended upon him like an endless tide, but Klaus met them all with a furious grin.
"Are they really serious?" he muttered, amused by the spectacle. "Sending back everything I've killed? Is that the best they can do?"
He couldn't decide whether to rage, cry, or laugh at the heavens' twisted sense of irony. But instead, Klaus just smirked, his eyes glinting with determination.
"Don't they know the saying? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
"I almost forgot," Klaus muttered to himself as he observed the chaos around him. "These aren't real monsters; there's no hierarchy here."
If these creatures were real, none of these minor pests would dare to interfere in a battle of such magnitude.
"You can die now," Klaus muttered as he unleashed two fiery arcs from his sword, which tore through the air and struck the Ground Drake Lizard King. The beast staggered backward, but Klaus's sword plunged into its belly before it could regain its footing.
Ice surged from the blade, freezing the monster instantly. The fire attacks had merely been distractions; the real blow was the ice-infused stab. The creature froze solid and then shattered into sparks that vanished into his body.
As the monster crumbled, the clouds overhead darkened once more, and a formidable presence began to descend upon the forest.
"The zombies are here," Klaus remarked with a wry grin. "At this point, I must have some kind of destiny with zombies."
He surveyed the terrifying lineup of undead creatures that had appeared, ready for battle.
"Well, let's dance," Klaus said as he slashed his sword at the first zombie that came into view. The blade flashed crimson as he began severing heads with precise, efficient strikes.
"This is the perfect opportunity to master the final aspect of the Beheading technique before it gets officially registered," Klaus thought. While many would be paralyzed by fear or flee in panic, Klaus viewed the tribulation as a training ground to hone his skills.
Inside his soul sea, the senior voice sounded from behind the door. clearly shocked by what Klaus was doing, "A monster," he muttered
Klaus moved like lightning, his sword a blur as it severed heads with lethal precision. Each swing sent a head flying, leaving only glowing runes that surged into him, amplifying his strength.
He let the Absolute Ice Domain run rampant throughout the tribulation, but he used it strategically, drawing some of the zombies toward him before slipping through the domain to continue his assault.
In just ten minutes, Klaus had decapitated thousands of zombies, but the onslaught showed no signs of stopping. The more he killed, the more seemed to appear.
"This ends now," Klaus declared, frustration seeping into his voice. He infused his sword with an intense amount of fire essence, then swung it forward in a sweeping arc. A wave of fire erupted from his blade, incinerating everything in its path. His face paled slightly.
"Klaus, finish this quickly," the senior warned in a grim tone. "The last wave is coming, and neither the Black Hole nor your flower can hold them off. Prepare yourself."
Klaus nodded and hurled the Ice Lotus Bloom toward the advancing horde.
"Explode!" he commanded. The flower erupted with freezing power, turning everything within its blast radius into solid ice.
At that moment, the heavens roared once more, and from within the darkened clouds, two figures emerged. Klaus's eyes widened in shock as he recognized one of them.
"Matin Guan?" Klaus breathed.