With his opponent being tribulation lightning, he needed to be fast, durable, and powerful, all at the same time. Only by activating all three limiters, and augmenting it further with his Supreme Battle Art could he ensure that no attacks broke past his guard. While Kirii was below to protect Iris, John wanted to take no chances.
At the same time, he refused to lose against the heavens, and so he left nothing behind that he could afford to reveal. His body flickered with lightning as he flashed forward like a lightning beam, so fast that even Iris struggled to keep up with visually. His battle axe cleaved outwards, the full might of his essence and body contained within the attack!
Sky Sundering Axe!
Boom!
Battle axe and lightning beam collided, and an apocalyptic explosion radiated outwards high in the sky. Even those watching from over a hundred miles away stared in awe as the explosion filled the sky beneath the tribulation clouds. They were too far away to tell what was happening, and none dared to approach with how terrifying the tribulation clouds were at the moment.
John felt his body rocked with an incredible force, which he fought back against with his full might. Tribulation lightning snaked over his body as lightning runes appeared, as a battle between the tribulation lightning and the Celestial Lightning Script broke out within his body..
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A non-stop series of explosions continued to radiate outwards as John and the tribulation clouds did battle. The ever darkening tribulation clouds continued to attack Iris, the might of each attack growing steadily. John’s body flashed about, appearing before each and every attack while his battle axe cleaved out with absolute power to meet the attack.
From the ground below, Iris couldn’t help but watch in stunned awe as John battled against the tribulation clouds above. This tribulation, which had seemed like a death sentence to her, was now being thwarted by John. She could tell that his interference had angered the heavens even further, making it far more powerful than what she would have had to deal with.
However, he still fought back without hesitation, his lightning covered body flickering through the sky. It was as two lightning gods had decided to fight, bathing everything in the area with their incredible power.
Bang!
His battle axe slammed against another tribulation lightning bolt, thwarting its progress. The remainder of the lightning snaked over his body, which he greedily consumed using his Celestial Lightning Script.
His body was charred in many places, a testament to the power of the tribulation lightning. Even with his durable body and lightning resistance, it still managed to injure him and make him look quite miserable. However, he welcomed the damage with open arms, as each exchange was a chance to absorb more tribulation lightning, and further his progress with the Celestial Lightning Script.
The lightning continued to grow in power, until the point where even John felt himself start to be overwhelmed. What had previously required only one Sky Sundering Axe now required two, or even three to counter, while the damage to his body continued to grow. However, his gaze remained cold yet confident, something that continued to enrage the heavens even further.
“Grumble all you want. You won’t get what you desire today,” John said loudly, his words further angering the tribulation clouds.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The battle between him and the tribulation strikes continued, with the tribulation strikes continuing to advance its advantage over him. However, no matter how much power it unleashed, it was never enough to fully overwhelm him. It was as if the edge of his victory was just ahead, but that edge continued to move just outside of its reach.
The tribulation lightning suddenly ceased, slightly surprising John. He could tell that it had not used all of its power yet, and had expected the assault to continue for a bit more. He suddenly realized that he had been seen through, and a smug smile appeared on his face as he stared at the clouds above.
“So you finally saw through my actions?” John asked sarcastically.
He had been feigning defeat for a while now, all while greedily absorbing the tribulation lightning for himself. Each tribulation strike would further his insights into the Dao of Lightning, while also progressing his progress with the Celestial Lightning Script Jade Piece. He felt himself draw near to breaking through to the next layer and needed only a little bit more to achieve such a thing.
While he truly was taking damage from the attacks, and felt quite miserable at the moment, his life was not yet threatened. The tribulation clouds still had to deal with Iris afterwards, and so it did not want to use all its power on John. This had allowed him to draw out the fight as long as possible, all while using it to his advantage. However, it seemed as though the tribulation had finally seen through his plans.
‘Thankfully this is Iris’s heaven tribulation and not my own, otherwise I would already be dead without my Asura Transformation.’
In the distance, the shrouded man looked on, unable to believe what he was seeing.
“Toying with the very Heavens…this boy is quite amusing” the man muttered, a pleased smirk appearing on his face.
Rumble!
The tribulation clouds rumbled as lightning snaked all throughout the clouds, as if the heavens had truly been enraged to the fullest extent. Tribulation lightning no longer snaked pierced downwards, and a strange silence descended on the land as John stared at the clouds above.
The power within the clouds seemed to gather into a singular point, as a source of light suddenly appeared beneath the clouds. The source of light was a lightning seed, which suddenly started to grow, as if sprouting something. Slowly but surely a figure became apparent, as the lightning seed sprouted into a human shaped figure. The figure was incredibly detailed, and almost appeared lifelike.
It held an eight foot lightning lance in its hands, like it was holding a bolt of tribulation lightning. All the power within the tribulation clouds gathered within the lance-wielding figure, who stood above John, its posture tall and heroic.
John’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the figure, as he truly felt danger for the first time from the tribulation. Meanwhile, the shrouded figure in the distance stared at the lightning warrior, not expecting such an incredible situation to unfold.
“The Divine Tribulation Guardian!”