THE MARTIAL KING, VOLUME 4 - Season 12 Episode 71

Zen had used his life vitality to protect his body as he activated the Stellar Body, but it did nothing to quell his disquiet. His eyes shone as cold as ever.

Previously, when Letitia was undergoing her life and death tribulation, the first wave of the Thunder Tribulation had been the weakest, but the other waves of Heavenly Tribulation became stronger each time.

Now, even the first wave of Thunder Tribulation had already been so terrifying in its intensity. What about the next waves of Heavenly Tribulations?

Zen did not dare to imagine the frightening possibilities, nor did he bother to think any more about them.

If he could not dodge them, then he could only strike at the right moment.

As the lightning dragon was getting closer and closer to him, the dark cloud above his head roiled around, spinning in a slow circle. Then a hole opened at the center. A ray of light shot down from the hole, as if it had punctured the sky. It was a strange sight to behold.

Like a pulse, the ray of light appeared only for a split second before a blazing white light covered it. Soon, to the disbelief and fear of many people, lightning morphed into the shape of a dragon claw and descended from the hole.

The many powerful warriors of the Soul Sea Realm looked with wide open eyes at the scene that they were witnessing. The dragon claw reached out from the hole and began to tear the skies.

The thick layer of dark cloud was torn apart. The crowd watched as the wisps scattered into shapeless masses.

The next moment, the dragon’s body descended. The blazing white dragon head formed by the lightning suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar as it faced Zen.

“Howl!”

Immediately after, lightning appeared on its body, followed by another massive explosion.

Zen’s eyes flickered at the sight before him. He willed his mind to be calm, his features settling into a placid expression. His eyes narrowed on the dragon and his dry lips moved to say softly, “Come on!”

“Boom!”

Lightning struck, as if to split the entire earth in two. The colossal dragon circled in the air before pouncing towards Zen.

The dragon was the size of a mountain range, but it was rapidly shrinking as it charged forward. However, this was not an indication that its strength was weakening. It was gathering its power, preparing for its attack.

“Heavenly Tribulations are calamities that come from the heaven. There is no way to avoid them, so I would have to take on this colossal dragon.”

Zen suddenly stood up from the ground. At the same time, a strong, vivid aura emanated from his body. Meanwhile, the lightning dragon continued to charge directly towards him.

“It’s only a lightning dragon. All this is a facade. It’s far inferior to a real dragon!” Zen declared.

Strength coursed into Zen’s body. His power intensified with every second. One thousand.

Two thousand.

Three thousand.

Four thousand.

Zen’s physical body should sustain the strength of five thousand dragon scales when it was pushed to its limit. However, activating the power of five thousand dragon scales would inflict considerable damage to him and lower his defenses, making him more susceptible to injuries in battle.

The Small Heavenly Tribulations came in many waves. Right now, it was not an option for him to be injured. The best he could do, even if he was faced with a giant lightning dragon, was to advance with the power of four thousand dragon scales.

Zen could feel the power of four thousand dragon scales pouring into his body. His bones creaked as his muscles tightened, and his skin stretched as he grew in size. He stood like a giant, facing the dragon in the sky alone.

In the eyes of humans, Zen’s body was twice as big. However, he was as small as an ant compared to the lightning dragon that was rapidly descending from the sky.

The dragon plunged down and closed the distance between it and Zen rapidly.
Ten thousand feet, one thousand feet, one hundred feet…

The dragon suddenly opened its bloody mouth and was about to devour Zen whole.

Zen did not falter at this terrifying vision. He leapt forward and charged straight towards the dragon.

Seeing this, Fiona covered her mouth with one hand. Her eyes were wide as she watched Zen face the dragon head on. War King Wind, on the other hand, was in awe of the young man’s boldness. “Good! Zen is courageous! He dared to come forward!” he said softly.

Martial artists cultivated in different ways. Some of them complied with the rules of the heaven, while others established their discipline and resisted old practices. They had only one thing in common. No matter what path they chose, all of them would have to cross this threshold.

Heaven was a mystery and a nightmare for every martial artist.

Power was granted only to those brave enough to dare to possess it. In order to elevate in strength, one could never let go of the will to fight, even in the face of the disasters of heaven.

The moment Zen threw himself at the lightning dragon, the defense of his life vitality instantly collapsed.

A martial artist’s protective life vitality wouldn’t be particularly strong. Warriors were trained to fight, not to defend themselves. Zen did not practice a cultivation method related to this, and as a natural consequence, his protective life vitality crumbled under the attack of the Thunder Tribulation.

The dragon had destroyed Zen’s protective life vitality and wanted to get into Zen’s body. However, this time, the two rays of starlight on his body prevented the dragon from entering him.
The Stellar Body was a type of Transcendent Divine Might. By now, Zen had only mastered the second move, but its power could not be underestimated.

“The power of thunder and lightning that forms this lightning dragon should be at the fourth level, almost the fifth. Even the Stellar Body might not be able to block it.” Despite the danger, Zen’s gaze was indifferent. He had entered into a state where no distracting thought lingered in his mind. His sole focus was fighting against this Heavenly Tribulation.

Under the relentless attacks of the huge lightning dragon, the starlight on Zen’s body began to dim visibly. The two stars on the thick black cloud also dimmed gradually along with it.

Once the starlight disappeared, he would have no choice but to rely on his own body to fight against the dragon.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Intense, coiling lightning wrapped around Zen’s body and constricted his movements. It was like the death god’s caress, dragging him to hell.

Soon, the star power finally disappeared, and the two stars in the sky also disappeared in the cover of the clouds.

Bone-piercing pain coursed through Zen’s body.

It was fortunate that Zen’s body was tough. Ordinary martial artists in the later stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm would have been instantly devoured by this powerful lightning, and not even their ashes would be left behind as traces.

Zen’s body was covered with numerous black marks. Under the strikes of lightning, his skin instantly turned jet-black, as if he was a coal miner who had just crawled out of a mine.

“Stop!”

Zen charged all the way up to the belly of the lightning dragon. Then, he stretched his body and released the power of the dragon scales.

An unstoppable, tide-like force burst from within him. It aimed straight to the lightning dragon, as if it was an invisible sharp blade.

There was only silence for a fraction of a second, and then the dragon was split in half from the middle.

The warriors of the Soul Sea Realm could hardly believe what they saw. Zen had split the lightning dragon’s body into two.

Zen exhaled deeply upon seeing what had happened, but the relief would only last for an instant. The next moment, the dragon that had been torn in two shot out to either side. Now, there were two smaller dragons, charging towards Zen once again.

“The lightning dragon formed in this Heavenly Tribulation is simply indestructible. How will I be able to defeat it? It would be impossible to rely on my own body to swallow it,” Zen said inwardly, his face hardening.

The dragons didn’t give Zen any time to think. They charged towards him, one on the left and one on the right.

“What should I do?” Zen could feel his anxiousness getting hold of him as he stood in the middle of the two lightning dragons.

Just then, the cyan dragon faintly smiled and said, “Zen, have you forgotten about your own talent?”

“My talent?” Zen asked in his mind as he watched the two dragons get closer and closer.

“You have gone through the baptism by laws, and you know the Thunder Law best. As I have said before, a Heavenly Tribulation is a catastrophe for a martial artist, but it is also a chance! Many talents in the Upper World eagerly hope that their Heavenly Tribulations can become even stronger, so that they will have greater chances,” the cyan dragon reminded.

“Chance? Master the Thunder Law?” Zen narrowed his eyes.

Of all the Original Laws, the Time Law was the hardest, followed by the Space Law. The Thunder, Fire, Ice, and Metal Laws, however, were relatively easier.

Zen had gone through the baptism by laws, so he was able to quickly master the Time Law, which was the most difficult. The Thunder Law had been much easier to comprehend.