Chapter 293: Heavenly Tribulation Makes Its Might Known

Bitter winds howled. The dark sky seemed to be brewing a blizzard that would swallow all in its path.

No more than a hundred meters from the ground, Wang Sheng flew swiftly on Flying Haze across the snowy plain. Faint arcs of lightning danced around him. The hem of his Flowing Celestial Robe fluttered lightly, and his long hair, tied back with a wooden hairpin, swayed gently in the wind.

In his left hand, he held his mooncake-shaped phone. The map that it projected before him showed a flashing green dot, marking the position of his master. At the speed he was going, he calculated that it would take him just ten minutes to reach the location and provide support.

The images that the monitoring satellite had sent back showed dozens of foreign cultivators besieging his master and the others. They had secured a defensible location, and none of the Daoist elders accompanying his master had suffered injuries, but the enemy had mobilized six to seven hundred cultivators for their elaborate trap. They had to have gathered plenty of intelligence beforehand.

Since they dared strike and intercept his master, they had surely prepared to confront him head-on. According to previous intel, several powerful vampires who had lived over a thousand years had already shown themselves. They were likely the true masterminds hiding behind the scenes.

Wang Sheng didn't know the foreign cultivators' true goal. He had no idea whether Shelley and Dale had been manipulated or had betrayed them long ago. After all, he had just gotten out of the Earth Qi Seal. He wasn't even used to his new phone yet, and he hadn't personally encountered any of the foreign monsters.

One thing he knew for certain, however, was that anyone who opposed the Hua Republic was his enemy! Anyone who dared harm his master was his mortal foe!

He put away his phone. His eyes gleamed cyan, and the threads of lightning crackling around him flared brighter as he further accelerated. Behind him, Mu Wanxuan led over a dozen Golden Core Realm cultivators in the same direction, but they were already falling behind.

Mu Wanxuan believed her junior brother's reasoning that bringing more people was always better. Hence, she unleashed Yin-Yang arts to increase the flight speed of the Special Warfare Unit instructors and Daoist cultivators accompanying her.

In truth, Wang Sheng simply didn't want his senior sister to be in danger. To put it modestly, if even he couldn't handle the enemy right now, then having his senior sister along wouldn't make any difference either.

His spiritual consciousness soon detected a fierce battle northwest of his position. Without hesitation, Wang Sheng veered slightly off his original course. He swiftly rode Flying Haze past ridges, frozen lakes, and pine forests, heading straight for a snowy slope.

The second wave of Hua Republic cultivators had entered the snowy plains. Over two hundred Special Warfare Unit elites were now engaged in combat on the slope with what appeared to be a ragtag army.

Wang Sheng's spiritual consciousness swept over the battlefield. He spotted ninjas from Sakura Island, medieval European knights, muscular men in camouflage uniforms, blue-faced half-beasts, tribal warriors clad in animal hides and wielding spears, and vampires with grotesque, fleshy wings.

More than ten groups of cultivators from different nations had gathered to stop the reinforcements that the Hua Republic had sent. Not only did their skin color and cultivation paths differ, but their strength also varied greatly.

The strongest among them was a female vampire who was holding off three elite Golden Core Realm cultivators on her own. The weakest were a dozen attackers barely at the Seed Formation Realm, firing projectiles from the rear.

Wang Sheng found this battle the perfect time to test his somewhat impractical Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent. Raising his right hand, he made a haze of cyan mist envelop his palm. Arcs of lightning then gathered in his hand and formed a longsword.

He gripped the sword tightly. Before Flying Haze could reach the battlefield, he leaped from it while maintaining his speed. Flying Haze continued hurtling toward the northwest.

Cloaked in lightning, Wang Sheng burst forth even faster than his celestial-grade flying sword. Like a thunderbolt striking from the cloudy sky, he crashed into the aerial battle below. His vast and boundless heavenly might instantly shook the hearts of hundreds!

Crack!

A thunderous bolt cleaved through the sky and swallowed four combatants before they could dodge, sending them plummeting to the ground. Though the three Special Warfare Unit elites had merely been grazed, they were still paralyzed and rendered unable to circulate their enchanted power.

The curvaceous female vampire suffered an even worse fate; she had been riddled with cracks. Lightning surged within her like a raging beast trying to burst free, shredding her in less than a second. Even her shrill scream was abruptly cut off.

How strong! Are they on our side?!

Though paralyzed, the three downed elites were invigorated. Albeit barely, they managed to make out the figure standing amid the lightning in the sky and recognize his Daoist robe.

They also sensed the immense heavenly might gathering above. The power of lightning continued to coalesce.

What is he trying to do? Our allies are still right below him!

Before they could fall to the ground, their paralysis began to fade. One of them urgently shouted toward the sky, "Senior!"

At that moment, the man above descended like a meteor. With him, a wave of awe-inspiring might came crashing down like a divine punishment.

On the heavens' behalf, I shall pass judgment! Heavenly Tribulation Sword Intent!

A lightning sword then swept across the battlefield, and another bolt struck at the heart of the enemy ranks. From the impact point, a violent gust blasted outward in all directions. Flurries of snow swirled through the air, mingling with the cyan mist that had covered the whole area.

In the blink of an eye, bolts of lightning exploded in every direction. Agonized screams rang out as they hit allies and enemies alike. Even the three Special Warfare Unit cultivators who had already been immobilized were struck and paralyzed again before they could react.

Wang Sheng, whom they had called "Senior," remained silent, his expression cold. Hiding within the spreading lightning, he used his Seven-Star Footwork to circle the impact zone like a phantom, searching for the stronger enemy cultivators.

Clearly not interested in a prolonged fight, Wang Sheng just swept around the battlefield once. Before anyone could recover from the paralysis, he was already charging northwest. The snow and dust hadn't even settled yet, and the cyan mist hadn't even faded, when he broke out of the battle.

Once again wreathed in lightning, he hurtled forward through the swirling snow. He forced his way through the void, expending a massive amount of enchanted power.

Flying Haze circled rapidly in the air. Maintaining high speed, it pressed its blade against the soles of Wang Sheng's feet.

Once on the flying sword, Wang Sheng formed a sword finger with his left hand, raised it, and dispelled the tribulation cloud in his right hand. His enchanted power surged like a tide.

After taking out his phone again to confirm his master's position, he slightly adjusted the angle of his sword tip. His Golden Core then trembled faintly, and the cold primal qi in the air was drawn rapidly into him, replenishing his power.

His pupils' glow alternated between cyan and starlight, yet he said not a word the entire time. With a burst of sword intent atop the snowy slope, he had adjusted himself to peak condition, like a bowstring drawn to its fullest and readied to release the most brilliant arrow.

***

Back on the snowy slope far behind Wang Sheng, the snow and dust finally settled, and the violent lightning faded.

The fierce battlefield had fallen silent. The two to three hundred combatants stood frozen, staring at each other in stunned silence. When the lightning struck earlier, it had shown no distinction between friend or foe. Almost everyone had been hit, making the weaker ones outright faint. Those at the Illusory Core Realm or higher were merely paralyzed and suffered light injuries.

Still, the lightning had instantly immobilized hundreds. The scene was nothing short of spectacular.

"Attack!"

"Don't just stand there!"

The Golden Core Realm elites, who had recovered first, struck swiftly. They had barely begun their assault when they realized that the enemies before them didn't respond. They sent each one flying or pierced through them with ease!

It's as if they've been reduced to corpses! No, they really are dead! Some have even turned to ash!

The Special Warfare Unit soldiers didn't suffer any casualties from the surge of lightning. On the other hand, it had slain over thirty of the enemy cultivators, ten of whom were some of the most powerful in their ranks.

The deadlock had been shattered. The tide had turned in the Special Warfare Unit's favor.

A Hua Republic expert had clearly passed through and offered a timely, devastating strike before vanishing without a word.

Judging from the lightning technique, was it Mount Mao's sect master? No, this isn't the time to think about that!

Several commanding officers of the Special Warfare Unit immediately sprang into action. In unison, two of them shouted, "Everyone! Attack!"

On the snowy slope, the Special Warfare Unit elites who had just regained mobility charged onward with renewed vigor. The foreign cultivators, whom the oppressive heavenly might earlier had overwhelmed, now scattered in total disarray.

Two to three minutes later, over a dozen figures swept across the skies. Three or four Golden Core Realm cultivators descended from above and joined the fray.

The enemy ambush rapidly turned into a reverse annihilation.

From the rear of the Special Warfare Unit came the order to eliminate every opponent. Without questioning the reason behind the decision, the soldiers killed every single member of the ragtag army.

Once the battle on the slope had ended, all Golden Core Realm cultivators were ordered to advance to a target location to the northwest. Illusory Core Realm cultivators and below were instructed to withdraw and return to the national border immediately.

***

Over four hundred kilometers northwest of the snowy slope, in the direction of Wang Sheng's charge.

Numerous figures rushed toward the entrance to a mountain gorge and attempted to break through Qing Yanzi, who stood guard alone at the center. Qing Yanzi's palm phantasms moved in a blur against them. Though he fought alone, he had formed an impenetrable wall with his palms, constantly repelling the dark silhouettes surging toward him.

Above and behind him within the gorge, three Daoist elders stood their ground at two defensive points, blocking attacks from multiple directions. Together, they protected seven to eight of their fellow cultivators, all of whom were unconscious and in wretched states.

Before them were savage werewolves storming in from the ground and vampires diving down relentlessly from the sky.

The two races, though sworn enemies by nature, had joined forces. Unlike the chaotic rabble from before, the werewolves and vampires here were all powerful. Several of the vampires exuded dense, ancient auras that served as proof that they were over a thousand years old. They held their own against the Daoist elders.

As the battle raged on, a vampire expert growled lowly in ancient Gelan tongue.

A young werewolf, noticeably larger than those around him, threw his head back and howled. His blood-red eyes flickered with hesitation, but he still reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe. He then looked at his muscular arm, which was covered in thick, coarse green fur.

"For my father!" the young werewolf growled in modern Gelan language and drove the syringe into his arm.

A streak of golden light flashed past, and the syringe exploded in the werewolf's hand before he could inject the fluids into his arm. He froze, shocked.

Dozens of meters away, Qing Yanzi withdrew his left sword finger gesture and smirked coldly.

They didn't even bother to hide what they were doing! What do they take me for? A blind man?