Huge Thank You and Welcome to Our New Patron: 'omar amurrio'!
I've recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Name: 'Douluo: Martial Soul Heavenly Flame, Flame Emperor'
----------------------
Of course, this was only him—if it were someone else, Chu Chengzhou dared to guarantee that over half of the Titled Douluos on the continent couldn't withstand it, even though this was only the first layer of Chaos tribulation lightning.
The next second, Chu Chengzhou used himself as a conduit. Before the Chaos tribulation lightning energy striking his protective divine light could dissipate, he activated Nine Breaths Qi Absorption. The violent Chaos energy transformed into a gentle cyan radiance, which he guided into the metal sphere floating before him.
Instantly, clanging sounds and humming noises echoed almost simultaneously. A joyful consciousness transmitted from within the metal sphere.
Immediately after, brilliant cyan light bloomed as the internal structure of the metal sphere began undergoing earth-shattering transformations.
Even more strangely, the metal sphere floating before him seemed like a piece of metal imbued with Creation divine power—it gradually grew a head and limbs, transforming toward a humanoid form.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
Cyan tribulation lightning, each strike more powerful than the last, continuously descended from the Chaos tribulation clouds in mid-air. In the blink of an eye, Chu Chengzhou had weathered eight layers of Chaos tribulation lightning.
At this moment, Chu Chengzhou's expression grew solemn.
This was because the power of the eighth Chaos tribulation lightning had already approached the peak below god-level.
If the Chaos tribulation lightning only had nine layers, that would be fine—even if the final power reached god-level, he had complete confidence in easily withstanding it.
One must understand—Instant Bloom was a defensive super god-skill activated by Chaos soul power. It absolutely couldn't be broken by energy attacks that had only just reached the god-level threshold.
But if there were more layers afterward, Chu Chengzhou truly wasn't confident he could withstand them.
After all, the elemental tribulation lightning that appeared during Four Symbols heavenly refining was triggered by four-element fused soul power—a total of four layers. But the tribulation lightning appearing now during Chaos heavenly refining was triggered by Chaos soul power formed from fusing eleven elemental attributes.
That is to say—if the number of Chaos tribulation lightning layers could exceed the ultimate limit of nine, it would definitely be eleven layers.
The power of heavenly refining tribulation lightning grew stronger with each layer. The eighth lightning strike's power already approached the peak below god-level. The ninth Chaos tribulation lightning's power would definitely be the true peak below god-level, and very likely step into the god-level realm.
And the tenth and even eleventh Chaos tribulation lightning strikes with even greater power afterward—even experts exceeding Level 100 from later generations might not necessarily withstand them.
Of course, if things truly became impossible, Chu Chengzhou wouldn't joke with his own life.
After all, the worst outcome would only be abandoning the tribulation, or letting the nearly formed supreme fusion metal withstand it itself.
Normally speaking, elemental tribulation lightning was meant to be withstood by the metal itself—the blacksmith merely provided some assistance. Only by personally undergoing the baptism of tribulation lightning could the heaven-forged metal become truly supreme.
But this Chaos tribulation lightning's power was somewhat excessive—if the metal itself truly withstood it, it would likely turn to ashes.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
Accompanied by violent rumbling sounds, the ninth Chaos tribulation lightning descended from the heavens, submerging Chu Chengzhou's entire body. Even the protective divine light emanating from his body surface rippled violently.
'Damn it—it really has reached god-level! And there really are more!'
Seeing that the tribulation clouds in mid-air hadn't dissipated after the ninth Chaos tribulation lightning, but were still brewing the next wave, Chu Chengzhou cursed inwardly. Not daring to be careless, he hastily transformed the undissipated tribulation lightning energy and guided it into the nine-element fusion metal—which had now clearly taken on a humanoid form.
But thinking about it, this made sense. Under normal circumstances, nine was the ultimate number. If nine layers of tribulation lightning could be easily weathered, then nine-element heaven-forged metals from later generations would be commonplace.
Chu Chengzhou could easily guess that even in later generations, nine-element heavenly refining would likely only be the protagonist's exclusive privilege. Seven-element heavenly refining would be the peak achievement for most divine artificers in their lifetimes—or even lower.
As for the Chaos tribulation lightning he was currently weathering having more than nine layers? This wasn't a normal situation~!
An unprecedented Chaos tribulation—special circumstances were only natural.
After weathering the ninth Chaos tribulation lightning, Chu Chengzhou shifted his thoughts. Xiao Hei in the distance transformed into a black light stream that sank into his body.
Immediately, accompanied by a sound like shattering glass, Chu Chengzhou's aura surged dramatically, breaking through an invisible restriction. Vast and terrifying power pressure spread over dozens of li in all directions.
At this moment, through Spirit Transformation form, Chu Chengzhou temporarily broke through the restriction, stepping into the Level 100 realm that countless geniuses throughout the continent's history had dreamed of.
If he had only just condensed a divine position, Chu Chengzhou at this moment would be a true god!
Could Level 99 soul power plus a summoned spirit of over one hundred thousand years really become Level 100?
In terms of pure energy accumulation, this truly couldn't be achieved. But the world's rules stated that a summoned spirit with one hundred thousand years of cultivation could elevate the summoner's soul power level by one rank.
Ninety-nine plus one naturally became a Level 100 soul master.
This was like in the original story—Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, whose soul power levels hadn't even exceeded 95th level Titled Douluo, had combined energy accumulation that couldn't compare to an ordinary Level 99 Limit Douluo. Yet their joint martial soul fusion skill: Nether White Tiger, possessed strength that could reach god-level.
One could only say that the soul master system in the Douluo universe was slightly inferior. Compared to cultivation systems in other worlds, the gap between realms wasn't as significant in terms of combat power manifestation.
Of course, this addition method from the True Spirit Flag martial soul's Spirit Transformation characteristic only applied to Level 100 and below. If the level exceeded 100, it couldn't be calculated this way—because below and above Level 100 were two different tiers, as different as heaven and earth.
Even if his Dark Demon Evil God Tiger spirit Xiao Hei's cultivation years increased to two hundred thousand, after Spirit Transformation, it still couldn't temporarily make Level 99 Chu Chengzhou become Level 101.
"Rumble rumble rumble!"
Soon, the tenth Chaos tribulation lightning descended from the heavens, mercilessly striking Chu Chengzhou.
Instantly, Chu Chengzhou's figure was once again submerged in cyan Chaos lightning radiance.
The moment the tribulation lightning struck him, Chu Chengzhou felt his internal soul power drop dramatically. The protective divine light emanating from his body surface trembled even more violently than during the ninth lightning strike—as if it would shatter the next second.
Fortunately, it was only "as if." After all, his foundation was solid and his supreme arts were of high grade—he wasn't directly blasted to pieces by the tribulation lightning.
Even so, Chu Chengzhou understood in his heart that the tenth Chaos tribulation lightning's power approached his defensive limit. Relying solely on Instant Bloom to withstand it, he absolutely couldn't endure the subsequent eleventh Chaos tribulation lightning. The slightest carelessness would turn him to ashes under the tribulation lightning.
The eleventh Chaos tribulation lightning didn't fall immediately. Gazing at the tribulation clouds in mid-air for a moment, Chu Chengzhou ultimately decided not to give up.
Only one final step remained before Chaos Heavenly Refining succeeded—how could he so easily abandon it?
------------------------------------------------------
Join my Patreon to read an exclusive novel – 'Douluo: Rebuilding Hao Tian Sect'
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)