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Chapter 152: The Gain After the Tribulation
He doesn’t know how long he has been passed out, but Aldrian can sometimes hear muffled sounds. When he opens his eyes, he sees the ceiling. Turning to his side, he notices Xin Haotian, Duke Valiard, and Mardred talking to each other. However, when they sense Aldrian waking up, they look in his direction.
"How do you feel?" Xin Haotian asks.
Aldrian tries to sit up by himself and adjust his position. He sighs, still feeling a little sore in his body.
"I’m good. How long have I been passed out?"
"Six hours. I have to say, your recovery is impressive. You were in really bad shape out there; I thought you were done for, crippled for life. You had 95% of your body burned, all your meridians burst, and your dantian was damaged. But that golden energy of yours is truly amazing, and your body’s self-recovery is shocking. With how messed up your body was earlier, it’s a miracle that you can heal yourself. All the physicians on the continent would want to study your body if they knew how it works," Xin Haotian explains.
"Forget about being crippled after that kind of tribulation; instead, you’re now at the peak Earl stage. It’s really crazy! How did you attract that kind of tribulation? Did you somehow offend the heavens or something?" he adds.
Duke Valiard and Mardred also look at Aldrian with curiosity. Earlier, they thought they were going to die, being the closest to him under the tribulation clouds. Even though they were inside the cave for cover, they could still feel a power they would never forget in their lives. They believed that the heavens wanted to destroy the world with such a tribulation.
Even before the first strike of the tribulation, they had already felt the terrible pressure. During the final strike, they genuinely thought they had entered the afterlife, even though they were not the ones facing the tribulation. At first, they wondered who could attract such a powerful tribulation, but when they remembered Aldrian, they realized it was him who had somehow drawn this kind of calamity.
After the tribulation ended, they assumed Aldrian was dead—there would be no remains, not even ashes left after that lightning strike. But when they sensed life in the rocky field beneath them, they were shocked to see that Aldrian was still alive, albeit in bad shape.
Now, witnessing what had just happened to this young man, they suddenly felt small in his presence. Even though he was much younger and weaker in terms of cultivation level, he had achieved something that would be engraved in history if many had witnessed it. Yet they were the only ones to witness Aldrian’s glorious victory against a magnitude of heavenly tribulation they had never experienced in their lives.
Xin Haotian had already informed Duke Valiard and Mardred about Aldrian’s circumstances and instructed them to keep both his true appearance and situation a secret. They still had many lurking enemies, and Xin Haotian knew better than to make the situation worse.
Aldrian sighed as he listened to Xin Haotian’s explanation. It seemed he had really pushed himself to his limits. He still felt the aftermath of his ’battle’ with the heavens, sensing rigidity in some parts of his body. With another sigh, he said to them, "I accidentally comprehended something, and that triggered the heavenly tribulation."
Duke Valiard and Mardred looked at Aldrian with frozen expressions.
"What do you mean by ’accidentally comprehending something’? To trigger the heavenly tribulation, you must have comprehended something extraordinary! The scale of that tribulation was the largest we’ve ever seen, and you’re telling us you did it by accident and still survived?" they shouted in their minds simultaneously.
Xin Haotian facepalmed. "If you’re going to lie, at least do it better! I bet you intended to comprehend that ’something’ since earlier. I found you on the rocky field where we passed on our way here, which clearly shows you discovered something interesting there," he thought, knowing Aldrian’s character well.
After saying that, Aldrian closed his eyes and fell silent. He wanted to check his entire body for any anomalies since this time he had faced a heavenly tribulation. The heavenly energy within the tribulation is very deadly for a cultivator, as it can cause injuries that are difficult to heal or even impossible, depending on the severity of the injuries.
He tried to circulate his energy throughout his body and was shocked to discover that his dantian and meridian tissue now contained heavenly energy! He found that his entire meridian system was even stronger than before. This amazed Aldrian, as he realized that his golden energy could also tame the heavenly energy from the tribulation, refining it for his use.
After checking his entire body and finding nothing else amiss, he looked over his own information.
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Aldrian Aster
Domain : The secret realm, The Ivory empire, The Demon Territory of Barisan continent, Dragon Back Mountain
Age : 15 years
Cultivation : Peak Earl
Current energy : 645,075 (+3.1 /15m)
Energy needed for the next stage : 720.001
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He gained many benefits from the tribulation; his current energy jumped to 645,075, a number he would normally need three months to reach at his current rate. With these improvements, he was confident he could defeat even a middle grand duke stage opponent without using his domain if they underestimated him in battle.
The struggle he experienced when he fought the city lord of Dual Horns Peak in Demon territory would not repeat. He also gained new visions and insights that would aid him in the future. He still closed his eyes to focus on one of his new laws comprehension, feeling death itself within his mind.
He stretched out his hand, and suddenly a tiny black energy appeared in his palm. Aldrian opened his eyes to see this minuscule black energy, releasing it was enough to drain his energy storage like a waterfall, but fortunately, he was inside his domain.
This tiny energy was enough to make Xin Haotian, Duke Valiard, and Mardred back away from Aldrian, as they felt the overwhelming sensation of death in their minds and bodies when they sensed that energy. They had already felt it earlier before the heavenly tribulation, when they saw the swirling mass of black energy.
They did not know what kind of laws Aldrian had comprehended, but the horrifying sensation and their instinctive reactions to this energy made it clear why the heavens had sent such a powerful tribulation to him. Even with this tiny energy, they felt their souls tingling, as if they wanted to leave their bodies and rush toward Aldrian.
He even wondered if Aldrian was trying to pull their souls like an angel of death. However, looking at Aldrian’s curious expression, they realized he was unaware of what they felt.
"Young master... what is that?! It’s truly terrifying! I feel like my entire body and soul are trembling in its presence. It’s as if my soul has met its nemesis, trying to force me out. It’s ominous," Duke Valiard exclaimed.
Xin Haotian looked at the black energy solemnly. As a cultivator who had comprehended light laws as his main laws, he could say that this black energy is the counter of his laws and energy. In fact, he doubted that any energy could withstand the presence of this black energy, it felt like a bane to any being, whether dead or alive. The ominous aura affecting their souls with such a deathly sensation, even from this tiny presence, made him think it was connected to death itself.
He then remembered a time when he encountered a powerful necromancer during one of his adventures. The necromancer could summon entire armies of undead with his techniques, and those undead could fight as if they were still alive, utilizing various techniques. At that time, he had also felt an ominous aura almost similar to this black energy, but it was nothing compared to aura of this tiny black energy that could even influence their souls.
"Aldrian, what have you comprehended seriously?! This is the first time I’ve felt this way. Are you comprehending something connected to the essence of life itself?" Xin Haotian asked solemnly. There was no trace of satire or joking in his voice, which was unusual when he spoke to Aldrian.
"To be honest, at first, I didn’t recognize this black energy or the laws it contains, but from my comprehension, this is what we call death energy and death laws—the laws that accompany every being, just as life follows you," Aldrian explained, dispersing the black energy from his palm.
The others widened their eyes upon hearing the name of the laws they had never encountered until now.
"Is there really such a thing as death laws? Is it about controlling death or something?" Duke Valiard asked.
"Is it something the necromancers use? I don’t know what kind of laws they used, they are truly mysterious. I’ve only met them accidentally, and they seem to have this kind of aura, but this one is much stronger and more terrifying," Mardred added.
"No wonder you attracted the heavenly tribulation. The laws themselves are foundational to the universe, and you comprehended them," Xin Haotian said.
Aldrian listened to their opinions while checking the domain of Dragon Back Mountain to see if there were any changes after his heavenly tribulation. However, after spreading his senses throughout the entire mountain region, he felt puzzled by the changes he discovered.
