The ancient bell stood about three zhang tall, with black runes flowing across its body, emanating an aura of ancient simplicity and profound mystery.
“This bell is no ordinary item.”
As soon as Ye Qiu thought this, a chill ran through his body. He saw Jiang Feng gazing at him with a cold, piercing stare.
“You actually incited my subordinates to turn against me. Impressive tactics!”
“It is a pity, though, you cannot kill me.”
“Today, this city lord will spare no cost to annihilate you!”
As Jiang Feng’s words fell, he pushed with both hands, sending the ancient bell swiftly towards Ye Qiu.
In an instant, the bell erupted with endless black light, like a surging wave of terrifying billows crashing towards Ye Qiu.
From a distance, Ye Qiu felt an overwhelmingly powerful force bearing down on him, crushing everything in its path.
Without the slightest hesitation, he dodged immediately, then appeared beside the bell and slapped down with his palm.
“Dang!”
A massive clang resounded, shockwaves from the bell raging outward as Ye Qiu was sent flying by the impact.
What?
Ye Qiu was utterly shocked. Clearly, he had struck the bell with his palm, yet how was he the one flung away?
Before his body could steady, he saw the bell flying towards him again, swift as lightning.
In this critical moment.
“Bang!”
Ye Qiu punched the bell. In the next second, his fist shattered, golden blood splattering through the air.
“I cannot confront it directly. It seems I must rely on the heavenly tribulation after all.”
Though injured, Ye Qiu’s mind remained exceptionally calm. His body twisted strangely in mid-air several times before he directly summoned the tribulation.
“Rumble…”
The heavens and earth grew violent as countless bolts of thunder swarmed down.
Ye Qiu charged proactively at Jiang Feng.
“You still think you can use the heavenly tribulation to kill me. I must say, you are quite naive.” As Jiang Feng spoke, the bell returned to hover above his head.
Dang.
The bell’s body trembled lightly, draping down strands of black light that enveloped Jiang Feng within.
“Boom!”
A bolt of thunder struck the bell. It quivered gently, shaking the thunder aside.
“Hm?”
Ye Qiu narrowed his eyes. He had not expected Jiang Feng’s ancient bell to block such a powerful heavenly tribulation.
Shua!
Ye Qiu’s figure flashed, swiftly appearing above the bell. Several bolts of thunder hurtled straight towards him.
Just as the thunder was about to strike Ye Qiu’s body, he dodged in a bizarre manner.
“Rumble!”
The several bolts hit the bell.
“Dang.” The bell’s tone rang out melodiously, shaking the thunder away once more. Jiang Feng, protected beneath the bell, remained unscathed.
Jiang Feng sneered: “Boy, you are too weak. This city lord has a treasure for protection. The heavenly tribulation cannot harm me.”
“Is that so?” Ye Qiu circulated his power. In an instant, his right fist erupted with dazzling golden light.
Bang!
Ye Qiu punched towards the sky, proactively provoking the tribulation.
The tribulation raged in fury.
“Boom!”
Endless thunder crashed down madly. This time, the originally purple thunder had all turned to blood-red thunder, blanketing the sky as it descended.
Even Ye Qiu could not dodge in time and was blasted away by the thunder, which then landed squarely on the bell.
“This is bad.”
Jiang Feng sensed a crisis of life and death. He flashed away swiftly, fleeing the bell’s protection.
“Pu!”
The ancient bell shattered in an instant.
Ye Qiu stood up from the ground, ignoring his wounds. Seeing this, he shouted: “City Lord Jiang, if you have any more trump cards, bring them out by all means.”
Jiang Feng cursed in fury: “You bastard, actually using the heavenly tribulation to destroy my treasure. Once the tribulation ends, I will grind your bones to dust and scatter your ashes.”
“You will not wait until the tribulation ends. I will send you on your way right now.” With that, Ye Qiu charged proactively at Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng dared not approach Ye Qiu and dodged swiftly. However, Ye Qiu’s speed was fast; in a breath, he caught up.
“Boom!”
Ye Qiu was blasted away by the tribulation, and at the same time, Jiang Feng was hurled dozens of zhang by it.
In this moment, Jiang Feng felt excruciating pain throughout his body, nearly falling apart.
Yet before he could climb up from the ground, Ye Qiu arrived once more, bearing the tribulation.
This continued for a full ten minutes.
In those ten minutes, Jiang Feng was struck and sent flying by the tribulation several times. His hair dishevelled, body covered in wounds, he suffered severe trauma.
Even then, the tribulation had not ceased.
“Damn it, what kind of monster is this boy? How can he summon such a powerful heavenly tribulation?”
A twinge of fear stirred in Jiang Feng’s heart.
“Again!”
Ye Qiu’s eyes flashed like lightning as he threw his head back and howled at the heavens, as if he truly could command the Heavenly Dao. As his words fell, the tribulation came once more.
“Rumble.”
The heavens and earth turned into a vast blur, deafening roars filling the air, electric light blazing fiercely. In the void, nine blood-red thunderbolts dove down, as if the celestial domain had collapsed, their momentum dozens of times greater than before.
Jiang Feng’s heart pounded with shock.
“This city lord underestimated him. This boy’s methods defy the heavens. I need to find a way, or I will truly be blasted to death by the tribulation.”
“I, Jiang Feng, am after all the lord of a city. To think that today, I would be forced to this state by a mere peak King realm boy.”
“If I die by his hand too, then who will avenge my son Yiyang?”
“I must hold out until the tribulation ends. Once it does, even if that boy advances to the Golden Core realm, killing him will be as easy as turning my palm.”
With this thought, Jiang Feng swiftly drew a pitch-black turtle shell from his sleeve.
The shell was no larger than Jiang Feng’s palm, yet his expression was gravely serious.
“Whether I survive depends on this sacred artefact. I hope it does not disappoint me.”
After speaking, Jiang Feng bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of vital blood onto the shell.
At that very moment, Ye Qiu, drawing the vast tribulation, appeared above Jiang Feng’s head.
“City Lord Jiang, time to go on your way!”
Boom.
At once, a full eight bolts of tribulation engulfed Jiang Feng below.
“Pu!”
At the same time, Ye Qiu was blasted away by a powerful bolt of tribulation, collapsing a hundred metres away. His body riddled with holes, he spat blood nonstop from his mouth and struggled several times without rising.
Moments later, the cage formed by the tribulation vanished, and the thunderclouds above the ninth heaven dispersed abruptly.
The heavenly tribulation had ended!
Ye Qiu lay on the ground. He clearly felt his power had grown stronger, and in his dantian, a grain-sized golden core had formed. Endless power emanated from the core, washing through his extraordinary meridians and eight vessels, aiding in the repair of his injuries.
In the blink of an eye, Ye Qiu’s wounds healed completely.
“So this is the effect of the golden core? Truly miraculous.”
Ye Qiu flipped up in a carp-like motion and stood from the ground. He swept his gaze around, seeing mountains of soldiers’ corpses piled high, blood flowing like streams, and a pitch-black turtle shell. But he saw no sign of Jiang Feng’s body.
“Could Jiang Feng have been blasted to smithereens by the tribulation?”
“It must be so. In the end, nine bolts appeared in total. I endured only one and nearly died; Jiang Feng bore eight and is surely dead.”
“When did that turtle shell appear? How did I not notice it at all?”
Curiosity piqued Ye Qiu. He stepped towards the shell and observed it for a while, noting that it was now the size of an entire room. Beyond that, it showed nothing unusual.
“Where has that old fellow gone? Time to find him.”
As Ye Qiu prepared to leave, the shell suddenly cracked. Immediately after, he saw a familiar face grinning sinisterly at him.
“Jiang Feng!”
