Is It Wrong to Bully the Novice Village for System Rewards?

Chapter 234: Quick, Quick, Quick, Put the Little Sword Away!

At the dead center of the heavenly tribulation.

Boom! Rumble!

Thunder rolled across the heavens like war drums. The sky was oppressed by a ceiling of ink-black clouds, churning like a furious sea threatening to capsize the world.

The power of the Heavenly Dao gathered in a suffocating vortex, brewing a calamity designed to obliterate mortals.

Realizing he was firmly locked on by the tribulation’s aura, Qi Yuan didn’t dare slack off. He immediately reached into his inventory and pulled out the Abyssal Condensation Sword.

However, the moment the blade appeared, it convulsed violently.

“Hiss…” The sword vibrated, its voice trembling. “Such… such thick tribulation aura. Lord… Lord Qi, what exactly are you planning to do?”

“Crossing my tribulation,” Qi Yuan replied without looking down, gripping the hilt as he braced for the first strike.

“Crossing… the tribulation?!”

After a second of stunned silence, the Abyssal Condensation Sword began to struggle frantically, vibrating like a trapped bird.

“No! No, no, no! Lord Qi, I beg you… quick, quick, quick, put this little sword away!!!”

“Wuwuwu… Lord Qi, spare my life! This little sword has old arms and legs; I can’t handle this kind of torment…”

Qi Yuan didn’t even bat an eye. He rejected the plea instantly. “Shut up. It’s crunch time. Don’t you dare drop the ball now, or I’ll smelt you into scrap metal later!”

The Abyssal Condensation Sword was a higher tier than the Mystic Heaven Sword. Now that he was facing the wrath of heaven, naturally, he wanted to use his best gear.

Sensing that Qi Yuan was dead serious, the Abyssal Condensation Sword shrieked, speaking at supersonic speed:

“Lord Qi, listen to this little sword’s advice! You absolutely cannot use me to cross a tribulation!”

“I have slaughtered countless beings! I am dripping with boundless karmic sin! If the Heavenly Dao detects my presence, the difficulty of the tribulation will scale up by at least tenfold! Even that maniac Han Lie wouldn’t dare pull a stunt like this!”

“Holy shit! Why didn’t you lead with that?!”

Qi Yuan’s face turned the color of old spinach. He scrambled to shove the Abyssal Condensation Sword back into his inventory.

BOOM!

Before he could swap it for the Mystic Heaven Sword, the first bolt of tribulation lightning—infused with the True Fire of the Blazing Sun—finished charging and hammered down toward Qi Yuan’s head.

Caught with his pants down, Qi Yuan had no choice but to tank it with his face. Before he could even raise a hand, the bolt, as thick as a rice bowl, smashed into him.

In an instant, his body temperature spiked to critical levels. Thousands of tiny electric arcs danced across his skin, crackling like frying bacon.

When the blinding light faded, Qi Yuan looked down. The terrifying thunder-fire energy had been largely neutralized by the faint golden patterns glowing on his skin. Aside from a few scorch marks on his robes, he was completely unharmed.

“The Nine-Turn Nirvana Pill is actually doing work,” Qi Yuan muttered, surprised. “This tribulation… doesn’t seem that tough?”

After surviving the first round, Qi Yuan circulated his Qi, instantly flushing the numbness from his limbs. His anxiety dropped significantly.

Although the lightning would get stronger with every wave, the fact that he tanked the first one raw suggested the early rounds were manageable.

“Phew.”

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Qi Yuan leisurely summoned the Mystic Heaven Sword and waited for round two.

Finally.

After a brief, suffocating silence, spots of light pierced the pitch-black sky. Accompanied by a deafening roar, a thicker bolt of lightning tore through the clouds and crashed down.

Qi Yuan didn’t dodge. He launched himself into the air like a javelin, slashing a sharp arc of Sword Qi directly into the teeth of the lightning, like a river flowing backward to challenge the sea.

Bang!

Sword Qi and lightning—two opposing forces—collided in mid-air, twisted together, and mutually annihilated in a burst of sparks.

…

Meanwhile, in the distance.

Piao Genshuo and Tu Ruoxu were watching the light show with intense focus.

As the third bolt faded, Piao Genshuo’s eyes widened. “Senior Brother Tu, it looks like the person inside has already tanked three bolts, but the clouds aren’t dispersing. Does this mean… that guy has a chance to achieve the Nine Tribulations Soul Formation?”

Tu Ruoxu nodded slightly, his expression analytical. “Correct. Judging by the density of the tribulation clouds, this is far from over. This person is likely aiming for the Nine Tribulations Soul Formation, or perhaps… even higher.”

Piao Genshuo clicked his tongue in wonder. “If that person really is a Rogue Cultivator, they must be one with decent aptitude. A Nine Tribulations Soul Formation is rare enough to be called a genius.”

Tu Ruoxu shook his head solemnly. “The Heavenly Dao is fair. To forge a stronger Primordial Spirit, one must bear the corresponding risk. Every three bolts, the tribulation undergoes a qualitative change. The power of the Heavenly Dao contained within the lightning grows exponentially terrifying.”

“For cultivators breaking through to Soul Formation, the mortality rate of the Nine Tribulations is vastly higher than the standard three. If this person’s foundation is even slightly lacking, they will be vaporized…”

Suddenly, Tu Ruoxu’s expression froze. He stared at the expanding storm clouds in shock.

“Wait! Something’s wrong. It’s already past the eighth bolt… but the clouds are still regenerating! They aren’t stopping; they’re accumulating! Could it be… the Hundred Tribulations Soul Formation?”

As the words left his mouth, a deafening boom erupted from the chaotic depths of the sky. The ninth bolt descended.

Even from miles away, the two spectators felt the suffocating pressure of the Heavenly Might.

Piao Genshuo swallowed hard, his expression turning grave. “It really is the Hundred Tribulations. It seems the person crossing the tribulation cannot possibly be a Rogue Cultivator. This is a top-tier prodigy on par with us. This… is trouble.”

The two exchanged a look, seeing the same wariness in each other’s eyes.

In the world of Cultivation, ‘Rogue Cultivator’ was synonymous with ‘trash tier.’

To be blunt, unless one had garbage aptitude and no faction wanted them, who would willingly choose to be a Rogue Cultivator? Their lives were cheap as grass, drifting like rootless duckweed.

Anyone capable of triggering a Hundred Tribulations Soul Formation had to possess a profound Dao foundation and extraordinary Providence. Such a person could not be a nobody.

This meant the person currently getting struck by lightning was almost certainly a Demonic Cultivator—and a terrifyingly talented rising star of a Demonic Sect at that!