Chapter 735: Super Heavenly Punishment

The silence at the scene grew heavier.

The atmosphere was tense.

Many of the cultivators were even overcome with regret.

Offending a peerless Young Venerable like him for some nobody like Ji Xian... they had well and truly screwed themselves.

"This is the true bearing of a Young Venerable—unparalleled talent, astonishing genius, a figure who could shake the ages."

Even Liu Yueru, who held no particular fondness for Ye Tianling, couldn’t help but murmur in awe.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but her sentiment resonated with every surviving prodigy on the scene.

Now, as they recalled their initial confrontation with Ye Tianling, a bitter taste filled everyone’s mouth.

Ye Tianling had captured Ji Hui for the sole purpose of rescuing Liu Xu’er from danger.

Ji Hui was important to the Ji Family, but wasn’t Liu Xu’er just as important to Ye Tianling?

Thinking back, the memory was exceptionally ironic.

Now that the truth was out, even Qianyu felt a pang of unease as she recalled the accusations they had all hurled at Ye Tianling.

It was now obvious that Ye Tianling had wanted Liu Xu’er back by his side not because he intended to use Ji Hui as a hostage, but simply because he feared the shockwaves from the ensuing battle would kill her.

Laughably, they had mistaken his actions for threats, for an inability to know his place, for sheer arrogance and ignorance...

Admittedly, Ye Tianling’s treatment of Ji Hui had been excessive. But for a truly peerless expert, what did it matter if their methods against an ant were a little cruel?

It was just as Ye Tianling had said: they saw Liu Xu’er as an insignificant ant, so he could treat Ji Hui as a worthless ant in turn—someone he could abuse and humiliate at will, without a shred of guilt.

...

Amidst this atmosphere, the scene finally fell quiet.

Bolts from the Hell Celestial Tribulation still descended intermittently, but they no longer targeted the assembled prodigies.

Ye Tianling, by himself, was withstanding the entire Hell Celestial Tribulation. With absolute power, he showed them what it meant to be a true prodigy, a true Young Venerable, an invincible existence among the younger generation.

By now, Ye Tianling had plunged into the Thunder Punishment Celestial River that had manifested from the Hell Celestial Tribulation.

He was struggling, but he was enduring.

The combination of his evolving Thunder Flame Sword Body, the Law of Chaos, and the bombardment of thunder from both within and without had, paradoxically, created a perfect balance against the Celestial Tribulation’s assault.

A balance that had not been broken even by the attacks of the other prodigies.

Ye Tianling knew this, and so did the other prodigies.

If that balance were broken, Ye Tianling might die, but they would suffer a grim fate as well.

But Ye Tianling had his trump cards, like the Space-Time Soul-locking Tower. He had nothing to fear.

But what about the other prodigies?

How many treasures in this world could possibly withstand an assault from the Hell Celestial Tribulation?

DONG—

DONG—

The pulsing of the Earth Veins began.

The Thunder Tribulation in the Void evolved, forming swirling, nebula-like black holes of tribulation lightning.

The crimson Celestial Tribulation gathered, growing more concentrated.

At this point, the Hell Celestial Tribulation began to manifest a supernal celestial punishment.

The descent of this Celestial Punishment Thunder would mark the true beginning of the slaughter.

"This is a super punishment. I doubt we can withstand it. If Ye Tianling fails, we’re all dead."

"And if he succeeds? Do you think we’ll be allowed to live?"

"If he succeeds, at least we’ll have a fighting chance. The Hidden Dragon Demon Cave will open its random teleporters sooner or later. Once we’re inside, we’ll probably be separated into ten different regions."

"And whoever ends up in the same region as him will be a dead man. We couldn’t beat him ten-to-one, what chance would we have one-on-one? The most terrifying part is that his power is skyrocketing as we speak."

"So what do we do? Attack him now? We’d probably trigger the super punishment before our attacks even landed. That kind of punishment locks onto the Soul; there’s no escaping it, only enduring it head-on."

"A super punishment is comparable to a Celestial Dao Erasure. To face it is to die. Well, *almost* certain death. Unless you’re one of those freaks who can survive a Celestial Dao Erasure."

...

The conversation among the prodigies inevitably led to disagreements.

But regardless of their differences, not a single prodigy made a move against Ye Tianling.

At this point, the rationale for attacking had vanished. There was no longer any point in fighting.

They were all peerless prodigies; they knew how to pursue good fortune and avoid calamity. They had already offended him, but since Ye Tianling hadn’t suffered any actual loss, antagonizing him further was pointless.

The prodigies held back, retreating further to silently watch Ye Tianling face his Tribulation.

Ye Tianling breathed an inward sigh of relief. He had no intention of continuing the fight, either.

It wasn’t that he had forgiven them, nor that he had lost his killing intent. The truth was, he had his own hands full.

The moment the super punishment appeared, Ye Tianling’s body split open once more. The Mirror Flower Water Moon Battle Armor he wore was almost blasted back to its base form and sent flying.

The situation was, to put it mildly, dire.

Not only that, but parts of his body had exploded, and several of his bones had shattered. It was a gruesome sight.

His Three Souls and Seven Spirits were nearly shattered, and even the defensive power manifested by the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword failed to stop the blow.

Finally, Ye Tianling unleashed the Power of the Demon God from within the Baiyu Demon God Radiant Bow. By forcibly resisting for a moment, he managed to block that terrifying wave of the super punishment’s assault.

But this was only the beginning.

The terror of the Hell Celestial Tribulation was beyond imagination, and its difficulty had been amplified by the interference of the other prodigies.

Although a more powerful Hell Celestial Tribulation meant greater benefits for Ye Tianling after he overcame it.

But faced with a Celestial Tribulation of this magnitude, Ye Tianling could only smile wryly to himself.

This Celestial Tribulation was simply too ferocious. It was even starting to leave a psychological scar.

It had nothing to do with fear. It was the sheer destructive force of this super punishment—it was even more terrifying than the Celestial Dao itself.

Even the mighty Power of the Demon God couldn’t hold out for long against the super punishment.

The Baiyu Demon God Radiant Bow itself had dimmed.

To think that even an Unparalleled Divine Soldier like this couldn’t block it... Ye Tianling couldn’t help but draw a sharp, cold breath.

Simultaneously, Ye Tianling began to absorb the vast amounts of Thunder Punishment Origin left behind after the super punishment’s power was worn down. He started to reform his physical body, undergoing a fiery Nirvana.

According to the art of the *Nirvana Nine Transformations*, with every destruction, his defense and attack power would practically double.

This wasn’t a good thing in the short term, but after the transformation was complete, he would emerge even stronger.

Ye Tianling seized the opportunity, continuously undergoing these transformations.

CRACKLE—

CRACK—

His bones shattered, his Soul exploded, and yet, time and again, they reformed.

Ye Tianling’s vast knowledge and specialized training allowed him to begin fully utilizing his various abilities in the face of these myriad dangers.